‘Star Trek: Boldly Go’ Shocking Villain Reveal Brings the Star Trek Franchise Full Circle

Star Trek: Boldly Go released its penultimate 17th issue and the story finally reveals the powerful being responsible for the multiversal chaos of the “IDIC” storyline. That villain ties not only the entire series together but possibly the entire franchise.

SPOILERS for Star Trek: Boldly Go #17 follow.

The final storyline of this IDW Publishing series is “IDIC,” the title based on the Vulcan symbol for “infinite diversity in infinite combinations.” The title is fitting since it involves bringing together the Enterprise crews from several different realities, including a gender-swapped reality where the ship is captained by Jane Tiberia Kirk and another timeline where Spock goes by the name Simon Grayson and has rejected his Vulcan lineage while James Kirk was raised by Klingons and is loyal subject of the Empire known as The Orphan.

While the cause of the multiversal event was at first unclear, it was soon revealed through narration that someone was intentionally causing it to happen, someone claiming to be even more powerful than Q. It also became clear that this being had a particular fixation with Captain Kirk. In Star Trek: Boldly Go #16, that being placed three different Kirk’s into three different situations where his three core traits – his trust, his bravery, and his charm – failed him and left him trapped in the thing he abhors most, a no-win scenario.

In Star Trek: Boldly Go #17 that villainous being finally revealed itself to be none other than Kirk’s old friend, Gary Mitchell.

Gary Mitchell’s only appearance on screen in Star Trek is from The Original Series‘ second pilot episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” In that episode, the Enterprise’s contact with the galactic barrier, an energy field made up of negative energy that surrounds the Milky Way, caused Mitchell to develop powers that were at first psychic in nature and then more and more godlike. Mitchell went mad with power. Kirk was forced to maroon his friend on the planet Delta Vega, but the plan went awry. Mitchell challenged Kirk and the confrontation ended with Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, who was also affected by the galactic barrier, regaining enough of her humanity to turn against Mitchell. Mitchell killed Dehner, but he was weakened enough for Kirk to gain the upper hand and bury Mitchell beneath a mountain of rock.

The IDW Star Trek ongoing series explored those events as they happened in the Kelvin timeline, where the Star Trek reboot films take place. The events of “Where No Man Has Gone Before” happened much as they did in the prime timeline, but it was Spock who saved Kirk by giving Mitchell a Vulcan nerve pinch. Mitchell himself then gained enough of his humanity to beg Kirk to kill him before it was too late. Though it was difficult, Kirk did kill Mitchell. In another difference from the prime timeline, Mitchell’s body was placed in a coffin and left to drift through space.

But it turns out Mitchell was only mostly dead. He woke up and freed himself from his coffin, now flush with even more godlike power. Before turning his attention to Kirk, Mitchell claims he went through the multiverse and killed all of the other versions of himself, none of whom had gained the same powers, something that Kirk notes is illogical given the tenant of “IDIC.”

With his other selves out of the way, Mitchell turned to orchestrating this massive plan to punish James Kirk. In issue #17, Mitchell and Kirk finally come face to face and, even though Mitchell recognizes what Kirk is trying to do, Kirk manages to goad Mitchell into giving him a piece of that godlike power.

The story and the series’ big finale, Star Trek: Boldly Go #18, will see Mitchell and Kirk’s final confrontation, which feels like a showdown more than 50 years in the making.

Star Trek: Boldly Go #17 is on sale now.

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