Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban) isn't the real reason why the United Federation of Planets abandoned the Genesis Device in Star Trek. Project Genesis and the Genesis Device were introduced in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The result of the terraforming technology, the Genesis Planet, exploded in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Genesis was responsible for the resurrection of Spock (Leonard Nimoy) in Star Trek III, but while Khan's villainy led to Spock's death, to begin with, the genetically engineered tyrant ultimately is only part of why Project Genesis was a failure.
Project Genesis is the brainchild of Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch) and David Marcus (Merritt Butrick), her son with Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner). The Genesis Device was revolutionary technology that could terraform a dead planet into one capable of supporting human life. Carol and David meant for Genesis to address the problems of hunger and overpopulation in the Federation. In Star Trek II, the Genesis Device was stolen by Khan, who sought revenge on his old enemy, Kirk. Khan weaponized the Genesis Device, and the resulting explosion created the unstable Genesis Planet.
Kirk's Son David Marcus Is The Reason Star Trek’s Genesis Device Failed
David lied about Genesis
While Khan is blamed for turning the Genesis Device into a devastating weapon of mass destruction, the genetically engineered warlord isn't the reason for Project Genesis' ultimate failure. The fault belongs to David Marcus. In Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, David admitted to Lt. Saavik (Robin Curtis) that his impatience to make Genesis work led to him using protomatter in the Genesis matrix. Protomatter is an unstable element that, in turn, made the Genesis Planet unstable. Just weeks after its creation, the Genesis Planet self-destructed soon after David Marcus was murdered by Klingons led by Kruge (Christopher Lloyd).
Naturally, once the Federation learned the truth about Project Genesis, it abandoned the technology. What isn't clear is whether Dr. Carol Marcus knew David used protomatter in the Genesis matrix. Carol didn't appear in Star Trek III, and this question remains unanswered. Regardless, Genesis could not safely and sustainably do what it was designed to do. Certainly, Khan's evil use of Genesis proved it was deadly in the wrong hands, but Genesis was still fatally flawed in its intended use.
The Real Reason Why Star Trek Abandoned The Genesis Device
Genesis outlived its story usefulness
In real life, the Genesis Device was a problem because it was a deus ex machina. Because Genesis allowed the Federation to be able to create planets, this could have become a story problem down the road for Star Trek. Alternatively, Genesis as a doomsday weapon was a story that was already effectively done in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and could not be repeated.
Producer Harve Bennett walked back Project Genesis by making it fatally flawed.
When writing Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, producer Harve Bennett walked back Project Genesis by making it fatally flawed. Bennett concocted David Marcus using 'protomatter' in the Genesis matrix to ensure the Genesis Device became something the Federation would not use in the future. The Genesis Device was an ingenious idea as the MacGuffin in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but it outlived its usefulness in Star Trek III.
Star Trek Brought Back The Genesis Device
The Genesis Device made two comebacks
The Genesis Device became part of Star Trek lore and wasn't seen again after Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, but that all changed almost 40 years later. In 2023, Star Trek: Picard season 3 reintroduced Project Genesis. A new version of the Genesis Device was seen in a top-secret vault aboard Daystrom Station, Section 31's black site where they house the Federation's most dangerous technology. Captain William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Captain Worf (Michael Dorn), and Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) passed by the Genesis II Device in Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 6, "The Bounty."
Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4's finale revealed that the Ferengi had black-market Genesis technology, and they sold a replica Genesis Device to disgraced ex-Starfleet cadet Nicholas Locarno (Robert Duncan McNeill). Not unlike Khan a century prior, Locarno planned to use the Genesis Device against the Federation. Locarno's plot was foiled by Lt. Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), and Nick perished in Genesis' explosion, which created a new world with Locarno's DNA mixed in its matrix. Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 is set 20 years before Star Trek: Picard season 3, so perhaps Section 31 got a handle on Project Genesis, and put it into cold storage - until Star Trek needs the Genesis Device again.
