Star Trek 1270: Fragile Glass

1270. Fragile Glass

PUBLICATION: Star Trek: Mirror, Mirror #1, Marvel Comics, February 1997

CREATORS: Tom DeFalco (writer), Mark Bagley and Larry Mahlstedt (artists)

STARDATE: Unknown (immediately after Mirror, Mirror)

PLOT: When Mirror Kirk returns to his Enterprise, he is immediately arrested by Spock and thrown in the brig. Spock takes command of the ship, forging alliances with Chekov as well as Miranda and her Tantalus field. While Kirk, Sulu and Uhura plot his downfall from the brig, Spock offers the Halkans a compromise, convincing them that the Empire will take their dilithium whether they resist or not, so they might as well just do their pacifist thing and let them. At the same time, a Klingon fleet is detected on long-range sensors. Spock asks Scotty to widen the range of the Tantalus field for when they arrive, which happens just as Kirk and his motley gang break out of jail and attempt to retake the ship. Spock makes all but one Klingon ship disappear and the surviving Klingons fly off to warn the galaxy of this shift in the balance of power. Kirk's gang tehn arrives on the bridge and fisticuffs ensue, resulting in Kirk's death. Spock becomes captain of the Enterprise, bringing a radical new mercy (Starfleet thinks it's ok because it's cheaper) to bear.

CONTINUITY: This occurs right on the heels of Mirror, Mirror, with the Mirror Enterprise still in the Halkan system and Mirror Kirk's party just arriving back to their timeline. Miranda, Mirror Kyle and the Tantalus Field all appear. The story provides impetus for the Klingon/Cardassian alliance seen in Crossover. We meet the Mirror Universe's Admiral Decker (he must have survived The Doomsday Machine).

DIVERGENCES: None.

PANEL OF THE DAY - Spock steals Kirk's girl.
REVIEW: Another really fun Special that takes everything we learned in Mirror, Mirror and provides a logical extension. Tom DeFalco writes a cracking action story and a young Mark Bagley provides dynamic art for it. Sulu and Uhura are especially nasty, with Kirk coming off as more of a brute, but it's Spock that really shines (as he did in the episode). He's really smart, spinning a lot of plates (the Halkans, Kirk's mutiny and the Klingon attack) and succeeds at everything he does, bringing both logic and passion to the fore. A tight script with real energy, and bridges the gap between Mirror, Mirror and Crossover rather well.