Star Trek Is Ready to Answer 1 of the Biggest Mysteries From Picard Season 3

Star Trek is ready to answer one of the biggest mysteries from season three of Picard. Just as IDW Publishing winds down their line of acclaimed Star Trek comics, it already has one eye to the future, announcing The Last Starship. The new title will star a resurrected Captain Kirk, and just how he returned will be one of its central mysteries. Picard season three may hold the key.

As announced here on ScreenRant last week, IDW’s Star Trek: The Last Starship, will be written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, who are no strangers to Trek comics, having worked on both Year Five and Star Trek. They will be joined by Adrian Bonilla on art. The Last Starship follows Captain Kirk, mysteriously revived centuries after his death. Set during the time of the catastrophic “Burn,” the newly returned Kirk must not only deal with a hostile galaxy, but learn the secrets of his rebirth. Why Kirk was resurrected, and who did it, will drive The Last Starship.

Captain Kirk's Odyssey Came to an End in the 24th Century

Yet Star Trek: The Last Starship Brings Kirk Back, Half a Millenia Later

Captain Kirk is a Starfleet legend, having commanded two historic five-year missions aboard the USS Enterprise, but even legends must come to an end. Kirk’s journey did just that in 1994’s Star Trek: Generations. In the movie, Kirk teams up with Captain Picard to stop the El-Aurian Tolian Soran’s plans to co-opt the Nexus. Picard pulled Kirk out of the Nexus, where he had been trapped for roughly 80 years. The two captains took the fight to Soran, but during the conflict, Kirk was killed. Picard left Kirk’s body behind on Viridian III, buried in a grave on a hill.

Star Trek: The Last Starship revives Kirk, approximately five centuries after his death. The aforementioned “Burn” was a galaxy-wide event that caused all dilithium to explode. Dilithium is one of the key components in warp drive. Without it, there is no faster than light travel, and as a result, galactic society broke down. Not even the almighty Federation was spared: both Earth and Vulcan, who helped found the organization in the 22nd century, left, leaving only a small handful of planets behind. Star Trek: Discovery first mentioned the Burn, with Discovery able to make new dilithium.

Although Discovery may have put the Burn storyline to rest, the actual event itself has not been glimpsed on-screen, making The Last Starship a historic moment in the Star Trek franchise. The Burn dramatically realigned the galactic power structure, one that had been in place for hundreds of years. The Federation fell apart, leaving a massive power vacuum. The Last Starship injects Captain Kirk into the situation. Kirk is effectively a “stranger in a strange land.” Yet, as fans know, Kirk does not believe in a “no-win scenario,” meaning he will find a way to survive.

The Mystery of Kirk's Revival Will Be Central to Star Trek: The Last Starship

Section 31 Has Kirk's Body, But For What Reason?

IDW has promised that the mystery of who brought Captain Kirk back to the land of the living will be front and center in Star Trek: The Last Starship. Advanced information on the series did not reveal much in terms of plot or story, other than Kirk being the only familiar face. When The Last Starship was announced, fans began speculating on how Kirk would return. Fans also wondered who was capable of bringing Kirk back to life. Several options were floated, but the answer may lie in a throwaway reference in Star Trek: Picard’s third season.

In season three, Worf and Raifi travel to Daystrom Station, a Section 31 dark site. The nefarious organization stored a number of deadly and powerful devices there, and even some life-forms. The contents of Daystrom Station were a smorgasbord of Easter Eggs for Star Trek fans, but in a ghoulish turn of events, it was revealed that Section 31 possessed Captain Kirk’s body. At some point after he died on Viridian III, Section 31 retrieved his corpse and brought it to Daystrom Station. Their reason for doing so was never revealed, with some speculating it tied in somehow to the Nexus.

Did Section 31 Revive Kirk In the Distant Future?

Captain Kirk Would Make a Great Symbol of Hope in a Dark Time

As fans continue to debate the “how's” and “why's” of Kirk’s return, the answer may lie with Daystrom Station. While some fans believed that Kirk’s body was a way for Section 31 to access the Nexus, there may have been other reasons for grabbing the body as well. Kirk’s body was part of “Project Phoenix,” but once again, the specifics were left to fans’ imaginations. The name Phoenix carries multiple connotations in the Star Trek universe: the mythological bird but also Zefram Cochrane’s first warp ship, which triggered a rebirth of the human race.

Section 31 was shown to be alive and well in Discovery’s 31st century, meaning they were also active at the time of the Burn, which leads to a possibility: the organization somehow revived Kirk, either by cloning him or other means, as a way of upholding Federation ideals during a dark time. Kirk is a legendary figure in galactic history, and his return to the Star Trek universe would give desperate people a symbol to rally around. Yet this is quite benevolent for Section 31, indicating there may be a darker reason for Kirk’s return in Star Trek’s new comic.