Star Trek Captains Log – Sulu: A Cycle of Wounded Pride and Missed Opportunities

In Sulu’s own Captains Log one-shot issue, we find the once senior helmsman as Captain of his own ship, Excelsior. Following a tone akin to the films rather than any television series, this issue finds it’s strongest success in featuring a well developed and fully realized Sulu navigating the tediousness of diplomacy on his own.

Let’s start with the good stuff, because there is a lot to enjoy in the Sulu edition of Captains Log. Stories like this have an increased importance for characterization because of the love of the character that we as readers bring into the story before even starting to read the first panel. Captain Sulu feels like the character we know but with new layers of responsibility and the story takes advantage of this angle really well. Seeing Sulu in such a position of obligation and lofty decision making brings a new dynamic that helps to show a side of leadership to the character. It’s great!

Plus, who doesn’t want to dive into a story about the secretive Tholians? They have had some rough times dealing with Starfleet in the past (who can ever forget the mirror crew in Star Trek Enterprise torturing a captive Tholian?!), but this mission of diplomacy isn’t thwarted by war or treason, it’s disrupted due to tardiness! This twist seems benign, but it puts Sulu in a position to display some classic Starfleet compromise by emphasizing the bigger picture and bringing everyone together. It’s a role that suits Sulu well and the creative team seems quite capable of taking the character through the motions to tell a great story.

Where the issue falls a bit flat is in some of the more awkward visuals. Some of Sulu’s depictions feel skewed in a way that isn’t flattering to the character and sometimes pulls you out of the tension as a reader. Creepy smiles and sometimes overbearing colors show that there is some room for improvements in the artwork, but it isn’t all bad. There are awesome space panels with vivid colors and the letters are spot on throughout the entire issue.

Ultimately, fans of Sulu and the classic Star Trek films will mostly enjoy the Captains Log – Sulu one-shot. Despite some occasionally clunky visuals, there is a sense of heart that helps this issue to truly be worthwhile.