Christopher Cantwell has also had runs on Doctor Doom and Iron Man at Marvel, and is currently writing Challengers of the Unknown for DC.
Star Trek: Defiant #23 is written by Christopher Cantwell and drawn by Angel Unzueta. Alexander, son of Worf, is continuing the quv rite, to restore his honor. Consisting of three parts, the second demands Alexander lay down his life for people he has never met, in this case former Federation and Klingon colonists in the Archanis Sector, a hotly contested area of space where rampant, unchecked capitalism reigns supreme.
Presiding over it all is Superintendent Menum, who has just ordered the execution of rebel forces.
Although Menum is only briefly seen, he cuts a menacing and terrifying figure.
Star Trek's Newest Villain Hits Hard For Modern Readers
Star Trek Showed a Society That Had Moved Beyond Capitalism, But It Still Exists Elsewhere
Star Trek’s future is one devoid of capitalism and the troubles that it brings, but it still exists in other parts of the galaxy, including Superintendent Menum’s Archanis Sector. The Archanis Sector has been mentioned on-screen a handful of times, but this marks the first time it has been seen up-close in the franchise, and writer Christopher Cantwell and artist Angel Unzueta made it memorable. The worlds of the Archanis Sector are dull, life-less, with all the joy stolen by soul-crushing, low-paying jobs. It is not a stretch to see it as a metaphor for life in the 21st century.
The fleeting glimpse fans get of Superintendent Menum is ominous, and does not bode well for Worf and Alexander. Menum is emaciated with machine prosthetics, as if his body has been ravaged by capitalism. In the 24th century, it is not uncommon to see people with prosthetics or other accessibility devices, but Menum’s robot arm is almost claw-like. It all works together to give Superintendent Menum an otherworldly appearance, despite him being supposedly human. A confrontation between Menum and Worf and Alexander is inevitable, and this issue builds the hype.
What is perhaps the most disturbing aspect about Superintendent Menum is he, according to Worf, was once a Federation colonist. Worf did not say if Menum was a colonist on one of the Archanis Sector worlds or if he came from somewhere else. Regardless, he was once a Federation citizen, growing up in a post-scarcity Utopia, yet somehow he regressed backwards. Future issues of Star Trek: Defiant may reveal more about Menum’s backstory, and how he came to embrace the capitalist mindset that the rest of his species jettisoned long ago.
Star Trek Has Called Out Capitalism Before
The Ferengi (Were) the Franchise's Best Call Out
Star Trek has not shied away from critiquing capitalism in its nearly 60-year history. Numerous references have been made on various shows about Earth moving beyond the need for money and material possessions. The Ferengi, introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation’s first season, were, up until this point, the franchise’s most biting critique of capitalism. Ferengi society is structured around the pursuit of profit, and it permeates every aspect of their lives. By the late 24th century, however, even the Ferengi were moving away from capitalism, slowly but surely.
Superintendent Menum gives the Star Trek franchise one of its best critiques of capitalism to date, especially with the Ferengi undergoing a massive societal shift. While the Ferengi have demonstrated aggressive tendencies on only a few occasions, Menum and the rulers of the Archanis Sector have no qualms about using lethal force to suppress strikes and uprisings. While this may seem outrageous, there are precedents in our real world history, such as the West Virginia Coal Mine Wars of the 20th century, where the military bombed innocent people striking for a good wage.
Examining his fall from grace could make for not only a compelling story, but an even stronger critique of capitalism.
If Cantwell and Unzueta decide to delve into Menum’s backstory, they can take the critique even further, exploring how capitalism corrupts and destroys. Menum, being a former citizen of the Federation, saw a world without capitalism–which was a world without poverty and codified racism and sexism. These concepts, which are bound warp and woof with capitalism, are foreign to people in the 24th century, but somehow Menum fell under the spell. Examining his fall from grace could make for not only a compelling story, but an even stronger critique of capitalism.
Superintendent Menum Is Star Trek's Best New Villain
Menum is a Chilling Reminder of Humanity's Dark Past
The bright and optimistic future depicted in the Star Trek franchise came about only when humans cast off capitalism. However, shows and movies have left vague how the economics of the 24th century worked. The Federation boasts they do not use money, but credits and gold-pressed latinum as units of currency are regularly mentioned as well. It is likely Star Trek will never nail down how the galactic economy works, but for the Federation, it is one free of capitalism, which makes its newest villain one of its best yet.
