Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Introduces Comic Books To Canon

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Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1, Episode 6 – “Come, Let’s Away”

The comic book series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy expands the official Star Trek story and shows that the classic uniforms from Star Trek: The Original Series are still being worn in the 31st century. In the sixth issue, written by Kenneth Lin & Kiley Rossetter and directed by Larry Teng, cadets from Starfleet Academy and War College find themselves stranded on the abandoned USS Miyazaki, facing off against dangerous, cannibalistic aliens known as the Furies.

While comic books do appear in the world of Star Trek, they aren’t commonly seen. The show usually portrays Starfleet officers appreciating more sophisticated forms of entertainment, like the works of Shakespeare and classical music. However, Star Trek has broadened its scope lately, demonstrating that 20th-century pop culture still exists in the future, as seen in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds where characters dance to Wham!’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.”

Set in the late 33rd century, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy follows young people from across the United Federation of Planets as they train to become Starfleet officers. It’s perhaps not surprising that at least one cadet enjoys reading comic books – suggesting they’ll still be around a thousand years in the future.

Starfleet Academy Makes A Star Trek Comic Book Canon

The sixth episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy features Tales from the Frontier, a comic book series detailing the ill-fated voyages of the USS Miyazaki and its captain, Chi. B’Avi, a Vulcan cadet at the War College (played by Alexander Eling), is a devoted reader, calling the Miyazaki’s story “a beacon of hope in darker times.”

The comic book series Tales from the Frontier confirms that comics about Starfleet are popular in the 32nd century of Star Trek. Interestingly, Tales from the Frontier is printed on actual paper, which is unusual considering that most people in that era prefer to use PADDs, though paper books haven’t disappeared completely. Captain Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter) on the USS Athena is a fan of these “real books” and keeps a collection of them in her ready room.

It’s notable that a cook from a Star Trek comic is now officially part of the show’s storyline. This is surprising given that many other Star Trek comics and novels aren’t considered official canon – meaning they don’t define what happens in the movies and TV series.

As a longtime Trek fan, I’ve noticed something interesting about the expanded universe – comics, novels, games, all that stuff. It mostly operates separately from what happens on screen. The way things become ‘official’ in Star Trek is pretty simple: if a TV show or movie acknowledges something from those other sources, then it’s considered part of the established story. And thankfully, that actually happens occasionally, which is great for fans like me!

Starfleet Academy’s Comic Book Brings Back Original Series Uniforms In The 31st Century

A physical copy of the book Tales of the Frontier, owned by B’Avi, proved essential in getting the USS Miyazaki’s computer systems working and accepting new cadets from Starfleet Academy and the War College as its crew. The book also aided the cadets in activating the ship’s Singularity Drive, thanks to the War College’s “Little Fireflies” program.

According to the comic Tales of the Frontier, the crew of the USS Miyazaki wore the classic, brightly colored Starfleet uniforms seen in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and the original Star Trek. This might be a creative choice by the comic’s writers, or it could suggest that Starfleet uniforms similar to those from the 23rd century made a comeback in the 31st century.

Sometimes, Starfleet lets certain ships or classes of ships wear unique uniforms. For example, the USS Miyazaki, a 31st-century Constitution Class ship, had a crew that wore the classic uniforms seen in the original Star Trek series. This look was featured in the Star Trek: Starfleet Academy comic book series, Tales of the Frontier.

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2026-02-15 14:08