The fun of an alternate universe is seeing how differently characters you know interact with each other. The people who hate each other might be married, while two characters who were the best of friends might be bitter enemies. Star Trek: Defiant #26, the second part of “Lore War”, takes this to its extreme – especially in its opening pages, which show warp drive inventor Zefram Cochrane making first contact not with Vulcans but with Lore himself. Where Cochrane’s interactions with the Vulcans was full of wonder, Lore brings nothing but menace wherever he goes.
This same approach is applied to the present day, as Ben Sisko and Kahless attempt to get off Earth but find themselves running into Beverly Crusher, who’s still under the belief that Lore created the universe. Elsewhere, Worf finds himself battling the Maquis, the Borg collective that is now led by Spock. And Lily Sato, guided by Data, finds the one person who could help end Lore’s rule.
Christopher Cantwell is clearly having a blast with these new dynamics, especially when it comes to the trio of Sisko, Kahless and Beverly. Not only do you get the delightful sight of Beverly walloping a Klingon upside the head with a baseball bat, but you also get to see her exclaim her displeasure at Sisko shaving (which was the opposite reaction I had to seeing him with hair). Cantwell peppers the rest of Star Trek: Defiant #26 with familiar faces, each of them having a role to play in Lore’s new world.
Speaking of Lore, once again his rants prove to be one of the best parts of this storyline, especially with how over the top they are. Like any god, he has his own design for the universe…and immense outbursts of anger whenever he runs into anyone who defies his will. The irony is that he’s forcing Data to perform these tasks for him, which results in scenes that oscillate between hilarious and frightening. For Lore is apparently a fickle and petty god (which is fitting, given his history.)
IDW
It helps that Davide Tinto returns to illustrate the issue, as his characters’ facial expressions are a wonder to behold. There’s the sheer disbelief in Kahless’ face when Beverly attacks him; the drunken horror and disbelief in Cochrane’s face when he’s first approached by Lore; Spock retaining his unflappable Vulcan demeanor even when Borg tech is grafted onto his body. And the standout once again is Lore. Tinto illustrates a series of panels depicting his reaction to Spock taking out one of his fleets; his eyes widen in shock, then narrow in fury as he screams “No!” over and over again.
Lee Loughridge continues to play with different colors for the backgrounds, particularly the space sequences. A battle between the Maquis and Starfleet is pure chaos; bluish-white phaser beams splash across similarly colored shields, and a star going supernova bathes the page in brilliant golden light. In contrast, a ship Sisko has stolen turns into a blazing blue streak across the endless night sky, representing a bright light of hope in Lore’s oppressive grip.
Star Trek: Defiant #26 delivers some unexpected character interactions and explosive action, resulting in another satisfying salvo in the Lore War. All I can say is “bring on the next issue” because I’d love to see what happened to other Trek characters in this strange new world.
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