• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

IDW revisiting Mirror Universe

Yeah, they usually are a bit delayed, but they are released eventually, I've got a whole bunch of them.
 
First, let me say I adore the Mirror Universe. There is a general idea that the Mirror Universe operates based on a Kirk vs. Spock dynamic. Where Spock won out, it is the Mirror Universe as we know it. Where Kirk won out, it is the Dark Mirror universe, or some variation on that central idea of a continuing Terran Empire. There are a number of ways that it is said to have gone in either case. Among them are the "Sorrows of the Empire" concept, where Kirk was (near) immediately killed and Spock took the ship. This was also in the DC comic sequel to "Mirror, Mirror". There's the Star Trek Continues idea, which is basically Spock becoming a rebel. There's the idea that Spock transferred off the Enterprise but failed, per "Dark Mirror". There's the idea that Spock just ignored Prime Kirk, as seen in the DC Mirror Universe saga. I think the Shatnerverse had Spock rise through the ranks with Kirk all the way to the Terran throne, before overthrowing him.

So I do wonder at what their scenario would be. Personally, my take on the Dark Mirror concept would be that Spock takes a long term plan and follows Kirk all the way to Kirk becoming Terran emperor, but that his plan to initiate reform and overthrow Kirk and take the throne fails, and Emperor Tiberius reigns while Spock is executed along with anyone who conspired. I do not know what their scenario would be, but there are a lot of possibilities.
 
^ In the two Kelvin-timeline mirror-universe comics, Spock learned nothing about the Federation and remained unchanged.
 
There's a preview of the FCBD issue here, explaining how they're shoving it in with something approximating screen canon: https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/0...on-mirror-universe-free-comic-book-day-title/

Looks like it's a sequel to the Picard/Stargazer story in Mirror Images, by the same authors. I guess I should've expected that.

One thing bugs me, though -- the Terran Empire would never have named a ship the Stargazer. That's a name that makes sense for a peaceful, science-driven Starfleet, but doesn't work at all for a ruthless empire's tool of terror and conquest. If the ship had a Mirror counterpart, it would probably have a more belligerent name.
 
^ Perhaps the ship was named after Mirror Spock's reforms but before his death. It's conceivable that he was trying to emulate "our" Starfleet and after his death the name stuck.
 
^ Perhaps the ship was named after Mirror Spock's reforms but before his death. It's conceivable that he was trying to emulate "our" Starfleet and after his death the name stuck.

Hmm, maybe. It's just one of the many instances where it's hard to believe two such different histories would converge on the same details -- same people being born and ending up working together, same ship designs and names, etc. When it comes to onscreen stuff, you kind of have to do that because budget limitations require using your regular actors and standing sets, but in prose or comics, there should be more freedom to diverge.
 
The cover made me think it was going to be a Mirror Ent-D not the Stargazer.
I would be...unsurprised if there's a Mirror Ent-D by the end of the mini.

[Hell, I would be unsurprised if there's a Mirror Ent-D by the start of #1-proper!]

Hmm, maybe. It's just one of the many instances where it's hard to believe two such different histories would converge on the same details -- same people being born and ending up working together, same ship designs and names, etc.
I tend to look at it as an "infinite monkeys" thing, especially when there's no crossover to the "real" universe. When you allow for infinite permutations, the unlikely-as-hell-but-minor things like a group of the same characters existing and coming together only bugs me when they get really, grossly over-the-top with it that don't even make sense on their own, like the 2009 movie. There's no accident here, it's the result of the observer looking for familiar-yet-different permutations out of the possibilities.

When it comes to onscreen stuff, you kind of have to do that because budget limitations require using your regular actors and standing sets, but in prose or comics, there should be more freedom to diverge.
But of course, there need to be similarities to (a) justify the TNG title and (b) aim to be reminiscent of the TV shows to draw in fans thereof. There's a reason they get J.K. Woodward to do this and not a Humberto Ramos-type, after all.
 
Last edited:
the Terran Empire would never have named a ship the Stargazer. That's a name that makes sense for a peaceful, science-driven Starfleet, but doesn't work at all for a ruthless empire's tool of terror and conquest. If the ship had a Mirror counterpart, it would probably have a more belligerent name.

No reason why the Empire wouldn't want to gaze upon stars before subjugating them. :devil:
 
Last edited:
Glad to see the MU continuing to be explored. At some point I'd like to see a list of all of the different strands of the MU that branch off from what has been established on screen. Few of the concepts over the decades mesh, but oh well.
 
The cover made me think it was going to be a Mirror Ent-D not the Stargazer.
To be fair, the cover image is inconsistent with the Stargazer bridge as seen on those preview panels, which is more or less an exact replica of the set used in The Battle except with modifications meant to represent the MU. My point is, there is now console behind the captain's chair similar to the Enterprise D's tactical station, as depicted on the cover.

Also odd, is the fact the MU Stargazer's engineering is using LCARS computer displays, but the bridge has the TOS movie computers.
 
Glad to see the MU continuing to be explored. At some point I'd like to see a list of all of the different strands of the MU that branch off from what has been established on screen.

Then get yourself a copy of Star Trek Magazine #15 from Jan/Feb 2009. It has a comprehensive Mirror Universe timeline by Keith R.A. DeCandido, listing all the canonical and Novelverse MU tales up through Fearful Symmetry along with all the various other novel and comic version as alternate timelines.

Or, heck, I could do a list myself based on that. Let's see, we have:

Novelverse MU
DC Comics Mirror Universe saga (set just after ST III)
TNG: Dark Mirror by Diane Duane
Malibu DS9 "Enemies and Allies": 2-part Mirror Tuvok/Bashir backup story (co-written by Tim Russ)
Marvel one-shot "Fragile Glass": another version of Mirror Spock's overthrow of Kirk
Shatnerverse MU trilogy
Dark Passions duology by Susan Wright
IDW Mirror Images (mostly "Mirror, Mirror" prequel, with odd Stargazer flashforward in middle)
 
"Then get yourself".....
"Or heck, I could do a list myself".....
Was I supposed to know the answer to my question before I posted it?
Anyway...thanks for posting this. I've read most of these, and am aware of many of the events within them. Over the years there certainly have been a number of different strands to break off from the main Mirror Universe that has been explored on screen. I have a soft spot for DC did with the Mirror Universe Saga....

Peace,
JB
 
One thing bugs me, though -- the Terran Empire would never have named a ship the Stargazer. That's a name that makes sense for a peaceful, science-driven Starfleet, but doesn't work at all for a ruthless empire's tool of terror and conquest. If the ship had a Mirror counterpart, it would probably have a more belligerent name.
Calling it Stardestroyer could have created marketplace confusion and may have resulted in the comic being delayed until September.
 
One thing bugs me, though -- the Terran Empire would never have named a ship the Stargazer. That's a name that makes sense for a peaceful, science-driven Starfleet, but doesn't work at all for a ruthless empire's tool of terror and conquest. If the ship had a Mirror counterpart, it would probably have a more belligerent name.

The ship in the Mirror Images issue was called the Starbreaker, not Stargazer.

So it is either an inconsistency, or not a sequel.
 
"Then get yourself".....
"Or heck, I could do a list myself".....
Was I supposed to know the answer to my question before I posted it?

I don't think it was meant as "you should have known this", but rather "here is a recommendation for how you can get what you want". :p
 
I don't think it was meant as "you should have known this", but rather "here is a recommendation for how you can get what you want". :p

Exactly. I was trying to be helpful by giving a link to what Jbarney was looking for, then I realized I could be even more helpful by providing a partial answer then and there.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top