Lower Decks Comic #3: Universe in Peril!
I've finished reading the third part of the Star Trek: Lower Decks comic. You can check out my previous reviews here and here. This time, the adventure begins with a second contact mission on a planet that has developed surprisingly similarly to the depictions of alien worlds in classic sci-fi movies. The inhabitants specialize in generating job-personality recommendations for the Cerritos crew. Unsurprisingly, our heroes find themselves in roles perfectly suited to their abilities. Tendi is recommended for a position where she can help others, and Rutherford, naturally, excels in a role where he can fix things.
After this brief, humorous introduction, the main plot quickly takes off. The crisis escalates rapidly as the lower deckers discover an area where stars are mysteriously disappearing. Their investigation reveals that even more stars in the surrounding area are vanishing. They deduce that our universe might be metastable—a concept based on a real-life scientific theory, so kudos to the writers for incorporating it. Essentially, the cosmos as we know it is disappearing, which means the potential annihilation of the entire universe.
As you can see, the stakes couldn't be higher. The story ends with a cliffhanger: on the last page, the Cerritos vanishes into blackness. Is this the end of everything, or will our heroes somehow find a solution? We'll have to wait for the next issue to find out.
I really enjoyed this issue for tackling such a serious threat. I loved how, once again, Star Trek science isn't presented as pure magic, but rather grounded in our modern scientific understanding. This aspect of the Star Trek universe has always appealed to me. Of course, Ryan North peppers the story with plenty of jokes, Easter eggs, and winks to fans. I especially appreciate the small notes at the bottom of the page that comment on elements of the dialogue in the main panels. For example, Captain Freeman uses a Starfleet presentation to explain the metastability theory, and the presenter is wearing a cowboy hat, representing the thousands of planets that have developed a Western-style culture. If you're familiar with the older Star Trek series, you'll notice that this theme is prevalent and constantly revisited—perhaps due to Gene Roddenberry's love of Westerns.
Sometimes, the notes feel like fan commentary you might hear while watching the show. For instance, T'Lyn takes control of the Cerritos and turns it 180 degrees to save the lives of everyone who is staring at her in astonishment. She says there's no time to explain and urges everyone to keep acting, but everyone is demanding an explanation. The note at the bottom of the page reads: "T'Lyn already said there's no time to explain, so let's calm down until there is time to explain and enjoy the explanation! Sheesh!" This kind of humor resonates with me, so I enjoyed it immensely.
All in all, this is another excellent issue that feels like a Star Trek: Lower Decks episode. I'm looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds and what else awaits our characters. Highly recommended.
Check out other Star Trek articles in the blog section.