An Overlooked Star Trek Arc Quietly Predicted the Vulcan Race's Greatest Ability

One Star Trek story, overlooked by fans, secretly predicted the Vulcan’s greatest, and most unexpected, superpower. The Vulcans, one of Star Trek’s best known alien races, are devoted to total logic. Despite their great intellects, Vulcans are also one of the franchise’s strongest, and long-lived, species as well. This physical prowess allowed the Vulcans to shine as an Earth sport, and Star Trek: Voyager #1, from 1996, predicts it.

“The Storm,” appearing in Star Trek: Voyager #1, was written by Laurie S. Sutton and drawn by Jesus Redondo. Captain Janeway and Voyager’s senior officers are enjoying some downtime on the Holodeck. They have created a program simulating a day in the park, complete with games. Tom Paris tells Janeway he has waited all week to run a baseball program on the Holodeck that he picked up on Deep Space Nine. Several of the senior officers are playing, including Tuvok. Stepping up to the plate, Tuvok hits the equivalent of a home run, much to the crew’s surprise.

The Vulcans, Star Trek's Logical Aliens, Explained

The Vulcans Have Some Unique Physical and Mental Characteristics

The Vulcans are central to Star Trek lore, and debuted with the franchise. Mister Spock, the first Vulcan ever seen and still the best known, appeared in “The Cage,” the first Star Trek pilot. Although it had not been established at the time, the Vulcans were a deeply intellectual race. In ancient times, the Vulcans were savage and war-like, but the philosopher Surak showed them a better way: by embracing the philosophy of logic, and purging emotions. Surak single-handedly changed the destiny of a species, allowing the Vulcans to survive and thrive.

From the start, Spock stood out among the other Enterprise crew thanks to his pointed Vulcan ears and eyebrows, but his people possess other interesting characteristics as well. Vulcans are incredibly strong: in the episode “Amok Time,” a Pon-Farr-addled Spock uses his fists to completely smash a communications console. Alongside their great strength, the Vulcans also possess greater physical endurance, which also translates into incredibly long life spans. Spock’s father Sarek, born in the early 23rd century, lived deep into the 24th. Likewise, Spock lived 161 years, and could have potentially lived even longer had he not traveled to another universe.

The Vulcans Have Been Called "Computers" By Their Critics

One Episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Challenged the Idea Vulcans Were "Dull"

The Vulcans’ embrace of logic, and the rejection of emotions, give them an appearance of being dull. In the classic Star Trek, Doctor McCoy regularly teased Spock about his lack of emotions, or that he was like a “computer.” The actions of Spock and other Vulcans seem to give credence to McCoy’s assessment: Vulcans live simply, their quarters often sparsely furnished. For amusement, Vulcans engage in logic problems, or play lutes. Star Trek: Lower Decks pokes fun at this aspect of Vulcan culture, and it may seem like they are 23rd/24th century sticks in the mud.

Yet one episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine upended the idea that Vulcans look down on Earth's cultures and traditions. In the seventh season episode “Take Me Out to the Holosuite,” a Vulcan captain comes to the station. He and his all-Vulcan crew challenge Sisko and his station mates to a game of baseball in the Holo Suites. Sisko, who was a lifelong baseball fan, even after it had fallen out of vogue, accepted the challenge. Over the course of the game, the Vulcans absolutely destroyed Sisko and his team, winning by a considerable margin.

Airing during Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s seventh season, at the darkest hour of the Dominion War, “Take Me Out to the Holosuite” was a fun change of pace from the grim conflict taking place around them. While the premise, Vulcans playing baseball against humans, may sound absurd at first, it actually works beautifully. The episode showcased not only the Vulcan’s physical strength, but also their strategic abilities. Finally, it was one of the best examples seen in the Star Trek franchise of the arrogance that Vulcans can display.

Tuvok Predicted the Vulcan's Natural Ability at Baseball

What Other Sports Could the Vulcans Enjoy and Excel At?

And in Star Trek: Voyager #1, Tuvok’s time at the plate foreshadowed this little quirk of the Vulcans. When Tuvok played baseball on the HoloDeck, it can be safely assumed he had only heard of baseball via historical records, if at all. Deep Space Nine established that baseball all but died in the 21st century, so there is a good chance Tuvok had zero conception of what baseball entailed. But thanks to his Vulcan strength and intellect, Tuvok was able to excel at baseball on his very first try, foreshadowing the events of “Take Me Out to the Holosuite” by two years.

The Vulcans ability to quickly excel at Earth sports raises some amusing possibilities, namely they may enjoy others too. Football and ice hockey may be too violent or brutal for the peaceful Vulcans, but basketball could be appealing, as would golf and soccer. The Star Trek universe has also showcased sports that only exist in the future, and no doubt the Vulcans would excel at these as well. Their inherent physical strength and intellect make them the natural athletes of the Star Trek franchise.