Mirror Universe (Star Trek)
Encyclopedia
The Mirror Universe (Also referred in code as The Looking Glass) is a fiction
al parallel universe
in which the plots of several Star Trek
television episodes take place. It is named for "Mirror, Mirror", the original series
episode in which it first appeared.
and a Spock
), but their personalities are, on the whole, much more aggressive, mistrustful, and opportunistic. Whereas the Star Trek
universe usually depicts an optimistic future which values peace and understanding, episodes set in the Mirror Universe show it to be marred by continual warfare, and compassion is seen as a liability. Uniforms are often more suggestive, such as women baring midriff
s.
Though the Mirror Universe is much darker and more violent than the normal Star Trek universe, a few Mirror characters are more friendly or docile than their "normal universe" counterparts. For example, Mirror Quark
puts himself at risk to help escaped slaves reach freedom, and while "normal" Brunt is selfish and power-hungry, Mirror Brunt is a kind and considerate Ferengi.
There are an infinite number of parallel universes in Star Trek canon
(as witnessed in the Star Trek: The Next Generation
episode "Parallels"). However, the Mirror Universe is prominent among dimension-crossing incidents. The Mirror Universe has been visited in one episode of Star Trek
, five episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
, and two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise
, as well as in several Star Trek novels and several of the games (Star Trek: Shattered Universe
, for example, takes place entirely in the Mirror Universe).
Not all "normal" characters have a Mirror counterpart; because the Mirror versions of Ben
and Jennifer Sisko separated before conceiving a child, there is no Mirror version of Jake Sisko
. Several licensed works also indicate that since humans (or Terrans
as they are called in the Mirror Universe) were largely enslaved by the time period of The Next Generation
, a mirror universe copy of Data
was never created. Also, since the Dax symbiont
was never joined with Ezri Tigan, there is no exact copy of Ezri Dax
in the Mirror Universe, only "Mirror" Ezri Tigan. Several Mirror Universe versions of established characters have also died during the course of the various canonical and non-canonical Mirror Universe storylines, whereas their "normal universe" counterparts remain alive. The reverse is also true with Bareil Antos being alive in the Mirror Universe when his "normal universe" counterpart had died, and with Jennifer Sisko, who survived for many years after her "normal universe" counterpart died. (The Mirror Sisko eventually died herself in the episode "Shattered Mirror".)
Characters from each universe refer to the other as "parallel" or "alternate" rather than as "mirror".
, entitled "In a Mirror, Darkly", introduces the early developments of the Mirror Universe.
On April 5, 2063, Zefram Cochrane
conducted his warp flight, drawing the attention of a passing Vulcan
ship, as per the events shown in the standard Star Trek universe in Star Trek: First Contact
. When the Vulcans landed and made their peaceful introduction, however, Cochrane killed the leader with a concealed weapon, then led the townspeople in commandeering the Vulcan ship.
The special opening credits sequence used for "In a Mirror, Darkly" chronicles the history of human warfare and the interstellar domination of the Terran Empire, as opposed to the regular opening sequence depicting peaceful exploration. One of the more notable scenes is a Terran Empire flag being planted on the moon, which may or may not be intended to be in 1969. (The spacesuit being worn is the same as that which the Enterprise crew wears, but commentary on the episodes by their producers indicates that this was simply a matter of convenience, as the CGI model for that suit had already been created.)
Terran domination was made possible by technology taken from the Vulcans and (presumably) from other defeated races; thus, the Starfleet
of the Mirror Universe was more advanced than its regular counterpart. By 2155, the Terran Empire had already enslaved the Vulcans, Andorians, Orions, and Tellarite
s, and launched successful attacks against the Klingons and the Xindi (as seen in the opening credits). As such, the Mirror Universe crew of Enterprise
, known as the ISS Enterprise, is more racially diverse than its "real" universe counterpart, with Vulcans and Tellarites serving as crewmembers. The Mirror version of T'Pol
, in particular, holds a position of trusted authority, and as in the "real" universe, a Denobulan, Phlox
, serves as Enterprise's physician. The Mirror version of Soval is seen to be an enlisted science crewman aboard the ISS Avenger, another Starfleet vessel which is also seen to include Andorian
and Orion crewmembers.
During the episode's stated date of January 2155, Archer
steals the USS Defiant, an Original Series-era Constitution-class starship which disappears and is presumed destroyed in the Original Series episode "The Tholian Web", from the Tholian
s (who are more aggressive than their non-Mirror counterparts), but he is later poisoned by Hoshi Sato
, who subsequently declares herself Empress of the Terran Empire (though whether she succeeds in this gambit is not revealed). During the episode, future events are foreshadowed, such as the fall of the Terran Empire after several centuries (as seen in the Deep Space Nine storyline described below).
The episode's story was continued in a novel mini-series Star Trek: Mirror Universe.
episode "The Alternative Factor". In this episode, the crew encounter a man named Lazarus who appeared to undergo extreme shifts in behavior. After a time, it was discovered that there were two men, one from an alternative antimatter universe who was calm and rational, and another from our universe who was irrational. Both men had a ship that had the ability to send people into the other's universe. The Lazarus from the alternative reality said that there was a corridor of sorts between the universes where he and his counterpart could safely meet. If they met outside the corridor, both universes would be annihilated due to the contact between matter and anti-matter. Lazarus arranged with Captain Kirk
to trap both him and the other Lazarus in the corridor forever by having Kirk destroy the ship, and at the same time, the ship in the other universe was destroyed as well. Both men were trapped forever in the corridor, one sane, and one not.
The Mirror Universe was first introduced in the original Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror". It was established that in the Mirror Universe the United Federation of Planets counterpart was the brutal Terran Empire, run by humans and their Vulcan allies. In the Mirror Universe, the term "Terran" is predominantly used for humans. The Mirror-Captain Kirk of the Imperial Starship Enterprise was a mass-murderer, who had been promoted to Captain by assassinating Captain Christopher Pike
.
In the Terran Empire, officers were promoted for assassinating their superiors and order was kept by use of the "Agonizer" pain-giving devices. In some serious cases, the "Agony Booth" could also be used. Aesthetic differences included: the Mirror-crew's uniforms were flamboyant and somewhat robe-like, with ceremonial daggers for the officers; Mirror-Sulu
was a Gestapo
-like political officer with a disfiguring facial scar; Mirror-Spock
had a goatee
(which has led to a number of pop culture references of people from "evil alternate universes" having goatees), whereas the regular character does not; the "United Nations" emblem of the Federation was replaced in the Terran Empire symbol, which consisted of the Earth imposed over a vertical sword of conquest.
In this original encounter, Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy
, Lieutenant Uhura
, and Chief Engineer Scott
had been turned down by the peaceful Halkans, who did not want to trade for dilithium. They feared the use of the material for war. An ion storm causes a beam-up to go awry, switching the crew with their alternates.
Kirk tries to save the alternate-Halkans from destruction; the common tactic used by the Terran Empire when meeting resistance. He suffers several assassination attempts.
Both Spocks find out the dual nature of the affected officers and work on a way to get them home in time; there is a limit.
Before leaving the Mirror Universe, Kirk gave an impassioned speech in which he told Mirror-Spock that because the Empire would die in a few hundred years, that it was illogical, and Mirror-Spock was illogical for supporting the Empire. He asks Mirror-Spock to work for change, and Mirror-Spock replied that he would consider Kirk's proposal.
About a year after his first crossover, Kirk unknowingly experienced a second encounter with the mirror universe. In "The Tholian Web", the Enterprise encounters the crippled Constitution-class U.S.S. Defiant, which is phasing in and out of existence with Kirk's reality as a result of a localized spatial anomaly. Kirk leads an away team and discovers the crew is dead as a result of the anomaly's effect on the brain. As the Defiant begins to shift out of reality, the away team is beamed out, but Kirk is somehow trapped in the interphase. The Tholians claim this particular area of space and attempt to ensnare the Enterprise in their energy web, but the Enterprise, under the command of Spock, is able to escape and retrieve Kirk from between dimensions. Kirk remarks that during his experience the Defiant was pulled away into another dimension.
What Kirk never knew, but which was established in the Enterprise episode "In a Mirror, Darkly", was the Tholians of the Mirror Universe managed to open a dimensional rift hoping to steal technology from alternate realities. Their efforts also created a temporal rift, connecting from a universe 110 years in Kirk's past. The mirror Tholians sent out a distress call to lure a spacecraft and ensnared the Defiant in their trap, eventually pulling it completely into the mirror universe. So determined were the Tholians to unlock the technological secrets of the future ship that work crews began dismantling the ship before moving the bodies of the crew, several of whom were discovered by the ISS Enterprise away team in the same positions as Kirk had found them.
As a side note, the Tholian tactic of stealing future technology was paralleled in the regular Trek universe. In "Future Tense", 22nd century Tholians attempt to capture a 31st century Federation vessel but are thwarted by Archer's Enterprise.
second-season episode "Crossover", and turned into a story-arc that spanned into the final season, with five Mirror Universe episodes over the course of seven seasons.
On Deep Space Nine, which takes place over 100 years after the original contact with the Mirror Universe, it was revealed that drastic changes had occurred in the Mirror Universe because of the interference of the regular universe's Kirk. Before he left the Mirror Universe, James T. Kirk planted seeds of doubt in the Mirror-Spock's mind about the Terran Empire's brutal tactics. Kirk noted that Spock was a man of honor in both universes, and the Mirror-Spock listened to Kirk's urging for reform. Mirror-Spock's future role on Enterprise and the fate of Mirror-Kirk are unclear, though some have suggested that Mirror-Kirk was assassinated (and was shown in a non-canon Star Trek comic). Mirror-Spock then went on to become Chief of State of the Terran Empire. Mirror-Spock introduced many popular reforms that largely ended the iron-fisted rule of the Terran Empire, especially a vast demilitarization program. However, these reforms were very ill-timed.
Not long after Mirror-Spock's demilitarization drive, the Terran Empire encountered the Alliance. In the Mirror Universe, the Alliance is a unified government of the Klingon
s and the Cardassian
s, presumably ruled by the Klingon Emperor. The Alliance conquered the ill-prepared Terran Empire and enslaved the Terrans and Vulcans. Terrans became pariahs and a slave race, often subjected to mass forced physical labor.
The Alliance does not have cloaking device
technology (although a ship was seen decloaking in an earlier episode, an episode in the seventh season established that the Mirror Universe does not have cloaking devices, and the earlier appearance was retconned out as a graphical error). However, cloak technology did exist in the 22nd century on at least one Terran ship (who in turn took it from the Suliban).
It is unknown what role the Romulan
s play in the Mirror Universe. However, there is evidence of their existence. When Sisko
was finished impersonating Mirror-Sisko, he told Mirror-Jennifer Sisko that he was leaving to see the Romulans, to get them to join the fight against the Alliance. This implies that the Romulans are an independent empire, much like they are in the "prime" reality or universe. It also means that, unlike other races such as the Vulcans and Andorians, the Romulans were able to resist the Terran Empire and to survive the mirror equivalent of the Earth-Romulan War, assuming that one took place to begin with.
The Bajorans of the Mirror Universe were ruled by the Terran Empire but later sided with the Alliance and became masters of Terran slave forces. Notable among them was Intendant Kira, the counterpart to the normal universe's Kira Nerys. Intendant Kira was a ruthless, sadistic hedonist; she was outwardly bisexual
and sexually aggressive — characteristics apparently more common in Mirror Universe females than in normal universe ones. She maintained power in her sector of the Alliance from Terok Nor
, the counterpart of Deep Space Nine.
When Deep Space Nine officers Julian Bashir
and Kira Nerys visited the Mirror Universe, they sparked a rebellion among the Terran slaves led by the Mirror-Sisko
and Mirror-O'Brien
. Over the next five years, the Terran Rebellion would drag on and was not conclusively finished. However, Regent
Worf
was eventually taken as a prisoner of war by the rebellion.
The Klingon Empire of the normal Star Trek universe hasn't actually had an Emperor in 300 years; they were replaced by the Chancellor
and the High Council
. But in the Mirror-Klingon Empire there are still ruling Emperors. The Mirror-Imperial Family is House Duras, who were deposed in disgrace in the normal Trek universe. However, during Deep Space Nine, a Regent currently ruled as the true power behind the throne: the brutal Regent Worf.
Other characters in the Mirror Universe:
Eventually, the Terran Resistance captured Mirror-Terok Nor and used it as a base of operations, and built a Mirror-Defiant using plans stolen from the normal universe.
.
Primary continuity:
In 2007, two collections of Mirror stories were published: the first involves Mirror Enterprise
, TOS
and TNG
, the second features Mirror DS9
, Voyager
and New Frontier
(the first time the mirror New Frontier has ever been seen). Dark Passions and the Shatner novels are not part of the canon as established in these stories.
The first of these collections, Glass Empires, comprises Age of the Empress (describing Hoshi Sato
's reign as Empress); The Sorrows of Empire (Spock's career from immediately after Mirror Mirror, to the forging of the Alliance at the mirror-Khitomer Accords; explaining that the fall of the Empire was orchestrated by Spock, forcing the people of the empire to fight for their democracy to make sure the Empire never reformed); and The Worst of Both Worlds (in which Jean-Luc Picard
, a Terran slave, must defend the Alliance against the even worse threat of the Borg).
The second, Obsidian Alliances, consists of The Mirror-Scaled Serpent (Chakotay
's resistance cell encounters Neelix
and Kes
in the Badlands); Cutting Ties (in which M'k'nzy of Calhoun
("Muck"), a slave of the Romulan Empire
, meets the mirror counterparts of the Excalibur crew); and Saturn's Children (in which Kira plots to regain the position of Intendant from Ro Laren
, while O'Brien faces discontent in the Resistance). The latter of these ties into the Mirror-Kira's appearance in the Deep Space Nine relaunch
series of novels.
The Star Trek: Stargazer
novel Three, by Michael Jan Friedman
also features the Mirror Universe. Since the Stargazer novels are set during Picard's first command, nearly 40 years before the DS9 crossover, it provides a glimpse of the Mirror Universe during the war between the Empire and the Alliance. In it, the counterpart of a member of the USS Stargazer crew crosses over from the ISS Stargazer to kidnap the Stargazer's chief engineer Simeon for the Empire. The captain of the ISS Stargazer is the counterpart of the USS Stargazer's first officer, Gilaad Ben Zoma.
A further collection entitled Shards and Shadows was released in January 2009. David Mack
is currently writing a new novel, Rise Like Lions, to conclude the current Mirror Universe storyline; this novel is expected to be released in November of 2011.
, which reveals the Mirror-Kirk (or "Emperor Tiberius", as he calls himself) was still alive, and plotting to reconquer his Empire. Apparently, it had been he who originally created the Alliance to overthrow Spock, before it turned on him. His right-hand man is Regent Jean-Luc Picard
, who works with the counterparts of other Enterprise-E bridge crew. He is opposed in his aims by Mirror-Spock, now the Intendant of the Vulcan Resistance. Mirror versions of Kathryn Janeway
, other Voyager crewmembers and Tasha Yar
also appeared.
According to the Shatnerverse the Mirror Universe diverged from the standard Star Trek universe due to the events of Star Trek: First Contact
. Human space travel was colored by Earth's pre-mature encounter with the Borg and so instead of developing a diverse and peaceful Federation based on exploration, humans created a hostile and military-oriented Empire based on strength and fear.
Dark Passions by Susan Wright is also set before the DS9 episodes, at about the time of The Next Generation. It focussed on the mirror-Seven of Nine
, a Terran slave who had been fitted with cybernetics to be a spy for the Obsidian Order. The sequence ended with her escaping in a ship she named Voyager, along with the counterparts of many of the Voyager crew (this may contradict the Shatner novels).
, in her Star Trek: The Next Generation
book Dark Mirror
(ISBN 0-671-79377-2) offers another explanation of what happened after Captain Kirk and three others of his crew encountered the Mirror Universe. In the novel, the Empire is still very much in existence in the 24th century. The point of divergence pre-dates the Eugenics Wars
, which in this timeline consist of the supermen annihilating each other with nuclear weapons, with humanity following their mindset in its new-found freedom. While on the Mirror Enterprise Picard finds several historical works of literature that reflect their universe's aggressiveness, although these altered versions may be actually due to Orwellian revisionism.The novel concludes with Picard advising the mirror Worf- here a slave- to encourage the Empire's slave races to wait for the chance to strike back, as the Empire's attempt to conquer our universe shows their increased desperation for new territories to conquer to enforce their powers.
' Star Trek comic book (issues #9 - #15, as well as issue #16 which completed the arc but did not actually involve the Mirror Universe) chronicling an encounter between the Mirror Universe and our own. It is set immediately after the events of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
, which had just been released shortly before the series was first published. The series was credited to Mike W. Barr
(head writer for DC's Trek comic at the time), Tom Sutton
, and Ricard Villagran. When originally published, this story arc was called "New Frontiers", though it is best known by the title used in this section heading.
The I.S.S. Enterprise obtains the Genesis technology developed by Dr. Carol Marcus then enters our universe to spearhead the Empire's intended conquest of the Federation. Meanwhile, in the "real" universe, Captain Styles of the Excelsior has arrived at Regula I, where Kirk and crew have found temporary safe haven, to take them back to Earth to stand trial for their mutinous actions (as depicted in Star Trek III). When they encounter a mystery attacking ship, Styles overconfidently believes the Excelsior can defeat the attacker, which is an "outdated" Constitution-class ship, but it turns out to be the I.S.S. Enterprise under the command of Mirror-Kirk. The Mirror-Enterprise crew easily overpowers the inexperienced Excelsior crew, taking over the advanced vessel, and Mirror-Kirk dispatches Mirror-Spock (who despite his words at the end of "Mirror, Mirror" had elected to return to Mirror-Kirk's side after all, after logically deducing that the efforts of any one single man would be a useless gesture against the Empire). Mirror-Sulu and Mirror-Chekov travel to Vulcan (aboard Kruge's Klingon bird-of-prey, captured by Kirk during Star Trek III and confiscated by Styles when taking custody of the Enterprise survivors) to find Spock, still recovering from the fal-tor-pan ritual on Vulcan. Kirk and his own crew manage to escape and take over the I.S.S. Enterprise, which is destroyed by remote control by the Mirror-Kirk; the real Kirk's crew survives by escaping in the ship's saucer section.
After retaking the Excelsior from Mirror-Kirk (and placing the Mirror-Enterprise crew in stasis
), Kirk takes command of Excelsior and takes it to the Mirror Universe in a gambit of impersonating Mirror-Kirk yet again. His plan is to break the back of the Empire's planned invasion by taking command of the Imperial fleet aboard Excelsior, then turning on the fleet at the critical moment. One Empire officer, a Captain Blaine, is suspicious of Kirk's intentions; however, rather than suspecting Kirk is in fact his counterpart from the other (our) universe, he is familiar with Mirror-Kirk's history of advancing through the ranks by use of treachery and intrigue and thinks Kirk is out to take control of the Empire for himself.
Saavik
researches Imperial history to help familiarize the crew with the Mirror Universe and its history, so as to better portray their own counterparts. Her research reveals the likely point of divergence between the two universes - the Romulan War. In our universe, Earth and Romulus fought their war in deep space. In the Mirror Universe, the war was fought in Earth's solar system, and Earth lost. The Romulans held Earth for ten years until a resistance overthrew them. This resistance did not disband once the Romulans were deposed, however; rather, its leaders proclaimed that Earth would no longer be conquered, but rather would be the conquerors themselves. Thus did the resistance movement form the seeds of what would eventually become the Terran Empire.
Meanwhile, Mirror-Spock reaches Vulcan, where he engages in a mind meld with the recovering Spock of our universe. However, once Mirror-Spock touches his mind, Spock is able to reflexively initiate a meld of his own. In the ensuring battle of minds, Spock draws strength to restore his mind, and at the same time, Mirror-Spock becomes reconciled to "our" Spock and the two make common cause to stop the Empire. The two Spocks use the captured Klingon ship to cross into the Mirror universe.
Also seen during this storyline is the counterpart of Kirk's son, David Marcus - still very much alive in the Mirror Universe, and leading a resistance cell against the Empire.
The Empire accepts Kirk's proposal to align with the Romulans and Klingons to defeat the Federation, Klingons and Romulans. However, Kirk and Scott have a plan to disable the entire fleet of Empire ships, then, when sufficiently defeated, disable the Romulan and Klingon ships (correctly suspecting both parties would turn their guns on Excelsior once the battle had ended) and return home. The empire, however, already had its own Excelsior built; they had studied the Federation ship earlier in the arc, and used the data gleaned from this examination for help in making their own Excelsior operational. The Mirror-Excelsior is under the command of Captain Blaine, who had evidently convinced others within the Empire's Admiralty of Kirk's duplicity. Fortunately, Scotty had deliberately screwed up the Excelsior's systems before Empire technicians studied them, giving their scanners false readings; as a result, the Mirror-Excelsior cannot draw enough power to operate and is easily defeated.
The Excelsior then returns to the Federation, having dropped off their mirror counterparts in shuttles. When Mirror-Kirk awakens, he tries to contact the nearest Imperial vessel for assistance - not realizing he and his crew have been branded as traitors after the real Kirk's actions left the Imperial fleet crippled. The I.S.S. Nogura picks up Mirror-Kirk's distress signal, and after verifying the identity of those aboard, destroys the shuttle, killing all aboard. Of the Mirror-Enterprise crew, only Mirror-Spock survives, and he elects to join David Marcus' resistance cell.
After returning to his own universe, Kirk gives a reporter an exclusive on how he and his crew saved the Federation from an invasion about which they would have never known. Her reports in the mass media paint the Enterprise survivors as heroes, much to the consternation of Starfleet brass who still wanted Kirk court-martial
ed. In the end, facing a public-relations nightmare if they proceeded with a full trial, Starfleet reluctantly gives Kirk full command of the Excelsior, ostensibly for an extended shakedown cruise to help work out all the bugs in its system. With the exception of Spock (who is assigned to a command of his own, the science vessel Surak), Kirk's entire crew joins him on this new mission. This sets up the later Star Trek comics stories which were published in the interim leading up to the release of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
in 1986.
This story, like all Trek comics stories and novels, is not considered canonical with the main Star Trek universe.
-- is set sometime after the original series episode "Mirror, Mirror". In the game, Captain Hikaru Sulu and the crew of the U.S.S. Excelsior swap places with the crew of the I.S.S. Excelsior thanks to a localized stellar ion storm. They are hunted by Mirror-Chekov, who commands the I.S.S. Enterprise, and assisted by the Mirror-Klingons and Mirror-Romulans. During their trek home, the Excelsior crew encounter Mirror Universe variations of the original series' missions, including the M-5 multitronic computer, a giant space-amoeba and a Doomsday Machine, although the latter is under the escort of the ISS Constellation and ISS Intrepid.
While the game takes place at some point during the era of the Star Trek films, it is unclear exactly when. The Enterprise has not yet been decommissioned, but Sulu is in command of the Excelsior, placing the game somewhere in the timeframe of "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". Spock has not yet completed his coup d'état—the Empire contacts Mirror-Chekov several times during his mission to capture Sulu—but there is still much time for that to occur in the Mirror Universe timeline. There is no indication the character of Kirk, either version, is involved in the storyline.
-- the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager
are trapped in what is called a 'ship's graveyard
'. Among the wreckage of ships there is an unidentified Constitution class vessel from the mirror universe crewed entirely by humans. It is made apparent that this vessel is from the mirror universe by the 'sword in the earth' symbol on the walls of the ship, the uniforms of the crew, and the fact that they attack hand to hand with daggers instead of phasers (It is shown in Mirror Mirror that crew members are equipped with daggers). These members of the Terran Empire have presumably been trapped in the graveyard for many years and have formed an alliance with crews of Klingon
s, Malons and Hirogen
, though it is unknown if any of these races are also from the mirror universe. This alliance practices piracy and scavenges ships within the graveyard, taking by force any needed supplies and weaponry. Their own ship appears to have been heavily damaged and has received many emergency repairs. Many of the ships belonging to the Klingons, Malons, Hirogen and Terran Empire have been joined together to form a base of operations. This is referred to as 'The Scavenger Base'.
The members of the Voyager's Hazard Team, a specially trained group of officers trained to deal with unusual threats, are sent to board this base of operations in order to recover isodesium. This substance is needed to survive against the power-draining effects of the graveyard.
, a player who eventually joins the Starfleet Special Forces during the Federation campaign will be launched on a series of missions involving the mirror universe. It begins with an encounter involving the destroyer USS Boston during an experimental "star tap" test, capturing the player's counterpart (in exactly the same ship as the player's main vessel) when the player is accused of crimes against other empires, and a showdown on Earth against a fleet of Doomsday Machines led by the mirror counterpart of Matthew Decker, who is supreme commander of the Imperial forces.
When commenting on whether the Star Trek: Enterprise
show takes place in an alternate universe, Brannon Braga
has declared that it was "of course not" the case http://scifipulse.net/Trek%20Archive/August03/BrannonBraga.html.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al parallel universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
in which the plots of several Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
television episodes take place. It is named for "Mirror, Mirror", the original series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
episode in which it first appeared.
Overview
The characters in the Mirror Universe are generally the same as the characters in "normal" Star Trek continuity (for example, it has a James T. KirkJames T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
and a Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
), but their personalities are, on the whole, much more aggressive, mistrustful, and opportunistic. Whereas the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
universe usually depicts an optimistic future which values peace and understanding, episodes set in the Mirror Universe show it to be marred by continual warfare, and compassion is seen as a liability. Uniforms are often more suggestive, such as women baring midriff
Midriff
Midriff is a particular term to denominate the section of the human body between the thorax/chest and the pelvis/hips. It is used as a genteel avoidance of synonymous belly ; as a synonym for waist; and as a name for the area around the diaphragm Midriff is a particular term to denominate the...
s.
Though the Mirror Universe is much darker and more violent than the normal Star Trek universe, a few Mirror characters are more friendly or docile than their "normal universe" counterparts. For example, Mirror Quark
Quark (Star Trek)
Quark is a fictional character in the American television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The character, which was played by Armin Shimerman, was depicted as a member of an extraterrestrial race known as the Ferengi, who are stereotypically ultra-capitalist and only motivated by...
puts himself at risk to help escaped slaves reach freedom, and while "normal" Brunt is selfish and power-hungry, Mirror Brunt is a kind and considerate Ferengi.
There are an infinite number of parallel universes in Star Trek canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
(as witnessed in the Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
episode "Parallels"). However, the Mirror Universe is prominent among dimension-crossing incidents. The Mirror Universe has been visited in one episode of Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
, five episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
, and two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
, as well as in several Star Trek novels and several of the games (Star Trek: Shattered Universe
Star Trek: Shattered Universe
Star Trek: Shattered Universe is a space simulator video game set in Star Trek Mirror Universe, as portrayed in the original series episode Mirror, Mirror...
, for example, takes place entirely in the Mirror Universe).
Not all "normal" characters have a Mirror counterpart; because the Mirror versions of Ben
Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...
and Jennifer Sisko separated before conceiving a child, there is no Mirror version of Jake Sisko
Jake Sisko
Jacob "Jake" Sisko, played by Cirroc Lofton, is a character on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is the son of Deep Space Nine's commanding officer, Benjamin Sisko.-Overview:...
. Several licensed works also indicate that since humans (or Terrans
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
as they are called in the Mirror Universe) were largely enslaved by the time period of The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, a mirror universe copy of Data
Data (Star Trek)
Lieutenant Commander Data is a character in the fictional Star Trek universe portrayed by actor Brent Spiner. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek...
was never created. Also, since the Dax symbiont
Dax (Star Trek)
Dax is the name of a fictional being in the Star Trek universe, a Trill symbiont. It's a very long-lived slug-shaped sentient worm-like life form that lives inside the bodies of a succession of Trills, a race of humanoid aliens. The symbiont merges with its host by a process called "joining" after...
was never joined with Ezri Tigan, there is no exact copy of Ezri Dax
Ezri Dax
Ezri Dax , played by Nicole de Boer, is a counselor aboard Deep Space Nine in the seventh season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Casting:The role of Ezri Dax was created when Terry Farrell decided to leave the show and her character was subsequently killed by Dukat.When Nicole de Boer read for the...
in the Mirror Universe, only "Mirror" Ezri Tigan. Several Mirror Universe versions of established characters have also died during the course of the various canonical and non-canonical Mirror Universe storylines, whereas their "normal universe" counterparts remain alive. The reverse is also true with Bareil Antos being alive in the Mirror Universe when his "normal universe" counterpart had died, and with Jennifer Sisko, who survived for many years after her "normal universe" counterpart died. (The Mirror Sisko eventually died herself in the episode "Shattered Mirror".)
Characters from each universe refer to the other as "parallel" or "alternate" rather than as "mirror".
Enterprise
A two-part episode of Star Trek: EnterpriseStar Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
, entitled "In a Mirror, Darkly", introduces the early developments of the Mirror Universe.
On April 5, 2063, Zefram Cochrane
Zefram Cochrane
Zefram Cochrane is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe. Created by writer Gene L. Coon, the character first appeared in the 1967 Star Trek episode "Metamorphosis", in which he was played by Glenn Corbett. James Cromwell later played Cochrane in the 1996 feature film Star Trek: First...
conducted his warp flight, drawing the attention of a passing Vulcan
Vulcan (Star Trek)
Vulcans, or sometimes Vulcanians, are an extraterrestrial humanoid species in the Star Trek universe who evolved on the planet Vulcan, and are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic with no interference from emotion. They were the first extraterrestrial species in the Star Trek...
ship, as per the events shown in the standard Star Trek universe in Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: First Contact is the eighth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise, released in November 1996, by Paramount Pictures. First Contact is the first film in the franchise to feature no cast members from the original Star Trek television series of the 1960s...
. When the Vulcans landed and made their peaceful introduction, however, Cochrane killed the leader with a concealed weapon, then led the townspeople in commandeering the Vulcan ship.
The special opening credits sequence used for "In a Mirror, Darkly" chronicles the history of human warfare and the interstellar domination of the Terran Empire, as opposed to the regular opening sequence depicting peaceful exploration. One of the more notable scenes is a Terran Empire flag being planted on the moon, which may or may not be intended to be in 1969. (The spacesuit being worn is the same as that which the Enterprise crew wears, but commentary on the episodes by their producers indicates that this was simply a matter of convenience, as the CGI model for that suit had already been created.)
Terran domination was made possible by technology taken from the Vulcans and (presumably) from other defeated races; thus, the Starfleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
of the Mirror Universe was more advanced than its regular counterpart. By 2155, the Terran Empire had already enslaved the Vulcans, Andorians, Orions, and Tellarite
Tellarite
Tellarites are a fictional species from the planet Tellar from the Star Trek television show.Though not used in a great number of episodes, they are one of the founding races of the show's United Federation of Planets, to which Earth belongs....
s, and launched successful attacks against the Klingons and the Xindi (as seen in the opening credits). As such, the Mirror Universe crew of Enterprise
Enterprise (NX-01)
The Enterprise is a fictional starship in the science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. It is commanded by Captain Jonathan Archer.-History:...
, known as the ISS Enterprise, is more racially diverse than its "real" universe counterpart, with Vulcans and Tellarites serving as crewmembers. The Mirror version of T'Pol
T'Pol
Commander T'Pol is a fictional character played by Jolene Blalock in Star Trek: Enterprise. She is a Vulcan who serves as the science officer aboard the starship Enterprise.-Concept and creation:...
, in particular, holds a position of trusted authority, and as in the "real" universe, a Denobulan, Phlox
Phlox (Star Trek)
Phlox is a fictional character in the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, played by John Billingsley.Dr. Phlox is the chief medical officer aboard the starship Enterprise.-Overview:...
, serves as Enterprise's physician. The Mirror version of Soval is seen to be an enlisted science crewman aboard the ISS Avenger, another Starfleet vessel which is also seen to include Andorian
Andorian
Andorians are a fictional race of humanoid extraterrestrials created by D. C. Fontana for the Star Trek universe. They are native to the icy M-class moon Andoria , which orbits a blue, ringed gas giant. Definitive traits include their blue skin, a pair of cranial antennae, and white hair...
and Orion crewmembers.
During the episode's stated date of January 2155, Archer
Jonathan Archer
Jonathan Archer is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. He is the protagonist of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, where he is played by Scott Bakula...
steals the USS Defiant, an Original Series-era Constitution-class starship which disappears and is presumed destroyed in the Original Series episode "The Tholian Web", from the Tholian
Tholian
Tholians are a fictional starfaring and extremely territorial race in the Star Trek fictional universe. The Tholian home nation is the Tholian Assembly, which inhabits an area of space in the Alpha Quadrant, near the Cardassian Union and the Badlands....
s (who are more aggressive than their non-Mirror counterparts), but he is later poisoned by Hoshi Sato
Hoshi Sato
Hoshi Sato , played by Korean American actress Linda Park, is a fictional character in the science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise....
, who subsequently declares herself Empress of the Terran Empire (though whether she succeeds in this gambit is not revealed). During the episode, future events are foreshadowed, such as the fall of the Terran Empire after several centuries (as seen in the Deep Space Nine storyline described below).
The episode's story was continued in a novel mini-series Star Trek: Mirror Universe.
The Original Series
The existence of alternate realities was first established in the original Star Trek seriesStar Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
episode "The Alternative Factor". In this episode, the crew encounter a man named Lazarus who appeared to undergo extreme shifts in behavior. After a time, it was discovered that there were two men, one from an alternative antimatter universe who was calm and rational, and another from our universe who was irrational. Both men had a ship that had the ability to send people into the other's universe. The Lazarus from the alternative reality said that there was a corridor of sorts between the universes where he and his counterpart could safely meet. If they met outside the corridor, both universes would be annihilated due to the contact between matter and anti-matter. Lazarus arranged with Captain Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
to trap both him and the other Lazarus in the corridor forever by having Kirk destroy the ship, and at the same time, the ship in the other universe was destroyed as well. Both men were trapped forever in the corridor, one sane, and one not.
The Mirror Universe was first introduced in the original Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror". It was established that in the Mirror Universe the United Federation of Planets counterpart was the brutal Terran Empire, run by humans and their Vulcan allies. In the Mirror Universe, the term "Terran" is predominantly used for humans. The Mirror-Captain Kirk of the Imperial Starship Enterprise was a mass-murderer, who had been promoted to Captain by assassinating Captain Christopher Pike
Christopher Pike (Star Trek)
Christopher Pike is a character in the Star Trek franchise. He was portrayed by Jeffrey Hunter in the original Star Trek pilot episode, "The Cage", as captain of the USS Enterprise. The pilot was rejected, and the character was dropped during development of the second pilot when Hunter decided that...
.
In the Terran Empire, officers were promoted for assassinating their superiors and order was kept by use of the "Agonizer" pain-giving devices. In some serious cases, the "Agony Booth" could also be used. Aesthetic differences included: the Mirror-crew's uniforms were flamboyant and somewhat robe-like, with ceremonial daggers for the officers; Mirror-Sulu
Hikaru Sulu
Hikaru Sulu is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by George Takei in the original Star Trek series, Sulu also appears in the animated Star Trek series, the first six Star Trek movies, one episode of Star Trek: Voyager, and in numerous books, comics, and video games...
was a Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
-like political officer with a disfiguring facial scar; Mirror-Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
had a goatee
Goatee
Goatee refers to a style of facial hair incorporating hair on a man’s chin. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture.Traditionally, goatee refers solely to a beard formed by a tuft of hair on the chin...
(which has led to a number of pop culture references of people from "evil alternate universes" having goatees), whereas the regular character does not; the "United Nations" emblem of the Federation was replaced in the Terran Empire symbol, which consisted of the Earth imposed over a vertical sword of conquest.
In this original encounter, Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy
Leonard McCoy
Leonard "Bones" McCoy is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by DeForest Kelley in the original Star Trek series, McCoy also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in numerous books,...
, Lieutenant Uhura
Uhura
Nyota Uhura is a character in Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, the first six Star Trek films, and the 2009 film Star Trek...
, and Chief Engineer Scott
Montgomery Scott
Montgomery "Scotty" Scott is a Scottish engineer in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by James Doohan in the original Star Trek series, Scotty also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics", and in numerous...
had been turned down by the peaceful Halkans, who did not want to trade for dilithium. They feared the use of the material for war. An ion storm causes a beam-up to go awry, switching the crew with their alternates.
Kirk tries to save the alternate-Halkans from destruction; the common tactic used by the Terran Empire when meeting resistance. He suffers several assassination attempts.
Both Spocks find out the dual nature of the affected officers and work on a way to get them home in time; there is a limit.
Before leaving the Mirror Universe, Kirk gave an impassioned speech in which he told Mirror-Spock that because the Empire would die in a few hundred years, that it was illogical, and Mirror-Spock was illogical for supporting the Empire. He asks Mirror-Spock to work for change, and Mirror-Spock replied that he would consider Kirk's proposal.
About a year after his first crossover, Kirk unknowingly experienced a second encounter with the mirror universe. In "The Tholian Web", the Enterprise encounters the crippled Constitution-class U.S.S. Defiant, which is phasing in and out of existence with Kirk's reality as a result of a localized spatial anomaly. Kirk leads an away team and discovers the crew is dead as a result of the anomaly's effect on the brain. As the Defiant begins to shift out of reality, the away team is beamed out, but Kirk is somehow trapped in the interphase. The Tholians claim this particular area of space and attempt to ensnare the Enterprise in their energy web, but the Enterprise, under the command of Spock, is able to escape and retrieve Kirk from between dimensions. Kirk remarks that during his experience the Defiant was pulled away into another dimension.
What Kirk never knew, but which was established in the Enterprise episode "In a Mirror, Darkly", was the Tholians of the Mirror Universe managed to open a dimensional rift hoping to steal technology from alternate realities. Their efforts also created a temporal rift, connecting from a universe 110 years in Kirk's past. The mirror Tholians sent out a distress call to lure a spacecraft and ensnared the Defiant in their trap, eventually pulling it completely into the mirror universe. So determined were the Tholians to unlock the technological secrets of the future ship that work crews began dismantling the ship before moving the bodies of the crew, several of whom were discovered by the ISS Enterprise away team in the same positions as Kirk had found them.
As a side note, the Tholian tactic of stealing future technology was paralleled in the regular Trek universe. In "Future Tense", 22nd century Tholians attempt to capture a 31st century Federation vessel but are thwarted by Archer's Enterprise.
Deep Space Nine
The Mirror Universe was later revisited in the Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
second-season episode "Crossover", and turned into a story-arc that spanned into the final season, with five Mirror Universe episodes over the course of seven seasons.
On Deep Space Nine, which takes place over 100 years after the original contact with the Mirror Universe, it was revealed that drastic changes had occurred in the Mirror Universe because of the interference of the regular universe's Kirk. Before he left the Mirror Universe, James T. Kirk planted seeds of doubt in the Mirror-Spock's mind about the Terran Empire's brutal tactics. Kirk noted that Spock was a man of honor in both universes, and the Mirror-Spock listened to Kirk's urging for reform. Mirror-Spock's future role on Enterprise and the fate of Mirror-Kirk are unclear, though some have suggested that Mirror-Kirk was assassinated (and was shown in a non-canon Star Trek comic). Mirror-Spock then went on to become Chief of State of the Terran Empire. Mirror-Spock introduced many popular reforms that largely ended the iron-fisted rule of the Terran Empire, especially a vast demilitarization program. However, these reforms were very ill-timed.
Not long after Mirror-Spock's demilitarization drive, the Terran Empire encountered the Alliance. In the Mirror Universe, the Alliance is a unified government of the Klingon
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
s and the Cardassian
Cardassian
The Cardassians are an extraterrestrial species in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. First introduced in the 1991 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Wounded", the species originating on the fictional Alpha Quadrant planet Cardassia Prime...
s, presumably ruled by the Klingon Emperor. The Alliance conquered the ill-prepared Terran Empire and enslaved the Terrans and Vulcans. Terrans became pariahs and a slave race, often subjected to mass forced physical labor.
The Alliance does not have cloaking device
Cloaking device
Cloaking devices are advanced stealth technologies still in development that will cause objects, such as spaceships or individuals, to be partially or wholly invisible to parts of the electromagnetic spectrum...
technology (although a ship was seen decloaking in an earlier episode, an episode in the seventh season established that the Mirror Universe does not have cloaking devices, and the earlier appearance was retconned out as a graphical error). However, cloak technology did exist in the 22nd century on at least one Terran ship (who in turn took it from the Suliban).
It is unknown what role the Romulan
Romulan
The Romulans are a fictional alien race in the Star Trek universe. First appearing in the original Star Trek series in the 1966 episode "Balance of Terror", they have since made appearances in all the main later Star Trek series: The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager...
s play in the Mirror Universe. However, there is evidence of their existence. When Sisko
Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...
was finished impersonating Mirror-Sisko, he told Mirror-Jennifer Sisko that he was leaving to see the Romulans, to get them to join the fight against the Alliance. This implies that the Romulans are an independent empire, much like they are in the "prime" reality or universe. It also means that, unlike other races such as the Vulcans and Andorians, the Romulans were able to resist the Terran Empire and to survive the mirror equivalent of the Earth-Romulan War, assuming that one took place to begin with.
The Bajorans of the Mirror Universe were ruled by the Terran Empire but later sided with the Alliance and became masters of Terran slave forces. Notable among them was Intendant Kira, the counterpart to the normal universe's Kira Nerys. Intendant Kira was a ruthless, sadistic hedonist; she was outwardly bisexual
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
and sexually aggressive — characteristics apparently more common in Mirror Universe females than in normal universe ones. She maintained power in her sector of the Alliance from Terok Nor
Deep Space Nine (space station)
Deep Space Nine is a fictitious space station, and is the eponymous primary setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It serves as a base for the exploration of the Gamma Quadrant via the Bajoran wormhole, and is a hub of trade and travel for the sector's denizens...
, the counterpart of Deep Space Nine.
When Deep Space Nine officers Julian Bashir
Julian Bashir
Lieutenant Julian Subatoi Bashir, M.D., played by Alexander Siddig, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bashir is the chief medical officer of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS Defiant.-Overview:...
and Kira Nerys visited the Mirror Universe, they sparked a rebellion among the Terran slaves led by the Mirror-Sisko
Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...
and Mirror-O'Brien
Miles O'Brien (Star Trek)
Miles Edward O'Brien, played by Colm Meaney, is Chief of Operations in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Before DS9, he appeared as a recurring transporter chief in Star Trek: The Next Generation...
. Over the next five years, the Terran Rebellion would drag on and was not conclusively finished. However, Regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
Worf
Worf
Worf, played by Michael Dorn, is a main character in Star Trek: The Next Generation and in seasons four to seven of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also appears in the films based on The Next Generation. Worf is the first Klingon main character to appear in Star Trek, and has appeared in more Star...
was eventually taken as a prisoner of war by the rebellion.
The Klingon Empire of the normal Star Trek universe hasn't actually had an Emperor in 300 years; they were replaced by the Chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
and the High Council
Klingon High Council
In the fictional Star Trek universe the Klingon High Council is the supreme ruling body of the Klingon Empire...
. But in the Mirror-Klingon Empire there are still ruling Emperors. The Mirror-Imperial Family is House Duras, who were deposed in disgrace in the normal Trek universe. However, during Deep Space Nine, a Regent currently ruled as the true power behind the throne: the brutal Regent Worf.
Other characters in the Mirror Universe:
- GarakElim GarakElim Garak is a fictional character from the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in which he is portrayed by Andrew J. Robinson. In the series, Garak is an exiled spy from the Cardassian empire and a former member of a prestigious Cardassian intelligence group called the Obsidian Order...
was Intendant Kira's first officer. - Odo was the cruel foreman of the human slaves on Terok Nor, and was killed by the Dr. BashirJulian BashirLieutenant Julian Subatoi Bashir, M.D., played by Alexander Siddig, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bashir is the chief medical officer of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS Defiant.-Overview:...
of the normal universe. - SiskoBenjamin SiskoBenjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...
was something of a shady pirate, but later started the Terran Rebellion, although he was subsequently killed. - TuvokTuvokTuvok is one of the main characters on the television series Star Trek: Voyager. Tuvok is a Vulcan who serves as the ship's chief of security and its chief tactical officer. Tim Russ portrayed Tuvok throughout the show's run, from 1995 to 2001....
never got lost in the Delta Quadrant and was a member of the Resistance. - QuarkQuark (Star Trek)Quark is a fictional character in the American television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The character, which was played by Armin Shimerman, was depicted as a member of an extraterrestrial race known as the Ferengi, who are stereotypically ultra-capitalist and only motivated by...
and RomRom (Star Trek)Rom is a recurring character on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is played by Max Grodénchik.Rom is a Ferengi, the son of Keldar and Ishka. He is Quark's younger brother, and the father of Nog.-Overview:...
were both Rebel-sympathizers and were killed by Intendant Kira. - Nog and Brunt were also later killed by Intendant Kira (it almost seemed to be a rule that one mirror-FerengiFerengiThe Ferengi are a fictitious extraterrestrial race from the Star Trek universe. They first appeared in "The Last Outpost", the fifth episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987, during which they made first contact with the United Federation of Planets in 2364 on the planet Delphi Ardu,...
had to be killed in each Mirror Universe episode). - Sisko's wife Jennifer never died at the hands of the BorgBorg (Star Trek)The Borg are a fictional pseudo-race of cybernetic organisms depicted in the Star Trek universe associated with Star Trek.Whereas cybernetics are used by other races in the science fiction world to repair bodily damage and birth defects, the Borg use enforced cybernetic enhancement as a means of...
in the Mirror Universe, and she had to be convinced to join the Resistance. She was later killed by the Mirror-Kira. - Julian BashirJulian BashirLieutenant Julian Subatoi Bashir, M.D., played by Alexander Siddig, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bashir is the chief medical officer of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS Defiant.-Overview:...
was an uncouth, unshaven and aggressive member of the Resistance, although he was quite loyal. It is unclear if this Bashir was genetically enhanced, but humanity's status as a conquered slave race make it unlikely that he was. - Jadzia DaxJadzia DaxJadzia Dax , played by Terry Farrell, was a main character during the first six seasons of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine....
was the lover of Mirror-Sisko, although she later died (roughly the same time her counterpart in the normal universe died). - EzriEzri DaxEzri Dax , played by Nicole de Boer, is a counselor aboard Deep Space Nine in the seventh season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Casting:The role of Ezri Dax was created when Terry Farrell decided to leave the show and her character was subsequently killed by Dukat.When Nicole de Boer read for the...
(who did not have the Dax symbiote) was a freelance mercenary working both sides until the real QuarkQuark (Star Trek)Quark is a fictional character in the American television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The character, which was played by Armin Shimerman, was depicted as a member of an extraterrestrial race known as the Ferengi, who are stereotypically ultra-capitalist and only motivated by...
and RomRom (Star Trek)Rom is a recurring character on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is played by Max Grodénchik.Rom is a Ferengi, the son of Keldar and Ishka. He is Quark's younger brother, and the father of Nog.-Overview:...
convinced her to join the Rebellion. - Leeta was a member of the Resistance and a lesbian.
- Jake SiskoJake SiskoJacob "Jake" Sisko, played by Cirroc Lofton, is a character on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is the son of Deep Space Nine's commanding officer, Benjamin Sisko.-Overview:...
was never born in this reality. - Miles O'BrienMiles O'Brien (Star Trek)Miles Edward O'Brien, played by Colm Meaney, is Chief of Operations in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Before DS9, he appeared as a recurring transporter chief in Star Trek: The Next Generation...
was a somewhat depressed character, so Mirror-Sisko dubbed him "Smiley" as a play on his first name 'Miles', and the name stuck to distinguish him from the normal O'Brien. Smiley never married or had children, but eventually became a high ranking cell leader in the Terran Resistance — and after Mirror-Sisko's death, perhaps the leader. - Bareil Antos is also still alive, but never became a Vedek (religious leader). In the mirror universe, Bareil was a thief and petty criminal.
- Vic Fontaine also makes an appearance, working alongside Mirror-Ezri. Inexplicably, he is not a hologram in the Mirror Universe, and the moment is played as comical. He was killed by Bashir shortly after making his appearance.
Eventually, the Terran Resistance captured Mirror-Terok Nor and used it as a base of operations, and built a Mirror-Defiant using plans stolen from the normal universe.
Episodes
The following is a list of episodes that take place in the Mirror Universe or involve characters from the Mirror Universe, in in-Universe chronological orderChronology
Chronology is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time, such as the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the determination of the actual temporal sequence of past events".Chronology is part of periodization...
.
| Series | # | Title | Overview |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENT Star Trek: Enterprise Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001... |
418 | "In a Mirror, Darkly" | Mirror-Archer, Mirror-Forrest, and the rest of the crew discover that a ship from 100 years in the future in an alternate universe, the USS Defiant, has travelled to their universe through some kind of rip in space. All of the crew members except Captain Forrest evacuate the ISS Enterprise as it is attacked by Tholians and board the Defiant. The Enterprise is destroyed, and its surviving crew uses the improved technology of the Defiant to chase away the Tholians. Archer replaces Forrest as captain. |
| ENT Star Trek: Enterprise Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001... |
419 | "In a Mirror, Darkly Part II" | The Mirror Enterprise crew find the Defiant littered with the corpses of its former crew who murdered each other due to the effects of Interphase Interphase Interphase is the phase of the cell cycle in which the cell spends the majority of its time and performs the majority of its purposes including preparation for cell division. In preparation for cell division, it increases its size and makes a copy of its DNA... which causes humans to become psychotic Psychosis Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"... . The Tholian Tholian Tholians are a fictional starfaring and extremely territorial race in the Star Trek fictional universe. The Tholian home nation is the Tholian Assembly, which inhabits an area of space in the Alpha Quadrant, near the Cardassian Union and the Badlands.... s use slaves to strip the ship. The overseer Supervisor A supervisor, foreperson, team leader, overseer, cell coach, facilitator, or area coordinator is a manager in a position of trust in business... is a Gorn Gorn In Star Trek, the Gorn are humanoid reptiles from the Gorn Hegemony.-Fictional history:The Gorn had contact with the Orion Syndicate as early as 2154... named Slar, who sabotages the Defiant and kills some of the survivors of the ISS Enterprise. Mirror Archer defeats the Gorn, and then his thoughts turn to using the powerful Defiant to take control of the Terran Empire. However, it is Mirror-Hoshi Sato Hoshi Sato Hoshi Sato , played by Korean American actress Linda Park, is a fictional character in the science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise.... who ultimately threatens to use the Defiants weapons on the Emperor of the Terran Empire and replace him as Empress of the Empire. |
| TOS Star Trek: The Original Series Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969... |
204 | "Mirror, Mirror" | Four crew members from the USS Enterprise Starship Enterprise The Enterprise or USS Enterprise is the name of several fictional starships, some of which are the focal point for various television series and films in the Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. It is considered a name of legacy in the fleet... switch places with their mirror universe counterparts and must get home while avoiding being discovered by the mirror universe crew of the Enterprise. |
| TOS Star Trek: The Original Series Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969... |
309 | "The Tholian Web" | The USS Defiant (NCC-1764) is trapped in Interphase in Tholian Space and vanishes. Note: Until "In a Mirror, Darkly" there was no obvious connection between this episode and the Mirror Universe. No elements from the Mirror Universe are shown or mentioned anywhere in this episode. |
| DS9 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe... |
223 | "Crossover" | Dr. Bashir and Major Kira are transported to the Mirror Universe 100 years after the events of "Mirror, Mirror". They find that the Terran Empire has been replaced by the Alliance of Klingons, Cardassians, and Bajorans and that humans are slaves. |
| DS9 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe... |
319 | "Through the Looking Glass" | The Mirror-O'Brien kidnaps Sisko where Sisko must impersonate his late counterpart in order to save the mirror version of his late wife. |
| DS9 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe... |
420 | "Shattered Mirror" | After the Mirror-Jennifer Sisko kidnaps Jake, Captain Sisko must travel to the Mirror Universe to retrieve his son. While there the Mirror-O'Brien wishes for Sisko to help him prepare their version of the Defiant for battle against the Alliance in what could mean freedom for the Terrans. |
| DS9 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe... |
608 | "Resurrection" | The Mirror version of Vedek Bareil arrives on DS9 as he flees from the Alliance. His real reason for being in our universe is to steal the Bajoran Orb of Prophecy and Change for the Intendant, the mirror Kira. However, before he can complete this mission, he has a change of conscience, convinced by Kira, leaving the Orb behind and returning to the Mirror Universe with the Intendant. |
| DS9 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe... |
712 | "The Emperor's New Cloak" | Grand Nagus Zek, financial leader of the Ferengi Ferengi The Ferengi are a fictitious extraterrestrial race from the Star Trek universe. They first appeared in "The Last Outpost", the fifth episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987, during which they made first contact with the United Federation of Planets in 2364 on the planet Delphi Ardu,... Alliance, is captured and taken to the Mirror Universe as a hostage. Quark and Rom must pay a ransom of a cloaking device to free Zek, but Regent Worf imprisons them all in his quest to crush the Terran rebels. |
Novels
Besides the various canon productions depicting the mirror universe, it was the basis of many novels and comics, however as each TV series made its own mark on the continuity of the Mirror Universe the histories and futures established for the universe in non-canon works began to contradict canon. Most recently several Mirror Universe novels have been published in the DS9 Relaunch series and the Star Trek: Mirror Universe series which integrate new non-canon stories into the complete canon Mirror Universe.Primary continuity:
- Glass Empires
- "Age of the Empress"
- "The Sorrows of Empire"
- "The Worst of Both Worlds"
- Obsidian Alliances
- "The Mirror-Scaled Serpent"
- "Cutting Ties"
- "Saturn's Children"
- Shards and Shadows
- "Nobunaga"
- "Ill Winds"
- "Greater Good"
- "The Black Flag"
- "The Traitor"
- "The Sacred Chalice"
- "Bitter Fruit"
- "Family Matters"
- "Homecoming"
- "A Terrible Beauty"
- "Empathy"
- "For Want of a Nail"
- "The Sorrows of Empire"
- "Three"
- "Warpath"
- "Fearful Symmetry"
- "The Soul Key"
In 2007, two collections of Mirror stories were published: the first involves Mirror Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
, TOS
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
and TNG
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, the second features Mirror DS9
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
, Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
and New Frontier
Star Trek: New Frontier
Star Trek: New Frontier is a Star Trek novel series created by John J. Ordover and Peter David and published by Pocket Books. The idea behind it was to create a Star Trek book series with its own continuity and not one that is purely a reaction to the television shows. Nearly every story of the...
(the first time the mirror New Frontier has ever been seen). Dark Passions and the Shatner novels are not part of the canon as established in these stories.
The first of these collections, Glass Empires, comprises Age of the Empress (describing Hoshi Sato
Hoshi Sato
Hoshi Sato , played by Korean American actress Linda Park, is a fictional character in the science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise....
's reign as Empress); The Sorrows of Empire (Spock's career from immediately after Mirror Mirror, to the forging of the Alliance at the mirror-Khitomer Accords; explaining that the fall of the Empire was orchestrated by Spock, forcing the people of the empire to fight for their democracy to make sure the Empire never reformed); and The Worst of Both Worlds (in which Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
, a Terran slave, must defend the Alliance against the even worse threat of the Borg).
The second, Obsidian Alliances, consists of The Mirror-Scaled Serpent (Chakotay
Chakotay
Chakotay , played by Robert Beltran, is a character in Star Trek: Voyager. He is the First Officer of the USS Voyager.-Character biography:...
's resistance cell encounters Neelix
Neelix
Mr. Neelix is a fictional character in the television series Star Trek: Voyager. He is played by actor Ethan Phillips.-Fictional Biography:Mr. Neelix is a Talaxian originally from Rinax, a moon of the planet Talax, in the Delta quadrant, although his great-grandfather was Mylean. His entire family...
and Kes
Kes (Star Trek)
Kes is a character in the television series Star Trek: Voyager, played by Jennifer Lien.She was a regular for the first three seasons, leaving the show in the season four episode "The Gift". She made one guest appearance two seasons later....
in the Badlands); Cutting Ties (in which M'k'nzy of Calhoun
Mackenzie Calhoun
Mackenzie Calhoun is a fictional character from the Star Trek universe. Created by Peter David, Calhoun is an extraterrestrial from the planet Xenex, and is captain of the Federation starship USS Excalibur....
("Muck"), a slave of the Romulan Empire
Romulan
The Romulans are a fictional alien race in the Star Trek universe. First appearing in the original Star Trek series in the 1966 episode "Balance of Terror", they have since made appearances in all the main later Star Trek series: The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager...
, meets the mirror counterparts of the Excalibur crew); and Saturn's Children (in which Kira plots to regain the position of Intendant from Ro Laren
Ro Laren
Ro Laren is a recurring fictional character on Star Trek: The Next Generation, played by Michelle Forbes.Ro Laren was also planned to be a main character in the two following Star Trek television shows, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager...
, while O'Brien faces discontent in the Resistance). The latter of these ties into the Mirror-Kira's appearance in the Deep Space Nine relaunch
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine relaunch
The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine relaunch is an unofficial name for a series of non-canon novels released since 2000 detailing events involving the characters, species and settings portrayed in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine....
series of novels.
The Star Trek: Stargazer
Star Trek: Stargazer
Star Trek: Stargazer is a series of Star Trek novels written by Michael Jan Friedman. The novels are about the adventures of the USS Stargazer , which was Jean-Luc Picard's first command....
novel Three, by Michael Jan Friedman
Michael Jan Friedman
Michael Jan Friedman is an author of nearly sixty books of fiction and nonfiction, more than half of which are in the Star Trek universe. Ten of his titles have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list...
also features the Mirror Universe. Since the Stargazer novels are set during Picard's first command, nearly 40 years before the DS9 crossover, it provides a glimpse of the Mirror Universe during the war between the Empire and the Alliance. In it, the counterpart of a member of the USS Stargazer crew crosses over from the ISS Stargazer to kidnap the Stargazer
A further collection entitled Shards and Shadows was released in January 2009. David Mack
David Alan Mack
This article is about the Star Trek and Wolverine novelist. For the comic book artist, see David W. Mack.David Alan Mack is a writer best known for his freelance Star Trek novels...
is currently writing a new novel, Rise Like Lions, to conclude the current Mirror Universe storyline; this novel is expected to be released in November of 2011.
Other views of the Mirror Universe
Various novels have been set in the Deep Space Nine version of the mirror universe, including a trilogy by William ShatnerWilliam Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
, which reveals the Mirror-Kirk (or "Emperor Tiberius", as he calls himself) was still alive, and plotting to reconquer his Empire. Apparently, it had been he who originally created the Alliance to overthrow Spock, before it turned on him. His right-hand man is Regent Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
, who works with the counterparts of other Enterprise-E bridge crew. He is opposed in his aims by Mirror-Spock, now the Intendant of the Vulcan Resistance. Mirror versions of Kathryn Janeway
Kathryn Janeway
Kathryn Janeway, played by Kate Mulgrew, is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. As the captain of the Starfleet starship USS Voyager, she was the lead character on the television series Star Trek: Voyager, and later, a Starfleet admiral, as seen in the 2002 feature film Star Trek...
, other Voyager crewmembers and Tasha Yar
Tasha Yar
Lieutenant Natasha "Tasha" Yar, played by Denise Crosby, is a character in Star Trek: The Next Generation. In the fictional series, the character served as chief of security aboard the USS Enterprise-D for the first season....
also appeared.
According to the Shatnerverse the Mirror Universe diverged from the standard Star Trek universe due to the events of Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: First Contact is the eighth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise, released in November 1996, by Paramount Pictures. First Contact is the first film in the franchise to feature no cast members from the original Star Trek television series of the 1960s...
. Human space travel was colored by Earth's pre-mature encounter with the Borg and so instead of developing a diverse and peaceful Federation based on exploration, humans created a hostile and military-oriented Empire based on strength and fear.
Dark Passions by Susan Wright is also set before the DS9 episodes, at about the time of The Next Generation. It focussed on the mirror-Seven of Nine
Seven of Nine
Seven of Nine is a fictional character on Star Trek: Voyager, portrayed by actress Jeri Ryan. Born human, she was assimilated by the Borg at the age of six. Eighteen years later, Voyager left Borg space with Seven on board, after attempts to negotiate passage through Borg space proved only...
, a Terran slave who had been fitted with cybernetics to be a spy for the Obsidian Order. The sequence ended with her escaping in a ship she named Voyager, along with the counterparts of many of the Voyager crew (this may contradict the Shatner novels).
Dark Mirror
Diane DuaneDiane Duane
Diane Duane is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Her works include the Young Wizards young adult fantasy series and the Rihannsu Star Trek novels.-Biography :...
, in her Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
book Dark Mirror
Dark Mirror (Star Trek novel)
Dark Mirror is a Star Trek novel written by Diane Duane. It is set in the Mirror Universe, and offers an explanation of its more violent culture.-Plot:...
(ISBN 0-671-79377-2) offers another explanation of what happened after Captain Kirk and three others of his crew encountered the Mirror Universe. In the novel, the Empire is still very much in existence in the 24th century. The point of divergence pre-dates the Eugenics Wars
Eugenics wars
Eugenics wars may refer to:*In biopolitics, “eugenics wars” are sociopolitical conflicts characterized by coercive state-sponsored genetic discrimination and human rights violations such as compulsory sterilization of persons with genetic defects, the killing of the institutionalized and,...
, which in this timeline consist of the supermen annihilating each other with nuclear weapons, with humanity following their mindset in its new-found freedom. While on the Mirror Enterprise Picard finds several historical works of literature that reflect their universe's aggressiveness, although these altered versions may be actually due to Orwellian revisionism.The novel concludes with Picard advising the mirror Worf- here a slave- to encourage the Empire's slave races to wait for the chance to strike back, as the Empire's attempt to conquer our universe shows their increased desperation for new territories to conquer to enforce their powers.
"The Mirror Universe Saga" (DC Star Trek comic, 1984-85)
The Mirror Universe Saga (ISBN 0-930289-96-X) is a trade paperback that reprints eight issues of DC ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' Star Trek comic book (issues #9 - #15, as well as issue #16 which completed the arc but did not actually involve the Mirror Universe) chronicling an encounter between the Mirror Universe and our own. It is set immediately after the events of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is a 1984 motion picture released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the third feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the center of a three-film story arc that begins with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and concludes with Star Trek IV:...
, which had just been released shortly before the series was first published. The series was credited to Mike W. Barr
Mike W. Barr
Mike W. Barr is an American writer of comic books, and mystery, and science fiction novels.-Biography:Barr's debut as a comics professional came in DC Comics' Detective Comics #444 , for which he wrote an 8-page back-up mystery feature starring the Elongated Man...
(head writer for DC's Trek comic at the time), Tom Sutton
Tom Sutton
Tom Sutton was an American comic book artist who sometimes used the pseudonyms Sean Todd and Dementia...
, and Ricard Villagran. When originally published, this story arc was called "New Frontiers", though it is best known by the title used in this section heading.
The I.S.S. Enterprise obtains the Genesis technology developed by Dr. Carol Marcus then enters our universe to spearhead the Empire's intended conquest of the Federation. Meanwhile, in the "real" universe, Captain Styles of the Excelsior has arrived at Regula I, where Kirk and crew have found temporary safe haven, to take them back to Earth to stand trial for their mutinous actions (as depicted in Star Trek III). When they encounter a mystery attacking ship, Styles overconfidently believes the Excelsior can defeat the attacker, which is an "outdated" Constitution-class ship, but it turns out to be the I.S.S. Enterprise under the command of Mirror-Kirk. The Mirror-Enterprise crew easily overpowers the inexperienced Excelsior crew, taking over the advanced vessel, and Mirror-Kirk dispatches Mirror-Spock (who despite his words at the end of "Mirror, Mirror" had elected to return to Mirror-Kirk's side after all, after logically deducing that the efforts of any one single man would be a useless gesture against the Empire). Mirror-Sulu and Mirror-Chekov travel to Vulcan (aboard Kruge's Klingon bird-of-prey, captured by Kirk during Star Trek III and confiscated by Styles when taking custody of the Enterprise survivors) to find Spock, still recovering from the fal-tor-pan ritual on Vulcan. Kirk and his own crew manage to escape and take over the I.S.S. Enterprise, which is destroyed by remote control by the Mirror-Kirk; the real Kirk's crew survives by escaping in the ship's saucer section.
After retaking the Excelsior from Mirror-Kirk (and placing the Mirror-Enterprise crew in stasis
Stasis (medicine)
In medicine, stasis is the state in which the normal flow of a body liquid stops, for example the flow of blood through vessels or of intestinal contents through the digestive tract....
), Kirk takes command of Excelsior and takes it to the Mirror Universe in a gambit of impersonating Mirror-Kirk yet again. His plan is to break the back of the Empire's planned invasion by taking command of the Imperial fleet aboard Excelsior, then turning on the fleet at the critical moment. One Empire officer, a Captain Blaine, is suspicious of Kirk's intentions; however, rather than suspecting Kirk is in fact his counterpart from the other (our) universe, he is familiar with Mirror-Kirk's history of advancing through the ranks by use of treachery and intrigue and thinks Kirk is out to take control of the Empire for himself.
Saavik
Saavik
Lieutenant JG Saavik is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe. She first appeared in the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan played by Kirstie Alley. Robin Curtis took on the role after a salary dispute caused Alley to drop out of the sequel, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock...
researches Imperial history to help familiarize the crew with the Mirror Universe and its history, so as to better portray their own counterparts. Her research reveals the likely point of divergence between the two universes - the Romulan War. In our universe, Earth and Romulus fought their war in deep space. In the Mirror Universe, the war was fought in Earth's solar system, and Earth lost. The Romulans held Earth for ten years until a resistance overthrew them. This resistance did not disband once the Romulans were deposed, however; rather, its leaders proclaimed that Earth would no longer be conquered, but rather would be the conquerors themselves. Thus did the resistance movement form the seeds of what would eventually become the Terran Empire.
Meanwhile, Mirror-Spock reaches Vulcan, where he engages in a mind meld with the recovering Spock of our universe. However, once Mirror-Spock touches his mind, Spock is able to reflexively initiate a meld of his own. In the ensuring battle of minds, Spock draws strength to restore his mind, and at the same time, Mirror-Spock becomes reconciled to "our" Spock and the two make common cause to stop the Empire. The two Spocks use the captured Klingon ship to cross into the Mirror universe.
Also seen during this storyline is the counterpart of Kirk's son, David Marcus - still very much alive in the Mirror Universe, and leading a resistance cell against the Empire.
The Empire accepts Kirk's proposal to align with the Romulans and Klingons to defeat the Federation, Klingons and Romulans. However, Kirk and Scott have a plan to disable the entire fleet of Empire ships, then, when sufficiently defeated, disable the Romulan and Klingon ships (correctly suspecting both parties would turn their guns on Excelsior once the battle had ended) and return home. The empire, however, already had its own Excelsior built; they had studied the Federation ship earlier in the arc, and used the data gleaned from this examination for help in making their own Excelsior operational. The Mirror-Excelsior is under the command of Captain Blaine, who had evidently convinced others within the Empire's Admiralty of Kirk's duplicity. Fortunately, Scotty had deliberately screwed up the Excelsior's systems before Empire technicians studied them, giving their scanners false readings; as a result, the Mirror-Excelsior cannot draw enough power to operate and is easily defeated.
The Excelsior then returns to the Federation, having dropped off their mirror counterparts in shuttles. When Mirror-Kirk awakens, he tries to contact the nearest Imperial vessel for assistance - not realizing he and his crew have been branded as traitors after the real Kirk's actions left the Imperial fleet crippled. The I.S.S. Nogura picks up Mirror-Kirk's distress signal, and after verifying the identity of those aboard, destroys the shuttle, killing all aboard. Of the Mirror-Enterprise crew, only Mirror-Spock survives, and he elects to join David Marcus' resistance cell.
After returning to his own universe, Kirk gives a reporter an exclusive on how he and his crew saved the Federation from an invasion about which they would have never known. Her reports in the mass media paint the Enterprise survivors as heroes, much to the consternation of Starfleet brass who still wanted Kirk court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
ed. In the end, facing a public-relations nightmare if they proceeded with a full trial, Starfleet reluctantly gives Kirk full command of the Excelsior, ostensibly for an extended shakedown cruise to help work out all the bugs in its system. With the exception of Spock (who is assigned to a command of his own, the science vessel Surak), Kirk's entire crew joins him on this new mission. This sets up the later Star Trek comics stories which were published in the interim leading up to the release of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series and completes the story arc begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The...
in 1986.
This story, like all Trek comics stories and novels, is not considered canonical with the main Star Trek universe.
Shattered Universe
A 2004 Star Trek game -- Star Trek: Shattered UniverseStar Trek: Shattered Universe
Star Trek: Shattered Universe is a space simulator video game set in Star Trek Mirror Universe, as portrayed in the original series episode Mirror, Mirror...
-- is set sometime after the original series episode "Mirror, Mirror". In the game, Captain Hikaru Sulu and the crew of the U.S.S. Excelsior swap places with the crew of the I.S.S. Excelsior thanks to a localized stellar ion storm. They are hunted by Mirror-Chekov, who commands the I.S.S. Enterprise, and assisted by the Mirror-Klingons and Mirror-Romulans. During their trek home, the Excelsior crew encounter Mirror Universe variations of the original series' missions, including the M-5 multitronic computer, a giant space-amoeba and a Doomsday Machine, although the latter is under the escort of the ISS Constellation and ISS Intrepid.
While the game takes place at some point during the era of the Star Trek films, it is unclear exactly when. The Enterprise has not yet been decommissioned, but Sulu is in command of the Excelsior, placing the game somewhere in the timeframe of "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". Spock has not yet completed his coup d'état—the Empire contacts Mirror-Chekov several times during his mission to capture Sulu—but there is still much time for that to occur in the Mirror Universe timeline. There is no indication the character of Kirk, either version, is involved in the storyline.
Elite Force
During the Star Trek game -- Star Trek: Voyager Elite ForceStar Trek: Voyager – Elite Force
Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force is a first-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. The game was initially released on September 20, 2000 for Windows and Mac OS personal computers. Aspyr Media was responsible for porting the game to the Mac OS platform...
-- the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager
USS Voyager (Star Trek)
The fictional Intrepid-class starship USS Voyager is the primary setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. It is commanded by Captain Kathryn Janeway....
are trapped in what is called a 'ship's graveyard
Ship graveyard
A ship graveyard or ship cemetery is a location where the hulls of scrapped ships are left to decay and disintegrate, or left in reserve...
'. Among the wreckage of ships there is an unidentified Constitution class vessel from the mirror universe crewed entirely by humans. It is made apparent that this vessel is from the mirror universe by the 'sword in the earth' symbol on the walls of the ship, the uniforms of the crew, and the fact that they attack hand to hand with daggers instead of phasers (It is shown in Mirror Mirror that crew members are equipped with daggers). These members of the Terran Empire have presumably been trapped in the graveyard for many years and have formed an alliance with crews of Klingon
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
s, Malons and Hirogen
Hirogen
The Hirogen are a fictional race in the Star Trek universe, a long-running plot device in the Star Trek: Voyager television series, appearing nine times in Seasons 4-7....
, though it is unknown if any of these races are also from the mirror universe. This alliance practices piracy and scavenges ships within the graveyard, taking by force any needed supplies and weaponry. Their own ship appears to have been heavily damaged and has received many emergency repairs. Many of the ships belonging to the Klingons, Malons, Hirogen and Terran Empire have been joined together to form a base of operations. This is referred to as 'The Scavenger Base'.
The members of the Voyager's Hazard Team, a specially trained group of officers trained to deal with unusual threats, are sent to board this base of operations in order to recover isodesium. This substance is needed to survive against the power-draining effects of the graveyard.
Starfleet Command
In Star Trek: Starfleet CommandStar Trek: Starfleet Command
Star Trek: Starfleet Command is a computer game based on the table-top wargame Star Fleet Battles. It simulates starship operations, and ship-to-ship combat and fleet warfare in the Star Trek universe....
, a player who eventually joins the Starfleet Special Forces during the Federation campaign will be launched on a series of missions involving the mirror universe. It begins with an encounter involving the destroyer USS Boston during an experimental "star tap" test, capturing the player's counterpart (in exactly the same ship as the player's main vessel) when the player is accused of crimes against other empires, and a showdown on Earth against a fleet of Doomsday Machines led by the mirror counterpart of Matthew Decker, who is supreme commander of the Imperial forces.
Star Fleet Command II
The game Star Fleet Command II features a series of scenarios in which the Mirror Universe Imperial Starfleet attacks the Federation. At first, the Imperial vessels show up and cause quite a stir. A destroyer is taken into custody, revealing all sorts of strange things such as an agony booth. Captain Decker is captured in one of the scenarios and eventually, the player must fight himself and an identical ship. Commodore Decker is the leader of the invaders and in an ironic twist, reactivates a squadron of "planet killers", c.f. "The Doomsday Machine" of TOS in order to destroy Earth.Other ramifications
While in the "Alternative Factor", the Lazarus of the alternate universe said that to meet his counterpart would cause the destruction of both his and our universe, while in later episodes characters met their counterparts in the Mirror-Universe and the meetings did not cause any apparent damage to either universe. This apparent discrepancy is explained by the explicit statement made in the episode that the alternate Lazarus is from an anti-matter universe; it has long been established in "Star Trek" canon that physical contact between matter and its anti-matter counterpart is catastrophic.When commenting on whether the Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
show takes place in an alternate universe, Brannon Braga
Brannon Braga
Brannon Braga is an American television producer and screenwriter, currently working as showrunner and executive producer on Terra Nova...
has declared that it was "of course not" the case http://scifipulse.net/Trek%20Archive/August03/BrannonBraga.html.
Parodies, homages and similar stories
- The Mirror Universe concept has been much parodied, notably in the episode "SpookyfishSpookyfish"Spookyfish" is the fifteenth episode of the second season of the animated television series South Park, and the 28th episode of the series overall. "Spookyfish" originally aired in the United States on October 28, 1998 on Comedy Central...
" in the second season of South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
. - Another notable parody occurred in Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
episode 611, "Last of the Wild Horses". - There have also been episodes of the television series Hercules: The Legendary JourneysHercules: The Legendary JourneysHercules: The Legendary Journeys is a television series, filmed in New Zealand and the United States. It was produced from 1995, and was very loosely based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles...
and Xena: Warrior PrincessXena: Warrior PrincessXena: Warrior Princess is an American–New Zealand supernatural fantasy adventure series that aired in syndication from September 4, 1995 until June 18, 2001....
that reveal a "mirror universe" where all of the main characters are polar opposites of the normal characters. This same line of logic was used in an episode of Sealab 2021Sealab 2021Sealab 2021 is an American animated television series. It was shown on Cartoon Network's adult-oriented programming block, Adult Swim. It premiered on November 23, 2000 and the final episode aired on April 25, 2005...
and a This Modern WorldThis Modern WorldThis Modern World is a weekly satirical comic strip by cartoonist and political commentator Tom Tomorrow that covers current events from a liberal point of view. Tomorrow also runs a weblog that informs readers about stories of interest, often presented as a follow up to his cartoons...
strip. - Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
has also depicted an alternate universe. In the serial InfernoInferno (Doctor Who)Don Houghton came to Terrence Dicks with an idea for the story based on the real life Project Mohole. A smaller budget for the serial drove the idea of a parallel world, where the studio could use the same actors in multiple roles...
Britain fell to a fascistFascismFascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
revolution in the forties, and became a totalitarian Republic. Scientific experimentation is allowed to run almost unchecked at the Eastchester "scientific labour camp", and ultimately results in the devastation of that universe's Earth. Although most of the alternate characters were not simply "evil" versions of their other selves, sharing essentially the same qualities (in particular Section Leader Elizabeth Shaw and Doctor Petra Williams). A later appearance of the Inferno universe in the novel The Face of the EnemyThe Face of the Enemy (Doctor Who)The Face of the Enemy is a BBC Books original novel written by David A. McIntee and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.It is a sequel to the Third Doctor serial Inferno...
includes Sergeant BentonSergeant BentonSergeant Benton is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by John Levene. He was the senior NCO of the British contingent of UNIT , an international organisation that defends the Earth...
saying "You mean like that Star Trek episode where Spock had a beard?". - An episode of Codename: Kids Next DoorCodename: Kids Next DoorCodename: Kids Next Door, also known as Kids Next Door or by its acronym KND, is an American animated television series created by Tom Warburton and produced by Curious Pictures in Santa Monica, California.. The series debuted on Cartoon Network on December 6, 2002 and aired its final episode on...
, "Opereation P.O.O.L.", features a mirror universe, in which everyone is the exact opposite of their normal selves. - In the season nine episode "Ripple Effect", several alternate SG-1s appear through the Stargate, with varying differences.
- The TransformersTransformersA transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling.Transformer may also refer to:* ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet computer manufacturer by Asus...
Shattered Glass storyline from BotCon 2008 sees a mirror universe where the Autobots are evil and led by a cruel, sadistic Optimus Prime, while the Decepticons are the resistance to his tyranny, lead by a heroic and noble Megatron. - In the FuturamaFuturamaFuturama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
episode The Farnsworth ParaboxThe Farnsworth Parabox"The Farnsworth Parabox" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. It first aired June 8, 2003, as the tenth episode in the fifth broadcast season. The episode was written by Bill Odenkirk and directed by Ron Hughart.- Plot :...
the characters travel into a parallel universe and immediately accuse the other side of being evil. Also in Futurama, Bender has a 'good twin' named Flexo, distinguished by a magnetically-applied goatee who first appeared in the episode The Lesser of Two Evils.
External links
- Mirror Universe article at Memory AlphaMemory AlphaMemory Alpha is a wiki that is an encyclopedic reference for topics related to the Star Trek fictional universe. Conceived by Harry Doddema and Dan Carlson in September 2003 and officially launched on December 5 of that year, it uses the wiki model and is hosted by Wikia, Inc. on the MediaWiki...
, a Star TrekStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
wikiWikiA wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include... - Star Trek: The Mirror Universe Chronology
- Hypothetical Timeline - Canon Fodder: Fixing the Star Trek DisContinuity