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Why Eric Bana's Nero Is The Most Dangerous Villain In Star Trek History

When J.J. Abrams rebooted the original characters of "Star Trek," it kicked off an interesting era for the brand. His trilogy of films came before Paramount+ streaming created a monopoly on content all things Trek and had a universe all its own. To use our favorite Vulcan's iconic quote, it was fascinating. Starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto as the beloved duo of James T. Kirk and Spock, the films use an alternate timeline that created a series of movies all its own. This alteration allowed die-hard fans to not feel their legacy had been tarnished while also helping attract new fans.

Abrams also did this by introducing the Romulan villain, Nero (Eric Bana). After a supernova destroys his entire planet, a black hole created by Red Matter pulls Nero and his ship back in time to the day of Kirk's birth. This singular change creates a domino effect that permanently affects the course of events. Regardless if it was purposeful or not, Nero's actions do something almost unprecedented in "Star Trek" history, making him one of the most formidable villains.

Nero changed Star Trek canon forever

For almost 60 years, "Star Trek" has had some of the most legendary villains that will live on in infamy. The Borg Queen is one who never gets old because of the existential dread she inspires. As the leader of the Borg hive, her only interest is in simulating people into her extensive network and erasing all sense of identity. Captain Jean-Luc Picard's (Patrick Stewart) temporary assimilation causes residual trauma that never leaves him. Khan reappears in "Star Trek: Into Darkness" and "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," because of his relevance to the Eugenics Wars. But no matter how singular these villains are, Nero has done something they have not.

Nero traveling back in time and destroying Vulcan is so savage and permanent that other villains pale in comparison. Not only does he enact genocide against the Vulcans, but his damage to the "Star Trek" timeline can never be corrected. The timeline in the reboot has changed the course of Kirk and Spock forever. Kirk has to live with the death of his mentor Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood), even though he lives on in the prime timeline. This change was so severe that in "Into Darkness," Kirk is the one who dies from radiation, and not Spock as portrayed in "The Wrath of Khan." This substantial change can only be compared to another antagonist in "Star Trek" history –  Q (John de Lancie) is a villain who returns time and again after being introduced in "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

Only Q has had as much of an impact

John de Lancie has only appeared in "Star Trek" a dozen or so times as Q, but that is the beauty of his character. As an omnipotent god-like being, he can come and go as he pleases, and there is no way to defeat him. He is such a hallmark of the series, that he even returned for Paramount+'s "Star Trek: Picard" as a touchstone for the former captain. As soon as de Lancie heard the plan for his character, he was on board. "I asked how they were going to deal with the age and that type of stuff. And [showrunner Terry Matalas] said, 'We will [make it happen] and more importantly, we want you how you are now,'" de Lancie told The Hollywood Reporter . 

No one could doubt that Q is a more endearing villain than Nero. The actor has been a part of the "Star Trek" universe for decades and is as welcome as "The Next Generation" crew. And that is why Nero is that much more insidious. Though Q can rewrite realities and play the Enterprise crew like pieces on a chessboard, he is ultimately a trickster figure. He never does anything that cannot be undone — even if it's just by the grace of his power. Nero has no such aspirations. He has no redemption. He only wants to cause suffering, and in a universe that values its utopian society, there is nothing worse than that.

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Nero (Romulan)

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Nero's formal Romulan name was Ŏ'ŗên , however he introduced himself as Nero (essentially reversing the name) as he found Humans tended to be unable to pronounce his proper name. ( TOS novelization : Star Trek )

• 1.1 Revenge
• 1.2 Imprisonment
• 1.4 The Return of Spock
• 2 Alternate timelines
• 3.1 Connections
• 3.2 External link

History [ ]

Nero in 2387 .

In 2387 , he and his crew were drilling for iridium and deuterium on a planet in the Hobus system . Shortly after discovering large quantities of decalithium , the crew observed the nearby star going supernova. Realizing that his crew was in imminent danger, Nero ordered the transporters to beam the drillers back to the ship, forcing them to leave the drill behind.

Upon returning to Romulus, Nero was present for an important Senate meeting regarding the condition of the Hobus star. Representing the Miner's Guild, Nero spoke out in support of Ambassador Spock 's plan to eliminate the supernova via the use of an artificial black hole created by Vulcan red matter. However, the Romulan senate refused to believe Spock's dire warnings, leaving Nero frustrated over their ineptitude. Realizing that he was risking his career over the decision, Nero spoke to his wife Mandana about the situation. Both agreed that Nero should rely on his loyalties and heart to approach the problem, and so Nero approached Spock and offered his services to aid him. Nero managed to persuade his crew into taking Spock to the neighboring Kimben system in search for decalithium. Upon reaching the system, Nero and his crew were attacked by Remans . The ship was nearly taken over, but at the last second, the USS Enterprise -E arrived with Captain Data in command, swiftly defeating the Remans. Though the Remans had damaged the Narada's drill, Data suggested the confiscation of the Reman contraband decalithium, giving the miners enough to create the red matter.

Accompanied by Spock, Nero and the Narada travelled to Vulcan, where Nero spent much of the journey as a guest aboard the Enterprise, taking the opportunity to learn about the history of the ship, including that of its first captain - James T. Kirk . However, the meeting with the Vulcans progressed disastrously, with the Vulcans unwilling to give the militaristic Romulans the Red matter. Enraged and feeling betrayed, Nero took the Narada back to Romulus, vowing vengeance upon the Vulcans should the worst happen. Though Spock was able to create the red matter from Nero's decalithium, the star unexpectedly went supernova early, and Nero arrived just in time to watch Romulus and its population destroyed.

Grief stricken by the loss of his wife and unborn child, Nero was contacted by three Federation medical frigates sent to offer assistance. Believing their appearance to be part of a ploy by the Federation to claim Romulan territory, Nero had all three destroyed through subterfuge. Nero was then contacted by the surviving members of the Romulan Senate, who had escaped the devastation. Enraged by their previous refusal to listen, Nero murdered them, though not before acquiring the codes to a secret Romulan installation called the Vault, as well as the Romulan Praetor 's sacred weapon, the Debrune Teral'n. Determined to have their revenge for Romulus, Nero and his crew permanently tattoed themselves with ancient symbols of grief to symbolize their pain. Arriving at the secret installation, Nero met with Commander D'spal , who unveiled the system that had been kept secret from all outside the Senate - a retrofitted Borg system capable of greatly improving all the capabilities of a ship, giving it advanced cloaking, weapons and sensor systems, as well as self-repairing nanotechnology. Wanting vengeance just like Nero, D'spal offered the system to be fitted to the Narada , turning it from a humble mining vessel into an incredibly formidable battleship.

In the days following Romulus' destruction, Nero and the Narada remorselessly attacked ships near the Romulan border to test their abilities, annihilating Federation, Klingon and Cardassian alike. However, preparing to assault Vulcan, the Narada was unexpectedly attacked by a fleet of Klingon birds of prey under the command of General Worf in retaliation for the attacks on Klingon ships (and at the instigation of Jean-Luc Picard ). Even the Klingon vessels were no match for the Narada, and Nero offered Worf the chance to surrender. Instead, Worf led a boarding party that cut their way through ther hull, seeking to kill Nero personally. However, Nero outsmarted the warrior, impaling him with a piece of the Narada 's bridge just as the Enterprise arrived. A gloating Nero offered the Enterprise the chance to beam Worf aboard to save his life, in doing so dropping their shields. With no real option, Data complied, but was able to get his shields up fast enough to avoid serious damage. Nero then left to intercept Spock, leaving the Enterprise with no Warp capability in its wake. Spock's mission had been a success. Piloting the Jellyfish, his release of the Red Matter had swallowed the supernova within the black hole as Nero arrived. Raging at Spock's actions, the Narada was caught in the black hole and sucked in, seemingly destroyed for good. ( ST comic : " Star Trek: Countdown ")

Revenge [ ]

Though in his timeline he was seemingly killed, Nero and his crew were actually transported back in time to the year 2233 where the Narada emerged back into realspace and discovered a Federation starship called the USS Kelvin . Immediately attacking it, the Federation ship was badly damaged. However, the Romulans desired to learn more about their situation, and Nero, through Ayel , ordered the Kelvin 's captain to come aboard. Realizing that they had been thrown back in time, and that no-one had heard of Spock, Nero savagely killed the Federation starship captain and continued the attack on the USS Kelvin . To allow the ship's crew to escape, the Kelvin's acting captain, George Samuel Kirk , rammed his ship into the Narada , engaging warp at the moment of impact and almost destroying the Narada .

Imprisonment [ ]

The Narada was badly damaged but not destroyed, with its weapons, shields and engines offline. As the Romulans tried frantically to repair their ship, they pondered that they could now see Romulus again. However, Nero had now grown obsessed with vengeance, and destroyed the few crew members who tried to leave. Shortly after, the Narada was attacked by Klingon Battlecruisers led by Kor , who had picked up the ship's emergence. Without functioning systems, the Romulans were overpowered by boarding parties after a bitter struggle. Nero and his crew were imprisoned on Rura Penthe , as the Klingons eagerly desired the secrets of the Narada .

Over the next twenty-five years Nero and his crew toiled in the mines, making numerous escape attempts but being kept alive as their mining skills had made the planet profitable for the first time in its history. During this time Nero lost part of his ear in a fight against a pet beast of the guards which he killed with his bare hands. Though Nero kept strong though the use of smuggled drugs and his still-obsessive desire for revenge, he secretly despaired of ever being able to avenge his wife - until he met Clavell , an imprisoned human mapmaker who was able to divine that Spock had not yet emerged from the black hole. Nero's cell was raided, and his documents on Spock finally recovered, and he was set to be interrogated by Centaurian slug . However, he killed his captors and escaped, triggering a bloody escape with his crew. At the same time, the Narada had mysteriously come back online in response to an unknown signal. The crew reclaimed it, but it took them to the Delta Quadrant of its own volition.

With his psychic abilities honed by the drugs he had received in Rura Penthe, Nero pieced together what was happening - the ship, enhanced by Borg technology had taken on the characteristics of a sentient machine. The Narada's arrival in the timeline had been sensed by another, similar entity - V'Ger , which had in turn summoned it. Nero could in turn sense the communications between the two, and was transported to the center of V'Ger. Realizing that Spock had communicated with it in his home reality, Nero was able to use the entity's immense abilities to reveal where Spock would emerge. Having resisted being assimilated by V'Ger, Nero left to carry out his revenge.

The Return of Spock [ ]

Returning to the place where the anomaly brought him back in time, he witnessed the arrival of the Jellyfish after which he captured Spock as well as confiscated his supply of red matter. Nero gloated about the irony; in the original universe Spock had saved Vulcan but failed to save Romulus. Here, Nero would use Spock's own red matter to destroy the Federation planet by planet - starting with Vulcan. Refusing to listen to the ambassador, the Narada was then attacked by a fleet of Klingon Warbirds led by his old captor Koth. Despite the strength of the Klingon fleet, the Narada annihilated every vessel, saving Nero's old tormentor for last. Nero now wished to make Spock suffer the same pain that Nero had faced with the destruction of his home world, and stranded him on Delta Vega with just enough supplies to ensure he would live long enough to witness his planet's destruction. ( ST comic : " Star Trek: Nero ")

Nero then ordered the Narada to the planet Vulcan, drilling into the planet's core from the atmosphere. This action led to a distress signal being sent to Starfleet which deployed a fleet of starships to investigate the loss of communication with the Vulcans. As the ships emerged into the Vulcan system, they were all destroyed by the Narada . He later encountered the late-arriving USS Enterprise and stopped his crew destroying the ship, realizing that he could make Spock watch the annihilation of Vulcan twice . Opening communications with the ship where he spoke to Captain Christopher Pike , he demanded that Pike come aboard his ship in order to enter negotiations - a ploy to extract vital information. When Pike took a shuttle to board the Narada , a sabotage team led by James T. Kirk disabled the drill, but it was too late - the red matter was launched into Vulcan's core causing the planet to collapse into a singularity that destroyed the Vulcan home world and killed billions of Vulcans.

The Romulans proceeded to Earth , with Nero extracting the codes for Earth's defense grid from Pike, also explaining that he saw what he was doing as preventing the Romulan genocide of his home reality by ensuring it would never be threatened by Vulcan or the Federation. However, as they drilled into Earth's crust by San Francisco , Kirk and Spock beamed aboard via transwarp beaming, rescuing Pike and stealing the Jellyfish - along with the red matter. Though he nearly beat Kirk to death, Nero's obsession with Spock - now piloting the Jellyfish - consumed him and he pursued the Vulcan to open space, firing all the Narada's weapons at him even though it would ignite the red matter. The torpedoes were stopped by the Enterprise, and Spock's true plan became apparent - his suicide run crashed into the Narada , igniting the red matter and creating a black hole inside the ship. Kirk, logically noting that the offer may have preserved peace with the Romulans, offered to transport Nero and his crew to the Enterprise. A raging Nero proclaimed he would rather die in agony - and Kirk obliged, firing all weapons at the Romulan ship and ensuring its destruction. As the ship collapsed around him, Nero closed his eyes, resigned to his fate, as the ship was destroyed within the black hole. ( TOS movie : Star Trek (film) )

Though his actions were condemned by the Federation, the Romulan Empire praised Nero as a hero. ( TOS comic : " Vulcan's Vengeance, Part 2 ")

Members of the Romulan senate sought to finish Nero's work and recruited two of his crew members, Arix and Vella , to lead a suicide run on the Vulcan fleet only for Arix to commit suicide without bringing harm to anyone. ( TOS - Legacy of Spock comics : " Part 2 ", " Part 3 ", " Part 4 ")

These actions caused a group of Vulcans to seek vengeance on Romulus. ( TOS comic : " Vulcan's Vengeance, Part 2 ")

Alternate timelines [ ]

In another permutation of the timeline, Nero destroyed Earth before he set course for Andoria . He was routed in a battle however and fled back to Romulus where he shared the technology of the Narada with his people giving them an advantage in their war against the Federation. Nero eventually met and wed Valas before he led an attack on Vulcan . ( TOS - IDIC comic : " Part 3 ")

The Narada was boarded by Jane Tiberia Kirk , Leonard McCoy and Lieutenant-Unit NU-1701 but they were detected on internal sensors. The bridge crew waited for them with Nero personally stabbing NU-1701 in the back before he noted Jane's striking resemblance to James Kirk and sardonically asked if she was his twin sister before Valas gunned down the intruder. ( TOS - IDIC comic : " Part 4 ")

Appendices [ ]

Connections [ ], external link [ ].

• Nero (Romulan) article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• 1 Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
• 2 Odyssey class

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TrekInk: Early Review of Star Trek: Nero #1

| August 11, 2009 | By: Mark Martinez 67 comments so far

Star Trek: Nero #1 written by Mike Johnson and Tim Jones, art by David Messina

Moments after the USS Kelvin hits the Narada, Nero and his crew struggle to repair damaged systems and restore power. Nero wants to find Spock. He tells his crew that Romulus is still in danger. A few crew members are determined to go home, and Nero gives them a shuttlecraft, but makes his own determination fully understood to the rest of the crew with torpedoes. A Klingon battlegroup led by Kor uncloaks, fires on Narada, and boards the Romulan vessel. After bloody hand-to-hand combat, Nero is captured and awakens as a guest of Koth, at Rura Penthe.

The Tipton brothers began augmenting the storyline of Star Trek (2009) in the mini-series Star Trek: Spock – Reflections . Writers Mike Johnson and Tim Jones present the flipside to Spock’s tale in the first issue of a new mini-series, Star Trek: Nero, based on a story by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Johnson and Jones will be filling in the 25-year gap between Nero’s and Spock’s exits from the black hole. Issue #1 is the setup for a tale of Nero’s incarceration at Rura Penthe. We don’t learn anything significant about Nero except that his penchant for violence has no limits. I hope to learn more in the next issue. The writers have asked the artist to make their point with minimal dialogue and lots of action.

If you’ve visited artist David Messina’s blog , you already know that he enjoys a bit of art with his blood spatter. He gives free reign to blood frenzy in Nero #1. I don’t recall ever seeing so many Klingons impaled with sharp pointy weapons in a Star Trek comic. It’s glorious, as all good Klingon deaths should be. Messina is clearly in his element with a dynamic and violent story like this. I don’t know what’s in store for Nero, but I’m sure that it will be painful, and the artist will make us feel every moment of the pain. I have to mention that Kor appears in a couple of panels and bares only a faint resemblance to actor John Colicos, who made Kor such a memorable character. The review copy didn’t show the name of the colorist for this issue, so if the Klingon blood isn’t sufficiently saturated for your tastes, we’ll have to wait for more information from the publisher to learn who’s responsible.

Messina’s cover for the first issue, features Nero, and appears to be based on the same grid design as the Star Trek (2009) film posters and IDW’s prequel mini-series, Star Trek: Countdown . Likewise, the retailer incentive photo cover, featuring Karl Urban as McCoy, follows the same motif as the prequel’s incentive covers.

In their never-ending quest to make my life miserable (yes, sometimes these comic reviews are all about me, not your Star Trek reading pleasure), IDW will also make Nero #1 available with a retailer exclusive cover for Toronto’s Fan Expo Canada which takes place the last week of August. Brother, can you spare an exclusive copy for a down-on-his-luck comic collector? And while you’re up, how about one of those San Diego Comic Con Star Trek: Countdown #1 signed exclusive comics with a preview of Nero #1? And don’t forget the hardcover edition of Star Trek: Countdown coming later this year, not to mention the limited edition of same, to be bound in genuine Targ hide, with gold-pressed latinum leaf lettering and a Certificate of Authenticity signed by the President of the Federation … ¡Ay, caramba!

Star Trek: Nero #1, the ordinary edition, will be in local comic shops this Wednesday. Don’t miss it.

The first three issues of the  four issue "Nero" comic can be pre-ordered now from TFAW.

Mark Martinez is an obsessive-compulsive Star Trek comics reader and collector. You can visit his website, the Star Trek Comics Checklist for more than you ever needed to know about Star Trek comics.

I don’t like those photo covers that have characters that aren’t even in the story. What’s the point?

#1- “I don’t like those photo covers that have characters that aren’t even in the story. What’s the point?”

Selling multiple copies?

1. Me neither. So I guess I’m not going to buy ’em!

Kor has forehead ridges. Taking into account certain events in Enterprise and Kor’s appearance in TOS, I was trying to come up with an explanation for why this might be… but I just gave myself a headache.

Great article, Mark. Without blowing smoke, your pieces are always among the most well-written on this site.

Looking good. :D I might look for these at the local comic book store!

Good review, Mike; but FYI, it was the Tipton brothers (Scott & David) who wrote Spock: Reflections…

This…looks…amazing.

I don’t mind that Kor has ridges too much, but geez how old is this guy? He was already a leader of an entire fleet before/at Kirk’s birth and he lives well into the TNG/DS9 era? He seems like he is as old as Sarek, who seemed much more affected by age and died by mid TNG time. Just a thought…

thats the beauty of comics not being canon.

but its the alternative timeline so maybe in this one kor ……had forehead.. ridges , like maybe he was not born without them….. and he caught the disease later in life

#7 … Good point. According to Memory Alpha, Kor died over 140 years after the event this comic depicts! It probably would’ve made more sense to use a different Klingon.

Kor had ridges in DS9, didn’t he?

Kor inconsistencies? Hasn’t everybody figured out after the Delta Vega disaster that these writers are more interested in Easter Eggs than consistency?

And yeah, this comic looks good. It looks great, in fact. But we have to vote with our dollars don’t we? I’ll buy it if they let me bring in my used ST tickets for a discount, proving I’ve already paid for this. What a tragic plot hole.

Are we sure it’s the same Kor?…anyway the ridges make less sense than his age…we are to assume Admiral Archer is still alive in 2258..how old does that make him…. @ 146!!!!…McCoy was almost 140 years old in Encounter at Farpoint!…. age matters not …. I liked the way Enterprise episode Affliction explained the ridges, or the lack of them in TOS…anyway I thought everything new in the timeline would only those events after the Kelvin destruction?!??…

No, it’s not the same Kor, but someone thought it would be funny to have a Klingon who happens to share the name with the most famous Trek Klingon.

Of course it’s the same Kor, superbrain.

Meh. It’s probably Kor’s father. I mean it can’t be the same IKS Klothos either, can it?

Thanks for catching my improper attribution. The Tipton brothers are back in business.

Grrrr, I just lost my entire post so here goes again.

Clearly it is the same Kor, with him being alive in DS9 it is more then easy to imagine him being alive at this point, as a young officer recently starting out on a command. As for having ridges, Dr Phlox in ENT makes a reference to prosthetic ridges for Klingons when talking to the Klingon Doctor/Scientist. Thefore, it is logical to suggest that he is wearing prosthetic ridges, perhaps just before it became socially acceptable in the Empire to be without ridges.

As for those attempting to play the Alternate Reality card, one must remember that Kor’s appearance happens shortly after the Nero Event and therefore not affected by that incursion, as Kor would have been born well before Nero’s incursion…and thus not affected by the alternate reality.

Come on guys, for Trekkies you sure lack some imagination to explain these things…its eeeasy!

This ridge thing only became a problem when they did DS9:Trials and Tribblations, because they chose to comment on it since the differences between Worf and the TOS footage were so conspicuous. Then Enterprise wasted a couple of episodes building in an explanation for that one episode into canon.

First, Worf should have never been used in that DS9 episode. Second, Enterprise should have never tried to answer the question. What was once merely a cost and technical limitation of the 60s, requiring a fanon explanation at most, has now become canon – the process by which pandering to and satisfying only the hard core fans. It is this kind of catering to the obscure minutiae of Trek for the original fan base that Abrams tried to avoid due to the alienating effect it has on the uninitiated audience.

Seriously, step back and think about enjoying a story about how forehead ridges came to be in any other franchise for a minute. It was a waste of storytelling.

Ummm…

If you recall, at the beginning of the article, this takes place shortly after the Kelvin hits the Narada – in 2233, or whatever the hell year it was. At any rate, it was in the TOS era, not TNG. So Kor could (and most likely would) still be alive.

the best way to have dealt with the ridges thing was to just ignore it imo….i mean why not adress why Romulans have ridges in TNG and not in TOS?…why do all the sets and SFX and landscapes etc look like the 1960s in TOS yet everything looks futuristic in the movies etc…?…why did Kirk have straight light brown hair in TOS and thick curly jet black hair in the movies (I-IV) then a lighter brown (in V, VI and VII)?

just my 2c..dont mean a thing

Maybe Klingons and Romulans are like potato chips — some have ridges and some don’t.

The DS9 episode had fun with the Klingon differences. The Enterprise episode decided to go to extremes (incredibly uninteresting and not very entertaining extremes, by the by) to explain something I imagine most fans had no need to know, when the throwaway line by Worf was more than sufficient.

Oh and #13, ‘the Delta Vega disaster’? Really? Hypberbole much?

Spock and McCoy on the front of STAR TREK NERO. Uh yeah. Good move.

#21 “why not adress why Romulans have ridges in TNG and not in TOS?”

You are so right. I agree, we have to ignore the matter. As sean said, there was no need to explain the thing in Enterprise.

25 – im not certain if Nero and Co have slight ridges or not…sometimes they look like they do…other times not

anyone know for certain?

Why do Klingons have cloaking technology pre TOS? They didn’t have cloaking technology until the TOS movie era.

So Kor doesn’t look like John Colicos. I guess the artist recast him! ;)

On a side note unrelated to the article, when logging on to this site has anyone been redirected to a site called netseer.com? It has become really annoying.

29 – Yes, a number of us have, and it is very annoying.

#27 “They [klingons] didn’t have cloaking technology until the TOS movie era.”

How do you say that?

Re: 31 — How do I say that? Easy.. The Klingons did not have cloaking devices in the Original Series. Only the Romulans had them.

During the TOS episode where the Enterprise went on a secret mission to steal a cloaking device from the Romulans, I think they mention that only the Romulans had that technology.

The first time we saw a Klingon ship use a cloaking device was Star Trek III The Search for Spock.

If they mention in TOS that only romulans had cloaking device, ok (I don’t remember). But if we simply don’t see cloacked klingon ships in TOS, well, that’s not enough. After all, cloacked ships are invisible ;)

@27. Good point!!!! @31. Take a look at the TOS-Episode “The Enterprise Incident”! In 2269 the Klingons and the Romulans share technologies! Klingon D7-Cruiser for the Romulans! Romulan cloaking technology for the Klingons! So the Klingons didn’t have cloaking-devices until the year 2269!!!!

From Memory Alpha:

Klingon ships were outfitted with cloaking devices as late as 2269. One of the first Klingon vessels to acquire the new technology was the IKS Klothos. (TAS: “The Time Trap”; DS9: “Once More Unto the Breach”)

#34 Take a look at the TOS-Episode “The Enterprise Incident”! “So the Klingons didn’t have cloaking-devices until the year 2269!!!!”

I don’t remember the exact lines of that episode, so I may be wrong. Anyway, in my opinion there is no canon, on screen reference to these events. I mean, not seeing klingon cloacked ships in TOS doesn’t mean that they didn’t exist.

Ok, Memory Alpha speaks. But Memory Alpha is not to be intended as canon. (omg, I’m talking about canon….)

Ok, maybe the DS9 episode is the right source of information. I’ve not seen it. (TAS is not canon, right?) I stand corrected.

I’ll say! If it only happened one or twice, it wouldn’t be so bad, but it happens a lot! grrr!

Why has Kor not a smooth head???? The timeline of Captain Archer ist functional! And in this consequence the klingon must have the eugenic virus!!!! If they can not show us kor like seen in the original series why they use kor in the comic?

Ya know, back on Qo’noS (sp?), all the Klingon nerds are probably wondering why in their version of Star Trek, the evil humans change their uniform style every ten episodes. First the women wear skirts, and then they wear pants, and then Uhura wears a skirt again…after the crew of the first Enterprise wore overalls… No, on second thought, the Klingon nerds probably argue about ACTUAL PLOT DETAILS! :D Pants or no pants? What a dumb question. Ridges…no ridges…pink blood…red blood…

You know, I wonder…

Could they work NERO into the sequel by showing flashbacks at the start of the film? They already filmed a bunch of scenes of him with the Klingons. Why not use them in the sequel? It could help to explain how the Klingons change from a technological standpoint. It would also help tie the first movie in with the second film.

29 & 30

same here (pain in the ass)

39 i think it happens EVERY time the add is loaded. simply hit the back button and allow the trekmovie page to reload and a new add will automaticly place at the top and no problem.

Oh my how feeble you little creatures are. Squabbling over something as petty as this ‘television show?’ did i pronounce that correctly?

I might just have to Jean-Luc.

I might just have to *TELL* Jean-Luc

its difficult being omnipotent!

Prosthetic ridges… the equivalent of fake boobs. Why not. See Dr. Rey on Dr. Qo’noS 90210 this week on SyFy!

Kor of Organia doesn’t make sense here though, really. But, if Worf Rozhenko of TNG era has a grandfather Colonel Worf in the TOS movie era… it’s no problem to have Kor of Organia have a father named Kor also. Precedent with the Worves. ;)

And the fourth season under Coto of ST: Enterprise actually did a great job of incorporating the classic fanon “Klingon fusion” idea we all used in FASA days into a way that preserved everything… give the team credit. It created some great stories and built on the Augment arc. The episodes with the Klingons going through the divergence were some of the best of the best season. That it’s Archer’s DNA that saved the Klingons, but left them looking human-esque is just perfect, and ties Enterprise into TOS and TNG and DS9 in so many ways….

As a fan since the beginning, I was glad to see them do what they did. As I recall in the movie ST09, the Klingons were all filmed wearing helmets with ridges on the helmets, and we’d have never seen an uncovered Klingon forehead. Which also was a great kudos to the Romulan helmets in BoT and The Enterprise Incident.

Pepto bismol blood though? Please?

45- Kor makes sense here, IMHO.

We never found out how old he was in TOS.

Of course the problem with the explanation for ridges in Enterprise is that we see Kang, Kor and Koloth as old men WITH ridges. And it’s rather difficult to buy into the idea they were okay without them in the presence of humans and enemies, and respected enough to serve as captain of a Klingon warship, but years later thought ‘Ya know, I’m not happy with the size of my ridges’ and visited a plastic surgeon. Kang also has ridges in the admittedly awful Voyager episode ‘Flashback’.

Whatever the goofy reason they came up with, I was always perfectly comfortable with the Rodenberry explanation of ‘they always had ridges’.

@1: I agree, a photo of Eric Bana would seem more logical.

I may wait a bit to see how the story progresses. The fractiousness of the Narada crew sounds interesting, and Klingons vs Romulans with sharp objects is always fun, but… I want more character stuff, please.

Here’s a thought: maybe Kor was dosed with an early attempt at a cure for the forhead-smoothing virus from Enterprise, but it didn’t take and only worked temporarily.

I love the way the writers explain things like the Klingon ridges and in Enterprise these were great story lines.

I have come up with my own “FIX” for a TOS inconsistency. They constantly refer to Library “tapes” and storage ‘tapes” for data storage. Who’s to say a “TAPE” is not a completely different item by the 23rd century.

How about “Transportable Amorphous Processing Envelopes!”

You live long enough you can explain everything in Star Trek eventually!

Villains Wiki

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Nero (Kelvin Timeline)

• View history

Nero is the main antagonist of the 2009 sci-fi action adventure film Star Trek , the first installment of the rebooted Star Trek film series.

He was a Romulan miner in his childhood period and served as the captain of the Narada spaceship.

He was portrayed by Eric Bana , who also played Chaz in Back to the Outback .

• 1 Biography
• 4 Navigation
• 5 References

Biography [ ]

Nero was a Romulan miner originating from the late 24th century, and captain of the mining vessel Narada . Following the destruction of Romulus in 2387 caused by a star going supernova, he sought vengeance against those he felt were responsible, ultimately resulting in him being sucked in by a black hole and transported back in time to the year 2233. Nero's actions in the past resulted in the creation of an alternate reality. In this reality, his actions led to the destruction of the USS Kelvin as well as the deaths of its two senior officers, Captain Richard Robau and Lieutenant Commander George Kirk. George Kirk's death altered the upbringing of his son James T. Kirk who, in this timeline, did not join Starfleet until 2255.

In 2258, Nero was responsible for the destruction of the alternate reality's Vulcan, which resulted in the deaths of the majority of the Vulcan race, including Spock's mother Amanda Grayson. He also attempted to destroy this timeline's Earth, but his plot was foiled by Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise . Nero apparently died when Spock caused the Jellyfish , a small ship carrying red matter, to collide with the Narada , creating a black hole in the center of the Romulan ship. Kirk gave Nero and his crew the chance to be saved, but Nero viciously refused the offer. Kirk then ordered his crew to fire upon the ship as it was being sucked into the black hole. As Nero watched his ship being sucked into the black hole while being blasted by the Enterprise, he accepted his fate and closed his eyes as his ship was sucked in, killing him and his crew and avenging the deaths of Robau, George Kirk, Amanda Grayson, and the numerous Vulcans involved in the destruction of Vulcan.

Gallery [ ]

• Russell Crowe was considered for the role of Nero before Bana was cast. In fact, Crowe and Bana were director JJ Abrams' only two choices for the role. [1] [2]
• Eric Bana was a big fan of the original Star Trek series growing up. [3]
• Screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci named Nero after the Roman emperor of the same name, as a nod to the Roman inspirations of the Romulans. [4]
• In the script of  Star Trek , Nero seemed significantly more compassionate to Humans than he is in the final version of the film, at one point commenting, "It's not the fault of the human race that Starfleet chose Earth as its center. You're a more noble race than my fallen cousins. I'll take no pleasure in your extinction." The script also had Nero kill Ayel prior to the Battle of Earth, and Nero's scripted last words were "Forgive me... Romulus..." [5]
• In a deleted scene, Nero is interrogated by a Klingon  on the prison planet Rura Penthe, and escapes. This sequence also contains Nero's line, "The wait is over.", as seen in trailers for the film. [6] [7]
• When writer Cameron Crowe saw a rough cut of the film, he kept asking who played the villain, being staggered to realize that this was Eric Bana.

Navigation [ ]

References [ ].

• ↑ Russell Crowe Beamed Up For Star Trek Movie
• ↑ Russell Crowe As ‘Star Trek’ Villian?
• ↑ EXCLUSIVE Eric Bana interviewed
• ↑ Orci and Kurtzman Reveal Star Trek Details In TrekMovie Fan Q&A
• ↑ STAR TREK
• ↑ STAR TREK Deleted Scene: Nero Vs. Klingons
• ↑ Star Trek (2009) - Klingon Prison Escape/"The Wait is Over" (Deleted Scene)
• 2 The Boiled One
• 3 Judge Holden

Destruction of Vulcan

• View history

The destruction of Vulcan took place on stardate 2258 .42 after the Romulan Nero drilled to the planet's core where he detonated red matter , causing the planet to implode. A Starfleet task force attempted to stop the attack, but were no match for Nero's starship the Narada .

• 2 The battle
• 3 Aftermath
• 4.1 Appearances
• 4.2 References
• 5 External link

Prelude [ ]

129 years in the future, a supernova had completely destroyed the Romulan homeworld, Romulus , despite the best efforts of Federation ambassador Spock to prevent it. A full-scale Federation rescue effort had been planned but was politically controversial even before the rescue armada was lost in the Attack on Mars , at which point the effort was abandoned. ( PIC : " Remembrance ", " Maps and Legends ") Spock was able to collapse the supernova into a singularity using a red matter device, before any other worlds could fall victim, but an enraged Romulan captain named Nero intercepted Spock's ship and threatened to destroy him.

Before he could do so, however, the singularity's gravity well dragged both ships inside, with Nero's vessel, the Narada being thrown back to the year 2233 , while Spock's craft, the Jellyfish was pulled in a few seconds later and arrived in the year 2258. The Narada had again intercepted the Jellyfish however, having waited twenty-five years to do so. Nero then captured Spock and marooned him on the nearby planet Delta Vega , so that he would be forced to witness Nero's revenge for the destruction of his homeworld. ( Star Trek )

The battle [ ]

Afterward, the Narada arrived at Vulcan and deployed a high-powered plasma drill in Vulcan's upper atmosphere to drill a huge shaft to the core of Vulcan. The Vulcan High Command sent out a distress call which led to a Federation task force to pursue and the assess the situation. With much of Starfleet's resources occupied in the Laurentian system , many ships were partially-manned by Starfleet Academy cadets. The Narada initially detected seven starships approaching, though it is known that ten Federation ships were launched.

When they arrived, however, the ships proved no match for the advanced weaponry of the Romulan ship, and the fleet was destroyed in short order. One starship, the newly-launched USS Enterprise , had arrived later than the others (owing to a minor mistake by its rookie helmsman ) and nearly collided with the debris field made up of wreckage from the other starships.

The aftermath of the rout

Nero witnessed the arrival of the new starship and was prepared to destroy the Enterprise , when he realized just which ship it was, and that this reality's Spock would be on the vessel. He ordered the captain of the Enterprise , Christopher Pike , to surrender himself and come on board the Narada , which he agreed to do. Before he went to the Narada however, Pike dropped an assault team comprised of James T. Kirk , Sulu and Chief Engineer Olson onto the Narada's drill platform . Interference from the drill made beaming impossible, so Pike had his assault team use space suits and parachutes to reach the platform.

The Enterprise and the Narada face off over Vulcan

In an effort to achieve total surprise over the Romulans, Olson delayed in deploying his parachute until the last possible instant. Unfortunately, Olson badly miscalculated his descent and he crashed into the platform, fell off the side and was incinerated by the drill's energy discharge. Kirk and Sulu were suddenly left at a disadvantage since Olson had been carrying the explosive charges with which they intended to destroy the platform.

Two Romulan crewmembers emerged from the drill and hand-to-hand combat began between them and the Starfleet officers. The fight ended when one of them was burned to death by flames from an exhaust outlet, while the other was impaled and thrown off the side of the platform. Using captured disruptor rifles, Kirk and Sulu shot at the mining platform's machinery until it ceased functioning.

Starfleet officers land on Nero's drill

Unfortunately, their efforts came too late; the Narada had already reached the planet core. Nero then ordered a bomb made up of red matter from the Jellyfish to be fired into the planet's core. When it detonated it created an artificial singularity within the planet. Upon hearing of this, and that the entire planet would be obliterated within a matter of minutes, acting captain Spock sent a largely futile evacuation order to the planet and beamed himself down to retrieve the Vulcan elders (including his parents) who were tasked with preserving Vulcan's cultural heritage and wisdom. Since the elders convened inside the katric ark , direct communication and transporter functions were impossible.

Not all of the elders escaped as the surface began to collapse and among the casualties was Spock's mother, Amanda Grayson . Seconds later the planet completely imploded into the singularity, leaving no trace of its existence or that of its six billion inhabitants. ( Star Trek )

Aftermath [ ]

Nero interrogates and tortures Captain Pike

The battle concluded with the destruction of the planet and the death of its six billion Vulcan inhabitants. The Narada had suffered only minor damage and the loss of two crewmen. Nero was also able to detain Captain Pike as a prisoner and information source. Through the use of a Centaurian slug , Nero gained pertinent knowledge of Federation defenses from Pike that would later be utilized in his follow-up attack against Earth .

The deep emotional effects Spock suffered as a result of the destruction of Vulcan were later used to justify relinquishing his command of the Enterprise to its temporarily promoted first officer , Jim Kirk.

The elder Spock on New Vulcan

In the wake of the devastation, Ambassador Spock was able to locate a suitable planet to establish a colony and assist the estimated 10,000 remaining Vulcans in restoring their way of life. The colony was simply named New Vulcan . ( Star Trek ; Star Trek Into Darkness )

The destruction of Vulcan resulted in Section 31 taking a much more active role in defending the Federation. They began to aggressively explore uncharted regions of the galaxy. Along the way, they recovered the SS Botany Bay carrying 85 genetically augmented humans in cryosleep. Admiral Alexander Marcus then awakened their leader, Khan Noonien Singh believing his superior intelligence would aid them. Marcus threatened to kill Khan's 72 surviving crew members, blackmailing him into helping Section 31 design advanced weapons and warships, among them the Dreadnought -class USS Vengeance . ( Star Trek Into Darkness )

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• Star Trek (First appearance)

References [ ]

• Star Trek Into Darkness
• Star Trek Beyond

External link [ ]

• Destruction of Vulcan at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works

Why Zachary Quinto's Spock Is So Different to the Others

Zachary Quinto's Spock is a younger version of the popular character, very different from Leonard Nimoy's version; here is why.

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Quinto's spock is a member of an endangered species, quinto's spock has a different relationship with his family, quinto's spock is in a long-term relationship with uhura, quinto's spock is younger, but learning lessons quicker.

May 8th marked the 15-year anniversary of the release of J.J. Abrams's Star Trek . The film was the highly anticipated reboot of the popular science fiction franchise, one whose plot was surrounded by mystery up until the film's release. The film not only had the monumental task of reviving the Star Trek franchise for a modern audience but also recasting some of the biggest names in popular culture. Names like William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were so linked to Kirk and Spock's characters that it seemed impossible to imagine anyone else in the role.

Now, though, both have been recast twice. Spock himself can be seen on the Paramount+ streaming series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , played by Ethan Peck . Yet before that, the actor who first had to fill the boots of the legendary Leonard Nimoy was Zachary Quinto . Fans flocked to Quinto as the perfect actor to take up the role of Spock almost immediately after his debut as Sylar on Heroes in November 2006. By the following year, he was cast as Spock, and when the film opened in 2009, fans, critics, and Nimoy himself praised Quinto's performance.

While Quinto certainly gets many of the Spock hallmarks down, he is also a very different take on the character. Here is where Zachary Quinto's Spock from the Kelvin timeline differs from Nimoy's and Peck's versions from the Prime timeline.

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Easily, the biggest change from the two timeline versions of Spock is that in the Kelvin timeline of J.J. Abrams's reboot, Spock's homeworld of Vulcan is destroyed. Vulcan is a significant planet in the Star Trek franchise. It was frequently seen in the original series and was vital to the plot of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , and subsequent Star Trek material featured the planet. Vulcans are one of the most recognizable and recurring alien species in Star Trek .

But in the Kelvin timeline, Nero destroys Vulcan using red matter that creates a black hole at the center of the planet. Spock estimates that no more than 10,000 Vulcans survived the planet's destruction, which makes Spock a member of an endangered species . While the older Spock from the Prime timeline does find a planet to set up a new Vulcan colony, this changes Spock's journey in the Kelvin films. In both Star Trek and Star Trek Beyond , Quinto's Spock feels like he must serve his duty to the Vulcan species whereas Nimoy's and Peck's versions were more than free to do their duties to Starfleet.

It is only on the advice of Nimoy's Spock in the first film, informing him how valuable the friendship with Kirk will be, and then having that friendship in action in Star Trek Beyond , that Spock makes a decision for himself. While Nimoy's Spock famously said , "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one," Quinto's Spock has done something for the needs of himself, which will be for the betterment of many.

As seen in both Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , Spock has a complicated relationship with his father, Sarek, but is more open with his mother, Amanda Grayson, a human, which is where Spock gets his half-human nature. This dynamic is similar to that of 2009's Star Trek , but the destruction of Vulcan causes Amanda Grayson to die . Whereas Spock's mother didn't die until he was much older in the original timeline, here he loses her as a much younger man and in the act of war.

This now only draws a parallel to Kirk, as now both men have lost a parent in this timeline that they did not in the other thanks to the time-traveling villain Nero, but it forces Spock and his father to open up to one another. Previously, Amanda Grayson often acted as a buffer between Spock and Sarek, the two men must now take comfort in one another without her.

In one of the best moments in the franchise, Sarek and Spock finally have a heart-to-heart following Spock's outburst when Kirk got him to show he was emotionally compromised on their mission by insulting his mother. Sarek tells Spock it is never unwise to speak his mind, and Spock opens up with the human emotion of anger, wanting to take revenge on the person who killed his mother. Sarek tells Spock he is proud his son can be half-human and half-Vulcan , allowing these two men to become closer than they were in the original timeline. When Sarek finally answers Spock's question from earlier in the film about why he married a human, Sarek responds with a very emotional answer: he loved her. While Spock loses his mother at a young age in this new timeline whereas his older counterpart got to spend many years with her, that loss brings father and son closer together.

One of the most controversial decisions in J.J. Abrams's Star Trek was not the destruction of Vulcan, but the reveal that Spock was in a relationship with Lt. Nyota Uhura . In the original series, the two are no more than co-workers, and this is carried over into Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , which shows Uhura's earliest missions aboard the USS Enterprise in the original timeline. In Star Trek: The Original Series and Strange New Worlds , Spock is engaged to a fellow Vulcan, T'Pring. T'Pring is not present or mentioned in the Kelvin timeline films.

All Roads Lead to Discovery: The Full Star Trek Timeline, Explained

Spock's relationship with Uhura is a major part of his arc in three recent live-action Star Trek films. Star Trek Into Darkness deals with the troubles the two face in a relationship, while by the time Star Trek Beyond begins, the two have broken up, only to reconcile by the end of the film. This romantic relationship does a lot to humanize Spock and draw a contrast with the past incarnations that highlight this younger version of the character.

Of course, Spock's age difference is a major part of what separates him from the other versions. Spock is born in 2230. 2009's Star Trek takes place in 2255, meaning Spock is only 25 during the events of the movie , a much younger character than when audiences first meet him in Star Trek: The Original Series , which took place between 2266 and 2269 when Spock was between 36 and 39 . The youngest that audiences see Spock in the original canon is during Star Trek: Discovery Season 2, which is between 2257 and 2258, placing Spock at about 27. That means his youngest canon appearance in the original timeline is still older than Spock during his massive adventure in 2009's Star Trek .

Because of this change in the timeline, Spock has to experience many major events at a younger age. A great example of this is his first meeting with his future best friend, Captain Kirk . In Star Trek , Kirk meets Spock in 2255 during an academic trial where Spock (rightfully) accuses Kirk of cheating on a test. The two start out as adversaries but eventually grow to respect one another. Their meeting in the original timeline does not happen until four years later, as seen on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , where they are at the bar onboard the USS Enterprise and the two have a more relaxed, friendly encounter.

Star Trek: 10 Facts About Spock You Probably Didn’t Know (Or Forgot)

In addition, Spock does not die at the wrath of Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness like his prime self does in the appropriately named Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , but instead, it is Captain Kirk, when they are both much younger men. In Wrath of Khan, the death highlights the long friendship between Kirk and Spock, and Spock's sacrifice is meant to humble Kirk and make him realize that he can't always win, flipping the script and having it be Kirk die (if only briefly) at the early part in his and Spock's friendship in Star Trek Into Darkness gets Spock to open up and admit to Kirk that he is his friend .

He becomes overwhelmed with anger and goes on to chase Khan down, giving into his violent urges until Uhura stops him, informing him they need Khan alive to save Kirk. This is a Spock who is still struggling to handle his emotions, and while he might appear like the classic Spock on the surface when he is prone to moments of emotion, they are bigger.

It is clear that Zachary Quinto's Spock was going on a journey to grow into the version Leonard Nimoy played while also forging his own path. Certainly, the long and many delays to Star Trek 4 have certainly stalled more major developments than this version of Spock would have. Hopefully, Paramount can get that fourth film in the Kelvin timeline off the ground, bring back the cast, and give Quinto at least one more outing as everyone's favorite Vulcan.

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Star trek: discovery’s breen go too far beyond other enemy alien ships.

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8 New Details Star Trek: Discovery Revealed About DS9’s Breen

Star trek: discovery's tig notaro talks season 5, her casting story, and jett reno's future, star trek: discovery’s spore drive replacement may not be explained.

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 7 - "Erigah"

• The Breen Dreadnought in Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is ridiculously huge.
• Captain Burnham and crew try to negotiate with the Breen over the Progenitors' technology treasure.
• The Breen's over-the-top intimidation tactics may be a sign of desperation in the face of civil war.

Star Trek: Discovery ' s new Breen Dreadnought ship is ridiculously and perhaps unnecessarily massive. As Discovery's fifth and final season marches toward the finish line, the Breen have emerged as the biggest threat to the United Federation of Planets. Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the crew of the USS Discovery are close to finding the powerful technology of the Progenitors, but the Breen now know of and want the Progenitors' treasure , thanks to Moll (Eve Harlow).

In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 7 , "Erigah," the Breen arrive at the Federation's doorstep to collect the Erigah (Breen blood bounty) on L'ak (Elias Toufexis). Not only does the Breen's Deadnought dwarf the USS Discovery and every other Federation starship , but it makes Federation HQ itself look tiny in comparison. As Discovery's crew continues to work to decipher the final clue, Captain Burnham and Ni'Var President T'Rina (Tara Rosling) attempt to negotiate with the Breen and stall for time. After learning that L'ak is a member of Breen royalty, Burnham concocts a risky plan to trick the Breen.

Written by M. Raven Metzner and directed by Jon Dudkowski, "Erigah" puts several pieces into place that set up Star Trek: Discovery's endgame.

Star Trek: Discovery reveals such a dizzying amount of information about DS9's Breen that it's hard to keep track. Here's what "Mirrors" revealed.

Star Trek: Discovery’s Breen Dreadnought Is Absurdly Huge

The breen ship makes federation headquarters look small..

The massive Breen Dreadnought was first glimpsed in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4 , "Face the Strange," when Captain Burnham and Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) saw a dark alternate future where the Breen captured the Progenitors' technology and used it to destroy the Federation. Thankfully, Burnham and Rayner managed to prevent that future, with some help from Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp). When the Breen arrive in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 7, "Erigah," Burnham notes that the Dreadnought is the same one that destroyed Fed HQ in the possible future.

The Breen use fear and intimidation as weapons, but the Dreadnought's display of force feels excessive even for them.

Many Star Trek villains have boasted huge starships that physically outclass Starfleet vessels, from Borg Cubes to the Scimitar commanded by Shinzon (Tom Hardy) in Star Trek: Nemesis and the Narada commanded by Nero (Eric Bana) in Star Trek (2009). But the scale of the Breen Dreadnought feels like overkill. It's also implied that the Breen have access to multiple Dreadnoughts, as Burnham refers to them as "the most powerful warship class in the entire Breen Imperium." The Breen use fear and intimidation as weapons, but the Dreadnought's display of force feels excessive even for them.

Star Trek Is Going Overboard With Making The Breen Intimidating Villains

"where’s the nuance".

As the Breen approach Federation Headquarters, a confrontation is feared to be inevitable. When Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) mentions this, Commander Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) says: "It’s the whole faceless-helmet vibe. Truncheons. Jackboots. Where’s the nuance?" And Reno has a point. When Breen Primarch Ruhn (Tony Nappo) answers the Federation's hail, he appears as a giant holographic head that towers over Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr) and the other Federation officials. When the Breen transport over to the station, they come with a party that feels excessively large. Plus, with their helmets, weapons, and uniforms, the Breen present themselves as intimidating, faceless soldiers.

The excess makes Ruhn and his Breen faction appear desperate.

The Breen intentionally make themselves look formidable, but after a point, it feels like they're overcompensating. The Breen have already proven that they can deal the Federation a devastating attack, as they did during Star Trek: Deep Space Nin e's Dominion War , so all of the posturing feels unnecessary. With a Breen Civil War brewing as different factions campaign for the throne, it's possible Primarch Ruhn made this display as a show of force for the other factions, assuming they would hear about it. On the other hand, the excess makes Ruhn and his Breen faction appear desperate. Star Trek: Discovery has revealed more about the mysterious Breen than any previous Star Trek show, but the scale and tactics of the Breen feel a bit too over the top.

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

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Published Sep 25, 2019

The Empire's Most Influential Romulans, Ranked

Who's your number one?

StarTrek.com

The Federation’s complicated relationship with the Romulan Star Empire changes frequently, between eras open hostility and espionage, to periods of diplomatic detente and tenuous alliances. Just as Starfleet’s history is peppered with esteemed figures who exerted extensive influence on the organization’s course, Romulus’s political and military arms have produced their own share of prominent leaders who helped guide the government’s interaction with the other major powers. Regardless of whether the Empire honors them as heroes or perceives them as traitors, these prominent Romulans made noteworthy contributions to their society’s ongoing dealings with the Federation.

8. Commander Tomalak, Star Trek: The Next Generation

First encountered by Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the U.S.S. Enterprise-D above Galorndon Core, Tomalak nearly initiated a conflict with Starfleet on two separate occasions. In the episode “The Enemy,” the commander violated Federation space and risked starting a war when a wounded Romulan perished in Picard’s custody. An uneasy truce between Geordi La Forge and a second Romulan survivor forced Tomalak into displaying restraint, but the tenacious commander threatened the Enterprise-D again after the Federation starship was tricked into making its own unauthorized excursion into the Neutral Zone in “The Defector.” While neither event provoked a battle, Tomalak’s belligerent disposition and unnecessary brinkmanship could have easily shattered the fragile peace that existed at the time.

7. Commander Rekar, “Message in a Bottle,” Star Trek: Voyager

Rekar led a dangerous mission to hijack the U.S.S. Prometheus with the intention of delivering the tactically advanced vessel into the ruthless hands of the Tal Shiar. Ultimately foiled by The Doctor and Prometheus’s own Emergency Medical Hologram, Rekar nevertheless jeopardized the balance of power in the quadrant. Already at war with the Dominion, the Federation would have been at a severe disadvantage if Rekar’s actions had provided his government with classified technology and opened a second front involving the Romulan Star Empire. Despite the deaths of numerous officers aboard the Prometheus, Starfleet elected against pursuing a retaliatory strike. The decision proved wise, as the Romulans eventually aided the Federation and Klingon Empire in overcoming the Dominion.

6. Nero, Star Trek (2009)

The Narada’s accidental trip through the black hole ended up sending Nero and his crew back in time to the year 2233. Coupled with his order to destroy the U.S.S. Kelvin , Nero’s presence in the past created the alternate reality known as the Kelvin Timeline. The former miner’s rage over Spock’s failure to save Romulus in the Prime Universe manifested in a plan to destroy Vulcan and the rest of the Federation’s member worlds with confiscated red matter. In addition to establishing a divergent reality, Nero irreparably shaped the future of the new realm when he successfully eradicated Vulcan and virtually wiped out the logic-embracing species. The U.S.S. Enterprise ’s Kelvin counterpart prevented Nero and his crew from inflicting the same fate upon Earth and other planets, but the Romulan left a horrible scar upon the timeline before his defeat.

5. Admiral Valdore, Star Trek: Enterprise

In an effort to destabilize peace talks in the Alpha Quadrant, Valdore employed deceptive drones to attack starships and stoke distrust among the humans, Andorians, Tellarites, Vulcans, and Rigelians that resided in the region. The plan showed promise, but Captain Jonathan Archer managed to bring the local powers together to search for the elusive drones. Over the course of the episodes “Babel One,” “United,” and “The Aenar,” Valdore’s ambitious attempt to halt the formation of any alliances capable of challenging Romulus failed in spectacular fashion, as the mysterious threat brought unity to a typically volatile group of species and set the stage for the coalition that gave birth to the United Federation of Planets.

4. Romulan Commander, “Balance of Terror,” Star Trek: The Original Series

The unnamed Romulan commander that engaged in a thrilling chase with Captain Kirk and the U.S.S. Enterprise supplied the Federation with their first look at a Romulan’s face. The species’  revelation even allowed Spock to hypothesize about the potential connection between Vulcans and their Romulan cousins. Focused on revealing Starfleet’s weakness so as to give the Empire cause to instigate another war, the clever commander sought refuge in the Neutral Zone as the Enterprise closed in on the vessel. Fortunately, Kirk’s tactics proved superior and resulted in the enemy starship’s destruction. “Balance of Terror” served up two major firsts for the Star Trek franchise, as the episode introduced fans to the Romulan species and actor Mark Lenard, who later portrayed Spock’s father Sarek.

3. Admiral Jarok, “The Defector,” Star Trek: The Next Generation

Following a daring escape from Romulan space, Jarok posed as an asylum-seeking junior officer who hoped to warn the Federation about an impending Romulan invasion. Starfleet’s skepticism about the legitimacy of his defection prompted the Romulan to reveal his true identity, an act that convinced Picard to cross into the Neutral Zone in an effort to confirm Jarok’s intelligence. Unfortunately, the Romulans had purposely presented Jarok with false data that was intended to expose the admiral’s political misgivings and lure the Enterprise into a trap. Picard managed to outwit Tomalak by bringing along cloaked Klingon starships as backup, but Jarok committed suicide once he realized that he had sacrificed any chance of seeing his family again for nothing. The admiral’s life ended tragically, but the existence of a Romulan willing to risk everything to avoid a conflict offered a glimmer of hope for the future of Federation-Romulan relations.

2. Senator Vreenak, “In The Pale Moonlight,” Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Aside from his fan-favorite declaration that the evidence regarding a planned Dominion invasion of Romulus was fake, Vreenak’s primary contribution to Star Trek lore came in the form of his death. With Starfleet Command’s approval, Captain Sisko and Garak manufactured a holorecording to convince Vreenak that the Romulans needed to reinforce the Federation and Klingons in their desperate plight against the Dominion. Unbeknownst to Sisko, Garak anticipated Vreenak’s reaction to the forged data and sabotaged the senator’s shuttle to cause its destruction once it left Deep Space 9 . The Cardassian tailor correctly theorized that the Romulans would discover the faked recording in the wreckage, attribute any imperfections to the explosion, blame the Dominion for Vreenak’s murder, and ally themselves with the Federation. Consumed by guilt, Sisko himself even acknowledged that Romulus’s intervention might one day be remembered as the war’s pivotal turning point.

1. Commander Sela, Star Trek: The Next Generation

Sela tops the rankings of influential Romulans because, quite frankly, the commander involved herself in numerous plots of interstellar importance. Tasha Yar’s half-Romulan daughter masterminded Geordi La Forge’s brainwashing in “The Mind’s Eye,” a ploy that sought to undermine the Federation-Klingon alliance by causing La Forge to assassinate a Klingon governor against the chief engineer’s will. Sela also instigated the Klingon Civil War and secretly offered Romulan support to the Duras sisters’ forces in the two-parter “Redemption,” but Captain Picard and his crew foiled the plan. Sela’s final ruse fooled Picard and Ambassador Spock into believing that Senator Pardek and Proconsul Neral held an interest in exploring the possibility of reunification with Vulcan. Of course, Sela’s actual intention was to dispatch an invasion force under the guise of a peace envoy and annex Vulcan. Fortunately, a message from Spock warned the Enterprise-D before any Romulan troops could land in “Unification II.” While each of Sela’s deceptions proved to be failures, her role in so many significant schemes has earned her a placement at the forefront of our list.

Jay Stobie (he/him) is a freelance science fiction writer who contributes articles to the official Star Trek website and Star Trek Magazine. He can be found on Twitter at @CaptStobie and Instagram at @StobiesGalaxy.

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Star Trek: Discovery's Tig Notaro Told Us The Awful Original Name For Her Character And The Cool Origin Of The Name Jett Reno

W hen ranking the coolest members of the crew on Star Trek: Discovery , I don't think it's much of a conversation about who is sitting in the top spot. Commander Jett Reno joined the crew in Season 2 , and while she does pop in and out of the show due to real-life actor Tig Notaro's comedic pursuits, all her appearances result in awesomeness. I think part of it lies in the name itself, and my thoughts on that only strengthened when the actress told CinemaBlend the original name for her character and the cool origin for the finalized moniker.

I had the honor of speaking to Tig Notaro shortly before "Labyrinths" became available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription , and I made a somewhat embarrassing confession in telling the actress there have been times when I mistakenly called her character "Janet Reno." You know, the same name as the first female U.S. Attorney General. I was ultimately happy about the admission, however. When I asked if she ever made the same mistake, she revealed the original name that was pitched for her character by Alex Kurtzman:

I have not tripped up. When I first was presented this role, the character's name was Denise Reno. I told Alex that I just did not feel like a Denise Reno.

I 100% agree with her. I've seen a lot of Tig Notaro's movies and shows , and if she would've had the name "Denise" in any of them, it would've bugged me. It's certainly not a name that fits the cocky and capable demeanor of Jett Reno, who she's previously stated is based on Star Wars' Han Solo. Plus, the name makes me think of actress Denise Crosby, and I'm still upset about her character's exit in Star Trek: The Next Generation .

Jett Reno is the best name, regardless of how similar it sounds to former employees of the United States government. As it turns out, there is someone that Tig Notaro based the name on, and it's a connection readers may be shocked they didn't put together sooner:

[Jett Reno] is kind of an ode to Joan Jett. I don't know, it just struck me as like, ‘I feel like this character is Jett Reno,’ and he was like, ‘Oh, I like that,’ and people have definitely pointed out that it kind of sounds similar to Janet Reno. But, because I came up with the name and I pictured Jett so concretely in my brain. I would never, I don't think, ever trip up on that.

When it comes to badass women in pop culture, a rock icon like Joan Jett ranks pretty highly. It's no wonder then that Tig Notaro would like to have her character named after The Runaways guitarist, and the homage is just subtle enough I never really saw the connection until she brought it up. If only there was a scene where she tells another character to put another dime in the jukebox, baby.

It's good that Jett Reno got a moment to shine in Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, especially considering that none of the cast and crew knew the show would be canceled until wrapping the initial production. Had they known, one would wonder if maybe additional concessions would've been made to put Saru into more of the season, as Doug Jones had press commitments elsewhere during shooting.

Many fans know by now that Discovery was granted extra filming after wrapping up production to film a coda to give the series a satisfying conclusion. We here at CinemaBlend can only speculate on what will be featured in the final scene of the series, but I know a good number of us hope it's a setup for more upcoming Trek shows down the road. Additionally, let's hope Jett Reno appears in at least one of them because I'm done with seeing Tig Notaro in Star Trek just yet.

Star Trek: Discovery streams new episodes on Paramount+ on Thursdays. Tune in for the final episodes of the series and, hopefully, some unexpected surprises for fans to really put a cap on this wonderful series.