New ​Star Trek Comic Voyages Into Gender-Bending Frontier

It seems Star Trek has joined the ranks of Archie and Adventure Time, releasing the first of a two-part series entitled Parallel Lives in which the genders of the characters are flipped.

That’s right: Captain James Tiberius Kirk is now Captain Jane Tiberia Kirk. Pavel Chekov is Pavlona, Hikaru Sulu is Hikari, Scotty is Marjorie Scott, Uhura is Uhuro, and Spock is Spock. (The name stayed the same but now the lady Spock rocks a badass bob).

The whole thing seems like a pretty badass experiment though a long time coming for gender bending Star Trek enthusiasts. As writer Mike Johnson told Comics Alliance:

“Having written the mostly male crew for so long, it was great to take a step back and think about the characters in a new way. What makes Kirk, Kirk? And Spock, Spock? What aspects of our personalities are influenced by our gender, and what remains the same when it changes? These are interesting ideas to explore, and give the story a larger thematic purpose as befits the great Trek tradition.”

And artist Yasmin Liang also gave some insight into how to portray the same personalities in different bodies through the art:

“When I approach designs, especially redesigns and genderbends, I try to determine the main motivations and personality behind the character. For instance, Bones as a woman would be just as grouchy and still be taller than Kirk. I just like the idea of Bones being a large, mean-looking woman! And of course, Chekov would be cute as a button.

It looks like Trekkie fans are going to dig this excursion, and who knows, maybe the new woman-heavy crew may gain traction and continue past the two-parter!

Images via AP and IDW/Cat Staggs via Comics Alliance.