Star Trek is the eleventh entry in the Star Trek film series, the eighth to feature TOS characters, and, discounting time travel, the earliest film chronologically. The film depicts the formation of the crew of the USS Enterprise in a newly established alternate timeline/reality created by the film's villain Nero.
The film, written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman and directed by J.J. AbramsMA, was released in May 2009, as was a novelization by Alan Dean Foster, and an audiobook of the novel, narrated by Zachary Quinto (released by Paramount Pictures, Pocket Books and Simon and Schuster Audioworks respectively). In 2010 IDW Publishing produced a six-part comic book adaptation of the film, adapted by Tim Jones and Mike Johnson, with art by David Messina.
Description[]
- "Are you willing to settle for an ordinary life? Or do you think you were meant for something better? Something special?"
- One grew up in the cornfields of Iowa, fighting for his independence, for a way out of a life that promised only indifference, aimlessness, and obscurity.
- "You will forever be a child of two worlds, capable of choosing your own destiny. The only question you face is, which path will you choose?"
- The other grew up on the jagged cliffs of the harsh Vulcan desert, fighting for acceptance, for a way to reconcile the logic he was taught with the emotions he felt.
- In the far reaches of the galaxy, a machine of war bursts into existence in a place and time it was never meant to be. On a mission of retribution of the destruction of his planet, its half-mad captain seeks the death of every intelligent being, and the annihilation of every civilized world.
- Kirk and Spock, two completely different and unyielding personalities, must find a way to lead the only crew, aboard the only ship, that can stop him.
- "The wait is over."
Summary[]
Births[]
A child is born on Vulcan to Amanda Grayson of Earth. The child's father, Sarek of Vulcan, arrives late and is not present for the birth. The child is named for one of the early builders of Vulcan society: Spock.
The Kelvin is dwarfed by Narada
In space, the Federation starship USS Kelvin is attacked by a gigantic ship of unknown design which emerges from a gravitational anomaly. Ayel, a crew member of the unknown Romulan ship, conveys his captain's demand that Captain Robau of the Kelvin take a shuttlecraft over, alone, to meet his captain face-to-face. Robau prepares to leave the Kelvin, handing over command to George Kirk, the Kelvin's first officer. Robau arrives on the bridge of the alien vessel, whose commander refuses to speak to him. Ayel shows him a projection of a vessel with a rotating torus near its stern, which Robau does not recognize. He asks Robau for information about an elderly Vulcan named Ambassador Spock, whose image Robau also does not recognize. When Robau tells the Romulans that the present stardate is 2233.04, the ship's captain becomes enraged and kills Robau with a bladed staff.
Shuttles from the Kelvin make their escape from the crippled Narada
On the Kelvin the crew react as their captain's lifesigns terminate. The Narada's attack resumes. Kirk orders the crew to abandon ship, including his wife, Winona, who is on the verge of giving birth to their son. Kirk puts the Kelvin on a collision course, but the autopilot is offline, so he is forced to stay behind to manually pilot the ship; he sets the ship's self destruct mechanism to go off simultaneously with the collision, hoping to disable the attacking vessel long enough to let the crew escape. On Medical Shuttle 37 Winona gives birth, and in the last few moments of George's life they decide on a name for their son over the comm system: Jim, after Winona's father.
Youth[]
At a learning center on Vulcan, three bullies taunt the eleven-year-old Spock about his human mother. He attacks one who calls his father a traitor for marrying her. Sarek encourages Spock to follow the path of logic, telling him that his decision to marry Amanda was logical.
Meanwhile in Iowa on Earth the young James T. Kirk is traveling through the Iowa landscape at high velocities in a Corvette, which attracts the attention of a highway patrol officer he passes. The officer pursues on his hoverbike. Despite the officer's warning Kirk continues on, smashing through an old gate, headed towards the edge of a quarry. At the last moment Kirk slams on the brake and jumps out of the car, scrambling to stop himself going over the edge as the car falls away. By the time he is on his feet the officer awaits him, and asks his name; Kirk, more alive than he ever has been, all but spits out his name.
Choices[]
Years later, a young adult Spock nervously (though he outwardly denies it) awaits a hearing which will decide whether or not he will be permitted to study at the Vulcan Science Academy. While he waits he asks his mother if she would be insulted if he chooses to complete the Kolinahr discipline; she reassures him that whatever choices he makes he will always have the support of his mother.
In the hearing members of the Vulcan High Council welcome Spock to join the Academy. However, he has also applied to Starfleet, and chooses that path after a member of the Vulcan High Council refers to Spock's mother as his "disadvantage". Spock becomes the first Vulcan to decline admission to the Science Academy.
In a bar in Storm Lake, Iowa, Cadet Uhura, a specialist in xenolinguistics, orders a drink. Jim Kirk, now a young man, hits on her and asks what her first name is, but she refuses to tell him. Another cadet tries to stop Kirk from bothering Uhura, leading to a fight between Kirk and three cadets. The fight is interrupted by Captain Christopher Pike, who orders all cadets to leave the bar. Pike talks with Kirk, tells him about the heroism of his father, and the potential of Starfleet; he encourages Kirk to enlist, suggesting he could do a lot better than his current life, that he could be something special.
The next morning Kirk rides out near the Riverside Shipyard and admires the USS Enterprise; he makes his decision, and a short time later rides into the shipyards, giving away his motorbike to the first person who compliments it, and boards a shuttle of recruits, to the pleasure and surprise of Captain Pike. Kirk greets Uhura, who still refuses to give him her name, and his fellow brawlers from the bar, as he makes his way to his seat. The seat next to him is taken by a rather irritable doctor, Leonard McCoy, who is fearful about every possible thing that could go wrong traveling in the shuttle. Kirk questions why he would then choose to join a service that works in space, and McCoy fills him in on his recent divorce, which left him with nothing but his bones.
Starfleet Academy[]
Three years later, on the mysterious Romulan vessel, the Narada, Nero, its captain, awaits the emergence from another anomaly of the ship with the rotating torus. As the ship appears, Nero remarks, "Welcome back—Spock."
At Starfleet Academy, Kirk is in bed with Gaila, a female Orion cadet, in her quarters. She tells him to hide under her bed when her roommate, Uhura, enters unexpectedly. Uhura has just picked up an emergency transmission from a Klingon prison planet about an armada of their ships being destroyed. She discovers Kirk, who grabs his clothes and leaves the room.
The next morning, McCoy and Uhura are bridge crew in Kirk's third attempt to pass the Kobayashi Maru test. In the simulation, Kirk is in command of a Starfleet vessel responding to a distress call from the USS Kobayashi Maru, disabled in the Klingon Neutral Zone. Five Klingon ships appear and open fire. Kirk acts unconcerned. The simulation computer screens go dead for a moment, then come back, but now the Klingon ships' shields are down. Kirk orders the ships destroyed with one photon torpedo each, and a rescue of the Kobayashi Maru's crew. In the room controlling the simulation, a confounded administrator asks how Kirk beat the test. Commander Spock, who programmed the simulation, does not know. A disciplinary hearing is called at which Kirk is accused of cheating. His accuser is Spock, whom he is meeting for the first time. Spock announces that Kirk used a hidden subroutine to change the parameters of the test. Kirk argues that since the test was rigged to be unwinnable, he was justified in changing the conditions. Spock counters that the purpose of the test was to present the cadets with a "no-win scenario", and that Kirk defeated this purpose. The hearing is interrupted by a distress call from Vulcan.
In Hangar One the cadets are given their assignments. In light of the distress call the cadets are to report to duty immediately, ahead of their formal graduation. The cadets' names and postings are read out, but Kirk's is not on the list; pending the outcome of the hearing he is grounded. McCoy prepares to leave, but then has an idea and drags Kirk off. They pass Uhura, who is somewhat irritated due to her being assigned to the Farragut despite her desire (and ample qualifications) to be posted on the Enterprise. She complains to Spock, who explains he wished "to avoid the appearance of favoritism", but Uhura insists she is serving on the Enterprise, and after a couple of pokes to his readout, Spock agrees.
McCoy and Kirk arrive at the medical supply area where McCoy rummages around until he finds what he's looking for - and promptly injects Kirk with a vaccine for a virus caused by Melvarian mud fleas. While Kirk's symptoms quickly manifest McCoy pulls him back through the hangar to the shuttlecraft, talking Kirk's way onto the ship under a clause in medical regulations allowing a doctor to take his patient with him. McCoy and Kirk are shuttled past Starbase 1, where they board the completed Enterprise for the first time. Spock is the ship's science officer; Pike is its captain. Because the assigned helmsman is ill, the post is filled by Hikaru Sulu, who experiences a momentary difficulty in leaving Starbase when he forgets to disengage the external inertial dampener. McCoy leaves Kirk in Sickbay.
Attack on Vulcan[]
Ensign Pavel Chekov briefs the crew on the Vulcan situation. A "lightning storm in space" was detected near Vulcan, after which a distress call was received from the Vulcan High Council. Vulcan is experiencing massive tectonic activity. In Sickbay, Kirk remembers that he has heard the words "lightning storm in space" before. He rushes to communications monitoring station twelve and asks Uhura about the transmission from the Klingons and whether the ship they mentioned was Romulan.
The Narada over Vulcan
On Vulcan, Amanda sees a column of energy drilling into the ground from a platform in the sky, itself connected by cables to the Narada, where Nero orders that Red Matter be injected into a core pod.
Kirk bursts onto the Enterprise bridge and tells Pike that the Klingon attack and the Vulcan crisis may have been caused by the same Romulan ship that destroyed the Kelvin. Uhura, who speaks all three Romulan dialects, relieves the officer on communications as he cannot. The Enterprise is unable to contact the other ships heading for Vulcan. By the time the Enterprise gets to Vulcan the ships are destroyed and out-system communications are blocked by interference from the plasma drill.
Kirk gets ready to land on the drill
The Narada engages the Enterprise in battle, but when Nero recognizes the newly arrived ship he orders that it not be destroyed yet. Nero hails the Enterprise, making sure to single out Spock, and when questioned on how he knows the Vulcan, comments that they do not know each other, yet. He then demands that Pike take a shuttle to Narada for negotiations. Pike agrees, but takes Kirk and Sulu, who has advanced combat training, with him. They are joined in the shuttlebay by Chief Engineer Olson, who will perform a space-jump with Kirk and Sulu from the shuttle to the drilling platform in order to disable it. Pike leaves Spock in command of the ship, and promotes Kirk to first officer to maintain the chain of command. Because Dr. Puri was killed in the Narada's initial attack, McCoy becomes Chief Medical Officer. As the shuttle arcs toward Narada, Olson, Kirk and Sulu make the drop. Sulu and Kirk deploy their chutes at almost the same time, but Olson delays in order to reach the drill first. He hits the platform too fast and falls over the edge, then is incinerated in the column of plasma below.
Kirk and Sulu land on the platform, where they fight and kill two Romulan guards, Sulu utilizing his fencing skills. Pike arrives aboard Narada. Kirk and Sulu use the guards' weapons to disable the drill, but it has already reached Vulcan's core. Narada launches the delivery pod containing the red matter, which plummets past Kirk and Sulu into the borehole and generates a singularity in the core which begins to consume Vulcan. Spock orders that the Enterprise signal a planet-wide evacuation, then leaves the bridge to beam down and rescue the Vulcan High Council, who will have entered a shelter impervious to transporter beams. Nero orders that Narada retract the plasma drill and depart for its next target.
The destruction of Vulcan
As the drill retracts, Sulu falls off the platform. Kirk jumps after him and catches up to him by decreasing his own air resistance. Sulu opens Kirk's chute, but its cords snap and the two men plunge toward Vulcan. Chekov succeeds in beaming them up from midair to the Enterprise. Spock beams down to the underground sanctuary where the Elders, including Sarek, have taken shelter along with Amanda and the katric ark. Spock informs them of the necessity of evacuation. As they prepare to beam up from outside the shelter, the ground crumbles away beneath Amanda and she falls to her death, out of reach of the transporter beam. As soon as the others are aboard, the Enterprise warps away from Vulcan as it implodes into the black hole, killing its six billion inhabitants. Spock notes in his log that Pike is still a hostage aboard Narada and that no more than ten thousand Vulcans escaped their planet's destruction. In a turbolift, Uhura attempts to comfort Spock; they kiss, but Spock tells her that what he needs now is "for us all to continue performing admirably".
Nero interrogates Pike.
On the Narada, Pike refuses to give Nero the frequencies that warn Earth of hostile intrusion. Nero explains that he is avenging the destruction of Romulus and the deaths of his wife and unborn child -- confusing Pike, since Romulus has not been destroyed. A Centaurian slug is inserted into Pike's mouth which will wrap itself around his spinal cord and force him to tell the truth.
On the Enterprise bridge, Spock discusses Nero's possible motivation with the other officers. The Narada's technological advancement and its ability to generate black holes suggest to him the possibility that Nero is from the future. He insists, against Kirk's opposition, that they must rendezvous with the rest of the fleet rather than attempt to rescue Pike. Kirk suggests that they take action in an illogical, unexpected manner to counter Nero's knowledge of the future, but Spock replies that the whole purpose of Nero's time travel must have been to alter the past, and that he has already succeeded in doing so, creating an alternate reality in which their own destinies have been changed. Spock orders Kirk removed from the bridge by security personnel. When Kirk continues to resist Spock renders him unconscious with the Vulcan nerve pinch and orders him transferred off the ship.
Delta Vega[]
Kirk meets a hengrauggi.
Kirk arrives on the ice planet Delta Vega in a survival pod. Wandering across the barren landscape, he encounters a gorilla-like predator called a drakoulias, which is then eaten by a much larger squid-like creature, a hengrauggi. Kirk flees into a cave, but the hengrauggi squeezes in after him and is dragging him out when it is repelled by an elderly Vulcan wielding a torch.
To Kirk's astonishment, the Vulcan recognizes him and identifies himself as Spock, from a time 129 years in the future. Spock mind-melds with Kirk to explain to him what has happened: In the future Spock was the Ambassador to Romulus, and attempted to use the red matter device to prevent that planet's destruction by a supernova. The radiation from the supernova accelerated, and Spock was too late to save Romulus. He succeeded in creating a black hole which neutralized the supernova, but Nero blamed him for his homeworld's destruction. Both the Narada and Spock's ship were pulled into the black hole and sent back through time, but the Narada emerged twenty-five years before Spock. Upon Spock's arrival in the past, Nero captured him and marooned him on Delta Vega to witness the destruction of his own planet. Kirk and the elder Spock set out for the small Federation outpost on Delta Vega. Spock reveals that in the unaltered timeline George Kirk lived to see his son become captain of the Enterprise.
Kirk and Spock approach the outpost
On the Enterprise, Spock acknowledges how difficult it must have been for McCoy to support him against his friend Kirk. McCoy opines that Spock was out of his mind to maroon Kirk; he is certain Kirk will triumph in the end.
At the Delta Vega outpost, Spock and Kirk are met by Keenser, a diminutive alien Starfleet officer, who takes them to the other occupant of the base: Montgomery Scott, known as Scotty, an engineer assigned to Delta Vega as punishment for testing his theory of transwarp beaming on Admiral Archer's prize beagle, which failed to rematerialize. Spock supplies Scott with the correct field equation for transwarp beaming, which was discovered by Scott's future self. Spock then calculates the coordinates to transport Kirk and Scott from Delta Vega to the Enterprise within a four-meter margin of error. Scotty agrees to take part in the test of his future self's theory, although Keenser is sad to see him go. Spock warns Kirk that the younger Spock must not learn of his older self's role in these events, but urges him to take command of the Enterprise by making Spock show that he is emotionally compromised. Kirk and Scotty beam away.
Kirk and Scotty transport into the Enterprise's aft engineering bay, but Scotty materializes inside a cooling tank. He is carried by the flow of water into a series of tubes leading to the main coolant distribution chamber, where the pressure would tear his body apart. When Kirk tries to use a control panel to save Scotty, Chekov is alerted on the bridge to the presence of intruders in engineering. Kirk succeeds in opening an access panel and letting Scotty out of the tube, but they are brought to the bridge by security guards. Spock demands to know how they beamed aboard. Refusing to answer, Kirk taunts Spock with his lack of emotional response to the destruction of Vulcan and his mother's death. Kirk drives Spock into a rage so severe that he attacks Kirk and nearly kills him with the Vulcan death grip before Sarek stops him. Spock resigns command due to his being emotionally compromised. Because Pike made Kirk first officer, Kirk is now in command. Kirk orders a course to intercept Narada, and tells the crew to prepare for combat. Spock has sought solitude in the transporter room, but Sarek enters and comforts his son, admitting he married Amanda because he loved her.
Attack on Earth[]
The senior officers turn from their discussions to see Spock return to the bridge
Kirk consults with the bridge crew about strategy. To avoid detection by Narada, which is about to reach Earth, Chekov suggests coming out of warp in Titan's atmosphere and beaming an assault team aboard Narada from there. Spock returns to the bridge and agrees with Chekov. Spock wishes to board Narada himself, and Kirk decides to accompany him.
The Enterprise arrives at Titan, and Kirk and Spock prepare for their mission. As Uhura attaches a modified translator to Spock's uniform, he calls her "Nyota" and kisses her. Scotty beams the two men aboard Narada. On the Enterprise, now commanded by Sulu, the interference from the drill renders transporters and communications inoperable.
Kirk and Spock find the Jellyfish
Kirk and Spock find the elder Spock’s ship in the main hangar. The ship's computer recognizes the Vulcan as "Ambassador Spock", and tells him it was manufactured on Stardate 2387. Spock realizes Kirk has been keeping information from him but proceeds to pilot the ship out of the Narada while Kirk remains to find Pike. Spock blasts his way out through the hangar doors and fires on Narada from within its shields. He then severs the plasma drill's cables, letting it fall into the bay, saving Kirk from being strangled by Nero, and heads outwards through the solar system; Narada follows. Nero hails Spock, who demands the Narada's surrender, but Nero fires on Spock's ship. To escape Spock jumps to warp. Meanwhile Kirk finds Pike, who is still alive; several guards enter the room behind Kirk, but Pike draws Kirk's phaser and shoots them.
Having followed Spock the Narada opens fire to destroy the ship as it turns on a ramming course. The barrage of weaponry from Narada threatens to destroy the Jellyfish, until the Enterprise also emerges from warp and opens fire to destroy the Narada's weaponry. An instant before impact Scotty succeeds in beaming Spock from the Jellyfish, and Kirk and Pike from the Narada aboard simultaneously.
The Narada is pulled into the black hole.
With the Jellyfish's impact the red matter is ignited, forming a new black hole at the heart of the Narada. As the ships starts to collapse in on itself Kirk hails Nero and offers assistance, but Nero refuses, and the Romulan ship is pulled into the black hole and crushed. The Enterprise is also caught in the gravitational pull, and only breaks free when Scotty ejects the warp core, which explodes and kicks the ship forward with its shock wave.
Epilogue[]
At Starfleet Academy, Spock is approached in the main hangar by his older self. The elder Spock explains that he sent Kirk back to the Enterprise rather than coming himself so that Kirk and young Spock could begin to become friends without his interference. The younger Vulcan wishes to resign from Starfleet to help rebuild his species, but his counterpart reminds him that he "can be in two places at once", adding that he has already located a suitable planet for a Vulcan colony. At an Academy ceremony, Kirk receives command of the Enterprise from Pike, who is now in a wheelchair. As the Enterprise prepares to leave spacedock, its new crew in their new positions, the science station remains empty until Spock enters and offers his services as first officer. Kirk accepts, and the Enterprise warps out.
References[]
Characters[]
Movie characters[]
- Ayel • Richard Barnett • Boknar • Brian • Nensi Chandra • Pavel Chekov • Frank Davis • Gaila • Amanda Grayson • Javaid • Johnny • Alnschloss K'Bentayr • Keenser • Kim'tal • George Samuel Kirk, Sr. • George Samuel Kirk, Jr. • James T. Kirk • Winona Kirk • James Komack • Kumak • Livis • Lew • Gretchen Lui • Leonard McCoy • Nero • Olson • Christopher Pike • Pitts • Richard Robau • Sa'et • Sarek • Montgomery Scott • Spock • Spock Prime • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura
- Referenced only
- Alexander • Archer • Ashford • Blake • Niels Bohr • Burke • Julius Caesar • Christine Chapel • Arthur C. Clarke • Counter • Davis • James Davis • Charles Dodgson • Albert Einstein • Fugeman • Gerace • Stephen Hawking • Sherlock Holmes • Jaxa • Tiberius Kirk • Korax • Lal-kang • Leifer • John Lennon • Mandana • Paul McCartney • McGrath • Kyle McKenna • Mozart • Alfred Nobel • Petrovsky • Max Planck • Pomoroy • Puri • Rader • Ernest Rutherford • Skon • Solkar • Spock • Surak • Tel'Peh • T'mer • T'nag
Novelization characters[]
- Ayel • Richard Barnett • Pavel Chekov • Frank Davis • Gaila • Amanda Grayson • Keenser • George Samuel Kirk, Sr. • George Samuel Kirk, Jr. • James T. Kirk • Winona Kirk • Leonard McCoy • Nero • Olson • Christopher Pike • Pitts • Pierre Robau • Sarek • Montgomery Scott • Spock • Spock Prime • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura
Starships and vehicles[]
- USS Armstrong • USS Centaurus • Chevrolet Corvette • USS Defiant • electric cycle • USS Enterprise (Constitution-class) • USS Excelsior • Gilliam • USS Hood • hoverbike • Jellyfish • USS Kelvin (USS Kelvin Shuttle 43) • USS Kobayashi Maru • USS Mayflower • medivac shuttle 34 • military shuttle • Moore • Narada • USS Newton • passenger shuttle • personal transport pod • police bike • shuttlepod • Starfleet shuttle (2230s) • survival pod • USS Truman • USS Wolcott
- Referenced only
- aircraft carrier • USS Antares • USS Bradbury • USS Drake • USS Endeavor • USS Farragut • Klingon warbird • USS Kobayashi Maru • USS Kongo • USS Odyssey • USS Potemkin
Locations[]
- bridge • cargo bay • cockpit • Delta Vega • Earth • engineering • Hanger One • Iowa • medicalbay • MidWest • Milky Way Galaxy • North America • Riverside • Riverside Shipyard • Romulus • Saturn • Storm Lake • San Francisco • Shipyard Bar • shuttlebay • sickbay • Sol • Sol system • Starbase 1 • Starfleet Academy • Titan • transporter room • universe • Vulcan • Vulcan system
- Referenced only
- Antarctica • Beijing • brig • Cairo • Chicago • Dar-es-Salaam • Des Moines • Europa • Jupiter • Kentucky • Klingon Neutral Zone • Kyoto • Laurentian sector • Laurentian system • Mariana Trench • Mars • Mississippi • MIT • Moscow • Oxford University • Pacific Ocean • Regula 1 • Rubicon • Scottish Highlands • Shi'Kahr • Sorbonne • South Africa • St. Louis • Star City Conservatory • Starbase 3 • T'Khul • Ural Mountains • Washington
Races and cultures[]
- Andorian • Cardassian • Human (East African • Phoenician • Russian • Scottish • Terran) • Orion • Romulan • Roylan • Vulcan
- Referenced only
- Klingon
States and organizations[]
- Chicago Transit Authority • Federation • Iowa Mining Co. • Klingon Empire • Nokia • Romulan Star Empire • Starfleet • Starfleet Command • Starfleet Medical Operations • Vulcan High Council • Vulcan Science Academy
Science and classification[]
- accelerator • airlock • alternate reality • alternate timeline • Andorian shingles • anesthetic • antimatter • areogel • artificial gravity • astrophysics • atmosphere • autochair • automatic suppressor �� autopilot • aviaphobia • black hole • blood • bone • brain • bullet • calculus • catapult • class M • communicator • computer • constructor • cooling tank • core pod • Debrune Teral'n • deflector shield • delivery pod • dilithium • distributor pump • d'k tahg • DNA • dropsuit • earthquake • electrophoretic plastic • elephantiasis • energy • engine • entomology • explosive • fiberglass • flagship • flo-yo • geology • gravitational distortion • gravitational sensor • gravity • heart • heavy rifle • holo projector • hose • hydrocarbon • hypospray • ident implant • impulse engine • inertial dampener • instruction bowl • isolation needle • kilometer • klaxon • laser • life support • lightning • light-year • magnetic field • magnetosphere • matter • medkit • meter • methane • monitor • nanocarbonweave • nebula • neurogenic stimulator • neutron star • oxygen • parallel universe • phaser • photon torpedo • physics • physiology • plasma • plasma drill • prefix code • probe • protein • quantum cosmology • radiation • radio • recorder • red matter • scanner • seismic sensor • sensor • solar flare • singularity • space • space-jump • space suit • spinal cord • star • starship • subspace • supergiant star • supernova • sword • tentacle • thruster • time paradox • time travel • toaster • torpedo • tractor beam • transporter • transwarp beaming • tricorder • turbolift • vaccine • viewscreen • virus • vrelnac • warp core • warp drive • warp nacelle • wheel • wormhole • zero gravity
Lifeforms[]
- alien • animal • arthropod • beagle • bean • bear • bird • carnivore • Centaurian slug • cherry • chicken • corn • cow • crab • dog • drakoulias • equine • flower • gorilla • grain • hengrauggi • humanoid • lungworm • Melvarian mud flea • pea • polar bear • primate • squid • stallion • turkey • vegetable • willow • worm
Occupations and titles[]
- administrator • admiral • ambassador • anesthesiologist • assignments officer • author • bartender • bodyguard • bureaucrat • cadet • captain • chairman • chief engineer • chief medical officer • commandant • commander • commanding officer • communications chief • communications officer • councillor • crewman • diplomat • doctor • driver • engineer • ensign • first officer • fleet admiral • helmsman • highway patrol officer • judge • junior officer • lieutenant commander • lieutenant • medical specialist • medtech • navigator • nurse • physician • physicist • pilot • scholar • science minister • science officer • scientist • security • senior officer • soldier • sub-officer • tactical officer • teacher • technician • welder • xenolinguist
Other references[]
- 2233 • 2258 • 2387 • 20th century • 23rd century • automated worker • book • century • cockaleekie soup • court-martial • cthia • demon • diplomacy • distress call • Europa Convention of Sentient Species • extinction • Federation Standard • fencing • fire • first contact • galaxy • General Order 13 • genocide • ghost • haggis • helmet • homeworld • hospital • ice • Ivy League • Jack Daniel's • jam • Jupiter Symphony • kamikaze • katra • katric ark • Kentucky Derby • key • kite • Kobayashi Maru Test • Kolinahr • lava • life preserver • logic • magic • magma • marriage • mask • metal • mind meld • mining • minute • miscarriage • month • moon • mountain • music • Netronian garbage macerator • omelet • Orion Prime • Oxford Linguistics Invitational • planet • poem • poker • pregnancy • prejudice • Pyrrhic victory • red alert • sandwich • second • Security Protocol • ski • Slusho Mix • snow • sponge • stardate • Starfleet Code of Ethical Conduct • Starfleet Medical Regulations • Starfleet Regulation • Suus Mahna • tattoo • three-dimensional chess • toast • toothpick • tornado • tsunami • uniform • utility belt • Viennese schlag • voodoo • Vulcan death grip • Vulcan nerve pinch • water • week • The Wizard of Oz • xenolinguistics • year • yellow alert
Chronology[]
The main narrative of the story takes place in 2258; however, it opens with several sequences set prior to this showing events in the lives of James T. Kirk and Spock.
- 2180
- The Federation's last known contact with the Romulans took place in this year. (Date referenced in chapter one, noting knowledge of the Romulans once they had been identified as attacking the USS Kelvin.)
- 2230 (stardate 2230.06)
- Spock is born on Vulcan. (Opening scene in novelization and comic adaptation only, stardate given in the comic)
- 2233 (stardate 2233.04)
- Nero and his ship the Narada arrive from the future and destroy the USS Kelvin. James T. Kirk is born on Medical Shuttle 37 as he and his mother escape, while his father dies on the Kelvin. These events mark the begining of a new alternate reality. (Events of chapters 1 and 2 of the novelization, and issue 1 of the comic.)
- 2241
- Eleven year-old Spock is bullied in school on Vulcan. On Earth, a young James Kirk takes his father's car from his stepfather and crashes it into a quarry. (Spock's age is given in the novelization allowing the date to be calculated. Neither ages or dates are given for the Kirk narrative, but the events are assumed to take place at a similar time; this makes Kirk eight at the time. Events of chapter 3 of the novelization and issue 2 of the comic.)
- 2242
- Jim Kirk has an impact with a river rock which knocks him out. (Event described in chapter 6 as more powerful impact to the force of an idea hitting McCoy as to how he could get Kirk aboard the Enterprise.)
- 2249
- Spock declines admission to the Vulcan Science Academy. (No date given, based on the date for the same event in the prime reality as given in the Star Trek Chronology. Events of chapter 3 of the novelization and issue 2 of the comic.)
- 2255
- Captain Christopher Pike convinces Kirk to enrol in Starfleet Academy. (Events of chapter 4 of the novelization and issues 2 and 3 of the comic.)
- 2258 (stardate 2258.42)
- Nero attacks Vulcan, leading to a series of events resulting in cadet Kirk being promoted to captain and taking command of the USS Enterprise. (Events of chapter 5 onwards in the novelization, and issue 3 onwards in the comic.)
- 2387
- In the prime reality, the Narada and Spock's ship are pulled into the past through the black hole/wormhole that Spock created to destroy the Hobus supernova. (Events seen via a mind meld.)
Appendices[]
Related media[]
- Countdown (TOS/TNG comic miniseries) - This miniseries released ahead of the film is a prequel explaining Spock and Nero's relationship and the events in the 24th century prime reality which led to the Narada and the Jellyfish being sent back in time.
- Nero (TOS comic miniseries) - This miniseries, partly based on deleted scenes from the film, fills in what happened to Nero and the Narada between its arrival in 2233 and attacks in 2258.
- When Worlds Collide: Spock Confronts the Ultimate Challenge (TOS comic) - This short comic features Spock marooned on Delta Vega, contemplating his involvement in Nero's attacks and how he might make a difference to fix things.
- Alternate TOS origin stories - Several earlier publications have given details of prime reality events that led to the formation of Kirk's crew on the Enterprise, their first mission, and time at the Academy:
- Starfleet Academy - Kirk, Spock and McCoy's routes into, and exploits at, Starfleet Academy have been detailed in the three-book Starfleet Academy young adult series, and alternatively in the novel Academy: Collision Course and comic "Starfleet Academy!". Kirk's Kobayashi Maru solutions have also been given in the novel The Kobayashi Maru and short story "A Test of Character".
- Early history of the Enterprise - The maiden voyage of the newly constructed USS Enterprise was seen in the novel Final Frontier; Spock and Scotty's first voyage on the Enterprise was portrayed in Vulcan's Glory; and Kirk's first mission as captain of the Enterprise has been detailed alternately in the novel Enterprise: The First Adventure and comic All Those Years Ago....
- TOS comic: "The Truth About Tribbles, Part 1" - This comic starts with a flashback that is set during this film.
Background[]
- The cast of the movie includes actors who have previously done acting and/or voice work in non-canon Star Trek productions; Greg Ellis and Leonard Nimoy. The film also introduces Zachary Quinto in the role of Spock, who also narrates the audiobook adaptation of the film's novelization.
Novelization[]
- Due to the release of the film being pushed back from the originally planned December 2008 to May 2009 the novelisation was written when production of the film was already almost complete, something very unusual for a novelization. This meant that Alan Dean Foster was able to base the novelization on both the original screenplay and the finished film. (Wired article; Star Trek Magazine #146)
- The novelization has so far been released three times in print, and as an audiobook. The audiobook and trade paperback edition were released almost simultaneously with the film. A hardcover edition followed shortly after. The mass market paperback edition was released the following year, partly filling a gap created when four original tie-in novels based on this movie were cancelled. One of those novels was Refugees, by Alan Dean Foster, which he had been contracted to write as part of the book deal he arranged when he agreed to write the novelization.
- Foster made some alterations to the screenplay to make overt jokes more "subtle". This included McCoy referring to only having his skeleton left after his divorce, rather than his bones; and the "cupcake" security guard referring to Kirk as "moonbeam", rather than reflecting the cupcake jibe, when he apprehends Kirk on the Enterprise. (Wired article)
- The novel includes several deleted scenes which can also been seen as extra features on the DVD of the film:
- Spock's birth.
- Spock overhearing a conflict between Sarek and Amanda about his behavior after his fight with the other children;
- The young Jim Kirk cleaning his stepfather's - formerly his father's - Corvette as his brother George storms out of the house declaring he can take their stepfather, Frank, no longer, and is leaving. Jim is distraught by his brother's departure, and decides he should take the car for a drive once he finds the keys.
- Between leaving Earth and arriving at Vulcan the novel adds an extended sequence in which the Enterprise attempts to warn the rest of the fleet of the danger they are about to face. Their warning is not successful, although part of the fleet is described as still being in the fight when the Enterprise arrives. The ships named in the fleet are also slightly different to those named in the film version.
- When Nero first contacts the Enterprise in the novel, he declares himself to be Ŏ'ŗên, whom humans may address as Nero, a name unique to the novelization.
- After Kirk takes command of the Enterprise from Spock, the novel includes a scene in which Uhura, Sulu and Chekov demand that Kirk explain how he and Scotty accomplished transwarp beaming. Kirk tells them about the older Spock and Nero's true motivations, emphasizing that they cannot tell Spock about his older self.
- In chapter 17 Nero is described as finding Spock's difference in age from the version he knows "inexplicable", even though Nero had already seen and spoken to the younger Spock in chapter 9.
- At the very end of the story, the novel adds a resolution of the plot thread involving Admiral Archer's beagle. As the Enterprise leaves spacedock, the dog appears on a transporter pad and runs off into the ship. However, the novel omits the revelation that Keenser has been assigned to the Enterprise, which was another late addition to the film.
Comic adaptation[]
- IDW Publishing's comic book adaptation of the movie did not begin until ten months after the film's release. The six part series included a similar selection of deleted scenes to the novelisation, and like the earlier publication also elected not to use other deleted scenes. The comic was written by Tim Jones and Mike Johnson, with art by David Messina; the same creative team that had created the prequel to the movie, Star Trek: Countdown, and expanded upon Nero's activities in his missing twenty-five years in Star Trek: Nero.
| Title/Number | Number One | Number Two | Number Three | Number Four | Number Five | Number Six |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writers | Tim Jones & Mike Johnson | |||||
| Story by | Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci | |||||
| Pencils | David Messina | David Messina, with Claudia Balboni | ||||
| Inks | Gaetano Carlucci | |||||
| Published | 24 February 2010 | 17 March 2010 | 28 April 2010 | 24 May 2010 | 28 July 2010 | 1 September 2010 |
| Cover A (David Messina) |
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| Retail incentive photo cover |
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- Despite being released long after the film and even DVD the first issue uses the classic TOS class F shuttlecraft design for the Kelvin's shuttles instead of the original design seen in the film.
- Deleted scenes included in the series are: the birth of Spock, the extended sequence before young Jim Kirk steals the car, and the extended argument between Spock's parents after his fight.
- The mind meld sequence, contained in the fifth issue, adds images of Captain Data and Ambassador Jean-Luc Picard to Spock's memory, in reference to their appearance in Star Trek: Countdown.
Continuity[]
- The movie incorporates various elements of character backgrounds which had previously appeared only in novels and other non-canon sources. For example, the facts that Kirk's parents were named George and Winona, that McCoy was divorced before joining Starfleet, and that Uhura's first name is Nyota had not previously been established on film.
- The movie contradicts stories such as TOS novels: Crisis on Centaurus, Enterprise: The First Adventure by establishing that George Kirk was still alive when his son took command of the Enterprise in the prime timeline.
- In the film the creature inserted into Pike's mouth is a Centaurian slug, whereas in the book it is not named but referred to as an arthropod of Romulan origin.
- The novel includes the original version of Kirk and Spock's arrival aboard the Narada, in which Spock is able to fight and disable five unarmed Romulans while Kirk is occupied with one armed individual. This scene was altered in the screenplay at a late stage. Similarly, the novel omits the personal confrontation between Kirk and Nero, which was a late addition to the film.
- Both the novel and comic adaptation omit several deleted scenes which were filmed. As Foster has explained in an interview the decision on what extra scenes to include or disregard in the novel was entirely up to him, and he felt the additional Nero backstory in particular distracted from the main narrative of the film[1]. These scenes include:
- The sequence following the Narada's arrival in which the ship is surrounded by Klingon ships, and Nero's subsequent imprisonment and interrogation on the Klingon prison planet, Rura Penthe, and the beginning of his escape. Parts of the Star Trek: Nero comic series were based on these scenes.
- An extended version of the events surrounding Kirk's Kobayashi Maru test, showing that he used Gaila to introduce a computer virus into the simulator, and a later scene where Kirk apologizes to an Orion crewmember on the Enterprise, only to realize that she is not Gaila.
- The elder Spock passing Sarek on his way out of the Starfleet Academy hangar.
Images[]
Novelization images[]
Promotional images[]
Film images[]
Connections[]
Timeline[]
| chronological order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous adventure: The Great Starship Race Prologue |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: When Worlds Collide: Spock Confronts the Ultimate Challenge Pages 1 & 6 |
| The above chronology placements are based on the primary placement in 2258. The Memory Beta Chronology places events from this story in 5 other timeframe(s): | ||
| Previous adventure: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier Chapter 14 |
2230 Chapter 1 (section 1) |
Next adventure: Sarek Chapter 5 |
| Previous adventure: The Final Reflection Part One |
2233 Chapters 1 (section 2) & 2 |
Next adventure: Burning Dreams Chapters 9 & 15 |
| Previous adventure: The Final Reflection Part Two |
2241 Chapter 3 (sections 1-3) |
Next adventure: Nor Iron Bars a Cage Flashback |
| Previous adventure: Sarek Chapter 7 |
2249 Chapter 3 (section 4-5) |
Next adventure: Best Destiny Chapters 2-5, 7-8, 10-15, 17-26, 28-31 & 37 |
| Previous adventure: A Private Anecdote Recollections |
2255 Chapter 4 |
Next adventure: Crisis on Centaurus Chapter 3 |
Production and publication history[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous novelization: Star Trek Nemesis |
Star Trek movies and novelizations | Next novelization: Star Trek Into Darkness |
| Previous novelization: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country |
TOS movies and novelizations | Next novelization: Star Trek Into Darkness |
| Previous novelization: The Expanse |
Star Trek novelizations | Next novelization: Star Trek Into Darkness |
| Previous story: The Man Who Trained Meteors |
Stories by: Alan Dean Foster |
Next story: Star Trek Into Darkness |
- 2009
- May
- 5 - Movie released Paramount Pictures. Written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, and directed by J.J. Abrams.
- Trade paperback novelization by Alan Dean Foster published by Pocket Books.
- Audiobook of the noveliation, read by Zachary Quinto, published by Simon and Schuster Audioworks.
- June - Hardcover reprint of the novelization published by Pocket Books.
- May
- 2010
- February 24 - "Star Trek Movie Adaptation, Number One", the first issue in the comic book adaptation, published by IDW Publishing. Adapted by Tim Jones and Mike Johnson with art by David Messina.
- March 17 - "Star Trek Movie Adaptation, Number Two" published by IDW Publishing.
- April 28 - "Star Trek Movie Adaptation, Number Three" published by IDW Publishing.
- May 24 - "Star Trek Movie Adaptation, Number Four" published by IDW Publishing.
- July 28 - "Star Trek Movie Adaptation, Number Five" published by IDW Publishing.
- September
- 1 - "Star Trek Movie Adaptation, Number Six" published by IDW Publishing.
- Mass market paperback reprint of the novelization published by Pocket Books.
- November - Paperback omnibus of the comic adaptation series published by IDW Publishing.
Translations[]
- 2009
- German language: Star Trek, translated by Susanne Döpke. (Cross Cult)
- 2009
- Japanese language: スター・トレック, translated by Mamoru Masuda. (Kadokawa Bunko)
External links[]
- Star Trek (2009) article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Star Trek (2009) article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Star Trek (2009) article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Official Star Trek movie website.