Spock

Spock, commonly called Mr. Spock, was one of the most famous fictional characters to be introduced in the original Star Trek television series. He is half human and half Vulcan, and was portrayed by actor Leonard Nimoy (except for some scenes in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock showing a younger Spock). more...

In the episode "This Side of Paradise", it is implied that Spock has an additional name. It seems likely that his family name is unpronounceable by those who speak Federation Standard and Spock is his familiar/personal name.

Personal life

Spock is the son of the Vulcan ambassador Sarek and his human wife Amanda Grayson. Although Spock identified himself as Vulcan, he had an ongoing internal conflict between the reason and logic of his Vulcan half and the emotion and intuition of his human half. By human standards, however, he was incredibly logical and utterly unflappable in the face of danger.

Spock had an older half-brother, Sybok, who eschewed pure logic. Spock is generally considered to have married at some point, as Captain Jean-Luc Picard once observed that he had met Sarek at "his son's wedding". The non-canon novel Vulcan's Heart features the marriage of Spock and Saavik. However, it is possible Sarek had another son and it was this brother of Spock's that could have married. There has never been evidence presented to decide the matter.

In the non-canon novel Yesterday's Son, Spock is revealed to have fathered a son while trapped in the past on the subsequently destroyed planet Sarpeidon. In the sequel, Time for Yesterday, Zar returns to mindmeld once more with the Guardian of Forever.

Early years

According to the non-canon animated series, Spock was subject to considerable harassment by his peers as a "half-breed" in his youth, and he was deeply conflicted as to what path to follow. To prove himself, he prematurely underwent an important coming of age trial without his parents' knowledge, but his pet sehlat, I-Chaya insisted on accompanying him against his guardian's wishes. During the trial, a dangerous beast attacked the pair and I-Chaya was seriously wounded fighting it. Although they were saved by a relative who had followed them (actually the adult Spock himself who had gone back in time to save himself at this moment), I-Chaya needed immediate medical attention. Although Spock was able to bring a healer, the sehlat was beyond meaningful aid when he arrived. When presented with the options granting his pet a painful extended life or a merciful release, Spock logically chose to have I-Chaya euthanized. That decision marked his commitment to follow the philosophies of Surak and the Vulcan ideals of logic and strict emotional control. (See Star Trek: The Animated Series for an explanation as to why this material is not considered canon by Paramount Pictures.)

In 2267, he earned the Vulcanian Scientific Legion of Honor and held an A7 computer expert classification.

Starfleet

Nearly Spock's entire Starfleet career — he joined Starfleet against his father's wishes, as Sarek wanted his son to attend the Vulcan Science Academy — was spent serving onboard a single ship, the famous starship USS Enterprise. He served for nearly eleven years under Captain Christopher Pike. Publications from the producers of the Original Series indicate that Spock's "backstory" had him assigned to the Enterprise while still a Cadet, and that he was later commissioned an Ensign and subsequently promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. The first time the viewing audience saw Spock he was a full Lieutenant, serving as a junior science officer onboard the Enterprise (Star Trek: The Cage), although series creator Gene Roddenberry originally billed Spock as the ship's First Lieutenant. Some of Spock's experiences serving under Captain Pike were depicted in the non-canon comic book series Star Trek: Early Voyages.

Spock's first temporary command was in 2254 when he ordered the evacuation of the Enterprise from Talos IV, after all of the senior officers had been kidnapped by the hostile inhabitants. In the early 2260s, Spock was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and assigned a dual commission as both the Executive Officer (or First Officer) and Senior Science Officer of the Enterprise under Captain James T. Kirk (Star Trek: The Original Series). By 2267, Spock had risen in rank to a full Commander. He resigned his commission in 2270 in order to return to Vulcan and undergo training for the Kolinahr discipline.

In 2271 Spock returned to active duty, reinstated as a Commander, and posted as the Senior Science Officer to the USS Enterprise. Following the V'ger crisis (chronicled in Star Trek: The Motion Picture), and the loss of Enterprise Executive Officer, Captain Willard Decker, Spock apparently resumed his dual post of First Officer and Senior Science Officer of the USS Enterprise. It is assumed that another mission of exploration followed this event, however this has yet to be established into canon.

A number of years later, the Enterprise was assigned as a training vessel under Starfleet Academy. Spock was promoted to Captain and assigned as the Commanding Officer of the USS Enterprise as Kirk had reverted to his former rank of Admiral in Starfleet Command. In 2282, Spock was temporarily relieved of command during the Genesis Crisis (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), when Admiral James T. Kirk took command of the Enterprise as per Starfleet regulations in order to investigate an emergency situation surrounding the Regula I scientific research space station, but ultimately resulting in combat with the exiled tyrannt Khan Noonien Singh. During the final battle, Spock entered a radioactive antimatter control chamber without a protective suit. He performed this heroic deed in order to return the ship's warp engines to service just barely in time to allow the Enterprise to escape the explosion of the Genesis Device. While the planet Genesis was created, Spock died.

Rebirth

It was later discovered that Spock had transferred his katra, or spiritual essence, to the brain of a shipmate, Dr. Leonard McCoy, at death. In an honorary space burial Spock's body was enclosed in a torpedo and fired onto the rapidly forming Genesis planet (the work of the Genesis terraforming project). As the planet's gravitational fields were still in flux, the torpedo soft-landed. Spock's dead cells were "regenerated" by the Genesis Wave. Spock's body was actually "re-born" on the planet. It was later recovered and his katra returned to it in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. (The nature of the katra was further explored in Star Trek: Enterprise; see the main article on Vulcans for more about the katra.)

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