As Star Trek prepares to say goodbye to Captain Kirk, fans now know the final enemy he’ll face in franchise history. After facing down Klingons, Khan and the Gorn, Kirk’s story is almost at an end, and he’s going out against a foe worthy of his legacy.

Introduced in 1966, Captain Kirk has become one of the most iconic heroes in pop culture, famously depicted by William Shatner. Kirk has died and returned multiple times across the franchise, but his most enduring passing came in Star Trek: Generations, when he was crushed under a falling bridge while battling Tolian Soran.

Recently, Kirk returned, resurrected in the distant future to find the Federation all but destroyed. As he rides into battle one last time, Kirk has set his sights on his final enemy: the Emerald Chain.

Captain Kirk Takes on the Emerald Chain in His Final Adventure

In IDW’s ongoing, canon comic Star Trek: The Last Starship, Kirk has been resurrected/cloned back to life by the Borg leader Jurati. The galaxy finds itself plunged into chaos following the Burn – a disastrous chain reaction that rendered almost all dilithium inert. In this era, only one ship, the U.S.S. Omega, is still capable of faster than light travel.

Kirk was brought back by Jurati to offer the Federation essential leadership during a potentially apocalyptic fall from grace. However, things have gone from bad to worse as the Emerald Chain have extended their influence over the galaxy, declaring themselves a replacement for the Federation and launching a campaign to destroy their rivals for good.

This alliance between Andoria, Orion Prime and Ferenginar is taking over the galaxy, terrorizing countless worlds in the name of protecting trade. In the recent Star Trek: The Last Starship #9 (Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Hernan Gonzalez, Lee Loughridge and Clayton Cowles), Kirk leads a mutiny, replacing Omega‘s Captain Delacourt Sato to take the fight to the enemy. Kirk declares:

Every Emerald Chain blockade, we break. Every despairing planet under their so-called ‘protection,’ we liberate. We tear them down. Even if it takes a century. … The plan is we stop appeasing and repairing and we fight back! Harder and without fear! We stop hoarding what little the Federation has left and we use it to punch the Emerald Chain in the throat!

The issue ends with Kirk captaining the Omega into battle against the Emerald Chain, as the series enters its final chapter.

The Emerald Chain Are a Perfect Enemy for Kirk’s Final Appearance

There are many enemies who would have been fitting for Captain Kirk’s far-future final chapter, however the Emerald Chain are arguably the perfect choice. The group operate as a dark opposite of the Federation, pretending to be what the utopian organization actually tried to be.

From the Prime Directive to law and order, the Emerald Chain are the anti-Federation, driven by control and profit rather than equality and justice. They’re also a foe with the galaxy already in their grasp – by battling against them, Kirk isn’t just saving the galaxy from a developing threat, but freeing world after world from villains who are already very much in power.

Star Trek: The Last Starship has given Captain Kirk one last adventure with the highest possible stakes, as the legendary captain becomes the deciding force in the future of the galaxy: the Federation’s altruism or the Emerald Chain’s terror. Star Trek: The Last Starship has three more issues to conclude its story, with the summary for the final issue promising Kirk won’t let hope die “without a vicious fight or a noble sacrifice.”

Star Trek: The Last Starship #9 is available now from IDW Publishing.

Created by

Gene Roddenberry

First Film

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

First TV Show

Star Trek: The Original Series

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

Star Trek is one of pop culture’s biggest multimedia franchises, spanning multiple movies, TV shows, books, comics, video games, and various other media. The franchise was created by Gene Roddenberry and started with the 1960s TV series starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Over the decades, several equally popular series have come out since as Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Discovery.