Warning: contains spoilers forStar Trek: Defiant#19!
Star Trekhas rewritten what fans thought they knew about the Romulan Supernova—by making it completely the Romulans’ fault. One of the most pivotal events inStar Trek’s24th century, theRomulan Supernova permanently shiftedthe balance of power in the galaxy. Currently,Star Trek: Defiantis building towards this monumental occurrence. Issue 19throws a curveball at fans by showing Romulan hubris, leading to their downfall.
The Romulans made their debut in the first season ofStar Trek, in the episode titled “Balance of Terror.”
Star Trek: Defiant#19 is written by Christopher Cantwell and drawn by Angel Unzueta. The issue opens with a text piece of a Romulan intelligence briefing. Originating during the Dominion War, the piece paints a bleak picture, and suggests a wild plan: that the Romulans create a cloak so massive it could hide their entire star system. Romulan scientists proceed with the plan, siphoning energy off their star to power the cloak. However, the cloak never made it out of the prototype phase.
Furthermore, tampering with their star causes it to destabilize, which will soon cause it to explode.
Star Trek’sRomulan Supernova, Explained
The Romulan Supernova Was Also Integral toStar Trek: Picard’sFirst Season
In a short time, an empire that had stood for millennia was humbled.
TheRomulan Supernova, first mentioned in JJ Abrams’ 2009 reboot of theStar Trekfranchise, began as a McGuffin but soon became highly important to the franchise.As detailed inStar Trek, Spock became aware of the impending supernova, and agreed to help the Romulans combat it. Spock had spent the latter part of his life working towards reunification of the two species, and this should have been his crowning achievement. However, his plan backfired, and the Romulan sun exploded. In a short time, an empire that had stood for millennia was humbled.
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WhenStar Trek: Picardpremiered in 2019, the Romulan Supernova was integral to its first season.Picard had been spearheading an evacuation of the Romulan homeworld, but politics, as well as the attack on Mars during First Contact Day 2385, forced the Federation to withdraw from the effort. As a result, many Romulans perished and the survivors, now scattered across the galaxy, nursed a grudge against the Federation. Furthermore, it drove Picard from Starfleet. Disgusted that the Federation had seemingly turned its back on its ideals, he withdrew in protest.
The Romulan Supernova Was Brought About by Hubris
Romulan Citizens Paid the Ultimate Price
Now comes the shocking truth about the Romulan Supernova: it was entirely their fault.The Romulans entered the Dominion War during its later phases, but still suffered greatly. Although they were allies with the Federation and the Klingons, the Romulans were still looking out for themselves, as shown in the text piece.If the Dominion War had continuedits course, the Romulans may have very well broken ranks and saved their own skins. Romulan culture is built upon the concepts of trickery and deception, and this was nowhere more apparent than inStar Trek: Defiant#19.
The Romulans planned to betray their allies in the Dominion War, and some might view the impending supernova as penance.
And as seen in variousStar Trekshows and movies, the Romulan Supernova was a devastating event, sending ripples across the quadrants–but it was brought about by their treacherous natures and sheer hubris. The Romulans planned to betray their allies in the Dominion War, and some might view the impending supernova as penance. The Romulan leadership made some truly questionable decisions during the latter days of the Dominion War, and the citizens of the Empire paid for it.
