AboutDeran McKean Expertise I am a 35 year fan of all the incarnations of Star Trek from the original show to the newer incarnations, to the books, comics and toys. I can answer most questions regarding the storylines and characters including their non-screen histories.
Experience Thirty-five years of collecting Star Trek merchandise, pouring over the books, comics and attending a number of conventions
Education/Credentials I have a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology and an MBA
Question QUESTION: Let's suppose the Enterprise and Voyager went on a mission together. During the mission the Enterprise was destroyed, with only few survivors. One survivor was Picard.
The few survivors beamed over to Voyager before the Enterprise exploded.
Assuming Picard outranks Janeway, and assuming the return trip to the nearest starbase would take 2 months at maximum warp, how exactly would the command structure be?
Would Picard have the authority to tell everyone (including Janeway) what to do? Or would Janeway still have ultimate authority because she is the official captain of the ship?
Spiderman and Batman vs. Armus and Lore
Flash vs. Data
ANSWER: Hi John -
Based on the model followed by the U.S. and U.K. military forces, in a situation like you describe command would fall upon the officer with the most years (translated as command experience) in their current rank.
In the case of the two captains you mention, Picard has considerably more experience and 'time in grade' (that's the military term) than Janeway and he would be expected to assume command. Janeway and her crew would be expected to follow his orders as he would be their commanding officer until relieved.
Ancient sailing vessels used to encounter this type of situation all the time and the command structure worked as I stated above.
Another interesting tidbit is that whoever is in charge of the ship is called Captain, regardless of their Starfleet rank. We saw this in Star Trek: The Motion picture when Kirk was referred to as Captain, even though he held the rank of Admiral.
Even if an ensign was the only individual left alive and assumed command, that person would properly be addressed as Captain!
Spiderman and Batman vs. Armus and Lore hmmmmm......
I'll tell ya, I am a huge fan of Batman and consider him on of the 'smartest' fighters in the entire DC universe. I have comic books where he took on Superman, Darkseid, Lex Luthor, Green Lantern and entire groups of super villains and managed to get the upper hand simply because of his keen mind and using the resources available to him. Given that he, by himself, can take on individuals like those described above, I gotta believe that he and Spiderman could find a way around Armus and Lore.
When you say Flash I am assuming you are asking about the Barry Allen Flash (who is supposedly the fastest of all the speedsters in the DC Universe), in that instance, Data wouldn't stand a chance.
Flash can approach or exceed the speed of light because of a type of personal forcefield he has that protects him from the impacts of dust, airborne particles, and friction when he moves at such incredible speeds.
Though Data is fast, he is nowhere near that fast, and even if he attempted to move at such velocity he doesn't have the personal field to protect him the way Flash does. Given that Flash could hit Data thousands of times before the android could react, and the superhero could probably easily discover Data's off switch before the android could even think of mounting a defense.
Also, though Data's thought processes are generally faster than that of normal humanoids, Flash could react faster than the Starfleet officer could formulate and/or execute a defense plan.
Hope that helps
Deran
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Ok, so could Flash defeat Superman?
Answer Hi John -
Each time Flash and Superman have taken each other on, the conflict has resulted in what I would define of as a tie.
That always seemed a cop out to me, as, even as fast as Superman is, the Flash is faster.
To put it simply, Flash could run around the entire Earth, collect vast sums of Kryptonite and deposit them at Superman's feet, and there wouldn't be a whole lot the Man of Steel could do about it.
Various comic writers have played around with Superman's powers, increasing them, decreasing them, and revising his origins and capabilities throughout the character's more than 60 years.
My personal feeling is that, in a showdown between the two, Flash would win. Flash is essentially the living embodiment of the Speed Force. Speed is what he does, and he has the ability to vibrate and control his molecules in ways that Superman does not. Though Supes could keep up with Flash for a considerable amount of time, once Flash really kicked it up and bypassed the speed of light, his body is not subject to the same physical restrictions that Superman's is.
In theory Flash could vibrate his molecules at such a frequency that Superman would be unable to lay a hand on him, while Flash himself would be free to 'solidify' and vibrate his own body parts at random and touch the Man-of-Steel.
Even if Superman were wearing a Kryptonite proof armored suit, Flash could unscrew the pieces that put it together, use his own friction/heat to fuse the leg pieces together, obfuscate the helmet visor etc. etc.
Anyway, those are just my thoughts, hope that makes sense. I have had this debate many, many times with other comic fans over the years and I still maintain that Flash could beat Superman.
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