Picard: Countdown 3 - Background Info Abounds

If ever a delay told you a thousand stories...

The third and final issue of the prequel comic for Picard landed just after its premiere and you can kind of see why there was a delay given some of the material contained therein.

Note - there are unavoidable story spoilers to follow...

Countdown returns us to Yuyat Beta where Picard and Raffi have managed to avoid imprisonment discover that not all is well within the Romulan populace. 

Revealing a little more than the producers might have wanted to tell about a couple of characters ahead of Remembrance, issue three explores what seems to be a good commander and first officer relationship between "JL" and Raffi. Indeed, it appears that this story takes place just before the attack on Mars and Picard's subsequent resignation from Starfleet.

The action is pretty fast-paced here with us returning to the settlement to discover what the Romulan governor has been up to - and we find that their goal is not what it might at first have seemed. 

Issue three shows us that there has been some headway between the Romulans and Starfleet/the Federation but not a lot considering the dire straits of the former. The biggest factor here is in what we discover about Laris and Zhaban and ultimately how they come to be in Picard's employ at the estate. The characters in the show have received a little fleshing out and their reveal to be members of the Tal'Shiar came in episode two and not as it would have done in this comic had the original release schedule been adhered to. 

My thoughts are that the choice to delay - if it was for that reason - were wise, allowing viewers to query exactly what had driven them to Picard's side rather than remain in the crumbling Empire. Reading issue three after Maps and Legends ties in very nicely and actually makes the two much more distinct in their personalities so the writers here have to be given adequate credit for building on their characters. 

Also significantly and wisely, the relentless nature of the Tal'Shiar resonates through this story and most prominently in this issue - one thing that has already been of the greatest importance in the opening salvos of Picard itself. The distrust of the Romulans is something we have seen since The Original Series although truly manifested most decisively in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. Here it still exists, especially when help is coming from a most unlikely source and we know that that source will ultimately let them down.

Picard: Countdown, you realise is one heck of a significant story once you pair it up with the TV series - it's Picard's final mission out in space, his final chance to make a difference and here he stands by all the values we would expect from Starfleet's most revered commander. If you've enjoyed the flashback pieces included in the show so far this will help your understanding that little bit more and since it comes from the pen of Kirsten Beyer who is part of the series' writing staff, you can be confident that this is recognised as fully canon material within the Star Trek Universe.

Picard: Countdown Issues 1,2 and 3 are available now.

You can read our coverage of the trilogy here

What were the key points you took from Countdown?

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Picard: Countdown Issue 2 AND Trailer Spots

Picard is captured, the Romulans are in danger of extinction...

Sounds like an average day in Starfleet and probably a quiet one for Admiral Jean-Luc in this second issue of the Countdown series coming ahead of the January series premiere.

Picking up where issue one left off (shocker), the story continues on the three fronts; briefly the Romulans arriving at Chateau Picard and then on the surface of Yuyat Beta and, before you forget it's there, aboard the USS Verity in orbit.

Now, I'm going to say this pretty straight, I'm not sure I'm seeing much of the point to these three prequel comic issues ahead of January 23rd. The artwork is fantastic, the story itself is well plotted but we know what Picard was involved with that "leads" into the series and I can't decide whether these are clever spoilers, winks or just a general tease. These events have already "happened" if you will by the time we are reacquainted with the former Enterprise captain and this tale appears to be a story within the overall evacuation story.

So we can see that the Romulans are unwilling to aid the native population of Yuyat Beta from being destroyed when the Hobus star goes supernova and we can understand the moral dilemma facing Admiral Picard but will this be an incident that is closely linked into the events of the series? Will this be mentioned or is it going to be a never-mentioned sub-paragraph of one day in the life...?

Picard proposes to step out into new territory and with Countdown we are at least getting a hint of what that future and Starfleet itself is looking like from a physical perspective. It has linked in at least one of Jean-Luc's new crew into his backstory and I believe that the Romulans we are seeing in the "present" rather than the evacuation timeline may be the more prevalent element of the narrative yet to this stage are being incredibly well under-played as a footnote.

Over in trailerville though, we've had some new material on the show. Not a great deal of new info thrown out in the latest teaser but we do get more footage of Picard and Riker  plus a little more of Seven and Picard's conversation at (what I expect) is the Picard vineyard. 

Most interesting has to be the new shots of the updated-for-2019 Borg drone quite literally flashed into the opening seconds of the trailer as well as the Entertainment Weekly shot of Hugh's drastic new look which does have some lineage back to his heavily prosthetic-covered look last seen in the conclusion of Descent from 1993.

The makeup is definitely in line with the First Contact/Voyager Borg we were used to after 1996 but might this be a freed drone?

We also have Federation ships of a new and unknown design flashing by some form of starbase structure as well as what might be a good, clear crisp shot of the rear of the hero ship from the show. Unusually they're firing red energy weapons which we would expect from a Klingon craft.

I've included some of the new shots below for perusal - not a lot to discuss from these I feel but well worth a look over. Perhaps the best shot in there we haven't seen before is early on with Picard seated in front of what looks like the curved windows from Ten Forward. Could this be part of a flashback or dream sequence including Data? Are we going to be dipping onboard the D and E more than we have been let into?

New ship on approach?

Jean-Luc in Ten Forward perhaps? Or is this on another starship...?

At home with Seven - who also got her very own mini-trailer (shot below)

New Borg makeup in close. Still retaining the veined facial appearance with familiar looking eyewear and hoses. I don't think there's been a lot of changes from the '96 update.

New character we've not seen in the trailers before

Close look at the apparently damaged Borg Cube. We've been thinking the Romulans are in control of this but what if it's Starfleet?

Then there was a little second trailer that gave us a few more new looks at Troi, Riker plus the latest variation of the Starfleet uniform as below...

At home with the Rikers - Picard drops by for advice?

Location unknown - what might they be looking for?

New uniforms - take note of the All Good Things... combadge and the medal/badge on the opposite side. Plus - first Vulcan of the new series?

Backing up the curved windows shot near the top of this selection, those wall tiles look awfully familiar...

Not as welcome as we thought? More to Picard's visit to the Romulan village?

What have you spotted in the trailer or Countdown that will be a key part of Picard?

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Picard: Countdown - Let the Revelations Begin

Next month...Picard.

POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD...

For now though we get to revel in the buildup which will without question be fired up like a bonfire soaked in petrol through the release of the Countdown series for the upcoming CBS All Access show.

Written by Star Trek comic legend Mike Johnson and novelist turned Discovery scripter Kirsten Beyer, this first 32 pages opens up a few tantalising glimpses into the future beyond the climax of Nemesis and into the Earth years 2385 and 2386.

It's not too much of a giveaway to note that we find out where Geordi La Forge ended up as well as where Picard's career took him once he was off the Enterprise.  Now, the recent Picard exhibition revealed that he was placed on special assignment from the flagship and I would surmise that this is that very mission. Now an admiral, Picard has planted his flag aboard the Odyssey Class USS Verity to spearhead the evacuation of a large section of Romulan space ahead of an impending supernova that will cause mass destruction across the Empire.

Now we know the results of this to some degree from the 2009 reboot but here we get to step back a little further and see the developments to that point and one might hope some of the events that will lead to Picard's departure from Starfleet.

The evacuation of one colony is the starting point here and while I won't go into the twists and turns too much, it's very much keeping in the Star Trek mould from The Next Generation.

There are also a few hints that the Enterprise herself is still out there (but no specifics if it's the E) and we also get to see just how Raffi Musiker and Picard were acquainted before the series.

What of course this will counter is the original Countdown written to link in with the JJ Abrahms reboot if only in regards to uniforms let alone any of the plot points. That was an excellent piece and, from memory, regarded as canon by the movie production. My belief too is that this series of comics will be considered canon given the writing credentials attached to the project and there might be a bit of conflict versus that earlier work.

The choice of the Odyssey Class is an interesting one too, bringing Online into the fold more than ever before and recognising the ship designs as part of this later universe expansion. This could suggest Picard will be taking inspiration from the online game and retroactively tying multiple aspects together and even managing to add in aspects of the bridge design.

Issue one really just sets up the scene and the moral dilemma for Picard with the focus firmly on the Romulan Empire. No hints at the Borg connection so far but as this is only thr beginning I wouldn't be surprised if they, and other The Next Generation alumni, turn up in issue two. Remember too that the Narada from the 2009 movie was outfitted with Borg tech which again would nicely tie into the apparent scope of Picard. 

I've not been a big comic reader for a while (not since the Graphic Novel collection went to four issues per month and priced itself out of my wallet) but this one has to be seen as an essential read prior to January. Something tells me it will dovetail in...

Oh and one more thing - that cover...what the hell is going on with Picard's neck?!

What are you expecting from the comic series ahead of Picard?

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