“The First Duty” Exhibit Explores the Life of Jean-Luc Picard at San Diego Comic Con

Jean-Luc Picard: The First Duty exhibit, San Diego Comic Con 2019

One of the big features of CBS’s “Star Trek Universe” offering at Comic Con this year is the “Jean-Luc Picard: The First Duty” exhibit. Taking place at the Michael J. Wolff gallery, in downtown San Diego, just a stone’s throw from the convention center, this special exhibit is open to the public, no convention badge required. It occupies the same space that the Star Trek: Discovery exhibit did at Comic Con last year.

TrekMovie.com was first on the scene when the exhibit opened yesterday, and offered up a great rundown of what you can expect to see when you go. So, first up: there’s an in-universe explanation of the exhibit. Inside the gallery, a placard reads:

“One of Starfleet’s most decorated officers, Admiral Jean-Luc-Picard retired from Starfleet in 2386 after more than 50 years of service, returning to a quiet life tending to his family’s storied winemaking tradition in the Chateau Picard vineyards of La Barre, France.

“Many of Picard’s personal mementos and rare artifacts from his life and career are stored in the Starfleet Museum Quantum Archives located at Starfleet Command headquarters in San Francisco.

“For the first time, many of these artifacts are now available for view in a special touring exhibition celebrating his career of service and lifetime of dedication to the principles of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets.”

TrekMovie points out that there are some hints to the timeline of Picard in the exhibit, notably that Picard retired from Starfleet the year before the Hobus disaster (that happened in 2387) and that the casual attire that we’ve seen so far in promotional materials is labelled “Jean-Luc Picard Civilian Attire, 2399” - twenty years post-Nemesis.

There are also a number of props and costumes worn by Picard over the years, including his Next Generation series 1 jumpsuit uniform, the Borg Queen’s skull, and the Ressikan flute he learned to play in “The Inner Light”. The exhibit also features a store where you can buy exclusive Star Trek: Picard merchandise.