IDW’s Star Trek comic lines have gone from strength to strength in the last few years, laying out gripping stories that pave a path into Trek‘s unknowns in ways we’ve never seen the TV shows or movies go for. Now, its latest series is making some of the boldest steps in boldly going yet: The Last Starship, set in the immediate aftermath of the cataclysmic event known as “The Burn†from Star Trek: Discovery season 3, and not only does it explore that, it does so with a side order of resurrecting Captain James Tiberius Kirk along the way.
Kirk’s return—and the surprising connections to Star Trek: Picard that helped facilitate the rebirth of the 22nd century’s finest Starfleet officer in the 31st—as well as a gripping exploration of the immediate ramifications of Star Trek‘s universe losing access to warp travel at the apex of the Federation’s reach and influence made the first issue of The Last Starship one of the best comics, and one of the best Star Trek stories in general, to come out in 2025. Now, with today’s release of issue two, io9 sat down over email with series writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, as well as IDW editor Heather Antos, to break down all the shocking twists of the series so far.
Jackson Lanzing: First and foremost, because it created a brand new setting unlike any other Star Trek series. The goal of The Last Starship is to act as a jumping-on point for all comics readers—not just Star Trek fans—so it was deeply important that the reader be capable of stepping in without any homework involved. The Burn is a clean slate; nearly every starship in the galaxy is gone, civilization is falling apart, and the few survivors that are left are tasked with holding the galaxy together. That’s a story that anyone can jump into and an undiscovered country for old fans alike.
Collin Kelly: The Burn is Starfleet’s ultimate crisis moment, when everything that the shows have been building—the entire legacy of the Federation—is under threat… or has already turned to ash. As storytellers, you can’t look at a setting so primed to explore and choose any other destination. The Burn is when things are the most uncertain… which means it’s exactly where we had to boldly go.
io9: What was the collaborative process like, not just between yourselves, but with Paramount as you started exploring this era? Were you largely given free reign, or were there things you told you couldn’t touch, for example?
Kelly: After working with IDW Group Editor Heather Antos for several years at this point, the three of us are a fairly well-oiled crew; Jack and I cracking the stories we want to tell, with Heather stepping in to help hone them into the best versions of themselves. Of course, she is ultimately the one sitting down with Paramount and can speak more directly to it, but our goal at Star Trek is always to keep the team working together and striving to put together stories that honor Trek’s past while forging bravely ahead into its future.
Heather Antos: IDW’s relationship with Paramount on the Star Trek comics is the kind of relationship that any publisher and licensor strives for—it’s a truly collaborative environment. At the end of the day our goals align in that we both want to achieve the greatest Star Trek comics imaginable—it’s just that sometimes our visions of which road achieves that doesn’t always align and that’s where the real magic comes in. When we first pitched The Last Starship it took a LOT of back and forth to get all parties to agree that some of the bigger players involved—Kirk, Agnes, etc.—would work… and believe me, there was a lot we had to negotiate on.
io9: One of the most fun (and painful) parts of the opening of issue one is that you present the Federation at its almost apex just before the Burn happens – they’re finally about to induct the Gorn and bring the known galaxy to peace. What made you want to present that moment to readers, to give them a taste of a Federation we’d not seen like that?
Lanzing: Because if you’re going to blow up the Federation, the most important thing you can do is define it. After all, if the reader doesn’t know what Sato is losing, they won’t care that Sato lost it—and because this book is for new Trek fans as well as old, we can’t rely on just saying “you know, it’s the Federation, it’s great!†We actually have to show it—show why it’s great, why it matters, and why it’s such a devastating blow to Captain Sato that utopia slips through his fingers in this crucial moment.Kelly: As for the Gorn, they’re not only one of Starfleet’s oldest enemies, but one of its most alien. While the fans we’re onboarding are able to grab onto the new setting, existing fans will understand how much it means that, in this moment, we have reached across the stars and found peace with beings who once saw us as little more than a meal plan… or worse.
io9: Everyone knew the ‘surprise’ about Kirk coming in before release, but the real twist of the issue was Agnes Jurati’s Borg cooperative becoming a major factor in getting the premise of The Last Starship going. Was Agnes always key to your plans? What was the moment you realised that you could use her?
Kelly: Agnes wasn’t, but Transwarp—and thus the Borg—were. The challenge then became, how do we use that technology if the Borg have all been destroyed? And that’s when we realized that Jurati offered the perfect solution. Not only would she solve our plot tangle, but she would provide for Kirk (whom we knew we wanted, though “how†wasn’t yet clear) a kind of ally, as the only other person on the ship who really understands what it’s like to a come from a time that has long vanished into the past.
io9: Part of what made that Picard Season 2 finale twist with the Borg was so interesting was the potential that there was a version of them that the Federation could see as allies (warily or otherwise). How does Agnes’ portrayal in Last Starship and her relationship with the crew of the Omega build on that idea?
Lanzing: Best we leave that particular question unanswered for now. Suffice to say: we are building firmly on that idea in many directions—and how each character perceives that potential will help shape the dynamics around Agnes… and Kirk.
Antos: I think one of the most interesting things this series is doing is really making the characters themselves question what is “right†or “wrong†in a nearly post-Federation era. What is “good†vs “badâ€â€¦and who is a true ally or enemy… or something else. And the answers to those questions may change from issue to issue, even!
Kelly: Until readers crack into the rest of the series, all we can hope is that they’re excited to see how this all plays out. Already, they’ve learned that the Kirk that was revealed on some of the covers is far different than the man they expected; our goal is to ensure that every issue of this series continues to invert expectations, pushing this story to be something unlike any Star Trek that has come before.
Lanzing: Kirk himself is going to be wondering the same thing as you, James. And that particular exploration is key to issue #2—so fans won’t wait long to see how it plays out.
io9: Moving on to issue two, can you expand on the reason why you wanted to make the Klingons the antagonistic force of this first arc of the book?
Lanzing: There are three reasons. The first is that we wanted The Last Starship to be a regular comics reader’s first exposure to Star Trek—and like Kirk, the Klingons are an iconic part of that universe. Using them grounds the reader in things they’ve heard of before—like Kirk, the Borg, maybe the Enterprise—without remaining stuck in the box of playing the same old song again. Secondly, the Klingons are a perfect representation of the kind of destabilization the Burn represents—the Klingon Empire has become peaceful, they’re our allies, and yet in the face of intense tragedy, some are returning to the old ways. Sato doesn’t know anything about that kind of warfare… which makes them perfect antagonists for his first brush with the post-Burn galaxy.
Kelly: And the third reason for the Klingons and their inclusion in The Last Starship is connected to Starfleet Academy, so we can’t really talk about it except to say that we’re laying some exciting groundwork for that series.
io9: We’re introduced to two new crewmembers here in Zed and Vi—the latter of whom becomes very interesting when she reveals herself to have been a Tal Shiar operative. What made you want to bring the organization back in this era, and in this way?
Kelly: Genuinely, the Tal Shiar are one of the most interesting and deadly forces in the galaxy, and it simply strained credulity that they would vanish entirely simply because Vulcan and Romulan societies came together. The fact is, a discreet and effective galaxy-wide intelligence operation is very logical… and yet, over the centuries we still wanted to see how it could have changed and evolved. As Vi states pretty explicitly, she wants their trust because she believes in their cause… but that in no way means she doesn’t still have secrets to reveal.
Lanzing: We also loved the idea of a spy that immediately dropped their cover. The Burn has made everyone rethink the way they do things—and Vi T’Galatheon is no exception. Of course, even as she leaks classified intelligence to the Omega, she immediately then lies about surveilling her first officer and reporting it back to her Tal Shiar superiors… so even her truthful moments are shaded with lies. Getting into what truly motivates Vi is going to be a slow burn, but we’re excited for the person fans will meet as the layers of obfuscation are removed.
io9: Sato’s first conversation with Kirk delves into his capacity as a warrior. What made you want to bring this to the forefront in your depiction of Kirk?
Lanzing: Like we said above: Captain Sato is not a wartime captain. He was made for more stable times—a hero of civilization, not chaos. What he fears in Kirk is what he fears for the rest of the galaxy—that the Burn will awaken the more desperate, violent demons of our nature. He sees Kirk as a relic – but fears he won’t stay that way.
Kelly: With the exception of the very short story in an issue of Star Trek: Waypoint, James T. Kirk was the first Trek character we ever got to write. With such an icon, it’s easy to paint him with the very broad brush that pop-culture loves to color him with, but the truth is that he is a student of the classics and history, a calm and controlled captain who rarely lets himself lose control. In that way, he and Sato are incredibly similar—but in Sato, Kirk sees someone without his experience in trauma and loss… and who may be too naive to be the hero the galaxy needs.
Antos: Kirk and Sato are two men at the top of their field with extremely different views on how peace is accomplished. It’s these two conflicting viewpoints and methodologies that will come back into play at crucial moments for these men. Establishing that from the very beginning of the tragedy of the Burn was important to set the tone for the discussions of this series.
io9: Sato also mentions that he’s come from a time where, as a Starfleet Captain, he’s never lost crewmen or issued commands that have lead to a sentient being’s death. Can you talk about what you wanted to communicate in the moment when he decides without hesitation to open fire on the Klingons, and keep attacking, in the issue’s climax?
Kelly: In that moment, Sato’s ideals begin to crack. Faced with the undeniable, inescapable prospect of violence, he makes a very human choice: defend myself, protect my ship, and save the people I care about. But even as he does so, he’s realizing that he is only pushing himself deeper into the violence… and Kirk’s words—“Do you really think you can save the universe with a jerry-rigged ship?â€â€”cut to the quick of him. As chaos erupts around him, and what little control of the situation he has slips through his fingers, Sato has this brutal realization that he is not the man he thought he was: he’s less.
io9: We also seemingly have our first major casualty post-Burn when Hana is grievously wounded by a Star Trek classic exploding console. What can you tease for her future and this moment’s impact on Valqis, or is this you telling the audience that Last Starship will keep up the brutality even with so few Starfleet officers left?
Lanzing: I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Hana Kelis isn’t grievously wounded—she’s dead. The first casualty on the Omega, but certainly not the last. And how the impact of this moment is felt on Valqis is immeasurable—it is the very soul of her coming arc, a death that means more to her than any caused by the Burn.
Lanzing: Issue #2 is all about asking the question swirling around in Kirk’s head: why am I back? It’s the question fans are asking, it’s the question Sato’s asking—and the ultimate answer Kirk comes to in issue #2 is that he’s back because he is capable of doing things no one in this time period can even imagine. And among those things is the ability to feel hatred, to commit violence, to grieve those you’ve lost and hold their revenge in your heart. Those are dark impulses that Kirk has struggled with his entire life—but this new version of the man has awoken to discover that, perhaps, in this world… those flaws have become the key to the Federation’s survival.Kelly: As for how right he is on that particular point, well… stay tuned for issue #3. Folks aren’t gonna be ready for what Kirk unleashes.
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Original Source: https://gizmodo.com/star-trek-the-last-starship-spoilers-interview-kirk-borg-klingons-2000688147
Original Source: https://gizmodo.com/star-trek-the-last-starship-spoilers-interview-kirk-borg-klingons-2000688147
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