It’s quite something how well-timed Star Trek: Defiant seems to be with Picard season 3. A recent episode featured multiple characters like Lore and Worf, who are all part of this comics series. The second issue is out this week, and somehow–in a rare case for comics–it’s better than the first issue!
The last issue had a few things going against it, one of which was how it needed to get the entire crew established in the incredibly short amount of pages a comic offers. That’s rectified in Star Trek: Defiant #2, which mostly takes place days before where we left off. That’s set up on the first page with Worf’s supplemental log as we learn how Worf and his ragtag crew stole Lore from a black ops Federation site.
This issue has a lot to love, from Worf and Spock teaming up and dropping some great bits of dialogue back and forth to incredible art. I’d argue Ángel Unzueta’s art is even better in this issue, with fantastic depictions of every character straight from the show. Sometimes photorealistic likenesses can look awkward since the artist uses references to get the right angle–which was the case here or there last issue–but that’s not the case here.
There’s a great use of environments and backgrounds, from the interior of ships to some alien worlds. Christopher Cantwell lets loose with Spock and Worf going on strange alien worlds, infiltrating a base, and later getting attacked aboard their ship. With Star Trek, you’re sometimes lucky to get two things, but you get it all here.
As with the best Star Trek, this issue also has a war of words. A major confrontation has Worf and his crew bartering with some rather dangerous aliens. With some quick thinking, they buy themselves some time. Confrontations between Ro and Worf also enhance moments, as you can tell they don’t necessarily jive with each other.
The scenes with Spock and Worf are excellent.
Credit: IDW
Cantwell positively nails how Spock is written in this issue. He comes in with iconic retorts and reflections on what is said or done. Obviously, we’ll never get to see Worf and Spock in a scene together on TV, but this is the next best thing.
Lore is the only element that doesn’t quite work yet. The build-up of Lore as the last issue’s cliffhanger is lost, save for the cool hijacking of Lore by Worf and Spock. In the one scene we get with Lore, he seems tame and less menacing than how he was set up. This could all be a bait and switch, but it takes a lot of the gas out of the anticipation and excitement of the character.
It’s not often the second issue in a story arc beats the first, but Star Trek: Defiant #2 does so in spades. Now that the crew is established, Cantwell and Unzueta are showing us how fun this crew can be together in a fast-paced thrill ride of a series.
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