Star Trek: Countdown
The 4-issue miniseries takes place during the Next Generation era and tells the origin of the retcon monster Nero.
Nero is a Romulan miner who forges an uneasy alliance with Ambassador Spock when they both come to the same conclusion: the destruction of Romulus is imminent. A supernova in the nearby Hobus system is growing more powerful with each planet it consumes, threatening to destroy the entire galaxy. The only way to stop it is by creating an artificial singularity, a black hole, but to do that the Romulans and Vulcans will have to work together (read: bye-bye galaxy).
[spoilers]
Desperate to save his wife & unborn child, Nero disobeys the Romulan Senate and helps Spock, but warns him “If Romulus dies, I will hold your people responsible.” Spock eventually succeeds with the help of some old friends (Picard, Data, Geordi, & Worf) but not before Romulus is destroyed. In mourning Nero shaves & paints his head according to Romulan tradition, and true to his word sets out on a mission of vengeance. But how much damage can a miner do?
Plenty when his ship (the Narada) gets some Borg upgrades from a secret Romulan outpost called the Vault. After toying with Enterprise, Nero follows Spock to the singularity just in time to get sucked in with him (one guess where they come out).
A bald “nemesis” & a Borg ship that time travels into the past? Not very original. And it’s never adequately explained why Nero is so angry with Spock or why he didn’t evacuate his wife just in case they didn’t succeed. Talk about plot holes.
Undoubtedly this will all be recapped in the movie. In fact, Nero’s wife is listed in the credits so at the very least there will be flashbacks to explain his motivation. Just don’t feel obligated to shell out $15.95 for a minseries that’s more TNG fanservice than backstory.
