You know, the basic rule when writing tales of the Terran Empire seems to be to include one betrayal after another. It definitely is the antithesis of Gene Roddenberry’s perception of the future, and you have to keep it in mind that the Hobbesian view of humanity is the guiding principle at play in this last issue of IDW’s Star Trek: Discovery — Succession.

I’ve always been a bit of a pessimist when it comes to humanity, quite frankly. I think that’s why I need Star Trek in my life. It counterbalances my natural negativity with a reassuring shot of hope.

However, writers Mike Johnson and Kirsten Beyer, along with talented penciller Angel Hernandez, complete their story of the Terran Empire after Georgiou’s absence from the Mirror Universe without any optimism.

Humanity is out for itself in this universe, people – in case you didn’t know.

There is some great storytelling in this book though, as we can expect no less from two veteran Star Trek writers. It gives us completely what we can expect when selfishness is the driving principle in this universe; that, of course, is what these writers have to work with, which makes it difficult to surprise the reader.

Still, Beyer and Johnson manage to pull off a couple of sneaky game-changers on us that not only entertain but give us pause for question with regards to the succession of the Empire. After all, since the Tiptons have created a Mirror Universe for The Next Generation in their wildly successful Mirror Broken books (and subsequent sequel tales), then the missing information is the line of succession.

As Michael Burnham’s machinations come to an end, we learn that the Terran version of Star Trek: Discovery’s lead character is also filled with surprises. I’d like to describe them more, but giving away the story just isn’t my usual habit — but I will say that it is a good conclusion to the story. I think it’s the only way the story could have resolved itself.

Let’s take a look at the covers for this final issue in the series.

• Cover ‘A’ belongs to Angel Hernandez, with colours by Esther Sanz. It’s a fine triptych piece of L’Rell and Burnham flanking Emperor Alexander over the Imperial sigil with the Shenzhou in ascendance. It’s very stylized and definitely reflects some of the artistry of not only the story but also of the political machinations within. I have to say that this cover really captures the spirit of the book.
   
• Cover ‘B’ is a photographic cover of Gabriel Lorca, returned to claim the throne from Emperor Georgiou. I’m just not a fan of these covers and I honestly wish it had have been given to an artist to recreate this image.
   
  Photos should be used with purpose and while this doesn’t really have any connection to the story but in the slightest way, it just seems that this standard practice of IDW is a money saver and subtracts relevance from the book.
   
• Nick Roche provides the art for the retailer-incentive ‘A’ cover. With colours by Josh Burcham, it’s a fairly standard stylized image of the Discovery flying in space with two playing card-like images of Michael Burnham overlaid. I can’t really criticize this too much; it’s a good piece of work and certainly pays some relevance to the story.
   
  If I were forced to come up with a criticism, I’d have to say that the colour choice is a bit limited for the cover, and the “red alert” tones render it a little dull to the eye.
   
•  Finally, the retailer-incentive ‘B’ cover is by Declan Shalvey. It’s a wonderful rendition of the ISS Constellation in the style of the 1960s-era Mirror Universe. I have the Eaglemoss model of the classic ISS Enterprise, and I love to see its sister ship rendered in ink. Jordie Bellaire’s colours are perfect and provide the right 1968 vibe.
   
  I’ve mentioned this before, but I really love Shalvey’s illustrations of ships. I used to be a collector of the Jane’s Fighting Ships handbooks back in the eighties, and I’d love to see Shalvey do a handbook of Starfleet registry books – very much in the same fashion as those handbooks. So, it should come as no surprise that this is my favourite cover.

This story wraps itself up quite nicely with an added dimension of betrayal on an epic scale. However, given that this is the only way that a story in the Mirror Universe can go down, it’s not a surprise. Yet, like a well-prepared meal at a decent restaurant, sometimes it’s the presentation that really sends it.

Sure enough, the betrayal served up in this final issue of Star Trek: Discovery — Succession is a real treat.

We don’t yet know where IDW’s comic adventures of Star Trek: Discovery will go from here, but that news is likely to break as we get closer to the launch of the show’s second season. Keep coming back to TrekCore for all the latest Star Trek comic news as it breaks!