21

It seems to be a recurring theme in all versions of Star Trek, but mostly in the shows that were done while Gene Roddenberry was alive: A quasi-god shows up, seeming to be all powerful and undefeatable, and the crew of the Enterprise has to somehow triumph over this character.

Some examples are Gary Mitchell and Nomad from Star Trek (and Gary Mitchell is on the short list of possible antagonists for the next movie), Q from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the Prophets from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Just how many beings are there out there with almost god-like powers in the Trek universe who seem to like to play with other intelligent life forms like humans?

Improve this question

7 Answers 7

Reset to default
21

Proper Star Trek:

Noted in HNL's answer:

Beings that weren't quite "god-like" as far as powers but may count

Licensed works (books, The Animated Series/TAS)

Improve this answer
15
  • @HNL - Fixed, sorry :) +1 for yours too, especially for Edo God.
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Feb 12, 2012 at 16:34
  • 2
    Hmm.. Does Kevin count from 'The Survivors', TNG? (en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Kevin_Uxbridge) - or is he too low powered... He's a Douwd (en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Douwd)
    – K-H-W
    Feb 12, 2012 at 19:47
  • @Keith - He qualifies, BUT he doesn't fit the question (being pretends to be a god, and has to be overcome by Enterprise) - this one was backwards, he was pretending to be low powered and only wanted to be left alone. Feel free to add him as a separate answer or edit into one of the existing ones if you disagree
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Feb 12, 2012 at 20:45
  • @DVK - Well.. Kind of.. They DID have to overcome him, he just didn't combat them in quite the direct way most of the other did.. But the summoning up of an attack ship, the assault on Troi's mind and so forth.. I guess he fails on the 'Trying to pretend to be a god' / "who seem to like to play with other intelligent life forms" aspect, tho. Ah, well. He's one of my favorites.
    – K-H-W
    Feb 12, 2012 at 20:50
  • @DVK - there are also episodes featuring transcendent beings that evolve to god-like status by the end of the show. John Doe from 'Transfigurations' in TNG is a good example (en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Transfigurations_(episode)).
    – RobertF
    Oct 22, 2013 at 18:17
5

Excluding TOS:

  1. Q
  2. Nacene (Caretakers)
  3. Founders (Shapeshifters)
  4. Prophets (Wormhole aliens)
  5. The Edo God from TNG episode S01E08 (Justice)

There may be others posing as Gods, but they are not powerful enough to be taken seriously by anyone but their believer species.

Improve this answer
3

Nagilum, from the TNG episode "Where Silence Has Lease."

Improve this answer
2

The Organians from "Errand of Mercy" are another example.

The Metrons from "Arena", Melkotians from "Spectre of the Gun",and Excalbians from "The Savage Curtain" may qualify, at the low end of the scale.

Improve this answer
0

I'm not sure how canonical it is, but the 25th Anniversary PC game featured in one of its missions the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl.

Improve this answer
0

The mysterious being from Voyager season 2 "Persistence of Vision". It's not clear what the extent of his powers are, but in this episode he controls the minds of the crew and makes himself and his ships vanish.

Improve this answer
0

Ardra's Impostor [TNG: Devil's Due]

Arridor and Kol [VOY: False Profits]

Unnamed 'Matrix' Alien [VOY: Coda] - Doesn't claim to be a god, but claims to be all-powerful over the dead.

Improve this answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.