Review of "Star Trek #1," by Mike Johnson and Stephen Molnar

 Review of

Star Trek #1, by Mike Johnson and Stephen Molnar, comic by IDW

Five out of five stars

A remake of the original series “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”

 One of the earliest and best episodes of the Star Trek original series was, “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” In it, the Enterprise encounters an energy barrier that kills some of the crew and leaves others altered. Most specifically, James Kirk’s best friend at the academy Gary Mitchell. He is somehow endowed with fantastic powers, using the terminology of “SNG: The Next Generation” he becomes somewhat of a Q. However, he does not have the self-control or understanding needed to wield such power.

 This comic is the first in a series that is a rewrite of that episode using the players of the reboot that stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban et. al. The story in this comic follows the plot of the episode very well and ends with Gary Mitchell in sick bay with his powers rapidly increasing. The last caption has Spock telling Kirk, “Kill him while you can.”

 This is a great story about friendship lost and what would likely happen if a human were ever to gain true superpowers. While this comic is a retelling of a story well known to Star Trek fans, and a topic of other books and movies, it retains the power to keep you riveted.