Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The Illyrian Enigma #1!A new Star Trek comic has confirmed the dark legacy of Enterprise’s Captain Jonathan Archer. As the vanguard of humanity’s first attempt to explore deep space, Archer had to make some difficult decisions, and in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The Illyrian Enigma #1, readers learn the heartbreaking, long-term consequences of one of Archer’s worst moments. The issue, the first of five, is on sale now in print and digital.
Captain Pike’s first officer, Una Chin-Riley, has been arrested by Starfleet, thanks to her Illyrian background. The Illyrians practice genetic modification, altering their bodies to fit the environments of the worlds they colonize; genetic modification of any kind is forbidden in the Federation, hence the reason for Una’s arrest. To help her, Captain Pike and the crew of the Enterprise head to an Illyrian colony, seeking answers. As they approach the colony, Pike tells Uhura to open a channel, but Mister Spock stops him. Spock informs Pike that in the year 2154 (nearly a century earlier) Jonathan Archer and his Enterprise encountered a stranded Illyrian vessel; the Enterprise was heavily damaged in a fight with the Xindi and needed a new warp coil to complete the mission. Spock tells Pike that Archer essentially “stole” the Illyrians’ warp coil, leaving the ship adrift in space. With this in mind, Spock concludes, a visit from a vessel named Enterprise may not go as well as Pike expects. The issue is written by Kirsten Beyer and Mike Johnson, illustrated by Morgan Levens, colored by Charlie Kirchoff and lettered by Neil Uyetake.
The incident Spock refers to happened in the Star Trek: Enterprise third season episode “Damage.” Spock’s account was factual: the Enterprise, on a mission to save Earth from the threat of the Xindi, entered an unknown area of space. At one point, the ship was heavily damaged by the Xindi, and when push came to shove, Archer took the Illyrian warp coil for himself. It was a highly controversial decision, one that seemed to run counter to not only Archer’s character as well as the Star Trek ethos. However, Archer was in a sticky position: either steal the coil and save humanity, or do nothing and let Earth fall.
Jonathan Archer Was in A No-Win Scenario
Now, a hundred years later, another Enterprise crew must deal with the fallout from Archer’s decision. The Illyrians are understandably wary of Pike and his crew, but, at first anyway, seem willing to work with him. However, it is a trap and the Illyrians will not let Pike go until Una Chin-Riley is freed. While some of their hostility stems from the unjust way Una was treated, there is still clearly lingering animosity over Archer’s actions a century earlier. In Archer’s time, humans were just beginning to truly explore deep space. It was a new frontier and sometimes difficult decisions had to be made–such as the one Archer made regarding the Illyrian warp coil. Archer was not proud of his actions, but he was in a “no-win” scenario.
Jonathan Archer had to make many heavy and moral decisions during his time as captain of the Enterprise–and none weighed heavier on him than stealing the Illyrian warp coil. Fortunately, this was a rare exception, as most of the time Archer’s judgment calls were correct. However, one bad decision on Archer’s part had lingering consequences for the Star Trek universe.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The Illyrian Enigma #1 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!