Star Trek: Sisko Punches Q, Again

Star Trek’s Capt. Benjamin Sisko has punched the nigh-omnipotent entity called Q. Again. SPOILERS for Star Trek #3 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Joe Eisma, Ramon Rosanas, Lee Loughridge, and Clayton Cowles follow. One of the early defining moments for Benjamin Sisko’s character came in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Q-Less,” Deep Space Nine’s seventh episode. The episode sees the archeologist Vash, a former flame of Jean-Luc Picard, coming to Deep Space 9 and Q tagging along. But the episode didn’t go the way most Q episodes tend to happen, and Sisko made a statement about who he is and isn’t. 

Yes, Q got up to some antics, but at one point, Q transformed Quark’s Bar into a boxing arena, with himself and Sisko at the center. Q expected it to be more taunts and annoyances. He did not expect Sisko to haul off and punch him in the face, but that’s what happened. When Q bemoaned, “You hit me. Picard never hit me,” Sisko replied, “I’m not Picard.”

Star Trek #3, the latest installment of IDW Publishing’s ongoing series spanning the gap between the end of , references that moment. The issue reveals a file detailing Starfleet logs about Q, with 10 from Picard’s time on the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation and four from Kathryn Janeway during her journey across the Delta Quadrant in Voyager. There is a single log from Sisko’s encounter with Q on Deep Space 9. It reads, “Q came to Deep Space 9 today. I put my fist through his face.”

A lot has happened since then. The new Star Trek comic book series sees Sisko returning from the Celestial Temple, where he has communed with the prophets for years. He brings a mission to investigate and stop the murder of several godlike beings across Star Trek’s universe. It makes sense that Q is interested in this mission, given that the Q Continuum falls into that “godlike” category, so he sets out to test Sisko and the crew of the USS Theseus. 

But before the game begins, Sisko reacts instantly to seeing Q’s smug face, and that’s to punch it. Again.

Eventually, the Theseus crew finds a way to expel Q from the ship, a trick the Sisko notes would have saved him some time had he known about it on Deep Space 9. But before he goes, Q leaves Sisko with a foreboding message about how much rides on Sisko’s mission, both for the galaxy and Q personally.

IDW’s Star Trek series is working as if part of Star Trek canon. On a speculative note, one wonders if Sisko’s mission could tie into Q’s fate in .

Star Trek #3 is on sale now. Star Trek #4 goes on sale on February 1st.