Of the many stories that Star Trek has introduced over its many franchises, one of the most enduringly popular is the concept of the “mirror universe,” an alternate dimension where instead of a peaceful federation of diplomacy and compromise, there is a brutal empire of conquest and coercion. While this certainly isn’t the only example of a popular series presenting a dark alternate timeline, something about Trek’s presentation has become iconic and easily parodied. It’s the little visual cues, like the sleeveless vest uniforms or the “evil goatee” used in various homages to the original episode, ‘Mirror, Mirror.’ Yet, despite its cultural impact, the mirror universe was used sparingly and never used in the adventures of Picard and his crew. In many ways, this makes sense. However, while it’s an intriguing premise, the Mirror Universe loses some of its intrigue when you spend too much time there. While you can do interesting things with characters encountering their evil selves, seeing their darker elements on full display, something is lost when you just focus on the evil empire. Unfortunately, this is ultimately the case with “Star Trek: The Mirror War” #0, a book that doesn’t stand well on its own and requires a fair bit of homework to enjoy.
Written by Scott & David TiptonCover by Carlos Nieto
Illustrated by Carlos Nieto
Colored by DC Alonso
Lettered by Neil UyetakeGet caught up with the Mirror Enterprise-D before its crew—helmed by Jean-Luc Picard—faces new threats and challenges in the upcoming Mirror War event! Following the failure of the attempt to steal ships from the Prime Universe, Picard and the Mirror Crew are called back to Earth to report to the Emperor personally… so long as they can survive the trip!
One of the reasons that “Star Trek: The Mirror War” #0 feels like homework is due in large part to the fact that it is a direct continuation of “Star Trek: The Next Generation: Through the Mirror” and doesn’t give you much to catch you up. There is a brief recap page, but it is more of an exposition dump about the state of the Terran Empire instead of the role of the crew of the ISS Enterprise-D. As a result, all we know is that there was an ill-fated attempt to capture their alternate counterpart. Throughout the issue, though, there are allusions to Picard’s failure and how it has impacted his standing amongst the empire’s leadership. While this sets up some compelling political intrigue, namely Picard vowing to assume leadership of the empire, there’s something about this that lessens the impact of what we know about the mirror universe.
The mirror universe thrives on might and exploitation, taking advantage of weaknesses and literally fighting your way to the top. At the start of “Star Trek: The Mirror War” #0, it seems that Picard and his crew are on quite the losing streak. As the Emperor’s council reminds him, he failed to provide the empire with a new fleet of ships, even lost crew members in the process, and even failed to provide the empire with adequate supplies. Yet, despite this long line of failure, Picard is still trusted and respected amongst his crew. Sure, there is an attempt on his life to give the issue some action. There are a few moments in “Star Trek: The Mirror Wars” #0 where Picard shows both his strength and his anger, but at no point is there a convincing reason why the crew of the Enterprise-D is so much more of a cohesive unit than other ships we’ve seen in this world. Maybe their ability to work together, to not be a crew of opportunistic backstabbers, has been established in the previous series from IDW. However, the issue doesn’t do much to show why Picard still commands the respect of his crew. While the series successfully gives the team an “underdog” status, it doesn’t seem to impact Picard’s command.
While some crucial questions felt pushed aside in “Star Trek: The Mirror War” #0, some aspects also worked well. Scott and David Tipton do a good job of writing these characters’ dark alternatives. Every character has a moment that highlights the similarities with their prime character. Data still speaks with an overly formal candor but lacks any desire to learn more about humanity. Instead, he is a cold and uncaring number cruncher. Troi uses her empathy to mock and harass the thought of torture and training centers hanging above her crewmate’s heads. Picard is still grandiose and inspirational, just upholding ideas of power and manipulation, a desire to get the empire he served back to its former glory. The dialogue is often the highlight of the issue, even if it doesn’t necessarily fit the story they are trying to tell. The characterization is good. You just wish the story was better.
Continued belowWhile the characterization is good, the real stars of the show are Carlos Nieto and DC Alonso, who do a remarkable job of making the series have the look of Star Trek while still capturing the fact that this is a world that has an entirely different value set of the prime universe. For example, the bridges of Starships in the prime universe are the intersection of form and comfort (just take a look at the bridge of the Enterprise-D or Voyager, those chairs look so COMFORTABLE) the bridge of the ISS Enterprise-D is utilitarian and spartan. Similarly, while the ships in the prime universe look well maintained, brightly lit, and colorful, the counterpart ships look dark and dingy. DC Alonso takes advantage of dark blues and greens to make the ships look cramped and uncomfortable while also showing off the dirt and rust of a lengthy journey. But what makes “Star Trek: The Mirror Wars” #0 great is that while the ships and uniforms of the Enterprise-D are struggling, the palace of the empire is brightly lit, lavash, and lush, representative of how those at the top exploit and pass off the blame of the falling empire. It effectively justifies Picard’s desire to fight against the aging emperor and the cronies controlling him. Between the design of the palace and the ship and some dynamic moments of action, Nieto and Alonso help bring the issue to life.
The only issue, then, is just thinking about the story moving forward. The motivations are clear, the table set, but the question becomes, in a war with the prime universe, who do you support? Will the focus shift between the ISS Enterprise-D and the USS Enterprise-D? There are clear ideas here, but it doesn’t feel like “Star Trek: The Mirror Wars” #0 does enough to entice a return visit, nor does it help a reader who has not been following the crew of this alternate Enterprise. In any case, while there is a war brewing, it seems unclear how this helps Picard’s more significant goals.
Final Verdict: 6.0 While the art and characters of “Star Trek: The Mirror Wars” #0 is good, the story leaves something to be desired when setting up an event of this scale.
