Star Trek Reveals the Return of Another Major Next Generation Villain

By Jamie Lovett

A major Star Trek: The Next Generation villain is returning to the Star Trek universe. Star Trek fans have seen quite a few returns lately, with villains like Lore and Moriarty showing up in Star Trek: Picard Season 3, not to mention the return of the Changelings from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The latest Star Trek: The Next Generation villains' return is happening in Star Trek: Defiant, the spinoff of IDW Publishing's ongoing Star Trek series. Star Trek: Defiant sees Worf leading a motley rogue crew made up of Star Trek legends, traitors, and enemies. At least one more may be joining their number.

The cover of Star Trek: Defiant #5, revealed in IDW Publishing's June solicitations, depicts Sela, the half-Romulan daughter of an alternate timeline's Tasha Yar. Sela was a recurring antagonist in Star Trek: The Next Generation and it's unclear if she's a friend or foe to the Worf's Defiant crew.

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(Photo: IDW Publishing)

Who is Sela in Star Trek?

Sela's origin is tied to the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Yesterday's Enterprise," in which the USS Enterprise-C crossed through a temporal rift from the year 2344 into the year 2366, averting its historic fate to perish defending the Klingon outpost at Narendra III from four Romulan Warbirds. The Enterprise-C's sacrifice during the Battle of Narendra III would lead to closer relations between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire, turning the old foes into new allies. But with Enterprise-C disappearing through the rift instead, a new timeline was created where the Federation and the Empire were at war during the time of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

In that timeline, Armus hadn't killed Lieutenant Natasha Yar on Vagra II, as had happened in Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1. Instead, Tasha Yar continued to serve aboard the Enterprise-D. When Guinan convinced Captain Picard that their timeline was wrong and that the Enterprise-C needed to return from whence it came, Tasha went along with it.

The Romulans destroyed the Enterprise-C, as was its destiny, but some of the crew survived and were taken as prisoners. All were executed save Tasha, who had caught the eye of a Romulan general. The general made Tasha his consort and she bore his child, Sela. Tasha tried to escape the Romulan Star Empire with Sela when the child was four-years-old, but Sela wanted to stay with her father and cried out, foiling the attempt and leading to Tasha's execution.

Though half-human, Sela went on to become a dedicated citizen of the Romulan Star Empire. She joined the Romulan military and achieved the rank of Commander. She encountered Picard and his crew on multiple occasions. Most of these appearances involved her interfering in Klingon politics in an attempt to turn the Federation and the Empire against each other (see the Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes "The Mind's Eye" and two-part "Redemption"). Her final appearance in Star Trek: The Next Generation saw her attempting to hijack Ambassador Spock's Vulcan-Romulan unification movement to cover a Romulan invasion of Vulcan, but she was defeated (seen in the two-part "Unifcation" story).

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Sela in Star Trek: Defiant

Sela will appear in Star Trek: Defiant, but her role in the series is unclear. The solicited synopsis for Star Trek: Defiant #5 teases that it will introduce two new members of the Defiant's crew, which already includes such characters as Ro Laren. Whether Sela is one of them or a foe they encounter remains uncertain.

Star Trek: Defiant #5 goes on sale in June. The issue's solicitation information follows.

  • Star Trek: Defiant #5
  • APR231578
  • (W) Christopher Cantwell (A/CA) Angel Unzueta
  • Captain Worf struggles to maintain order among the Defiant's crew with the addition of two reluctant new recruits, causing friction on board the stolen vessel. And with Klingon adrenaline still surging through Kahless' veins, the need to find-and stop-him has never seemed so urgent.
  • In Shops: Jul 05, 2023
  • SRP: $4.99

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