Advance Review — ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Echoes’ #5 Gets Too Cutesy
by Tom Smithyman
While Spock never took the infamous Kobayashi Maru test, in the final issue of the Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Echoes, the Vulcan first officer finds himself in a no-win scenario. He must either fire on a Romulan ship, starting a war and killing several of his crewmates — including his captain — or allow a weapon of mass destruction to decimate a planet’s population.
The needs of the many and all that!
Writer Marc Guggenheim has woven a complicated web that includes a parallel universe, differing versions of familiar characters, and even some Trek lore that hasn’t yet been introduced to the timeline. The overall story of an evil Pavel Chekov battling freedom fighter Nyota Uhura is an interesting enough one, and feels very much like it belongs in the Trek universe.
But, as he’s done in past issues, Guggenheim gets too cute at times — particularly with James T. Kirk. The captain certainly has his sense of humor, but this version of Kirk never turns it off. The galaxy is about to erupt into war, and he’s throwing around phrases like “Wakey wakey, commander” and “You Romulans really need to work on your positive thinking.” Even Sulu and Spock get into the act. We’ve seen humor go over well in Star Trek, but this level of lightheartedness is too much.
That said, Guggenheim does pull off a pretty serious surprise at the book’s climax. It’s a strong turn from a strong character and comes off as a needed shock to readers eyes.
Oleg Chudakov’s illustrations are, at times, pretty rough. You know you’re looking at Spock because the guy has pointed ears. Doctor McCoy sports his familiar frown, but these characters that fans know and love so dearly only bear a passing resemblance to the actors who played them.
While some of the scenes in space look good, there’s one panel in which Akris is punching the other Uhura and seems to take half of her face with her. It’s not the work of a shapeshifter, but rather some poor coordination between the artist and colorist, DC Alonso. Chudakov’s character proportions can be off in a distracting manner. At one point, Kirk’s head is twisted so far that you think you’re looking at scene with kids’ action figures, not a comic book page.
As with the artwork, this series has been uneven at best. But it’s still fun to revisit these characters and, in particular, this seldom-chronicled time in Trek lore.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Echoes #5 will be available for purchase on September 13, 2023.
Overview
Despite a gorgeous cover, this issue featured some uneven artwork inside – some of it bordering on amateurish. While the writing has been generally strong, several characters’ dialogue devolves into an inappropriate level of silliness.
