Published Jun 20, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT
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Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek: The Last Starship #8!
After 37 years, Star Trek makes a significant change to the Borg, revealing a surprising weakness. Ever since their introduction in 1989, the Borg have terrorized the Star Trek universe, assimilating entire worlds and cultures into their collective. To lose to the Borg is to lose one’s identity and humanity, making it a fate worse than death.
Originating in the distant Delta Quadrant, the Borg had silently been making inroads into the Federation’s part of the galaxy for years before Q initiated formal first contact. Since then, and up until their defeat in Picard’s series finale, the Borg were one of the franchise’s scariest villains. They were virtually impossible to defeat: the Enterprise crew beat the Borg by the skin of their teeth in “The Best of Both Worlds,” and subsequent encounters were devastating as well. Only a virus, created by former drone Icheb, and introduced into the Collective during Voyager’s final episode, finally ends the Borg once and for all.
Although the Borg were teased at the end of The Next Generation’s first season, they did not make their first full-on appearance until the second season episode “Q Who.”
Meanwhile, a splinter faction of the Borg, created from the joining of an alternate-timeline Borg Queen with Doctor Agnes Jurati, have returned to the 30th century, to a galaxy ravaged by the catastrophic Burn. For currently-unknown reasons, these Borg have resurrected Captain Kirk to serve as a rallying point for a broken Federation. Jurati’s Borg seem benevolent, but in Star Trek: The Last Starship #8, the mask seemingly comes off, and reveals one of the Collective’s surprising weaknesses.
Star Trek: The Last Starship #8 was written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly and drawn by Hernan Gonzalez. The Borg, under Jurati’s direction, have begun assimilating Deep Space Hope, which claimed to have found a solution to the crisis brought about by the Burn. Instead, Kirk and the crew of the Omega found only horror and depravity, as a singular intelligence had invaded our reality. Jurati believed assimilation was the only way to stop evil from spreading.
However, the assimilation process does not discriminate, and Zed, the Omega’s drug-addled Ferengi physician, is caught up in it. However, Zed is not assimilated as quickly as the others, and they conclude their “psychonautical” lifestyle had “pickled” their brains, leaving the Borg nanoprobes unsure of how to proceed. Realizing what has happened, Zed then prepares a potent psychoactive substance, injecting it into Captain Sato and preventing him from being assimilated as well.
As the Borg’s lore developed, weaknesses were introduced, but they were few and far between. The concept of assimilation, which was not part of the original plan for the Borg, introduced not only drama, but a potential way forward for defeating the Collective. After the Borg added Picard to their ranks, the Enterprise’s crew was able to exploit this to their own end. Thanks to Data, as well as Picard’s inner strength, the Borg were defeated and Jean-Luc’s humanity was restored.
In a dark twist to Captain Kirk’s legacy, Star Trek unveils his new design as the final ruler of the Borg, becoming “the King he was meant to be.”
Separating a Borg drone from the Collective is another effective way to turn them back. In the fifth season Next Generation episode “I, Borg,” a drone, nicknamed “Hugh,” was isolated from the Collective for an extended period of time. As a result, he learned individuality. When he was returned to the Borg, this same individuality infected that particular ship, severing it from the Collective. Yet, as seen later, this made those drones highly susceptible to outside influences, such as Lore.
Each one of these methods requires a great time and resources to accomplish, a luxury most of the galaxy does not have, putting the Borg’s defeat out of the reach of many.
Each one of these methods requires a great time and resources to accomplish, a luxury most of the galaxy does not have, putting the Borg’s defeat out of the reach of many. Add in the Borg’s ability to assimilate the knowledge of species they conquer, and the Borg are an unstoppable force, and the greatest threat to galactic security.
Yet, hundreds of years after the Borg were defeated, a new weakness has appeared, one that no Star Trek fan could have seen coming. Zed is a regular user of psychoactive substances, a fact which might seem to run counter to their job as a physician. Yet when the chips were down after the Burn, Zed was about the best Starfleet could get. Their medical acumen is great, but the drugs hamper Zed’s ability.
But for once, the drugs handed Zed a rare win. The sheer number of substances Zed has consumed has altered his brain chemistry to the point the adaptive Borg nanoprobes do not know what to do with it. It is a testament to Zed’s prowess as a scientist and physician that they realize the same drugs that have hampered them will save the day. A quick psychedelic cocktail also liberates Captain Sato from the Borg’s clutches.
This new weakness for the Borg opens up some fascinating story possibilities. Star Trek has always taken a dim view towards psychedelics and other mind-altering substances. Recent Trek shows have painted at least cannabis in a more positive light, but still have stopped short of showing it and other drugs on the regular. Drugs are very much a part of the human condition, something Star Trek was created to interrogate, and the Borg’s new weakness puts a fascinating spin on this aspect of humanity.
Star Trek: The Last Starship #8 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!