“Nothing’s Like We Thought”: Wesley Crusher Reveals a Mind-Blowing Cosmic Secret of Star Trek’s Reality

Warning! Warning! Spoiler for Star Trek #22 ahead!

Time has always been malleable in the Star Trek universe, but a returning Wesley Crusher just confirmed that the temporal nature is “nothing like we thought,” making his reunion with his mother as impactful on Trek lore as it was an emotional pay-off for the decades that fans have invested in these characters.

Star Trek #22 – written by Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing, with art by Megan Levens – features Wesley’s brief homecoming, as he spends a precious few moments with Beverly before disappearing once more.

What is likely to be most striking to fans is how Wesley appears: as an older man, physically older than Beverly, and having lived on a scale few other humans ever have. Yet as he notes, all the while, there were some aspects of an ordinary human existence that he seemingly regrets having missed out on.

Wesley Crusher Reveals The True Nature Of Time In The Star Trek Universe

Star Trek #22 – Written By Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing; Art By Megan Levens; Color By Lee Loughridge; Lettering By Clayton Cowles

What exactly Wesley means by his declaration about time and infinity is left for readers to puzzle over – and that is precisely the point.

From the start of IDW’s current Star Trek ongoing series, authors Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly have endeavored to tell a story with a grand scope, to some degree eclipsing even the most ambitious entries in franchise history. Issue-by-issue, they have redefined the nature of space, time, and existence in the Trek universe – and then threatened them all in turn, creating incredible dramatic stakes for the series. Star Trek #22 proved to be no exception to this incredible project, as Wesley Crusher revealed that time is “infinite in both directions,” before leaving his mother with a dire warning.

What exactly Wesley means by his declaration about time and infinity is left for readers to puzzle over – and that is precisely the point. Kelly and Lanzing have been downright gleeful in putting the “sci-fi” back in Star Trek, throwing wild ideas at the wall one after another, without getting overly bogged down by the mechanics or the metaphysics of it all. To a large degree, this has been a core part of what has made their series so engaging for long-time Trek fans in particular.

That is to say, especially since the original run of Trek TV shows ended with Enterprise, the Star Trek franchise has become more and more of an interstellar action-adventure series. Kelly and Lanzing’s Star Trek comic series returns to the unabashed science fiction roots of the franchise, while still delivering exciting action and high-stakes drama with aplomb. By packing exciting ideas like “time is infinite in both directions” into every issue, Trek’s authors have made the universe wild, wonderful, and unpredictable once more.

According To Wesley, The Fate Of The Universe Is In Beverly Crusher’s Hands

Star Trek “Pleroma” Part 4 (Of 7)

As this arc reaches its mid-way point, writers Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing have set up two opposing philosophies of existence; now, the remaining issues of the “Pleroma” storyline will be about discovering which one triumphs.

Wesley and Beverly Crusher’s reunion in Star Trek #22 is short-lived, but it covers several memorable moments before it is over. It also forwards the plot of the “Pleroma” arc, which escalates significantly in this issue as Data’s evil twin Lore sets into motion his plan to become a god, and perhaps destroy the universe in the process. According to Wesley, they have reached “the fulcrum” of the universe’s fate, and that it is “in [Beverly’s] hands now.” Wesley further explains that he can’t take part in what is about to happen, before disappearing yet again from his mother’s life.

“Stay strong,” Wesley tells Beverly right before he’s gone, adding, “Fight what seems inevitable.” This directly reflects another scene in Star Trek #22, where a Bajoran Prophet in the guise of his mother tries to convince Benjamin Sisko that he has cannot stop the “end of the universe.” In this way, as this arc reaches its mid-way point, writers Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing have set up two opposing philosophies of existence; now, the remaining issues of the “Pleroma” storyline will be about discovering which one triumphs.

Star Trek Teases The Wesley Crusher Spin-Off Fans Never Realized They Wanted

Wesley’s Space-Time Adventures

Later in their conversation, Beverly prods Wesley, saying, ”
you must have at least one good story to tell your mother
” – and in this way,
Star Trek
has teased an incredible potential spin-off series.

Another notable aspect of Wesley Crusher’s appearance in Star Trek #22 is just that: his appearance, and how it belies exactly how much of space and time he has traversed off-screen, and off-page. Wesley is depicted as a man in his fifties or sixties, approximately, but he explains to Beverly that he is actually far older. While he hesitates to put a precise number on it, he estimates his age at being “a couple thousand years old.” In this way, Wesley has officially become one of Trek’s longest-lived main characters.

Later in their conversation, Beverly prods Wesley, saying, “you must have at least one good story to tell your mother” – and in this way, Star Trek has teased an incredible potential spin-off series. Wesley has experienced parts of the Trek galaxy never touched by other humans, and his experiences extend over a total of millennia, even if that is a nonlinear calculation. Fans have always wanted to know more about Wesley’s experience as a Traveler, and it seems as though the current era of Star Trek comics would be the perfect opportunity to give them that story.

The Crushers’ Brief Reunion Is A Heartbreaking Payoff To A Decades-Long Plotline

An Emotional Trek Epic

It is a heartbreaking sequence of panels when Beverly asks Wesley to assure his ”
poor all-too-human mom
” that he missed her, even during his thousands of years of cosmic exploration; Wesley in turn replies, ”
Oh. Oh, Mom. Every. Single. Moment.
”

Of course, the most impactful part of the Crusher reunion scene from Star Trek #22 was the way that it provided a satisfying emotional moment for the mother-son duo. Especially early in The Next Generation’s run, Wesley and Beverly’s dynamic was an essential part of getting fans to invest in the new version of the franchise. Wesley’s unexpected evolution into a cosmic character came late in TNG’s run, and as a result, created a dynamic that has never been fully explored until this scene.

To one degree or another, most parents grapple with their children leaving home to pursue their own goals – but only Beverly Crusher knows the sadness of having her son ascend to an entirely different kind of existence. So, it is a heartbreaking sequence of panels when Beverly asks Wesley to assure his “poor all-too-human mom” that he missed her, even during his thousands of years of cosmic exploration; Wesley in turn replies, “Oh. Oh, Mom. Every. Single. Moment.” However fans felt about Wesley’s exit from The Next Generation, this is a crushing pay-off years in the making.

While future Trek stories are sure to feature further encounters between Beverly and Wesley – even this was arguably not the first since TNG ended – the fleeting nature of their time together in Star Trek #22 is particularly effective on a narrative level. It makes the scene that much more narratively potent, in particular Wesley’s admission that he missed his mom for thousands of years. In this way, this moment is a sterling example of the heights IDW’s Star Trek has proven dead-set on reaching for with its current run of comics.

Star Trek

#22
is available now from IDW Publishing.