Summary
Two pillars of the geek community areStar Trekand superheroes. BothStar Trekand superhero franchises have endured for decades on big and small screens, but they are radically different in their narratives, characters, and tones. One wouldn’t think they mix in any way. As often happens in the entertainment industry, though, they get the same people working on them.
SeveralStar Trekactors have also played superheroes. Their prominence in each field varies. They may play a minor part in one franchise and be one of the stars in another. However, their respective roles are still fun to look back on. Moreover, it’s a testament to their talents. They were able to live in both worlds and remain convincing in each.
7Patrick Stewart
Jean Luc-Picard / Professor Charles Xavier
Easily the most famous example, Patrick Stewart stepped onscreen asJean-Luc PicardinStar Trek: The Next Generation. The captain of the newUSS Enterpriseled his crew on countless adventures across the Final Frontier.He employed methodical reasoning and diplomacy in tackling problems, embodying the franchise’s spirit of peaceful relations and a better tomorrow. To this day, fans argue over who’s the best captain: Kirk or Picard.
Stewart later inhabited a similarly saintly figure in theX-Menfilms. Here, he playedProfessor Charles Xavier, the team’s founder. This telepathic individual strives to achieve acceptance of his fellow mutants. He gave them a home and guided them in the use of their powers. Together, they combat more hostile mutants to ensure peace and sway public perception. Like Picard, Xavier favored equality over superiority.
6Famke Janssen
Kamala / Jean Grey
This path mirrored Stewart’s in many ways. Famke Janssen boasts an early role inThe Next GenerationasKamala, a Kriosian metamorph. She had an arranged marriage yet fell in love with Picard. Her empathic abilities and alien physiology helped them form a deep, spiritual connection. However, this also meant she emulated his sense of duty. Therefore, she went ahead with the marriage for her people’s sake. That complicated love life followed her into the other franchise.
InX-Men, Janssen appeared asJean Grey, a telepath who emerges as one of Xavier’s brightest students. She had a relationship with the straight-laced Scott Summers/Cyclops, but she found herself drawn to the rugged personality of Logan/Wolverine. Sadly, both of these romances crumbled in the wake of thePhoenix. This dormant persona reemerged after she nearly died, and it threatened to tear down everyone and everything she loved. It’s basically what would happen if such mental power ran rampant.
5Rebecca Romijn
Una Chin-Riley / Mystique
Yet anotherX-Menveteran, Rebecca Romijn made an unforgettable entrance asMystique. The shapeshifting femme fatale was a master of infiltration and hand-to-hand combat. She used these gifts to aid Magneto in his sinister schemes. Growing up on the wrong side of human prejudice, she reaped vengeance on them to create a land of mutant dominance. That said, she wasn’t entirely evil, as common goals occasionally put her on the same side as the X-Men. The prequel films even showed that she was once a member. At the end of the day, she always believed in fighting for a better future.
That’s also her objective inStar Trek. Romiijn playsUna Chin-Riley(Number One) inDiscoveryandStrange New Worlds. Serving under Captain Pike as first officer of the Enterprise, she joined in the mission to explore uncharted space and establish peaceful relations with new life forms. On a more personal note, she combatted the stigma surrounding herself. Chin-Riley wasgenetically enhancedbefore birth–a practice which is prohibited due to the ethical ramifications and unfair advantages. Thus, she fought against laws preventing her from serving, echoing the discrimination of herX-Mencharacter.
4Anson Mount
Christopher Pike / Black Bolt
Her captain was also a multi-genre actor. Anson Mount came ontoDiscoveryduring its second season asChristopher Pikebefore leading his own mission inStrange New Worlds. Not only did he tackle moral and ethical dilemmas across the galaxy, but he also grappled with visions ofhis impending fate. These were far from the only complex conflicts the actor has tackled, though.
Mount also played Black Bolt in the MCU’s first failed attempt at a TV show,Inhumans. However, Mount later returned to the MCU for his first movie appearance inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where his appearance was brief but memorable.
3Jason Isaacs
Gabriel Lorca / Red Son Superman
TheDiscovery’s former captain was also in a DC Comics Superman Elseworlds story. Jason Isaacs playedGabriel Lorcain the first season ofStar Trek: Discovery. From the start, he’s notably more aggressive than other Starfleet captains, prizing strength above any laws or codes of conduct. Unbeknownst to everyone, this was actually Lorca’s villainous counterpart from the Mirror Universe. His actions were part of a grab for power, and he manipulated theDiscoverycrew to suit that end. How appropriate that his superhero star shared those revisionist roots.
Isaacs voicedSupermanin an animated adaptation oftheRed Soncomic. It presented a story where Superman lands in Soviet Russia instead of Kansas. He grew up believing in communist ideals, which made him an enemy of other global powers. He had the best intentions, but he wondered whether to assert his ideas over others. The question became more difficult when his ideology fell out of fashion. Lorca never bothered with such restraint.
2Tom Hardy
Shinzon / Eddie Brock & Venom
This actor also made his mark playing Picard, at least in a sense. Tom Hardy stormed onscreen asShinzoninStar Trek: Nemesis. The Romulans created him as a clone of Picard but later left him to die as a slave in their mines. He eventually led a coup against his creators and set Earth as his next target.
Hardy played another freak of science in theVenommovies. Namely, he stars asEddie Brock, a journalist who is down on his luck before coming in contact with analien symbiote. Its first instinct was to use him as a puppet and feed on humans, but Brock befriended the extraterrestrial slime. Thus, they carved out a peaceful life on Earth as goofy roommates. Defending the downtrodden from both alien threats and common thugs, they became a self-styled “Lethal Protector.” True, Venom was originallya Spider-Man villain. Like Shinzon, though, he carved out his own career.
1Cress Williams
Talak’talan / Black Lightning / Steel
In this case, the actor’s superhero career vastly outweighed his time inStar Trek. Cress Williams had a minor guest spot onDeep Space Nine. He played a Jem’Hadar soldier namedTalak’talanin the episode introducing the genetically engineered fighting force. Taking Benjamin Sisko and Quark as hostages, he warned them against further Federation encroachment on Dominion space. The ominous conglomerate remained the overarching threat for the rest of the show, butWilliams only appeared in one episode.
In contrast, he has two superheroes under his belt. The first was the title character inBlack Lightning. In the series, husband and fatherJefferson Piercecame out of retirement and resumed his altruistic activities. Using his electrical powers, he combatted the dangerous new gangs plaguing his neighborhood and threatening his family.
Around the same time, Williams made another foray into DC. He voicedJohn Henry Ironsin theDeath of SupermanandReign of the Supermenmovies. To fill the void left by everyone’s favorite Kryptonian, he put his mechanical and metalworking knowledge to use. Irons crafts his own suit and carries on Superman’s legacy as Steel. He may have been derivative, but he’s more distinctive than any Jem’Hadar.
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