Comic(s) Relief: Star Trek/Planet Of The Apes Crossover Is A Thing That’s Happening

Will they make a monkey out of Kirk?

By David Wharton | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

ApesWhile the Star Trek universe has kept to itself on the movie and TV screens, things have gotten a bit more crazy when it comes to the comic books. I remember reading a Star Trek/X-Men crossover series back in the ’90s that was just…odd. More recently, the Assimilation2 mini-series saw the Next Generation crew teaming up with the Matt Smith-era Doctor to foil the plots of a nefarious Borg/Cybermen scheme. And back in 2011 things got really freaking weird during IDW’s Infestation crossover event, which roped the original Enterprise crew into an adventure with the Ghostbusters, the Transformers, and G.I. Joe. (I didn’t say it was a good adventure…) Well, things are about to get surreal once again, because IDW Publishing and Boom! Studios have just announced that the Original Series crew will be dealing with some damn dirty apes in an upcoming comics mini-series entitled Star Trek: Planet of the Apes – The Primate Directive.

And really, they should just call it quits right there. They’ve peaked with the brilliance of “The Primate Directive” — it can only go downhill from here. But I’m sure somebody’s already started drawing the damn thing, so we’ll just have to soldier on. And in case you were wondering, this will be a purely old-school affair: The Primate Directive will see James Kirk and company encountering Charlton Heston’s wayward astronaut George Taylor, not to mention a bunch of simians straight out of the classic Planet of the Apes movies. Sorry, Caesar: mo-capped monkeys need not apply.

There’s no word on a release date yet, but here’s the press release for the series, which will no doubt be full-on bananas. Ooh-ooh, ahh ahh.

Planet of the Apes and Star Trek are groundbreaking science-fiction properties and both deal with many of the same social issues and themes,’ says Greg Goldstein, IDW President & Chief Operating Officer. ‘A crossover between the two is a natural and long overdue.’

‘Before I could read comic books as a child, I could watch science fiction on my television. My dad used to wake me up way past my bedtime to watch Star Trek in syndication — it came on after the nightly news — and I took a Planet of the Apes lunchbox with me to kindergarten every day,’ says BOOM! Studios Founder and CEO Ross Richie. ‘Suffice to say, teaming up these two titans of science fiction on the page in a way that they probably will never meet each other on the silver screen is a huge moment for me personally and emotionally.’

The creative team will be a mix of proven experience and new blood with scripts by beloved Star Trek scribes Scott and David Tipton (Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation 2) and interior art and covers by the British newcomer Rachael Stott. ‘With the Klingons secretly backing a renegade gorilla general in a coup for control of Ape City, Captain Kirk finds himself in the uncomfortable position of having to help out Dr. Zaius’ orangutans,’ explains David Tipton. ‘Taylor won’t be happy with that!’

‘What an epic pairing! I’m so excited to see Taylor, Kirk…and those damned dirty apes…in our upcoming comic,’ says IDW editor Sarah Gaydos, ‘We’re eager to team up these exciting creative forces to bring this to life.’

THIS WEEK’S SCI-FI COMICS

BlackScience7Black Science #7 (Image Comics)

THE SECOND ARC OF THE SMASH SCI-FI HIT BEGINS HERE! The mystery of the onion’s truth unfolds the deeper one travels. The mythology of the Eververse unveils new truths and new dangers. The team is hurled to a seemingly alien world that holds the key to their true purpose. For what is magic but science that we don’t yet understand?

 
 
 
 
DeepGravityDeep Gravity #1 (Dark Horse)

He didn’t get onto the most lucrative interstellar mission for the money — Paxon wants to be reunited with the woman he loves. But his high-stakes journey takes him to a savage world full of the galaxy’s most dangerous game, where the gravity can turn your bones to powder.

* Written by Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Bechko (Star Wars: Legacy, Planet of the Apes).

 
 
Fuse6Fuse #6 (Image Comic)

‘THE RUSSIA SHIFT,’ Conclusion. THEIR FIRST CASE: SOLVED! Klem’s got it all figured out. But will she live to tell anyone? Can Ralph get to her in time? Who’s gonna get shot? And can someone, anyone, please explain why it’s called the ‘Russia shift’? Well, if you insist…

 
 
 
 
 
 
Ghostbusters18Ghostbusters #18 (IDW Publishing)

Tiamat’s chaotic presence continues to be felt in New York City, and the Ghostbusters are at wits’ end as to how to deal with it. She’s clearly too powerful to capture, and she may be impossible to destroy… does that leave only the most drastic of options open to the team? Mass Hysteria continues here!

 
 
 
 
 
Guardians17Guardians of the Galaxy #17 (Marvel Comics)

With some new faces on the team, it might be time for the Guardians to have a little team-building vacation.

Or, you know, they could keep fighting alien warlords and galactic empires.

Guess they’ll have to plan that team-building retreat for next month.

 
 
 
 
Low1Low #1 (Image Comics)

In the far distant future, the sun’s premature expansion has irradiated Earth, sending humanity to the lowest depths of the seas, hidden within radiation-shielded cities, while probes scour the universe for inhabitable worlds to relocate to. After tens of thousands of years, a single probe returns, crashing on Earth’s surface, a now-alien place no human has seen for many millennia. Frequent collaborators RICK REMENDER (BLACK SCIENCE, Uncanny Avengers) and GREG TOCCHINI (Last Days of American Crime, Uncanny X-Force) dive into an aquatic sci-fi/fantasy tale following two teams from the last remaining cities undersea as they race to the most unexpected alien world of all — the surface of Earth. Special introductory issue features 30 full pages of painted art!

Manhattan22The Manhattan Projects #22 (Image Comics)

‘VECTORS’ From the smoking ruins of Los Alamos, a new day begins for the revamped Manhattan Projects. Who stays, who goes…who goes away forever? The thrilling FEEL GOOD, BAD SCIENCE series continues in THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS #22: VECTORS.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Massive25The Massive #25 (Dark Horse)

The Crash was only the beginning. The earth has begun to tear itself apart. And the truth of Mary’s identity, which began as a faint signal, grows louder and is seemingly connected to it all. The secret of the Crash and the location of the missing ship The Massive get answered here, in the final arc, Ragnarok!

 
 
 
 
 
StarSlammers5Star Slammers Remastered #5

Chapter 2: The Empire: The Starship Meredith is flying to the Imperial Capitol of Knossos, carrying priceless cargo, a captured Star Slammer. But things have gone terribly wrong.

A hidden assassin aboard the ship has apparently killed the Slammer and his jailers. And the only way for Colonel Phaedra to find out what happened is for her to force the Emperor’s personal telepath to access the minds of the dead men!

RebelHeist4Star Wars: Rebel Heist #4 (Dark Horse)

The Rebellion’s plan is coming together. All Luke Skywalker has to do is elude an Imperial spy — and perform some unanticipated rescues! But this farm boy is on the edge of greatness, and he is not about to stop saving the galaxy now!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Transformers31Transformers: Robots in Disguise #31 (IDW Publishing)

MINDBOMB! The humans have access to a CYBERTRONIAN mind-but whose is it-and why do they want it? OPTIMUS PRIME and GALVATRON race for answers, as JAZZ faces the consequences of his last trip to Earth.