Jake, Nog, and Alexander have been dragged into an alternate universe in IDW’s Sons of Star Trek #2. In trying to find their place in the world, they were taken into a whole new one. This alternate reality is a wartorn alternate timeline, where the Federation is at war with the Breen. However, there’s a catch. This whole thing is a test from QJ, Q Junior, who’s got everyone in a time loop, insisting he’s teaching them a lesson. All the titular ‘sons’ want however, is to return home, but how far will they go to get back?
Can our heroes break free of this time loop? How will they learn to work together with this unfamiliar crew? How long will it be before Jake emulates his father’s treatment of the Q? Let’s find out in this review of Sons of Star Trek #2, which is out today from IDW Publishing!
WARNING – Spoilers follow for Sons of Star Trek #2
Redemption
In the last issue, we saw the three heroes trapped in a time loop. It repeated a handful of times, jumping back every time the USS Avery was destroyed by a Breen ship. By the time we meet back up with them here, time has passed, but it also hasn’t. They’re still trapped in a loop and on their 57th attempt. Upsettingly, they’ve made very little progress, drawing a lot of anger from them rather than genuine attempts to actually try and get out. A lot of the rage comes from Alexander, and he’s rather poignantly the focus of Sons of Star Trek #2.
For something of a quick refresh, Alexander joined a radical, extremist Klingon religious movement “The Red Path”. Defeating them was the focus of a whole crossover event last year, but basically, Alexander ended up leaving the group. Every appearance of his since has done a good job addressing him trying to rejoin society and deprogram himself. A whole issue focusing on his perspective, reading all of his thoughts, was an inspired idea.
This alternate timeline places a nice bit of conflict inside him. A Klingon priest he killed when he was in the Red Path, Valkor, is one of the bridge officers. Given it’s a different universe, it’s obviously not the same man, but it’s more than enough to haunt him. The way he takes the opportunity to save him and heal him in this timeline is a great shot at redemption. It’s a powerful test, that symbolically, allows Alexander to find some peace. Jake’s speech about coming back from mistakes was really moving.
Making the Most of It
This is very much Alexander’s issue. Most of what Jake does is confined to encouraging Alexander toward the end. Nog gets a nice moment, though. He’s an engineer in both timelines, helping Commander Shaw (yes, that Shaw) get the ship back up and running. Shaw is very receptive toward Nog, despite being from a different universe. It’s heartwarming, and based on the pair’s absence from the rest of Sons of Star Trek #2, I assume that’ll be the focus next month.
Outside of our main characters, Tuvix mind melds with Alexander, finally giving the Avery a fighting chance. Saving the ship from destruction, Jadzia performs something called the “Curzon Manoeuvre”. It’s implied when Morn speaks that this Jadzia wasn’t paired with the Dax symbiont. I’m glad that amongst a story grappling with some pretty deep ideas, the writers still play with being in a different universe. Flipping the characters we know in such a way that everything’s familiar but very different. Had fun trying to pick up on all of it.
Finishing off the issue, after Alexander saves Valkor, the time loops over again. Their troubles, however, are only just beginning. This time, the USS Avery is no longer being attacked by a Breen ship. Instead, the Breen have taken the opportunity to board the ship, firing on everything in sight. Alexander turns into a warrior for a second, but it won’t be enough, with many more Breen beaming over. It’s an interesting cliffhanger that tells me that the worst is yet to come!
Issue Preview
Conclusion
I thought that this was really well done. We spent most of Sons of Star Trek #2 grappling with Alexander’s moral crisis, and his resolution to try and do all the good he can was really quite powerful. I’m so glad that his story got the focus that it did here, in what was set up as a fun time loop story, it ended up being quite emotionally charged. If over the next 2 issues, Nog and Jake manage to get anywhere near this focus, we’re in for an absolute treat.
The time loop shenanigans were also entertaining. The Avery’s battle with the Breen was stunning, and it was nice to see them find a way out of their problem. Unfortunately, however, they’ve only managed to get themselves in deeper trouble with the Breen now boarding the ship. The next issue is set up to be a big firefight all throughout the USS Avery, which is hopefully a nice change of pace and style for the series.
You can pick up your own copy of Sons of Star Trek #2 which is out today from IDW Publishing. It’s available to purchase digitally from retailers such as Amazon and can be found physically from today on the shelves at your local comic book store. For more Star Trek reviews, all the latest news, lore discussions, and more be sure to follow the team here at Trek Central!
Issue Credits
Writer: Morgan Hampton
Artist: Angel Hernandez
Colorist: Nick Filardi
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Design & Production: Neil Uyetake
Group Editor: Heather Antos
Editorial Assistant: Vanessa Real
In the next issue…
In issue #3: In a—SNAP!—turn of events, Q Jr has kidnapped three of Starfleet’s eldest sons and transported them to an alternate reality. By way of a bold maneuver with Lieutenant Jadzia at the helm, the U.S.S. Avery crew finally avoided being turned to shrapnel by the Breen…for now. But the crew now faces a new challenge: The infamous Curzon maneuver has left them sitting dead in space, and the Breen have already begun infiltrating the ship. To make matters worse, QJ’s powers have stopped working. It’s do or die for Jake Sisko and the crew of the Avery—for real this time.
Release date: June 5, 2024
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