When I heard that there was going to be a comic book prequel to this summer’s blockbuster Star Trek movie I was excited, when I heard that the story was going to be written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman my excitement grew. Something told me that the writing team of Orci and Kurtzman were going to deliver a stellar movie, and knowing that they were going be calling the shots with the prequel elevated my expectations even more. Finally though, when I heard that the things that happened in the prequel would change continuity forever, I was in heaven. Finally, somebody is giving comic’s their due as a serious entertainment medium, and things that would happen within the pages of a Star Trek comic would have serious implications within that universe. I was happy both as a Star Trek fan and as a comic reader. I decided to watch the movie before checking out the prequel, after all it wouldn’t have been a prequel if I read it first would it? So I thought if it’s intended as a prequel that’s how I’m going to read it. So the morning after I saw Star Trek, I sat down with the IDW trade…here are the unsettling results.

I was so excited for this book, as much as I knew that the movie would be safe to try and open the appeal of the franchise up to the less hardcore sci-fi fan I thought that countdown was going to be the creator’s offering to the hardcore fans, I couldn’t have been more wrong. I’ve never read a comic that played it safer than Countdown. The story was separated into four chapters, but they were really just four excuses to put the cast of the Next Generation on the cover of each comic. In summary the story was pretty much just this.

Chapter One

Romulan mining guild super stud Nero is in the Hobus system doing a little friendly mining on behalf of the Empire when he sees the system’s star throw out a massive solar flare that destroys an uninhabited planet. He’s a little freaked out so he goes back to Romulus to report what he’s seen. Spock too has seen what’s going on in the Hobus system as well and is worried that when the star goes supernova, it will be a supernova that will wipe out the entire universe. The Romulan senate won’t listen when Spock tells them what is happening because he’s not Romulan, but Nero knows how dire the situation is. Against the orders of the Romulan government Nero and Spock go look for Decalithium at the outer edge of Federation space; that’s what Spock needs to create red matter, which will stop the star in the Hobus system from going supernova. They get there and start mining only to be attacked by Remans but don’t worry Captain Data and the US Enterprise comes to save the day.

Chapter Two

If you thought Data was dead, you were right; you’ll learn how he was resurrected and I’m pretty sure you won’t be impressed. This chapter really steps up the safe and sucky story telling. In a nutshell, the Vulcans have a weapon that will save Romulus so they go to Vulcan to ask if they can use it. While en route to Vulcan, as a show of good faith Data gives Nero unrestricted access to the ship’s data banks. (That’s why he knows so much when he goes back in time in the movie.)Of course the Vulcans are terrified about giving a weapon like that to their oldest enemies so they say no. Nero gets mad and goes to try and save his family. But before he leaves he is sure to tell Spock that going to hold him responsible for wasting time with the Vulcans when they could have drilled into the star themselves. Data, Spock, and Picard (who is the ambassador to Vulcan; that way they could crowbar his likeness on a cover, and put him in the story) decide to try and find a way to drill into the star anyways (Can you guess who is going to make an appearance on the next cover?). And just to make sure you pick up chapter three the star goes supernova and Romulus is destroyed before it can be evacuated.

Chapter Three

To show his pain Nero has his face tattooed (the coolest part of the comic was finding out what the deal with the Mike Tyson tattoos was)and goes mental. The high council of the Romulan senate was able to get the hell out of dodge before Romulus was destroyed so they come to tell Nero that they are rebuilding the Romulan Empire somewhere else, and he kills them. He’s also lucky enough to stumble across a secret weapons development outpost that only the high council knew was there and they pimp out his mining ship with the cool squid-like Borg technology that you see in the movie. To make a long story short, Geordi shows up with The Jellyfish, Spock’s ship in the movie so he can fly into the star and create a black hole that will absorb it and stop it’s supernova expanse from destroying everything. Meanwhile, a Klingon fleet commanded by Worf shows up to confront Nero. (Once again, can you guess who is on the cover of chapter 4?)

Chapter Four

In the final episode the Klingons and the Romulans duke it out in the space around their borders and as Worf feigns surrender so he can board Nero’s ship the Enterprise shows up. They engage Nero and in the battle that ensues in order to give Spock the distraction he needs to stop the supernova a TNG’r gets seriously messed up by Nero and company. In the end Spock is successful and Nero follows him into the blackhole that leads to the alternate reality where this summer’s movie takes place.

Some Thoughts on the Series

After finishing the story all I can say is wow! Was that ever a non-event. It was pretty much just what Spock and Nero say happened in the movie, with the Next Generation cast thrown in for good measure. I thought that with Orci and Kurtzman outlining the plot we would get a story that was movie caliber in its own right. All we got were cameos and a story we’d already been told. What about the promised continuity changing event? Well that was a joke too, they left themselves enough room to weasel out from that detail to fly an Excelsior class starship through ( I won’t tell you what it was in case you want to read Countdown). It didn’t change continuity at all, it was brutal. If you are thinking of reading Countdown because you want to know the story of Spock and Nero, don’t bother you already know it.

Now if you are picking Countdown up because you are a Next Generation fan and want to see how your favorite characters are tied to this summer’s blockbuster movie…Well there’s more for you here, but not much. The gratuitous inclusion of the Next Generation cast in these books is painful to watch; it is obviously an attempt to cash in on Star Trek fandom and really adds nothing. If the Trekker in you absolutely must know what role they play in the destruction of Vulcan, pick up countdown, but you’ll be disappointed. Trust me.

Just one final not about the art of Star Trek: Countdown. I’ve always felt that good comic writers have a knack for knowing when to let the art tell the story. It’s an elusive line a writer has to find in order for a comic to work. In Countdown I actually think that the writers are able to find it. I actually think that if there is something that stands out in the book it’s the script. Unfortunately the story isn’t good enough to capitalize on finding that balance, and the art isn’t good enough to elevate the story. Like everything about this book the art is safe. It’s not bad, but there is nothing that will blow you away. There are a couple of times we see planets blow up and while they are well done, they pale in comparison to some of the world ending scenes we saw in Final Crisis last winter. There was a layer of polish missing from the drawing that kept helped keep Countdown a non event. I don’t think it could have saved a predictable story anyways, but like everything else associated with this book the art was just dialed in so the trade would be available at the same time the movie hit theaters.

I give Star Trek Countdown 1/5. Save yourself some money and skip this one all together.