IfStar Trekfans thought that the last few years of IDW’sTrekcomics added a whole new dimension to the franchise’s familiar lore, they had better prepare themselves for the coming year, as the series hints at a gamechanging alteration to the mythology surrounding Benjamin Sisko. The new revelation may prove to be controversial, but it is not out of line withfamiliarTrekstorytelling devices.
Star Trek#28 – written by Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing, with art by Tessa Fowler – finds Captain Sisko vaulted backward in time, to “a Bronze-age Bajor,” leaving the indigenous population to question whether he is “a terrifying threat or the prophet they’ve been waiting for.”
From this synopsis,readers have immediately started to speculate that Sisko is about to instigate a classic causal loop, creating the mythos that would later lead him to be deemed the Emissary of the Prophets, as originally depicted inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Star Trek#28 – Written By Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing; Art By Tess Fowler; Main Cover By Ramón Rosanas
The full teaser forStar Trek#28 reads as follows:
Lore has destroyed the multiverse, and its fate now lies in Benjamin Sisko’s hands. But after the U.S.S. Theseus slingshots into the Celestial Temple, Sisko finds himself without his crew… or any technology… on a Bronze-age Bajor. The ancient Bajorans don’t know what to make of him: Is he a terrifying threat or the prophet they’ve been waiting for? If Sisko is to save life itself from the Orb of Destruction, he must first save himself…
By now, authors Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing have more than proven that they can be trusted to take anambitious, time-and-space hoppingTrekstoryand use it to deliver emotionally profound moments from the franchise’s most beloved characters. So, it is not really a question of whether the issue will deliver a satisfying step forward for Sisko’s arc in the comics – the answer is all but certain to be yes. Instead, the question ishow radically this story will alter fans’ understanding ofTrekcanon.
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In more ways than one, Kelly and Lanzing’sStar Trekongoing series at IDW has been an extended project of reinvention, recalibration, recontextualization – whatever readers ultimately call it, the authors have devoted themselves to approachingTrekfrom both new and familiar angles. They have already made many excitingcontributions toStarTrekcanon, and largely, the new things they have brought to the franchise have been embraced by the fandom. There is no reason to suggest that Sisko’s adventure on Bajor in the far-flung past will be any different, but longtimeTrekfans are, to some degree, understandably hesitant.
Star Trek#28 – “Old Sisko” Variant Cover By Tess Fowler
The idea of the casual loop is iconic in science fiction, and has beenused memorably inStar Trekbefore. So, it isn’t that it is out-of-place in theTrekuniverse that might make readers hesitant to embrace the use of the trope, if that is indeed where the story ofStar Trek#28 goes. Instead, the chief reason for some fans' doubts is not exclusive toStar Trekat all, but rather is part of the discourse surrounding all major franchise storytelling.
As long as the story does justice by Sisko’s character, and progresses his story in Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing’s run, its lore implications will be merited, whatever they are.
That is, the move runs the risk of making theTrekuniverse feel smaller, and more insular, which would be at odds with the series' general commitment to expanding the universe. Similar to criticisms ofcontemporaryStar Warsstorytelling,there is the increasing feeling as though each franchise’s “star” characters need to be connected to every major moment in franchise lore, rather thanStar TrekandStar Warsstories being set in vast universes, of which the stories being told are just a fraction of the larger history.
The extent to which this concern is valid remains up for debate – but what can be said is that a story shouldn’t be pre-judged before it has been told, and so fans will have to reserve their opinions on the matter untilStar Trek#28 is released. The synopsis could, of course, be obscuring an even bigger twist, though it doesn’t even need to. As long as the story does justice by Sisko’s character, and progresses his story in Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing’s run, its lore implications will be merited, whatever they are.
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Captain Sisko’s journey backward in time inStar Trek#28 is part of a much more ambitious reimagining of theTrekuniverse, as it is precipitated by thedestruction of the entireTrekMultiverseby Data’s evil brother Lore.The Lore War, the franchise’s big 2025 crossover, feels like a summation of everything Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing have done with the franchisein nearly three years. While hopefully it isn’t a swan song for the creators' time on the book, it will certainly be a major milestone for the franchise, one that has the chance to significantly redefineTrekcomics moving forward.
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As with any reality-warpingTrektale, the authors are well within their right to return everything to the status quo prior to the start of the arc, but they also have the opportunity to fundamentally alter the make-up of theTrekuniverse – if IDW is willing to let them go that far, of course. Overall, 2024 was the biggest year yet for IDW’sTrek"renaissance," and it seems as though 2025 has the potential to top it, makingStar Treka must-read for comic book fans and franchise devotees alike.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Cast
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.
