In this review of Star Trek: Red Shirts #2, the Security team’s plan fails, as the invaders attack and the casualty list continues to grow. (Also, it seems like Starfleet is keeping secrets even from their own people.)
Star Trek: Red Shirts #2
Writer: Christopher Cantwell
Artist: Megan Levens
Main Cover: Chris Shehan
Variant Covers: Megan Levens, Rod Reis
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: July 17, 2025
This review contains spoilers
Star Trek: Red Shirts #2 begins with a brief story recap from the hand-scrawled journal of Ensign Chip Miller, the Mugato-scarred novice security officer who is currently at the Federation outpost on Arkonia 89, along with a rapidly dwindling cohort of other Starfleet Red Shirts.
Lieutenant Web Cromarty, the longest serving Red Shirt (and former sole human occupant of Arkonia 89) clashes with Security Chief Midge DeMatrio over their risky plan to uncover whoever is spying on the facility (it’s the Romulans).
Inside the facility, the remaining Red Shirts cope with potential impending doom in various ways, (some are even constructive). After Lieutenant Lanier detects six unidentified intruders in the vicinity (Romulans), Cromarty leads a heavily armed team outside to neutralize the threat, but the group is instead ambushed by Cromarty’s monstrous neighbor he calls “Johnny”.
One of the team is wounded by the creature’s attack and is then shockingly felled by a Romulan sniper. Another Romulan gets the drop on Ensign Miller, but they are also attacked by Johnny, allowing Miller to escape. A third Red Shirt recognizes Johnny’s species of alien as a rival predator and decides to confront the creature head on (big mistake), while a third Red Shirt is felled at the door to the research facility.
More bad news unfolds as the team discovers that the intruders have stolen the “bait” disk of (very real) classified Starfleet information and are trying to escape. Lanier acts fast, using the antenna array to block all transporter signals, which temporarily traps the Romulans planet-side.
As the unidentified (Romulan) warship arrives in orbit, suspicions about the true nature of this Starfleet research facility begin to spread among the remaining Red Shirts. Meanwhile, Lieutenant DeMatrio wants payback for the team’s losses and recruits Ensign Miller for a dangerous plan that forces the overwhelmed Red Shirts into a firefight with the Romulans.
Star Trek: Red Shirts #2 ends aboard the (Romulan) ship, as a shadowy figure orders the crew to open fire on the facility, leaving Miller in an almost literal cliffhanger.
Analysis
Star Trek: Red Shirts #2 is another thrilling (and heart rending) chapter, as the plot thickens and the casualty list grows by three. Writer Christopher Cantwell (Iron Man) crafts another nail-biter of a script that ratchets up the tension as characters are unexpectedly taken off the board in shocking fashion. Cantwell’s script is also peppered with gallows humor from the Red Shirts’ painful awareness of their own expendability.
The sinister machinations of the Romulans (and their mysterious leader) as well as Starfleet’s deliberate obscuring of the true purpose of the Arkonia 89 station, imperils the Red Shirts before a single shot is fired.
It’s clear that this story is set in the twenty-third century, likely before Starfleet are aware of what Romulan warships look like (as well as their cloaking ability), but it is intriguing that Lieutenant DeMatrio names the Cardassians among the list of the suspects.
Cardassians were introduced in the twenty-fourth century (in the TNG and DS9 television series) but due to their occupation of the planet Bajor for 60 years, they might have been considered a potential threat tracing back to the era of the original series.
No mention of Section 31 so far, but it’s not out of the question. Cromarty’s familiar back-and-forth with DeMatrio hints at a past relationship, but his behavior indicates that he’s been on his own for too long.
Cantwell also expands on the harrowing experience Ensign Miller endured after his Mugato attack that left him wounded and stranded alone for weeks (the description of what happened to the rest of his landing party is grisly, and the entire experience clearly rattled him). Miller’s resilience is remarkable, but he isn’t a superhuman, just plucky and determined while feeling terrified, which is relatable.
Artist Megan Levens is more than up to the challenge provided by Cantwell’s script, from the frenetic pacing, to the variety of Red Shirt characters, to the quieter moments amid the bloody mayhem and tragic loss.
Each Red Shirt death is well-crafted, striking without warning in a sudden burst of violence). To complicate matters, some of the fallen are not given their proper due as the surviving team members are still under attack on multiple fronts and must soldier on.
Also, is it just me or would actress Melanie Scrofano (Wynonna Earp, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) make a solid Lieutenant Midge DeMatrio?
Final Thoughts
Star Trek: Red Shirts #2 unlocks another exciting chapter full of action, shocking twists and some clever character beats as the rapidly dwindling team of Red Shirts defends a research facility of unknown importance against unfamiliar enemies.
