Star Trek: 10 Crazy Spock Fan Theories That Have Actually Been Confirmed

Fan theories aren't a new idea. They've been a thing since the Golden Age of Radio. The Star Trek franchise, which goes all the way back to the 1960s, has all kinds of fan theories about its lore, storylines, and main characters. Spock is the focus of many creative theories, not only because of his popularity but because he and the Vulcan race he represented were always quiet, mysterious people. What secrets were they hiding? What did they already know about the universe, and what were they willing to reveal to humans?

The legend of Spock continues with modern movies and television shows that reveal more about his backstory. Here are are few, both vintage and contemporary, that were not only weird but turned out to be true. Take a trip back to the very beginning of fan theories and franchises and enjoy these ten crazy fan theories about Spock that actually became canon.

11 Sherlock Spock

This is a theory that's been floating around for decades. Even in the early '60s, fans were speculating about Spock's heritage on both sides of the galaxy. Was his human mother related to anyone important or famous on earth? Given some of Spock's blunt quips and preference for cold hard logic, many fans associated him with Sherlock Holmes. This theory was confirmed in the film Star Trek VI, The Undiscovered Country. Amanda Grayson, Spock's mother, is a descendant of Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle was the real version of Sherlock Holmes in a variety of ways, using facts and forensics to help the police solve crimes. This was passed on to Spock, who uses deduction and science to solve modern mysterious.

10 Vulcans and Romulans

This extends beyond Spock to the whole Vulcan race. It also gives some interesting insight as to the place of humans in the universe. When Romulans first appeared in Star Trek: TOS, viewers would have noticed that both races look remarkably similar. What could probably be explained by a limited budget back in the day spawned a whole new bunch of fan theories, the most prominent one being that Romulans and Vulcans were closely related, or maybe even the same race? This turned out to be true. When the Vulcan philosopher Surak introduced the concept of logic as a way of life in an effort to turn the Vulcans away from violence, some dissented and left Vulcan, settling on the twin planets of Romulus and Remus and becoming the Romulans.

9 His Family Name

Vulcans tend to have short first names ith no mention of family names or other titles. It didn't take long for fans to speculate about how Vulcans traced their ancestry, named their children, or signed their checks. Several theorized that Vulcans had longer names, but they were so complicated that other races, especially humans, couldn't pronounce them. This was eventually revealed in the canon as truth, but never on screen. In the novel Ishmael, Spock's full name is revealed as  S'chn T'gai Spock. Since the name apparently can't be pronounced by the human tongue, it might be tricky to make it part of a television or movie script, hence its absence.

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7 Spock Is Married

"Amok Time" is a classic TOS episode that answered a lot of questions about Spock, not only regarding his culture but his character. We not only find out more of the mysteries of Pon Farr, but more about Spock personally. Fans had some deep suspicions about Spock's love life, and many thought he might be hiding someone secretly, maybe even a wife back on Vulcan. This theory was revealed to be true. T'Pring and Spock had been betrothed since they were children, but there was little affection between the two of them. Her cold and calculated plan contrasted starkly with Spock's madness, which almost leads him to kill his best friend. The split second of joy that flashes over Spock's face when he finds out Kirk isn't dead is one of the best moments in Star Trek history.

6 Spock's Not Dead

Does anyone else remember an old movie called Wrath of Khan? Do you remember that Spock actually died at the end? And we don't mean a silly, modern movie death where he comes back to life a scene later because of magic blood or something equally stupid. They put him in a coffin, have a funeral, play "Amazing Grace" on bagpipes and shoot him into space. There wasn't a dry eye in that theater. Spock was dead. Or was he?

Fans theorized that he would somehow be returned to life. Such a popular, well-loved character couldn't die right when the movies were hitting their stride. They were right. In the next movie, aptly titled The Search for Spock, the title character is returned to life thanks to a quirk of the Genesis project. Of course, this is never explained in detail other than Kirk's son David mentioning that he threw an unstable material called "protomatter" into the mix. We don't care, we're just glad Spock is back.

5 "One Punch Man"

If you wanted kicks and roundhouse punches, you could ask Kirk. Spock was the quiet intellectual on the ship, using little more than his deadly neck pinch to peacefully subdue his enemies. After a few episodes of this, fans theorized that Spock was secretly much stronger than an average human because of his Vulcan heritage. This was eventually revealed to be true. It's especially apparent in modern movies when Spock succumbs to his emotions and gets physical. Perhaps his human side makes him stronger? Either way, you would never find Spock in a bar to take part in any brawls anyway, but then again if he was there, he'd be the last man standing.

4 Vulcan Loyalty

Another oldie but a goody, this refers to Spock's character and behavior as a Starfleet officer. Vulcans are fiercely loyal, and Spock in particular, especially when it comes to the chain of command. That meant it would be virtually impossible for him to betray or lie to Kirk. Fans whispered about a possible clink in this armor, however, and they were proved right because of an obscure loophole.

Before he was the second in command of the Enterprise under Captain Kirk, he was the Chief Science Officer under the command of Captain Christopher Pike. Just as fans predicted, Spock did eventually take on his own private mutiny aboard the Enterprise to help his former Captain in a time of need. Luckily it turned out all right in the end and nobody needed a court-martial after all.

3 Leonard Nimoy, the Good Alien

Here's a theory that extends outside of the Star Trek universe and includes anyone who loves Leonard Nimoy. That means all of us, but most importantly Gene Roddenberry. When Roddenberry first saw Nimoy, during screen tests for other TV shows like The Lieutenant, he noticed his features and predicted that the actor would eventually play a "good alien." Fans of Nimoy might not have consciously realized this, but the actor clearly had a unique connection with the viewers. When Nimoy auditioned for the part of Spock, Roddenberry wasn't the only one who was thrilled. The rest is Star Trek history.

2 The Star of Vulcan

Her name means "Star of Freedom." Uhura is another fan favorite, and this theory involves both her and Spock. After Star Trek: TOS episodes like "The Menagerie" fans wondered what other changes the crew of the USS Enterprise had gone through between the age of Pike and the era of Kirk. Some theories speculated that other characters were intended to be Vulcans along with Spock or even instead of him. When Michelle Nichols first auditioned for a part in Star Trek, it was originally as a Vulcan character. Later on, it was decided that Spock would be the Vulcan, and he would be on his own, at least on the bridge. Fans were right about those other Vulcans, though, now lost to the past but revived in the modern incarnations of the show.

1 Spock of Satan

Not everyone liked Spock. During the early years of doing public relations for the show, fans noticed Spock's pointed ears were missing in the publicity shots. The photos were clearly of Spock, working at his station in full uniform, but without the distinctive Vulcan trait. Why were they different? Fans speculated from the mundane to the insane. Perhaps the photos were old and predated that change, or maybe the studio execs at CBS had doctored the pictures to make Spock look less demonic. The latter theory, which sounds like Diablo 2fanfiction, actually turned out to be correct. Afraid of offending their Christian viewers, the marketing team removed the ears from the pictures. Interesting that nobody seemed to care about Kirk's morals when it came to women offending anyone.

Source: screenrant.com