Star Trek Just Gave One of The Original Series' Underrated Aliens a Much-Needed Makeover

Star Trek just gave one of the Original Series’ most underrated aliens a much-needed makeover. Throughout Captain Kirk’s first five-year mission, the Enterprise encountered numerous alien races, some of them powerful, and not all of them entirely friendly. Now, in Star Trek: Lower Decks #2, an alien race fulfilling those criteria makes a grand return–and receives a modern makeover in the process.

Star Trek: Lower Decks #2 is written by Ryan North and drawn by Derek Charm. Mariner, Boimler and the rest of the Lower Deckers have been suddenly transported to the surface of a mysterious planet. After a short while, the truth stands revealed: they have been abducted by the Excalibans, a species first appearing in the Original Series. The telepath, rock-like Excalibans seek to better understand human nature, and to this end, they force the Lower Deckers to fight holographic recreations of famous Starfleet personnel. They will then broadcast the fights across the galaxy to other Excalibans.

The Excalibans' Role in the Star Trek Universe, Explained

The Excalibans, Like A Lot of Other One-Off Races, Had a Lot of Potential

Star Trek: Lower Decks, both the television program and comic book, traffic in deep, deep cuts from across the franchise, and it gets no deeper than the Excalibans. Introduced in Star Trek’s third season, in the episode titled “The Savage Curtain,” the Excalibans abduct Kirk and a handful of officers. It was the first contact between the Excalibans and the Federation, and the former was curious about the new arrivals. “The Savage Curtain” famously opens with former United States President Abraham Lincoln zipping in space towards the Enterprise before their kidnapping. It was a harbinger of the weirdness to come.

Once on the planet, Kirk and company are joined with Lincoln, who turned out to be a holographic envoy sent by the Excalibans, who were forced to fight recreations of evil people from history, and Star Trek: Lower Decks #2 mirrors this plot. In “The Savage Curtain,” the Excalibans recreate other famous, good and noble people to help Kirk, such as Lincoln and Surak, a famous Vulcan philosopher. Among the bad guys were Genghis Khan and the Klingon messiah Kahless. The two teams fought, and in the end, Kirk’s moral nature impressed the Excalibans, and they were free to go.

The Excalibans embodied a dichotomy: they were an advanced race living on the surface of a seemingly inhospitable world–a sign of their great power.

The Excalibans never made another canonical, on-screen appearance, making them another great unknown in the Star Trek universe. This is a shame, as the Excalibans were one of the more intriguing, and certainly more exotic, species Kirk and his crew encountered. The Excalibans did not look like any other type of race Kirk had met thus far. Their rock-like appearance sets them apart from the likes of the Klingons or the Romulans. The Excalibans embodied a dichotomy: they were an advanced race living on the surface of a seemingly inhospitable world–a sign of their great power.

Another rock-like Star Trek species are the Brikar, who were created for the novels, but made the jump to canon thanks to Prodigy.

The Excalibans shared another trait common with many alien races in the Original Series: they possessed fantastic, almost god-like telepathic powers. They were able to read the minds of Kirk and company, as well as create stunning life-like replicas of people they had never met before, seemingly out of thin air. How the Excalibans were able to create these replicas was never revealed, furthering the mystery. The Enterprise meets a number of ancient and powerful races, and the Excalibans rank among the weirdest, and the most terrifying. Fortunately, Kirk was able to reason with them.

 

Star Trek: Lower Decks Makes the Excalibans Relevant

The Excalibans May Be More Powerful Than the Federation Thinks

 

Beyond simply calling out bits of Star Trek lore, Lower Decks also subverts them, and they work their magic here with the Excalibans. The similarities between the plots of “The Savage Curtain” and Star Trek: Lower Decks #2 are there, but they are also only surface level. In Star Trek: Lower Decks #2, the Excalibans are seeking to still understand the nature of lesser beings, hence kidnapping Mariner and company. The Excalibans still believe fighting is the best way to accomplish their studies, but now they are going to broadcast it to every other Excaliban around the galaxy.

The Excaliban’s broadcast also raises questions about the species' ability to travel. Star Trek: Lower Decks #2 never says exactly what planet the Excalibans brought Boimler and company to, but it was hospitable. In “The Savage Curtain,” the planet Kirk was sent to, assumed to be the Excaliban homeworld, was volcanic and hardly suitable for human life. The Excalibans used their powers to make it safe for humans. Lower Decks #2 strongly implies that the Excalibans are capable of space travel, which, given their levels of power, should not come as a surprise.

Should the Federation Really Be Afraid of the Excalibans?

The Excalibans Can Be a True Threat--But They Do Not Seem Interested

Regardless of whether the Excalibans have space travel capabilities or not, they are still a legitimate threat to the Federation, especially if they are out and about in the galaxy. Their mental powers could potentially let them sway the minds of others, giving them influence over galactic affairs. Furthermore, their ability to create perfect replicas of people gives them instant armies which they can use to conquer the Federation. Fortunately, the Excalibans seem not to be interested in conquest, merely learning. In this regard, they are no different from Starfleet.

The Excalibans are going to learn about human nature and apparently be entertained while they do it.

Where they do differ is in the motives. When Kirk met the Excalibans in the original Star Trek, they made no mention of broadcasting the fights. The Excalibans are going to learn about human nature and apparently be entertained while they do it. What led to this shift in the Excaliban mindset is unknown, but makes them even deadlier, as it shows even more contempt for lesser beings. When coupled with the potential to travel the galaxy, the Excalibans got a modern makeover that makes them worthy of future appearances in the Star Trek universe.