STAR TREK: DEFIANT (2023) #27 Review

Star Trek: Defiant #27 is written by Christopher Cantwell and published by IDW Publishing. Artwork is by Davide Tinto, colours by Lee Loughridge and letters by Clayton Cowles.

Star Trek: Defiant #27 is available in comic book stores and on digital platforms now. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.

Synopsis

Part four of “Lore War.” Sisko is approaching a moment of crisis: Lore is god of the universe, and the number of heroes operating outside his influence is dwindling with every encounter. Everywhere Sisko looks, he sees those he’s failed. Is he really the person meant to defeat Lore and restore his timeline? Just as he is about to set down the burden of leadership…he dreams of a familiar blue light…and remembers there is hope yet in the universe waiting for those with the courage to seek it out.

Review

Today the penultimate chapter of IDW’s Star Trek: Lore War event arrives in comic book stores. What we’re trying to not think about is that means this current run of comics, over two years of storytelling, is soon to come to an end. There’s still plenty to get through as Worf, Sisko and Kahless II try to fix the timeline and save all of civilisation from Lore’s clutches. Christopher Cantwell steers the ship through a heady mix of exposition and character tension as the event looks to set itself up for an explosive finale.

The synergy which Cantwell has had with Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing across the event has been wonderful to behold. It’s clear there’s a strong working relationship and a shorthand between the group which has guaranteed that Lore War has hit consistently regardless of who is writing. The choice to have artist Davide Tinto, colourist Lee Loughridge and letterer Clayton Cowles working on the entire event, regardless of the title, was also an inspired choice. Rather than feeling like individual creative teams contributing to an overarching event this feels like team Star Trek working together, much like a ship’s crew, to give Lore War maximum impact.

I will admit I’m really looking forward to going back to the beginning once it’s all over. There’s a binge-worthy aspect to a story this calamitous which will make it an electrifying reads once it has all been collected together. In particular, this chapter galvanises the Lore War cast by backing them in to a corner and forcing action. Cantwell utilises this rare moment between major conflicts to allow the characters time to appraise their situation. Yes, Cantwell still infuses this penultimate chapter with plenty of action. But the real focus here is these characters, principally as they weigh up losing the only reality which feels real. There’s an interesting moral dilemma built in to the DNA of Lore War thanks to the choice of certain characters involved in the story. Several key players must grapple with the idea of losing loved ones. Whilst others must reconcile the fact that should Sisko succeed they will no longer exist at all.

It’s the kind of existential crisis which Star Trek has built itself upon brilliantly across its near six decades of life. I’ve praised these books time and time again for being able to translate it so diligently to the page. IDW’s entire initiative with these stories has been to choose the ideal characters. The mix of cast from across Trek’s legacy has been charming to read. Shaking that up for Lore War has taken a moment to adjust to but has never felt any less exhilarating than what has come before. In reality it builds on everything Cantwell, Kelly and Lanzing has been doing for the past two years. Capitalising on those connections to naturally bring conflict and interesting conversation to the table.

There’s a flirtation with body horror which has certainly caught my eye in both the third and fourth parts. The idea that Lore is using several key cast members from the books as secondary conduits for controlling reality is pretty shocking. It’s also downright deplorable when you see it on the page. If the series were to continue far beyond Lore War then I would be interested to see if any of characters being held hostage by Lore and Data was able to remember their experiences. It would certainly complicate several key relationships from Trek’s legacy. In terms of what we see here then it certainly contributes to the fact this is Lore as his most disgraceful. Part of me would like to have seen the book explore a little more about how this process works. Even just to allow a little more of that body horror element to come to the foreground.

Visually, that consistency brought by having the same team across books is really working for Lore War. Both the main Star Trek and Star Trek: Defiant books have always looked great. Defining this event with a specific team negates any potential worry that each chapter may feel disconnected. Tinto has the right mix of reverence Star Trek’s legacy and flare for capitalising on the potential Lore’s reality offers for completely rewriting the rule book. The aforementioned body horror moments look brilliant, I really felt for each of the characters caught up in Lore’s dastardly plans.

With the stage set for the finale I’m really ready to see what this creative team is able to do in landing the ship. As this issue draws to a close it feels like there are still lightyears to travel but all the pieces are perfectly placed for a confrontation which could certainly go down in history as one of Trek’s finest.

Verdict

Star Trek: Defiant #27 is an impeccable penultimate chapter in the Lore War event. It finds sufficient time to assess the ensemble cast’s place in the story whilst still delivering on the promise of action.

⭐⭐⭐⭐