Two different versions of Spock came face to face in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009), but that was not the first time Spock (Leonard Nimoy) had met his own doppelganger. In Star Trek: The Original Series and its subsequent films, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) met alternate versions of himself on multiple occasions. Some viewers may incorrectly assume that the first time two Spocks meet is in Star Trek (2009) when Zachary Quinto’s Spock meets the elderly Ambassador Spock from the Prime Universe. But Nimoy’s Spock actually met an alternate version of himself far earlier.
After the conclusion of Star Trek: The Original Series in 1969, the series soon became popular in syndication, prompting Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry to continue the adventures of the USS Enterprise crew in an animated series. Star Trek: The Animated Series began in 1973 and ran for two seasons, with most of the original cast returning to voice their respective characters. TAS had a few Star Trek firsts and introduced several concepts that later Trek shows have referenced. TAS first established Kirk’s middle name as Tiberius, saw Lt. Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) command the Enterprise for the first time, and introduced Spock to his first doppelganger.
Spock Met His Doppelganger In Star Trek: The Animated Series
In Star Trek: The Animated Series season 1, episode 7, “The Infinite Vulcan,” the Enterprise travels to Phylos to evaluate the planet for possible entry into the United Federation of Planets. While exploring Phylos, the Enterprise crew encounters a giant clone of Dr. Stavos Keniclius, known as Keniclius 5, who was a geneticist from the time of Earth’s Eugenics Wars. Keniclius uses Spock’s DNA to create a giant 25-foot-tall clone, referred to as Spock 2, to help him bring peace to the entire galaxy. After Captain Kirk and Spock manage to convince Keniclius that his plan is unnecessary, Spock 2 remains on Phylos to help Keniclius restore the local civilization.
Spock’s giant clone is not referenced again until nearly 50 years later, in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2, episode 2, “Kayshon, His Eyes Open.” When Ensign Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) and his friends visit the ship of a collector, they encounter the giant skeleton of Spock 2. Displayed hanging from the ceiling like a whale skeleton in a museum, Spock Two’s remains still wore the tattered remnants of a Starfleet uniform. While it’s unclear how long Spock 2 lived or how this collector managed to acquire his skeleton, it’s fun to think that a giant Spock was just living his life somewhere in the galaxy while the original Spock and the Enterprise crew were going on adventures.
2 Spocks Meeting In Star Trek 2009 Was Different From Kirk In 1 Way
Every time Captain Kirk met his doppelgangers, whether as a transporter duplicate or an android clone, the meeting ended in a fight. With his significant ego and tendency to take action, it’s not particularly surprising that two Kirks meeting would result in a brawl. To be fair to Kirk, though, he had rather bad luck with his doubles, as they generally tried to trick him or take his place. Spock, on the other hand, would not resort to fighting and would be curious to meet someone with the same logical mind as himself. When Spock meets his older self in Star Trek (2009), he leans on the wisdom and experience of the elderly Ambassador.
Ambassador Spock offers his younger self advice, urging him to remain in Starfleet and “do what feels right” rather than what is logical. It took decades for Prime Spock to come to the conclusion that “logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end,” but the young Spock is at the very beginning of that journey. In Star Trek Into Darkness, Quinto’s Spock would call on his Prime universe counterpart again for advice on how to defeat the villainous Khan Noonien-Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch). The circumstances of Spock’s meetings with his double in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movies are very different than Kirk’s in TOS, but Spock makes the logical decision to work with his alternate self rather than against him.
