3 Years After Their "Final" Defeat, The Borg Are Already Returning In Star Trek's Darkest New Series

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Published May 24, 2026, 6:00 PM EDT

Shaun Corley is a Staff Writer for ScreenRant, a position he has held for five years. While he enjoys many types of comics and graphic novels, he has a particular interest in the licensed Star Trek titles.

Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek: The Last Starship #7!

Three years after their “defeat,” the Borg are already returning in Star Trek’s dark new series. Introduced in the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Borg would become one of the franchise’s most terrifying villains. The Borg were unlike any foe the Federation had met before: there was no reasoning with them. They had one mission: add species to their collective.

The Borg's first appearance was in the episode "Q Who?"

The Borg’s saga seemingly came to an end in the series finale of Star Trek: Picard. During the course of the season, it is revealed the virus Icheb designed, and Janeway implanted in the Borg Queen, has decimated the ranks of the Collective. In a last, desperate bid to strike back at Picard and the Federation, the Borg attempt covert assimilation of young people. Among the ranks of the assimilated was Jack, Picard’s son with Doctor Crusher. However, thanks to the love of his father, Jack fights the Borg Queen, eventually leading to her death, and the final fall of the Collective.

Stardate 47988.1 · Crew Assessment The Final Frontier
Trivia Challenge

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⭐CrewMake it so

☠EnemiesResistance is…

⚡TechWarp speed!

📖LoreLive long…

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The USS Enterprise is the most iconic starship in science fiction. What is the registry number of Captain Kirk’s original Enterprise from The Original Series?

ANCC-1701-D BNX-01 CNCC-1701 DNCC-74656

✓ Correct! NCC-1701 is the registry of Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise. The “-D” suffix belongs to Picard’s Galaxy-class ship, NX-01 is Archer’s Enterprise, and NCC-74656 is Voyager.

✗ Red alert! The answer is NCC-1701. Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise carried this now-legendary registry. NCC-1701-D is Picard’s Enterprise from TNG, NX-01 is Captain Archer’s, and NCC-74656 belongs to Voyager.

Kirk’s most trusted officer is a half-human, half-Vulcan science officer famous for his logic and iconic salute. Who is this legendary character?

AData BSpock CTuvok DSarek

✓ Correct! Mr. Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, is the half-Vulcan science officer whose “Live long and prosper” salute became a cultural icon. His struggle between logic and emotion defines the heart of the Original Series.

✗ Red alert! The answer is Spock. Data is an android from TNG, Tuvok is Voyager’s Vulcan tactical officer, and Sarek is Spock’s Vulcan father. Only Spock is the half-human, half-Vulcan first officer of Kirk’s Enterprise.

Starfleet’s most important regulation forbids interference with the natural development of alien civilizations. What is this guiding principle called?

AThe Temporal Accord BGeneral Order One CThe Omega Directive DThe Prime Directive

✓ Correct! The Prime Directive (also known as General Order 1) is Starfleet’s most sacred law. It prohibits interfering with less-developed civilizations — though Kirk, Picard, and Janeway have all famously bent or broken it when lives were at stake.

✗ Red alert! The answer is the Prime Directive. While “General Order One” is technically another name for it, the Prime Directive is the universally known term. The Omega Directive and Temporal Accord are separate, more specialized Starfleet protocols.

“Resistance is futile.” This chilling declaration belongs to a cybernetic collective that assimilates entire civilizations into its hive mind. What is this fearsome species called?

AThe Borg BThe Dominion CThe Romulans DSpecies 8472

✓ Correct! The Borg are Star Trek’s most terrifying villains — a hive-mind collective that forcibly assimilates species and technology. Captain Picard was famously assimilated and transformed into Locutus in the landmark TNG episode “The Best of Both Worlds.”

✗ Red alert! The answer is the Borg. The Dominion is the Gamma Quadrant empire from DS9, the Romulans are a rival empire, and Species 8472 is actually one of the few species that the Borg themselves fear. Only the Borg declare “Resistance is futile.”

Captain Jean-Luc Picard commands the Enterprise-D in The Next Generation and later received his own series, Star Trek: Picard. Which acclaimed actor portrays him?

AWilliam Shatner BAvery Brooks CPatrick Stewart DScott Bakula

✓ Correct! Sir Patrick Stewart brought gravitas, Shakespeare, and Earl Grey tea to the captain’s chair for seven seasons of TNG, four films, and three seasons of Star Trek: Picard. His “Make it so” is one of TV’s most iconic catchphrases.

✗ Red alert! The answer is Patrick Stewart. William Shatner plays Captain Kirk, Avery Brooks is Captain Sisko on Deep Space Nine, and Scott Bakula captains the NX-01 Enterprise. Only Sir Patrick Stewart portrays the legendary Jean-Luc Picard.

Starfleet vessels travel faster than light by bending space around them using a matter-antimatter reaction. What is this propulsion system called?

ATranswarp Drive BWarp Drive CSlipstream Drive DSpore Drive

✓ Correct! Warp Drive is the standard faster-than-light propulsion in Star Trek, powered by dilithium-regulated matter-antimatter reactions. Zefram Cochrane invented it in 2063, which led to humanity’s first contact with the Vulcans.

✗ Red alert! The answer is Warp Drive. Transwarp is an advanced Borg technology, Slipstream is an experimental quantum drive, and the Spore Drive uses mycelial network navigation (from Discovery). Standard Starfleet vessels use Warp Drive.

At Starfleet Academy, cadets face a notorious no-win scenario designed to test their character under impossible circumstances. James Kirk is the only cadet who ever beat it — by cheating. What is this test called?

AThe Prometheus Trial BThe Omega Simulation CThe Corbomite Maneuver DThe Kobayashi Maru

✓ Correct! The Kobayashi Maru is an unwinnable rescue simulation that tests how cadets handle certain death. Kirk reprogrammed it so he could win — earning a commendation for original thinking. It was memorably featured in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

✗ Red alert! The answer is the Kobayashi Maru. The Corbomite Maneuver is a TOS episode, not an Academy test. The Kobayashi Maru is the famous no-win scenario that Kirk defeated by reprogramming the simulation — because he doesn’t believe in the no-win scenario.

In the widely regarded greatest Star Trek film, a genetically enhanced superhuman from Earth’s past seeks revenge against Captain Kirk. “KHAAAAN!” Who is this iconic villain?

AKhan Noonien Singh BGeneral Chang CQ DGul Dukat

✓ Correct! Khan Noonien Singh, played by Ricardo Montalbán, is Star Trek’s greatest villain. First appearing in the TOS episode “Space Seed,” he returned in The Wrath of Khan (1982) for a devastating revenge plot that cost Spock his life.

✗ Red alert! The answer is Khan Noonien Singh. General Chang is a Klingon from Star Trek VI, Q is TNG’s omnipotent trickster, and Gul Dukat is DS9’s Cardassian antagonist. Only Khan inspired Kirk’s legendary scream across the cosmos.

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Yet in Picard’s second season introduced another wrinkle to the Borg’s lore. Doctor Agnes Jurati bonded with a Borg Queen from an alternate timeline, creating a new type of Collective, one built upon cooperation rather than assimilation. Jurati’s Borg were promptly forgotten, but now she plays a major role in IDW’s Star Trek: The Last Starship.

After 600 Years, the Borg Return to Menace the Galaxy

Star Trek: The Last Starship #7 was written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly and drawn by Hernan Gonzalez. The Omega, carrying Jurati and a revived Captain Kirk, travel to space station Deep Space Hope. The station, primarily crewed by the Children of Ni’Var, has apparently made a breakthrough that could help the galaxy recover from the devastating Burn.

Yet the Omega quickly discovers something has gone horribly wrong. Deep Space Hope has opened a singularity, allowing a dark intelligence to seep into our dimension and infect those on the station, and eventually, everyone in the galaxy. The infected aboard Deep Space Hope attack the Omega. Jurati, who has been monitoring the situation, grows frustrated. She beams herself aboard the station and begins assimilating it. She laments the Borg have lost their edge, and boldly declares, “Resistance is Futile.”

Star Trek May Have Run the Borg Into the Ground, Robbing Them Of What Made Them Unique

Some See the Borg Queen as the Beginning of the Collective's Downfall

Prior to the Borg, every enemy race appearing in Star Trek could be reasoned with, and usually talked down from attacking. The Klingons, the Romulans and the Ferengi were multi-faceted and diverse. In contrast, the Borg were one mind, and possessed of an all-encompassing goal. The Borg’s “scary factor” made them popular with Star Trek fans.

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The Borg’s first appearances in Star Trek lore depicted them as nigh-unbeatable. By assimilating other species and technology, the Borg were able to quickly develop countermeasures, rendering the Federation’s most advanced technology useless. The Borg could adapt to virtually any attack, and their ships could repair themselves, even at high warp velocities. When the Borg finally attack the Federation in the classic two-parter “The Best of Both Worlds,” the crew of the Enterprise beat them by the skin of their teeth.

Some fans complained these frequent appearances neutered the Borg.

However, the Borg began to lose some of their luster as the lore developed. The introduction of the Borg Queen, while making sense from a biological standpoint, ran counter to everything fans had been taught about the Collective. Then, Voyager encountered the Collective in the Delta Quadrant. The Borg made frequent appearances on Voyager, becoming the ship’s primary nemesis. Some fans complained these frequent appearances neutered the Borg. These fans argued that the Borg simply became another race in the Star Trek universe, losing everything that made them special.

Have the Borg Really Returned? Or is Agnes Jurati Playing a Deeper Game?

Star Trek: Picard made the decision to bring the Borg’s story to an end, thanks to the virus Janeway infected them with in Voyager’s series finale. Perhaps, on a narrative level, it was a “mercy killing,” giving the Borg one last, horrifying gasp before sliding into oblivion. Star Trek fans were somewhat correct in their assessment that the Borg had become watered down, and Picard’s finale allowed them to go with a bang at least.

Now, nearly 600 years after the Borg’s defeat at Jupiter, they have seemingly returned to menace the galaxy once again. Jurati’s Borg tried to conduct their business in a more benign fashion, and got nowhere with it. Star Trek: The Last Starship has hinted Jurati is playing a deeper game, and it is possible her actions on Deep Space Hope have a larger meaning. But for now, the Borg have returned, and the Star Trek universe needs to be on alert.

Star Trek: The Last Starship #7 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!

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