
IDW Publishing 2011
Written by Mike Johnson
Illustrated by Tony Shasteen
Coloured by Davide Mastrolonardo
Lettered by Neil Uyetake
Story Consultant Roberto Orci
The U.S.S. Enterprise continues its ongoing mission to explore strange new worlds and new civilizations, boldly going where no one has gone before. Now midway through their five-year voyage into uncharted space, Captain Kirk and the crew are about to encounter their strangest discovery yet… themselves!
One of the series most classic and most imitated stories gets it’s current treatment with the crew of the current Enterprise. This time however it has a pretty unique twist to it that takes things one step further and I like it! This is part one of three so this story arc should have ample time to really explore this world and these characters establishing them anew and with greater detail. Goatee Spock is captain of the I.S.S. Enterprise and he’s as ruthless as they come can Commander Spock find a way to work with his evil self or will it all end tragically?
Wait where’s Kirk you might be asking? Well let’s hit the beginning shall we. An Ion Storm has enveloped the Enterprise and when it’s over a strange phenomenon has occured. The storm has blown them off course near the Ceti Alpha system, hundreds of light years away. This isn’t something an Ion Storm should be capable of and while you can sense Spock wants to investigate Kirk nope he sure doesn’t. While the talk is going on Chekov picks up life forms on Ceti Alpha 5 where there should be none.
Curiouser and curiouser the crew heads to investigate. A strange message is sent from the people below as they don’t want the Enterprise to destroy their home. It’s very clear that the kid on screen keeps referring to the Empire while Kirk keeps saying Federation so immediately you begin to think what’s going on? Well being James T. Kirk he takes an away team down to the surface to find out.
Kirk takes Bones and two red shirts with him to the planet’s surface. The leader of the people on Ceti Alpha 5 is one familiar to Star Trek fans and his presence is mystifying and even elicits the hope that Kirk gives the order to shoot. So before the away team can get a hold of the crew their communications are being jammed and we see a more advancement version of the Enterprise enter the picture.
The evil universe is alive and well and back again. These versions however are meeting for the first time and it’s wicked fun! Though to be honest I kind of miss the original version of their uniforms. The subtle differences we do see, thanks to Tony’s impeccable interior artwork, do wonders to differentiate the two universes. What happens now that they’ve met is something you’ll have to read on your own but suffice it to say Mike’s version is freakin awesome!!
The ending of this issue may surprise you as well. I’m serious here when I say this team has taken the original and amped it up to Nth degree! This story is amazingly well done by all involved and wow the artwork on the last few pages seriously that second to last page incredible!
Not a fan of this crew I still say check out the homage story and see how it stacks up, but with an open mind because this is how to keep true and move forward at the same time. Not a Trek fan yet then NOW is the time to read this series!