COMIC REVIEW – Star Trek: Boldly Go #3

Relevancy has never concerned the Borg. In Star Trek: Boldly Go #3, the relentless foe explains resistance, ignorance, empire, wrath and luck are all irrelevant when it comes to their mission. Mike Johnson and Tony Shasteen resume the series’ opening arc, as the Kelvin Universe crew attempts to rescue its comrades and stop the Borg.

Star Trek: Boldly Go #3 by George Caltsoudas

One of the great joys of Star Trek: Boldly Go thus far is Mike Johnson’s decision to have the Borg encounter the Romulans. In five television series (well, three) and Star Trek: First Contact, the cybernetic organisms never faced another Alpha Quadrant species. Watching the suspicious and militaristic Romulan society face the Borg is intriguing, especially since they have no idea about the foe they face.

Ripples from the 2009 film continue to have a lasting effect on the Kelvin timeline, as the Borg arrive a century earlier than they had in the Prime universe. Johnson’s use of the Narada as the MacGuffin to pull the Borg into play much earlier is fascinating, and demonstrates the continued repercussion of Nero’s revenge against Spock Prime and the Federation.

If J.J. Abrams’ film showed fans anything, it was that all bets are off when it comes to storytelling in this new Final Frontier. Whether it’s the destruction of Vulcan or the Borg attacking Romulus, the rules have changed and Johnson is taking full advantage of the new paradigm.

While part of the new series’ premise was to show the crew being split up after the defeat of Krall and before the launch of the Enterprise-A, most of the usual suspects find their way onto the U.S.S. Endeavour (Kirk’s temporary command). McCoy and Chekov have been assigned along with Kirk, and Spock, Sulu and Uhura are not members of the crew, but they play a role in understanding the connection between the Borg and the Narada.

Shasteen’s storytelling and likenesses are on point, and he adds new characters like the Endeavour’s first officer, Commander Valas (a half-Romulan, half-Terran), and a Borgified Captain Terrell. His action sequences are exciting, whether it’s the Borg attack on a Romulan subspace station or interrogation of Romulan officers. In fact, this Universe’s Borg appear to be more physical and violent than their Prime counterparts – all the better.

Fans of IDW’s first ongoing Star Trek monthly series, which ended in August after five years to give way to Boldly Go, will not be disappointed with the direction Johnson and Shasteen are heading.  As the Borg say,”resistance is futile”.