Star Trek: Defiant #1 is published by IDW Publishing and written by Christopher Cantwell. Artwork is by Ángel Unzueta, colours by Marissa Louise and letters by Clayton Cowles. Main cover art (left) is also by Unzueta.
Star Trek: Defiant #1 is available now, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold.
Synopsis
A brand-new series comes spinning directly out of the hit Star Trek comic book! Someone is killing the gods. But Benjamin Sisko’s Prophets-guided dealings of the higher cosmos has led him to forget about the very real casualties on lower ground. The enemy is a MAN, not a god. And Worf of House Martok has put together his own crew aboard the U.S.S. Defiant in hopes of defeating the dangerous messiah behind this genocidal cult. The Dirty Dozen meets Star Trek in this new series from the creative mind of Chris Cantwell (Iron Man, Namor, Star Wars: Obi-Wan) and drawn by Angel Unzueta (Iron Man, Star Wars: Poe Dameron, The Flash)! Star Trek: Defiant is the first expansion of IDW’s exciting new Star Trek initiative that started with the 400th issue and carries on into a bold new storytelling future!
Review
Be it fortuitous or coincidental, IDW has chosen to reboot its Star Trek comic book line at the perfect time. With the Trek TV franchise firing on all cylinders it make sense that IDW would want to capture some of that excitement amongst its readers.
Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing have been tasked with creating a timeline all of their own, one in which Benjamin Sisko has returned from his stint inside the wormhole. Spoilers. Sorry. Whilst it feels far removed from the events of Star Trek: Picard, I compare the two only because of their setting in the Trek timeline, it gives fans another potential avenue of storytelling featuring recognisable legacy characters from across the Berman-era TV series.
Here the publisher has tasked accomplished writer Christopher Cantwell with taking the tentative first steps towards a wider line of interconnected titles. Star Trek: Defiant is born directly out of Kelly and Lanzing’s storyline. But whilst there is a need to understand the boarder narrative, Defiant is also able to able to stand on its own.
Cantwell, co-creator of Halt and Catch Fire, is able to inject Defiant with plenty of its own unique elements. Acting as more of a Section-31 inspired, Starfleet black ops, investigation in to Khaless-II and his involvement with current events which are shaping the course of history.
As expected, the first issue of Star Trek: Defiant is all about laying the foundations. Through Worf’s narration Cantwell is able to acknowledge connections to the main book whilst simultaneously setting up this new storyline. There’s a fine balance between action and exposition which certainly succeeds in grasping at the audience.
Given his surging popularity, it’s a stroke of genius to make Worf the lead of this spin-off series. With Michael Dorn back in the role on the small screen fans are clamouring from more from our favourite Starfleet Klingon and Cantwell is able to give it to us in spades. What’s more encouraging is just how well Cantwell is able to capture the character’s personality and voice.
That attention to detail is evident with all of the supporting cast. Whilst it’s set to grow further in issue #2, both Spock and B’Elanna are ported over to the comics as entirely recognisable interpretations of their live-action counterparts. The same can be said of the briefly glanced Ensign Ro.
The same can be said of Ángel Unzueta‘s artwork which sets out to lovings recreate rather than redesign what has come before. Characters are, again, recognisable and ship designs feel like they’ve straight from the small screen. Books based on huge IP’s such as Star Trek can often live or die by their reverence for the source material. All signs currently point towards Star Trek: Defiant ticking all of the right boxes in that regard.
Verdict
With Star Trek: Defiant, IDW is taking its first tentative steps towards building out a new Star Trek universe. Under the experience gaze of writer Christopher Cantwell the series is off to an exciting and intriguing start.
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