There’s so much more to be explored in the Mirror Universe.
The Mirror Universe first became popular in Star Trek: The Original Series. Taking the “good guys” essentially and putting them in a positions where they are villians was a stroke of genuis on the part of Jerome Bixby who wrote the episode, “Mirror, Mirror.” Bixby would go on to write additional episodes of the series, including “Day of the Dove”, “Requiem for Methuselah”, and “By Any Other Name,” but none of those established an entirely new universe which other series visited.
Though Star Trek: The Next Generation never explored the universe, IDW Publishing is introducing those characters and others from various series into the Mirror Universe. Star Trek: The Next Generation—Mirror Broken shows Commander Riker, Commander Data, and Captain Picard in sleeveless shirts and massively muscled while Counselor Troi is in leather. You can see the image here. Needless to say, it looks like it will be quite the dark comic.
The Mirror Universe is a “rich mine of material to play with.”
When talking to ComicBook.com during a group interview, Star Trek comics writer Scott Tipton said that IDW Publishing isn’t the only ones dipping their toes into the water as Star Trek: Online and Discovery have been visiting the universe as well.
"“I think it’s just this rich mine of material to play with these characters. Because there have been Star Trek comics for so many years, finding a new area that hasn’t been explored can be tricky. And this was a huge area that hadn’t been touched on.”"
Tipton goes on to say that the things they write about in the Mirror Universe wouldn’t work for Star Trek’s “more idyllic prime timeline.” As Gene Roddenberry had certain restrictions within the universe, there were issues that couldn’t be explored onscreen. The captains and the officers couldn’t get away with being greedy and cruel had not another universe been created.
"“And in the Mirror Universe, you can. People can be bastards. People can be greedy. People can want things. And getting to take the characters that we know so well, but give them this new perspective based on that environment is just so much fun, I think, for the readers and for us to write.”"
Star Trek: The Next Generation—Mirror Broken, Through the Mirror, and Terra Incognita are available individually or in a single volume. And IDW is serializing follow-up stories in an eight-issue series, Star Trek: The Mirror War which will arrive on April 6th.