The Federation’s Future Hangs In The Balance — Reviewing ‘Star Trek: The Last Starship’ #5
by Tom Smithyman
Things are going to get worse for the United Federation of Planets before they get better. And probably for readers as well.
As told in Star Trek: The Last Starship #5, the series shifts its focus to the Babel Conference to determine the Federation’s future in the wake of the Burn, the galaxy-wide phenomenon that caused all active warp cores to implode, killing trillions and making interstellar travel practically impossible.
Star Trek fans know that, centuries later, the Federation will recover. But writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly are intent on telling the story of the Federation’s initial struggle in the post-Burn era. It’s a significant — and not entirely welcome — change of pace after a fairly exciting initial story arc that saw the Borg reincarnating James Kirk to save the day.
Kirk, though, is largely missing from this arc. He saved the Earth (again) from renegade Klingons (again), but now he’s taken a back seat as galactic diplomacy plays out. It’s mildly interesting if you’re a fan of history. But it’s not a compelling reason to pick up a sci-fi comic book.
Curiously, Kirk is now first officer of the U.S.S. Omega, the Federation’s last starship. Perhaps Lanzing and Kelly will tell the story of Kirk taking command and doing what he does best. If that happens, it will be overdue, because this feels like Star Trek: Bureaucracy.
Fortunately, Adrian Bonilla’s artwork is a saving grace. His is not the most detailed in his work, but he includes some great concepts. For example, Bonilla is able to make something as mundane as a seating chart appear cool. Instead of boring concentric circles, he places the delegates in a holodeck-fueled matrix that makes Star Wars’ Republic Senate look quaint by comparison. This high point of the entire issue breathes some life to an otherwise meh story.
Lanzing and Kelly are experienced Trek writers who have earned the benefit of the doubt. For now, we’ll chalk up these odd story choices as a set up for better things to come. But that change needs to happen at warp speed.
Overview
With the fate of the galaxy at stake, you’d think this would be a better issue. But aside from some innovative illustrations, the story is pretty blah. Hopefully it’s nothing more than a downpayment for more exciting future. Otherwise, things will be moving in a circle at warp speeds.
