Before Captains Kirk and Pike, there was Captain Robert April. Although he is a highly decorated Starfleet captain, NBC wrote him out of the original “Star Trek.”

He debuted in 1974's “Star Trek: The Animated Series,” then didn’t appear again for almost 50 years. Only in 2022 did he finally achieve live-action status on “Strange New Worlds.”

In “Strange New Worlds,” April (Adrian Holmes) is an admiral, having been promoted after his five-year mission on the USS Enterprise, and he eventually earns the rank of commodore.

April's retirement is the impetus for his inclusion in “The Animated Series,” which sees him and his wife save the USS Enterprise from a universe where time flows backward.

It's a safe bet that April will return since he was involved in the ending of “Strange New Worlds” Season 2. Season 3 is expected to pay off on that cliffhanger.