Beware the Beast

Beware the Beast, or UK comic strips, third story arc, was a Star Trek: The Original Series comic strip published in 1969. It was the third story in the UK comic strips series, and was released in four parts, in issues of Joe 90: Top Secret. In this story, the crew of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) searched for missing families of sentient apes on the planet Angoma.

Publisher's description

 * Teaser summary, April 12, 1969:
 * Captain Kirk and members of the Starship Enterprise’s crew are captured by Mantis insects and placed in a zoo.

Summary
A friendly sword-fight with James T. Kirk and Angoman Gif in a stadium full of gorillas was just the start of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)’s diplomatic visit to Angoma. During a dinner with King Kut, an Angoman reported that his family had vanished, another of a series of unexplained disappearances. Kirk volunteered to investigate, and brought a team of crewmen with him to the Angoman’s house. But, once there, they were suddenly transported offworld, rematerializing behind the bars of a cage.

Aboard the Enterprise, David Bailey tried to track the mysterious transporter beam but was unable to find its source, so Spock ordered the ship to travel along the path of interference caused by the beam.

Kirk and his men were confronted by three Mantis, who entered the cage and shocked the people unconscious with metal rods. Hours later, when they awoke, they were just one of numerous exhibits in a zoo. All attempts to communicate with the giant, sentient praying-mantis species were ignored. After nightfall, the crew used their lasers to disintegrate their cage bars and escape. They released one of the missing Angomans and inadvertently released an enormous Nogik spider, who threatened to crush one of the crew with its pincers until it was killed by weapons fire. A pair of Mantis chased the crew and the Angoman into a building. They located a transporter with an extremely long-range set it to return them to Angoma, but instead materialized on the rocky terrain of an unknown planet. Spotted and chased by savage humanoid natives, the group fled into underbrush, but were captured in a large net.

Meanwhile, the Enterprise arrived in orbit of the Mantis planet. Hinton, Spock and three others took a space wagon to the surface and repelled a wave of attacking Mantis, firing needle-guns set with non-lethal paralyser charges. Spock released a caged humanoid, a government official from Dobrovia, who said that Kirk’s group had already escaped to another world. The official led Spock’s team to the Mantis transporter and beamed them where Kirk went. Spock’s team spotted a large fire and tracked down Kirk’s group, who had been tied to posts and were about to be burned alive by the savages, now revealed to be cannibals. The natives fled at Spock’s approach, and Kirk’s group was released.

The next day, back on Angoma, a team from the Enterprise played a game of soccer with one of the gorillas, losing to the ape’s far greater agility by a score of 16-2.

Characters

 * David Bailey • Gif • Hinton • Kut • James T. Kirk • Spock • Unnamed Dobrovian • Unnamed crewmen

Starships and vehicles

 * USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) • space wagon

Locations

 * Angoma (stadium) • Mantis planet (Mantis zoo • transporter) • Unnamed planet of cannibals

Dobrovia • Earth • Nogik

Races and cultures

 * Angoman • cannibal • Dobrovian • Mantis

Science and technology

 * needle-gun

Ranks and titles

 * cabinet member • captain • crewman • Earthman • king

Other references

 * cage • cannibals • diplomat • insects • Nogik spider • net • shield • soccer • spear • spider • sports • sword • zoo

Chronology
The presence of Bailey on the Enterprise places this story early in the year 2266, before the events of "The Corbomite Maneuver".

Production history

 * 1969
 * March
 * 29th, pages 1-2 published in Joe 90: Top Secret #11.
 * April
 * 5th, pages 3-4 published in Joe 90: Top Secret #12.
 * 12th, pages 5-6 published in Joe 90: Top Secret #13.
 * 19th, pages 7-8 published in Joe 90: Top Secret #14.

Background

 * This story was published in four two-page sections over four consecutive weeks in issues 11 to 14 of the Joe 90: Top Secret magazine, starting March 29, 1969.
 * The story was not printed with a title, but it was given one (Beware the Beast) for its reprinting in the omnibus The Classic UK Comics, Volume 1.
 * It was unstated, but based on them having a celebratory soccer game one day after Kirk returned to the Enterprise, it seemed that the other missing Angomans had been rescued and returned.
 * An inconsistent number of crewmen were seen with Kirk. Two entered a building with Kirk, yet four were seen dematerializing. Between three and five were seen in the zoo cage. After a missing gorilla was released, four were seen. Going forward after the encounter with the Nogik spider, three were seen. Yet none of the crewmen were killed or left behind.
 * The writer seemed unfamiliar with Starfleet weapons terminology. Spock ordered the use of needle-guns with paralyser charges to avoid killing, rather than using phasers set to stun.

Related stories

 * – Christopher Pike was trapped in a zoo on Talos IV.
 * – Starfleet officers were trapped in a zoo on Lactra VII.
 * – The Huraen, members of the Lalairu trading group, also resembled praying mantis.