1245. Survival of the Fittest, Part TwoPUBLICATION: Star Trek: Voyager #15, Marvel Comics, March 1998
CREATORS: Laurie S. Sutton and Gwen L. Sutton (writers), Terry Pallot and Al Milgrom (artists)
STARDATE: 51019.6 (folows the last issue)
PLOT: The bi-gender Orsorian starts draining energy from Tuvok, and then from Janeway, and uses it to call its "ancestor", a gigantic energy being that then attacks Voyager. Aboard, Seven wakes up and the Doctor realizes that she is immune to the alien's pheromones. Chakotay beams to the alien ship with Seven and the Doc, and together they manage to inject the Orsorian with a pheromone inhibitor. Not knowing with which gender/species to interact, its body collapses into a Lovecraftian freak show. Voyager escapes and the ancestor entity feeds on the Orsorian ship, possibly taking with it the last members of the species.
CONTINUITY: None.
DIVERGENCES: None.
PANEL OF THE DAY - Because I really like the robots.
REVIEW: As promised by "He-Editor" Tim in yesterday's comments, the art is back on track. Likenesses are good, characters are attractive (even sexy), and there are some neat "effects" (the entity, the 'bots, the creature losing its shape). The plot is old school, but moves with enough speed that you don't necessarily notice any inefficiencies, and the "artificials" win the day just like they do in many, many episodes. I'm not too sure about the coda, however, which would have us believe in a completely absurd ecology for these aliens. I don't buy the crew's conclusions at all. Why would the ancestor consume the only remaining member of the race that finds food for it? Why must its relationship with this Orsorian be unique? So the ending doesn't quite work for me, but the rest is a fair enough combination of jeopardy and action.
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