Strange New Worlds Makes A Kirk Star Trek Feat Even More Impressive
Captain Kirk's most famous one-on-one victory looks even more impressive thanks to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. William Shatner saved the day often during his 1960s Star Trek adventures, but that famous image of Captain Kirk battered and bloodied on a dusty planet, torn shirt barely clinging to his back, largely derives from «Arena.» The pesky Metrons trap Kirk (representing the Federation) and a Gorn captain (representing his hegemony) on an alien world to settle their territory disagreement. Though Kirk is the clear underdog, his ingenuity and resourcefulness win out as the Enterprise captain fashions a makeshift cannon to bring down his opponent.
Despite partaking in one of Star Trek's most iconic episodes, the Gorn have barely featured in the franchise since, only making sporadic appearances - many of which are brief cameos. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode 4 («Memento Mori») makes amends by bringing Captain Christopher Pike ship-to-ship with the troublesome reptilians. Set years before Kirk's showdown, a squad of Gorn ships prey upon the Enterprise after attacking a colony Pike's crew was transporting supplies to. One fierce game of fish-and-lizard later, the Enterprise crew's ingenuity allows them to escape… very much scathed.
Related: Strange New Worlds Secretly Repeats A Classic Star Trek Episode
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds reveals plenty of new Gorn tidbits, and all of them make James T. Kirk defeating a Gorn captain while totally unarmed look like a more astounding achievement than it already did. «Memento Mori» presents the Gorn hegemony as some kind of mythical boogeymen — a force so great, victims can only choose between running and dying. La'an Noonien Singh acts like the Gorn's arrival is a death
Read more on screenrant.com
