1312. Against Their NaturePUBLICATION: Star Trek: Klingons - Blood Will Tell #1, IDW Comics, April 2007
CREATORS: Scott Tipton and David Tipton (writers), David Messina (artist)
STARDATE: Unknown (framing story during The Undiscovered Country; actual story during Errand of Mercy)
PLOT: Following Praxis' destruction and impending talks between the Klingons and the Federation, High Council member and swing vote Kahnrah muses on the relations between the two powers and tells the story of Errand of Mercy from the Klingon perspective to his granddaughter, as related to him by Kor's first lieutenant, a member of the House of Kahnrah.
CONTINUITY: The framing story occurs between the destruction of Praxis and Gorkon's meeting with the Enterprise (The Undiscovered Country). The House of Kahnrah traces its roots back to Kahless (Rightful Heir), but suffered from the genetic tampering seen in Divergence (they are still "human-like" Klingons despite events occurring in the movie era); this flashback marks the first comic book appearance of any Enterprise character (Phlox). The humanized Klingons are referred to as the QuchHa or "the unhappy ones" (Vanguard novel Summon the Thunder). The name of Kor's first lieutenant in Errand of Mercy is given as Kahlor, son of Kolox. There was a Klingon language variant of this issue, as authentic as Starfleet Academy #18.
DIVERGENCES: The title of the issue comes from the writers, it was accidentally omitted from the comic itself.
PANEL OF THE DAY - What they couldn't show you, even in the special editions.
REVIEW: I wasn't sure retelling various Klingon TOS episodes from the villains' perspective would be valuable, but I'm glad to say I was wrong. The brothers Tipton use the whole of Star Trek lore to unify the disparities between the Klingons of different eras without it all seeming like fanwank, and Messina's art is certainly worthy of the subject. Blood Will Tell adds an additional political dimension to the events of ST VI (my favorite of the original films), and also shows us that the "humanish" Klingons born out of disastrous genetic engineering as seen on Enterprise were once responsible for the Empire's expansion. If by the movie era they're not on top anymore (apparently due to Kirk handing them their asses so many times), they are nonetheless still around. Maybe we'll even find out how Kor and the others regained their ridges. The other disparity between TOS Klingons and those seen after 1987 (the TNG reboot) is that they used to be a lot more treacherous. In the modern era, Klingons and Romulans seemed to switch attitudes. By showing us Errand of Mercy from Kor's point of view, we discover that he took no pleasure in the mass executions and his justifications for doing what he did. In effect, Kor was dishonorable in Errand of Mercy because we were seeing him from the Starfleet perspective which painted him as a villain. Indeed, the Klingon version of events makes Starfleet the original aggressor that led to the occupation of Organia. It doesn't matter which version you believe. As the Klingons become the heroes, truth shifts in their favor. There is only a little repetition where Kor's journey intersects Kirk's and even these events are given a bit more scope. And Blood Will Tell #1 probably has one of the funniest cliffhangers of any Trek comic as Kahnrah's granddaughter realizes, shocked, that following the Organian treaty, the Empire had to resort to - dear Lord no! - espionage and subterfuge!
Comments