Summary
If there’s an Anchor Being for theStar Trekuniverse, it’s got to be Spock (Leonard Nimoy, Zachary Quinto, Ethan Peck). Marvel Studios’Deadpool & Wolverineintroduced the concept of Anchor Beings to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These are people whose importance to a given timeline in the multiverse is so strong thatAnchor Beings actually keep their branch of the multiverse alive. InDeadpool & Wolverine, the Anchor Being of Earth-10005 (also known as Fox’sX-Menuniverse) is Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, who essentially carried the cinematicX-Menfranchise fromX-Men(2000) until Wolverine’s death in 2017’sLogan,which signaled the beginning of the end for that universe.
After seeingDeadpool & Wolverine, I wondered if there might be an Anchor Being for theStar Trekuniverse. Like Wolverine for the cinematic X-Men, this would have to be someone who’s been part ofStar Treksince the beginning, and whose return revives interest when the franchise seems to be at a low point.Star Trek’s Anchor Being needs to influence every part of the franchise, either appearing in it directly or being one step removed from at least one character ineveryStar Trekshow. The Anchor Being should be fairly regarded as beloved, and embodyStar Trek’s core values.Who else could this be but Spock?
Star Trek Introduces Its Own Version Of Loki’s Miss Minutes
With its complicated time travel plot, Star Trek: Prodigy has some similarities to Marvel’s Loki, including a character resembling Miss Minutes.
10Spock Was In Both Pilot Episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series
Leonard Nimoy Is The Only Cast Member Playing The Same Character In Both Pilots
The original pilot forStar Trek: The Original Series, “The Cage”, was rejected by NBC, butStar Trekcreator Gene Roddenberry was given a second chance. For the second attempt at a pilot forStar Trek: The Original Series,“Where No Man Has Gone Before”, most of the cast was replaced with new actors playing new characters.The only character to make the jump fromStar Trek’s first to its second pilot episode was Leonard Nimoy’s Spock,so we’re already off to a great start. (Majel Barrett-Roddenberry also made the cut, but went from playing Number One to playing Nurse Christine Chapel.)
9The Spock-Centric “Yesteryear” Anchors Star Trek: The Animated Series In Trek Canon
Spock Has To Save His Younger Self To Fix The Timeline
Star Trek: The Animated Seriesseason 1, episode 2, “Yesteryear”, foregoes the regular goofy fare of theTOSsequel with a poignant episode that provesStar Trekneeds Spock. In “Yesteryear”, written by D.C. Fontana, Spock goes back in time to prevent his own death as a child. Spock’s memories of a distant relative, Selek, turn out to be Spock himself, asSpock closes a time loop to maintain his own existence. In doing so,Star Trek: The Animated Seriescreates a wealth of information aboutVulcan culture inStar Trek, like Spock’s pet sehlat, I-Chaya, and the Vulcankahs-wancoming-of-age ceremony.
8Spock’s Star Trek II Death Is Quickly Reversed
The Genesis Device Brings Spock Back To Life
Spock’s noble act of self-sacrifice inStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khanremains an important cultural touchstone. (Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool even gives Spock’s death a direct shout-out inDeadpool & Wolverine.)Instead of letting Spock stay dead, however, the Vulcan’s body lands among the growing life on the Genesis Planet, and Spock is resurrected by the detonated Genesis Device’s life-giving energy.It’s a great workaround to maintain the integrity of Spock’s choice to honor the"needs of the many"inStar Trek IIand also keep Spock around so that the timeline can function.
7Star Trek: The Next Generation Couldn’t Resist Spock
Both Sarek and Spock Appear In TNG Episodes
After DeForest Kelley’s cameo as Dr. Leonard McCoy inStar Trek: The Next Generation’s premiere, “Encounter at Farpoint”,Star Trek: The Next Generationtried to maintain distance fromStar Trek: The Original Series,and carve out its own identity.TNGdoes a great job standing on its own merits, butSpock ultimately weaves his way into the series to connectStar Trek: The Next GenerationtoStar Trek: The Original Series.
This first happens inStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 3, episode 23, “Sarek”, when the USS Enterprise-D escortsSpock’s father, Ambassador Sarek (Mark Lenard)to a diplomatic mission. Later,Spock makes his own appearance inStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 5, episodes 7 & 8, “Unification”, when Ambassador Spock’s efforts to unite the Vulcans and Romulans after centuries of division and discord between these related species come to a head.
6Just When You Think Star Trek Spinoffs Are Spock-Free, There’s Time Travel
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager Have Their Spock Moments Too
If Spock isStar Trek’s Anchor Being, thenSpock’s presence inStar Trek: The Next Generationeffectively pins theTNGspinoffs,Star Trek: Deep Space NineandStar Trek: Voyager,to canon, too. Just likeTNGstarted with a McCoy cameo,Deep Space Ninestarts with the station being visted by the USS Enterprise, andStar Trek: Voyagerstarts with the USS Voyager docked at DS9.
These ties are tenuous at best, but they can be strengthened withStar Trektime travel episodes.Star Trek: Deep Space Nineseason 5, episode 6, “Trials & Tribble-ations” sees Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and other DS9 crew members go back in time to the events ofStar Trek: The Original Series"The Trouble With Tribbles", andof course, Spock is present.Star Trek: Voyagerseason 3, episode 2, “Flashback” reveals Lt. Commander Tuvok’s (Tim Russ) history serving with Captain Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) – who’s just one step removed from Spock.
Both “Trials & Tribble-ations” and “Flashback” were part ofStar Trek’s 30th anniversary celebration, asDS9andVoyagerhonoredStar Trek: The Original Serieswith stories referencingTOScharacters.
5What About The Spock-Less Star Trek: Enterprise?
Interest In A Franchise Fades Without Its Anchor Being
One test of whether a character is a series' Anchor Being is what happens to their franchise after they’re no longer part of it. Ties to Spock were tenuous at best in the trio ofTNG-eraStar Trekshows, but not nonexistent.Star Trek: Enterprisetook place a hundred years beforeStar Trek: The Original Series, and thus had no Spock to speak of.Enterpriseis solidStar Trek, butStar Trek: Enterprisecoincided with waning interest inStar Trekin general. Public interest in theX-Menmovies fizzled out with the Logan-lessDark PhoenixandThe New Mutants— which also ditched theX-Mentitle, the same wayStar Trek: Enterprisepremiered simply asEnterprise.
Realistically speaking, the absences of Spock and Logan are coincidences, and the lack of public interest in both cases is more likely attributed to franchise fatigue.Star Trekhad been on TV in some form for 35 years whenStar Trek: Enterprisepremiered.Dark Phoenixhit theaters in 2019, after nearly 20 years ofX-Menmovies and Disney’s purchase of Fox.
4The Kelvin Timeline’s Spockfest Resurrected Star Trek
J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Has New Spock And Old Spock
The Kelvin Timeline trilogy reignited interest inStar Trekwith J.J. Abrams' fresh take on characters fromStar Trek: The Original Series. Not only was there a new Spock (Zachary Quinto) for this newStar Trek, butthe link between the old and new versions of the USS Enterprise crew was Leonard Nimoy’s time-displaced Ambassador Spock. Going by the Anchor Being theory, Ambassador Spock becomes part of this branched timeline and “anchors” the Kelvin Timeline as aStar Trektimeline that can’t be erased.
Before his death, Nimoy’s Spock theoretically hands off anchor duty to Quinto’s Spock, but the box office numbers forStar Trek Beyondand the fact thatStar Trek 4has never gotten off the ground suggest otherwise. (It’s a shame, too, becauseBeyondpromised some great things for this version ofStar Trek.)
$79,204,289
$257,730,019
$386,839,614
$70,165,559
$228,778,661
$467,381,584
$59,253,211
$158,848,340
$335,673,708
3Ethan Peck’s Spock Anchors New Star Trek Series
Discovery, Strange New Worlds, and Lower Decks All Involve Spock
Star Trek: Discoveryties back to Spock right off the bat, sinceDiscovery’s lead, Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), is Spock’s adopted sister. InStar Trek: Discoveryseason 2,Ethan Peck’s Spock actually makes his on-screen debut,andStar Trek: Discoverystarts to feel a little more optimistic.Discoveryseason 2 spins off intoStar Trek: Strange New Worlds, which features Spock along withDiscovery’s Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and Number One (Rebecca Romijn) amongStar Trek: Strange New Worlds' main characters.
Star Trek: Strange New Worldsseason 2, episode 7, “Those Old Scientists”, crosses over withStar Trek: Lower Decks,establishing a direct tie between Ensigns Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) and Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid).Star Trek: Lower Decksis itself a love letter to allStar Trekthat came before, with direct references to Spock as a famous public figure in-universe.
2Holographic Spock Inspires Star Trek: Prodigy’s Dal R’El
Dal Beats The Kobayashi Maru (Sort Of)
Through archival audio fromStar Trek: The Original Series, Leonard Nimoy’s Spock inspiresStar Trek: Prodigy’s Dal R’El (Brett Gray) about what it means to be a captain.Star Trek: Prodigyseason 1, episode 6, “Kobayashi” sees Dal determined to solve the unsolvable Kobayashi Maru, not knowing it’s meant to be unbeatable. Dal can pick his crew fromStar Trekgreats and chooses a holographic Mr. Spock as an advisor. Spock’s advice, which was originally given to Kirk, inspires an early turning point in Dal’s character arc from arrogance to humility. That’s one way to keep Nimoy’s Spock inStar Trek.
1Leonard Nimoy’s Spock Represents Star Trek: The Original Series In Marketing Images
Paramount+ Chose Spock To Be The Face Of TOS
To really get an idea of how important Spock is to theStar Trekfranchise, one only needs to look at Paramount’s marketing images forStar Trek. Advertising banners and posters where eachStar Trekshow is represented by a different character show thatLeonard Nimoy’s Spock is the face ofStar Trek: The Original Series. This serves as a way to honor Nimoy’s legacy in the real world as well as the impact that Spock has onStar Trek.Spock is so integral to theStar Trekformat that most series have their own version of a Spock-like character to comment on humanity from an outsider’s perspective, and those that didn’t start with one wind up bringing one in.
Of course, theStar Trekmultiverse doesn’t operate on the same rules as the multiverse in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, butit is interesting to note howStar Trekseries that don’t have at least one Spock appearance fare, and compare them with installments ofX-Menthat are Wolverine-agnostic. With 3 different actors playing Spock over 6 decades, Spock as a character has transcended Nimoy’s original performance. More importantly, Spock represents an essential part of theStar Trekmythos, as an embodiment of diversity, curiosity, and cooperation — with others and within ourselves.
