star trek khan backstory

Den of Geek

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Reveals Unexpected Khan Connection

Strange New Worlds just invoked the legacy of iconic Star Trek villain Khan Noonien-Singh.

Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab)
Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab)
Share on Linkedin (opens in a new tab)
Share on email (opens in a new tab)

La'an and Khan Noonien-Singh in Star Trek

Khan Noonien-Singh is widely considered to be Star Trek ‘s best villain. Introduced in The Original Series episode “Space Seed,” Khan (as played by Ricardo Montalbán) would go on to be the eponymous villain in Star Trek II : The Wrath of Khan , effectively killing fan favorite character Spock in the feature film’s climax. (It’s OK… he got better.) Subsequently, the character made appearances in other corners of the franchise, including on Enterprise , Deep Space Nine , and in the (worst) reboot film Star Trek Into Darkness , where he was played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Now, a different Noonien-Singh is poised to play a main character on Strange New Worlds , the series set during Captain Pike’s tenure as the Enterprise captain. English actress Christina Chong has been announced as La’an Noonien-Singh in the upcoming Trek show. Color us intrigued…

First, some backstory: Khan Noonien Singh was a genetically engineered superhuman who, during the Eugenics Wars of the 1990s (you remember those, right?), controlled more than a quarter of the Earth. When deposed, Khan and 84 of his super-friends escaped from Earth on a freighter ship, placing themselves in a cryogenic sleep. Khan wakes up more than two centuries later, when the Enterprise finds his ship. Once a power-hungry ruler, always a power-hungry ruler, so Khan quickly moves to take over the ship, with the help of the apparently impressionable Enterprise historian Marla McGivers . Kirk eventually manages to stop Khan, and sentences him and his friends (including future wife Marla) to life on an uncolonized planet known as Ceti Alpha V. Let’s just say the sentencing backfires, with Khan coming back with a vengeance in The Wrath of Khan 15 years after the events of “Space Seed.”

Given that Khan is still in cryogenic sleep during the years Strange New Worlds is set (and has been for more than 200 years), it’s unclear how this new Khan character could be related to the iconic villain… but you don’t just slap the surname “Noonien-Singh” on someone without a solid plan. (Right, J.J. Abrams?) The most obvious explanation would be that La’an is a descendant of Khan’s family, but in the world of Star Trek , the possibilities are endless. Time travel is a recurring plot mechanic in the franchise, which means La’an could be an even closer relative than the broad timeline implies. Could Khan and Marla have had a child who somehow survived everything going south on Ceti Alpha V… who then travels back in time? Yes, it’s a bit contrived but there an almost-canonical precedent for a Khan kid. At some point in the Wrath of Khan production process, Khan had a child , but the subplot/character was cut from the story.

McCoy, Chapel, and Spock on the bridge of the Enterprise, as Uhura stands in the background on Star Trek

Star Trek’s Most Underserved Characters Will Be Back in Strange New Worlds

Star Trek Doctors, Ranked By Crankiness

My favorite theory? La’an is Khan’s sister, daughter, or other close relative from before Khan went into cryogenic sleep. Augments like Khan had many, for want of a better term, “superpowers”: They are five times as strong as the average human, and much more durable with stronger heart muscled and greater lung efficiency. Additionally, they are very smart. But perhaps their most useful trait is their expanded lifespan; Augments live twice the average lifespan of a human. If La’an is an Augment (and has an excellent skin care routine), then she could be Khan’s contemporary from the 90s or shortly thereafter. Khan was no doubt forced to leave people behind when he fled Earth. Was La’an one of those people?

Ad – content continues below

Whatever Strange New Worlds ‘ reason for naming a character Noonien-Singh, I hope it’s a good one. There’s so much potential when it comes to the space Khan holds in Star Trek canon, and the recent Trek invocation of that legacy was a muddled mess. Strange New Worlds , don’t f this up.

How do you think La’an will be related to Khan? Let us know your theories in the comments below.

Kayti Burt | @kaytiburt

Kayti is a pop culture writer, editor, and full-time nerd who comes from a working class background. A member of the Television Critics Association, she specializes…

'Wrath of Khan': Ricardo Montalbán on 'Star Trek's Iconic Villain and His Workout Transformation (Flashback)

Montalban playing in Khan in 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.'

The actor explained to ET in 1982 how he got into shape to face off against Captain Kirk and the Enterprise crew.

Among Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ’s enduring legacy, which already boasts the introduction of the Kobayashi Maru, as well as Captain Kirk ( William Shatner ) and Mr. Spock’s ( Leonard Nimoy ) powerful goodbye scene, is Ricardo Montalbán’s iconic performance as Khan Noonien Singh.

To celebrate the movie’s 40th anniversary, ET is looking back at Montalbán’s in-depth interview leading up to The Wrath of Khan ’s premiere on June 4, 1982.

One question on everyone’s mind at the time was a bit superficial, but nevertheless imperative following Montalbán's appearance in the movie’s trailer and posters. Are those your real muscles? And if so: how did you get in shape?

“Before I did Khan , I started to do a lot of push ups,” Montalbán said with a laugh, confirming those pectorals on the big screen were the real deal. “Because, after all, [Khan] was supposed to be a physically strong man.”

Montalbán had the unique distinction of reprising the character over 15 years after he guest starred on the original series. In the season one episode, “Space Seed,” Kirk and crew encounter Khan, a genetically engineered human who’s been in suspended animation following a world war on Earth nearly 200 years ago. With enhanced strength and intellect, Khan seeks to take over the Enterprise and revive more of his superhuman peers. But his attempt is foiled. Instead, Kirk sends Khan and company to an uninhabited planet where they could fulfill their destructive ambitions, without bringing harm and chaos to the Federation in the process.

“I venture to say I received more fan mail from that episode than anything I've ever done in my life,” Montalbán shared.

By the time producer Harve Bennett came calling about literally reviving Khan for Star Trek ’s second film, Montalbán had become a household name from his role as Mr. Rourke on Fantasy Island . Already many seasons into the hit TV series, Montalbán felt confident and comfortable as the show’s lead character. And when the moment came to step back into Gene Roddenberry’s universe, he discovered maybe he had become a little too comfortable.

“When you play the same character for so many years, I get to know him so well that it becomes a little bit of a part of you, as you become a part of it,” Montalbán explained. “And when I first started to articulate the dialogue of Khan, and I was alone at home in my room and study, and the first time I say the words out loud I heard Mr. Rourke. And I couldn't get away from him and I didn't know what to do.”

“I asked Bennett, the producer of [ The Wrath of Khan ], to send me a tape of the original show I had done… He may be older and more bitter, but nevertheless, I have to discover his fingerprints,” he continued. “And so I saw the show. I ran it several times. And about the fourth or fifth time I began to remember what I did then. The thoughts came back to me. And it was really quite remarkable… Then, I picked up the script and all of a sudden there was Khan. And I think I eradicated Mr. Rourke.”

Following the mixed reception of Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979, producers went back to basics for the next installment in terms of story, tone and antagonist. As Kirk endures the woes of a midlife crisis, Khan reenters the fold and is dead set on revenge. In Star Trek Into Darkness , Spock later warns his Kelvin timeline counterpart ( Zachary Quinto ) that "Khan Noonien Singh is the most dangerous adversary the Enterprise ever faced."

“A saint doesn't know that he's a saint. He does saintly things. And people around him say he's a saint,” Montalbán said, adding that likewise, “An evil man or a villain, I don't think he thinks of himself as being evil.”

Khan’s multifaceted nature and rich backstory is still paying off dividends. On Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , the character's DNA literally runs high. The Enterprise's chief of security, La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), is a descendent of Khan. Over on Star Trek: Picard , the season 2 finale hinted Dr. Adam Soong (Brent Spiner) aided Khan's creation as a young scientist.

Alongside the Borg Queen and Gul Dukat, Khan continues to be heralded as one of Star Trek 's best villains, which is a legacy that can be attributed to Montalbán's thoughtful approach to creating a three-dimensional antagonist.

“When I played Khan… I had to give him some human qualities. Something of goodness,” Montalbán explained. “And I imbued Khan with a very sincere and a very beautiful love of his wife, who died. And that great love now turned into great hate for Admiral Kirk, who he blames for the death of his wife… Because if you play everything good-good, and everything bad-bad, then it's a caricature. There's no such thing. We all have a balance.”

Still, there was the age-old acting dilemma of finding the right tone. Even for an established film actor, having previously starred alongside movie icons like Clark Gable ( Across the Wide Missouri ) and Lana Turner ( Madame X ), Montalbán felt challenged by translating Khan for the cinema.

“Playing this character presented great difficulty. If I played him safely… I'm afraid the character would have been not a worthy antagonist to Admiral Kirk,” Montalbán said. “The only way I could do it then was to play it not safely but daringly. And really play it as fully as I could, because after all, [ Star Trek ] is a fantasy thing.”

Maximum warp to 2021, Jerry O'Connell told ET at Paramount+'s 2nd Annual "Star Trek Day" Celebration that he wants to follow in Benedict Cumberbatch 's footsteps by playing the infamous tyrant one day (even though he's already in the family as the voice of Ransom on Lower Decks ).

The actor revealed, "Huge props to Ricardo Montalbán, who did amazing work not only in the original series but in [ Star Trek II ] as well, [but] I want a shot to play Khan at some point."

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan streams on Paramount+.

Updates on Celebrity News, TV, Fashion and More!

To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh

View history
2 Background information
3 Characters
4 References
5 External link

Summary [ ]

Background information [ ].

The novel spans the gap between Khan's marooning in " Space Seed " and his rediscovery in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . Author Greg Cox knew that this novel would be the obvious follow-up after filling in Khan's backstory in the Rise and Fall duology, but had only a few lines of dialogue in the movie to go on, considering it " [the] big challenge: Could I get an entire book out of a few dozen people stuck on a barren rock for fifteen or so years? " ( Voyages of Imagination , p. 145)
Cox noted that this third novel in the series strikes a very different tone: " grimmer, more tragic, and less rife with opportunities for cute fannish in-jokes and cameos. " Early on, he determined that there was no place for the involvement of Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln (who had been central to the previous duology), and appearances by known Trek races would go against the idea that Khan and his followers had been alone for the fifteen years set out. ( Voyages of Imagination , p. 145)
He also felt it was important to give McGivers a central role in the novel: " In my head, I always thought of her storyline as 'The Rehabilitation of Marla McGivers'. […] My goal was to toughen Marla up some, and give her more of a spine, while still remaining consistent with the character we met in the original episode. " ( Voyages of Imagination , p. 145)
The original title of the novel was A World to Win , based on the final line of dialogue by Khan in " Space Seed "; however, Pocket editor Marco Palmieri suggested using the John Milton line spoken by Kirk at the end of the episode instead. ( Voyages of Imagination , p. 145)
Marla McGivers refers to the events of TOS : " The Conscience of the King ", " Shore Leave ", " Arena ", and " Tomorrow is Yesterday " whereas Sulu recalls those of TOS : " The Galileo Seven ".

Characters [ ]

References [ ], external link [ ].

To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works

The Eugenics War And World War III In The Star Trek Universe, Explained

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" reaches deep into "Trek" canon. You don't need to know about the Eugenics Wars and World War III to enjoy the mostly standalone show, but ... has a little extra knowledge never hurt? Especially when the first episode of the new Paramount+ series references these past events so heavily.

When "Star Trek" was first conceived in the mid-1960s, the '90s still seemed like a far way off. It was far away enough that the writers of "Trek" felt completely comfortable extrapolating a future history that would begin as early as 1992. "Star Trek" did not predict Boyz II Men's " The End of the Road " being the biggest album that year, but they did predict the eventual rise of Khan Noonien Singh, a genetically enhanced ruler who would, thanks to his ambition, enhanced intellect, and increased strength, take over the world.

Although none of the extant "Star Trek" canon has depicted it directly, there are two major world conflicts in the "Star Trek" timeline that were necessary to bring about Gene Roddenberry's peaceful vision of the future: The Eugenics Wars and World War III. Roddenberry, after all, created "Trek" in the mid-1960s, a time when he could look out his window and see a great amount of turbulence that likely didn't leave him feeling hopeful. Racial segregation was on the books, greed was corrupting the world, and the Vietnam War was raging. It was not an optimistic time. Roddenberry seems to have sensed — or at least feared — that a collapse was imminent. That is, if the future built into the history of the "Star Trek" universe is any indicator of Roddenberry's attitudes.

As such, the world — to Roddenberry's eyes — would need the Etch-A-Sketch treatment before a better future could begin. Shake up the whole planet, erase the picture, and begin drawing again. Humanity, by Roddenberry's assumed estimation, needed to nearly collapse under its own destructive hubris before it realized that looking up to the stars was preferable to killing one another en masse.

While the timeline has shifted around a lot as the decades have passed (the latest season of " Star Trek: Picard " takes place in 2024, and the Eugenics Wars are not in full swing), they still seem to hang heavily over the near-future of "Star Trek." Indeed, genetic engineering is a large part of the second season of "Picard," one of the main villains being Dr. Adam Soong (Brent Spiner) a geneticist who wants to enhance humanity for the better ... and for the worse.

The Eugenics Wars

The first time audiences heard of The Eugenics Wars was the during the "Star Trek: The Original Series" episode " Space Seed ," which first aired on February 16, 1967. In it, the Enterprise discovers a seemingly deactivated "sleeper ship," the S.S. Botany Bay, wherein a small group of human beings have been in cryogenic sleep for 200 years. Of the 84 people frozen, 72 are still alive. The Enterprise rescues and resurrects their leader, finding him to be none other than Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), the onetime dictator of Earth. "Space Seed" offers a good deal of exposition regarding Trek history: In the 1990s, humans were subjected to breeding experiments, resulting in arrogant and powerful superbeings who took over much of the world.

Although "Star Trek" is ultimately a show centered on pacifism, there is a lot of dialogue in "Space Seed" to describe how awesome Khan is as a warlord. Several characters describe him as a benevolent dictator — reminiscent of Plato's philosopher kings — who didn't engage in genocide and who didn't start a war until he was attacked. The episode's writers, Gene L. Coon and Carey Wilbur, seem torn between writing a show that touts a philosophy of pacifism, and their own Nietzsche-like admiration of a powerfully willed man.

The actual catalytic event that kicked off the Eugenics wars has never been made explicit in "Star Trek," although from "Space Seed" we know that augmented human beings were taking over the world as despots. Khan wasn't as despotic as others of his generation, but he was still a dictator. Indeed, Khan eventually tries to take over the Enterprise. Kirk convinces him that a greater challenge would be to begin society fresh on an uninhabited planet. Khan accepts the challenge, and he — along with all the other augmented people — are dropped off on a planet called Ceti Alpha V. Anyone who has seen " Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan " knows that a major environmental disaster left Khan stuck on a planet that had become a desert. He was stranded there for 20 years. Hence his titular wrath.

Borderland, Cold Station 12, and The Augments

Additional ex post facto details about the Eugenics Wars were filled in during the fourth season of " Star Trek: Enterprise ." In a three-part episode ("Borderland," "Cold Station 12," and "The Augments"), audiences were introduced to Dr. Arik Soong (Spiner again), who was on the run for developing a race of generically enhanced people, a few of which were running amok among the Klingon Empire. Recall that "Enterprise" takes place nearly a century before the events of the original "Star Trek," so this was long before Khan was resurrected.

The Augments in this three-parter talk about how Khan was considered their grandfather. There is also a lot of dialogue devoted to the long-held ban of genetic enhancements in the world of "Star Trek." The ban is mentioned multiple times throughout " Star Trek: The Next Generation ," and it will be considered something of a scandal when one of the main cast members of " Star Trek: Deep Space Nine " was secretly an augment since the start. The idea of shaping human history via genetic manipulation has largely been taboo in Trek, seeing as it draws from similar evil ideas of genetic purity often parroted by white supremacists throughout history. Two different Soongs will be responsible for carrying this idea forward: Arik and Adam from "Enterprise" and "Picard."

The three-part episode ends with a cute twist: Arik, having been apprehended, is convinced that genetics is not the path to making perfect people. But maybe cybernetics is. He says to himself that he could likely create a realistic humanoid android, provided he pass the project down a few generations. Boom. This is how we got Data on "Next Generation."

World War III

The details of World War III are often left vague by canonical dialogue. Here's what Trekkies do know:

That World War III was fought from 2026 to 2053. That the war was kicked off by arguments about genetic manipulation left over from the Eugenics Wars, very much the way much of the damage left by World War I led frighteningly directly into World War II. We know from the original series episode "The Savage Curtain" — an episode that sees the resurrection of one Colonel Phillip Green (Phillip Pine), one of WWIII's nastiest dictators — that World War III will involve nuclear attacks, and the utter waste of the Earth's surface. The nuclear apocalypse was also alluded to in "The Next Generation," as well as an episode of "Star Trek: Discovery," wherein a character describes how bombs were being dropped as late as 2053, leading to the devastation that cause all sides to lose. According to dialogue in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" pilot, "Encounter at Farpoint," World Ward III's ancillary conflicts would continue to rage until the 2070s.

Viewers also know from "Encounter at Farpoint" that soldiers were controlled by addictive drugs — we see Q (John De Lancie) wearing the uniform of a World War III soldier — and that deliberate acts of eco-terrorism were par for the course. Humanity was bombing one another to no end and deliberately destroying the planet, all while high on drugs. Additionally, humanity would be overrun by brutal, miniature dictatorships, overseen by medieval-style kangaroo courts wherein people would be judged and executed with very little evidence; Q would also put on the garb of the judge seen in these courts. What a pleasant time.

This was the Etch-A-Sketch moment, Roddenberry seemed to feel, that humanity required. In the 1996 film "Star Trek: First Contact," the crew of the Enterprise-E were sucked back to the year 2063, after the bulk of Earth's carnage had ended, and our species was struggling to survive. It was during this time that Zefram Cochran (James Cromwell) would invent the world's first faster-than-light engine. While testing the engine, it would attract the attention of a passing Vulcan vessel, giving them license to come visit. Making First Contact with the Vulcans was a wake-up call for all humanity, and people began to unify, realizing that we weren't doing so well on our own, but might improve if we see ourselves as neighbors in a broad, cosmic community.

Humanity may be in a dark tunnel now, but there will always be a light at the end.

Star Trek's Khan Is Returning To The Franchise In A New Story Set Before Star Trek II

Despite the sheer number of villains who have appeared throughout the many installations of the "Star Trek" franchise, there's no doubt that the greatest antagonist the series has ever seen is Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán) — the malevolent superhuman who made his debut in the classic "Star Trek" episode "Space Seed." After suffering defeat at the hands of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the Starship Enterprise, Khan would later return to enact his vengeance in the film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," which would infamously lead to the death of series staple Spock (Leonard Nimoy).

The immense devastation that Khan wreaked throughout "The Wrath of Khan" catapulted the character to the very top of the "Star Trek" rogues' gallery, and more than 40 years later, he remains the most well-known villain in the entire franchise – and one of the most iconic antagonists in science fiction history. Indeed, Khan is so popular that he was even brought back to the franchise through 2013's "Star Trek Into Darkness," where he was played by Benedict Cumberbatch and given a completely new backstory.

Now, it seems like Khan will be returning to the franchise once again through "Star Trek's" first ever scripted podcast; in a brand new story that will explore his 15 years of exile on the Ceti Alpha V.

The original Khan is returning in a new scripted podcast

Longtime fans of "Star Trek" will remember that, following Khan's defeat in "Space Seed," Captain Kirk exiled the villain to Ceti Alpha V with the majority of his followers – where he would spend the next 15 years biding his time before the events of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." Now, a new scripted podcast from "Wrath of Khan" director Nicholas Meyer will explore exactly what happened during those years of exile.

"Nick made the definitive 'Trek' movie when he made 'Wrath,' and we've all been standing in its shadow since," said producer Alex Kurtzman in a September 2022 press release. "Now he's come up with something as surprising, gripping and emotional as the original, and it's a real honor to be able to let him tell the next chapter in this story exactly the way he wants to" (via Gizmodo ).

The podcast, titled "Star Trek: Khan – Ceti Alpha V," is set to arrive sometime in early 2023, though as of right now we still don't have a concrete release date for this exciting new project; nor do we know who will be voicing the titular villain (via IGN ). We do know that the podcast will tell the story of exactly what Khan and his followers were up to during their lengthy exile on Ceti Alpha, and Kurtzman's comments make it clear that this prequel story will be well worth the time of anybody who tunes in. In any case, the return of Khan to the franchise should be something that every longtime "Star Trek" fan ought to be excited for.

What Star Trek Canon Could Mean for This Important Character's Future

With Star Trek's complex lore, there's little place for new characters to have a long future, especially when they're introduced in a prequel series.

This article contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , now available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek has been gracing the screens and lives of its fans for over 50 years and, in that time, has built up a strong, long-lasting canon of content spanning in-world centuries. With this plethora of lore comes the challenge of introducing new figures, especially in prequel series, of which there are many. One such example is a key member of the hit new Star Trek series, Strange New Worlds' La'an Noonien-Singh. In fact, La'an's involvement in the greater canon goes beyond just that of a new character -- she has ties to its most iconic villain, Khan Noonien-Singh.

La'an has become an incredibly important part of the series and franchise at large, not least of all because of these connections. With the Gorn becoming one of the central villains of Strange New Worlds, La'an's first-hand knowledge is invaluable to the success of her crew and Starfleet. Moreover, her ongoing 'situationship' with Kirk ingrains her into the backstory of one of the series' most iconic characters. Her time-travel romance featured both a long-term intimacy with the franchise's flagship captain and a definitive tie to her ancestor Khan and his future. La'an's future is up in the air, with her volatile, self-destructive personality offering a few possible outs to align with her lack of involvement in the existing canon. Still, her story intertwines her in a way that would make ignoring her impact a risky move.

RELATED: How Strange New Worlds Centers Spock's Development in His Romantic Conflicts

How Strange New Worlds Ties La'an, Kirk and Khan

Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 3, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow," cemented La'an's impact on Star Trek's lore in an irreversible way. In this one episode, where La'an chose to save the life of a future genocidal maniac and her ancestor Khan, the writers corrected the prime timeline, and La'an kept in motion the events that would follow her around for her whole life. The emotional episode saw La'an choose the life of an innocent child over freedom from a burden that weighs on her daily, thus allowing the Eugenics Wars to occur as they did in Star Trek canon. In choosing La'an, a new addition to the franchise, to correct the timeline, the minds behind Strange New Worlds created an irreversible moment in the primary timeline in which La'an was not only involved but directly impactful. This episode also saw her become intrinsically linked to Captain James Kirk, an Original Series icon with a complicated history with Khan himself.

Although the Kirk from "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" is not the same as the Kirk in the primary timeline, the Season 2, Episode 9 musical special, "Subspace Rhapsody," saw him confess that he feels as if he knows La'an, despite having no memories of his alternate self. Kirk then revealed that, though he feels a connection to La'an, he cannot act on it because of his pregnant girlfriend, Carol Marcus . Carol would go on to work on creating the Genesis Planet as a direct result of Khan's work during the war. Kirk and Carol's son David would later be killed on the Genesis planet, so when following the threads, it can be said that La'an's choice to save Khan led to the death of Kirk's son. Kirk's relationship with La'an is strong and complicated, so it would be strange if she didn't come to mind during his future interactions with Khan. Additionally, part of their connection centers on the fact that Kirk doesn't see her as connected to the actions of her ancestor, so following that notion could mean that he simply doesn't think of her in the same vein as he does of the villainous Noonien-Singh.

RELATED: Strange New Worlds Reminds Fans People Are Still Flawed in the Future

La'an Noonien-Singh Is a Warrior

With the Gorn forming such a major and repeated threat to Strange New World's Enterprise, La'an's other defining backstory moment has been vital to the crew's survival. As the ship's security officer, La'an is one of the most skilled warriors because of her status as the sole survivor of a Gorn breeding planet. Her difficult life and traumatic childhood have led to an understandably standoffish personality that often leads her to put herself in harm's way. Although La'an has undergone an arc that seems to be opening her up to vulnerability and the need for teamwork, it wouldn't be out of character if her demise came during a big battle or in the throes of conflict. In fact, it would be the easiest way to write out her character.

This path, while simple, would do a massive disservice to her character. La'an's primary objective throughout the series so far has been the safety and happiness of her crew, who serve as her chosen family. She has often put their lives above her own, and a big part of her character development has been her self-belief and the hope for a future she has gained. If killed off, her impact on Star Trek canon would be diminished, as the franchise would have no reason to add her to future events if revisited. Further, her arc as a character would come to a dissatisfying close, punctuated by the fact that those in lasting canon she is closest to, i.e. Spock, Uhura, Kirk and now potentially also Scotty , go on without acknowledging her.

RELATED: Everything We Know About Dr. Joseph M'Benga in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

A Time Travel Alternative Can Work - La'an's Already Been Through It

One way the series could avoid killing off La'an would be to lean into themes the franchise frequently explores, namely time travel. Star Trek has long explored time travel as a trope ; from episodes in The Original Series or in Discovery -- the series has done almost every iteration of the narrative possible. In addition to traveling in the main timeline, there have also been multiple instances of alternate timelines and dimensions, especially in Strange New Worlds. La'an is involved in both instances in her show, first in the Season 1 finale, where she serves as Kirk's Number One on the Farragut, and the other in the aforementioned episode, where she saves Khan.

La'an's exposure to the Department of Temporal Investigations, as well as alternate timelines , sets her character up for a time-related event in which she disappears, and the members of Starfleet are bound not to speak of her, similar to what happens with Discovery . If the writers were to take a similar route, it would easily transition La'an out of the narrative in a way that didn't cut her off entirely, as killing her would. The major downside to this route is that similar to a warrior's end, it would likely result from a sacrificial moment, diminishing her character development. What the team behind Strange New Worlds choose to do with La'an remains to be seen.

Still, hopefully, they lean into the same idea that saw her exit during the Season 1 finale, choosing to pursue humanitarian work that would see her take a step away from Starfleet without losing her conscious contributions to the story. Whatever her end may be, here's hoping it's a long way off, and fans get to continue to enjoy all that her character, and Strange New Worlds , offer to the world of Star Trek.

Strange New Worlds Seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek Is Using Time Travel to Fix a Canon Problem — And Set a Brilliant New Precedent

We really are reliving the ‘90s.

Khan in 'Star TrekII: The Wrath of Khan'

When Khan remerges and prepares to unleash his wrath in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , he reminds Chekov of his origin in the episode “Space Seed,” saying, “the Enterprise picked up the Botany Bay, lost in space from the year 1996.” And as established in “Space Seed,” according to Spock, “In 1993, a group of these young supermen [Khan and his people] did seize power simultaneously in over forty nations.”

But Strange New Worlds is now asserting that Khan was a little kid in the 2020s, meaning he didn’t rise to power until far later. The episode “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” is rewriting a tricky bit of Star Trek backstory, but don’t freak out. This doesn’t really change anything, but it does give Star Trek a new playbook. Spoilers ahead.

The episode’s climax finds La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) — Khan’s 23rd-century descendent — faced with having to prevent a time-traveling Romulan Agent (Adelaide Kane) from killing Khan (Desmond Sivan) as a child and changing the history of the Federation. Without the Eugenics Wars caused by Khan, and the ensuing dark times for Earth, the rebirth of humanity and first contact with the Vulcans in 2063 couldn’t happen. But if Khan left Earth in 1996, how is he still a young boy in a secret Toronto facility in the 2020s?

Kirk (Paul Wesley) and La’an (Christina Chong) back in the 21st century.

Strange New Worlds and the Trek time war

The Romulan agent, who’s disgusted as a human named Sarah, has the answer, and it boils down to lots and lots of time travel pushing the rise of Khan back by three decades. In her rant to La’an she says: “So many people have tried to influence these events … delay or stop them … it’s almost as if time itself is pushing back and events reinsert themselves. All of this was supposed to happen back in 1992, and I have been trapped here for 30 years!”

She also mentions entire temporal wars being fought over Khan. The idea of temporal wars raging in the background of Trek has been around for a long time, but was most prominently established in Voyager and Enterprise . In Enterprise, a character named Daniels assists Captain Archer in the 2150s, and suggests there are several factions in temporal wars spanning centuries. In Discovery Season 2, we learned the Federation was in an arms race against the Klingons to develop time travel out of fear of the Klingons changing history. And in Discovery Season 3, it was established that in the 32nd century, time travel is outlawed.

We don’t know what century “Sarah” is from, but the design of the Romulan ship in her photograph is from The Original Series , which suggests she’s from the 23rd century, like La’an and Kirk. Regardless, her statement reveals that it’s not just one time travel incursion that’s delayed the rise of Khan in Earth’s history.

The Picard season 2 explanation

Back in 2022, when Jean-Luc and the gang were hanging out in 2024 , Picard showrunner Terry Matalas suggested that it’s possible Spock’s records in “Space Seed” were just incorrect. “We came to the conclusion that in WW3 there were several EMP bursts that kicked everyone back decades,” Matalas said . “Records of that 75-year period, the 90s on were sketchy. Maybe Spock was wrong?”

In “Space Seed,” Spock prefaces everything he says with, “Records of that period are fragmentary,” and admits there’s no record of Khan’s ship, the Botany Bay , at all. So the Matalas explanation didn’t require the timeline to change, but rather for Khan and Spock’s definition of “the nineties” to be inaccurate, which makes sense. How accurately do you know every event of several centuries ago?

Khan wakes up from cryogenic sleep in “Space Seed.” Did he come from the 1990s or the 2030s?

Strange New Worlds goes beyond bad recordkeeping and says the various temporal wars from Enterprise and other Treks have created ripples in the Prime. Khan’s takeover now happens later than it used to, problem solved.

Strange New Worlds showrunner explains the timeline

Speaking to CinemaBlend , Strange New Worlds showrunner Akiva Goldsman pointed out this new revision of the Trek timeline was asserted in the very first episode. “By the way, this happened in Season 1, so this is not a Season 2 [issue],” Goldsman said. “We want Star Trek to be an aspirational future ... in order to keep Star Trek in our timeline, we continue to push dates forward. At a certain point, we won’t be able to. But obviously, if you start saying that the Eugenics Wars were in the ’90s, you’re kind of f*cked for aspirational in terms of the real world.”

In the first episode of Strange New Worlds , Pike shows the people of Kiley 279 the events that led Earth to World War III. In his speech, Pike implies the Eugenics Wars was eventually known as World War III, which lampshaded the canon rather than changing it. In TNG’s debut, “Encounter at Farpoint,” we learned parts of Earth were still barbaric in 2079, even though first contact with the Vulcan happened in 2063. But in Picard Season 2, 2024 Los Angeles looks more or less like today. The Trek canon, in other words, has always been flexible with its portrayal of this era.

Real-world explanations aside, when did the TOS timeline start to drift? Back in 2022, Prodigy producer Aaron J. Waltke put it like this : “There’s also the ripples of the Temporal Cold War shifting the Prime Timeline in Enterprise .” So did the Prime Trek timeline start to shift in Enterprise ? Or maybe it was in First Contact when the TNG crew helped put history back on track?

If the Star Trek franchise continues beyond the year 2063 in reality, the timeline of the Trek universe will have to be revised again. But now that Khan’s backstory has been moved forward, any future canon inconsistencies could have one explanation: the ripples from time travel. And when you think of how many times the various Trek crews have gone back in time, well, it’s a wonder the canon makes any sense at all.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams on Paramount+.

Phasers on Stun!: How the Making — and Remaking — of Star Trek Changed the World

This article was originally published on July 1, 2023

Science Fiction

More to Explore
Series & Movies

Published Jan 20, 2014

FIRST LOOK: Spock's Wrath of Khan Uniform

Years in the making, Anovos Productions is about to unveil the ultimate homage to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , the highly sought-after Spock’s uniform. Anovos describes the product as the end result of meticulous handiwork and crafting of the perfect colored fabric. No shortcuts were taken in carefully replicating the texture of the twill, hand-stitched lapel chain, and hand-stuffed neck and wristlet detailing with the undershirt.

For additional details and pre-sale information, sign up for Anovos’ newsletter. It should also be noted that, in celebration of this much-anticipated uniform, a set number of uniforms will be specially priced with the pre-sale window opening the week of January 20th.

Visit ANOVOS.com to pre-order.

Get Updates By Email

Star Trek Beyond Had A Deeper Backstory For Krall's Army That Fans Never Got To See

"Star Trek Beyond" might be the best "Mass Effect" movie we ever get. The shiny Yorktown station, with city sprawls built along the surface of spinning, gravity-manipulating rings, is a dead ringer for the Citadel. The film's villain — Krall (Idris Elba) — leads an army of robots, "The Swarm," much like Saren Arterius employing the cyclopean robot Geth in the first "Mass Effect."

Krall's army destroys the Enterprise in the first act of "Beyond," leaving the crew stranded on planet Altamid. Though Krall made his home on this world, he isn't a native. No, he's really Balthazar Edison, once the (human) captain of the Starfleet ship the U.S.S. Franklin. After the Franklin crashed on Altamid in the 22nd century, rescue from the Federation never came and Edison became disillusioned.

He and his surviving crew found abandoned technology, including his Swarm army (originally invented as "sophisticated mining equipment," not disposable soldiers) and the life-draining devices they've sustained himself with. (Krall's alien appearance was siphoned from his victims with said tech.) When the Swarm destroys the Enterprise, they do so by ramming it repeatedly, not blasting it out of the sky with phasers. Such a physical approach makes sense if the ships were designed to mine a planet's surface.

According to "Star Trek Beyond" co-writer Doug Jung, the team originally had some "loftier ambitions" for the backstory of Krall's army.

Read more: Why Khan Noonien Singh Casts A Shadow Over The Entire Star Trek Universe

The Swarm In Star Trek Beyond

In a 2016 interview with TrekCore , Jung elaborated on these plans while offering insight into how the Swarm functions: "Justin's idea was that [the Swarm soldiers] were sort of like drones in a way and that they don't actually have a lot conscious thought of their own. That sort of answers how Krall would be able to come in and take all this stuff." That's also why, in the film's climax, the Enterprise bridge crew disrupts the Swarm with a signal playing the Beastie Boy's "Sabotage." The Swarm has command signals, not thoughts, and is a hive mind more easily felled than the Borg.

Speaking to CinemaBlend , Jung confirmed the idea of the Swarm was "Star Trek Beyond" director Justin Lin's: "[Lin] liked that idea of like asymmetrical warfare and he kind of made sense. He's like, 'Why would you have that big ship going around? Why not just get a bunch of little ones?'"

As for how Edison took control of the Swarm and perverted them, turning them from harmless miners into vicious attack dogs, Jung explained: "[Edison] was taking his skills as an ex-soldier and applying them in a way that he probably never thought he would have to do."

This backstory is briefly alluded to in "Star Trek Beyond," where Kirk (Chris Pine) and Scotty (Simon Pegg, who also co-wrote the movie) find Edison's final captain's log aboard the Franklin, where he mentions that the "indigenous race" of Altamid "left behind sophisticated mining equipment and a drone workforce." In his TrekCore interview, Jung also refers to Altamid as an abandoned "mining colony." This helps explain why the Swarm's creators abandoned it; it was never their home.

A Star Trek To Remember

This exposition is enough to put the pieces together about where the Swarm came from and how Edison/Krall became their leader, at least for attentive viewers. ( Some fans seem to have missed it , and came out of the movie questioning where Krall got an army from, or not realizing that the Swarm were the mining drones Edison mentioned in his log, not armored aliens). Any of Jung's "loftier ambitions" for the Swarm may have ended up in the 30 minutes that Lin had to cut from "Star Trek: Beyond" ( per Collider ), just like a scene expanding on Sulu's (John Cho) role.

A resounding praise for "Star Trek Beyond" is that it feels like an episode of "Star Trek: The Original Series," just two hours long and with modern effects. The backstory of Altamid is part of that. Critic Darren Mooney, reviewing episode "The Gamester of Triskelion," noted:

"The episode presents a planet that is a graveyard, occupied by ruins of an ancient civilization that collapsed in on itself long before mankind reached the stars. It recalls the eerie sense that space is a graveyard, an element of early stories like 'The Cage' or 'Charlie X' or 'The Man Trap' or 'What Are Little Girls Made Of?' or even 'The Squire of Gothos.'"

An abandoned planet home to a legion of androids, seized upon by a human driven insane on the edges of space? That's classic "Star Trek."

Read the original article on SlashFilm

Idris Elba as Krall on the set of Star Trek Beyond, with director Justin Lin

'Star Trek: Discovery' season 5 episode 5 'Mirrors' is a quality installment, but weighed down by another anchor of nostalgia

This entire episode was more than likely written for the sole reason that the sets from "Strange New Worlds" could be utilized.

And this week's throwback to "Discovery"-past to add to the season-long epilogue is to the Mirror Universe

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Star Trek: Discovery" season 5, episode 5

The chase across the galaxy for the Progenitors MacGuffin continues, offering chances to insert stand-alone, episode-length adventures along the way. And this week's installment, entitled "Mirrors" features a brief and very random reminder that the Mirror Universe exists.

And that alone would've made an genuinely enthralling episode, but...Alex Kurtzman et al could not resist the temptation for an utterly pointless and thoroughly unnecessary throwback to the USS Enterprise. Honestly, these people have a serious problem, they should seek help.

To put all of this into context, the crew of the USS Discovery continue their pursuit of Malinne 'Moll' Ravel (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis) and that chase leads them to er...well, you know, a giant, space-time swirly orifice that fills the viewscreen. Apparently, it's some sort of wormhole that's spectacularly unstable because of the constant matter/anti-matter reactions that are taking place at the opening. It's actually more than a little reminiscent of the inside of the V'ger spacecraft from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and that's just fine.

Watch Star Trek on Paramount Plus: Get a one month free trial

Get all the Star Trek content you can possibly handle with this free trial of Paramount Plus. Watch new shows like Star Trek: Discovery and all the classic Trek movies and TV shows too. Plans start from $4.99/month after the trial ends.

a man with pointed ears in a red tunic looks confused at someone off-camera

But it's what they find inside that grinds gears. Since the Discovery is too big to squeeze through the constantly opening and closing orifice, Capt. Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Book (David Ajala) take a shuttle through only to find...the ISS Enterprise. Yes, indeed, last seen (and only seen, actually) in the epic "The Original Series" episode "Mirror, Mirror" (S02, E04).

While beaming back to the USS Enterprise during an ion storm, Kirk, McCoy, Scotty and Uhura materialize aboard a almost-identical Enterprise in a parallel universe. Here, the United Federation of Planets has been replaced by the Terran Empire and its inhabitants are violent and cruel. Their only hope is to artificially reproduce the effects of the storm to facilitate a return to their own universe. (" I mperial S pace S hip replaces the traditional " U nited S pace S hip.")

And while the idea of finding a derelict, 900-year-old starship from the latter half of the 23rd century is a great idea, in the name of the Great Prophet Zarquon, why-oh-why did it have to be the Enterprise? There are — at least — 10 other Constitution Class starships that could've been potentially chosen and thus still allowing the updated sets from "Strange New Worlds" to have been used.

Get the Space.com Newsletter

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

a woman with curly hair looks at a man in a white spacesuit

The USS Cayuga (NCC-1557), USS Constellation (NCC-1017), USS Defiant (NCC-1764), USS Excalibur (NCC-1664), USS Exeter (NCC-1672), USS Hood (NCC-1703), USS Intrepid (NCC-1631), USS Lexington (NCC-1709), USS New Jersey (NCC-1975) and the USS Potemkin (NCC-1657). And those are just the ones that are canon. Another new vessel could just as easily have been introduced as it's not unknown for Nu-Trek to bring brand new ships to the line.

And of course Burnham makes reference to the fact that her brother, Spock, served on this ship, which is probably another reason why the Enterprise was forced upon the writers. And according to some extremely rushed exposition, most of the crew escaped the weird wibblywobbly wormhole and went on to lead peaceful and productive lives — we assume somewhere not too far away given how long ago it happened and the current location in deep space — in a somewhat Space Seed scenario. Another interesting throwaway remark from Burnham was, "Crossing between universes has been impossible for centuries now," which shuts down that potential story avenue rather abruptly.

But let's also focus on why this episode could've been near-faultless if only someone could counsel Paramount showrunners on how to ween themselves off of nostalgia addiction. This week we get to see the whole Moll and L'ak backstory...and it's rather good and to add to that, Book and Moll confront the fact that they're distantly related. You know, because that makes things much more absurd orderly. (See how Burnham had to be related to Spock.)

two people in futuristic clothing sit aboard a brightly-colored spaceship interior

The pacing of this episode, and with the exception of using the Enterprise, when any other Constitution Class starship could've worked — and served to expand the Mirror Universe a little bit — this is an enjoyable episode. It's a shame though that this is following the same cookie cutter seasonal storyline template by relying very much on a quest to follow while having standalone episode-long adventures to fill in the gaps, but hey, it can't be much worse than last season. So, there's that.

The fifth and final season of "Star Trek: Discovery" and every other episode of every "Star Trek" show — with the exception of "Star Trek: Prodigy" — currently streams exclusively on Paramount Plus in the US, while "Prodigy" has found a new home on Netflix.

Internationally, the shows are available on Paramount Plus in Australia, Latin America, the UK and South Korea, as well as on Pluto TV in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland on the Pluto TV Sci-Fi channel. They also stream on Paramount Plus in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In Canada, they air on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and stream on Crave.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

When Scott's application to the NASA astronaut training program was turned down, he was naturally upset...as any 6-year-old boy would be. He chose instead to write as much as he possibly could about science, technology and space exploration. He graduated from The University of Coventry and received his training on Fleet Street in London. He still hopes to be the first journalist in space.

5 sci-fi movies that weren't great but still deserve a sequel

Alien Day 2024: 'Alien' bursts back into theaters today

Watch 2 gorgeous supernova remnants evolve over 20 years (timelapse video)

Love Is Always the Answer on Star Trek: Discovery

"mirrors" sits our heroes and villains alike down in a surprising setting, to come to a conclusion discovery has come to many times before..

We’ve said this many times before, and will no doubt say it a least a few times before as it nears its final end this season: Star Trek: Discovery is not a subtle show . It never has been, but ever since it really found its confidence and understood where its strengths were, it has never shied away from yelling them loudly in the audience’s faces.

‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Reveals Moll & L’ak’s Backstory — Plus, What’s Next?

Elias Toufexis as L’ak and Eve Harlow as Moll in 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5 Episode 5

Spoiler Alert

Where No One Has Gone Before

For exclusive news and updates, subscribe to our star trek: discovery newsletter :.

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 5 “Mirrors.”]

It’s far from a meet cute and in no way the start of a rom-com, but Star Trek: Discovery does offer a look at how Moll ( Eve Harlow ) and L’ak ( Elias Toufexis ) first crossed paths and what led them to become Captain Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) and her crew’s foes in the latest episode.

“Mirrors” takes Michael and Book ( David Ajala ), who has realized Moll is the daughter of his mentor, into a pocket of interdimensional space and onto the abandoned ISS Enterprise , where they try to get through to Moll and L’ak with both pairs after the same thing: the next piece of the puzzle that will unlock the ultimate power everyone’s after this season. Book tries to get through to Moll, and L’ak ends up injured. But rather than turn themselves in, as Michael and Book try to convince them to do, Moll and L’ak set off as soon as they get the chance.

Read on for insight from Ajala, Harlow, and Toufexis about this episode, filming on the ISS Enterprise set, and more.

When L’ak Met Moll

As flashbacks detail, Moll was a courier who met L’ak on one of her deliveries; he was the primarch’s nephew who’d been demoted to shuttle bay duty and ultimately took her side, leading the two to flee and now there’s a blood bounty on them. Both Harlow and Toufexis had hints about their characters’ backstory, but it wasn’t until the script for this episode that they got the full picture.

“I was bugging them for the script to 505 because they told me [the backstory] was [that episode],” Toufexis tells TV Insider of what he says is his favorite episode he’s in. “They gave me a little bit of background so I could play it in the other episodes, but when I saw the episode, I was so happy because I play a lot of bad guys on TV, and more often than not, you don’t get to find out why they’re bad or why they’re doing what they’re doing—not that these guys are bad inherently. The fact that we get to go back and literally show and play everything, almost everything, at least for the reasoning why they’ve made these decisions and why they are who they are—that combined with the love story was my favorite thing about these characters for sure.”

Playing a love story as an antagonist was different for him, he explains. “They very rarely have a counterpart,” he says. “I was really happy that I have this to play, this reason to go on is Moll for L’ak. And that love story is the most interesting part of it for me, just being in love. Especially in sci-fi, it’s really rare, especially for antagonists. I just want to be in love and free is original, I think.”

'Star Trek: Discovery' Stars Tease How Series Ends for Their Characters

Harlow, too, enjoyed getting to “run around being in love” as what she calls her favorite character she’s played. She recalls that the sides she auditioned with, while fake scripts, are situations like in Episode 5. “Every episode that came out was really exciting because we didn’t know what we were getting and [we were] seeing it unfold in such an interesting way and getting more layers,” she says. “These characters are nuanced.”

Can Book Get Through to Moll?

When the episode begins, Book thinks Moll can turn things around and he might be able to reach her, and he does try to do so when they’re split off from Michael and L’ak. But while her father was his mentor, to Moll, he was just the person who left her and her mom.

“It’s like Moll has now offered a bit of a lifeline, someone who’s known Cleveland Booker, who was this Cleveland Booker’s mentor, to kind of understand more about his character, which Book assumed would have been positive,” says Ajala. “But then to hear Moll speak so negatively about Cleveland Booker gives him pause for thought.”

Book wasn’t able to get through to Moll, and Harlow doesn’t think he stands a chance of ever doing so. “Anyone who has mommy or daddy issues knows, it’s years of therapy. I think that those parent relationships are really difficult and I think that always the knee jerk reaction is, ‘No, I don’t want to face it,’ until you’re forced to face it. It’s her own resistance and the way that Moll has survived is with this hatred and pushing away of her father. It would require a complete 180 [and] years of therapy,” she says with a laugh. “Spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery – Moll in Therapy .”

But even so, is that connection to Book something that L’ak might be worried about? Toufexis admits it’s not something he had to consider. “L’ak is very untrusting of anybody, especially people that show particular interest in Moll,” he shares before teasing, “The trust grows more between Moll and L’ak because of her decisions towards Book.”

Eve Harlow as Moll and David Ajala as Book in 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5 Episode 5 "Mirrors"

John Medland / Paramount+

Still, Book isn’t willing to give up on Moll. “This season is all about second chances,” Ajala points out, adding that his character has received one. “He now wants to afford the same grace to Moll. It does get more challenging as the season progresses and it gets more complicated, but I feel that Book just has to try and see it through to make it worth it.”

For Book, the best-case scenario is this ends with “Moll finding favor amongst Starfleet and not going sown a destructive path,” says Ajala, but just because he wants this to work out doesn’t mean that it necessarily will—or that he doesn’t have a line when it comes to her. “If she makes a decision that she would never be able to come back from, that would be really, really sad.”

What’s Next for Moll & L’ak?

Last we saw the two, they were heading off with medical supplies and L’ak was injured. You’ll have to watch to see exactly what’s next but, “he’s fine,” says Toufexis.

As for the next time Book encounters Moll, “there will be drama,” Ajala teases. “It’s a very nuanced, complicated situation, and I think they’re both in very unfamiliar territory, but it’s going to be very important that they make the right decision or it will have a dramatic effect.”

What he’ll probably have to keep in mind is that there doesn’t seem to be anything that could make Moll or L’ak turn on the other and there isn’t a limit to how far they will go for one another. “This sounds so corny, but we only have each other,” says Harlow. “It’s us against the world.”

But that doesn’t necessarily mean they wouldn’t surrender. At one point, Michael tries to convince L’ak to do just that, and he asks if he and Moll would serve their time together.

“I remember specifically playing that and thinking, ‘Okay, he’s looking for at least a way out, recalls Toufexis, “but the end result has to be they’re free and together, or at least they’re together and safe. There are some rules that they both really need people to accept if they’re going to give in, and I don’t think they are.”

Harlow agrees that it would take “freedom and safety” for them to surrender, “and no one’s giving us that, so we have to get it ourselves in whatever way we can.”

Elias Toufexis as L’ak and Eve Harlow as Moll in 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5 Episode 1 "Red Directive"

Marni Grossman / Paramount+

Filming on the ISS Enterprise

Most of this episode takes place on the ISS Enterprise , and as a big Star Trek fan, Toufexis was thrilled. Before getting the script for Episode 5, “I had heard a props guy or maybe a set deck guy talking [about] the Enterprise , and I was like, ‘I’m sorry, what was that? We’re going to the Enterprise ?'” he shares, admitting that he did take photos on the set that he will never publish. “I love being on that ship. I was texting my family, ‘Can you believe this? I’m on the freaking Enterprise . This is crazy.’ There’s footage of me at 15 years old doing a Star Trek TV show in my friend’s basement where we built an Enterprise out of cardboard. So the fact that I’m on the actual Enterprise now, that’s pretty crazy.”

Harlow chimes in to share that Toufexis surprised people on set by knowing what all the props were in the first episode of the season (see photo above).

Ajala chose to wait until he stepped on the set to film to see it. “I was quite intentional about that because I didn’t want to become too familiar and take this wonderful set for granted,” he explains. “I literally laid eyes on it when the camera was rolling. One would say that’s a slightly unorthodox way of working, but I found it really, really informative and it was a super special moment to just be in that space.”

What did you think of Moll and L’ak’s backstory? Let us know in the comments section, below.

Star Trek: Discovery , Thursdays, Paramount+

Star Trek: Discovery where to stream

Star Trek: Discovery

David ajala, elias toufexis.

'Discovery's Elias Toufexis Could Be 'Star Trek's Next Jeffrey Combs

Toufexis and Eve Harlow breakdown their Breen backstory and call the 'Discovery' set the best they've ever worked on.

The Big Picture

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5, "Mirrors," delves into Moll and L'ak's backstory, revealing their love and the price on their heads.
Stars Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis discuss fleshing out their romance, joining the sci-fi series for its final season, and L'ak's connection to the Breen.
The duo also praises the Star Trek: Discovery cast and crew for the warm and welcoming atmosphere, with Sonequa Martin-Green leading the way as a fantastic number one.

A few weeks ago, Star Trek: Discovery kicked off the series' final season with a dazzling new mystery and a pair of wildly compelling antagonists. Seemingly out to cash in on the greatest treasure the galaxy has to offer, lovers Moll ( Eve Harlow ) and L'ak ( Elias Toufexis ) have been neck-and-neck with Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) and her crew as they hunt for clues . This week's episode "Mirrors," sees Burnham catch up with the two as she and Book ( David Ajala ) corner them on an abandoned ISS Enterprise from the Mirror universe.

As the two couples are made to face each other, we also get a glimpse into Moll and L'ak's backstory. Not only do we learn how they fell in love, but we also come to understand why they're on the run — L'ak is a Breen and in their attempt to run away together the duo killed a pair of guards. Now the warlike race has a price on their heads.

Ahead of the episode, I sat down with Harlow and Toufexis to talk about the big reveals in "Mirrors," the complex relationship between their characters, and what they're taking away from their time on Discovery . During our conversation, we also spoke about their personal experiences with Star Trek , when Toufexis learned he would be playing a Breen, and which episodes of Season 5 are their favorites.

Star Trek: Discovery

Taking place almost a decade before Captain Kirk's Enterprise, the USS Discovery charts a course to uncover new worlds and life forms.

Both Harlow and Toufexis have a fair share of sci-fi credits to their names with Harlow having made waves on shows like The 100 and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. while Toufexis appeared in the smash hit series The Expanse as well as having voiced characters in a truly impressive number of video games. When asked what it was like to go from their sci-fi roots to arguably the biggest sci-fi series of all time, Harlow admitted that she'd actually "never seen Star Trek before." She went on to explain, "to me, I was like, 'Oh, cool, another job. Oh, cool, I get to be in space!'"

Meanwhile, Toufexis was a huge Star Trek fan. "And Elias was like, 'No, you don't understand. This is Star Trek .' Even in the sides for the audition, I remember the word “Klingon” being in there, and I'm like, “Wait, how do I pronounce this? What is this?” And on set it was like, “What's a Tribbler?” Harlow joked. "Then Elias was like, 'Okay, let me send you a YouTube video.' So I think for me it was just like, 'Oh, cool. This is fun. This is nice,' and then being told the importance of it by my co-star," she laughed.

For Toufexis, the role was a dream come true. He explained:

"It was great for me. I love sci-fi, and I was happy to do a lot of sci-fi before Star Trek, but yeah, I'm a giant Star Trek fan. Accepting the role was a no-brainer, and I was very, very happy and geeked out every day on set. I would get mad at people who worked on the show who didn't know the stuff that I knew. Not Eve. I would never get mad at Eve."

As actors, both Harlow and Toufexis know the struggle of auditioning over and over for until something sticks. He said, "as an actor, you audition for everything, and you take what sticks, right? That's the nature of the beast." He went on, calling Discovery a career highlight. "So it just happened to be that I have done a lot of sci-fi stuff in my career, so Star Trek is kind of the peak sci-fi . So, it's all downhill from here," he laughed. However, as any good Star Trek fan knows, playing one character is not always the end of the line for an actor in the series. I joked that Toufexis could return on another series in the future, following in the footsteps of actors like Jeffrey Combs and Suzie Plakson , to which he heartily agreed, "I'll play, like, 10 characters."

'Star Trek: Discovery's Moll and L'ak Are Hopelessly Devoted to Each Other

Shortly after we meet these two in the first episode of Season 5 , it becomes very clear that L'ak would do anything to protect Moll, to the point of taking out excessive violence on anyone who threatens her. When asked if that defensive nature was a result of their nature or inherent in them as individuals Toufexis explained, "I think it's inherent in them, but they bring it out of each other. It's a part of their character."

He went on to explain that L'ak was already looking for a way out of his life as a high-ranking Breen when he fell in love with Moll. He said, "I don't know if he was looking for love, but he found it, and then that brought out the guardian in him." He went on to say that one thing he loved about the fifth episode is that, in learning their history, we see that Moll and L'ak are more equals than it seemed in the first four episodes.

"It looks like he's almost her bodyguard, but when they're alone, you see it's not really the case. They're on absolutely equal footing, and he defers to her a lot. He's just protective of her, but she is of him, and that's their love." He went on to explain, " My favorite thing about these characters is their love for each other. It's rare in sci-fi that you have antagonists that have a genuinely good reason to do what they're doing, that I think people would relate to their love and passion for each other and freedom. That's it. We're not bad guys. We just want you to leave us the hell alone." He points out that in this episode, Moll admits they never would have made an enemy out of the Discovery crew if they'd just been left alone, "But you keep on us, and we’re gonna defend ourselves.”

Meanwhile, Harlow explained that the complete devotion Moll and L'ak have for each other is what makes them relatable. She said:

"I do think it's inherent to their nature, and I think that that's what makes them likable, is that there's the love and loyalty there, and they're the first beings in each other's lives that have been, like, he's proven to me that he's worth the love, he's worth the loyalty. Literally, everybody else has either died or betrayed, left. All that stuff. This one being has shown me that it's like, 'No, this is actually where I can store my loyalty, love in this being, and I'm gonna hold on to this being no matter what.' "

With this episode being called "Mirrors," not only for the time spent on a Mirror Universe ship, but for the relationships within, as Moll and L'ak serve as a foil to Book and Burnham. I asked the pair if they felt like their characters recognized themselves in their counterparts. For Toufexis, Book and Burnham are barely even on his radar. He said, "At least as an actor, I never even considered that. I was just like, 'Nah, I don't care about them.' He's very one-track-minded." He then laid out L'ak's priorities, saying:

"At least for me, the way I played it was, 'I just want Moll, and I want you to leave us alone. And if this tech, whatever it is that we may not understand, or even if they understand its power, whatever this tech is, if it could grant us freedom and to be left alone and to just go live our lives in love together, that's all that matters.' So I don't think they're looking and going, 'Oh, they're a lot like us, those two.'"

Meanwhile, Harlow agreed, comparing their characters to "caged animals." She said: "Everyone else are [our] oppressors, and so I don't care what's happening out there. I don't care how similar it is, because ultimately they have the key to the door to freedom, and they're holding here. It’s like, 'Fuck yeah!'"

Elias Toufexis Learned He Was Playing a Breen While Getting His Prosthetics for 'Star Trek: Discovery'

While the Breen have existed since the 90s, having first appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , we know very little about their species. Most notably, we don't know what they look like under their helmets — at least we didn't until this episode. As a fan of the franchise, I had to ask Toufexis if he knew he would be playing a Breen when he first got the role or if he found out when he read the script. He revealed that he actually found out while getting his prosthetics made. But before telling the full story of how he found out L'ak was a Breen, Toufexis took a brief detour to joke about another vast disparity between his Star Trek experience and Harlow's.

He said: "This is a funny story we haven’t told yet. When I auditioned, I knew I was gonna be in makeup because I had already been on the show in the third episode. I played one of the prisoners that's on the show, on Discovery , so I knew I couldn't play with my own face again. I knew I'd be in prosthetics. And I remember, this is like a side thing, but I remember calling Eve and talking about working together, and I said, 'So what's your makeup process?' She's like, 'I don't have any makeup. I don’t have any prosthetics.' 'What? You mean I have to go through five hours of hair and makeup…?'" Harlow chimed in confirming the call, "You were like, 'No, no, no, like prosthetics.' I’m like, 'Yeah, no. Nothing.' And he's like, 'Wait, are you sure?' [Laughs] I’m like, 'I don’t know how to break it to you, but no.'"

He joked that he was "hoping we were both gonna have 2:30 a.m. calls and all that kind of stuff," before diving into how he learned he'd be playing a Breen. He explained:

"But when I found out that he was a Breen was when I went to do the first step of the prosthetics. Being a giant Star Trek geek, I said, 'Can you show me what I'm gonna look like?' Because they’re doing that thing, the plaster mold, where you have to sit there in 20 minutes and try not to have a panic attack. But at that session, I said, 'Do you have any art of what he's gonna look like?' And they showed me, and I said, 'Do you know what race he is?' Because I think I had heard that he was a new race, or an unseen race, or something like that. And they said, 'Yeah, he's a Breen.' I was like, 'Wait, Breen? They don’t take off their helmets.' My geek mind starts going. Then they're like, 'Yeah, you're gonna be the first time that this race is revealed in Star Trek,' and that really got me going. I was like, 'Oh, okay! Let's plaster me up. Let's do this.' And somehow I got through it. But yeah, I was really excited to find that out. Especially [because] Deep Space Nine to me is, like, I love Deep Space Nine . I know the Breen they talk about in TNG a little bit, but Deep Space Nine to me is, like, one of my favorite shows ever, not just Star Treks shows. So, the fact that I was gonna be involved in that. We kind of delve into Deep Space Nine , so I was super happy."

Moll and L'ak Aren't Villains — They're Just Antagonists

In "Mirrors," Moll and L'ak become much more fleshed-out characters as we get a glimpse into their history with each other. Much like the revelation with the Breen, I had to ask Harlow and Toufexis if they had made up any backstory for their characters prior to learning the roots of their love story when they got the script for this episode. Harlow explained that they really only fleshed out the basics like how long they'd been together. She pointed out that sometimes if you make up a backstory for your character it can get entirely undone by the narrative. She said: "The thing is, you could create a backstory, and then you get the next episode and it’s like, 'Ha, joke’s on you. Totally wrong. Everything that we thought…' So, at least this is the way that I work, it's like, 'Okay, what are the stakes? This person is my everything.' That’s just how I’m gonna play it. "

"In terms of the flashback, I mean, it was fun," she grinned. "This might sound really vain, but looks-wise, what did she look like back then? I’ve just got to shout out to the hair and makeup and costume team. Freaking amazing. Such talented people, and also so collaborative, and talking about all this, and being excited about it as well. I think this is what was really cool about the show. Literally every single person is so excited about what they do. Like the props people, they're like, 'This is so awesome,' and then you're like, 'Yes! This is so awesome.'"

Despite not being a Star Trek fan before joining the franchise, Harlow explained that she couldn't help but fall in love with the whole team. "So even though, again, I did not know Star Trek , you can't help it. It's infectious when you're surrounded by that energy, and so it's like, 'Oh, cool. We get to explore our characters’ backgrounds and be in this Breen world.'" She went on to say, "seeing the sets is insane. That screen, the wall, is incredible. You step into the space and you're like, 'Whoa, people created all of this and I get to be a part of it? Incredible.'"

Toufexis was thrilled to get an episode so heavily dedicated to Moll and L'ak's motivations. Having played his fair share of TV baddies , he noted that this is the first time he's gotten to play out the why of what his character is doing himself. He told me:

"The backstory was the best part for me because, I've said this before, but I play a lot of bad guys on TV, and very often it's other characters that are just explaining why my character is doing what he's doing, or make a line thrown here or there, like this is what happened to me, so this is why I'm doing this. Whereas with L’ak, I got to play it. I got to go back and play how he got to where he is, and the great thing is it's justified. What I hope is that the people who watch Episode 5, when they rewatch, they go, 'Oh, yeah, everything they're doing they have a right to do. They're not bad. They're just the antagonists.' I don't mind if they call us villains for promotional purposes, but I’m kind of like, 'They're not villains.'"

Harlow chimed in saying, "They have hearts of gold, okay?" To which Toufexis doubled down on Moll and L'ak's desire to just be left alone.

Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis Reveal Their Favorite Episodes of 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5

Again, as a pair of Trekkies, I had to ask Toufexis about the incredible experience of getting to actually spend time on the bridge of the Enterprise in this episode. Naturally, he was delighted. He told Collider:

"Well, you can imagine. I've already said I'm a super nerd. And also, The Original Series , that's what I watched growing up . I'm not that old, my dad had them all on tape — so I'm old, but I'm not that old. My dad had them all on tape in the ‘90s, so I watched them over and over and over again, and the movies, especially. So, for me, that was my introduction to Star Trek was the Kirk Enterprise, right? Even though I know this is not the Kirk Enterprise, but Kirk's on it. So being on that ship, I know story-wise it was the ISS Enterprise, but I'm still like, 'This is the Enterprise. I don't care what decals they put over this. I'm sitting on the Enterprise.' I went and took secret pictures of me on the bridge and stuff like that. I was just freaking out, man. I was like, 'This is like the coolest thing.' How can you not freak out being a fan of something and then suddenly getting paid to be there? It's pretty cool."

While she didn't have any personal connection to the sets herself, Harlow understood the importance through Toufexis' experience. "I had him explain all this to me," she laughed. "It's like this is my very own Star Trek Wikipedia sitting next to me. I'm like, 'Okay, cool, noted. Thank you.'"

When asked what their favorite episodes of Discovery Season 5 were, Toufexis decidedly chose the one we all just watched. "Five for me, for sure," he said, though he was sure to give some praise to the rest of the season as well. "There's a couple of episodes coming up that are really good, too, but for me, it's five because of that, the background and getting to play the background. It's kind of their big episode that reveals everything about her. So for me, it's five. " Meanwhile, Harlow set her sights on the series finale, saying, "I forget which episode it is, but it's later, it's either Episode 9 or 10, and I don't think I can say anything. I'm not gonna say anything, but yes, there is one I like."

The 'Star Trek: Discovery' Set Is Unlike Any Other Thanks to Sonequa Martin-Green

While this is Harlow and Toufexis' first season of Discovery, it's also the show's last. As I noted in my review, despite the writers not knowing Season 5 was the end, they somehow managed to bring the story to a full circle moment. And Toufexis felt the exact same way, he said, "You know what, I was just thinking about this morning. I was thinking about how it's somehow in this weird… The TV gods… Because the episodes that were already written before they knew it was gonna be the last season have this feeling of closure in this weird way, right?" He went on to explain, " Like Episode 4, where they go back and see themselves in the past. That is something that you would do when you would be ending a show, or Doug [Jones], Saru, going off and having these new chapters. That's something you would do when you would end the show. So, it’s this weird kind of thing that happened where it almost was fate that it was going to be the last season . I don't know if that is a sad note or something, but it just worked so well."

"So what I hope people take out of it is just this great feeling of closure of this amazing five years that these people have done. I mean, I'm a fan of the show and I've watched every episode. You're sad that it's ending but at the same time it's ending so well that you just kind of hope everybody just really enjoys the ride of this last season and then looks at everything as five years of what this show actually accomplished, which if you step back and look at it is a lot."

While Harlow admitted that she hadn't "thought about it that deeply, but ultimately I just want people to like it." She had nothing but high praise for series star Sonequa Martin-Green , saying: "The first thing, I stepped on set and everyone, Sonequa was so kind and so welcoming. Every single person on that set was wonderful , and one of the first things that I was told was, 'Welcome to the family.' I just want people to like it, to deserve that title of being in the family, if that makes sense."

For these two, working on Discovery was unlike any other set they'd ever worked on. "I would like to piggyback off of that," said Toufexis. "Eve has worked a lot, I’ve worked a lot, and this is one of the best sets you could work on. From Sonequa and down to the crew, to Michelle [Paradise] and Tunde [Osunsanmi], and all those guys, Alex Kurtzman. You just end up going like, 'All these people are nice.'"

The vibes on set were amazing from the start, to the point that Harlow could hardly believe it to be true, certain that at some point the magic would wear off. However, the warm, familiar atmosphere never faded. She explained:

"When I started, I was like, 'There is no way that this lasts for six months. There's no way.' Because people get stressed. It's just like being on sets — it's chaotic, there’s so many people. And, oh my god, until the very end people were so kind. I feel like a fangirl when I talk about it, and I feel like I've talked about it so much, but it's just because it's lasted, and it just shows what a set can be like. We had this thing, crew appreciation, which is like every single day, a different crew member would be clapped for, and throughout the day, if you saw this crewmember, you could just start clapping for them. So that means that by the time we finished filming, everybody knows everybody's names and what they do and has an appreciation for everybody's job. I've never seen that on any set. And it didn't get in the way of us finishing days. I know that some people are like, 'Oh, it takes time to do this care and appreciation.' Yes, it takes time. It’s, like, 30 seconds, and it lifts everybody's spirits. Anyway, yeah, it's great."

Toufexis confirmed that the source of those good vibes without a doubt comes back to their fearless leader. "It's Sonequa’s set," he said. "Sonequa was the number one, and she's the best number one I've ever worked with. Hands down. Just [the best] of the whole show. She's amazing. I could never say enough good about Sonequa." And Harlow couldn't help but agree: "Every single time I see her, I’m like, 'Sonequa, I love you so much!' I know I'm gushing again for the 50th time, but yes."

"Mirrors" is available to stream now on Paramount+ . New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery hit the platform every Thursday. Stay tuned at Collider for more.

Screen Rant

Star trek: discovery’s progenitor technology is far more powerful than wrath of khan’s genesis device.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is hunting for the Progenitors' life-giving technology, which has more power than Wrath of Khan's Genesis Device.

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 features a treasure hunt for the powerful Progenitors' technology.
The Progenitors' technology can create life, modify ecosystems, and possibly reanimate dead organisms.
The Progenitors' technology is more dangerous and diverse than the Genesis Device from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 centers on a treasure hunt for the Progenitors' technology, which sounds even more powerful and dangerous than the Genesis Device in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . Project Genesis was the 23rd-century brainchild of Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch) and David Marcus (Merritt Butrick), her son with Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner). Genesis was intended to address overpopulation and food shortage in the galaxy, but it was turned into a dreadful weapon by Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban).

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is a sequel to the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "The Chase," which explained why so many species in Star Trek 's galaxy are humanoid. The answer: Ancient humanoids seeded countless worlds billions of years ago, creating numerous species in their image. In Star Trek: Discovery season 5's 32nd century, the ancient humanoids are called the Progenitors, and their technology, hidden since the 24th century, must now be found by the USS Discovery before it falls into the hands of Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis), who will sell the Progenitors power to create life to the highest bidder.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

Star trek: discovery’s progenitor technology powers & dangers explained, the progenitors' treasure can do more than create life.

What the Progenitors' treasure actually looks like and where it is hidden are yet to be discovered, but Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) gave a breakdown of what the ancient technology can do in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 3 , "Jinaal." The implications of the Progenitors' technology are vast . As Stamets explained to Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) and Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie):

The technology… It could have incredible applications. One could use it to design new lifeforms, accelerate evolution, modify ecosystems. And if it can create life, then, in theory, it might even be possible to reanimate dead organisms… It could make even the spore drive discovery inconsequential by comparison.

The Progenitors couldn't just seed the oceans of planets to create humanoids in their image, but they could also redesign entire worlds. It's remarkable, then, that the ancient humanoids died out because the Progenitors were essentially like gods. Perhaps they warred upon and used their own technology on themselves, annihilating their species. In turn, this would explain why they left behind the message seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation 's "The Chase" and access to their technology, so that they could live on through the many species they created.

Why Star Trek: Discovery’s Progenitor Tech Is More Dangerous Than Wrath Of Khan’s Genesis Device

It's much more than Genesis.

The Progenitors' technology sounds very similar to the Genesis Device in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in its implications. Star Trek II' s Genesis Device could bring a dead world to life, creating entire ecosystems and flora. The energies of the Genesis Planet also resurrected Spock (Leonard Nimoy), accelerating his rebirth to adulthood. Genesis' danger was that its matrix would replace existing life with its own , which made it a potential weapon of genocide.

The Genesis Device was seen again in Star Trek: Picard season 3, and a black market Ferengi Genesis Device was stolen and detonated in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4.

However, the Progenitors' technology sounds more precise and more diverse than the Genesis Device. Genesis was meant to bring dead planets back to life with its set matrix but not necessarily create humanoid or other species. Project Genesis was primarily designed to create Class M planets for humanoid habitation . In contrast, it sounds like the Progenitors could create - and destroy - anything they desired with their technology, which is why it can't fall into the wrong hands in Star Trek: Discovery season 5.

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5 stream Thursdays on Paramount+

IMAGES

Khan
star, Trek, Sci fi, Action, Adventure, Wrath of khan, Wrath, Khan
Star Trek: How Khan Was Change From TOS For Into Darkness
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
12 Amazing Facts You Probably Never Knew About Star Trek II: The Wrath

VIDEO

Khan
Star Trek
Can You Show Me The Way to Ceti Alpha V?
Star Trek 2
Star Trek 2
Content aware scale

COMMENTS

Khan Noonien Singh
Khan Noonien Singh (or simply Khan) was an extremely intelligent and dangerous superhuman.He was the most prominent of the genetically-engineered Human Augments of the Eugenics Wars period on Earth.Khan was considered, by the USS Enterprise command crew, over three centuries later, to have been "the best" of them. Reappearing with a cadre of Augment followers in the 23rd century, Khan became a ...
Khan Noonien Singh
Khan Noonien Singh is a fictional character in the Star Trek science fiction franchise, who first appeared as the main antagonist in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Space Seed" (1967), and was portrayed by Ricardo Montalbán, who reprised his role in the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.In the 2013 film Star Trek Into Darkness, he is portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch.
Star Trek: Things You Didn't Know About Khan
TV writer Carey Wilbur, who was the co-writer and story creator for the Star Trek episode "Space Seed" -- the one that introduced the world to Khan -- had actually been thinking about this type of character for years.Wilbur was a pretty prolific TV writer in the '50s, '60s, and '70s, writing episodes for such shows as Lost in Space, Bonanza, and Cannon, and he came up with a similar plot ...
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Reveals Unexpected Khan Connection
Color us intrigued…. First, some backstory: Khan Noonien Singh was a genetically engineered superhuman who, during the Eugenics Wars of the 1990s (you remember those, right?), controlled more ...
Star Trek's Eugenics Wars & 3 Khan Timelines Explained
Set in the alternate Kelvin timeline, J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies introduced yet another version of Khan Noonien-Singh, this time played by Benedict Cumberbatch.In Star Trek Into Darkness, Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and the crew of the USS Enterprise encounter Khan posing as a Starfleet officer who went rogue.In this version of the timeline, the Eugenics Wars took place in the 1990s ...
Who is Khan Noonien Singh from Star Trek?
Khan Noonien Singh is an important villain in Star Trek, and those who don't already know his story are in for an incredible adventure. The character has a long history in the nearly 60-year-old saga, and he remains important to its past and future. Originally appearing in the Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1 episode, "Space Seed," the ...
56 Years Later, Star Trek Canon Finally Addresses Its ...
But the point here is that Star Trek pre-history begins in the 1990s. "Space Seed" established that Khan was a tyrant who ruled part of Earth in the 1990s and was exiled in suspended animation ...
Picard & Strange New Worlds Are Telling Khan's Origin Story Without Him
Meanwhile, La'an Noonien Singh embodies Khan's legacy in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The fact that she is Khan's descendant was revealed well before Strange New Worlds premiered and he certainly factors into La'an's fierce demeanor and capabilities thus far. In La'an's backstory, she somehow survived being imprisoned by the Gorn, which may be due to her inheriting Khan's physical and mental ...
The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh
-7434-0643-5 (vol.2) The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh is a two volume set of novels written by Greg Cox about the life of the fictional Star Trek character Khan Noonien Singh. He is often referred to as simply "Khan" in the Star Trek episode "Space Seed" and in the Star Trek film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan .
'Wrath of Khan': Ricardo Montalbán on Reprising 'Star Trek's Villain
Khan's multifaceted nature and rich backstory is still paying off dividends. On Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the character's DNA literally runs high. The Enterprise's chief of security, La'an ...
To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh
To Reign in Hell is a Pocket TOS novel - the third and final novel in The Eugenics Wars series - written by Greg Cox. Published by Pocket Books, it was first released in hardback in January 2005. From the book jacket At last - the untold chapter in the history of Star Trek's most notorious villain, KHAN. Searing and powerful, To Reign in Hell masterfully bridges the time period between ...
The Eugenics War And World War III In The Star Trek Universe ...
Khan accepts the challenge, and he — along with all the other augmented people — are dropped off on a planet called Ceti Alpha V. Anyone who has seen "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" knows ...
Strange New Worlds could use Star Trek's best villain to ...
In 2014, IDW comics attempted a similar backstory retcon with a miniseries just called Star Trek: Khan, which reconciled Khan's changed appearance as Benedict Cumberbatch in the film Into ...
Star Trek Comic Miniseries Will Explore Khan's Backstory And The
Obviously, the Eugenics Wars became an important footnote in the rebooted Abrams Trek timeline this past spring, when a new version of Khan — memorably played by Benedict Cumberbatch — took center stage in Star Trek Into Darkness. That movie tiptoed around Khan's backstory, staying fairly vague and leaving it unclear if they were trying ...
Star Trek's Khan Is Returning To The Franchise In A New Story Set
Indeed, Khan is so popular that he was even brought back to the franchise through 2013's "Star Trek Into Darkness," where he was played by Benedict Cumberbatch and given a completely new backstory ...
What Star Trek Canon Could Mean for La'an's Future
Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 3, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow," cemented La'an's impact on Star Trek's lore in an irreversible way. In this one episode, where La'an chose to save the life of a future genocidal maniac and her ancestor Khan, the writers corrected the prime timeline, and La'an kept in motion the events that would follow her around for her whole life.
Star Trek Is Using Time Travel to Fix a Canon Problem
When Khan remerges and prepares to unleash his wrath in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, he reminds Chekov of his origin in the episode "Space Seed," saying, "the Enterprise picked up the ...
Star Trek: Khan
Sarah Gaydos. Collected editions. Star Trek: Khan. ISBN 1613778953. Star Trek: Khan is a five-issue comic book prequel and sequel to the 2013 film Star Trek Into Darkness by IDW Publishing. [1] It follows Khan Noonien Singh, explaining his past and how he came to have a change in facial appearance and serve Admiral Alexander Marcus.
Strange New Worlds Gives La'an A Bigger Twist Than Her Khan Connection
Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Episode 4 - "Memento Mori". Lieutenant La'an Noonien Singh's (Christina Chong) tragic backstory in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is an even bigger and better twist than her connection to Khan (Ricardo Montalbán). As the Security Chief of the USS Enterprise commanded by Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), La'an's terrifying childhood ...
Star Trek: Khan by Mike Johnson
Great backstory connecting Khan's story from Star Trek: TOS to Star Trek: Into Darkness. From briefly covering the eugenics wars to a section 31 tie-in. I'm thankful to Mike Johnson for filling in all the blanks. Spoiler alert: the ending makes you think.
Star Trek: Discovery Finally Gave Us A Closer Look At The ...
Star Trek: Discovery season 5 finally unmasked one of the franchise's most enigmatic aliens in its latest episode. ... Romulans, and the warlord Khan often have a stranglehold on the title of ...
FIRST LOOK: Spock's Wrath of Khan Uniform
Years in the making, Anovos Productions is about to unveil the ultimate homage to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the highly sought-after Spock's uniform. Anovos describes the product as the end result of meticulous handiwork and crafting of the perfect colored fabric. No shortcuts were taken in carefully replicating the texture of the twill, hand-stitched lapel chain, and hand-stuffed neck ...
Star Trek Beyond Had A Deeper Backstory For Krall's Army That ...
According to "Star Trek Beyond" co-writer Doug Jung, the team originally had some "loftier ambitions" for the backstory of Krall's army. Read more: Why Khan Noonien Singh Casts A Shadow Over The ...
'Star Trek: Discovery' season 5 episode 5 'Mirrors' is a quality
In 'Star Trek: Discovery' S05, E05, the chase across the galaxy for the Progenitors MacGuffin continues, offering chances to insert stand-alone, episode-length adventures along the way.
Love Is Always the Answer on Star Trek: Discovery
Moll and L'ak largely escape this unscathed as "Mirrors" gives most of itself to their backstory. But that in and of itself feels clunky because it means the thread with Michael and Book ...
'Star Trek: Discovery' Reveals Moll & L'ak's Backstory
Filming on the ISS Enterprise. Most of this episode takes place on the ISS Enterprise, and as a big Star Trek fan, Toufexis was thrilled. Before getting the script for Episode 5, "I had heard a ...
'Star Trek Into Darkness' Prequel Comic Reveals Villain Backstory
Since Khan shares the same origins as his classic series counterpart, splitting from the prior storyline only at the point Admiral Marcus (instead of Kirk and the Enterprise crew) finds Khan adrift in space, Abrams didn't spend very much time detailing the character's backstory for Star Trek Into Darkness.While that approach worked for some fans that were already familiar with Khan, other ...
'Discovery's Elias Toufexis Could Be 'Star Trek's Next ...
Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5, "Mirrors," delves into Moll and L'ak's backstory, revealing their love and the price on their heads.; Stars Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis discuss fleshing ...
Star Trek: Discovery's Progenitor Technology Is Far More Powerful Than
Star Trek: Discovery season 5 centers on a treasure hunt for the Progenitors' technology, which sounds even more powerful and dangerous than the Genesis Device in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.Project Genesis was the 23rd-century brainchild of Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch) and David Marcus (Merritt Butrick), her son with Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner).

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Reveals Unexpected Khan Connection

Star Trek’s Most Underserved Characters Will Be Back in Strange New Worlds

Star Trek Doctors, Ranked By Crankiness

'Wrath of Khan': Ricardo Montalbán on 'Star Trek's Iconic Villain and His Workout Transformation (Flashback)

The actor explained to ET in 1982 how he got into shape to face off against Captain Kirk and the Enterprise crew.

Updates on Celebrity News, TV, Fashion and More!

To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh

Summary [ ]

Characters [ ]

The Eugenics War And World War III In The Star Trek Universe, Explained

The Eugenics Wars

Borderland, Cold Station 12, and The Augments

World War III

Star Trek's Khan Is Returning To The Franchise In A New Story Set Before Star Trek II

The original Khan is returning in a new scripted podcast

What Star Trek Canon Could Mean for This Important Character's Future

How Strange New Worlds Ties La'an, Kirk and Khan

La'an Noonien-Singh Is a Warrior

A Time Travel Alternative Can Work - La'an's Already Been Through It

Star Trek Is Using Time Travel to Fix a Canon Problem — And Set a Brilliant New Precedent

Strange New Worlds and the Trek time war

The Picard season 2 explanation

Strange New Worlds showrunner explains the timeline

Get Updates By Email

Star Trek Beyond Had A Deeper Backstory For Krall's Army That Fans Never Got To See

The Swarm In Star Trek Beyond

A Star Trek To Remember

'Star Trek: Discovery' season 5 episode 5 'Mirrors' is a quality installment, but weighed down by another anchor of nostalgia

Get the Space.com Newsletter

Most Popular

Love Is Always the Answer on Star Trek: Discovery

Related Content

‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Reveals Moll & L’ak’s Backstory — Plus, What’s Next?

Spoiler Alert

Where No One Has Gone Before

When L’ak Met Moll

'Star Trek: Discovery' Stars Tease How Series Ends for Their Characters

Can Book Get Through to Moll?

What’s Next for Moll & L’ak?

Filming on the ISS Enterprise

Star Trek: Discovery where to stream

Star Trek: Discovery

'Discovery's Elias Toufexis Could Be 'Star Trek's Next Jeffrey Combs

The Big Picture

Star Trek: Discovery

'Star Trek: Discovery's Moll and L'ak Are Hopelessly Devoted to Each Other

Elias Toufexis Learned He Was Playing a Breen While Getting His Prosthetics for 'Star Trek: Discovery'

Moll and L'ak Aren't Villains — They're Just Antagonists

Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis Reveal Their Favorite Episodes of 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5

The 'Star Trek: Discovery' Set Is Unlike Any Other Thanks to Sonequa Martin-Green

Screen Rant

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

Why Star Trek: Discovery’s Progenitor Tech Is More Dangerous Than Wrath Of Khan’s Genesis Device

IMAGES

VIDEO

COMMENTS