Villordsutch reviews Star Trek: Manifest Destiny #3…
The 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Star Trek franchise continues in this special event mini-series! It’s Kirk and the crew vs. the Klingons in a battle unlike any you’ve seen before: aboard the Enterprise itself!
Two weeks back we left the Enterprise in a dire state, boarded by a rogue squadron of Klingon warriors – led by Sho’tokh – who have now taken the bridge, and have Kirk and Co. licking their wounds after a vicious battle upon the hull of their ship. Not only this below on the planet McCoy and the Away Team have found themselves embroiled in a Klingon change of power plot, as female commander Divash is planning on unseating Grelm, before her loftier maneuverer is made.
The Klingons over run the decks surrounding the bridge taking no prisoners as their disruptors and Bat’leths violently cut-through the Enterprise crew with ease; however their plan to fully take the ship is halted as all command controls are re-routed to the Engineering, as this is where Kirk and his crew decide to bed in, letting the Klingons come to them.
On the planet below thanks to some excellent linguistic skills from Uhura, McCoy is saved from death and the Away Team begin to play their part in a change of power, but not before Sulu is given some rather aggressive Klingon medical care.
Back on the Enterprise Sho’tokh has ordered his troops to storm the Engine Room, which leads to one of the bloodiest battles seen in the pages of the Star Trek comics to date.
Klingons! Klingons are a warrior race and here in this comic you get to witness just how brutal they can be. A Bat’leth should no longer be chuckled at again, not when you’ve witnessed it hurled through the air and impaled into a named characters chest! Blades, disruptors, admiration for a strong enemy and an understanding that honour is being lost. Here be Klingons and we should thank Mike Johnson and Ryan Parrott for bringing them back.
Kirk is out of is depth against the tactical warrior; every step he makes this cunning fox – who is willing to sacrifice any pawn – has already planned three more ahead, the only piece he hasn’t accounted for is the Queen, on the planet surface below, this is going to be his undoing. Mike and Ryan are showing us that the Federation are certainly not ready for a Klingon Invasion.
As ever Angel Hernandez’s artwork is spot on. I have yet never found fault in his work nor do I doubt I ever will. The images he delivers upon the panels within the comic are both brutal and amazing; I would love to see him drop in to the Ongoing series every so often.
Star Trek: Manifest Destiny #3 is outstanding, vicious and one that any fan of the Klingon race should be picking up.
Rating: 10/10 (it’s that good)
Villordsutch likes his sci-fi and looks like a tubby Viking according to his children. Visit his website and follow him on Twitter.
Originally published May 18, 2016. Updated June 30, 2023.
