After more than two decades, Star Trek: Voyager fans will finally get to enjoy the return of one of the most fearsome but badly underused alien races in the franchise’s history. While (unfortunately) we probably won’t be seeing Kate Mulgrew and co return to our screens any time soon, we can at least look forward to the next best thing. IDW Publishing’s comic series, Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming, issue #2 of which is being released to mark the show’s 30th anniversary, provides a long-awaited sequel to the show’s finale, giving Captain Janeway and her crew one last mission.
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A special occasion requires a special kind of villain, not too predictable (much as we love a Q) but not too obscure either, and IDW might just have hit the nail on the head with their choice of villain to take center stage for this anniversary bash. None other than the Undine, or, as they’re better known Species 8472. It’s a comeback that’s long overdue. Despite being one of the most powerful and visually striking enemies ever introduced on Trek, Species 8472 actually only appeared in four episodes of Voyager, though they certainly made an impact.
A Threat Even the Borg Couldn’t Assimilate
First introduced in Voyager’s two-parter “Scorpion,” Species 8472 came from a dimension known as Fluidic Space — a dimension accessible through quantum singularities, completely separate from normal space. Their unique biology as a lifeform evolving from this realm, being approximately three meters tall in stature and lack of mouths since they didn’t need to breathe, made them different and frankly more awesome looking than any other species encountered on Trek before. Species 8472 quickly became known for being perhaps the only species that the Borg truly feared. That’s right, when the usually all-conquering collective attempted to invade the Undine’s home, they discovered too late that for these particular beings, resistance was far from futile.
Because of their extraordinarily powerful immune system, capable of immediately destroying nearly any foreign agent, Species 8472 became the first and perhaps the only lifeform the Borg weren’t able to assimilate. Not only did they give the Borg a fair fight for once, they retaliated with devastating efficiency, annihilating Borg cubes and even entire planets. Seven of Nine even said that even the Borg thought that Species 8472 were the “apex of biological evolution” – the ultimate compliment coming from them, and claimed the species was the first to offer “true resistance to the Borg.”
When they unfortunately turned on Voyager, in a bold move that could arguably only be pulled off by Starfleet’s most resourceful Captain, Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) struck a temporary alliance with the Borg with the hope that together they could defeat this common enemy – the enemy of my enemy and all that. By arming the ship with the Borg’s modified nanoprobes capable of destroying Species 8472’s organic vessels, the uneasy alliance saved Voyager, but not for long. Of course, our favorite emotionless assimilators went back on their word to let Voyager pass peacefully through Borg space and turned on the Voyager crew the second the Undine had been defeated. And the Undine learned to see humanity, as well as the Borg, as a threat.
Voyager Barely Scratched the Surface
Incredibly, Species 8472 only featured in two other episodes of Voyager besides the “Scorpion” two-parter: “Prey,” and “In the Flesh.” Now, nearly thirty years after their debut, these massively underused villains could finally get the spotlight they always deserved.
In “In the Flesh,” the Undine’s last appearance, we learn that the species planned to infiltrate the Alpha Quadrant by disguising themselves as humans using sophisticated genetic engineering techniques and have even recreated a fake Starfleet Headquarters to practice their invasion on. It remains one of Voyager’s most ambitious high-concept ideas. Though Captain Janeway successfully resolves the conflict through diplomacy, convincing the Undine that the Federation doesn’t pose a threat to them, and coming to a truce with that particular group, after that, they simply vanished from the series, leaving many fans wondering what became of this fascinating antagonist.
For such a well-crafted, complex, and terrifying species — one that let’s face it, could have sustained an entire season-long arc singlehandedly even without the entertainment of them being pitted against the Borg — their fizzling out of the show was a major missed opportunity. Far from being just your average monsters of the week, the Undine were a classic example of first contact gone wrong and could have provided a perfect opportunity for an exploration of xenophobia, something Star Trek has tackled to varying degrees of success over the years. As the sole known species native to fluidic space, Species 8472 was fiercely territorial, viewing all other lifeforms as inferior and a danger to the ‘purity’ of their realm. When the Borg invaded and “contaminated” their dimension, Species 8472 responded with terrifying resolve — vowing to cleanse the entire Milky Way of all other life.
It could have made for a fascinating premise for a whole raft of storylines, and even Kate Mulgrew herself has cited Species 8472 as her favorite of the show’s villains, calling them “cool” and “truly alien.”
Homecoming Finally Delivers On Their Potential
Now, Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming is bringing the Undine back in a big way. Issue #2, written by Susan and Tilly Bridges and illustrated by Ángel Hernández, is set shortly after the Voyager finale. The first issue picked up where the finale left off, with the crew finally home in the Alpha Quadrant, but celebrations were cut short when Species 8472 launched their invasion — commandeering Voyager and declaring war on the Federation.
In Issue #2, convinced that the advanced technology gifted to Voyager by a future Janeway poses a danger to the galaxy, Species 8472’s attack against the Federation is in full swing. Janeway must rally her old crew and face a terrifying enemy, but can she stop a species that once humbled the Borg?!
It’s exactly the kind of high-stakes, character-driven conflict that Voyager always did best — and the perfect way to bring these long-neglected villains back into the spotlight. For fans who’ve been kept in suspense nearly 25 years to see more of Species 8472, this is absolutely the showdown they’ve been waiting for — and one that might finally prove fatal to the Voyager crew. After all, even in the Alpha Quadrant, finding peace is never simple! With future issues set to explore the aftermath of the Undine’s return as well as other loose threads left after the Voyager finale Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming, looks like it will provide the closure many fans have been dreaming of.
Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #2 is out now from IDW Publishing.
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