Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes #1 Review
Written by Chris Roberson
Pencils by Jeffrey Moy
Inks by Philip Moy
Colours by Romulo Fajardo, Jr.
When I first read about Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes at Comic-Con I was overjoyed. While never being a big Star Trek fan I thought the idea was inspired, plus another Legion book on the stands with a creative team who’ve worked on the series before left a lot to look forward to. After reading the first issue I’m disappointed as it didn’t live up to the hype.
Both on their way home, the crew of The Starship Enterprise; Kirk, Spock, Uhuru, Sulu, Bones and Chekov, and Legion members Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Brainiac 5, Shadow Lass and Chameleon Boy find themselves on an Earth that isn’t their own, one under the control of the Imperial Planets.
As much as I wanted to I found it hard to enjoy the issue. It was entirely devoted to the set up of the story and so it doesn’t really go anywhere and both teams never actually meet, so the chance to see Spock and Brainiac 5 meet will have to wait for another issue. This is especially aggravating when you consider this is a $3.99 comic, which means that you’re paying extra and not getting your money’s worth. Having both teams separate means that the story is essentially told twice from both team’s perspective; starting in a normal situation before landing on the new Earth and battling the IP.
By putting each team in neutral territory that has aspects of both series, with Chameleon Boy’s people the Durlans appearing, and the Imperial Planet’s ships and uniforms similar to those found in Star Trek, is an good idea, and it stops one team from hogging the spotlight by setting it in one of their worlds and it stacks the odds of against both teams with them out of their elements and I think this will prove more interesting in future issues.
While this instalment is light on the story side Chris Roberson has a good handle on the characters. Especially the Legionnaires, with little touches like Lightning Lad with his arms around Saturn Girl at the beginning of the issue helping you get to know the characters without explicitly stating that they’re a couple. As far as I could tell, Kirk, Spock and the rest seem spot on too, though I wouldn’t be surprised if a Trek fan found them too on the nose. I thought it was a nice touch at the beginning of the issue to feature mini fact files on all the major characters, something that should help fans coming in with knowledge of only one of the teams get to grips with the other.
The Moys are veteran Legion artists and prove it with their ability to not only draw the characters themselves but all the sci-fi elements that accompany them, such as vehicles, settings and different types of aliens. They also handle the Star Trek characters skilfully, managing to make them look like their real life counterparts without making them overly detailed and so they match with the designs of the other characters. Jeff and Phil have a good grasp on action too, thought it was seen all too briefly so I look forward to what they will get up to in future instalments.
With very little happening it’s easy to pass Star Trek/Legion Of Super-Heroes #1 by and just wait until issue #2.
4/10
