Behold the idol who demands the death of the three strangers! — "The Cosmic Cavemen" was a Star Trek comic book story published by Gold Key Comics in 1973, the 17th issue of their TOS series. It was the 15th story drawn by Alberto Giolitti and the first written by Arnold Drake.
In this story, on the planet Neesan, Kirk, McCoy and Scotty were stunned to see an idol of Spock worshiped by the natives, primitive people who were now sentencing them to death.
Description[]
- As they fly the endless seas of space, the crew of the starship Enterprise constantly "weigh anchor" at strange and dangerous ports of call. But none so unusual as the planet Neesan, where fire is magic, the wheel unknown, and cavemen reign supreme!
Summary[]
Part I[]
On the planet Neesan, Kirk, McCoy and Scotty are stunned to see an idol of Spock worshiped by the natives, primitive people who are now sentencing them to death...
- Captain's log: star date 19:24.3 In standard orbit around the uncharted planet we have named Neesan, our sensors and scanners have brought back strange tidings...
Spock discovers lifeforms on the planet. The lifeforms are at the Stone Age level of development and Captain Kirk orders that the crew observe the Prime Directive and not interfere in their culture. Kirk decides to lead a landing party down to the surface to quietly observe the inhabitants.
On arrival on the surface, the party is attacked by primitive men riding pterodactyls and carrying spears. After a brief fight with the primitives, Kirk and his party surrender to the men to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed. As Spock calls via communicator to check on the party's progress, it is smashed by a primitive who is frightened by the "spirit voice in a small box".
Kirk and his party are led into a cave system where they are put before Lok-the-Wise, who tells Kirk that she "saw" the landing party tresspassing on the sacred ground of Unruho using her telepathic abilities. The penalty for trespassing is death, and they are led to face the statue of Unruho, and discover that it is the image of Spock, flanked by strange carved creatures. The party attempt to make their escape but are stopped by Lok after she blows Backi tree powder from the local trees that put the party to sleep.
Kirk's head is on the execution block when Spock is beamed into the area and is instantly hailed as Unruho. Kirk, McCoy and Scotty awaken to find maidens ministering to them. Spock dismisses the natives, who are called the Tol people; he does not know why they have made a statue of him. The Tol are about to be attacked by the Kovars, a more savage tribe, but the Enterprise officers must not aid them. Scotty is enjoying Lok's company when they are charged by a Kovar advance guard riding a powerful creature...
Part II[]
- Captain's log: star date 19.24.5 For some unexplained reason, the Tol people of the planet Neesan believe Mr. Spock to be a god, which saved the rest of us from execution. But then we found ourselves in the middle of a war...
Scotty carries Lok into the woods, and they rejoin the others. The Enterprise officers beam back to the ship, Scotty fondly bidding Lok farewell. Back on the Enterprise, McCoy points out that Lok took Scotty's phaser; Kirk and Scotty beam back down to recover it and preserve the Prime Directive. They dodge a party of mounted Kovars, but must go around them to get to the Tols. The two tribes meet in battle. Lok draws the phaser to protect the idol, but Scotty and Kirk climb over the carved head of Spock to confront her. She threatens to kill Scotty, but Kirk kicks the phaser from her hand, and he and Scotty escape. Kirk uses his phaser to cause a rockslide, cutting off their Kovar pursuers, but more Kovars appear and knock them unconscious.
On the Enterprise, Spock realizes why the Tols consider him a god: early in the Enterprise's mission, on the planet Dukar, Spock encountered a huge creature similar to those carved on either side of the idol of Unruho. Briefly panic-stricken, Spock sent out an uncontrolled telepathic cry for help before stopping the creature with his phaser. Lok received Spock's message, mistook it for a vision of Unruho and ordered the carving of the statue.
The Kovars destroy the idol and prepare to burn Kirk and Scotty to death, but Spock again appears and is hailed as Unruho by the Tols. Jeebo, the Kovars' chief, refuses to believe in Spock's divinity and tries to hit him with an ax, but Spock uses the transporter to disappear from one spot and reappear in another. Jeebo is restrained by his followers, who now believe Spock is Unruho. The Tols and Kovars pledge to live in peace. Lok promises to build a much larger statue of Spock, but he tells her to build no idols to him: "The spirit of the universe is everywhere – in every form! And your finest worship lies in the deeds of your lives!"
Scotty again bids farewell to Lok, who tells him she shall see him wherever he goes and gives him a crystal flower as a parting gift. Back on the Enterprise, Spock makes a snide remark about Lok's flower; Scotty nearly punches him, but Kirk breaks up the argument.
References[]
Characters[]
- Jeebo • James T. Kirk • Lok • Leonard McCoy • Montgomery Scott • Spock
- Referenced only
- Unruho
Starships and vehicles[]
Locations[]
Races and cultures[]
States and organizations[]
Science and classification[]
- ax • bullet • club • communicator • cudgel • gunpowder • nuclear furnace • phaser • scanner • sensor • spear • technology • transporter • weapon • weapon belt
Ranks and titles[]
Other references[]
- animal • art • Backi tree • bagpipe • blood • button • canyon • captain's log • cave • caveman • cave painting • crystal flower • dinosaur • drum • Dukar dinosaur • execution • execution block • fire • god • Golden Fonts • grass • heather • heaven • idol • knock-out powder • lifeform • light-year • love • magic • mentalist • Neesan armadillo • Neesan caribou • Neesan pterodactyl • nuclear furnace room • pterodactyl • pterosaur • orbit • peace • physiology • pipe • planet • porridge • Prime Directive • queen • Scotsman • sea • "Sleep of Eternity" • solar system • solar wind • solar-wind storm • space • spirit • statue • Stone Age • stun • supernatural • tea party • telepathy • tribe • truck • universe • Vulcan palm tree • war • wheel
Chronology[]
Appendices[]
Related media[]
- TOS episode: "The Galileo Seven", TOS comics: "The Animal People", "And a Child Shall Lead Them" – Additional encounters with Stone Age cultures.
- TOS episode: "The Immunity Syndrome" – In 2268, from long range Spock sensed the death cries of Vulcans aboard the USS Intrepid.
- TOS comic: "Mutiny on the Dorado" – In 2266, Spock's long-range telepathy with his cousin Horek led to the recovery of the Dorado.
- TOS comic: "Revolt on Dak-Alpha" – In the 2260s, large statues were made of Kirk, Spock and their landing party.
- TOS comic: "Tomorrow or Yesterday"– In 2273, Kirk, Spock and McCoy discovered 24,000-year-old statues of themselves.
- TOS comic: "Aberration on Abaris" – In 2273, archeologists uncovered a 5,000 year-old wall sculpture of the refit USS Enterprise.
Background[]
- This issue marked the first time in Gold Key that Scott's uniform was colored red, Kirk's was gold, and McCoy's was blue. In previous issues, they all wore green-colored shirts.
- When Kirk, McCoy and Scotty were brought before the idol of Unruho, the panel was partly copied from the story's splash page, but McCoy and Scotty have traded positions. Each is in the same pose as the other was on the earlier page.
- Scotty said he once studied physiology.
- After Kirk triggered the rockslide, one of Scotty's word balloons came from Kirk.
Images[]
.jpg "Lok (Tol).jpg (149 KB)")
Connections[]
Timeline[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: #16: Day of the Inquisitors |
TOS comics (Gold Key) | Next comic: #18: The Hijacked Planet |
| Previous story: first story |
Stories by: Arnold Drake |
Next story: The Hijacked Planet |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous adventure: The Devil's Isle of Space |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: Dwarf Planet |
| Previous comic: The Devil's Isle of Space |
Voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), Year Two | Next comic: Dwarf Planet |
| The above chronology placements are based on the primary placement in 2266. The Memory Beta Chronology places events from this story in 1 other timeframe(s): | ||
| Previous adventure: Dark Traveler |
c. 2265 Spock's visit to Dukar |
Next adventure: Furlough to Fury 2265 flashback |
Production history[]
- February 1973
- First published by Gold Key Comics.
- August 1974
- Printed in hardcover in Star Trek Annual 1975 (World Distributors Limited)
- August 1976
- Printed in the omnibus The Enterprise Logs, Volume 2 (Golden Press)
- June 2004
- Printed in the omnibus The Key Collection, Volume 3 (Checker Book Publishing Group)
- 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 3 (IDW)
- 14 September 2017
- Remastered in hardcover in the omnibus Graphic Novel Collection #19 (Eaglemoss)
Translations[]
- 1970s
- French: In the omnibus Star Trek Album #5 (Remparts)
- October 1974
- French: As "Les Hommes de la Caverne du Cosmos" in Star Trek #11 (Remparts)
- 15 November 1974
- Italian: As "Il Cavernicoli Cosmici" in Albi Spada #6 (2nd series) (Edizioni Fratelli Spada)
- 1974
- Finnish: As "Kosminen Luolamies" in Avaruusmatka Star Trek #4 (Apulehti)
- 1975
- Dutch: As "De Holenmensen van de Ruimt" in b/w in Star Trek #7 (De Vrijbuiter)
- September 1976
- Portuguese: As "Os Primitivos Cósmicos" in Jornada Nas Estrelas #5 (Abril)
- 25 May 1976
- Spanish: In Domingos Alegres #1153 Viaje a las Estrellas (Editorial Novaro)
- 1976
- German: Serialized over two issues as "Der Planet des Steinernen Gottes" and "Spock und die Barbaren" in Zack 1976 #10-11 (Koralle)
- 1978
- Portuguese: As "Homens das Cavernas No Cosmos" in b/w in O Caminho das Estrelas #19 (Aguiar)
- 2006
- Italian: As "I Cavernicoli del Cosmo" in the omnibus The Gold Key Collection, Volume 5 (Free Books)
External links[]
- The Cosmic Cavemen article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Audio dramatization at Star Trek Comic Book Review.
- Gold Key Archives volume 3, part 2 discussion at Literary Treks Podcast.
- Gold Key Archives volume 3 article at Now Read This!