1193. Love and DeathPUBLICATION: Starfleet Academy #5, Marvel Comics, April 1997
CREATORS: Chris Cooper (writer), Chris Renaud and Andy Lanning (artists)
STARDATE: Unknown (follows the last issue)
PLOT: While Pava "distracts" her potential future husband Kovold, Nog steals all the Klingons' disruptors. Which doesn't prevent them from fighting Omega Squad hand to hand. To save her teammates, Pava invokes a Klingon tradition, a duel to the death between two champions. The Klingons name Kovold, of course, but Goldstein takes Pava's place, unwilling to let her kill or be killed by the man she loves. Their survival AND the future hinges on the result. She defeats Kovold, but refuses to kill him, at which point people from both sides try to intervene, resulting in Matt Decker losing an eye and Goldstein being killed. A peaceful future is not in the cards.
CONTINUITY: See previous issue (possible futures, DS9). A dead Dr. Bashir is featured in one potential future.
DIVERGENCES: The possible future that seems to have been chosen doesn't come true (i.e. the prolonged war with the Klingons and deaths of both Kira and Bashir).
PANEL OF THE DAY - Pava loves her Daft Punk.
REVIEW: Shocker. At the 5th-issue mark, I was definitely not expecting one of the leads to die, especially one with such potential. That's the advantage with original characters in Trek spin-offs - their future isn't written. You would never believe a comic book that told you Major Kira was dead, but only Nog is safe in Omega Squad. Once again, Cooper loads the issue with action and drama (my synopses never cover all the plot points) and the Renaud/Lanning team do a good job of putting the fight in between panels from both potential futures. A nice visual trick. And to then surprise the reader with the "bad" outcome? I'm hooked.
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