I’m going to sound like a raving fanboy here, but I truly feel that the second pilot for the original Star Trek, an episode entitled “Where No Man Has Gone Before” is a work that compares favorably with the best of Shakespeare in terms of drama and excitement. The episode, whether we recognize it or not, has reverberated throughout pop culture: virtually any time a mortal human confronts an all powerful godlike being, it is impossible not to recall this episode.

The final battle between Captain Kirk and his best friend turned psionic god Gary Mitchell was stolen (or lovingly referenced) by Katsuhiro Otomo in the 1988 anime masterpiece Akira in the sequence when Kaneda uses a laser gun to try and kill his psionically enhanced fellow biker.

In X-Men #136, from August 1980, when Jean Grey is taken over by the Dark Phoenix, Wolverine moves in for the kill. For just a moment, he hesitates, because he sees that there is still something of Jean Grey there, and in that moment the Phoenix power reasserts itself, and the moment is lost.

In “Where No Man Goes Before,” when Kirk hesitates to kill his temporarily de-powered friend, Mitchell’s power is restored and the godling says, with supreme confidence, “For a moment James, but your moment is fading…” Here’s a sample:

It is with some trepidation that I write this review of Star Trek #2 from IDW, the second issue of a series that attempts to reimagine the original series episodes in light of the new continuity set forth in the 2009 Star Trek movie. The issue at hand issue tackles the second half of “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” and perhaps it is because the original is so good that the reimagining so disappoints.

As I pointed out in my review of the first part of this story, since we are in a different timeline, the episode is slightly different, which is the point of the series. In the original episode, DeForrest Kelly had not yet joined the cast as Dr. McCoy, instead, Paul Fix played Dr. John Hoyt. In the original story, Dr. Elizabeth Dehner was also infected with enhanced psionic abilities, but in the new continuity she was not on board the ship, so remained unaffected. Since it was her sacrifice that allowed Kirk to survive his battle with Mitchell in the original timeline, I was interested to see how Kirk would best Mitchell without her.

In the original episode, Mitchell murders a fellow crewman and a friend of his, Kelso, by using his telekinesis to wrap a wire around Kelso’s neck and strangle him. It’s a scary, vicious scene. In the new comic, Mitchell uses his ability to force keels to shoot himself in the head with a phaser, and we get a panel where keels begs for his life. It’s a much more brutal scene, and not really a necessary or interesting change.

The final scene makes little sense to me. Gary Mitchell has Kirk on his knees, and is forcing Kirk to pray to him. In the original Kirk gets some of the best lines in television history, including “Above all else, a god needs compassion.” The comic lets all that go, and has Kirk drop silently to his knees, helpless. The Kirk in the original timeline was never helpless. Even at the end he fought.

The new Kirk is rescued by Spock, who knocks Gary Mitchell out with a Vulcan nerve pinch. To which I said, “What?” Since when does aVulcan nerve pinch work on a God? How would Spock’s pinch reduce Gary in power enough to make him vulnerable to the effects of a phaser rifle, which he was easily dismissing the effects of only a page or two earlier? It makes no sense. It boggles the mind.

Finally, back to the scene the X-Men ripped off way back, because now Star Trek is ripping off the X-Men! Gary Mitchell is temporarily depowered (though theoretically Spock could knock him down with a nerve pinch again, couldn’t he?) and in his final moment of clarity, he says “Do it, Jim, do it before…”

Now the reason Wolverine and Captain Kirk both hesitate to kill is because of their humanity. Maybe it’s a weakness, but I see it as a strength. If given the chance to save their friend, they are willing to take it, even if it means risking a terrible fate. But in this new timeline, human compassion finds no place.

Kirk shoots Gary dead.

All the depth and humanity of the original episode have been stripped away in this new version. All the subtle logic of the show has been replaced with questionable story devices and brutal shortcuts.

It’s too bad, because this could be a great series, answering the kinds of questions that fans have been asking since the 2009 movie and the new timeline started.there are so many missed opportunities. For instance, watching the original episode again, in preparation for this review, I was struck by what a cool character Kelso was. In the early days of the series a viewer might have been really surprised by that characters death. The comic could have done something interesting with the character, like not kill him. Then we could get to know a new character in a new way.

I’ll be sticking with this series, but I’m hoping for some real improvement.