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The Battle of Mirrors. Dark Mirror vs Mirror Universe
jake477
Member Posts: 526 Arc User
Lately I have been fascinated by Diane Duane's thriller Star Trek TNG: Dark Mirror. Its a great read, from a dolphin commander to gallows humor it really is quite a great read but it presents a completely different Terran Empire then one we know. If you keep up with IDW's comic series, they too have taken a crack at TNG's Mirror Universe and this one is much closer to the shows and movies. I will break down each Terran Empire and you be the judge which one you like better. Both universes start at roughly the same point, where Kirk leaves Mirror Spock encouraging him to be the man in the mirror to make a change. (a little M,J. reference for you music lovers)
M.U. - This could be described best as the greatest example of karma ever put in a franchise. It starts as an all powerful Empire being thus enslaved by its one time victims. Spock as we all know rises to power as Emperor and starts enacting reforms which undermines the very thing keeping this Empire from being conquered, it swiftly does. TNG's Mirror comics takes place during the twilight of the Empire where by this point the Terrans are pushed into their own solar system. The Enterprise herself is no longer a Galaxy Class starship but a Galaxy X Dreadnought with the same neon yellow on her hull. This Empire was much more of a collection scoundrels out for themselves rather then serving an end goal. It was survive or die, even at the cost of Empire itself. Eventually that small rebellion we see in DS9, becomes a Commonwealth of Planets.
Dark Mirror - By contrast this universe is much more realistic. Its deeper and darker then the traditional Terran Empire. Spock in this one is not so lucky and when Mirror Kirk comes back there will be hell to pay. This Spock's eventually gets to the admiralty after getting tossed off the Enterprise before Kirk ends up framing him for treason, Spock is promptly executed. This Empire never had any such reforms and kept going and has greater national unity then the one we know. Dark Mirror's Terrans are very patriotic to their Empire and far more xenophobic. They value the Empire's survival above all else even above their personal gain or wealth. The Enterprise is a Galaxy Class but a much more luxurious darker and stylish version of the Prime Universe ENT-D. Its size however dwarfs even a Galaxy Dreadnought and it goes on multi-year long combat patrols, similar to an Imperial Star Destroyer. This one is called ICC-1701-D instead of keeping NCC as its prefix. These Terrans have conquered and enslaved most of the known factions of the Alpha Quadrant starting with the Romulans and then Klingons. Their territory basically encompasses the entire Alpha Quadrant. So in essence these guys are closer to the Galactic Empire of Star Wars rather then the Terran Empire. They have absolutely zero place to go but to other universes to conquer. This Empire had about 50+ years worth of life left when Picard found it.
Personally I find Dark Mirror more interesting and compelling because lets face it, in a world like the Terran Empire in "Mirror, Mirror" it would be extremely unlikely an alien like Spock could rise to become Emperor or even get close. Dark Mirror is far more centrally militaristic then its M.U. counterpart. Treason is intolerable in Dark Mirror, in the MU its almost a virtue and we have seen it several times.
So give me your thoughts on which one you prefer.
M.U. - This could be described best as the greatest example of karma ever put in a franchise. It starts as an all powerful Empire being thus enslaved by its one time victims. Spock as we all know rises to power as Emperor and starts enacting reforms which undermines the very thing keeping this Empire from being conquered, it swiftly does. TNG's Mirror comics takes place during the twilight of the Empire where by this point the Terrans are pushed into their own solar system. The Enterprise herself is no longer a Galaxy Class starship but a Galaxy X Dreadnought with the same neon yellow on her hull. This Empire was much more of a collection scoundrels out for themselves rather then serving an end goal. It was survive or die, even at the cost of Empire itself. Eventually that small rebellion we see in DS9, becomes a Commonwealth of Planets.
Dark Mirror - By contrast this universe is much more realistic. Its deeper and darker then the traditional Terran Empire. Spock in this one is not so lucky and when Mirror Kirk comes back there will be hell to pay. This Spock's eventually gets to the admiralty after getting tossed off the Enterprise before Kirk ends up framing him for treason, Spock is promptly executed. This Empire never had any such reforms and kept going and has greater national unity then the one we know. Dark Mirror's Terrans are very patriotic to their Empire and far more xenophobic. They value the Empire's survival above all else even above their personal gain or wealth. The Enterprise is a Galaxy Class but a much more luxurious darker and stylish version of the Prime Universe ENT-D. Its size however dwarfs even a Galaxy Dreadnought and it goes on multi-year long combat patrols, similar to an Imperial Star Destroyer. This one is called ICC-1701-D instead of keeping NCC as its prefix. These Terrans have conquered and enslaved most of the known factions of the Alpha Quadrant starting with the Romulans and then Klingons. Their territory basically encompasses the entire Alpha Quadrant. So in essence these guys are closer to the Galactic Empire of Star Wars rather then the Terran Empire. They have absolutely zero place to go but to other universes to conquer. This Empire had about 50+ years worth of life left when Picard found it.
Personally I find Dark Mirror more interesting and compelling because lets face it, in a world like the Terran Empire in "Mirror, Mirror" it would be extremely unlikely an alien like Spock could rise to become Emperor or even get close. Dark Mirror is far more centrally militaristic then its M.U. counterpart. Treason is intolerable in Dark Mirror, in the MU its almost a virtue and we have seen it several times.
So give me your thoughts on which one you prefer.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] "This planet smells, it must be the Klingons"
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Comments
Personally, I like what happened in the canon MU just fine (aside from DSC's visit to it, which really demonstrated a misunderstanding of how totalitarian states work, besides scr*wing up Lorca), but I really DON'T like the current incarnation of STO's MU: it's a straight-up TRIBBLE$ Pull.
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
Starsword, I was disappointed when I found out that the Empire collapsed in DS9. Thay, Raven, and Galatt did a better job at worldbuilding in their version of the MU in Mirror Wars, A Mirror Tale.
"Simba, you have forgotten me. You have forgotten who you are … you are my son and the one true king." (Mufasa)