"Mortal Gods" was the fifth issue of DC Comics' 1984 series of Star Trek comics. The story deal with the rescue of a survivor from the Federation-Klingon War of 2285, which ended last issue.
Summary
Log Entries
- Captain's log, stardate 8163.5
- The war is over! Freed of the influence of both the Organians and the Excalbians… The Federation and the Klingon Empire have entered negotiations to secure a permanent peace! Meanwhile, the Enterprise has entered the Beta Epsilon system, to determine the fate of the USS Valor, whose last transmission reported her in combat with a Klingon vessel! The Klingon desserter, Konom, has been temporarily assigned to the Enterprise, as Dr. McCoy attempts to determine why Konom hates the violence and carnage the rest of his race seems to relish.
Philip Hodges, a former student of Admiral James T. Kirk, is the only survivor of a battle with a Klingon battlecruiser. Hodges has landed on a primitive planet and becomes a god. Kirk and his crew must minimize the impact without further violations of the Prime Directive.
- Captain's log, supplemental
- Lt. Sherwood sustained no permanent damage from the attack on her and the rebellion has been quelled, but two tasks remain…
References
Characters
- Ballor • William Bearclaw • Nancy Bryce • Pavel Chekov • Decton • Philip Hodges • James T. Kirk • Konom • Lorac • Lylla • Leonard McCoy • Saavik • Montgomery Scott • Elizabeth Sherwood • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura
Starships and vehicles
- carriage • USS Enterprise (Enterprise-subclass refit Constitution-class heavy cruiser)
- Referenced only
- escape pod • USS Valor (Miranda-class starship) • unnamed D7 class starships
Locations
Races and cultures
States and organizations
Science and classification
- arrow • Atalskes phaser IV • axe • biobed • bow • communicator • engine • helmet • holovision camera • phaser • quill • radiation suit • spear • sword • transmission • transporter • viewscreen
Occupations and titles
- admiral • captain • commander • doctor • ensign • general • guard • lawyer • lieutenant • lieutenant commander • plowman • sentry • soldier
Other references
- agriculture • animal • beam • blood • bridge • captain's log, USS Enterprise, 2285 • captain's oath • cavern • cliff • court-martial • culture • Federation-Klingon War of 2285 • fire • god • lamp • lifeform • love • martyr • metal • meter • militia • minute • peace • planet • Prime Directive • race • radiation • rebellion • Richter Scale of Culture • robe • second • sickbay • Starfleet uniform (2278-2350s) • temple • theology • war
Appendices
Background
- Marv Wolfman answers the letters in this issue.
- The story is noted for its surprisingly violent climax where, despite wishing to maintain the Prime Directive, Kirk orders his officers to set their phasers to kill and open fire.
- At the end of the story, Saavik observed that the landing party violated the Prime Directive at least three times. These included her vaporizing Decton in front of a crowd to end a revolt, Scotty projecting a hologram of a deity above the populace, William Bearclaw stunning a spooked animal with a phaser in front of witnesses, and Leonard McCoy beaming Lylla aboard the Enterprise for medical treatment.
- On page 21, the top panel was inexplicably drawn and lettered sideways.
- The story was recolored by Julianna Ferriter for its compilation in The Best of Star Trek. Originally Lylla and her people had yellow eyes, purple skin, and white hair with blue shading. Ferriter changed this to white eyes, gray skin, and brown hair. She also changed Hodges' hair from white to brown. Elizabeth Sherwood was inaccurately depicted as a brunette, whereas the recurring character was normally blonde.
Images
Connections
Timeline
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: Deadly Allies |
TOS comics (DC volume 1) |
Next comic: Who Is... Enigma? |
| Previous story: Errand of War! |
Stories by: Mike W. Barr |
Next story: Who Is... Enigma? |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous adventure: Deadly Allies |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: Who Is... Enigma? |
| Previous comic: Deadly Allies |
Continuing voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) | Next comic: Who Is... Enigma? |
Publication history
- June 1984
- First published by DC Comics.
- December 1991
- Reprinted in the omnibus The Best of Star Trek. (DC Comics)
- October 2005
- Reprinted in the To Boldly Go omnibus. (Titan Books)
- September 2008
- Included on The Complete Comic Book Collection DVD. (Graphic Imaging Technologies)
- 1 March 2018
- Reprinted in Graphic Novel Collection, Volume 31. (Eaglemoss Collections)
Translations
- April 1985
- French: As "Dieux Mortels" in the omnibus Star Trek #2. (Arédit)
- 1987
- Hebrew: אלים בני תמותה, translated by Amos Eran. (Queen Comics)
- 28 March 2018
- Italian: Collected in TOS omnibus: Graphic Novel Collection Volume 31: L'era DC: Il Caso Del Tunnel Spaziale. (RCS MediaGroup)
External links
- Mortal Gods article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.