Summary
Throughout the franchise,Star Trekwriters have relied on familiar tropes. One that they’ve come back to several times is that of the “long-lost family member.” Spock had two siblings that no one had ever heard of — his half-brother Sybok and his foster sister,Michael Burnham. Worf had abrother, Kurn, he’d never met and a foster brother he never talked about, Nikolai Rozhenko. Even Data, an android, had a long-lost evil twin and a little brother.
Then there’s the original “long-lost relative” of theStar Trekfranchise — Captain James T. Kirk’s son. Since Kirk was a notorious ladies' man, finding out he had a son he never knew about wasn’t a stretch. But the secondStar Trek: The Original Seriesmovie,Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, didn’t introduce a surprise son, but a son Kirk definitely knew he had, even though he’d never once mentioned him.
Who is David Marcus?
David Marcus was a scientist involved in Project Genesis, a top-secret research and development project that developed the Genesis Device. This device was capable of completely reforming the molecules on a planet to transform it into a planet inhabitable for humanoids. David worked on Project Genesis withhis mother, Carol Marcus, who was a brilliant scientist, as well as James T. Kirk’s former lover.
David never knew his father because his mother, Carol, insisted that Kirk not be a part of his life. She knew that their relationship wouldn’t work out long-term, and she didn’t want David to spend his whole life chasing his father’s attention as he explored the stars. Kirk respected her wishes, though he didn’t want to, and he stayed away from his son.
The first time they first met, David was deeply distrustful of Kirk. He believed Kirk was a typical military man who just wanted to use the Genesis Device for nefarious purposes. But as they got to know each other, David realized that his father’s ideals were based onpeaceful exploration, not violent destruction. Eventually, David decided he was proud to be Kirk’s son, and told him as much.
Saving Spock on the Genesis Planet
At the end ofThe Wrath of Khan, the Genesis Device detonates and creates a new planet, known only as the Genesis Planet. In the nextTOSmovie,The Search for Spock, David travels to the Genesis Planet on the U.S.S Grissom with Saavik, a Vulcan Starfleet officer and protégé of Spock’s, to study the planet formed by his revolutionary device. Though there wasn’t supposed to be life on the planet, the Grissom detects life signs on the planet’s surface, and David and Saavik transport down to investigate. To their shock, they find a young Vulcan boy on the planet.
When Spock died at the end ofThe Wrath of Khan, the Enterprise sent his entombed body to the Genesis planet. Upon finding the Vulcan boy, David deduces that the Genesis Device had reorganized Spock’s molecular structure, making him into a young child again. Unfortunately, the planet is unstable due to some corner cutting that David did when building the Genesis Device. The planet is deteriorating, and young Spock’s growth is inextricably linked to the deterioration of the planet. As conditions on the planet get worse, Spock ages rapidly and painfully.
As Saavik and David try to find a way to get off the planet with Spock, they are captured by Klingons.The Klingonsheard about the Genesis Device and are determined to get their hands on one, not to create a new planet, but to destroy one. Since the Genesis Device rearranges all the matter on a planet to create a habitable environment, if it were detonated on an inhabited planet, it would wipe out all life there.
David and Saavik try to convince the Klingons that Project Genesis was a failure because it produced unstable results, but the Klingons aren’t interested. They are determined to get all the information about Genesis they could, by any means necessary.
David’s Noble Sacrifice
Kirk and his skeleton crew ofTOSregulars were already headed to the Genesis Planet to retrieve Spock’s body so they could transfer hisKatra out of Bones. When they arrive, they encounter the Klingons seeking the Genesis Device. When the Klingon captain tries to get information from Kirk about Project Genesis and Kirk refuses, the Klingon captain threatens to kill their Starfleet prisoners, one by one, until they get the information they need.
David tries to convince his father not to give up the information, because he is sure the Klingons were bluffing. He doesn’t believe they would kill for information about a device that hadn’t worked correctly. Unfortunately, he was wrong.
When the Klingon captain gives the order to kill one of the hostages, the Klingon guards choose Saavik. As one of the Klingons raises a knife to her throat, David pounces on him. They struggle for a few moments, but David was always a scientist, not a fighter. The Klingon stabs him, and David dies.
Kirk is devastated, and takes out all his anger on the Klingon crew. After killing the whole crew, he returns to sit beside the body of his son. When Kirk asks Saavik what happened, she assures Kirk that David gave his life to save her and Spock, telling him that he died a hero.
Will Fans See a Baby David inStar Trek: Strange New Worlds?
Late in the second season ofStrange New Worlds,Lieutenant James T. Kirk tells La’an Noonien-Singh that his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Carol, is pregnant. Fans already know that Kirk will be a frequent visitor to the Enterprise in theshow’s third season, so it’s possible Carol could make an appearance as well. Depending on the timing of the events in season 3, Kirk may even get to meet his infant son.
One of the best things aboutStrange New Worldsis seeing the origin stories of some ofStar Trek’smost beloved characters, and seeing how they became the characters fans know and love. It would be interesting to see a young Kirk, in a committed relationship, trying to negotiate how to be in his son’s life, especially when fans are so used to seeing single, childless Kirk kissing every woman in sight.
Sources:Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek: The Search for Spock, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
