"Too Many Presidents" is the lead story in the fifth and final issue of John Byrne's Assignment: Earth miniseries. Published in September 2008, it featured Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln protecting President Richard Nixon in 1972.
Description[]
- From solicitations
- The President of the United States is the most powerful person on the planet—but what if the man in the office is an agent of a foreign government? Seven and Roberta journey to Beijing to make sure only Nixon returns from China! John Byrne's first-ever Star Trek series concludes here!
Summary[]
In 1972, doctors show China's Chairman Mao Tse-Tung a volunteer who has undergone two years of training and surgery to look identical to United States President Richard Nixon. Mao believes he looks perfect for the job.
Meanwhile, Air Force One is en route to China. Hoping to tag along to protect the president, Aegis agent Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln materialize aboard the aircraft, with Seven's fake ID providing clearance. The plane lands safely in Beijing. Seven and Lincoln tag along with Nixon's security detail to where they'll be staying during the visit. Seven's friend Hei Mao escorts them through a back entrance and up to Nixon's suite just ahead of the president and his wife, and all seems well. Later, Beta 5 finds references to "Janus", but no context. Seven and Lincoln beam into a government sub-basement and rejoin Nixon during his meeting with Mao Tse-Tung.
That night, Nixon goes into his bathroom, where he's abducted by his duplicate and two henchmen. Watching from nearby, Isis hastily runs off. Soon, Seven, Lincoln, and Hei Mao slip into Nixon's quarters. Sedating both sleepers with his servo, Seven uses his scanner to identify Pat Nixon, but "Richard Nixon" is an unidentified Russian. They sleep-walk the doppelganger with them, needing to switch him back with the real Nixon as soon as possible. They find a secret passage in the bathroom that leads outside, a dead end. But Beta 5 has a fix on the real Nixon, and soon they find him surrounded by Chinese and Russian agents. All get stunned by Seven's servo, and Roberta frees Nixon from his bonds.
The double awakens, destroy's Seven's scanner cube, and grabs an automatic rifle. Seven pushes Nixon out the line of fire just as the gun jams. The double throws the gun at Seven's head and flees around a corner. Lincoln looks after Seven while Nixon pursues his double. The double finds a gun, but before he can aim it, Isis attacks him. Nixon and the double fight over the weapon and it goes off, killing one of them. Seven arrives and stuns the survivor, but without the scanner cube, they have no way of telling whether he's the real Nixon. During the flight back to the United States, Seven adjusts the man's memories so that regardless of his identity, he believes he is the real Nixon.
Two years later, Seven and Lincoln return to Earth from an encounter with the Vehereklin, who have covered Lincoln in blue slime. Beta 5 plays them a recording of Nixon's resignation speech. Seven points out that if there were any concern about the wrong Nixon having survived, it's no longer an issue.
References[]
Characters[]
- "Hei Mao" • Isis • Roberta Lincoln • Mao Tse-Tung • Pat Nixon • Richard Nixon • Gary Seven
- Referenced only
- Dwight D. Eisenhower • Abraham Lincoln • unnamed Humans (Nixon's double, abductors, doctors, government officials, Russians)
Starships and vehicles[]
Locations[]
- Beijing (Peking) • China • United States of America
- Referenced only
- Georgia (country) • Moscow • Russia • Union of Soviet Socialist Republics • White House
Races and cultures[]
States and organizations[]
- National Security Agency • Republican Party • Secret Service • United States Congress
Science and classification[]
- Beta 5 computer • communications • computer • elevator • Janus • long distance transporter • pistol • rifle • scanner • servo
Ranks and titles[]
- agent • chairman • colonel • director • guard • Premiere • President of the United States of America • supervisor
Other references[]
- allergy • ammunition • capital city • Communism • DNA • galaxy • government • handshake • history • memory • meter • movie • prison • surgery • Watergate • World War III • year
Chronology[]
- February 1972
- Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln protect Richard Nixon during his historic visit to China.
- August 1974
- Seven and Lincoln return from off-planet to hear a recording of Nixon's TV resignation announcement.
Appendices[]
Background[]
- As the main story in this issue was three pages short of the twenty-two page quota, the issue also contained a short three-page story, titled "Ah-Ha!".
- The Diaoyutai State Guesthouse where the Nixons stayed in Beijing (Diaoyutai State Guesthouse article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.) was a more ornate structure than depicted in the story.
Images[]
Connections[]
Timeline[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: Isis |
TOS comics (Assignment: Earth) |
Next comic: Ah-Ha! |
| Previous story: The Hollow Crown, Issue 1 Romulans: The Hollow Crown |
Stories by: John Byrne |
Next story: Ah-Ha! |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous adventure: Khan, Issue 1 1972 flashback |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: Khan, Issue 1 1972 flashback |
| Previous story: We Have Met the Enemy... |
The adventures of Gary Seven | Next story: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 1 Chapters 1-23 |
| The above chronology placements are based on the primary placement in 1972. The Memory Beta Chronology places events from this story in 1 other timeframe(s): | ||
| Previous adventure: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 1 Chapters 1-23 |
August 1974 Page 19 |
Next adventure: Ah-Ha! |
Production history[]
- 17 September 2008
- First published by IDW Publishing.
- 4 December 2008
- Collected in the Assignment: Earth miniseries omnibus.
- 28 May 2013
- Collected in The John Byrne Collection hardcover edition.
- 31 December 2015
- Collected in The John Byrne Collection paperback edition.
- 9 November 2017
- Collected in Graphic Novel Collection, Volume 23. (Eaglemoss Collections)
Translations[]
- 31 January 2018
- Collected in the Italian release of Graphic Novel Collection, Volume 23. (RCS MediaGroup)
External links[]
- Too Many Presidents article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.