In this review of Star Trek: Lower Decks #12, the U.S.S. Cerritos travels back in time in order to find humpback whales for a top secret Starfleet mission in the 24th Century, (why yes this should sound familiar).
Star Trek: Lower Decks #12
Written by: Tim Sheridan
Art and Main Cover by: Philip Murphy
Variant Cover: Kendall Goode
Page Count: 28 pages
Release Date: October 8, 2025
This review contains spoilers
Star Trek: Lower Decks #12 picks up in the year 1985, as the U.S.S. Cerritos crew joins the top secret Starfleet mission run by the Cetacean Ops (those cute little whales). While the bridge crew seamlessly camouflages themselves in “authentic” period garb, they completely blow their cover as they beam down in the middle of a crowded San Francisco street in broad daylight. Aa acting Captain, Commander Ransom has the conn.
The crowd in San Francisco takes little notice of the band of weirdos who materialized out of thin air, as self-centeredness and general disinterest are not explicitly a 21st Century invention. The crew are unable to contact the Cerritos for help in tracking down humpback whales to bring to the future. (Perhaps not coincidentally, the Cerritos has discovered a Klingon Bird of Prey lurking behind Earth’s moon).
Mariner spots the bus ad for George & Gracie at the Cetacean Institute, but Boimler waves that off since those are the whales the Enterprise crew bring back in Star Trek IV (just go watch the movie, it’s fun). Rutherford finds a whale watching ship, but soon the crew realizes that they will need a whale hunting ship to locate humpback whales, as the (naked) Cet Ops team search for recruits.
The Cerritos crew pose as a documentary film crew, and despite a few hiccups (plus Boimler’s seasickness), diving down deep in the ocean, they locate a giant…octopus.
The creature seems to have a thing for Boimler, but is scared off by a pod of female humpbacks who were promised a recording contract by the Cet Ops team (don’t ask). Meanwhile, the Cerritos easily fends off an attack by the 20th Century Klingons (who knew), but the Cerritos partially destroys the Bird of Prey in an attempt to just disable their ship.
Star Trek: Lower Decks #12 ends as the humpbacks and the Cerritos crew are beamed up to the ship, and all are returned to the 24th Century (where one very excited male humpback awaits them). The Cet Ops team records their own mission log for Starfleet, before revealing that they are secretly part of Section 32.
Analysis
Star Trek: Lower Decks #12 wraps up the two-part story in typical Lower Decks fashion (re: loads of meta commentary). Writer Tim Sheridan seems to enjoy riffing on various plot elements from the Star Trek IV movie (a modern classic) while finally taking advantage of the opportunity to add some humorous editorial commentary to his script.
None of the Lower Decks team take center stage in Star Trek: Lower Decks #12, as all characters have a small part to play in the overall narrative. The Cet Ops team and the female humpbacks do get a fair share of focus in the back half of the story and their attitudes fit in seamlessly. The 20th Century “Lower Decks” counterparts on the whaling ship are a bit on the nose but Sheridan includes other clever easter eggs and callbacks to delight Trek fans.
Artists Philip Murphy and Jack Lawrence double team on winnowing down Sheridan’s sprawling script into a legible narrative that flows from beginning to end. This is not a criticism just an observation, as Sheridan throws at lot at the wall in Star Trek: Lower Decks #12, and both Murphy and Lawrence do excellent work at distilling it down.
Charlie Kirchoff’s colors are standouts, especially the rich blues and purples for the underwater sequences.
The giant octopus (given away on the cover) is mentioned being seen by Mariner, who is in turn teased by an unbelieving Boimler to a telegraphed reveal. But using the Starfleet emblem as a panel border for communication scenes is particularly clever. Also, that final page of the Cerritos bridge still a shambles is a nice touch.
Still the sequence is at least an excellent set up to introduce the pod of female humpbacks into the story as well as the “naked” (and censored) Cet Ops team. Sheridan’s script is so packed that some plot points seem to just drift away. What was the Klingon ship’s mission? How did they find Earth? How does Boimler get over his seasickness to go diving, and needle Mariner? Will there be another mission to get the tricorder back from the whaling captain?
Final Thoughts
Star Trek: Lower Decks #12 is another enjoyable installment, injecting silly Lower Decks antics into the silliest Star Trek movie (still a classic). The jokes fly fast and furious, while the plot is expectedly silly, and the art and color tie everything together nicely.
