From the very start, it was obvious Captain Kirk would return to lead a crew, but it wasn’t clear how until Star Trek: The Last Starship #2. It may be the 31st century, but newly cloned with all his memories, there’s no stopping the man from taking the lead when people are in danger, or worse. That issue ended with Captain Delacourt Sato’s idealistic peace-by-any-means-necessary goal going up in smoke. Enter Kirk, who is on the bridge and ready to take command!
Star Trek: The Last Starship #3 opens where we left off as Kirk stands valiantly to aid Sato. This isn’t mutiny, as Sato makes it clear on the very first page that the ship seems doomed, but thanks to Kirk, maybe they can make it out alive. The U.S.S. Omega is facing the Klingon cult known as The Black Path, with the ship taking heavy fire, and the Klingons are ready to cut their way into the hull of the ship and drag every last hope the Federation has for a brighter future.
As calm as ever, Kirk takes command. It’s an exciting moment that fans of The Original Series will adore, and it’s a moment that proves sometimes you need to fight and kill to win. The tension is palpable on the first page, with characters leaping into action on the second, and the rest of the issue not letting up. We’ve got hand-to-hand combat on the outside of the ship, direct attacks on Earth, and clever strategy to end the battle fast, because the U.S.S. Omega can’t stand a chance in a battle that lasts long.
Writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly write a near pitch-perfect issue thanks to big, shocking surprises, and a whole lot of hope being lost for our crew. For a Star Trek book, this feels like the darkest moment that you won’t come back from. Given Kirk’s leadership and Sato’s desire to right the Federation, it’s in this issue that we realize maybe the Federation and Star Trek as we know it will forever be changed.
Love that nine-panel grid.
Credit: IDW
All that darkness piles up by the end, making for an issue that will make the die-hard Star Trek fan hopeful that something, anything, can right this dark future for the brand. That’s a good thing, as the stakes and danger couldn’t be higher. Throw in a cliffhanger that somehow loops in something akin to romance, and we have ourselves a yarn with all the tenets of good dramatic storytelling.
The art by Adrian Bonilla with colors by Heather Moore is incredible, with a grittiness that befits the destruction and laser blasts going this way and that. Layouts maximize the pages with smaller panels here, a larger panel there, with expert pacing. The drama is high, particularly inside the Klingon Black Path lead ship. It’s somewhat organic and bug-like, adding a creepy layer. Expressions are as intense as they need to be in this thrill ride.
As far as gripes, I only have two. One is the Borg engineer looking a bit simple and childlike. I’m sure it’s to make her less scary, like in the movies and TV shows, but it looks a bit off. The last gripe is Sato’s weaponry, which has a convenient effect, albeit it’s pretty cool looking in the full-page splash.
Star Trek: The Last Starship #3 is the series firing on all cylinders, delivering a dark, high-impact chapter that reframes Kirk not as a nostalgic icon, but as a necessary force in a collapsing future. The issue balances explosive action with moral consequence, suggesting that the Federation, and Star Trek itself, may be heading toward a version that can’t simply reset back to optimism. With top-tier pacing, striking visuals, and a cliffhanger that adds emotional complexity to the carnage, this series is revisiting the past while rewriting the future.
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