In an unexpected follow up story to the “Day of Blood” arc, “Star Trek: Defiant’s 2024 Annual follows Sela, a character only recently reintroduced into “Star Trek” canon, as its main protagonist.
Cover by Ramon RosanasWritten by Christopher Cantwell
Illustrated by Ramon Rosanas
Colored by Lee Loughridge
Lettered by Clayton CowlesAfter The Day of Blood, the clone of Kahless’s coup on the Klingon High Council failed, Commander Sela uses the chaos and upheaval to coerce secure information out of Chancellor Martok. Having been severely injured during the battle on Qo’noS, there was little Martok could do to keep the information from Sela. With this new intel in hand, Sela sets course for Romulus, hoping this new information will allow her to be ushered back into the Romulan Empire’s good graces, and reestablish her position as a respected Commander.
As Sela leaves Martok’s bedside and heads to the capital of Romulus, she is immediately attacked by Klingon spies who know what information she intends to bring the leaders of Romulan Senate. Quickly dispatching the agents of Qo’noS, she continues on her mission in hopes to cause some instability within the Klingon Empire and fix her own reputation. She soon finds that this venture will not be as easy or as straight-forward as she hoped, or most would expect. This leads her on a new adventure that is both strange and unexpectedly enlightening. Through strange new time travel technology, Sela finds herself in the past, but the not the past she intended to alter, and comes face to face with her mother, Tasha Yar. Almost her entire life, Sela has viewed Yar as one thing: A coward of Starfleet who died pathetically. However, this unplanned meeting will help her view her mother in a whole new light, and may cause some very real changes in her own life.
Side-stepping ever so slightly from the main storyline of both “Star Trek” and “Star Trek: Defiant,” writer Christopher Cantwell takes us on a new journey, that at first, may seem mostly inconsequential in the grand scheme of things and the stories that are being currently told within Trek. With the opening pages, this annual comes across as more of an epilogue or after thought that was probably too dense to include in “The Day of Blood.” But with the turn of each page, and exposure of each new plot detail, it swiftly becomes more clear that this is something so much more than that. This plot has the potential to shake the very foundation of some of the largest institutions with “Star Trek” to their core. It could also just be an interesting one-off to plant some seeds that may or may not take hold within future stories. Though, being so tied to Romulus and the Romulan Empire, there are some major things on the horizon for the planet and its people, many of which has already been seen, and some of which is hinted at here. [See Star Trek: Nemesis, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek (2009), and its prequel comic “Star Trek: Countdown”]
Sela originally appeared in four episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation as a main antagonist, and has also been featured in other comics, novels, and video games – some of this is now non-canon, but the characterization of Sela has long held steady with very few changes in her personality. Her only hopes were overthrowing other planets’s governments, either ruling them herself, or through the Romulan Empire. Her fall from grace mostly happened off screen/page, and it is quite interesting that not only has Cantwell decided to bring her back into the fold, but that he is doing so in a way that honors her villainous ways, while allowing her to grow and become changed by unforeseen events happening around her. I had a lot of mental pushback when starting this issue, as Sela, and the alternate timeline event that allowed her to be born in the first place, has never been one of my favorite storylines from TNG (It’s a really good plot, just a personal preference.) Initially somewhat shrugging this off as a one-shot adventure to get through before the main plot picks up again, I realized I was wrong in my assumption of how this would go, and I am so glad for that. Christopher Cantwell reinvigorated a character who hasn’t had a major moment since some early 90s television. I don’t know if I can say I care about her as a character just yet, but at the very least her story has become compelling once again, and I hope we get some spectacular ripples from these events in other Trek storylines. There are ways that this issue also redeems Tasha Yar, and while a short-lived character, doesn’t really need it. It is surprising to go back and realize how much of a hold she has over a lot of “Star Trek” after only being in less than one season of t.v.
Continued belowThe art by Ramon Rosanas is expertly executed and, like all of the other artists working in this new era of Trek comics, actually feels like part of the franchise and not just slapped together generic sci-fi, He also does a great job capturing the likenesses of the characters who were at one time portrayed in live action. His work is just one more testament to how intelligently and respectfully these new “Star Trek” comics are getting made. Lee Loughridge’s fantastic colors on the illustrations also call back to Trek comics from all eras and the wonderful palettes from the 90s shows, specifically TNG and DS9.
It can be hard to step away from a comic’s main storyline, but if we continue to get one-shots like this, then there will be little doubt in my mind that these stories can continue to expand on the page in ways that all fans can get behind.
Final Verdict: 8.0, A surprisingly exciting and emotional journey for a long-running fan favorite, but long absent, Trek villain!
