Star Trek’s New God-Killer Drops Major Clue To Q’s True Power

Q’s response to the god-killer currently tearing its way through the Star Trek universe offers a tantalizing glimpse at his powers.

Warning: Contains spoilers for Star Trek #3 and Star Trek #4!Q’s response to the god-killer currently running amok through the Star Trek universe provides some tantalizing clues as to his true powers. In IDW Publishing’s new Star Trek series, a powerful force has been slaughtering the galaxy’s god-like beings, and Captain Benjamin Sisko and a crew of fan-favorites from across multiple iterations of the franchise must find out who it is. In the series’ third issue, Q pays a call on Sisko and his crew–and along the way offers new insight into his powers.

This past fall, IDW Publishing renewed its commitment to its line of Star Trek comics. In the landmark Star Trek #400, the opening shots of a galactic god-war are fired when Gary Mitchell, a human who ascended to godhood, is killed by a mysterious force. This god-killer then sets its sights on the Crystalline Entities, wiping out an entire nest with ruthless efficiency. The god-killer’s presence has sent shock waves through the galaxy, as beings thought previously untouchable are being massacred; the Q Continuum, which includes the trickster god Q, are not left unscathed either–and Q’s response to the god-killer offers a true glimpse at just how powerful he truly is.

Related: Star Trek’s New God Solves an Ancient Franchise Mystery

What Did the Q Know That the God-Killer Did Not?

In Star Trek #3, written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, illustrated by Ramon Rosanas, colored by Lee Loughride and lettered by Clayton Cowles, Q drops in on Sisko and the crew of the USS Theseus. Q reveals that he and the rest of the Continuum are fleeing the god-killer–but Q could not resist trying to pull one over on humans for what might be the last time. Later, in the following issue, it is revealed that the Q have seemingly fled known space, and in the same issue, the clone Emperor Kahless of the Klingon Empire is revealed to be the god-killer. Klingons killed their gods centuries ago, and now Kahless is going to finish the job.

While Star Trek #4 reveals that the Q have left our plane of existence, it does not say where they have gone, which opens some interesting possibilities as to the nature of Q’s powers, namely: where are they fleeing to? So far, no one has been safe from the god-killer. Gary Mitchell, who Kahless called “The Man at the End of the Universe,” was capable of building whole solar systems–and Kahless still got him. Likewise, the Bajoran Prophets believed themselves to be in danger, fearing that not even their location (in the Bajoran wormhole) would save them from the god-killer’s wrath. The Q knew they had bull’s eyes on their back, but apparently they knew somewhere safe to go, somewhere Kahless and his God-Killer Array would not be able to find them.

So where exactly are the Q going? Is there a pocket dimension that only they know of, one where they can be beyond the reach of the god-killer? Q could have potentially escaped to somewhere else in the multiverse. There is precedence for this, as in the storyline comic “The Q Gambit,” Q travels to the Kelvin Universe from the 2009 Star Trek film and toys with that crew of the Enterprise. It stands to reason then, that Q and the rest of his people could have fled there–or another universe for that matter. If this is the case, then the Q are multiversal beings–which greatly expands the scope of their power. Q does not say where he and his people are going, but the possibilities are endless–and shows the true power of Star Trek’s trickster god.

More: Even Q Respects One Star Trek Species as the Ultimate Menace to Starfleet

Star Trek #3 and #4 are on sale now from IDW Publishing!