Star Trek Teases the Return of a Shocking Villain

Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek #18!

Star Trek has just set up the return of a shocking villain. Soon to finish its second year, IDW’s flagship Star Trek title continues to stun and surprise fans. In the most recent arc, “Glass and Bone,” Captain Sisko is trying to stave off a war between the Federation and the Tzenkethi. In issue 18, readers learn that a surprise Romulan was a key player behind the scenes.

Star Trek #18 is written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly and drawn by Marcus To. Captain Sisko has successfully defused the situation on the Tzenkethi homeworld, and convinced the war-like aliens the Federation meant no harm. The Romulans, who had been manipulating the situation, sulk back to Romulus, and along the way, Ariennye, who had been overseeing the effort, is taken by Remans to a chamber on the ship.

She is confronted by none other than Shinzon, who chides her for her failure on the Tzenkethi homeworld, and vows to “burn the Federation” by himself.

Shinzon’s Return Ups the Ante for IDW’s Star Trek Comics

Shinzon’s Return is Totally Shocking

Shinzon’s return might stand as one of the most shocking moments in IDW’s Star Trek series yet. Played by Tom Hardy, in his first major movie role, Shinzon was a clone of Jean-Luc Picard, created by the Romulans to infiltrate and destroy Starfleet. However, the plan was abandoned early on and Shinzon was left to his own devices. Growing up with hatred for both the Romulan government and the Federation, Shinzon organized a terrorist cell. Attacking the Romulan Senate, Shinzon assumed control of the Empire and embarked on a crusade of terror against the galaxy.

Technically, this is Shinzon’s first appearance. IDW’s Star Trek title takes place roughly a year or two before Nemesis, which was Shinzon’s canonical first appearance. At this point, Shinzon was still working behind the scenes and manipulating events from the shadows, a fact he acknowledges in this issue. Shinzon has not yet attacked the Senate and his encounter with Picard is still in the future. Shinzon’s return also echoes the title’s fascination with clones: the clone Klingon Emperor Kahless was the villain of the book’s first year. What role Shinzon will play remains to be seen.

Shinzon’s Return Can Redeem Him, Showing Him As the Villain He Was Intended To Be

Shinzon Can Take His Place Next to Khan

Shinzon’s arrival in IDW’s Star Trek title also offers the opportunity to truly make him a scary villain. Shinzon’s sole on-screen appearance was plagued by bad writing and poor creative choices, which detracted from his character. Tom Hardy is a world-class actor, but he was not given compelling material to work with, and what should have been a grand debut of a villain on par with Khan, the Borg Queen or Gul Dukat fell flat. Shinzon had the makings of a great adversary, and now he has returned to menace the galaxy.

Star Trek #18 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!