What if, in 200 years, anyone cloned Jesus or Muhammad or Buddha? That’s form of the premise of a wild, barely underrated episode of Star Trek: The Subsequent Era known as “Rightful Inheritor.” The Season 6 episode dropped in 1993, and in it, non secular Klingons clone and resurrect their final unifier and messiah, Kahless the Unforgettable. Dubbed “Jurassic Worf” in early pitch conferences, the story of Clone Kahless was revisited briefly in Deep Area 9, however these days, has grow to be a wild story level within the varied Star Trek comics from IDW.
In a brand-new, just-released situation — Star Trek #30 — Clone Kahless is distributed again in time to fulfill the OG Kahless in historical Klingon historical past. And alongside the best way, this Trek comedian is borrowing from Discovery canon, TNG Klingon historical past, with a contact of retcon for The Unique Collection.
Spoilers forward.
Maintaining with the varied Trek comics is hard, however in an upcoming crossover occasion known as Lore Warfare, varied elements of the fundamentals of Trek actuality are being messed with by Knowledge’s evil brother, Lore. In Star Trek #30, a part of the backstory of the brand new Kahless story is all about how he briefly went nuts with energy, solely to be spared by Worf’s son, Alexander. So, Star Trek #30 begins with Clone Kahless making an attempt to be redeemed by the Klingon Monks on the moon of Boreth.
As a substitute, Kahless is thrown again in time by way of the Time Crystals which are additionally hidden on Boreth. This references a retcon from Discovery Season 2, by which Captain Pike needed to acquire some Time Crystals to ensure the Purple Angel go well with might work, and the evil AI known as Management may very well be prevented from destroying all dwelling beings, in all places. Again in 2019, some Trek followers had been scratching their heads about whether or not or not Worf or Clone Kahless knew concerning the Time Crystals on Boreth. However now, the DISCO canon and the TNG canon have been reconciled as Boreth turns into the catalyst for sending Kahless again in time, and seemingly, finishing a predestination paradox.
Written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, this story virtually casually twists the foundational canon of what Klingons (and followers) have assumed concerning the unique Kahless. When Clone Kahless finds the unique Kahless, he discovers that the legend by which Kahless slew a dishonorable warlord named Morlor isn’t precisely correct. As a substitute, in a type of bootstraps paradox, the extra honorable and valiant Kahless is the copy, and the unique Kahless is a ruthless coward.
Whereas not precisely 100% canon, IDW’s long-running Star Trek sequence typically influences the canon of the exhibits and the movies, with varied storylines from Picard, Discovery, and Unusual New Worlds both organising canonical occasions or giving extra context to massive moments. With this Kahless time journey story, nonetheless, the comics look like lastly redeeming a personality who was prior to now, just about a punchline. On the finish of the comedian, Kahless is recruited to combat within the upcoming Lore Warfare sooner or later, however for the traditional Trek canon, it seems that this comedian is suggesting that the “unique” Kahless by no means existed, and as an alternative, the legend created itself.
A model of Kahless that point forgot, within the TOS episode “The Savage Curtain.”
IDW
Apparently, the depraved and egocentric historic model of Kahless we meet right here might assist to elucidate one other unusual Trek canon thriller, should you squint. In The Unique Collection episode “The Savage Curtain,” a merciless model of Kahless is conjured up by Yarnek to combat Kirk, Spock, Abraham Lincoln, and Surak, the founding father of Vulcan philosophy. Clearly, this model of Kahless appears horrible to Kirk, as a result of, at this time limit, he considers the Klingons just about solely evil.
However, what this new Trek canon suggests is that possibly the unique Kahless wasn’t a hero, however quite, a merciless villain. And, as a way to set historical past on the suitable course, a fictionalized copy of Kahless needed to take his place and provides the whole thing of Klingon tradition the one factor that issues greater than something: honor.
