Star Trek: Red Shirts #3

Star Trek: Red Shirts #3

by Christopher Cantwell, Megan Levens (Artist)

It’s a race to the top as the anti-Federation spies and the Red Shirts summit the towering antenna on Arkonia 89. The spies seek to escape a transporter disrupter and make it back to their ship with their stolen data, and Raad, Grash, Vesta, and Miller will try to stop them by any means necessary. The climb is made all the more difficult by fire raining from above via a cloaked Warbird captained by a young Romulan and a mysterious Tal Shiar officer. Meanwhile, on the ground, Lanier, Amiga, and DeMatrio realize a hidden secret about the deceased Cromarty’s base. It just might be their ticket out of this mess alive, but as more lives are senselessly lost, the Red Shirts start to wonder if Starfleet would even care if they made it back at all.

Genres: Comics, Star Trek, Science Fiction

Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2025

Reviews

[Scott Rhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raad and the six other surviving Red Shirts on Arkonia 89 fight to survive the Romulan spies and the bloodthirsty wildlife in issue # 3 of "Red Shirts". They are also slowly beginning to realize that Starfleet may not have their best interests at heart. A government willing to sacrifice some of its own men and women to keep their dirty laundry a secret? Shocking.

Christopher Cantwell's exciting and well-written action-adventure/espionage series set in the Star Trek universe is far better than I expected.

[The Void Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Star Trek Red Shirts #3: Climbing Toward Oblivion
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Absolutely brutal. Absolutely brilliant. Star Trek: Red Shirts #3 delivers a gut-punch of tension, sacrifice, and existential dread wrapped in a high-stakes climb that feels like Starfleet meets The Raid.

Christopher Cantwell continues to weaponize the franchise’s most expendable crew members with razor-sharp writing and a deepening sense of futility. The antenna ascent on Arkonia 89 is pure chaos—anti-Federation spies scrambling to escape, Raad and crew chasing them through firestorms and falling comrades, and a cloaked Romulan Warbird raining death from above. Megan Levens’ art captures the vertigo and violence with kinetic precision: every panel feels like a last breath.

But it’s the emotional undercurrent that elevates this issue. As Lanier, Amiga, and DeMatrio uncover secrets buried in Cromarty’s base, the question shifts from “Can they survive?” to “Does survival even matter?” The Red Shirts aren’t just cannon fodder—they’re asking what Starfleet stands for when the body count climbs and the brass stays silent.

Cantwell and Levens are crafting something special here: a story that honors Trek’s legacy while interrogating its blind spots. Issue #3 is a masterclass in pacing, character, and heartbreak. The KIA list grows longer—but so does the impact.

Happy reading and live long and prosper 🖖 📚

[Rob Vitagliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

The one aspect of this story that succeeds above all else is the almost unbearable tension you feel as each panel could lead these poor characters to an untimely death. You don't know much about any of them, but you still feel for them, as you know they're essentially cannon fodder, but each one has just enough of a personality to make you feel for them, typically right before they meet a gruesome death.

There are two more of those in this one, one that matches if not exceeds the brutality of the death from the last issue, and this one involves a transporter. You can imagine where that goes. They're definitely leaning into the horror aspect in this series, if you can't tell that from the covers.

I love the Romulans being the villains as well, with the old school Bird of Prey, and Revo from the last Trek title. Great tie in there, and I hope to see more from them as the story continues. I very much look forward to the next issue, and hope at least one or two of these poor souls survive, though I'm starting to think that there's more to Chip, the seemingly main character, than meets the eye.

[Richard A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am enjoying this series as it is quite interesting and I have no idea where it is going.