In this review of Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #4, it’s all hands on deck as the U.S.S. Voyager finds itself between a rock and a Borg Cube, while still trapped in Fluidic Space and under attack by Species 8472.
Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #4
Written by: Susan and Tilly Bridges
Art and Main Cover by: Ángel Hernández
Variant Cover: Jake Bartok
Page Count: 28 pages
Release Date: January 7, 2026
This review contains spoilers
Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #4 picks up in the midst of a devastating space battle with Species 8472 as Captain Janeway and Seven-of-Nine work on parallel tracks to assist their new unassimilated Borg allies in fashioning a new deflector dish for Voyager. Janeway rattles off orders to her crew while recovering from her recent telepathic contact with the 8472 Prime Hierarch.
Seven, Commander Chakotay and Ensign Harry Kim work with the Borg to assemble the new deflector on the damaged Borg Cube, while back on Voyager, B’Elanna juggles new mom duty while assisting the holographic Doctor in fabricating new Borg nanoprobe weapons to use against 8472. Janeway orders Tom Paris to protect the deflector and the hybrid crew using Voyager as a shield against attack and the ship suffers significant damage.
In Sickbay, the debilitated Tuvok continues his strange mutterings and wanders off, unnoticed. Janeway and the Prime Hierarch meet again with no success as Voyager deploys the new nanoprobe weapons, taking out several 8472 ships as more pour in. Seven has a quiet moment with one of the former Borg drones that is interrupted as 8472 targets the deflector. B’Elanna snags everyone in a transporter beam as the Cube is obliterated.
Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #4 ends as Janeway surrenders her ship with the promise that her crew will be unharmed. Instead the command crew are brought back to the 8472 labs where they have been experimenting on human subjects and encounter several familiar faces.
Analysis
Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #4 accelerates to Warp Nine as the series speeds towards the epic finale. Writers Susan and Tilly Bridges maintain the story momentum with a cargo hold full of action (including a full-on space battle), but the writers never forget the key ingredient to a good Star Trek story: character interactions, problem solving, tough choices and dialogue as razor sharp as a well-honed Bat’leth.
Captain Janeway effectively multi-tasks through various crises (including a telepathic negotiation with the Species 8472 Prime Hierarch) as her ship and crew are under constant attack from an 8472 armada (will someone please get her another cup of coffee?). B’Elanna Torres impressively pulls off minor engineering miracles while keeping newborn Miral safe. Seven-of-Nine’s bond with one of the former Borg drones is a touching interpersonal exchange amid the chaos.
The conflict with Species 8472 (more than just the space battle) harkens back to the Voyager television series, as Janeway once again aligns with the Borg against the existential threat of 8472. This difficult decision enrages the already unstable Prime Hierarch as more proof that humanity is not to be trusted, although Janeway had little choice after her attempts to broker a truce failed at every turn.
The Bridges are skilled at crafting numerous moral obstacles for Janeway to maneuver through while maintaining her integrity, her oath and the safety of her crew (and not necessarily in that order).
Also, the chilling experiments 8472 have performed on captive humans illustrates the xenophobia, paranoia and mental instability that has infected the species after the initial Borg invasion of Fluidic space years earlier. After the Voyager/Borg alliance in the television series, 8472 felt it necessary to replicate Earth and Starfleet to study them, but the Voyager crew were able to assuage their fears at that time.
There is a callback in Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #4 when the 8472 called “Boothby” appears as a prisoner on their homeworld. However, the Prime Hierarch’s drive to eradicate all other species coupled with their immunity to most Starfleet weaponry make them a formidable and unstable adversary, who are prone to paranoia and emotional outbursts.
Angel Hernandez maintains his high quality artwork, drawing the reader in close for intense action sequences with some thrilling panel layouts that depict the massive scope of the 8472 threat and the scale of the demolished Borg Cube. Hernandez has a knack for storytelling and the artist manages to capture character likenesses with nuance and emotion, rather than just static portraits.
It’s an enormous thrill to watch Voyager maneuver through space at extreme angles, fending off attacks by multiple fighter craft (that opening panel for example), as Hernandez takes the reader along for the dizzying ride. On the bridge and the Borg Cube exterior, the crew weather power failures, disruptor blasts and explosions like the deep space professionals they are.
Final Thoughts
Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #4 is another solid and entertaining chapter that doesn’t skimp on thrills while providing clever character moments, sharp dialogue and tough calls. The art dazzles with the spectacle of interstellar battle and the dramatic tension of the high stakes facing the crew and their captain.
