"They appear...cold blooded."
Captain Clark Terrell, along with his first officer Pavel Chekov and a medical relief team, crash land on an outer rim planetoid. One inhabited by the Gorn.
The Gorn, the bad ass guest alien from the original series first season episode Arena, make a welcome return appearance in this short, simple and very fun to read adventure.
While I have always been quite the Star Trek fan, I have never been what you would call a "Trekker," or a "Trekkie," if you were feeling particularly mean-spirited or are simply pop culturally insensitive, that is. But I do love me some Trek and this issue had me from the cover. Scott and David Tipton's story wisely chooses to avoid a simple retread of Arena (the way the primary conflict is resolved and the story's closing joke are vintage Trek) and also offers some interesting insights into Gorn culture. The Gorn may be cold blooded and ruthless, but they also appear to have a sizable noble streak and are far from cold hearted. They are kind of like Klingons, but with somewhat softer hearts. Come to think of it, I would totally love to see some Klingons and Gorn duke it out in a no holds barred barroom brawl. I think that the Gorn would take the Klingons.
David Messina's artwork flows nicely and the Gorn are beautifully rendered, despite their not looking all that much like that rubber suited stunt man that lumbered after Captain James T. Kirk. These reptilians look like they have been pumping some serious iron. These Gorn could easily bench press a Sherman Tank.
Trek fans will need no convincing to pick this issue up. In fact, I am fairly certain that many already have the complete Alien Spotlight series run and, if any are reading this, are wondering why it took me so damn long to write a review. Life happens, okay?
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