Star Trek: Mirror War #0
- WRITER
- David Tipton, Scott Tipton
- Artist
- Carlos Nieto
- Letterer
- Neil Uyetake
- Cover Artist
- Carlos Nieto
- Publisher
- IDW
- Price
- 3.99
- Release Date
- 2021-09-08
- Colorist
- DC Alonso
Since the first appearance of Star Trek's Mirror Universe in 1967's "Mirror, Mirror" in Star Trek Season 2, the threat of a cruel and calculated Enterprise crew has loomed over the universe. Captain Picard's Mirror Universe doppelganger didn't appear until David and Scott Tipton and J.K. Woodward's 2018 Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Mirror Broken. Now the Tiptons are teaming up with artist Carlos Nieto and IDW to return to the Mirror Universe in Star Trek: The Mirror War #0 -- a first issue that bites off more than it can chew.
Star Trek: The Mirror War #0 takes place after the events of the Tipton's Star Trek: Terra Incognita. Captain Picard and his crew are still reeling from their disastrous expedition to the main universe, during which they lost Lieutenant Barclay while fighting the Cardassians and the Klingons. Picard leads his crew on a routine raid of a Cardassian cargo ship hoping to scavenge valuable supplies. Sadly, they quickly discover that they've walked into a deadly trap. They escape with their lives but little else, which disappoints the Imperial council and lands Picard in hot water. As the crew of the Enterprise attempts to navigate the grim world they inhabit, it becomes clear that a confrontation of epic proportions is on the horizon.
David and Scott Tipton lay a fairly solid foundation for the coming Mirror War in this issue, but the dynamics between characters feel unnatural and distract from its narrative. The awkward nature of the dialogue is particularly striking considering that this is a world that the Tiptons are quite familiar with, but for whatever reason, they seem to struggle to find a rhythm in Star Trek: The Mirror War #0. Characters will lash out at each other in anger and then simply walk away after two or three tense panels, leaving very little to connect one scene to another or to relate their emotions to the overall story. On one level, this anger is in keeping with the overall characterization of the Mirror Universe, but it isn't a consistent factor in the comic itself.
In one scene, Picard is congratulating his crew on surviving a gunfight which seems more like something the main Picard would do, but in other moments he clings to petty anger. Overall, each event seems to have very little to do with the one that follows it. An assassin appears randomly aboard the Enterprise and attempts to kill the captain, but this important event is also quickly brushed aside.
Unfortunately, artist Carlos Nieto doesn't add much clarity to the muddled nature of the comic. His action scenes are as choppy and disconnected as the rest of the narrative and many of the character designs fail to capture the iconic likenesses of the characters or to add anything new to their Mirror Universe counterparts. DC Alonso's colors soak everything in the cold blue light of outer space and use bright oranges and yellows to draw attention to explosions or particularly emotional moments, which heightens the work as a whole.
The highly anticipated Mirror War event has the potential to captivate readers and add a great deal to the Star Trek universe. Both Scott and David Tipton have proved themselves to be talented writers time and time again. But, Star Trek: The Mirror War #0 is a definite misstep for the creative team. While this expository issue is full of plenty of exciting moments, they all fail to connect to one another in an entertaining or meaningful way.