Writer:Mike Johnson

Art: Tony Shasteen

Color: Davide Mastrolonardo

In part 1 of the Live series of Star Trek: 5 Year Mission, Captain Kirk and the intrepid crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise are in the midst of their historic five year mission into uncharted space. The ship is swept into a dangerous Ion storm that has left them in the alternate reality of the Mirror Universe and they find themselves in orbit around Ceti Alpha V. Kirk leads an away team to investigate. There, the crew encounters one of their most villainous of foes, Khan Noonien Singh. Meanwhile, Commander Spock is put to the test when he comes face to face with….himself as the I.S.S. Enterprise attacks.

Part 2 of this 3 issue series starts off with a face familiar to the fans of the original 1960’s series, Harcourt Fenton “Harry” Mudd (A wonderfully colorful character that was far under-utilized outside the original series). Mudd has a business deal in the works with Captain James Kirk, but as this is the Mirror Universe, any dealings with Kirk can be deadly. While the Khan we know can be equally deadly, in the MU, Khan (who goes by Singh in this reality) is a pacifist who is willing to assist Captain Kirk and his team to get back to his Enterprise and his Universe. Meanwhile, the evil goateed Spock has captured the Enterprise and her crew and has made his version of Sulu its temporary Captain for the trip back to Earth to have it scrapped and its crew enslaved. Spock takes his doppelganger to Vulcan, which is a very different version of our Spock’s destroyed planet. Meanwhile, Singh takes Kirk and company to the safest place in the MU-the Klingon home world but there he comes face to face with a greater threat than he has ever encountered.

Writer Mike Johnson has crafted an engaging story-line that stays true to classic Trek but here that could be a slight issue. To clarify, I grew up a die hard fan from the original series, The Next Generation and the most recent films so I am thrilled to devour any story that has the Mirror Universe. But if you are part of the newer audience that only knows the J.J. Abram films, the plot might seem muddled or confusing. Tony Shasteen and Davide Mastrolonardo make up for anything lost in the plot with their pristine art and colors. As a series that is an offshoot of the recent films, the actors that portray the characters come to life on the pages, and there is a high level of skill brought to the shadowing of landscapes and inanimate objects.

Star Trek: 5 Year Mission Live Part 2 leaves the reader with an effective cliffhanger, I look forward to the conclusion of the story in Part 3 and hope the author leaves some aspects open-ended in order to revisit the Mirror Universe again.

 

4.5 Agonizers of 5