Warning! Warning! Major spoilers for Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #1!

The much-heralded sequel to Star Trek: Voyager has launched to mixed reviews from fans, with many readers criticizing the “shocking” twist at the end of the first issue, as well as the direction it sets up for the rest of the series. For longtime Voyager devotees, this quickly turned out to be less than the Homecoming they’ve wanted for years.

Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #1 is written by Susan and Tilly Bridges, with art by Ángel Hernández. By the issue’s conclusion, Voyager’s triumphant return to Earth at the end of the original series finale is immediately undercut.

While most fans expected Voyager and its crew to be back in action, readers aren’t thrilled that the actual Homecoming has been delayed.

The New Voyager Sequel Comic Kicks Off With A Wild Twist That Has Some Trek Fans Skeptical

Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #1, Written By Susan And Tilly Bridges; Art By Ángel Hernández; Main Cover By Ángel Hernández

At this point, spoiling the big reveal at the end of Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #1 can’t be avoided any longer. Throughout the issue, a group of Starfleet admirals, including Tom Paris’ father, are touring the newly-returned Voyager. Ultimately, it is revealed that they are actually members of Species 8472 in disguise.

The malevolent aliens hijack Voyager, taking it and its crew into fluidic space, snatching their return to Earth away from them. It’s a big creative swing, and the narrative reasons for it are apparent enough. Still, the goal of storytelling is to evoke a response, and unfortunately, Homecoming #1 has elicited dissatisfaction from a share of its readers.

Of course, it’s necessary to be cautious when criticizing a story’s set-up without knowing its pay-off. Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #1 still has plenty of ground to cover and time to win fans over. Still, it’s worth exploring, in more detail, why Homecoming’s creative team made the decisions they did, and why the story is already at odds with what fans wanted.

“Homecoming” Feels Like A Redundant Finale To Voyager, When Fans Wanted A Follow-Up

Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #1, Available Now From IDW Publishing

“Endgame,” the two-part Star Trek: Voyager series finale, ended on a deliberate note. After seven years lost in the Delta Quadrant, the eponymous ship finally made it home, but the episode closed with Voyager approaching Earth, leaving the aftermath of their return and reacclimation to the Alpha Quadrant and the Federation undefined.

As such, Trek fans have been left to speculate. Over the course of twenty-five years, fans have developed strong “head-canon” interpretations of events. The new Homecoming comic series from IDW Publishing was always going to make some readers unhappy by contradicting their ideas about the Voyager crew’s return, but the debut issue has ruffled more fan feathers than expected.

What really frustrates a subset of readers, though, is that Homecoming sets up its plot as a delay to the inevitable, a potentially exciting, but ultimately unnecessary extra chapter to Voyager’s story, when fans were hoping for an epilogue, or better yet, the start of a true “sequel” era for the series.

“Homecoming” Sets Up An Exciting Adventure For The Voyager Crew, But It’s An Uphill Battle To Get Readers Invested

Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #2, Variant Cover By Marcus To; Available October 22, 2025 From IDW Publishing

To be fair, it makes sense why Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #1 went the creative route it did. The idea of following the Voyager crew as they reintegrate into Starfleet, reunite with their families, and deal with the psychological toll of their long absence, feels more suited to a novel.

In fact, there are several previous Voyager novels in this vein fans can seek out if they’re interested. Homecoming, though, is a comic, a medium more suited to spectacle, one that requires quick, propulsive action. The choice to delay Voyager’s return to Earth, forcing them to face one more Delta Quadrant threat first, is meant to set high stakes for the series.

If readers can take that at face value, they will enjoy Homecoming moving forward. Yet it is fair to say Trek fans, especially Voyager fans, will have a hard time investing in the series if they’re put off by its set-up. As the series progresses, its impactful story beats will have to work that much harder to justify the story’s premise to skeptical readers.

Voyager Fans Have Waited 25 Years For “Homecoming,” But It’s In Danger Of Not Living Up To The Hype

Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #3, Cover By Ángel Hernández; Available November 26, 2025 From IDW Publishing

Star Trek books and comics are generally considered a lower tier of “canon” than the TV shows and movies. As such, stories like Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #1 are already in a precarious position. If Trek fans don’t approve, it’s easy to write them off, without giving the story itself its proper due.

On the flip side, though, stories that captivate fans will result in zealous adherents who incorporate it into their “head-canon,” regardless of official status. By positioning the series as a direct “sequel” to Voyager’s finale, IDW put Homecoming under even more of a microscope. It still has potential, but the first issue didn’t land with fans.

Over the years, Trek fans have spent a lot of time pondering the questions left unanswered by the Voyager finale. Subsequent appearances have revealed that Janeway is duly promoted to Admiral, for example, or that Seven of Nine left Starfleet for a time, but the “how” of those details have remained elusive.

Homecoming might still offer insight into those blank spots in Trek lore, and more, but for now it seems more poised to serve as a pseudo-second finale to the beloved Star Trek series, rather than the follow-up readers were really looking for. Still, Star Trek: Voyager is back, and the series can still deliver a fun, satisfying tale.

Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #1 is available now from IDW Publishing.

Created by

Gene Roddenberry

First Episode Air Date

September 8, 1966

Cast

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, Avery Brooks, Nana Visitor, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig, Cirroc Lofton, Armin Shimerman, Colm Meaney, Terry Farrell, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Jeri Ryan, Robert Duncan McNeill, Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips, Garrett Wang, Jolene Blalock, Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating, Scott Bakula, Linda Park, John Billingsley, Anthony Montgomery, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba, Sonequa Martin-Green, Mary Wiseman, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Wilson Cruz, Oyin Oladejo, Emily Coutts, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Rebecca Romijn, Michelle Yeoh

TV Show(s)

Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy