Star Trek’s recent 'God War' has rocked the franchise to its core, changing the game for the most devoted students of Trek lore. The Klingon Emperor Kahless, in a bid to fulfill the promise of his namesake, began a crusade of terror against the god-like beings of the Star Trek universe. Gary Mitchell and the Crystalline Entities all fell to Kahless’ rampage. Yet hope was not lost: the Bajoran Prophets sent Captain Benjamin Sisko back to our plane of existence to stop the mad Klingon. To aid Sisko in his quest, Starfleet gave him an advanced ship, the Theseus, and a crew that stretched across multiple incarnations of the franchise.
Ultimately, Sisko and company were able to quell Kahless’ insurgency on the Klingon homeworld, effectively bringing the god war to an end. Along the way, a number of revelations about the Star Trek franchise were made, and here are the top 10.
10 The Total Cover-Up of Discovery’s Mission
In this year’s Star Trek Annual, an alien intelligence took over the Theseus, appropriating its holographic systems to communicate with the crew. It did this by subjecting them to recreations of key moments in Starfleet history, and Data and T’Lir find themselves in Discovery’s Engineering section–and neither Data nor T’Lir recognize it. The ship disappeared into the 32nd century at the end of the show’s second season, and Starfleet immediately covered up its existence. Tragically, no one remembers Discovery, adding a tragic layer to the doomed ship.
9 Worf Is a Natural for the Captain’s Chair
When Worf first arrived at Deep Space Nine, Captain Sisko famously told him he would never make a captain, but the god war proved Ben wrong. After parting ways with Sisko mid-way through the conflict, Worf took command of the Defiant, leading it capably. Worf and the crew of the Defiant were instrumental in stopping Kahless, and after the dust settled, Sisko finally admitted Worf would be a great captain. Worf eventually found his way into the captain’s chair, as seen in season three of Picard.
8 The Shapers of Sardakesh Are Real
The Shapers of Sardakesh were one of the most exciting new additions to the Star Trek mythos. An immensely powerful race of beings living untouched in Klingon space, the Shapers played a huge role in the god war—against their will, designing the weapon Kahless would use against the gods. Star Trek provided only a tantalizing glimpse at the Shapers’ power, and the species deserves a follow-up.
7 Enterprise’s Hoshi Sato’s Legacy Lives On
The communications and linguistics officer aboard Captain Archer’s Enterprise, Hoshi Sato is a Starfleet legend. The Theseus’ Andorian communications officer is a descendent of Hoshi. Described as a “Starfleet brat,” Ensign Sato is the 24th century version of great-great-grandmother: highly capable but also high-strung. Just as her ancestor was instrumental in humanity’s early exploration of space, this Sato was important in stopping the god war.
6 The Beginnings of Prodigy’s Proto-Star Drive
When Star Trek: Prodigy debuted, it introduced a new version of warp drive, called proto-drive. This new engine harnessed the powers of a proto-star, using it to travel at speeds far greater than conventional warp drive. This technology has its roots in the god war. Not only was the Theseus outfitted with an earlier version of the drive, but it was also revealed Mister Scott had a hand in developing it.
5 Star Trek's Founders Had a Secret Fail-Safe
The Dominion War was one of Star Trek’s biggest stories, but its immediate ramifications have been barely explored. During Star Trek’s second arc it was revealed that the Founders left one of their own in a Cardassian facility as a fail-safe in case they lost the war. However, a renegade Vorta killed the Founder in a thematic riff on the god war. In their arrogance, the Founders never considered one of their slave races would betray them.
4 The Cardassians Exorcize the Past
Another dangling plot line left by the Dominion War was the state of the Cardassian Empire, who betrayed the Founders in the war’s final hours. Led by Legate Damar, this uprising was instrumental in a Federation victory, but fans never saw what happened next. In Star Trek’s second arc, Damar’s nephew exorcized the ghosts of Cardassia’s past by holding a mass execution, killing off those who would stand in the ways of his reforms. It was a brutal reminder that the Cardassians still have a ways to go.
3 Gary Mitchell Survived His First Encounter With Kirk
In the classic series episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” Gary Mitchell, Kirk’s best friend, was turned into a murderous, god-like being. Kirk seemingly killed himl, but the god war’s prologue in Star Trek #400 showed Gary Mitchell to still be very much alive, and in a far more benevolent mood. Creating planets and entire star systems, Mitchell had seemingly found peace–until Kahless showed up, killing Mitchell instantly.
2 The Return of Captain Ben Sisko
Star Trek fans had been clamoring for the return of Captain Sisko since Deep Space Nine went off the air in 1999, and the god war gave them their wish. After returning to our plane of existence, Sisko had to contend with his mortality and a slightly frayed relationship with Jake. Sisko fulfilled his mission, but remains in our universe, leaving readers wondering if the Prophets are totally done with him.
1 Star Trek Confirms That Even Gods Can Die
The franchise had flirted with the idea that its god-like beings can die, but the god war showed not only was it possible, but also used its trademark techno-babble to explain why. The Star Trek universe eschews the idea of a God, instead presenting them as evolved beings and the god war continued this by showing that technology exists capable of wiping out the universe’s most powerful beings.
IDW’s Star Trek books continue, heading into new missions and new territory. Fans can expect even more canon-shaking revelations in the months ahead.