Star Trek #1422: Where No Man Has Gone Before Part 2 (Reboot)

1422. Where No Man Has Gone Before Part 2 (Reboot)

PUBLICATION: Star Trek #2, IDW Comics, October 2011

CREATORS: Mike Johnson (writer), Stephen Molnar (artist)

STARDATE: 1313.1 (follows previous issue)

PLOT: Gary Mitchell's ESP powers are growing to dangerous levels, so the crew imprisons him on Delta Vega while Scotty conducts repairs. Mitchell escapes and kills Kelso, so Kirk tracks him down in the desert. During their confrontation, Spock sneaks up from the back and neck pinches Mitchell. When Mitchell temporarily becomes human again, he asks to be killed and Kirk obliges. Mitchell and Kelso get a burial in space near the Great Barrier and Spock offers to become Kirk's new chess opponent.

CONTINUITY: Though there are a number of divergences, the issue is based on the second half of the classic episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and so features Gary Mitchell, Lee Kelso and Delta Vega. Among the illusions created by Mitchell, we see the bar and the Academy classroom again (Star Trek movie).

DIVERGENCES: Mitchell kills Kelso by forcing him to shoot himself with a phaser, not by strangling him with cables. Other divergences are a result of the J.J. Abrams continuity.

PANEL OF THE DAY - Captain Kirk's Awkward Sleeping Positions #1
REVIEW: While Part 1's set-up was too close to the original to feel like anything other than a subtle What If, Part 2 does much better. There's a sense that Johnson is actually retelling the story from the same bullet points instead of the episode as aired. Case in point, Mitchell's powers are slightly different from the episode's, allowing him to tie into the reboot Kirk's history through illusions. By reminding us of the film, he avoids simply remaking Where No Man Has Gone Before with different likenesses (though I must say Molnar does a great job). And with Elizabeth Denner out of play, it advances the Kirk-Spock relationship to have the Vulcan save Kirk's life. He definitely earns his place into the chess game, and his friendship with the captain (as opposed to the done deal of the television series). Sure, it's a little less epic than two gods battling, but since they were both guest-stars, who cares? The comic stretches out character moments instead, like Kelso's death (much more horrible, but there's more reaction to it too). And it's the characterization that drives the changes in story. This younger, brasher Kirk doesn't hesitate to shoot Mitchell the first time, but it hurts him to do so just as much. By not drawing out the action an extra beat, Johnson allows Mitchell and Kelso to get proper Starfleet burials, neatly eschewing the ridiculous tombstone bit in the original story. So while I hope IDW does a few original stories with its Trek license (perhaps in mini-series), after two issues, I have to admit I like the classics retold idea.