Star Trek #1426: The Galileo Seven Part 2 (Reboot)

1426. The Galileo Seven Part 2 (Reboot)

PUBLICATION: Star Trek #4, IDW Comics, December 2011

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

STARDATE: Unknown (follows the previous issue)

PLOT: As ape-like Taureans attack the Galileo shuttle, Scotty manages to get the ship working on low power to escape from them. Back on the Enterprise, Uhura steals a shuttle to rescue Spock, which Kirk uses as an excuse to go back to Taurus II, seeing as he's lost most of his senior staff.

CONTINUITY: See previous issue (Taurus II, New Paris, Makus III, Commissioner Ferris, Boma, Gaetano, Latimer, Kelowitz, Galileo shuttle).

DIVERGENCES: See previous issue (Yeoman Rand). Other divergences are a result of the J.J. Abrams continuity.

PANEL OF THE DAY - Apes: Comics' bread and butter.
REVIEW: I'd like to think criticism like the one found in these pages has led to this series diverging more from the original canon in future issues, but I'm not holding my breath. Part 2 of The Galileo Seven is quite divergent, however, as with the second part of Where No Man Has Gone Before, Mike Johnson has predicated the changes on what's actually different in the Abrams continuity - namely, that Spock and Uhura are in a relationship. (Also, that girls can do as much as boys now that we're out of the 1960s.) There's a well-played, meaningful look between Kirk and Uhura when the captain gets ordered to leave the Galileo crew behind. At first, you think Kirk's just apologizing for what's about to happen. In retrospect, they were silently hatching a plan. There's a nice speech from Kirk about why his crew must come first, and a sweet ending with Spock and Uhura confined to shared quarters. Shippers rejoice! The Taureans get the promised make-over, though they're still ape-like. It's fun to see the action outside the shuttle the original episode denied us. My one complaint is that Yeoman Rand's presence doesn't add anything after all. Is she a plant to prepare the next movie? Or will she actually get to do something? The next issue retells Operation: Annihilate!, so not immediately, no. If it'd been Miri or The Enemy Within...