To go where no Ape has gone before.
Star Trek/Planet of the Apes: The Primate Directive is a Crossover comic between the titular Star Trek and Planet of the Apes series, published jointly between IDW Publishing and Boom! Studios. It is written by Scott and David Tipton, with artwork by Rachael Stott.
Set during the time of the original Enterprise's journey under Captain Kirk, a mission from Star Fleet to investigate the Klingon Empire seemingly preparing for war leads to the crew ending up in a parallel universe...home to the madhouse world where humans are ruled by apes.
This work contains examples of:
- Ape Shall Never Kill Ape: Ursus calls out Marius over this for his plan to lead a coup, that it would inevitably lead to civil war. After besting Marius in hand-to-hand combat, Ursus still says he abides by this code just as he had a knife to Marius' throat.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Ursus inflicts a fairly decisive one against Marius. Made even more impressive as Marius was decked with help from future tech while all Ursus used was his natural skills and strength.
- Downer Ending: After the Enterprise departs to chase Kor, the events of Beneath the Planet of the Apes still occur and Earth, is destroyed by the Alpha Omega Bomb. Kirk and crew watch in horror wondering if there was anything they could have done, or if it was a result of them interfering in the first place.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Ursus is just as much a General Ripper as Marius but he's disgusted that Marius would lead a coup and plunge Apekind into a civil war. After their fight, Ursus still abides by the "ape shall not kill ape" rule while Marius goes for a cheap shot in the back.
- Evil Versus Evil: Ursus vs. Marius. Marius leads a coup against Ape City that Ursus is able to put a stop to but after besting Marius in combat, Zaius grimly ponders if they just traded one danger for another.
- Four-Star Badass: Ursus. He pretty much single-handily stops Marius' coup attempt by besting him in one-on-one combat, made even more impressive considering Marius was supplied with Klingon armor and weapons.
- Killer Gorilla: Marius takes the stage as the main one of the book, having made a deal with Kor to supply him with weapons to lead a coup against Ape City. He's swiftly put in his place by his fellow gorilla General Ursus when the two meet in hand-to-hand combat however.
- Kirk Summation: But of course. Kirk uses one against Taylor to stop him going on a revenge spree against the apes for how he was treated during the events of the first film. Appealing to his nature as a fellow space explorer who went looking for a better world.
- General Ripper: The gorilla generals, Ursus and Marius. Zaius notes to himself the two are becoming harder to control in the wake of the declining food shortages, Marius even taken it a step further than Ursus and allying with the Klingons.
- Hope Spot: Seems like this at the end of the story when Cornelius, Zira, and Milo prepare to use the time travel technique they learned from Scotty to escape back into Earth's past, but anyone whose seen Escape from the Planet of the Apes knows what fates await them.
- Interquel To the first film and Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Kirk's reaction upon seeing the Earth's destruction. He assumes it either had something to do with their interference in the planet or if they could have prevented this somehow.
- Mythology Gag: As one would expect from a crossove;
- When first touching down on Earth, Spock wears the hat he wore in "The City on the Edge of Forever" to cover his ears once again.
- Needless to say, many classic lines from the first two Apes films are alluded to or repeated.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Taylor attempts one by sneaking aboard the Enterprise tin hopes of using it's advanced technology to overthrow Ape society, Kirk and Spock deduce it's based out of trauma brought about by his treatment by the Apes. After a fist fight and a Kirk Summation, Kirk is able to talk Taylor out of it.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: An underlining theme is the idealism of Star Trek's idealistic view of the future (represented by Kirk) and the cynical Humans Are Bastards viewpoint of Planet of the Apes (represented by Taylor). Cynicism ultimately seeing to win out as the book ends with the Earth still being destroyed due to the events of Beneath as the Enterprise crew watches in horror.
- Unwitting Pawn: How Kor views Marius. He supplies with Marius with more advanced arms and armor to lead a coup against Ape City, thus bringing the planet in the Klingon Empire with Marius as a puppet ruler. Marius, seemingly, not being aware of this.
