Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek: Voyager: Homecoming #1!
Star Trek reveals a major Voyager retcon that is sure to anger long-time fans. IDW’s new Star Trek: Voyager: Homecoming miniseries not only celebrates the show’s 30th anniversary, but wraps up loose ends left behind as well. The first issue kicks off with a bang, as Starfleet is betrayed by one of its own, raising questions along the way.
Star Trek: Voyager: Homecoming #1 was written by Susan Bridges and Tilly Bridges and drawn by Angel Hernandez. Admiral Paris, the father of Tom Paris and one of Starfleet’s top officials, boards Voyager to begin the process of welcoming the crew home. However, any reunion is put on hold, as Admiral Paris is revealed to be a member of Species 8472.
Collage of an image of Captain Janeway and Tuvok holding phasers with an image of a member of Species 8472 from Star Trek: Voyager.
IDW Is Bringing Star Trek: Voyager’s Story to an End, Two Decades After It Aired its Final Episode
IDW’s New Series Homecoming Also Celebrates Voyager’s 30th Anniversary
Star Trek Voyager Homecoming Janeway Variant Cover
Star Trek: Voyager ended in 2001, with the titular starship returning home. However, the cameras faded to black right as Voyager was entering Earth orbit, leaving the immediate fate of the ship and her crew unknown. Later Star Trek shows, such as Picard and Prodigy, would gradually reveal what happened to Janeway, Seven and the rest.
Enter IDW, who has been on a hot streak with their line of Star Trek comics. The publisher released a 30th anniversary miniseries for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in 2023, and it was well-received by fans and critics. IDW is following it up with Homecoming, which shows what happened after the finale ended.
Star Trek: Voyager was built upon a fascinating premise, one that took the franchise into new directions and new places. In the pilot episode, “The Caretaker,” the ship is brought to the Delta Quadrant by a powerful entity. The ship becomes stranded there, and must join forces with a Maquis crew to begin the voyage back to the Alpha Quadrant.
Voyager Made Many Powerful Enemies While in the Delta Quadrant
Species 8472 Was the Most Powerful Alien Race Voyager Encountered
Admiral Janeway looks concerened as a Species 8472 alien stands behind her.
Along the way, Voyager made allies in the Delta Quadrant, and many more enemies. The Delta Quadrant is home to the Borg Collective, and Voyager encountered them in the show’s third season. At the season’s end, fans first met Seven of Nine, a Borg drone who had once been a human.
Seven of Nine proved to be a major asset to Voyager, but her introduction was overshadowed by first contact with Species 8472. Natives of the other-dimensional Fluidic Space, Species 8472 were the only race the Borg could not assimilate. As a result, they had no way to defend themselves from 8472’s onslaught.
Only an alliance between Janeway and the Borg was able to stop Species 8472, but it did not wipe them out. Instead, 8472 fell back to Fluidic Space and began plotting their next move against the Federation. This time, they used their shape-shifting abilities to plan an infiltration of Starfleet.
Janeway was once again able to stop Species 8472, negotiating a truce that ensured they would not attack the Federation. Yet even after that, there was a sense that Starfleet had not seen the last of 8472. However, Voyager never met them again on their trip home, making Species 8472 another dangling loose end.
Species 8472 Have Returned to Finally Destroy Voyager and the Federation
Species 8472 Nearly Attacked the Federation Once Before
Star Trek Voyager Homecoming #1, Seven of Nine and Captain Janeway against a stellar backdrop
Star Trek: Voyager: Homecoming brings Species 8472 back in a grand fashion. They have broken the truce with the Federation in response to the advanced, futuristic tech Admiral Janeway brought back with her, as seen in Voyager’s finale. Species 8472 now sees the Federation as a legitimate threat, one that must be stopped.
Species 8472 had already begun making overtures to invade the Federation, but abandoned them when Janeway struck the deal. How Species 8472 found out about the future tech remains to be seen, but their presence raises questions, namely: how long has this new infiltration of Starfleet on their part been going on.
Species 8472’s Invasion of the Federation Raises a Lot of Questions, and Sets Up a Huge Voyager Retcon
Admiral Paris May Have Been an Enemy Agent All This Time
Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and the bridge crew of the USS Voyager speak with Admiral Paris and the Pathfinder crew after finally making it back to the Alpha Quadrant in the Star Trek: Voyager series finale “Endgame”
The revelation that Species 8472 has made their way into the highest echelons of Starfleet sets up a huge Voyager retcon. Issue one of Homecoming marked the return of Admiral Paris to the Star Trek universe, only for it to come out he was a member of 8472 in disguise.
Admiral Paris was introduced into the show in later seasons, after Voyager made contact with the Alpha Quadrant. After this contact, Starfleet established Project Pathfinder to find a way to bring Voyager safely home. Admiral Paris was put in charge, and among his team included Reg Barclay, who was the one to actually establish contact with Voyager.
Despite his distance from his son Tom, Admiral Paris became something of a fatherly figure to Voyager and the crew. As the head of Project Pathfinder, he became tasked with helping get Voyager home. It became his duty to save his son and his crewmates, and it gave Admiral Paris a bit of atonement for his poor relationship with Tom.
What Did Species 8472 Do to Admiral Paris and the Project Pathfinder Team?
If Admiral Paris is Dead, It Raises Disturbing Implications About Species 8472’s Invasion of the Federation
Seven of Nine communicates with Pathfinder communications system in Star Trek: Voyager
Species 8472’s infiltration of Starfleet raises even more questions. In addition to the invasion’s duration, there are questions over what happened to Admiral Paris and the rest of Project Pathfinder. This mystery will no doubt be revealed as Homecoming continues, but it leaves fans wondering if Voyager had been corresponding with a disguised member of Species 8472.
If the infiltration is new, then it is possible Admiral Paris and his team are still alive, and may be prisoners of Species 8472. Yet if this infiltration has been ongoing for a while, then there is a possibility that Paris and the others are dead. It also suggests that Species 8472 are even further entrenched in Starfleet.
Star Trek: Voyager Fans May Not LIke The Admiral Paris Retcon
Voyager Fans Upset About this Retcon Take Heart: Admiral Paris May Still Be Alive
Star Trek Voyager Homecoming #1, live-action Janeway from the original series
As Admiral Paris had become a heroic figure in later seasons of Star Trek: Voyager, the revelation in the first issue of Homecoming may not sit well with fans, particularly if Paris is dead. This means that the Admiral Paris fans saw on Voyager was a member of 8472 and no one knew it.
The Star Trek universe is full of turncoats and traitors: Eddington, Ro Laren and Seska, to name a few. Their betrayals stung Star Trek fans to their core, yet they do not compare to the idea that Admiral Paris, a hero to Voyager and the Alpha Quadrant, was actually an enemy agent in disguise the whole time.
Star Trek: Voyager: Homecoming #1 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!