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Can anyone tell me which Star Trek movie had the scene where a "bomb" of sorts is dropped on a planet - and instead of destroying - it creates life in atomic-bomb like fashion?

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Also Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

Khan seeks revenge on Kirk for stranding him on Ceti Alpha V (events depicted in the TOS episode "The Space Seed"), ends up killing everyone on a research station and stealing the Genesis bomb, which Khan uses as a last ditch attempt to kill Kirk after the Enterprise manages to defeat Khan's ship (the USS Reliant, which Khan stole from a research team that landed on Ceti Alpha V). Spock sacrifices himself to repair the reactor so the Enterprise can escape the blast radius.

The Genesis bomb creates a new planet that is explored in Star Trek III.

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    Pretty sure you don't need to worry about spoilers.
    – Phil N DeBlanc
    Commented Aug 28, 2018 at 14:14
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    @PhilNDeBlanc Personally I would love for the younger generations to be able to go back and experience the classics without knowing what is going to happen. I still think this is the best Star Trek movie yet.
    – Todd Wilcox
    Commented Aug 28, 2018 at 14:16
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    I'm pretty sure it doesn't create a new planet, it creates a new biosphere on a previously existing planet.
    – Acccumulation
    Commented Aug 29, 2018 at 15:08
  • @Acccumulation - incorrect (sort of). While that does seem to be the intention of the Dr(s). Marcus, at least in the case of ST:II, there was no planet in the Mutara Nebula at the time Khan detonated the device. The device's effects caused the nebula cloud to re-form into the Genesis Planet. So in the last comment of Garret's answer "The Genesis bomb creates a planet" - that is an accurate statement.
    – NKCampbell
    Commented Aug 29, 2018 at 18:19
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While we're not shown much of the direct effects of the Genesis device in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan exploding in real life (there's a more important drama playing out at that moment) the presentation video they watch earlier in the film gives us some idea of how it is designed to work

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    Fun fact about that scene: It the very first fully textured 3D CGI representation shown in the motion picture business to a general public. (relevant answer from another question)
    – Engineer Toast
    Commented Aug 28, 2018 at 16:39
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    Its funny that she's says "should the Federation decide to fund this project". In the cashless Federation, shouldn't she have said 'support this project'.
    – Mark Rogers
    Commented Aug 28, 2018 at 17:13
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    @MarkRogers If you can dial a modern phone with pushbuttons, the Federation can fund a project with support.
    – Barmar
    Commented Aug 28, 2018 at 17:17
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    @MarkRogers Earth is cashless, the Federation still has currency.
    – coteyr
    Commented Aug 28, 2018 at 17:48
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    @Machavity Replicators didn't exist yet/weren't in wide use at that point in time, iirc. They only really come into play with TNG. And being able to terraform worlds in an instant makes settlement and colonization much easier, no need to search out uninhabited M-class planets when you can make your own.
    – JAB
    Commented Aug 28, 2018 at 17:56

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