The Gorn Captain from the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Arena" which was their first mention and appearance in the Star Trek franchise.
The Gorn are a highly territorial reptilian species in the Star Trek franchise. First introduced in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Arena" the Gorn have since been featured in a number of novels, RPGs, and other Star Trek shows such as Lower Decks and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Star Trek: The Original Series[]
The Gorn first appeared in the TOS episode "Arena" in which they attacked an outpost of the United Federation of Planets on Cestus III. Details of the attack are relayed to Captain Kirk by the lone survivor named Harold. The outpost had noticed ships occasionally in region but had been unable to make contact. The attack upon the outpost had been sudden, without warning. Harold, under Commander Travers had sent word of the colony's surrender, pleading that their where woman and children but that didn't stop the Gorn. After a skirmish with concealed planet side forces the crew of the USS Enterprise pursued the Gorn ship responsible and where prepared to enact a retaliation when a third power- the Metrons intervened.
Seeing that both seemed intent on destroying the other the Metrons held both vessels hostage and issued a decree that the captain of each would fight to the death on a nearby planet. The losers' ship would be destroyed, and the victor would go free. The Metrons provided each captain with a record like device, not informing ether that the device was actually a translator. Kirk believing he was to document his thoughts or perhaps that the device was to communicate to his spectating crew used it to state his various plans of action. The Gorn captain merely listened, taking the advantage but proving too slow to truly make use of it.
Eventually the Gorn did communicate, revealing the true nature of the device- expressing that it was the Federation who where the invaders as Cestus III was in Gorn space. The Gorn vessel was merely reacting to the intrusion. Still with each others ships on the line the two fought with Kirk's swifter mammalian body taking the advantage with some creative use of a bamboo like tube and minerals for gunpowder. With the Gorn captain vulnerable Kirk could slay him, but knowing the initial conflict came from ignorance and not wishing to kill for the amusement of the Metrons Kirk refused to slay the Gorn. The Metrons where surprised by this, and sent the Gorn captain back to his ship before explaining the true reason they had brought the Gorn and Kirk to the planet. The Metrons where certain that who ever won the battle would be the greater threat to them, and had lied- intending to destroy the victor's ship yet Kirk's mercy showed a level of social maturity the Metrons had not expected from those that to them seemed a warlike people.
The Gorn vessel left to it's own space while the Enterprise was allowed to return to Federation space with Kirk believing that now that the Metrons had provided a way for the Federation to communicate with the Gorn a peace could be achieved.
Star Trek: The Animated Series[]
The Gorn make one appearance in the episode "Time Trap" with a member of the species serving on the governing council of the pocket dimension known as Elysium. The people of Elysium are both stranded crews and the descendants of those who became trapped in the pocket dimension due to a subspace anomaly in the Delta Triangle. Their ships provide housing, industry, and agriculture with the council maintaining peace in Elysium and coordinating the exchange of resources to create an interdependent system as part of maintaining peace. At some point a Gorn vessel (or multiple vessels) was pulled into Elysium and it's inhabitants integrated into the society of that dimension. Enough for a Gorn to serve on the governing council by the time of the episode "Time Trap"; the late 2260s.
Star Trek: The Roleplaying Game[]
The adventure "Demand of Honor" takes place some time after the events in the TOS episode with the player character(s) as members of the USS Hastings crew on a mission to bring a Gorn Ambassador to negotiate with a renegade fleet of Gorn who are attacking Federation space after a peace was achieved. The Gorn Ambassador turns out to be the Gorn captain from the TOS episode with the adventure involving suspicion that something isn't quite right with the situation.
Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)[]
Set years before the Federation would make contact with the Gorn the Enterprise episode "In the Mirror Darkly, Part II" which is set in a darker timeline known as the Mirror Universe sees Jonathan Archer of the Terran Empire's ISS Enterprise do battle with a Gorn Taskmaster while attempting to capture a 23rd century Star Fleet vessel from the Prime Universe, the USS Defiant, that had entered into the Mirror Universe's 22nd Century. The Gorn Taskmaster had been in charge of managing Tholian owned slave labor as the Tholians where examining the vessel. He was killed by the Terran captain who then took command of the USS Defiant.
Star Trek Alien Spotlight #1: Gorn (2007)[]
The first issue of the Star Trek Alien Spotlight series of comics involves the efforts of a Gorn community to assist a Federation shuttlecraft that has crashed on one of their planets. Initial efforts to approach the survivors of the crash are met with fear that results in one Gorn presumably being killed and the rest of his party assuming the Humans to be hostile. The incident escalates to fears that the shuttle may be carrying some covert strike team which causes the Gorn Commander of the local outpost to mobilize a force of Gorn Marines to respond to the incursion. When the first Gorn who approached the Humans recovers, having only been stunned, enough to convey what he was trying to do he convinces the shuttlecraft's occupants to allow him to explain the misunderstanding to the forces inbound to the crash site. The Humans are slow to trust him but seeing as they'd be dead if they don't and dead if he is indeed lying they let him speak. The situation de-escalates with the injured Humans being taken to a medical facility to await pick up by a federation vessel while the Gorn who had been caught up in the hysteric fears of an invasion reflect on how the Humans creep them out.
Star Trek: Vanguard - The Stars Look Down (2011)[]
The Vanguard novels take place in the mid 23rd century (2265-68). The novella "The Stars Look Down" involves clandestine missions being carried out by one Commander Quinn. One such mission involves sneaking aboard an Orion freighter that is in Gorn custody after it became damaged and trapped in a gravitational field. The vessel was being held in orbit around Seudeth, a planet populated by the reptilian Selay (first introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Lonely Among Us") and within the territory of the Gorn Hegemony.
Star Trek (Into Darkness) + Star Trek (2013 console game)[]
The 2013 Star Trek game set in the Kelvin Timeline of JJ Abram's Star Trek feature films was released as an interlude to the second film; Into Darkness. In the 2013 game the Gorn are a reptilian species from another galaxy who enter the Milky Way through a rip in the fabric of space- a wormhole. The Gorn are depicted as a military dictatorship that exists to conquer other races and deplete entire planets of resources. Their infectious venom is weaponized for such purposes- it makes their victims become violent and chaotic thus deposing their foes of structured resistance. The Gorn have various physical types ranging from multilimbed draconian looking ones to bipedal ones. At some point in the game's plot McCoy ends up performing a C-Section on a Gorn- an act that is referenced in the film Into Darkness. The Gorn incursion into the Milky Way was ended when the crew of the USS Enterprise closed the wormhole by destroying the stabilizer in the Gorn's native galaxy. Presumably some Gorn where left stranded in the Milky Way by this event.
Star Trek Online (2014-PRESENT)[]
The Gorn Hegemony is presented as a vassal of the Klingon Empire with players in the Star Trek Online game being able to create Gorn characters as members of the Klingon faction.
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)[]
Captain Lorca of the USS Discovery has a Gorn Skeleton (resembling the TOS visual representation of the Gorn) on display in his office during the third episode of the series "Context is for Kings". At the time this was considered out of place by the Fandom as it'd long been held that first contact with the Gorn and first sight of one would not occur until some time after in the franchise's continuity. Star Trek: Discovery's spin off show, 'Strange New Worlds' would go on to establish that in it's continuity the Gorn had been known about by the Federation for much longer than had been previously established.
Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020)[]
While Gorn made a background appearance in the episode "Much Ado About Boilmer" their first active role in an episode of Lower Decks was in the episode "Veritas". A flashback expresses that the character Sam Rutherford, a cybernetically augmented Human, had once crashed near a Gorn Wedding on a desert planet. The Gorn apparently either didn't notice the crash or assumed Sam Rutherford was dead as when Sam became conscious the ceremony halted and the attendants swarmed him and began to teeth on him. Falling unconscious he awoke still being teethed upon. The episode doesn't have Sam express how he got out of the situation as he's interrupted before he can finish recounting the events.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (June-August 2022)[]
Developmentally the Gorn in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds derive from concepts considered and those implemented in the 2013 Star Trek game. The Gorn are presented as a predatory species that hunts other sapient species such as Humans to feed their young on Nursery Planets. [1] They are described by Lt. Singh as having shark like eyes- dead and hungry looking. They are shown to kill the weak among them and to be relentless in their hunting. [2] The series also introduced the aspect of the Gorn utilizing parasitic reproduction where in their eggs are implanted into living hosts from whom four emerging young kill upon hatching. These eggs are transferred through the use of a venom like viscus oral spray that takes effect upon contact with a target's skin. Due to this origin all Gorn have some genetic aspect of the host they derived from and their bodies are able to use this to mask their presence from sensors that would identify Gorn life signs. These cannibalistic hatchlings will shortly after fight among each other until a dominance structure is established or one remains. They have a high metabolism at this stage and thus feed often. Despite their small size, they are very deadly. Additionally the Gorn have an innate psionic barrier that prevents telepathic communication with them. Lt. Singh's opinion is that the Gorn do not back down from a challenge and especially at this young stage, will not refuse one as their minds are wired to seek Alpha status. [3]
Strange New Worlds Source Citations[]
- Episode 1 "Strange New Worlds"
- Episode 4 "Memento Mori"
- Episode 9 "All Those who Wander"
Star Trek: Prodigy (December 2022)[]
During part one of the season one finally "Supernova" when the USS Protostar's crew sends a call for help to the Federation's allies a large number of Klingon vessels respond followed by a few from other powers- a number civilian. A single Gorn transport is pointed out as being among those to respond to the call. It's unclear if it survived the effort there nor is it stated whom captained it but it was still among those lending aid in the evacuation of the vessels that had been hijacked to fire upon their own by a weapon from a future time.