Star Trek: The Mirror War #5 - IDW Publishing

STAR TREK: THE MIRROR WAR No. 5, April 2022

Perhaps somewhat disconcertingly starting its story some two years after Captain Picard ingeniously ordered the I.S.S. Enterprise-D to subjugate the planet Faundora and commandeer the “planet’s formidable shipbuilding operations”, Scott and David Tipton’s narrative for Issue Five of “Star Trek: The Mirror War” still manages to grab its audience’s full attention straight from the start. In fact, in some ways it is a pity that more of this twenty-page periodical’s spotlight isn’t spent shining upon Lieutenant Commander Data’s captaincy of the I.S.S. Cronus as it bravely engages a fleet of Klingon Battlecruisers singlehandedly so as to liberate the “long-suffering colonists of Baggo Meer”.

Happily however, this comic’s action-packed narrative doesn’t stop once the android brutally mows down a plethora of warriors and captures Gorofk, son of Maaq, courtesy of William Riker subsequently being ordered to pilfer an unsuspecting Cardassian Antares-class carrier crammed full of dilithium. This pulse-pounding piece of galactic piracy really helps show just what a cunning, and utterly merciless cold-blooded killer the one-eyed commander has become in this “dark, twisted reflection” of the science fiction franchise’s universe, especially once he destroys the escort vessel Girim in order to beam aboard his prey unmolested; “I do not look forward to returning to Captain Picard with seventeen tons of rotting Dragonfruit.”

Of course, that isn’t to say that this book is simply crammed full of mindless violence either, as the collaborative writing team do an excellent job of depicting Jean-Luc’s increasing tensions with the Terran Empire’s Admiral Nechayev too. Indeed, the utter fury the bald-headed Captain resonates throughout his desperate negotiations to acquire more resources for his fledgling armada literally burn off each and every panel, to the point where his explosive rantings are equally as enthrallingly dynamic as this comic’s prolonged phaser-fight sequences.

Gavin Smith’s awesome artwork also needs to receive plenty of praise, with the freelance illustrator’s pencilling during the Cronus’ sense-shattering mission alone arguably being well-worthy of this publication’s cover price. The scene of Data crash-landing smack in the middle of the heavily-defended Klingon base aboard a refitted planetary orbital bombardment capsule is incredibly well-drawn, and aptly resonates with all the ear-splitting explosions and resultant gun-play a bibliophile might expect from such a catastrophic attack upon one of Emperor Worf’s prominent mining worlds.

Writers: Scott & David Tipton, Artist: Gavin Smith, and Colorist: Charlie Kirchoff