Data’s evil brother conquers reality in Star Trek: Lore War

Star Trek has its share of dangerous and dastardly villains, but it’s rare that any of them manage to triumph over Starfleet and its allies. Nonetheless, that’s what happened in September 4’s Star Trek #500, in which Lore, the android brother of the Enterprise’s Commander Data, used the omnipotent weapon known as the Orb of Destruction to remake all of reality in his image, with himself as its all-powerful god.

But there’s hope yet, as heroes and villains alike from all over the galaxy will band together to bring him down in Lore War, a Star Trek crossover event that ties in IDW Publishing’s flagship Star Trek title along with Star Trek: Defiant, and a series of special one-shots, all kicking off in 2025 with Star Trek: Lore War #1 by writers Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, and Christopher Cantwell, and artist Davide Tinto.

(Image credit: IDW Publishing)

“This is it. The moment we’ve been building to since the Theseus left spacedock and the Defiant was stolen,” says Lanzing in a statement. “The ultimate STAR TREK comics crossover event – as the heroes and villains of the galaxy must band together to defend its very existence.”

“The gods are dead, and only one mad android holds the reins of our universe. With absolute power comes absolute corruption… but does it come with absolute control?” adds Kelly. “Featuring the incredible art of Davide Tinto – a newcomer to the Trek world – we’re not settling for anything less than the most impressive and world-ending STAR TREK event that comics can contain.” 

“Since the line’s inception, our grander story in both titles has dealt with STAR TREK’s concept of godlike beings and the rejection of those godlike beings — order and entropy as it exists throughout the four quadrants of the galaxy,” Cantwell states. “Who pulls the strings and who dares to cut them? LORE WAR is quite literally the apotheosis of that shared theme, two years in the making.”

Star Trek: Lore War #1 goes on sale on March 26, 2025 with a primary cover by Malachi Ward, seen above.

Star Trek: Lower Decks is getting a second life as a comic book.