Star Trek turned 2023 into Scotty’s year, and he proved more than worthy of it with some all-time career highlights. As the Chief Engineer of the Enterprise under Captain Kirk, Scotty saved the ship multiple times, earning the nickname “the Miracle Worker.” After a distinguished career in Starfleet, Scotty attempted to retire–but fate had other ideas. En route to his destination, Scotty’s ship falls into the gravitational pull of a Dyson Sphere and crashed on it. To ensure his survival, Scotty put himself into a transporter buffer, preserving his life.
Awakening in the 24th century, Scotty was at first a man out of time. As befitting someone of his intellect and skills, Scotty quickly caught up and returned to Starfleet. Currently, he is serving as Chief Engineer of the USS Theseus, the central ship in IDW’s flagship Star Trek comic. Scotty’s engineering prowess once again was on full display, and 2023 saw the character soar to new heights. Here are some of the exciting developments in Scotty’s life this year.
Star Trek Officially Gives Scotty the Legacy He Deserves
Star Trek’s most famous Scottish engineer is even smarter than fans knew as his place in franchise history is redefined.
Scotty “Wrote the Book” on the Laws of Physics
Throughout his illustrious Starfleet career, Scotty served on a variety of starships and not just the Enterprise. These diverse postings gave Scotty a depth of knowledge beyond his peers, experiences that would come in handy both on the Enterprise and the Theseus. In Star Trek #3, Scotty, while watching a spatial anomaly, declared it was violating nearly every known rule of physics. Scotty explains he would know, as he wrote “half of them.” This story shows that not only is Scotty a Starfleet legend, but that he practically wrote the book on starship engineering–a true testament to his genius.
Not Even Star Trek’s “Gods” Are a Match for Scotty
During his time as the Enterprise’s chief engineer, Scotty encountered a number of god-like beings, such as Redjac and Trelane, and in the case of Redjac, suffered horrible trauma at their hands. However, this year’s Star Trek comics showed that Scotty had what it takes to put them in their place. In Star Trek #4, Scotty, working with the enigmatic Vulcan T’Lir, helps develop a method of detecting god-like beings, such as Q, who was threatening the Theseus. Furthermore, Scotty was instrumental in preventing the God City of the T’Kon from destroying Earth. To help vanquish not one, but two different Star Trek “gods” was a personal highlight for Scotty.
2023 Gave Scotty a Connection to Star Trek: Prodigy
IDW’s Star Trek title has brought in elements of the newer shows (colloquially referred to by fans as “nu-Trek’) and connected them to its story. For example, Shaxs (from Lower Decks), joined the crew for several issues. In Star Trek #6, another connection to nu-Trek was revealed: Scotty helped design the proto-warp drive system seen on Star Trek: Prodigy. Designed in conjunction with B’Elanna Torres, the proto-warp drive harnessed the power of a baby star, using it to propel the ship at speeds far beyond conventional warp drive. The proto-drive is an engineering miracle, and it is only fitting it began with Scotty.
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The Ship That Won Star Trek’s God War Was All Thanks to Scotty
The USS Theseus, the central ship in IDW’s flagship Star Trek comic, is one of the most impressive ships in Starfleet history, and it is all thanks to Scotty. Unlike other ships in the fleet, the Theseus is modular in nature, with parts and components easily swapped out for others. Thanks to this design, the ship is over 100 years old. While this may seem to render the ship unfit to fight in the god war, in fact Scotty made the ship battle ready. In Star Trek #3, Scotty revealed that most of the modern parts of the Theseus, the ones that turned the tide of the god war, were all his doing.
Scotty Got to Say Goodbye to an Old Friend in 2023
Scotty served under Captain Kirk on the Enterprise for decades, and the two developed a close friendship. However, Scotty never got the proper chance to say goodbye to Kirk, believing the captain to have died on the maiden voyage of the Enterprise NCC-1701-B. This year’s Star Trek Annual gave Scott the chance to say goodbye at last–sort of. An alien intelligence took over the Holodeck, creating duplicates of famous Starfleet personnel, including Captain Kirk. Scotty and the Holo-Kirk had a heart-to-heart talk, which gave the engineer the opportunity to find closure with his old friend.
Fans Got Insight Into Scotty’s Psyche in 2023
An unfortunate aspect of the classic Star Trek show was that characters outside the “trinity” (Kirk, Spock and McCoy) received little in the way of character development. This can be chalked up to the standards of television at the time, which had yet to embrace ensemble casts. However, Star Trek #13 gave Scotty some unexpected depth by revealing that he had not set foot on a planet in 70 years. While some of this time can be attributed to the years he spent in suspended animation, Scotty has had ample opportunities to return to Earth, or anywhere else, but has passed up on it. A lifetime of service in Starfleet has made Scotty largely rootless, something unexpected for fans.
Scotty’s Iconic Catchphrase Took On New Meaning in 2023
In the original Star Trek series, Scotty often warned Captain Kirk and the crew that the engines would blow up if they pushed them too hard. This would go on to become one of Scotty’s catchphrases, and 2023 gave it new depth. The Theseus is the apple of Scotty’s eye, a ship whose refit he personally supervised. Scotty knows every inch of the ship, and as he explains this to Captain Sisko, he tells them “when I tell ya she’s going to blow, assume I know what I’m talking about, aye.” Scotty’s catchphrase here becomes a symbol of his vast skills and knowledge.
Scotty Was Reunited With Spock–But It Did Not Go as Fans Would Expect
While Scotty may have never gotten the chance for a proper goodbye with Captain Kirk, he was reunited with Mister Spock, presumably for the first time in decades in Star Trek: Defiant #6. Spock and Scotty were on opposite sides: Spock with Worf’s rebel crew on the Defiant and Scotty with Sisko on the Theseus. While the two crews struggle to work together, Spock and Scotty pick up where they left off. Scotty was surprised to see Spock, so much so he asked the Vulcan for a hug. While Spock declines, two old friends are back together again.
Star Trek Just Upgraded TOS’ Talosians into a Major New Galactic Threat
The Talosians are one of the oldest, and most mysterious, races in the Star Trek universe, and now they are its biggest threat.
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2023 was a busy and vibrant year for Scotty, one that reasserted his status as a Star Trek icon. In addition to the comics, Scotty returned to television in the second season finale of Strange New Worlds. What 2024 has in store for Scotty, and the rest of the crew of the Theseus, is anyone’s guess, but the engineer’s banner 2023 promises great things.
