Nero, the villain of 2009’s Star Trek film, had a powerful ship – but the movie obscured just how dangerous it was. The ship, called the Narada, was the instrument of Nero’s vengeance against Spock and the Federation, but as revealed in Star Trek: Countdown (the comic prequel to the movie), it was far deadlier than anyone realized, easily rivaling anything in the 23rd – and even the 24th – centuries.
By the early 2000s, the Star Trek franchise was seemingly running out of gas, and Paramount decided to completely reboot the franchise, creating an alternate timeline (called the Kelvin timeline) that allowed the studio to recast the iconic roles of Kirk and Spock. However, writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman needed a way to create this timeline. Enter Nero and the Narada. Thrown back to the 23rd century by a singularity, the Narada attacked the USS Kelvin, thus creating a new timeline. The Narada was a massive and awe-inspiring ship, but its origins were not revealed in the film. However, IDW Publishing released a special, four-issue miniseries, Star Trek: Countdown that bridged the gap between the Prime and Kelvin timelines – and readers learned the Narada’s shocking origin.
