Invincible Season 4's Star Trek Parody Explained
It's understandable for "Invincible" to reference other superhero properties, like the Spider-Man Easter egg present at the end of "Invincible" Season 2. But with Season 4 really leaning into the cosmic side of things with the encroaching Viltrumite War upon us, it's only natural for the show to poke fun at "Star Trek."
It happens on "Invincible" Season 4, Episode 2 when Nolan (J.K. Simmons), Allen (Seth Rogen), and Telia (Tatiana Maslany) need a ship to acquire weapons and entities powerful enough to kill Viltrumites. However, they also need to keep a low profile, so they need a ship on the clunkier side. That's where the Venture starship comes into play, complete with "Star Trek"-esque music that's just distinct enough to avoid any copyright infringement.
They're then greeted by the Captain (Scott Aukerman), whose bald aesthetic is rather reminiscent of Patrick Stewart's Captain Picard on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." He continues to introduce other members of the crew — Worg, Download, and Counselor Tuva. These are all stand-ins for other "TNG" characters, namely Worf (Michael Dorn), Data (Brent Spiner), and Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis).
The Venture is falling apart, and everyone seems pretty incompetent, especially the Captain. It's in stark contrast to the crew on "Next Generation," which was so popular that it changed television forever. "Invincible" is merely having some fun at the low-cost expense of "Star Trek," and it's not the first time they've done so.
It's not the first time Invincible has referenced Star Trek
The "Invincible" dig at "Star Trek: The Next Generation" isn't exclusive to the TV show. This came straight from the mind of Robert Kirkman, as the comics include the same crew taking Nolan, Allen, and everyone else through the galaxy. But the "Invincible" creator has nothing but love toward "Star Trek." In a chat uploaded by Skybound, Kirkman discussed how he and "Invincible" artist Cory Walker regularly watched "Next Generation" together: "Cory and I, when we started on 'Invincible,' were going through 'Next Generation.' Every day for lunch we'd make four hot dogs, and we would watch an episode of 'Star Trek' and then oftentimes it would end up being two. And rarely but not never, it was three."
It's no surprise that "Star Trek" has cropped up on "Invincible" before. In Season 2, Episode 5 — "This Must Come as a Shock" — when Robot (Zachary Quinto) gets asked if the Guardians of the Globe's space shuttle has any shields. He responds, "This isn't 'Star Trek.' We're unarmed." There's also a meta layer to this line, as Quinto famously played Spock in the newer "Star Trek" movies, starting with the eponymous 2009 film.
Spock is cold and analytical, not unlike the Robot he voices on "Invincible." "Star Trek 4" was cancelled, so Quinto's days on the U.S.S. Enterprise seem over. But with Robot on "Invincible," he still has one foot firmly in the realm of science fiction.
The first three episodes of "Invincible" Season 4 are now available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.