Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek #3!Q, Star Trek’s omnipotent trickster, has menaced more Starfleet captains than just Jean-Luc Picard. While Picard remains Q’s favorite human, he has branched out to other Starfleet ships and bases, and a text piece in Star Trek #3 reveals the extent of Q’s shenanigans; not only has he had encounters with Captains Sisko and Janeway, but other captains, ones who have not been seen on a show or movie.
In the issue, written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, illustrated by Ramon Rosanas and Joe Eisma, colored by Lee Loughridge and lettered by Clayton Cowles, Q pays a call on Captain Sisko and the crew of the USS Theseus. A mysterious force is killing the god-like beings of the Star Trek universe, and Captain Sisko has returned to find out who. The Q Continuum is square in the sights of the god-killer, and most are fleeing. Yet Q makes an appearance to Sisko and his crew, creating one last scheme for the time being. A text piece, made up to resemble a Starfleet informational briefing, lists the various encounters others, such as Sisko and Janeway, have had with Q; they are listed by how many run-ins with Q they have had. Picard is at the top with 10 total encounters, and Janeway is third with four appearances and Sisko is last, having only met Q once. In between Picard and Janeway is Captain Dolan Prem, of the USS London. Captain Prem has met Q a total of 7 times, and some of the London’s encounters sound like winners: one time Q turned the crew into cats and during his final appearance, pouted on the bridge and made farting noises.
Q is one of the most unique alien species ever encountered by Starfleet. An omnipotent entity (or “extradimensional entity” as the text piece calls him) Q has been a thorn in the side of not only Jean-Luc Picard, but Benjamin Sisko and Kathryn Janeway as well. In his first appearance, he put Picard and the crew of the Enterprise on trial for the crimes of humanity, and has taken on the role of the franchise’s trickster figure. Q appeared in other Star Trek shows as well, including a memorable appearance on Deep Space Nine.
Q Has Bothered Several Captains in the Star Trek Universe
And now, Star Trek #3’s text piece reveals that Q has appeared to other captains, including ones not seen on screen, as well. Janeway and Sisko’s encounters with Q all happened on screen, and are thus canonical. The aforementioned Captain Prem of the USS London has never been seen before in any medium; Prem has made no appearances on television nor in the comics or novels. Furthermore, Prem has had some fascinating experiences with Q; the trickster turned Prem’s crew into cats–something he never did to Picard, or Sisko or Janeway.
Who Else Has Met Q?
The text piece raises the question: what other starships and starbases has Q paid a call on? The text piece only listed four different captains, and with Sisko being the lowest ranked due to meeting Q only once, it seems unlikely that others have met the trickster god–or else they would have been listed. It stands to reason, however, that one day, another Starfleet ship may run afoul of him. Q has messed with Star Trek captains other than Picard, and once the threat of the god-killer is over, will no doubt do so again.
Star Trek #3 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!