Warning: contains spoilers forStar Trek: Defiant#23!Star Trek, at its core, is all about anti-capitalism, and that is why the franchise’s newest villain works so well. While known for cool starships and exotic aliens,Star Trekat its core presents an optimistic view of humanity’s future.In the futureStar Trekdepicts,Earth has transitioned away from the horrors of capitalism, but inStar Trek: Defiant#23, it rears its head in a distant sector.
Christopher Cantwell has also had runs onDoctor DoomandIron Manat Marvel, and is currently writingChallengers of the Unknownfor DC.
Star Trek: Defiant#23 is written by Christopher Cantwell and drawn by Angel Unzueta. Alexander, son of Worf,is continuing thequvrite, to restore his honor. Consisting of three parts, the second demands Alexander lay down his life for people he has never met, in this caseformer Federation and Klingon colonists in the Archanis Sector, a hotly contested area of space where rampant, unchecked capitalism reigns supreme.
Presiding over it all is Superintendent Menum, who has just ordered the execution of rebel forces.
Although Menum is only briefly seen, he cuts a menacing and terrifying figure.
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Star Trek’s future is one devoid of capitalism and the troubles that it brings, but it still exists in other parts of the galaxy, including Superintendent Menum’s Archanis Sector. The Archanis Sector has been mentioned on-screen a handful of times, but this marks the first time it has been seen up-close in the franchise, and writer Christopher Cantwell and artist Angel Unzueta made it memorable. The worlds of the Archanis Sector are dull, life-less, with all the joy stolen by soul-crushing, low-paying jobs. It is not a stretch to see it as a metaphor for life in the 21st century.
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The fleeting glimpse fans get of Superintendent Menum is ominous, and does not bode well for Worf and Alexander. Menum is emaciated with machine prosthetics, as if his body has been ravaged by capitalism. In the 24th century, it is not uncommon to see people with prosthetics or other accessibility devices, but Menum’s robot arm is almost claw-like. It all works together to give Superintendent Menum an otherworldly appearance, despite him being supposedly human. A confrontation between Menum and Worf and Alexander is inevitable, and this issue builds the hype.
Regardless, he was once a Federation citizen, growing up in a post-scarcity Utopia, yet somehow he regressed backwards.
What is perhaps the most disturbing aspect about Superintendent Menum is he, according to Worf, was once a Federation colonist. Worf did not say if Menum was a colonist on one of the Archanis Sector worlds or if he came from somewhere else. Regardless, he was once a Federation citizen, growing up in a post-scarcity Utopia, yet somehow he regressed backwards. Future issues ofStar Trek: Defiantmay reveal more about Menum’s backstory, and how he came to embrace the capitalist mindset that the rest of his species jettisoned long ago.
Star TrekHas Called Out Capitalism Before
The Ferengi (Were) the Franchise’s Best Call Out
Star Trekhas not shied away from critiquing capitalism in its nearly 60-year history. Numerous references have been made on various shows about Earth moving beyond the need for money and material possessions. The Ferengi, introduced inStar Trek: The Next Generation’sfirst season, were, up until this point, the franchise’s most biting critique of capitalism.Ferengi society is structured aroundthe pursuit of profit, and it permeates every aspect of their lives. By the late 24th century, however, even the Ferengi were moving away from capitalism, slowly but surely.
When the Ferengi failed to take as bad guys, the producers ofStar Trek: The Next Generationcreated the Borg.
Superintendent Menum gives theStar Trekfranchise one of its best critiques of capitalism to date,especially with the Ferengi undergoing a massive societal shift. While the Ferengi have demonstrated aggressive tendencies on only a few occasions, Menum and the rulers of the Archanis Sector have no qualms about using lethal force to suppress strikes and uprisings. While this may seem outrageous, there are precedents in our real world history, such as the West Virginia Coal Mine Wars of the 20th century, where the military bombed innocent people striking for a good wage.
Examining his fall from grace could make for not only a compelling story, but an even stronger critique of capitalism.
If Cantwell and Unzueta decide to delve into Menum’s backstory, they can take the critique even further, exploring how capitalism corrupts and destroys.Menum, being a former citizen of the Federation, saw a world without capitalism–which was a world without poverty and codified racism and sexism. These concepts, which are bound warp and woof with capitalism, are foreign to people in the 24th century, but somehow Menum fell under the spell. Examining his fall from grace could make for not only a compelling story, but an even stronger critique of capitalism.
Superintendent Menum IsStar Trek’s Best New Villain
Menum is a Chilling Reminder of Humanity’s Dark Past
The bright and optimistic future depicted in theStar Trekfranchise came about only when humans cast off capitalism. However, shows and movies have left vague how the economics of the 24th century worked. The Federation boasts they do not use money, but credits and gold-pressed latinum as units of currency are regularly mentioned as well. It is likelyStar Trekwill never nail down how the galactic economy works, but for the Federation, it is one free of capitalism, which makes its newest villain one of its best yet.
