6[Backtrack to review/discussion of #1 – #16]
All right. I think we, the fans who suffered years without the new and refreshing ST crew on the big screen, know it’s nearing the time of EPIC AOS STORYLINE CONTINUATION from Abrams and co.
The premieres are as follows:
Sydney, Australia – April 23rd
Berlin, Germany – April 29th
U.K. – May 9th
U.S. – May 17th (May 15th in IMAX)
That said, beyond this post of ‘hypotheticals’ I WILL NOT ENGAGE IN SPOILERY FACT REVEALS once the movie plot goes public across the Internet – which given the early, early showing in Sydney, will be in a matter of two weeks. I’m not even going to look for reveals to satisfy my curiosity because I’m a sucker for surprises. Hence this journal will be clean in that respect. I would, of course, consider removing myself entirely from this fandom for a month but I doubt my muse is going to stop bombarding me with fic ideas in the meantime. :)
I wanted to wait until I read issue #20 of the Ongoing series but I have a feeling I won’t get to it before I am able to watch the movie. So here are my sort-of summaries/thoughts on #17,#18, and #19.
#17 – Leonard McCoy
Wow, okay. I was surprised by some of this, but I have to say upfront what I liked was… well, not a lot of it. Being a die-hard TOS!McCoy fan, I just couldn’t reconcile one thing in particular:
Leonard is from Mississippi.
Yeah. Apparently JJ felt the Georgia thing was too predictable. So all those fics about Leonard going to Ole Miss for college? Probably right. But if you set his childhood in Georgia – WRONG.
Some other interesting tidbits I picked up here:
1. His friends call him Len, hence Len is now a totally canon-approved nickname. That’s very good with respect to my early fics!
2. His father is still a doctor, and inevitably Leonard becomes one too despite dreaming of playing basketball.
3. His mother IS DEAD. :( So… no Leonard’s mama in fanfiction? I totally disagree! She’s alive and that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
4. Jocelyn is not a Jocelyn at all but a Pamela. And it’s kind of implied she and Leonard had no kids before divorcing.
5. Leonard’s motivation for joining Starfleet was in memory of a young patient he lost.
Take what you will of the above. I am pretty much shelving a majority of this backstory for Leonard not because it isn’t a good one but because it’s difficult to incorporate into my AOS headcanon for the character without me bursting into tears at some point.
I would like to ask y’all, though… Do you think the plot about the young girl he “couldn’t save” was a replacement for the TOS backstory wherein it’s his father who dies of an incurable disease? Because that latter story is something I hope stays canon. It’s excellent McCoy angst!
#18 – Nyota Uhura
I’m actually rather fond of this backstory for our strong-willed Uhura. I felt it gave more insight into why she’s so tough-as-nails compared to her TOS counterpart. In a nutshell, as a child she was in a shuttle accident that forced her to fight past her fear in order to save her parents – but at the same time resulted in the loss of another family member. Considering she joined Starfleet years later, I would say the experience wasn’t crippling for her but rather a turning point. She knows space is dangerous as well as fascinating. And she knows she can handle it.
We also get to see that during the Academy she took the bull by the horns, so to speak, and is the one who initiated the first date with Spock. (That’s kind of a no-brainer, right? Because Spock actively pursuing one of his students…? Ha!) It is Spock, however, who initiated the intimacy; and by “intimacy” I mean the Vulcan equivalent of getting into each other’s pants – a mind meld! So we see the moment that would probably qualify as them becoming a bonafide couple.
Is this good or is this bad? Frankly, neither. I do believe Abrams felt the Spock-Uhura moment absolutely had to be in there because it’s another selling point for their romance. I also know that I would prefer to see Spock’s side of things. How did his interest in Uhura begin? Mere curiosity that someone was asking him out? And why her? Hrm.
#19 – Montgomery Scott
Oh, Scotty. Scotty, Scotty, Scotty. You are pretty awesome, my man!
This is the kind of background story you would expect for our resident genius engineer. It even starts out with a wild tale about the heroics/lauded intelligence of generations of enigneering Scotts! And Scotty is just great as a kid. Whereas Leonard felt like the typical nondescript ‘boy’ in his backstory, this little Monty is so very much himself. It very much has the feel of the eleven year-old Jim that drove a car off a cliff; you just know it’s Kirk before he ever says his name! Likewise, you know it’s a mini-Scotty. :D
Scotty is adamant as a child and as an adult that his great destiny is to build starships. He’s also a little egotisical about his smarts, which leads to that unfortunate event with Archer’s beagle. But can you blame him for wanting to push the boundaries of known science? Heck no!
(Also, those idiots who turned down his first application to Starfleet? Fired. SO fired!)
Montgomery Scott in Abramsverse is a bit more spirited than he was in TOS (which may be attributed to an age difference) but oddly he still inspires the same respect in me. I think if the two versions ever were to meet, they would get along so well if would make everyone nervous!
Oh, interesting note here: Scotty has a brother! Can’t you just see genius!mischievous!mini!Scotty always getting his baby brother into trouble? XD
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As with the previous discussion, there are two comment threads below so everyone can participate. Please reply to the appropriate thread, depending on whether or not you have movie spoilers/speculation in mind. Thank you in advance!
[On to #20]
Related Posts:
- Star Trek Ongoing Comics (21 – 26): Thoughts and Discussion – from October 27, 2013
- Star Trek Ongoing Comics (20): Thoughts and Discussion – from May 19, 2013
- Star Trek Ongoing Comics (1-16): Thoughts and Discussion – from March 16, 2013
For all discussion points free of spoilers and speculation about the upcoming movie, reply here!
For all discussion points about the comics involving SPOILERS/SPECULATIVE TALK/GENERAL MOVIE UPDATES, reply here!
I’m joining this party awfully late, I know, but I wanted to share anyway. I agree with you completely about how young Leonard didn’t really differ all that much from an average boy, while young Scotty was, I think, spot on. (Though, to be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever be hundred percent satisfied with anything they come up with in connection with Bones in the comics, because the fanfics have spoiled me… =D) Concerning his father: yes, I think they might have changed it to him not being able to save the girl instead of his father for the AOS backstory, although I don’t really get why. Does Leonard father not have the disease or do they find the cure for it in this universe as a result of the changes induced by the attack on the Kelvin? Or is the girl’s dying somehow a consequence of the attack? Because that’s where all the differences come from in this universe, right? Please, correct me if I’m wrong. Or was Bones’ father’s death something that took place in TOS after Bones is already in Starfleet and on the Enterprise? Can Bones’ dad still die in the Reboot universe? (Not that I think they would include that in the films, but stil…).
Re: His father I think Abrams just wanted to turn things on their head. So: Leonard grows up without his mother, his father doesn’t (or hasn’t yet) die of an disease that hasn’t been cured, and Leonard is motivated by the dream of a young patient to enter Starfleet after his marriage fails and the girl dies. In TOS, the only thing we really know for certain is that Leonard helps his father die – we don’t know when that occurs, though. I like to think it was after Leonard “retired” from the Fleet but before the events of ST:TMP. For AOS, I like to think it happens before Leonard enters Starfleet. There could be any number of possibilities, so I guess it’s all about preference at this point. As for Abramsverse… well, it’s not that I think JJ’s concept is implausible, I just don’t like to see so much of my personal head!canon – and what spurs my muse – made unusable. But neither of us are wrong for the way we want things to be, I’ve concluded. He can keep his Mississippi!McCoy and I can keep my Georgia!Bones. :)
I love that you’re reviewing these. I keep meaning to start getting them but JEEZ when it comic books get so expensive. Hooray for backstories. I’m sorry but Fanon headcanon whatever. I’m sticking with the McCoy story so far. I wouldn’t mind the Georgia/Mississippi swap from a generic stand point, but only because I was born in MS and grew up in Georgia, and they both sucked about equally.
They are expensive nowadays! I did like some parts of the McCoy backstory, but now I’m wondering if McCoy is going to mention at any point during the movies that he’s a Mississippi boy. What kind of reaction would that garner from long-time fans who have been banking on his Georgia background?