Star Trek: Nero

Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline (IDW) #3

by David Messina

From Star Trek 2009 feature film writer/producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and artist David Messina, comes an all-new story set within the events of the hit film! Not an adaptation, this exclusive story follows the villainous Nero as he seeks to destroy the Federation.

Genres: Star Trek, Graphic Novels, Comics, Science Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Ebooks

Paperback

First published May 1, 2010

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Esiste più di un autore con questo nome nel database GoodReads
Per il giornalista sportivo vedasi David Messina

David Messina è un fumettista e insegnante di fumetti italiano.
(source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Ming Wei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent graphic novel, artwork is stunning, the storyline is fresh and imaginative, really like the script, a top notch grahic novel. really enjoyed it. Typical Star Trek stuff.

[Roxana Chirilă · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume is STUNNING. On a visual level, there's not much more you can ask for but the beautiful depictions of space.

But story-wise, it's a different story (pardon the phrasing).

"Nero" is about events that take place before the 2009 movie and which work best if you know the movie and are attached to the characters and plot there. If not, it's a story about a Romulan who blames Vulcans for the destruction of his home planet and who goes through hell living on hatred and in order to see only one goal come true: getting back at Spock.

It's alright, but it didn't blow my mind.

The volume (or at least, the one I read) also contains an old Star Trek comic from '69 or maybe '70. It's... well. Wow, has the world of comics and Star Trek tie-ins changed a lot. Drawn in the style of the decade which allowed for few details, colored in the basic colors before printing became more advanced, it has characters say silly expressions, an atmosphere more in line with old Sci Fi short stories, and a plot with no finesse. It's about two seemingly uninhabited planets rushing towards one another in space because they attract each other like iron and magnets. The crew of the enterprise saves them by placing a "rejecting" asteroid (or other celestial object?) between them in the nick of time. Such plot, much wow. But still interesting for archival reasons, I suppose.

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Volume 6 of the Star Trek Graphic Novel Collection, featuring two stories.
The title story follows the villain of the 2009 Star Trek reboot through the twenty-five years that he is trapped in the past between the destruction of the USS Kelvin and the arrival of his hated enemy from the future, Spock.
The second story sees Captain Kirk and company trying to save two inhabited planets which are on a collision course.

Ask anyone on the street and they'll tell you how much I dislike J. J. Abrams 'Star Trek' reboot; it's noisy, stupid, unsubtle and totally lacking in any sense of wonder.
It also has a really rubbish villain in the form of Eric Bana's angry Romulan Nero. The graphic novel 'Countdown' actually did a great of job of adding depth and a touch of tragedy to Nero, which is something this book tries to cash-in on.

Unfortunately, the Nero we get here is absolutely an unreasonable, unlikeable hypocrite who it's impossible to get behind as a protagonist. The stories of unreformed villains can sometimes be great, but this definitely isn't one of those times and instead we're left for most of this book following the misadventures of a character we just don't care about.
On top of that is the fact that this is neither the beginning of Nero's story (seen in the aforementioned 'Countdown') and nor is it the conclusion of it (seen in the movie), so there's not even a particularly engaging narrative arc to cling to.

The back-up story from 1969 is another Gold Key story that fails to feel like proper Star Trek and instead just comes across as trashy pulp sci-fi.

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I didn't like this one quite as much as "Spock Reflections," I still think that it is an essential read for anyone that liked the newest Star Trek movie. This book takes place between "Countdown" and the events in the movie, and give a lot more insight into the evolution of Nero's character that wasn't touched on in the film. (And how he was missing half of an ear, yikes!)

Once again, the artists that were behind this are absolutely multi-directional hatching EXPERTS, beautifully utilizing an under-appreciated pen and ink technique for shading. This story, as it is told from the point of view of Nero, and includes a bunch of violent Romulans and even more violent Klingons, is kind of...well...violent. Still, it's worth reading.

One last serious trekkie nitpick...

Since the black hole that deposited Nero (and Spock Prime) back in time put them to a point just a couple decades before the original series takes place, shouldn't the Klingons have flat foreheads rather then the grotesque ridges that they do in TNG? After all, the Klingon augment virus first struck in the mid 22nd century, which dissolved the forehead ridges for many generations, henceforth, the ridges should not have been present.

[May · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um, apparently I think I maybe one of the few Star Trek fans who didn't wonder what Nero was doing for 25 years when he had to wait for Spock to appear in the alternative universe. Somehow I was under the impression that the Romulan ship got trapped in the vortex and stayed frozen for all that time until the opportune time for the reunion with Spock presented itself. So imagine my surprise when the graphic novel points out that Nero was held in prison by the Klingons. What?! Okay, sets up some really interesting future storylines but aside from that, Nero is simply too one-dimensional even in this graphic novel. Yes, tragedy can force a person to snap but in Nero's case, he needed a good friend to talk to and something more than just a lost family on Romulus to justify his need to wage war on the Federation. Note to Romulans: offer one-on-one counseling for deep space miners--it may cost you initially, but it will save you the embarassment of having one of your citizens blow up planets.

[Jeff Lanter · Rating 4 out of 5]

In reading the reviews of the Star Trek tie-ins, many people seem to believe this is the least necessary of the three, but I disagree. There are many revelations that tie into the movie in this volume including why Spock is where he is in the movie and why Nero becomes so set in his views. Learning these details were just as rewarding as the ones in Countdown for me. There is a moment early on where some of Nero's crew more or less dissents and I wish that would been moved to a later part, because it would have made more sense there, but that is honestly the only thing I would change about this graphic novel. As in Countdown, the art really impresses and fits Star Trek extremely well. Nero and the Narada look just as awesome as they did in the movie. I really enjoyed this volume and encourage fans of the Star Trek movie to pick it up!

[Em · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this comic, you learn what Nero did in the 25 years between arriving in the past to destroy the Kelvin and the events of Star Trek 2009. The events, when written out, are kind of amazing. I assure you this comic is actually very bad, an inert story with no emotional content comprised mainly of middling trace work of stills from Star Trek movies.

Also Nero became psychic, his ship got Borg powers, he flew it to the V'Ger cloud in the Kelvinverse and communed with it but it was unable to subjugate him because he's Too Cool. This comic suck.

[Kacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, loved this comic. This one was especially nice since it filled in the holes of what Nero was doing between his first appearance and when Kirk and company encountered him years later. That was one of those plotholes that bothered me in the movie, so it was nice getting this little story to answer where he was and what he was doing.

It was also nice since it fleshed out his character a bit more and gave some more weight to his motivations. He was fine in the movie, but this really helped build him as a strong and intriguing character.

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was excellent. This volume along with Star Trek: Countdown contains vital background information to the Star Trek reboot. Whereas Countdown provided background for Spock and Nero in the Next Generation era, this focused on Nero's activities in between his first appearance and his attack on Vulcan 25 years later. You should definitely read Countdown before seeing the movie, but I wouldn't read Star Trek: Nero until after you've seen it.

[Alemanita · Rating 3 out of 5]

¿Qué fue de Nero durante los 25 años que esperó a Spock? Pues si queréis saberlo, leedlo. Tiene un guiño a una de las primeras pelis originales de Star Trek y abre un interesante campo con el funcionamiento de la Narada, la nave de Nero. Interesante, aunque como todas estas novelas gráficas, muy corta. Esta historia da para libro.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really interesting look at what happened to Nero during those 25 years in the time warp that he was waiting for Spock to come through the worm hole as well. I would recommend reading this BEFORE reading the novel adaptation of the movie, rather than after. Really good and you better understand Nero's anger and hate, as well as his extreme dedication to vengeance.

[Patrick McWilliams · Rating 4 out of 5]

The explanation of Nero's escape from Rura Penthe was one of those only-in-comics situations, but I still liked it. This and the "Countdown" series give Nero some needed depth that unfortunately isn't able to be explored onscreen.

[John Yelverton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will completely change the way that you watch the movie, and make you feel more comfortable with the changes.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually wish that this one were longer. Wanted to see a bit more of what happened during the prison years. Love how this tied into Star Trek Into Brightness though.

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

47 Klingon ships surround the Narada. Thank you for that. The story is surprisingly fun and a great addition to the movie, especially due to the fact that it explains what leads to Nero's blind hatred and his wanting revenge on Vulcan and on Spock.

The Narada, though damaged, has survived travelling through the singularity into the past. Its mission of revenge against the Federation is ongoing. The members of the crew who want to return to Romulus are killed as they leave the ship on shuttles. The rest are captured and imprisoned by Klingons. They try to steal the technology on the Narada, but are unsuccessful.

For 25 years Nero's escape attempts fail until the ship, gaining a mind of its own, breaks them out by itself. It takes Nero and his crew to an unknown location where Nero melds with an entity that resulted from an ancient civilization. The entity called out to the Narada as a kindred spirit.

Nero uses a supercomputer inside the entity to calculate where and when Spock will appear. He still blames Spock for Romulus's destruction in the previous timeline. Spock's ship the Jellyfish doesn't stand a chance against the Narada. Nero intends to use the Red Matter on board the Jellyfish to destroy Vulcan. He also wants Spock to witness his homeworld's destruction. The story is continued in the movie.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

These comics are always in a weird place of trying to fill in gaps and provide character background without actually affecting anything for the screen-based-adventures. Since this character isn't likely to reappear on screen, you would think that this comic would be well-positioned for telling whatever story it wants to, and yet the tension has never felt so strong. On the one hand, this does what it says on the tin: we get backstory for Nero and fill in a whole bunch of the timeline for the character. On the other hand: this is wildly superfluous and the book can't resist taking us for a tour of unlikely Trek locations that feel fairly contrived. This one is for the Nero fanatics only, I guess?

[Andrew Geczy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent tie in

Just gives some needed context to Nero and his anger at Spock.

Also shows his journey between killing Kirk's dad and finding Spock.

It was weird in the movie imagining that they just sat around for like 25 years doing nothing.

But also is kinda ridiculous being expected to believe they went through all this in those 25 years and came out the other side exactly as they went in, unchanged.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that these graphic novels fill in blanks in the timeline of the movies. And most importantly, we learn a lot more about Nero. A further bonus is the appearance of V'ger who has a weird sentient-bond-thing with the Narada and Nero, and conveniently is able to help Nero calculate when Spock will arrive.

[Sean Loone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable read.
Good to fill in the blanks with Nero.
Well presented and written volume - great to read some of the dated early stuff too - just like a trip down memory lane. So something for everyone here.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fills in what Nero was up to in the 25 years his crew had to wait for Spock to show up in the Kelvin timeline of the Star Trek reboot. There's some good stuff in here and Messina is a good choice as artist.

[Raven Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good, love it but felt there needed to be a little more happening for the 25 years Nero was waiting for spok

[Kaitlynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a big fan of Star Trek but this was a very cool book. I like reading graphic novels every once in a while. It really helps me pass the time.

[Danny · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 above average, some good bits (V'Ger for one, the final 3 pages), some less (so the big secret of Nero's last 25 years ....was that he spent them all in prison)

[Shel Rothman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was amazing all around very interesting

[Stephen Olley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good fun.

[David Cavaco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome story about Nero's capture by the Klingons. Great art work!

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun expansion of Nero and what happened after George Kirk's sacrifice in Star Trek (2009). Also, got some nods to V'ger (even with the original ship (?) design).

[Rob Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid story that expands on the character of Nero prior to the 2009 movie. Unlike Countdown, this installment still holds up in light of Star Trek Picard.

[Carol Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting story on what Nero was up all those years waiting for Spock to show up.

I found parts of it to be WTF moments that made little sense.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the back story. The art not so much.