My 6 Favorite Spock Scenes In Star Trek Movies Make Me Love The Vulcan Even More

   

Spock appears in 9 Star Trek movies, but these six scenes define why I love the heroic Vulcan. Originated by Leonard Nimoy, Spock is Star Trek's signature character. As a half-human and half-Vulcan, Spock is torn between logic and emotion, and his internal struggle makes the Vulcan Science Officer an enduringly fascinating character, as does Spock's eternal loyalty to his best friend, Captain James T. Kirk, played by Willliam Shatner and Chris Pine in the Star Trek movies.

Star Trek: Why Spock Almost Didn't Return For Phase II

Spock is central to the first six motion pictures starring the cast of Star Trek: The Original Series, which were released theatrically from 1979 to 1991. In the interim, Leonard Nimoy became a celebrated director, helming Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, which was the highest-grossing Star Trek movie until J.J. Abrams' Star Trek (2009). Nimoy reprised Spock in Abrams' Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, though Zachary Quinto took center stage as a younger, alternate-reality Spock in all 3 Abrams-produced films.

In his every Star Trek movie appearance, Spock is pivotal to the story, and his heroic nature is continually reaffirmed. Through death, rebirth, and a re-dedication to Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets, Spock continually saves the galaxy alongside his crew aboard the USS Enterprise. Spock then helps create an entirely new Star Trek timeline, which is where the Vulcan spent his final years. Every time I see these Spock scenes in Star Trek movies, I'm reminded why I love Spock.

6 Spock Meets Spock

Star Trek 2009

Spock Meets Spock in Star Trek 2009

Star Trek (2009) ends with Leonard Nimoy's Ambassador Spock (or Spock Prime) meeting his younger Kelvin timeline counterpart. Before this moment, Zachary Quinto's Commander Spock was unaware that his older doppelgänger from Star Trek's Prime timeline was in his alternate reality. However, it was Spock Prime who 'nudged' James T. Kirk and Spock toward each other, knowing that their burgeoning friendship would be crucial to saving Earth from the Romulan villain Nero (Eric Bana).

Ambassador Spock urged Commander Spock to remain in Starfleet, noting that he can now be "in two places at once," allowing the elder Spock to help repopulate Vulcan. Spock Prime concludes with a witty observation: "Since my customary farewell would appear oddly self-serving, I shall simply say... good luck." It's a crackling moment between Nimoy and Quinto. The two Spocks would meet again in Star Trek Into Darkness, but Star Trek (2009) is the only time they share the same physical space.

The two Spocks together on screen in Star Trek (2009) is a moment that lives long and prospers

Zachary Quinto's Spock would be a lightning rod of controversy, from his anger and emotions always boiling just beneath the surface, to Spock's controversial romance with Lt. Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana), and Spock's uncharacteristically violent slugfest with Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch). But the two Spocks together on screen in Star Trek (2009) is a moment that lives long and prospers.

5Spock's Spacewalk & Mind Meld With V'Ger

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Spock in a space suit encountering V'Ger

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a special effects extravaganza that brought a dazzling new sheen Star Trek's 1960s TV incarnation could not achieve. One of the most spectacular, mind-bending moments of the first Star Trek movie is Spock's space walk. To unlock the mystery of the massive starship called V'Ger, Spock donned a space suit and rocketed himself into V'Ger's inner sanctum, where the Vulcan performed a mind meld with the sentient machine.

Spock linking minds with V'Ger is the culmination of the Vulcan's eye-popping, psychedelic journey where no one has gone before. In these moments, Star Trek: The Motion Picture achieved the ineffable. While the ordeal of mind-melding with V'Ger rendered Spock unconscious, he was rescued and brought safely aboard the Starship Enterprise. There, Spock wept for V'Ger "as if he were a brother," as he finally met a being whose unfathomable loneliness and desperate search for answers exceeded his own.