Star Trek Unveils a Heartfelt Tribute to a Beloved Original Series Legend

In celebration of Pride Month, Star Trek is honoring its queer characters in heartwarming tales of love and triumph — including a beautiful tribute to Sulu and his husband, Ben. Fans will finally get to see how the two characters fell in love.

Star Trek: Celebrations 2026 is IDW Publishing's one-shot anthology released on May 27 ahead of Pride Month. It features a cast of all LGBTQIA+ creators, with the Sulu and Ben story titled 'Love's First Bloom.' Written by Jarrett Melendez and featuring art by Kiku Hughes, it tells the tale of a cute botanical adventure between the two characters, with other stories featuring Star Trek's queer characters like Mariner and Jennifer, Seven and Raffi, and more.

Star Trek Explores Sulu and Ben's Relationship in Special Pride One-Shot

Star Trek fans who have been eager to see more about Sulu's past and how he met his husband will certainly enjoy all that 'Love's First Bloom' has to offer. In the story, Sulu and Doctor McCoy find themselves on an away mission and are joined by Benjamin Jung.

Sulu quickly finds himself catching feelings, and their chemistry begins to quite literally blossom as they bond over botany. It's an amusing and sweet look into Sulu and Ben's past, and it ends on an absolutely beautiful note. While McCoy teases Sulu for falling so quickly, Sulu matter-of-factly remarks: "Doctor, you don't get it... I'm going to marry that man."

'Love's First Bloom' marks arguably the biggest appearance of Ben to date. The character was briefly seen in 2016's Star Trek Beyond, where he was played by Doug Jung. The role was so brief that the character was only named in the film's ending credits, but he was confirmed to be Sulu's husband in the Kelvin Timeline as a tribute to George Takei.

In the film, Ben looks after their daughter on Starbase Yorktown, and he can be seen running from the Krall's attack and taking her to safety. He later attended Kirk's 30th birthday party with his husband.

Unfortunately for fans of their relationship, Paramount's Kelvin Timeline underperformed at the box office and was ultimately abandoned. Thankfully, Star Trek: Celebrations can give fans a deeper glimpse at the types of stories that the Kelvin Timeline could've told if given the chance.

IDW's Star Trek: Celebrations Returns to Celebrate LGBT+ Characters

Outside of Sulu and Ben's story, Star Trek fans can take a deep dive with other queer characters in the new 2026 Celebrations anthology, which IDW teases to be "exemplifying Gene Roddenberry's mission for us all to one day celebrate infinite diversity in infinite combinations." In addition to Melendez and Hughes' story, other creatives who worked on the book include Meghan Fitzmartin, Ben Kahn, Jamila Rowser, and many more.

Celebrations 2026 sees the return of IDW's Pride celebrations, with the first Celebrations one-shot arriving back in 2024. That issue focused on legendary heroes from each era of Star Trek's history, featuring an all-star lineup of writers and artists including Vita Ayala, Steve Orlando, Mags Visaggio, and more.

Star Trek: Celebrations 2026 #1 is available now from IDW Publishing.