At Last, Star Trek Just Addressed One of Spock's Most Annoying Plot Holes With Help From a Familiar Starfleet Captain

Star Trek just closed one of Spock’s biggest plot holes, thanks to the help of a Starfleet legend. In Star Trek #26, Captain Sisko and his crew travel to the Kelvin Universe. There, they meet Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise. The crew mingle, and in the process, a plot point from Star Trek Beyond regarding Spock is finally addressed.

Star Trek #26 is written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly and drawn by Angel Hernandez. Sisko and the Theseus, having just escaped from a tense encounter in Fluidic Space, arrive at the Kelvin Universe, where they are intercepted by the Enterprise, under Kirk’s command. Kelvin Kirk informs Sisko he knew about their arrival thanks to Prime Spock. Prime Spock, who fought alongside Sisko during Day of Blood, left a note to his Kelvin counterpart to expect Sisko. The issue ends with the Kelvin Universe’s destruction, but now Sisko carries with him the knowledge of what happened to Prime Spock.

Spock Was So Central to the Star Trek Franchise, He Helped Create an Entirely New Universe Within It

Star Trek's Kelvin Universe Became Prime Spock's Home

Star Trek’s Kelvin Universe, introduced in JJ Abrams’ 2009 big-budget reimagining of the franchise, was in part created thanks to Spock. In the late 24th century, the star of the Romulan homeworld went supernova, and Spock, who had devoted the latter part of his life to Vulcan-Romulan reunification, tried in vain to stop it. His effort to curtail the star’s destruction sent him back in time to the early 23rd century. A Romulan named Nero, who blamed Spock for Romulus’ destruction, followed him back–and created the Kelvin timeline.

The Kelvin Universe would also become Prime Spock’s final resting place, as revealed in 2016’s Star Trek Beyond. Prime Spock never saw home again, but, as seen in Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek #26, he left notes for his younger, alternate universe selves. Prime Spock warned Kelvin Kirk of Khan’s evil, and told him to expect Ben Sisko. Prime Spock, despite being far from home, still worked to help his new friends. However, in the Prime timeline, Spock disappeared and was assumed to have died trying to stop the Romulan supernova.

As revealed in season three of Star Trek: Discovery, set in the 32nd century, Prime Starfleet did not learn of Spock’s death in the Kelvin timeline until later. The episode did not reveal exactly when they learned of Spock’s passing. This means Starfleet may not have known about Spock until the 31st century at the latest, meaning his fate was up in the air for centuries. Furthermore, Discovery strongly implied that those who travel the multiverse suffer, meaning Spock may have died a less than peaceful death.

Will Captain Sisko Tell Starfleet About Prime Spock, or the Kelvin Universe?

Sisko Could Create Even More Temporal Pardoxes

Assuming Captain Sisko survives the forthcoming Lore War, he can take knowledge of Prime Spock’s fate as well as the Kelvin Universe back to Starfleet. As mentioned earlier, it was never revealed when exactly Starfleet learned about the Kelvin timeline, meaning Sisko could be the one to tip them off. Furthermore, Sisko’s arrival creates even more possibilities for a temporal paradox in the Star Trek universe, as, from his perspective, Spock has not yet tried to stop the supernova. Armed with this knowledge, Sisko can not only potentially save Prime Spock, but stop the Romulan Supernova as well.