Warning: contains spoilers Star Trek #27!
Star Trek I just made a bold plea against the plethora of Spock variants. Mister Spock was one of the most popular characters in the franchise throughout its duration and, in the process, became a pop culture icon. As such, three different people have played the adult Spock over the years, and this awkwardness of Spocks is criticized Star Trek #27.
Star Trek #27 was written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly and drawn by Mike Feehan and Tess Fowler. To lighten the mood on board the TheseusSisko hosts a dinner and invites his team. As the night progresses, the crew begins to play games, one of which is to name three people, living or dead, that they would like to meet. T'Lir, the only Vulcan aboard the ship, gives Spock as an answer. Scotty reminds them that there is only one Spock, but T'Lir responds, saying there are at least three Spock variants available.
Spock is a Star Trekand Pop Culture, Icon
Three different actors left their mark on the character
Spock is warp and woof in Star Trek franchise, and he is one of its most recognizable characters. Premiering in Star Trek first pilot, “The Cage,” Spock became a pop culture sensation and made a star out of actor Leonard Nimoy. Nimoy would play Spock during the original film Star Trek run, and reprized the role from the first six feature films starring Kirk and company. Additionally, Nimoy would return as Spock during Star Trek: The Next Generation fifth season. Finally, Nimoy's Spock helped launch the Kelvin timeline in 2009 Star Trek.
Quinto's performance as Spock drew praise not only from fans, but from Nimoy himself, and set a precedent for the Star Trek franchise moving forward.
This same film recast important roles from the Original Series, using new and younger actors, which gave rise to the second Spock, played by Zachary Quinto. Quinto's performance as Spock drew praise not only from fans, but from Nimoy himself, and set a precedent for the Star Trek franchise moving forward. Before JJ Abrams Star Trekthe idea of recasting Spock, Kirk, and Uhura seemed blasphemy, but in the years since the film, these roles have been recast again, for Strange new worlds. Star Trek: Discoveries the second season introduced another Spock, from his early career, played by Ethan Peck.
How many Spocks are there in the multiverse?
Star Trek Brings attention to your Spock problem
THE bigger Star Trek the multiverse is filled with other Spock variants that further illustrate T'Lir's point of view. Perhaps the best known is Mirror Spock. Introduced in the season two episode “Mirror, Mirror,” this Spock variant channels logic for his own unscrupulous ends. Despite his dark nature, this Spock would end up helping to overthrow the very Empire he served. The existence of Mirror Spock raises questions about what other variants could be found in the multiverse. As Star Trek continues to lean into the multiverse concept, these questions may get an answer.
While T'Lir doesn't indicate which three Spocks they'd love to meet, it's easy to see this as a callback to the variants fans have seen in Star Trek until now. Three actors have played Spock over the past 58 years, each taking on the role. T'Lir's comment about “three variants” is a funny and light-hearted allusion to Nimoy, Quinto, and Peck's time as Vulcan. Each actor brought something special to the role of Mister Spock, and the franchise pays homage to this with a cheeky phrase.
Star Trek #27 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!