The Luckiest Characters In The ‘Star Trek’ Franchise
Since first hitting the airwaves in 1966, Star Trek has become a massive media franchise that encompasses several spinoff series, comic books, novels, games, movies, and hundreds of well-written and beautifully acted characters. In the Star Trek universe, a character is either lucky or they're not, and you really don't want to be caught wearing a red shirt on the job.
The main cast of any series could be considered lucky, but when you think about it, they end up going through a lot. Picard was turned into a Borg, and Spock has undergone several life-altering events - from perishing to save his crew, to being resurrected inside the mind of Dr. McCoy, and then disappearing from his universe altogether to live out his remaining years in an alternate timeline. Clearly, if you want to survive in this galaxy, you're going to need a profound amount of luck.
This list highlights the characters from Star Trek whose luck outshines the rest of the cast. A specific lucky event is noted for each, but it's up to the readers to determine who is the luckiest of them all. Check out the list below, and don't forget to vote up your favorite to see who wins the title of luckiest person to ever go boldly in the Star Trek universe.
- 1147 VOTES
Montgomery Scott
Who He Is: Montgomery Scott is the chief engineer on both the USS Enterprise and then the Enterprise-A under the command of Captain James T. Kirk. He builds a reputation for being something of a miracle worker, which is partly based on his ability to accomplish tasks in half the time he says is possible - but also by always quoting twice as much time as he needs. He is eventually promoted to Captain, but disappears from the historical record later in life.
Why He's So Lucky: Scotty makes his own luck in most situations, as he is quick to make friends with people, and is relied upon by the entire crew.
Luckiest Moment: While on his way to retire at the Norpin colony, Scotty's ship collides with the outer shell of a Dyson sphere. Unable to take off or summon help, he and his fellow engineer, Matt Franklin, have little choice other than locking their transporter patterns in the system's buffer - where they remain for 75 years.
His luckiest moment comes when he is freed from the transporter by the crew of the Enterprise-D. Sadly, Franklin's pattern is too degraded to be recovered, and he is lost forever.
- 2137 VOTES
Who She Is: Seven of Nine is just a young girl named Annika when she is assimilated by the Borg. She grows up as a member of the Collective, which makes it hard for her to acclimate with the crew of the Voyager. She is an incredibly intelligent engineer, and her knowledge of the Borg helps Captain Janeway in her ongoing conflict with the powerful aliens.
Why She's So Lucky: Because Janeway takes a shine to the former Borg right away, Seven of Nine finds luck in her acceptance on the Voyager. This saves her life countless times.
Luckiest Moment: In the original Voyager timeline, Seven of Nine perishes before the crew reaches Earth. Janeway, despite getting the Voyager home, can't forgive herself for failing to save Seven and defies orders to travel back in time. Through the aged admiral's interference, a new timeline is created in which Voyager ends up on Earth with most of its crew unharmed.
It could be argued that Seven of Nine is one of the luckiest people in the universe, as Janeway's decision to defy Starfleet's temporal directives gives her a literal second chance at life.
- 3109 VOTES
Quark
Who He Is: Quark is a Ferengi who owns a bar on Deep Space Nine. He works through the Cardassian occupation and continues in his proprietorship following the handoff to the Federation. Despite being a profit-hungry Ferengi, Quark often demonstrates allegiances to his friends and bar patrons, making him occasionally trustworthy and an important figure on board the station.
Why He's So Lucky: Despite constantly committing offenses and doing nearly anything he can do to earn a profit, he has escaped incarceration multiple times. His ability to think on his feet usually gets him out of a jam, and he never pays much of a price for his misdeeds.
Luckiest Moment: When Quark learns that his mother is involved with the Grand Nagus, he quickly becomes elevated as a Ferengi due to his close connection to the leader of his people. Through several different events, he becomes one of the most important people in Ferengi society - until his brother ultimately becomes Nagus instead of him.
It may seem like a bum rap for Quark, but his brother Rom loves him unconditionally, meaning Quark is probably better situated in his culture than if he became the Nagus himself.
- 486 VOTES
Who He Is: Tom Paris grows up under the umbrella of the Federation, as his father, Admiral Paris is a prominent member of the organization. He is a flight officer and helmsman with excellent skills, but he often finds himself getting into trouble with the law.
Why He's So Lucky: Believe it or not, Tom is lucky because he ends up on Voyager. Sure, he has to make a 70,000-light-year trip to get from one end of the galaxy to the other, but his road to redemption comes from that journey where he earns the respect and admiration of his crew.
Luckiest Moment: After reaching an unprecedented Warp 10 in the Cochrane, Paris rapidly mutates into a hideous amphibian, abducts Captain Janeway, and speeds off to a jungle planet. He could have spent the rest of his unnatural life as a frog monster in a swamp, but the Voyager crew tracks him down and administers some anti-proton treatment to bring him back to normal. Luckily, this incident is never mentioned again.
- 578 VOTES
Who He Is: Lieutenant Reginald Barclay lands a position on board the USS Enterprise-D, but due to his nervousness and lack of confidence, he stammers often and ends up causing a lot of problems for the rest of the crew. Despite this, he continues in his career to eventually help in the creation of the Emergency Medical Hologram at Jupiter Station.
Barclay later helps bridge the unfathomable gap of communications between the USS Voyager and the rest of Starfleet when the former winds up on the wrong side of the galaxy.
Why He's So Lucky: Despite being a bumbling fool half the time, Reg becomes a trusted member of the crew. Lt. Cdr. La Forge cuts him a lot more slack than most would in his position, and this results in his continued advancement in Starfleet.
Luckiest Moment: Barclay's Starfleet career includes such incredible highs and abysmal lows that picking one moment is difficult. It could be that time he contracts "Barclay's Protomorphosis Syndrome," which Dr. Crusher names after him, but doesn't mutate into an alien spider. It could also be when Captain Picard chooses not to transfer him off the ship for spending all his free time - and work time - in the holodeck. Or perhaps it's the fact that he is able to achieve any success in Starfleet despite his crippling phobia of transporters.
- 6109 VOTES
Who He Is: A genetically modified human who rises to prominence during the Eugenics Wars of the late 20th century to become the tyrannical ruler of more than a quarter of Earth's population. He and his followers flee persecution in a sleeper ship called the SS Botany Bay, which is how he is discovered and revived in the 23rd century.
Why He's So Lucky: In terms of genetics, Khan wins the genetic lottery, but he would argue that he makes his own luck through pure strength of will, superior tactics, and a genius-level intelligence.
Luckiest Moment: By all rights, Khan should have perished shortly after Kirk exiled him to Ceti Alpha V. A cataclysm on the next planet over, Ceti Alpha VI, wipes out most of the indigenous life on the planet, including Khan's wife. The surviving planet is knocked into a new orbit, turning it into a wasteland. While none of that is lucky, what follows certainly is.
The events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan only occur because Starfleet fails to do its homework. The organization completely overlooks the fact that an entire planet has blown up and been replaced by its neighbor. No sooner does the USS Reliant land on Ceti Alpha V than Khan and his people subdue the crew and seek revenge for their suffering. Khan's lucky that Chekov didn't remember where he'd seen the Botany Bay before - until it was too late to stop him from shoving a worm in his ear.
