17 Years Ago, Star Trek Confirmed Its Multiverse Was Different From Marvel’s

Image credit: MovieStillsDB Published Aug 12, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT John Orquiola is a New & Classic TV Editor, Senior Writer, and Interviewer with a special focus on Star Trek. John has over 5,000 published articles at SR, and he has interviewed the biggest names in Star Trek on the red carpet and VIP events, among other beloved shows, movies, and franchises. Sign in to your ScreenRant account J.J. Abrams' 2009 reboot established new rules for Star Trek's multiverse that differ from how the Marvel Cinematic Universe now portrays its alternate realities and divergent timelines. Star Trek was a pioneer in the concept of alternate timelines, having introduced the Mirror Universe, where Star Trek's characters were identical but evil, in season 2 of Star Trek: The Original Series. Over a decade after Star Trek (2009), Marvel Studios dove headlong into its Multiverse Saga, with Loki establishing that the main MCU seen in the films is considered the "Sacred Timeline" (Earth-616). However, the MCU acknowledged the existence of other universes, as seen in previous Marvel movies from other studios, from Sony's Spider-Man to Fox's X-Men and Fantastic Four sagas, while also teasing countless other parallel realities. Marvel's method was designed to integrate the many diverse movies that preceded or ran parallel to The Avengers and other heroes in the MCU's Earth-616. As such, Marvel Studios also acknowledged that while some characters and actors repeat throughout the multiverse, they sometimes look different and lived lives that wildly diverged from their MCU counterparts. J.J. Abrams’ Reboot Showed How Star Trek’s Multiverse Is Different From Marvel’s J.J. Abrams' Star Trek (2009) set different rules from what Marvel Studios would utilize. These were embodied by Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy), whose time travel was partially responsible for the alternate Kelvin timeline's creation, along with the Romulan villain Nero (Eric Bana). When Spock Prime arrived in the 23rd-century alternate reality and was stranded on Delta Vega, he soon met James T. Kirk (Chris Pine). The elder Spock immediately recognized Kirk as his youthful self, meaning Spock Prime saw what he remembered the young William Shatner looked like as Kirk. The Vulcan Ambassador did not acknowledge or define Pine's Kirk as looking different or being a different person. Spock met his younger Kelvin Timeline counterpart, Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto), at the end of Star Trek (2009). Again, the elder Vulcan did not treat his counterpart as looking or being different than himself. The inference is Quinto was the same Spock as Nimoy, just decades younger and living in an alternate reality. Star Trek Beyond inferred the same after Spock Prime's death. Commander Spock received a box of his doppelgänger's belongings, including a photo of the aged crew of the Starship Enterprise. The Kelvin timeline Spock looked at the photo and saw what his own crew would look like in a few decades, not a bunch of different people who are Kirk, Spock, Uhura, etc. from another universe. Since J.J. Abrams' movie characters have not crossed into Star Trek's Prime Timeline, there's been no way to acknowledge from the other side of the mirror that Pine's Kirk looks identical to Shatner's, and Quinto's Spock looks the same as Nimoy's, to everyone in-universe, despite the different actors playing them. In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Paul Wesley's Kirk is the same Kirk Shatner played, just younger, the same as Ethan Peck and Nimoy's Spock. Marvel Studios took a different tack than Star Trek. Spider-Man: No Way Home confirmed that while Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire are all Peter Parker and Spider-Man, they also all look completely different. No one perceived them as looking identical. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Deadpool & Wolverine did the same with their many Marvel doppelgängers, as will Avengers: Doomsday. Star Trek Into Darkness Raised Unanswered Questions About Star Trek’s Multiverse Star Trek Into Darkness threw a wrench into the previous film's rule about alternate reality doppelgängers by introducing Khan Noonien Singh. Portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch, Khan originated from the Prime Timeline's 20th century and was cryogenically frozen over 200 years before the Kelvin Timeline was created in 2233. Therefore, he is meant to be the same Khan played by Ricardo Montalban. Stardate 47988.1 · Crew Assessment The Final FrontierTrivia Challenge 🚀ShipsEnterprise! ⭐CrewMake it so ☠EnemiesResistance is… ⚡TechWarp speed! 📖LoreLive long… ENGAGE → 01 The USS Enterprise is the most iconic starship in science fiction. What is the registry number of Captain Kirk’s original Enterprise from The Original Series? ANCC-1701-D BNX-01 CNCC-1701 DNCC-74656 ✓ Correct! NCC-1701 is the registry of Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise. The “-D” suffix belongs to Picard’s Galaxy-class ship, NX-01 is Archer’s Enterprise, and NCC-74656 is Voyager. ✗ Red alert! The answer is NCC-1701. Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise carried this now-legendary registry. NCC-1701-D is Picard’s Enterprise from TNG, NX-01 is Captain Archer’s, and NCC-74656 belongs to Voyager. NEXT → 02 Kirk’s most trusted officer is a half-human, half-Vulcan science officer famous for his logic and iconic salute. Who is this legendary character? AData BSpock CTuvok DSarek ✓ Correct! Mr. Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, is the half-Vulcan science officer whose “Live long and prosper” salute became a cultural icon. His struggle between logic and emotion defines the heart of the Original Series. ✗ Red alert! The answer is Spock. Data is an android from TNG, Tuvok is Voyager’s Vulcan tactical officer, and Sarek is Spock’s Vulcan father. Only Spock is the half-human, half-Vulcan first officer of Kirk’s Enterprise. NEXT → 03 Starfleet’s most important regulation forbids interference with the natural development of alien civilizations. What is this guiding principle called? AThe Temporal Accord BGeneral Order One CThe Omega Directive DThe Prime Directive ✓ Correct! The Prime Directive (also known as General Order 1) is Starfleet’s most sacred law. It prohibits interfering with less-developed civilizations — though Kirk, Picard, and Janeway have all famously bent or broken it when lives were at stake. ✗ Red alert! The answer is the Prime Directive. While “General Order One” is technically another name for it, the Prime Directive is the universally known term. The Omega Directive and Temporal Accord are separate, more specialized Starfleet protocols. NEXT → 04 “Resistance is futile.” This chilling declaration belongs to a cybernetic collective that assimilates entire civilizations into its hive mind. What is this fearsome species called? AThe Borg BThe Dominion CThe Romulans DSpecies 8472 ✓ Correct! The Borg are Star Trek’s most terrifying villains — a hive-mind collective that forcibly assimilates species and technology. Captain Picard was famously assimilated and transformed into Locutus in the landmark TNG episode “The Best of Both Worlds.” ✗ Red alert! The answer is the Borg. The Dominion is the Gamma Quadrant empire from DS9, the Romulans are a rival empire, and Species 8472 is actually one of the few species that the Borg themselves fear. Only the Borg declare “Resistance is futile.” NEXT → 05 Captain Jean-Luc Picard commands the Enterprise-D in The Next Generation and later received his own series, Star Trek: Picard. Which acclaimed actor portrays him? AWilliam Shatner BAvery Brooks CPatrick Stewart DScott Bakula ✓ Correct! Sir Patrick Stewart brought gravitas, Shakespeare, and Earl Grey tea to the captain’s chair for seven seasons of TNG, four films, and three seasons of Star Trek: Picard. His “Make it so” is one of TV’s most iconic catchphrases. ✗ Red alert! The answer is Patrick Stewart. William Shatner plays Captain Kirk, Avery Brooks is Captain Sisko on Deep Space Nine, and Scott Bakula captains the NX-01 Enterprise. Only Sir Patrick Stewart portrays the legendary Jean-Luc Picard. NEXT → 06 Starfleet vessels travel faster than light by bending space around them using a matter-antimatter reaction. What is this propulsion system called? ATranswarp Drive BWarp Drive CSlipstream Drive DSpore Drive ✓ Correct! Warp Drive is the standard faster-than-light propulsion in Star Trek, powered by dilithium-regulated matter-antimatter reactions. Zefram Cochrane invented it in 2063, which led to humanity’s first contact with the Vulcans. ✗ Red alert! The answer is Warp Drive. Transwarp is an advanced Borg technology, Slipstream is an experimental quantum drive, and the Spore Drive uses mycelial network navigation (from Discovery). Standard Starfleet vessels use Warp Drive. NEXT → 07 At Starfleet Academy, cadets face a notorious no-win scenario designed to test their character under impossible circumstances. James Kirk is the only cadet who ever beat it — by cheating. What is this test called? AThe Prometheus Trial BThe Omega Simulation CThe Corbomite Maneuver DThe Kobayashi Maru ✓ Correct! The Kobayashi Maru is an unwinnable rescue simulation that tests how cadets handle certain death. Kirk reprogrammed it so he could win — earning a commendation for original thinking. It was memorably featured in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. ✗ Red alert! The answer is the Kobayashi Maru. The Corbomite Maneuver is a TOS episode, not an Academy test. The Kobayashi Maru is the famous no-win scenario that Kirk defeated by reprogramming the simulation — because he doesn’t believe in the no-win scenario. NEXT → 08 In the widely regarded greatest Star Trek film, a genetically enhanced superhuman from Earth’s past seeks revenge against Captain Kirk. “KHAAAAN!” Who is this iconic villain? AKhan Noonien Singh BGeneral Chang CQ DGul Dukat ✓ Correct! Khan Noonien Singh, played by Ricardo Montalbán, is Star Trek’s greatest villain. First appearing in the TOS episode “Space Seed,” he returned in The Wrath of Khan (1982) for a devastating revenge plot that cost Spock his life. ✗ Red alert! The answer is Khan Noonien Singh. General Chang is a Klingon from Star Trek VI, Q is TNG’s omnipotent trickster, and Gul Dukat is DS9’s Cardassian antagonist. Only Khan inspired Kirk’s legendary scream across the cosmos. REVEAL MY SCORE → Mission Complete Your Starfleet Record / 8 Are you an Admiral — or still a cadet on deck-scrubbing duty? ↻ RE-ENGAGE Yet Benedict Cumberbatch's Khan is portrayed as Caucasian, not South Asian like Montalban's genetically engineered superman, despite purportedly being the same person. Star Trek Into Darkness offers no explanation for this, and does not show whether Leonard Nimoy's Spock sees Cumberbatch's Khan or how he would react, likely to sweep the film's divergence under the rug. Otherwise, Star Trek Into Darkness' introduction of Carol Marcus (Alice Eve) could still credibly continue Star Trek (2009)'s rule of parallel universe doppelgängers. Eve's Carol can be accepted as the younger version of Bibi Besch in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, although Star Trek Into Darkness also establishes the evil Admiral Alexander Marcus (Peter Weller) as Carol's father. Star Trek has expanded its multiverse beyond Abrams' trilogy, with Star Trek: Discovery returning to the Mirror Universe, and Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy depicting many characters from numerous alternate realities. Yet Star Trek's characters, in those instances, still look alike, despite often living different lives. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and their Star Trek cast are outliers, but they should still be the same Kirk, Spock, etc. in the eyes of the Prime Universe's beholders. TV Show(s) Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Video Game(s) Star Trek Online, Star Trek: Resurgence, Star Trek: Bridge Crew First Film Star Trek: The Motion Picture First TV Show Star Trek: The Original Series Cast William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, Avery Brooks, Nana Visitor, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig, Cirroc Lofton, Armin Shimerman, Colm Meaney, Terry Farrell, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Jeri Ryan, Robert Duncan McNeill, Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips, Garrett Wang, Jolene Blalock, Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating, Scott Bakula, Linda Park, John Billingsley, Anthony Montgomery, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba, Sonequa Martin-Green, Mary Wiseman, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Wilson Cruz, Oyin Oladejo, Emily Coutts, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Rebecca Romijn, Michelle Yeoh Created by Gene Roddenberry