5 Star Trek Crossovers That Sound Fake But Are Actually Real
From the holodeck LARPing adventures that took place aboard the Enterprise-D to the portal-driven crossover between the crews of "Lower Decks" and "Strange New Worlds," it seems like just about anything can happen in the world of "Star Trek." But this sci-fi series had a few crossovers that even the most devoted Trekkies may not know about.
The implications for the Trek canon are staggering in a wider shared universe where Daleks and superheroes all share a common reality. In a world where fandoms collide, it's not hard to imagine Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and the Voyager crew facing off with a hoard of Weeping Angels or Q (John de Lancie) teaming up with Thanos (Josh Brolin) — thanks to a handful of clever inter-company collaborations. From the time Worf (Michael Dorn) met sitcom hero Webster (Emmanuel Lewis) to Starfleet run-ins with the X-Men, Transformers, the Planet of the Apes, and even a centuries-old Time Lord, here are five "Star Trek" crossovers that seem fake but somehow happened.
Sitcom kid Webster schooled Worf on pop culture in WebsterTrek
Initially airing on ABC, "Webster" ran from 1983 to 1989, rounding out its final run in syndication under Paramount. Fortuitously for fans of sitcom shark-jumps, there was another popular series in development on the Paramount lot at the time: "Star Trek: The Next Generation." And what better way to round out the "Webster" series finale than with a Klingon-powered clip show?
The premise behind "Webster" imagined life for the titular young Black orphan after getting adopted by his affluent white retired NFL player godfather (Alex Karras) and his wife (Susan Clark). For the 150th and final episode of the series, the show took a decidedly sci-fi twist. In the aptly titled "WebTrek," Webster is suddenly struck by lightning while playing a PC game and inexplicably finds himself transported above the "Next Generation" flagship Enterprise-D.
Although the rest of the main bridge crew doesn't seem to be anywhere in sight, Worf is around, and he's got a few questions about life in the 20th century — particularly, about mud wrestling and Groundhog Day. The episode quickly devolves into a review of Webster's greatest hits for the Starfleet security officer's benefit.
By the end of the episode, Webster wakes up in his own bed, suggesting to viewers that it was all a dream. That is until he picks up his joystick to see a note that reads, "Repaired and inspected by the Starship Enterprise," thus canonizing his adventure.
Starfleet Captains meet Time Lords in Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation²
Whovian Trekkies everywhere saw their crossover dreams come true during the Matt Smith era of "Doctor Who" in 2012 when the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" crew joined forces with the Eleventh Doctor and the Ponds. The story was made possible after IDW Comics, which has owned the rights to "Star Trek" comics since 2006, added "Doctor Who" comics to its list of acquisitions in 2008. Falling on stardate 45635.2 — sometime between the "Next Generation" episodes "The Outcast" and "Cause and Effect," the eight-issue limited series imagines a world where the Borg have joined forces with "Doctor Who" villains the Cybermen, and a Federation planet is under attack. The Borg quickly come to realize they've got a tiger by the tail in the Cybermen, forcing them to turn to Captain Jean-Luc Picard for help.
Fortunately, the TARDIS — along with the Eleventh Doctor and the Ponds — has been transported onto the Enterprise-D bridge at just the right time. As they work together to stop the Cyberborg, the series reveals that this isn't the Doctor's first run-in with Starfleet.
Star Trek/Planet of the Apes: The Primate Directive brought Kirk to Ape City
Another great IDW Comics collaboration, this time produced as part of a partnership with Boom! Studios, "Star Trek/Planet of the Apes: The Primate Directive" involves Kirk, Klingons, and a primate puppet state. Produced from 2014 through 2015, this five-issue limited comic series sees those sneaky Klingons looking to expand their empire via an interdimensional portal that just happens to lead to the alternate Earth from "Planet of the Apes."
There, "Original Series" Klingon Kor has been backing a coup against the gorilla government of Ape City. To put an end to his plans, Captain Kirk, Spock, Chekov, and the rest of the "Star Trek: The Original Series" crew team up with familiar faces from the "Planet of the Apes" franchise including George Taylor, Cornelius, and Zira. Like the IDW WhoTrek series, ApeTrek is left open to the possibility of a sequel with the apes learning about time travel from a mishandled tricorder.
James T. Kirk met Wolverine in the Star Trek/X-Men comic
As it turns out, "The X-Men" and "Star Trek" have more in common than Patrick Stewart — even if that's not a bad place to start. Beginning around 1979, the licensing for "Star Trek" comics changed hands a few times, landing under the Marvel imprint Paramount Comics from 1996 through 1998. In addition to a handful of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager" titles, Paramount Comics developed a one-shot crossover between "X-Men" and "Star Trek: The Original Series." Released in 1996, "Star Trek/X-Men" finds Kirk's crew crossing paths with X-Men Cyclops, Gambit, Wolverine, Beast, Jean Grey, Storm, and Bishop.
This wouldn't be the X-Men's final encounter with Starfleet, as Wolverine, Angel, Storm, Colossus, Shadowcat, Banshee, and Nightcrawler would later cross paths with Picard's crew in the 1998 comic "Star Trek: The Next Generation/X-Men: Second Contact" and its follow-up novel, "Planet X."
Star Trek vs. Transformers is a retro sci-fi lover's fever dream
Of all the "Star Trek" crossovers that seem a bridge crew too far, perhaps none is more so than the 2018-2019 comic book series "Star Trek vs. Transformers." Beautifully bringing together the 1970s artistic style of "Star Trek: The Animated Series" and the 1980s look of the 1984 animated "Transformers" series, the crossover drew critical praise for its visual design.
The series finds the crew of "The Animated Series" answering a distress call on a planet near the Klingon border. There, they find Optimus Prime and his crash-landed crew of Autobots under attack from Decepticons. Optimus Prime gets a Vulcan mind-meld leading to a team-up with the Enterprise crew. Better yet, the Enterprise gets an ultimate Trekkie Transformer upgrade as the Fortress Tiberius, controlled by the mind of James Kirk himself. Additionally, a few members of the Enterprise crew including Sulu and Spock even get their own Cybertronian armor.