George Washington is alive and well - watch out Mr. Spock! – "The Legacy of Lazarus" was a Star Trek comic book story published by Gold Key Comics in 1971, the 9th issue of their TOS series. It was Len Wein's debut as writer and the ninth story drawn by Alberto Giolitti.
Description[]
- In the stygian void of space, the Enterprise discovers a planet inhabited by every famous person in the history of Earth — a veritable museum world that threatens to write finish to the lives of the Enterprise crew — for when the past meets the present ... only one can survive!
Summary[]
Part I[]
Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu and Uhura are surrounded by famous people from Earth history wielding clubs and swords. Levelling his phaser at the historical figures, Kirk says they will go down fighting…
- Captain's log, star date 10:26.3
- We've established orbit around Gamma Alpha V to verify findings of the robot probe that discovered this planet ten years ago…
Although the probe reported the planet as uninhabited, Spock's sensors now detect a large city on the surface. Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu and Uhura beam down to the city, where Kirk is stunned to recognize the first inhabitant he approaches as George Washington. Washington explains that the city's people have been there for as long as they can remember. A huge silver spire in the center of the city is off-limits to them. Kirk orders Spock and Sulu to investigate the tower, while Washington introduces Kirk, McCoy and Uhura to some of the city's other residents, including Emperor Nero, Abraham Lincoln, and Anton York, 45th President of the United States of America, who refers to Kirk and his crewmates as "new additions". When Kirk is unable to contact Spock, the three Enterprise officers rush to the silver spire, where Sulu is recovering from a blow to the head. Spock has disappeared.
In a cavern miles beneath the city, Spock is seated in a chair, his hands manacled behind his back. He is the prisoner of a man who identifies himself as Alexander Lazarus, an Earth historian. Lazarus explains how he fled Earth after being discredited by a computer malfunction. He gathered his android assistants and traveled to Gamma Alpha V, where the androids set up his computer in the underground cavern and built the silver spire above it. The spire is a receiver for the brain-waves of famous people throughout Earth's history, which are recorded on punch-cards. One day one of Lazarus' androids was caught in a burst of energy from the computer and was transformed into Benjamin Franklin in both body and mind. The androids constructed the city around the antenna, and Lazarus then built more androids and turned them into duplicates of famous people from Earth's past. However, Lazarus has now grown bored of their reminiscences. Spock's arrival has inspired him to study Vulcan history – for which he will need Spock's brain…
Part II[]
- Captain's log, stardate 10:26.8
- Upon beaming down to the planet Gamma Alpha V, we've discovered something incredible—a city peopled by every famous person who ever walked the Earth! While examining a strange silver tower in the city's center, Mr. Spock disappeared! Even now, my first officer—my friend—is somewhere on this planet, perhaps in terrible danger!
The psi-clone of Lazarus' computer can only receive the thoughts of humans, not Vulcans. To enable it to accept Vulcan brain-waves, Lazarus needs to absorb and record Spock's brain-patterns with a "brain-drain" device, destroying Spock's mind in the process. An alarm alerts Lazarus to the fact that Sulu has discovered a hatchway, which Kirk orders him to pry open. Lazarus twists a control on his computer console, then points a phaser at Spock.
On the surface, Kirk has the hatch partway open when Washington punches him on the chin. A mob of historical figures armed with clubs attacks the Enterprise officers, accusing them of treachery. Kirk refuses to beam up without Spock and orders the group's phasers set on heavy stun. At Lazarus' direction Spock rises from the chair, but then knocks the phaser from his hand, having freed himself from the manacles. Lazarus regains the phaser and fires at Spock, but misses, and Spock wrests the gun from him. Refusing to surrender, Lazarus runs and accidentally stumbles into the "brain-drain" machine. Spock is unable to free him, and the device kills him. The computer, damaged by Lazarus' phaser blasts, begins to go haywire. Spock contacts Scotty on the Enterprise and orders him to beam the others up; Spock wants to save Lazarus' records.
The historical figures are getting the better of Kirk and his group when Scotty beams them up. Kirk is horrified to learn that Spock is still on the planet and contacts him by communicator, but Scotty says he is too far underground to be transported. Kirk orders Scotty to turn the transporter up to full, but Spock says it is too late as the cavern crumbles around him. Sensors show the cavern as destroyed, but Kirk refuses to believe Spock is dead, and at that moment Scotty succeeds in beaming him up. Spock orders the helmsman to get the ship away from the planet at warp factor five. Gamma Alpha V explodes; Enterprise is hit by the shockwaves, but survives. Spock regrets not having saved the computer tapes, and Kirk muses on man's need for the heroes of the past.
Log entries[]
- See also: Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), 2264 • Voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), Year One
References[]
Characters[]
- Napoléon Bonaparte (android) • Benjamin Franklin (android) • Helen of Troy (android) • Adolf Hitler (android) • James T. Kirk • Alexander Lazarus • Abraham Lincoln (android) • Nero (android) • Leonard McCoy • Montgomery Scott • William Shakespeare (android) • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura • Spock • George Washington (android) • Anton York (android)
- Referenced only
- Alexander the Great • Winston Churchill • Cleopatra • Hermann Göring • Henry VIII • Louis XIV of France • Florence Nightingale
Locations[]
- Referenced only
- Rome • Earth • Sol system
Starships and vehicles[]
Races and cultures[]
States and organizations[]
Science and classification[]
- psi-clone • android • antenna • communicator • computer • phaser • plexiglass • transporter • tri-corder • sensor • space probe • robot probe
Ranks and titles[]
- captain • chancellor • chief engineer • chief medical officer • commander • commanding officer • communications officer • doctor • emperor • first officer • general • helmsman • lieutenant • lieutenant commander • president (President of the United States of America)
Other references[]
- alarm • Battle of Austerlitz • brain • captain's log • class M planet • city • Heaven • historian • landing party • log entry • manacles • orbit • planet • plexiglass • Star Date • uniform (Starfleet uniform • Starfleet uniform (2265-2270)) • wizard
Chronology[]
- 21st century
- Anton York serves as 45th President of the United States of America.
- 2256
- Robot probe charts Gamma Alpha V
- 2266
- The Enterprise visits Gamma Alpha V.
Appendices[]
Background[]
- Due to artists unfamiliar with the Star Trek series, this issue features Dr. McCoy wearing a command division green-gold Starfleet uniform, rather than his proper sciences division blue uniform. Scotty is also shown, with reddish-brown hair, wearing such a command uniform, although in his case the uniform is explainable – as second officer, he can properly wear command colors as an alternative to his regular operations division uniforms. Scotty makes switches between command and operations uniforms in his last few movie appearances.
- This story has been released 11 times in English and has been translated 13 times into other languages: Portuguese (3x), French (3x), Italian (2x), Serbian (2x), Dutch, German, and Spanish.
- The reprint in The Enterprise Logs, Volume 2 omitted page 5, in which George Washington invited the landing party to dinner and introduced them to his wife, Helen of Troy.
Images[]
.jpg "Hitler (Gold Key).jpg (14 KB)")
Connections[]
Timeline[]
| Published Order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: #8: The Youth Trap |
TOS comics (Gold Key) | Next comic: #10: Sceptre of the Sun |
| Previous story: first Star Trek story |
Stories by: Len Wein |
Next story: Sceptre of the Sun |
| Chronological Order | ||
| Previous adventure: Alien Spotlight: Orions |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: The Brain Shockers |
| Previous comic: Uhura's Story Backstory |
Voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), Year One | Next comic: The Brain Shockers |
Production history[]
- February 1971
- First published by Gold Key Comics
- 1971
- Printed in hardcover in Star Trek Annual 1972 (World Distributors Limited)
- 1974
- Printed in b/w in Star Trek Comic Album (1974) (World Distributors Limited)
- 1974
- Printed b/w in Australia in Star Trek #24052 (Rosnock Publications)
- 1974
- Printed b/w in Hong Kong and the Philippines in Star Trek #24052 (South Pacific Publications)
- August 1976
- Printed in the omnibus The Enterprise Logs, Volume 2 (Golden Press)
- 1 April 1978 - 3 June 1978
- Serialized in Mighty TV Comic #1372 - 1381
- June 2004
- Printed in the omnibus The Key Collection, Volume 2 (Checker Book Publishing Group)
- 2004
- The cover, two images and a quote were reprinted on Gold Key Chase Card #9 in the card set Quotable Star Trek (Rittenhouse Archives)
- September 2008
- Included on The Complete Comic Book Collection DVD (Graphic Imaging Technologies)
- August 2014
- Remastered in hardcover in the omnibus Gold Key Archives, Volume 2 (IDW)
- 27 April 2017
- Remastered in hardcover in the omnibus Graphic Novel Collection #9 (Eaglemoss)
Translations[]
- November 1972
- Portuguese: As "A Herança de Lazarus" in b/w in Jornada Nas Estrelas #12 (1st series) (Ebal)
- January 1973
- Italian: In Star Trek Albi Spada #9 (Edizioni Fratelli Spada)
- February 1973
- French: As "L'héritage de Lazarus" in Star Trek #3 (1st series) (Remparts)
- 15 September 1973
- Spanish: As "El Científico Loco" in TV Mundial #257 Viaje a las Estrellas (Editorial Novaro)
- 1973
- French: In the omnibus Star Trek Album #3 (Remparts)
- 1974
- Dutch: As "De Nalatenschap van Lazarus" in b/w in Star Trek #3 (De Vrijbuiter)
- 1 June 1975
- Serbian: In TV 3AБABHИK
- 1976
- German: As "Das Vermächtnis des Lazarus" in Zack 1976 #14 (Koralle)
- June 1976
- Portuguese: As "A Herança de Lazarus" in Jornada Nas Estrelas #4 (2nd Series) (Abril)
- 2 March 1977
- Serbian: In Denis #42
- 16 May 1978
- Portuguese: In b/w in O Caminho das Estrelas #9 (Aguiar)
- November 1978
- French: As “Le Legs de Lazarus” in Rin Tin Tin et Rusty #106 (Sagédition)
- 2005
- Italian: In the omnibus The Gold Key Collection, Volume 3 (Free Books)
External links[]
- The Legacy of Lazarus article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Len Wein's Gold Key Comics article at The Fire and Water Podcast.