Star Trek Reveals Jean-Luc Picard's Updated Version of the Kobayashi Maru Test

By Jamie Lovett

Jean-Luc Picard has made some tweaks to the famed Kobayashi Maru test. The Kobayashi Maru is the famously unbeatable Starfleet Academy test meant to teach cadets how to behave in a no-win scenario. James Kirk doesn't believe in such scenarios and found a way to beat the unbeatable challenge by reprogramming it, creating a path to victory. In the 25th century, Picard is the Chancellor of Starfleet Academy and has taken it upon himself to update the famous test. SPOILERS follow for Star Trek: Picard -- Stargazer #1 by Mike Johnson, Kirsten Beyer, Angel Hernandez, and J.D. Mettler follow.

At the conclusion of Star Trek: Picard Season 2, Jean-Luc gave a field commission to Seven of Nine, putting her in command of the U.S.S. Stargazer. While Seven will join Starfleet in Picard's final season, she's not a captain and no longer in command of the Stargazer (that command has been given to someone else).

In Star Trek: Picard -- Stargazer #1, the first issue of a three-part comic book series bridging the gap between Star Trek: Picard's second and third seasons, Jean-Luc Picard is testing Seven. He's putting her through his updated version of the Kobayashi Maru test. In the original, cadets were tasked with navigating a situation on the border of the Neutral Zone. Picard's version puts cadets at the negotiating table, where they are brokering peace between two rival factions. Picard wanted the test to reflect where Starfleet spends most of its time, which is in diplomatic situations rather than space combat.

Of course, it wouldn't be the Kobayashi Maru if it could be easily won. As the issue shows in Seven's test, these two factions will go to war over basically anything, including which faction is the most grateful to the Federation for brokering peace. Sometimes you just can't win, and that's the lesson. Seven doesn't take it well.

Star Trek: Picard -- Stargazer #1, the first of three issues, is on sale now. Star Trek: Picard Season 3 has already wrapped production and is expected to debut in early 2023. Star Trek: Picard Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming now on Paramount+.

  • Star Trek: Picard -- Stargazer #1
  • JUN221658
  • (W) Mike Johnson (A/CA) Angel Hernandez
  • Embark on a never-before-seen journey set between seasons two and three of the Paramount+ hit series Star Trek: Picard! When the U.S.S. Stargazer goes missing near a planet from his past, Admiral Jean Luc-Picard enlists Seven's help to unravel the mystery and save the Stargazer crew!
  • In Shops: Aug 31, 2022
  • SRP: $4.99
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