Thursday, September 11, 2014

Star Trek: Justice League

Superhero movies are massive right now. There's no sign this trend will die out soon either.   So I've been thinking- what would happen if Star Trek tried to cash in on this?  Thankfully, they probably won't. Still, it makes for some interesting speculation. So, if superhero team were to form in the Star Trek universe, who would it consist of?

In my own speculation, I've limited it to the 24th century. Several reasons for this. Partly because, despite special skills or intelligence, no one in the original series crew is what you would call "super-powered". Sure, it could be argued that a character like Spock has exceptional intelligence, but I don't think that qualifies.  When it comes down to it, he's just a human/Vulcan hybrid who, at best, might make it on the team as a sort of non-powered Batman-type.

So, my 24th century candidate list is as follows. 

Data- An android built by the legendary scientist Noonian Soong.  Data possess incredible physical strength, superior intellect, motor control, reflexes, etc.  And while there have been other androids in the Star Trek universe, Data is a unique "Soong type" android, capable of individuality, sentient thought, and possess a strong sense of right and wrong.  Despite his non-aggressive demeanor, Data is capable of some serious ass-kicking.

Possible Superhero Weakness: He has a "off" switch... seriously.
 
Odo- Deep Space Nine's Chief of Security.  Odo was discovered as an amorphous blob by a Bajoran scientist.  Over several days of study, the scientist discovered that Odo was a sentient lifeform that could take on the shape of things around him.  Soon, he was taking on humanoid form.  Odo doesn't carry a phaser- after all, when you can camouflage yourself into a wall, turn your hands into maces, or disarm your opponent with the flick of that tentacle you just sprouted, why would you need a firearm?  Odo is also blessed (cursed?) with an unyielding sense of order.

Possible Superhero Weakness:  He's incredibly OCD.

Seven of Nine- A former Borg drone, recovered from the Borg Collective by Voyager and integrated into the crew.  Seven underwent a difficult journey to rediscover her humanity.  Aside from already having the physical form of a female comic book superheroine, Seven's natural abilities are enhanced by her Borg implants.  Speed, strength, reflexes, mental abilities, hand-eye coordination have all been augmented by Borg technology, as well as a wealth of knowledge she retains from the Collective.

Possible Superhero Weakness:  She lacks a basic understanding of human behavior.  She's also over-analytical and excessively thorough to a fault.  Her need for order mirrors Odo's in some ways as well.

Doctor Julian Bashir- The chief medical officer of Deep Space Nine.  Bashir is brilliant, charismatic, and very sociable.  He also lived most of his life hiding a dark secret.  He had been born with mental deficiencies so severe that his parents sought illegal genetic engineering to "fix" him.  Despite this, he was allowed to retain his position in Starfleet. In addition to making several groundbreaking medical advances over time, he's also seen his fair share of combat, both on ground and in space.

Possible Superhero Weakness:  He has a tendency to get caught up in personal issues and is often lead by emotional attachments, usually attachments to romantic interests.  He is also, basically, human, despite his enhancements.

Kes- Former Voyager crew member with incredible mental abilities originally picked up by Voyager in the Delta Quadrant.  Originally, she'd been a prisoner of the Kazon until she was rescued by Neelix and the crew of Voyager.  She spent some of her early time on the Voyager building up the hydroponics bay.  Everything seemed normal for a while but over time it was apparent that she was developing various telepathic and telekinetic abilities.  Eventually these abilities had gotten so strong that she'd become a danger to herself and everyone around her.  She departed in a shuttle and by the time she resurfaced (several years later) she'd been able to harness her powers into an incredible destructive force.

Possible Superhero Weakness: Her species only lives nine years.

The Runner Ups

Guinan- Civilian bartender aboard the Enterprise D.  Little is know of Guinan and her myseterious past.  We do know she's at least 400 years old, and it SEEMS as if she's capable of withstanding the powers of Q.  Or Q at least seemed wary of her.

Benjamin Sisko- We honestly don't know what happens to Sisko after the last episode of Deep Space Nine.  We can only assume he now has godlike powers. 

Q- Omnipotent beings, the Q Continuum posses unimagined power, but for they most part, they avoid interfering with lower life forms.  Q (also being the name of the entity from the Continuum that most often interacts with humans) has mostly been presented as a trickster-god type character, though in other instances he helps or guides human characters. 

2 comments:

  1. Well if you can't go Superhero team without a Super Villain. Khan seems an obvious choice there. And the Borg, of course.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I will likely do a similar post on this at some point. A LOT of Star Trek villains could get by just fine in a comic book universe.

      Delete