1447. Hive Part 2
PUBLICATION: Star Trek: The Next Generation - Hive #2, IDW Comics, October 2012
CREATORS: Brannon Braga, Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett (writers), Joe Corroney (artist)
STARDATE: Unknown (follows the previous issue, three years after Nemesis, 500 years hence in a possible future, with one scene just after Voyager's Endgame)
PLOT: In the future, Locutus and Data defeat the Queen's sentinel, Seven of Nine. Three years ago, Seven went undercover inside the Collective. Now, the Borg betray the Federation, destroy Andoria and take control of Seven.
CONTINUITY: See previous issue (Borg, Seven of Nine, Lt. Archer, Locutus). Andoria (Journey to Babel, et al.) is destroyed. A battle staged at the Mutara nebula was based on a suggestion by an "old friend" (Kirk; The Wrath of Khan). The scene showing Voyager's return to Earth features the fireworks from the alternate future in Endgame, as well as Janeway, Tuvok and the Doctor.
DIVERGENCES: See previous issue (Seven of Nine and the Voyager novels). Lt. Archer's first name is Kira, which seems to me like a mixed metaphor.
PANEL OF THE DAY - A reference to her first appearance in "Scorpion"?
REVIEW: While this second issue has the same problems the first does (half a dozen splashes - half of them featuring the same Scorpion-Seven - that make for a very quick read), we certainly can't say nothing happens within its pages. In fact, there shocking revelations come fast and quick. But do they make sense, or like Braga's weakest Voyager scripts, do they leave logic by the wayside. Well, the idea of sending Seven back inside the Collective with some kind of filter that allows her to retain her individuality and "spy" on the Borg is an acceptable one, but her conversation with Picard, in which he confesses feeling closer to machines (the Enterprise, Data) because of his experience with the Borg rings a little false. Though a link still existed in First Contact, it still seems like quite a statement to make about the TNG family's patriarch, one I don't care to believe. The other shocker is that Species 1881 was genetically engineered by the Borg and are, in fact, a big ol' trap. And I do mean big. When Worf and his Vulcan marines board a Voldranaii ship, they discover these guys are giants! This twist means the similarity with 8472 was by design and not, as I previously complained, a rehash of an old story. Seems a bit complicated, and a lot of drones are sacrificed to let Starfleet believe these aliens are working against the Borg, but you can't argue with results. Andoria is destroyed (Braga is playing for keeps), and in the last pages, the Queen re-asserts control of Seven of Nine and turns her into a Scorpion-bot. This all ties into the future sequences and explains them, but it also telegraphs where it's likely to go. Picard and pretty much everyone else will be assimilated (the future features a shot of a Borged San Francisco), and in 500 years, Locutus will decide to undo the whole timeline. Issue 1 seemed to say this would be Scorpion all over again, but it now appears it's going to be the much inferior Endgame, with Locutus playing the part of Admiral Janeway. But there have been enough twists up 'til now that I'm willing to believe Hive can still surprise me. Unfortunately, all these twists doesn't necessarily make this an engaging story, and I still think the generally expressionless characters (Corroney does have a better handle on Geordi though) and time lapses between scenes are undercutting any emotion the story could otherwise have evoked.
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