Star Trek: Red Shirts #3, written by Christopher Cantwell with art by Megan Levens and colors by Charlie Kirchoff, continues the greatest Star Trek horror-themed story that you never knew you wanted. 12 Starfleet Security Officers aka “Red Shirts” are on a top-secret mission on the backwater world of Arkonia 89 to capture members of a mysterious alien band of spies trying to steal the Federation’s deepest secrets (including the schematics for the fleet). As issue #3 begins, five members of the Security team have already been killed. Will any of the remaining Red Shirts survive, or will they all die protecting the Federation’s secrets?
One of my favorite original Star Trek series episodes was “Obsession”. It’s a fascinating watch, not only because it features a terrifying hemoglobin-sucking creature and gives us insight into Kirk’s past, but it puts a Red Shirt front and center. It’s the only episode in the series where a Red Shirt is a major player in the events happening around him and just like this Star Trek: Red Shirts miniseries, it’s a refreshing change of pace. What I love most about the miniseries is that no one feels safe – any of the Security Officers could be killed at any moment in any number of grisly ways. Last issue had a shocker as the Officer I was 99% convinced would make it out safe got wiped out.
On the surface, the series is pure action/adventure, feeling like a futuristic Mission: Impossible. Writer Christopher Cantwell keeps the pace moving briskly and the surprises coming fast. But at its heart, the miniseries is pure horror and honestly would make a damn fantastic R-rated Star Trek film with teeth, with death coming swift and unexpectedly. Who knows? A horror-themed Star Trek film might be just the kick in the starboard engine the franchise needs to break out of the rut it’s currently in.
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Chip Miller, the youngest and most centered of the book’s cast, is the narrator for the story. He’s an interesting lead, but the other members of the Security team are equally fascinating: a failed Vulcan scientist, a woman who’s secretly suicidal and joined Starfleet to get a quick ending to her life, and another woman who’s Earth’s martial arts champion, and dreams of being in Stellar Cartography but got stuck with this awful assignment. The alien agents who have come to Arkonia 89 to steal the Federation’s schematics are from an alien race that’s well known to Star Trek viewers (and my personal favorite of the Federation’s enemies), and more layers to their plot are tantalizingly revealed each issue.
Artist Megan Levens makes Arkonia 89 a nightmarish place, with its massive spider-like creatures prowling the terrain and the ninja-like outfits of the alien spies, making them seem like living malevolent spirits who can attack you from behind at any moment.
I’m not sure who’ll survive the miniseries, but I’d love to see a sequel to this story, if not with the current cast of characters, maybe with a tale focusing on a new team of hapless Security Officers, who carry a pride and honor that makes them some of the greatest (but unfortunately forgotten) members of Starfleet.
Star Trek: Red Shirts #3 is a masterful twist on the Star Trek formula, adding heavy doses of horror to create a unique and super entertaining story.
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