Captain Kirk's Last Star Trek Adventure Is A 12-Part Masterpiece That Changes The Franchise Forever

If you love Star Trek, then Captain Kirk’s ongoing series needs to be on your radar, especially if you’re a Star Trek lore fanatic, as this series explores a chapter that has largely been skipped over: a deep, in-your-guts dive into the story of the galaxy in the aftermath of The Burn.

IDW Publishing’s Star Trek: The Last Starship, from writers Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, artist Adrián Bonilla, and colorist Lee Loughridge, is an ongoing series that has hit nothing but home runs with its first nine issues. With just three more issues to go, and issue #10 slated for release on August 19, the series has already proven to be a masterful addition to the Star Trek franchise.

For those who haven’t been following the series, The Last Starship is set in the 31st century, during the catastrophic aftermath of The Burn, when the galaxy has essentially become a Wild West. The story specifically follows Captain Delacourt Sato and the crew of the U.S.S. Omega, the last surviving Federation starship, as they fight to preserve Starfleet’s mission and secure a future for the Federation.

Notably, the series also sees the return of a resurrected Captain Kirk, who must now face a future without the Federation he loved. Based on solicitations for future issues, it's teased that as Kirk becomes caught up in the fight to save what remains of the Federation, he may be forced to make the ultimate sacrifice. As a result, by the time The Last Starship wraps up in October, we know this epic story will leave a lasting mark on both Captain Kirk and the Star Trek universe as a whole.

The Last Starship Finally Explores Star Trek’s Lost Post-Burn Era

Main Cover by Francesco Francavilla for Star Trek: The Last Starship #12 (2026)

When it comes to the notable lore additions The Last Starship brings to the franchise, perhaps the most significant is how deeply it explores what the political collapse following The Burn actually looks like. While Discovery gave fans the historical event and its aftermath, The Last Starship gets much deeper into the Federation’s collapse, including a last-ditch attempt to bring its representatives together and save Starfleet.

The series also creates a version of Star Trek unlike any previously seen by essentially using The Burn to create a “clean slate,” by removing the infrastructure that normally defines the Star Trek universe. There is also the unique perspective of Captain Kirk, who gets to experience the future of his own legacy, only to face the unfortunate reality that the Federation he spent his life defending has effectively fallen apart.

Also notable is the Omega’s Borg-enhanced transwarp drive, which creates a completely new relationship between Starfleet and Borg technology while forcing Sato and her crew to rely on technology belonging to one of Starfleet’s greatest enemies. These are just a few examples of the new Star Trek lore explored throughout the series, highlighting how consequential it has been to the franchise.

In short, the biggest way The Last Starship has contributed to the franchise is by filling in the historical gap between The Burn and the Federation’s eventual recovery. In doing so, the series essentially tackles the question: What actually happened during those lost decades? Rather than simply showing the Federation after it has already begun rebuilding, The Last Starship explores the long, turbulent period when Starfleet and the Federation are falling apart, with a time-displaced Captain Kirk caught at the center. For die-hard Star Trek fans, that makes this series essential reading.

For seven centuries, the United Federation of Planets brought together the entire Galaxy with peace, stability, enlightenment, and the promise of mutual protection. And then, in one terrible moment, it all crumbled in an event known as THE BURN, a Galaxy-wide disastrous event in which dilithium has gone inert, causing the detonation of every active warp core. The only ship remaining is a hack-and-slash Enterprise-Omega and its ragtag crew. Facing a true Wild West in space, the crew will need to make use of what few resources they have to uphold Starfleet’s mission of unity across the universe... and Captain Kirk will have to face a future without the Federation he loved so dearly...

Star Trek: The Last Starship #10 from IDW Publishing will be available to read on August 19, 2026!