Finally, we’ve reached the fifth and final issue of ‘Star Trek: Khan’. I say finally because it was fairly easy to guess the plot from the first issue, and it’s just been a long slog to “I was right from the beginning”.
So, if you’ve missed the same review I gave to the other four comics, here it is again in all its overarching glory.
The plot hinges on one question: “Why doesn’t the alternate universe Khan look like Ricardo Montalban?” You can’t change a person of color’s role to a white person, and then retroactively legitimize why you did that even in non-cannon comic books. You just can’t.
Even if in this comic, Khan gets angry and accuses Admiral Marcus of robbing him his face and identity, it doesn’t change the fact that the filmmakers took a character role from a population that has nough trouble getting roles as it is, and then try to legitimize why they whitewashed the part.
Why Khan wouldn’t choose to change his identity after he realized what was done to him is an open question. I would imagine that with his old face, he’d have an easier time hiding as no one check the databases for someone from two centuries ago. Why he keeps the face of John Harrison even in the end, despite having every right to having it back, seems more than a little bizarre to me.
Though, really, if they didn’t do that, it would remain a boring comic. It doesn’t really reveal anything new about his character, and all of it was said or implied at some part of the series and the movies (both original and alternate).
The classic open ending of sending Khan back into space thinking “well, hopefully someone else won’t wake him again” feels more than a little patronizing. I guess we’ll be seeing Khan in the comics soon.
Essentially, if you’re a Khan fan, skip it. If you’re not, skip it. If you like the new movies, well… maybe consider it, but don’t really expect anything earth shattering.
STAR TREK KHAN #5
Writer: Mike Johnson
Artist: David Messina
Cover: Paul Shipper
