Captain Kirk's Last Star Trek Adventure Is A 12-Part Masterpiece That Changes The Franchise Forever

Published Aug 17, 2026, 7:07 PM EDT TJ Mills is an editor on ScreenRant's Comic team, where she combines her lifelong passion for DC with her analytical background as a former Intelligence Analyst. Since joining ScreenRant in 2023, she has specialized in covering major DC storylines, character evolutions, and industry developments. Sign in to your ScreenRant account If you love Star Trek, then Captain Kirk’s ongoing series needs to be on your radar, especially if you’re a Star Trek lore fanatic, as this series explores a chapter that has largely been skipped over: a deep, in-your-guts dive into the story of the galaxy in the aftermath of The Burn. IDW Publishing’s Star Trek: The Last Starship, from writers Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, artist Adrián Bonilla, and colorist Lee Loughridge, is an ongoing series that has hit nothing but home runs with its first nine issues. With just three more issues to go, and issue #10 slated for release on August 19, the series has already proven to be a masterful addition to the Star Trek franchise. For those who haven’t been following the series, The Last Starship is set in the 31st century, during the catastrophic aftermath of The Burn, when the galaxy has essentially become a Wild West. The story specifically follows Captain Delacourt Sato and the crew of the U.S.S. Omega, the last surviving Federation starship, as they fight to preserve Starfleet’s mission and secure a future for the Federation. Notably, the series also sees the return of a resurrected Captain Kirk, who must now face a future without the Federation he loved. Based on solicitations for future issues, it's teased that as Kirk becomes caught up in the fight to save what remains of the Federation, he may be forced to make the ultimate sacrifice. As a result, by the time The Last Starship wraps up in October, we know this epic story will leave a lasting mark on both Captain Kirk and the Star Trek universe as a whole. The Last Starship Finally Explores Star Trek’s Lost Post-Burn Era Main Cover by Francesco Francavilla for Star Trek: The Last Starship #12 (2026) When it comes to the notable lore additions The Last Starship brings to the franchise, perhaps the most significant is how deeply it explores what the political collapse following The Burn actually looks like. While Discovery gave fans the historical event and its aftermath, The Last Starship gets much deeper into the Federation’s collapse, including a last-ditch attempt to bring its representatives together and save Starfleet. The series also creates a version of Star Trek unlike any previously seen by essentially using The Burn to create a “clean slate,” by removing the infrastructure that normally defines the Star Trek universe. There is also the unique perspective of Captain Kirk, who gets to experience the future of his own legacy, only to face the unfortunate reality that the Federation he spent his life defending has effectively fallen apart. Stardate 47988.1 · Crew Assessment The Final FrontierTrivia Challenge 🚀ShipsEnterprise! ⭐CrewMake it so ☠EnemiesResistance is… ⚡TechWarp speed! 📖LoreLive long… ENGAGE → 01 The USS Enterprise is the most iconic starship in science fiction. What is the registry number of Captain Kirk’s original Enterprise from The Original Series? ANCC-1701-D BNX-01 CNCC-1701 DNCC-74656 ✓ Correct! NCC-1701 is the registry of Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise. The “-D” suffix belongs to Picard’s Galaxy-class ship, NX-01 is Archer’s Enterprise, and NCC-74656 is Voyager. ✗ Red alert! The answer is NCC-1701. Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise carried this now-legendary registry. NCC-1701-D is Picard’s Enterprise from TNG, NX-01 is Captain Archer’s, and NCC-74656 belongs to Voyager. NEXT → 02 Kirk’s most trusted officer is a half-human, half-Vulcan science officer famous for his logic and iconic salute. Who is this legendary character? AData BSpock CTuvok DSarek ✓ Correct! Mr. Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, is the half-Vulcan science officer whose “Live long and prosper” salute became a cultural icon. His struggle between logic and emotion defines the heart of the Original Series. ✗ Red alert! The answer is Spock. Data is an android from TNG, Tuvok is Voyager’s Vulcan tactical officer, and Sarek is Spock’s Vulcan father. Only Spock is the half-human, half-Vulcan first officer of Kirk’s Enterprise. NEXT → 03 Starfleet’s most important regulation forbids interference with the natural development of alien civilizations. What is this guiding principle called? AThe Temporal Accord BGeneral Order One CThe Omega Directive DThe Prime Directive ✓ Correct! The Prime Directive (also known as General Order 1) is Starfleet’s most sacred law. It prohibits interfering with less-developed civilizations — though Kirk, Picard, and Janeway have all famously bent or broken it when lives were at stake. ✗ Red alert! The answer is the Prime Directive. While “General Order One” is technically another name for it, the Prime Directive is the universally known term. The Omega Directive and Temporal Accord are separate, more specialized Starfleet protocols. NEXT → 04 “Resistance is futile.” This chilling declaration belongs to a cybernetic collective that assimilates entire civilizations into its hive mind. What is this fearsome species called? AThe Borg BThe Dominion CThe Romulans DSpecies 8472 ✓ Correct! The Borg are Star Trek’s most terrifying villains — a hive-mind collective that forcibly assimilates species and technology. Captain Picard was famously assimilated and transformed into Locutus in the landmark TNG episode “The Best of Both Worlds.” ✗ Red alert! The answer is the Borg. The Dominion is the Gamma Quadrant empire from DS9, the Romulans are a rival empire, and Species 8472 is actually one of the few species that the Borg themselves fear. Only the Borg declare “Resistance is futile.” NEXT → 05 Captain Jean-Luc Picard commands the Enterprise-D in The Next Generation and later received his own series, Star Trek: Picard. Which acclaimed actor portrays him? AWilliam Shatner BAvery Brooks CPatrick Stewart DScott Bakula ✓ Correct! Sir Patrick Stewart brought gravitas, Shakespeare, and Earl Grey tea to the captain’s chair for seven seasons of TNG, four films, and three seasons of Star Trek: Picard. His “Make it so” is one of TV’s most iconic catchphrases. ✗ Red alert! The answer is Patrick Stewart. William Shatner plays Captain Kirk, Avery Brooks is Captain Sisko on Deep Space Nine, and Scott Bakula captains the NX-01 Enterprise. Only Sir Patrick Stewart portrays the legendary Jean-Luc Picard. NEXT → 06 Starfleet vessels travel faster than light by bending space around them using a matter-antimatter reaction. What is this propulsion system called? ATranswarp Drive BWarp Drive CSlipstream Drive DSpore Drive ✓ Correct! Warp Drive is the standard faster-than-light propulsion in Star Trek, powered by dilithium-regulated matter-antimatter reactions. Zefram Cochrane invented it in 2063, which led to humanity’s first contact with the Vulcans. ✗ Red alert! The answer is Warp Drive. Transwarp is an advanced Borg technology, Slipstream is an experimental quantum drive, and the Spore Drive uses mycelial network navigation (from Discovery). Standard Starfleet vessels use Warp Drive. NEXT → 07 At Starfleet Academy, cadets face a notorious no-win scenario designed to test their character under impossible circumstances. James Kirk is the only cadet who ever beat it — by cheating. What is this test called? AThe Prometheus Trial BThe Omega Simulation CThe Corbomite Maneuver DThe Kobayashi Maru ✓ Correct! The Kobayashi Maru is an unwinnable rescue simulation that tests how cadets handle certain death. Kirk reprogrammed it so he could win — earning a commendation for original thinking. It was memorably featured in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. ✗ Red alert! The answer is the Kobayashi Maru. The Corbomite Maneuver is a TOS episode, not an Academy test. The Kobayashi Maru is the famous no-win scenario that Kirk defeated by reprogramming the simulation — because he doesn’t believe in the no-win scenario. NEXT → 08 In the widely regarded greatest Star Trek film, a genetically enhanced superhuman from Earth’s past seeks revenge against Captain Kirk. “KHAAAAN!” Who is this iconic villain? AKhan Noonien Singh BGeneral Chang CQ DGul Dukat ✓ Correct! Khan Noonien Singh, played by Ricardo Montalbán, is Star Trek’s greatest villain. First appearing in the TOS episode “Space Seed,” he returned in The Wrath of Khan (1982) for a devastating revenge plot that cost Spock his life. ✗ Red alert! The answer is Khan Noonien Singh. General Chang is a Klingon from Star Trek VI, Q is TNG’s omnipotent trickster, and Gul Dukat is DS9’s Cardassian antagonist. Only Khan inspired Kirk’s legendary scream across the cosmos. REVEAL MY SCORE → Mission Complete Your Starfleet Record / 8 Are you an Admiral — or still a cadet on deck-scrubbing duty? ↻ RE-ENGAGE Also notable is the Omega’s Borg-enhanced transwarp drive, which creates a completely new relationship between Starfleet and Borg technology while forcing Sato and her crew to rely on technology belonging to one of Starfleet’s greatest enemies. These are just a few examples of the new Star Trek lore explored throughout the series, highlighting how consequential it has been to the franchise. In short, the biggest way The Last Starship has contributed to the franchise is by filling in the historical gap between The Burn and the Federation’s eventual recovery. In doing so, the series essentially tackles the question: What actually happened during those lost decades? Rather than simply showing the Federation after it has already begun rebuilding, The Last Starship explores the long, turbulent period when Starfleet and the Federation are falling apart, with a time-displaced Captain Kirk caught at the center. For die-hard Star Trek fans, that makes this series essential reading. For seven centuries, the United Federation of Planets brought together the entire Galaxy with peace, stability, enlightenment, and the promise of mutual protection. And then, in one terrible moment, it all crumbled in an event known as THE BURN, a Galaxy-wide disastrous event in which dilithium has gone inert, causing the detonation of every active warp core. The only ship remaining is a hack-and-slash Enterprise-Omega and its ragtag crew. Facing a true Wild West in space, the crew will need to make use of what few resources they have to uphold Starfleet’s mission of unity across the universe... and Captain Kirk will have to face a future without the Federation he loved so dearly... Star Trek: The Last Starship #10 from IDW Publishing will be available to read on August 19, 2026! TV Show(s) Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Video Game(s) Star Trek Online, Star Trek: Resurgence, Star Trek: Bridge Crew