Star Trek Confirms the Return of Its Best Modern Series Ahead of Its Series Finale
Widely regarded as the best Star Trek show of the past two decades, Strange New Worlds will conclude its run with Season Five next year, but in the meantime, there are more stories to tell with this iteration of the Enterprise's crew. The latest Trek comic from IDW Publishing thrusts the Strange New Worlds cast into a galactic horror story.Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Seeds of Salvation #1, written by Robbie Thompson, with art by Travis Mercer, promises the franchise's take on "Lovecraftian horror," with breakout character Christine Chapel taking the leading role.
All of Strange New Worlds' major players are set to appear in this new Trek offering, in a story which supplements their five-year mission as witnessed on screen.
"Strange New Worlds" Is The Peak Of The Modern Trek Era, And Its Adventures Continue In A New Comic Series
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Seeds of Salvation #1, Written By Robbie Thompson; Art By Travis Mercer
Trek is no stranger to horror, but there are limits to what the franchise can do on television. Seeds of Salvation, the latest Strange New Worlds comic, allows unfettered potential for a truly horrifying take on Trek. Here is IDW's full synopsis for the first issue:
From Strange New Worlds season 4 writer Robbie Thompson (The Sin Bin, Marvel's Silk) and Star Trek knockout artist Travis Mercer (Cyborg, Teen Titans) comes a Lovecraftian horror the likes of which the crew of the Enterprise has never seen before!
After plodding through uneventful mission after uneventful mission, Christine Chapel is itching for a real adventure. So, when an opportunity to reunite with her old scientist friend Jinare for research on the planet Poilant crops up, Chapel is excited to finally do what Starfleet does best: explore strange new worlds. However, when the Enterprise arrives in Poilant's space, the crew cannot get into contact with Jinare or any of her researchers. Chapel, Una, Spock, La'An, and Scotty beam down, and they are greeted by... nothing... no one... and no signs of what caused their disappearance, only a robot named D6 who urges them to descend into the planet's depths in search of his friends. But there's more than scientists lurking in the watery abyss. Ancient life-forms and behemoths await — and they might mean more adventure than even Chapel can handle.
In other words, Strange New Worlds fans should prepare themselves for a thrill ride.
As noted, Seeds of Salvation author Robbie Thompson worked on the upcoming season of Strange New Worlds, meaning he is acclimated to writing for its principal characters. Meanwhile, artist Travis Mercer is deeply familiar with the aesthetic of Trek, and now gets to put a supernatural horror spin on it, as the Enterprise crew battle a malevolent ancient creature.
"Strange New Worlds" Greatly Expanded The "Star Trek" Universe, A Process That Continues In The Comics
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Seeds of Salvation #1, Variant Cover By Christian Ward
Both Number One and Christine Chapel were roles played by Majel Barret Roddenberry in Star Trek: The Original Series. Each character was ultimately used to a fraction of their potential in the 1960s, something Strange New World has remedied nearly a half-century later. Seeds of Salvation, by centering Chapel in particular, is an extension of that.
Strange New Worlds, like any great Trek show, juggles an extended cast of characters, and only covers flashpoints in its cast’s lives. Comics like Seeds of Salvation are meant to fill in those gaps, and flesh out the franchise’s timeline. For fans who are eager for the next season of the show, it also serves to tide them over.
Especially with Strange New Worlds concluding after its fifth season, there are only a limited set of stories the TV show can tell. Yet through IDW’s Star Trek comics, the adventures of Captain Pike, Spock, Chapel, Number One, and the rest of the crew can continue in perpetuity, adding context to the events of the series in the process.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Seeds of Salvation #1 will be available August 27, 2025 from IDW Publishing.
