In Review: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds—The Illyrian Enigma #4 (of 4)

Synopsis: In this final chapter of The Illrian Enigma. The crew of the Enterprise sets a course for Vulcan to procure evidence that will exonerate their commander of Starfleet’s charges. But what they learn about Number One’s species, the Illyrians calls everything into question. Don’t miss the exhilarating finale of the tie-in to the hit Paramount+ series Strange New Worlds!

The Story

Having rescued Spock from the Illyrian Homeworld in the last issue. Captain Pike and his crew head for Vulcan with the mysterious data crystal that Spock recovered from the planet. It appears that a small town on Vulcan may hold the answers that Pike and The Illyrian Captain are looking for. However as they arrive they learn from an old holographic recording of Vulcan scientist Skalan, that the truth about the Illyrian race is far more complicated and political for it to be of any real help to either The Illyrians or The Enterprises First Officer Una-Chin Riley.

The Artwork

Megan Levens does some solid work with the art and does well at getting the likenesses of all the key characters right. But it is the locations that they excel at drawing really well. The sequence of panels where Spock, Pike, and The Illyrian Captain visit the small town on Vulcan is really strong. I loved how well the artist managed to capture the Vulcan skyline. But it’s the micro-expressions on Pike’s face when he meets the old woman that brought a little grin to my face.

Overall. The art has been pretty solid throughout this book. And has matched up well with the narrative by not over egging things.

Overall

Kirsten Beyer and Mike Johnson do a solid job of resolving the story but do so without it having to directly tie in with the TV show’s return. In short. The answers that Pike and Spock find could help Number One, but they’d do so at the expense of the Illyrian people. This means that you do not need to read this comic book series in order to appreciate whatever happens to Una in the TV series when it returns in June.

Overall. I had fun with this series and would love for IDW to commit to an ongoing series using these characters. I’d also love to learn more about the Illrian race and see how they progress in both the TV and Comics universe.