Every Major Star Trek Character Who Returned From The Dead

The Star Trek franchise is widely considered one of the biggest and most successful franchises in the history of the genre. Having first stunned audiences in the 1960s with its futuristic ideas and themes of inclusion and acceptance, Star Trek has grown to become one of the most celebrated franchises in modern pop culture. The way the franchise has evolved over the years is impressive and has allowed the stories of the Star Trek universe to retain their appeal to modern audiences. Being such an influential part of the sci-fi genre occasionally sees it fall into certain patterns, including the use of tropes that sometimes draw criticism from fans.

Over the many decades the franchise has been on the air, there have been a few devastating Star Trek deaths. Not even major characters have been safe, with some of them meeting their demise on-screen across the many installments in the franchise. However, Star Trek also has a habit of bringing these characters back after their supposed deaths. How permanent their respective returns proved to be varies, but the simple fact is, many important Star Trek characters seem to find a way to return from the dead.

8) SAM

Seen by some as Star Trek’s replacement for Data, SAM quickly endeared herself to audiences of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. As a Kasqian and the first photonic to attend Starfleet Academy, SAM made franchise history. However, SAM was seemingly killed by the Furies in episode six of Starfleet Academy. She was then revived in the following episode, rewriting her apparent death almost instantly.

7) Tasha Yar

One of the most notorious deaths in the franchise’s history, the abrupt and shocking ending of Tasha Yar’s story in Star Trek: The Next Generation left audiences stunned. Her death was permanent, although that didn’t stop the franchise from bringing her back on more than one occasion. Among the most notable of her returns came in one of the most rewatchable Star Trek episodes, The Next Generation‘s “Yesterday’s Enterprise”, which saw her briefly return via an alternate timeline story.

6) Neelix

Neelix’s role in Star Trek: Voyager found him at the center of one of the show’s most harrowing stories. Though it wasn’t one of the scariest episodes of Star Trek: Voyager, “Mortal Coil” saw Neelix go through a crisis of faith. In the episode, Neelix is killed in a shuttle accident, only to be resurrected by Seven of Nine’s Borg nanoprobes. The story focuses on Neelix’s lack of any spiritual experience during his brief death, and is one of the few times that Star Trek delved deeper into its resurrecation of a main character.

5) Montgomery Scott

There are few characters as synonymous with the early days of the franchise as Scotty in Star Trek’s original series. The engineer was one of the few red-shirted members of the crew who seemed relatively impervious to the curse associated with the clothing, but he was killed off in at least one notable moment. In season 2 epside “The Changeling”, Scotty is killed by the powerful probe Nomad, only for it to later repair him by bringing him back to life.

4) Data

Often considered one of the best characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Data is a legendary figure within the wider franchise. He is also one of the few major characters to have been killed and resurrected on more than one occasion. Star Trek: Nemesis saw Data sacrifice himself to save his friends, only for him to later return, be killed again, then return again in Star Trek: Picard.

3) Dr. “Bones” McCoy

Another of the main characters of the franchise’s original series, Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy was also killed and resurrected within the show. In the season 1 episode “Shore Leave”, McCoy is killed by a black knight while resting on a mysterious planet. As the planet’s secrets are uncovered, its keeper then reverses McCoy’s death, bringing him back to life to allow him to return to active duty aboard the Enterprise.

2) Jean-Luc Picard

The Borg are among the best Star Trek villains of all time, and they’re also responsible for the death and subsequent return of one of the franchise’s most beloved captains. Jean-Luc Picard was initially assimilated by the Borg before having his humanity restored, only to eventually die from the Borg DNA in his brain. However, Picard’s mind and memories were later transplanted into a whole new synthetic copy of his original body, effectively resurrecting him to facilitate the continuation of his story in Star Trek: Picard.

1) Spock

Spock is perhaps the most iconic character in the entire Star Trek franchise. His heroic sacrifice in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan remains one of the franchise’s most memorable moments, as well as one of its most tragic deaths. The sequel, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, swiftly resurrected the character, bringing him back from the dead to allow him to appear in several more movies across the Star Trek franchise.

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