Star Trek plot holes - Spoilers ahead

oxygen_old

There’s no denying Star Trek is a fine piece of film making, which rebooted a franchise, broke the rule that odd numbered star trek movies suck, and in terms of first movies is far superior to TOS motion picture, or Generations.

However, the writing could have been a bit tighter, I think it’s mostly trekkies like myself who are hung up on these. Which of the above do you consider the biggest plot hole, or plot device. For the record, Im not particularly aggrieved by any of the above, as they do move the story along.

Oh, I think some of above might be covered by the prequel comic (which is on my to read list), but I’m going by the movie only, as %95 of the audience will be.

deathstarkiller

None of them really bothered me. I thought the biggest was Kirk being marooned in the same place as old Spock and close to Scotty but then when I thought about it a bit I like to think that in any timeline it is destined for that particular crew to be on the Enterprise and these coincedences are just the timeline trying to correct itself.
I really did love the movie, the funny thing is I only liked it the first time. It took me a second time to really enjoy it.

User45701

can we get the 3 threads merged?

stereo_steve

When the drill was drilling a hole in earth, where were all the earth shuttles to break the chain.

I were Nero I would have gone to Romulus and told them what was going to happen.

Then give them my ship with all the tech I had on board. They would advance so much faster!

Problem solved!

Taltos

And what exactly was Nero doing for the last 25 years?
Cannot imagine his crew sitting pretty waiting to blow up a planet...

Locamon

Uhura doesn’t tell anybody about the Klingon distress call.

The whole Nero thing just had so many holes in it....were the federation not looking for him for 25 years? Okay maybe his tech allowed him to stay out of the way but it could have been mentioned in the storyline.

Here is a guy who has gone back in time and is given the opportunity to save his future wife but makes no effort -in fact he decides to kill the one person who might be able to make that change later on -or now that he has the matter if he keeps his nose clean he could save her by surviving? and on and on?

Leprachaun

Taltos wrote: »

And what exactly was Nero doing for the last 25 years?
Cannot imagine his crew sitting pretty waiting to blow up a planet...

Yeh killed the leaders of his planet and took over I think,so I assume he was going to evacuate people after getting his revenge on Spok. He did have a 100 odd years to do that so he wasn't really in any rush. I guess dying screwed up his plans a bit.

Vokes

Kirk happens to bump into old Spock here.

Nero makes no effort to save Romulus

Assuming this means warning Kirk-era Romulus, then I would say "what's the point?" - its now a different Romulus / universe since Nero & Old Spock by going back have caused a new timeline by interfering in events. One where in all probability Nero's wife, kids, friends will not exist in. The only way he could have saved his wife and his Romulus was to not interfere with the timeline (just take a step back) until 150yrs later when he could attempt to stop the star going nova. That or if he developed his own time-travel tech.


Uhura doesn’t tell anybody about the Klingon distress call.

Yeh, that made no sense. It was a convenience to help later backup Kirk's theory I guess.


Spock throws Kirk off the ship to an ice planet with the occasional monster.

Thought this was by far the most bizarre thing about the movie. Well that and the Looney Tunes water pipes moment.


Kirk happens to bump into old Spock here.

Yeh that was a bit of a stretch them being only a few km apart.


Kirk makes Captain in a day. A week later, takes full command of federation flag ship.

Not too put out by this one. He had proven himself, saved Earth, etc.. but then so had Young Spock.....hmmm


When the drill was drilling a hole in earth, where were all the earth shuttles to break the chain.

Maybe they have no shuttles with the right tools? Plausible?


When the drill was drilling a hole in Vulcan, where were all the vulcan shuttles.

Like the orbiting Vulcan station, they were destroyed by Nero. Sounds plausible i think.


Scotty transports to the enterprise, which is travelling at full warp, half way to Earth.

It was transwarp technology, no? Used many times before in Trek iirc?

Leprachaun

Vokes wrote: »

Spock throws Kirk off the ship to an ice planet with the occasional monster.

Thought this was by far the most bizarre thing about the movie. Well that and the Looney Tunes water pipes moment.

The monster thing isn't really a plot hole. Kirk was supposed to stay in the pod until feds arrived and he would have been safe inside.

Vokes

Kirk happens to bump into old Spock here.

I thought kicking him off the ship was bizarre and well, illogical heh. (His planet was blown up i guess). But still, it's a stretch. Kirk should have been put in the brig.

oxygen_old

Leprachaun wrote: »

The monster thing isn't really a plot hole. Kirk was supposed to stay in the pod until feds arrived and he would have been safe inside.

I tip my hat to you sir. I can live with that. JJ probly shoulda indicated that a bit more tho.

Vokes wrote: »

Nero makes no effort to save Romulus

Assuming this means warning Kirk-era Romulus, then I would say "what's the point?" - its now a different Romulus / universe since Nero & Old Spock by going back have caused a new timeline by interfering in events. One where in all probability Nero's wife, kids, friends will not exist in. The only way he could have saved his wife and his Romulus was to not interfere with the timeline (just take a step back) until 150yrs later when he could attempt to stop the star going nova. That or if he developed his own time-travel tech.

Nice, Ill go with that.

Vokes wrote: »

When the drill was drilling a hole in earth, where were all the earth shuttles to break the chain.

Maybe they have no shuttles with the right tools? Plausible?

Nah, if that ropey looking drill thing came into our athmosphere, I fairly sure even with current tech we could break it.
I have to say tho, I did love the look of the cadets looking up at a giant drill coming down from space drilling the earth. Eerrie

Vokes wrote: »

Scotty transports to the enterprise, which is travelling at full warp, half way to Earth.

It was transwarp technology, no? Used many times before in Trek iirc?

[/QUOTE]

Not to this extent, when a ship is light years away, at warp with shields up, 100's of years prior to later series.

Beruthiel

Vokes wrote: »

I thought kicking him off the ship was bizarre and well, illogical heh.

That was my thought also.
Still, didn't matter, I thoroughly enjoyed the film.

humanji

Had the ship been in warp for long? In Star Trek they don't go to warp while in a solar system, so they might just have travelled to the edge of the system and gone to warp for a little bit when Kirk beamed on.

Also, it's only a film.

superfly

i find it odd that Romulus which is an advanced technological society didn't have the equipment to tell that their sun was about to go kablooey!
i'm sure we would be able to tell that now with our current tech as you would notice centuries in advance

User45701

oxygen wrote: »

There’s no denying Star Trek is a fine piece of film making, which rebooted a franchise, broke the rule that odd numbered star trek movies suck

Yes there is

Leprachaun

superfly wrote: »

i find it odd that Romulus which is an advanced technological society didn't have the equipment to tell that their sun was about to go kablooey!
i'm sure we would be able to tell that now with our current tech as you would notice centuries in advance

It wasn't their sun. It was a sun a few systems away I think.

User45701

deathstarkiller wrote: »

None of them really bothered me. I thought the biggest was Kirk being marooned in the same place as old Spock and close to Scotty but then when I thought about it a bit I like to think that in any timeline it is destined for that particular crew to be on the Enterprise and these coincedences are just the timeline trying to correct itself.

you sound like caprin Anerax

Taltos wrote: »

And what exactly was Nero doing for the last 25 years?
Cannot imagine his crew sitting pretty waiting to blow up a planet...

did the makkeup do a good job of showing the age 25 years ;ater - thought he looked the same through the movie

L31mr0d

When the drill was drilling a hole in Vulcan, where were all the vulcan shuttles.

Most of the holes I can live with. I can accept Kirk bumping into Spock, as Spock (from the comic) seen where his pod landed and was making his way to it.

I didn't understand why Spock had to jettison Kirk off the enterprise. Maybe he was letting his emotions get to him or viewed Kirk as a possible source of mutiny amongst the crew, so merely putting him in the brig might of seemed like a risk.

My biggest gripe was with the space drill. Why was nobody attacking it on Earth or Vulcan? The only thing I can think of is that it was maybe creating a dampening field that no shuttles or phasers could get close to it. Kirk was only able to disable it on Vulcan because he used the phasers from the future Romulans, not his own. If it was made with Borg tech, it mightn't of modulated itself to shield itself from those weapons yet... :rolleyes:

who knows though, it's a JJ movie, I'm sure when he was proposed with having the space drill start from the romulan spaceship or start from some dangling platform that Kirk would have to space jump to and have a fist fight on he went with the latter as its more exciting, explosive and entertaining than logical. The same with Kirk being jettisoned. His options where to have him sit in the brig and take a crap, or land on an ice moon and escape from two dinosaur like monsters fighting each other only to be saved at the last second by Spock from the future. The latter is more entertaining but less logical... which is why JJ went with it.

robby^5

Uhura doesn’t tell anybody about the Klingon distress call.

Well he is missing part of his ear and has a huge bite mark scar on his head 25 years after the incident with the Kelvin, what he was doing to get mauled I do not know. I'm sure there will be a novel/comic soon enough to explain Nero's 25 year interim, he attacked a Klingon fleet so he must have been up to something bigger than just revenge on spock/federation.

Also Romulans live for hundreds of years just like Vulcans, so 25 years wouldn't have seen Nero and his crew age very much.

oxygen_old

Its actually kinda cool, after the attack on the Kelvin, Nero (a bit OTT with the name?) and his crew were captured and spent years in a klingon prison. Rora penthe, from Star Trek VI.

They escaped, retook their ship and destroyed a fleet of 25 klingon birds of prey. Cool or what? Unfortunatly JJ cut it. Hope its in the directors cut.

Rowley Birkin QC

In no way a Trekkie and thoroughly enjoyed the film but didn't they create a black hole at the end of it? My science isn't the greatest either but don't these things consume everything in their path and never stop?

Otacon

L31mr0d wrote: »

My biggest gripe was with the space drill. Why was nobody attacking it on Earth or Vulcan?

I thought this was explained by the fact that Pike had given them the security codes, so by the time the drill was started, no-one was aware there was an issue.

L31mr0d

When the drill was drilling a hole in Vulcan, where were all the vulcan shuttles.

bigkev49 wrote: »

My science isn't the greatest either but don't these things consume everything in their path and never stop?

Neither is Star Trek... sure black holes consume everything, unless you jettison a few engine cores into them containing matter, anti-matter and dilithium crystals then detonate them, creating a wave that pushes you clear of the sinkhole.

Let me know when you've tested this to see if it works in reality.

L31mr0d

When the drill was drilling a hole in Vulcan, where were all the vulcan shuttles.

Otacon wrote: »

I thought this was explained by the fact that Pike had given them the security codes, so by the time the drill was started, no-one was aware there was an issue.

Yes, he had given them the codes to pass through the security grid, but he didn't render humanity stupid. People looked scared at the sight of it so it wasn't business as usual on Earth, with everyone merely ignoring this thing. But like I said, if it was modified with Borg technology from the future, it would of been able to easily modulate its shields to protect itself against people firing century old phaser tech at it.

humanji

There's also the fact that it didn't seem to take that long to drill a big hole, so maybe Earth was just getting it's ships launched by the time the Enterprise arrived to save the day.

Actually, here's another hole. What happened to Pike's brain slug? They never even mentioned it again. I'm thinking that they could be leaving it for a spin-off show about their wacky adventures together, but I don't know if that show would sell.

KYE409

I brought my girlfriend to see this, because she has a major interest in ST (although refuses to be known as a Trekkie)

I have never seen any Star Trek film/episode before so this was like watching something in a foreign language...still, found it very enjoyable and easy to catch on!

oxygen_old

humanji wrote: »

There's also the fact that it didn't seem to take that long to drill a big hole, so maybe Earth was just getting it's ships launched by the time the Enterprise arrived to save the day.

Actually, here's another hole. What happened to Pike's brain slug? They never even mentioned it again. I'm thinking that they could be leaving it for a spin-off show about their wacky adventures together, but I don't know if that show would sell.

hahaha, class. Also it was a scorpion, not a slug. Poor old Checkoff got the slug in Star Trek II. Still I suppose that doesn’t matter much now. *sigh*

I’m presuming it was removed at Star Fleet medical. I’m sure having that looked at is not something you want to put off. Maybe it passed through, tbh I don’t want to know.

L31mr0d wrote: »

Yes, he had given them the codes to pass through the security grid, but he didn't render humanity stupid. People looked scared at the sight of it so it wasn't business as usual on Earth, with everyone merely ignoring this thing. But like I said, if it was modified with Borg technology from the future, it would of been able to easily modulate its shields to protect itself against people firing century old phaser tech at it.

Was it augmented with Borg tech, I don’t remember that mentioned. Actually I hope Spock Snr is off to StarFleet HQ now to advise or borgs, worf 359, the weird ass thing that attacked in ST IV, and I and II. He can leave out most of TNG movies. Ive a worried feeling he is off to do a Kung Foo type walk around the Earth in his ragged gear.

superfly

oxygen wrote: »

worf 359.

freudian slip?

Lamper.sffc

Kirk happens to bump into old Spock here.

Can i not vote for all of the plot holes. The film was visually good and the story was a mess.

PirateShampoo

Kirk happens to bump into old Spock here.

The whole Ice Planet scene annoyed me, the whole thing was ripped off from different scenes of Star Wars.

FutureGuy

There seems to be very little awareness of the countdown comic prequel. It is well worth a purchase. I have taken the spoilers from a trek wiki and posted below...

The version below doesnt do the book justice...very nice and well worth buying even if you read the spoilers below.

PART 1
Stardate 64333.4. Deep in Romulan territory... Where only a few have gone before...
In the Hobus system, the Narada, a Romulan mining ship under the command of Captain Nero, is in orbit of a barren planet. Aboard the ship, Nero and his crew are preparing to extract minerals from the planet. His second-in-command, Ayel, informs him that they have achieved depth and that the extraction team is prepared to launch at Nero's command. Upon hearing that core samples from the planet contains large deposits of Decalithium, a rare isotope which holds great value in the Romulan Star Empire, Nero gives the order to begin extraction.

Before they can begin extraction, however, Narada's sensors detect extreme fluctuations coming from the Hobus system's star. Nero orders the extraction crew to disengage and return to the Narada, after which a massive solar flare erupts and heads towards them. With interference from the star preventing transporter use, Nero sends an evac shuttle to retrieve the extraction team. Nero orders the helm to lay in a course for Romulus and to engage as soon as the shuttle returns. Ayel tells Nero that they cannot leave without retracting the drill, to which Nero replies that they have no choice. With all crew members safely aboard, the Narada warps out of the star system as the solar flare envelops the planet.

On Romulus, Federation Ambassador Spock is preparing to address the Romulan Senate.

"Romulus. My home for the past forty years. When I first came here I was with the underground reunification movement. Hiding in tunnels, working in shadows. But slowly I saw those few Romulans who were open to outside ideas grow into many. Romulan society went through several years of transformation. Curiosity, tolerance, and diplomacy ceased to be forbidden words in the Empire. Finally, immigration laws were passed, and I was allowed to live legally on Romulus. After years of covert resistance, I could finally assume the role of Ambassador and work for peace without fear of reprisal. But there is still a long way to go."
Spock presents his case to the Senate: the Hobus star is dying, and will soon go supernova, and the Romulan Empire is in danger because of it. He reveals that the star's eruption days earlier not only obliterated the planet but converted the planet's mass into energy, increasing the star's power. More eruptions have occurred since then and the star's power is increasing in intensity. It is Spock's belief that, once the star goes supernova, it will devour not only nearby systems, but the Romulan Empire, as well. His proposed solution is to use decalithium to create highly volatile "red matter," which can be used to create an artificial black hole that can devour the Hobus supernova before it spreads. However, the technology used to process decalithium into red matter can only be found on planet Vulcan.

Spock's solution creates a stir in the Senate, and one senator accuses Spock of being involved in a Vulcan plot against Romulus. The Praetor calls order amongst the senate and apologizes for his colleagues. However, the Praetor is unconvinced that the Hobus star is a threat to the Empire, as Romulan scientists studying the star did not come to the same conclusions. He also assured Spock that the Romulans would not simply hand over a rare and valuable material such as decalithium to the Vulcans, despite Spock's good intentions.

At this point, Nero, who is representing the Mining Guild, calls for a point of order. Upon being recognized, Nero tells the Senate how he and his crew witnessed the star's first eruption and how they barely escaped with their lives. He defends Spock, stating his belief that the Ambassador's conclusions are not far-fetched and that the Empire is running out of time. The Praetor dismisses Nero, however, referring to Spock's conclusions as hasty, drastic, and in need of further investigation. The Praetor then pronounces the proceedings to be closed.

That night, Nero is at home with his wife, Mandana, who is pregnant. Nero tells Mandana that he would never betray the Empire, but he must do something about the star even if it means disobeying the Senate. Mandana replies that he has a loyalty to himself as well as the Empire, and that he will never fail as long as he does what his heart tells him. Later, Nero meets with Spock and offers his services and those of his ship and crew to mine the decalithium Spock needs. Spock reminds Nero that he would be disobeying the Senate and if he is caught, he would spend the rest of his life in prison, never to see his family again. Nero replies that if he does nothing, he would lose his family anyway, and he would do anything to save his wife and the Empire. After looking through Spock's telescope and seeing how massive the supernova has become, Nero tells the Ambassador they must leave now. As Nero leaves to round up his crew, Spock thanks him for his help and his trust.

Nero convinces his crew to take part in the mission, despite their reservations. As he is about to depart, Nero says goodbye to Mandana, promising to be back before their child is born. Mandana then reveals that their child is a son, and proclaims that he will be a miner like his father. Nero and his crew then depart with Spock. Aboard the Narada, Nero tells Spock that his decision to help him was rash and wonders if he can really trust him. To this, Spock offers to mind meld with Nero, to show that he is telling the truth. Nero agrees, but breaks off the meld after seeing images of Mandana.

In the Kimben System, the Nerada begins mining a planet for decalithium. Suddenly, three Reman warbirds warp into the system. Before Nero can raise shields, several Remans transport onto the bridge and take over the ship. Nero's female crewmember manages to grab one of the Remans' disruptors and aims it at the leader of the intruders, demanding that they drop their weapons. Just then, the Narada is rocked by an explosion outside the ship: a Federation starship has begun attacking the Reman vessels.

The commanding officer of the Federation ship hails the Remans:

"Attention, Reman ships! This is Captain Data of the U.S.S. Enterprise. You will cease hostilities at once."


PART 2
Stardate 64390.1. Deeper in Romulan territory... where only a few have gone before...
Aboard the USS Enterprise-E, Captain Data orders his crew to continue firing on the Reman weapons array and to move the Enterprise closer to the Narada. Aboard the Narada, the Reman infiltrators are preparing to kill Ambassador Spock, Nero, and his Romulan crew. Before they can do so, however, Data has the Enterprise beam the Remans' weapons away. With the Remans now defenseless, Nero and his crew subdue them and take back the Narada.

With the situation resolved, Data beams aboard the Narada, where he is greeted by Spock. Data explains that Enterprise came as soon they picked up Spock's identification beacon. Data then informs him that the Reman ships have been disabled and are being held in a tractor beam. After being introduced to Data, Nero asks Ayel for their status; Ayel reports that they only have 78% of the decalithium needed to carry out their plan. Drilling is no longer possible as the plasma power conduit was destroyed in the Reman attack, and repairing it will take time they do not have. At this, Data reveals that there are significant amounts of decalithium aboard the Reman ships, and since it is likely contraband, it would be within Federation law to confiscate it. Nero tells Data that he may be a machine, but he likes the way he thinks.

The Enterprise helps to repair the damage to the Narada and then escorts the mining ship to Vulcan. Nero and Spock are invited to spend the journey aboard the Enterprise, with the promise that Nero will be granted full access to the starship. Aboard the Enterprise, Nero searches the Federation database and begins to read on the commanding officers of past starships named Enterprise, including the legendary James Tiberius Kirk.

That night, Data asks to see Spock. Spock notes that he and Data have not seen each other since before Data's "resurrection"; Data, however, believes "return" to be a more apt description since it denotes the fact that his neural nets were successfully imprinted onto the existing programming of B-4 (see Star Trek Nemesis). Spock notes that he and Data share a unique experience... but that is not why Data called for him. Data informs Spock that the Federation has authorized a covert operation to the Hobus system – in Romulan space – to drill directly into the star to prevent it from going nova.

Meanwhile, on Romulus, members of the Romulan Senate observe that the Hobus star is increasing in mass and is growing more unstable... meaning Spock was correct. A scientist predicts that it will take a few weeks at most for the shockwave to reach Romulus once the star goes Nova. Believing that the fate of the Romulan Empire should not be left in the hands of Spock and the Vulcans, it is suggested that the Romulans invade Vulcan and take the "red matter" weapon by force. The praetor proclaims he will put the matter up for vote in the Senate, then gives the order to begin evacuation protocols for Romulus.

In orbit of Vulcan, Enterprise is contacted by Vulcan security forces. They are greeted by the head of Vulcan security, M'Kan, who tells Captain Data that, while he and the Enterprise crew are welcome, Spock and the Romulans are not. A moment later, however, M'Kan is told that the Romulans have been cleared by the Vulcan High Command. M'Kan then transmits transport coordinates to the Enterprise, informing them that the Federation Ambassador to Vulcan will be there to meet them.

Data, Spock, and Nero then beam down to Vulcan, where Spock receives a cold welcome from M'Kan. M'Kan tells Spock that his decision to leave Vulcan and live on Romulus has left all of Vulcan mistrusting and suspicious of him. Since no one on Vulcan trusts him, Spock wonders why he was permitted to transport to the planet. He is answered by Jean-Luc Picard, now the Federation Ambassador to Vulcan. Picard explains he was the one who convinced the High Command to allow Spock on Vulcan, calling it "an old captain's prerogative."

Spock is taken to address the Vulcan Science Council. The ambassador presents a compelling case, but the council is reluctant to give their "red matter" manipulation technology to the Romulans. The council recesses to make a decision, but ultimately decides not to turn over secrets of Vulcan science to the Romulans. This enrages Nero, who proclaims that they should have taken what they needed rather than ask for it. Picard then informs Nero that the Romulan Senate has issued an evacuation order for Romulus and that Federation ships are en route to lend assistance. Nero, still angered, begins to storm away, wishing to return to his wife and child before it's too late. Before he leaves, however, Spock asks him to leave the decalithium on Vulcan, promising to do whatever they can to carry out their plan. Nero agrees, but warns Spock that if Romulus dies, he will hold the Vulcans responsible.

After the decalithium is transported to the Enterprise, Nero orders Ayel to prepare the Narada for warp back to Romulus. Ayel asks what happened to the weapon they were supposed to bring back to save Romulus. Nero states they will return to Vulcan once they have evacuated as many Romulans as possible, again threatening Vulcan if they are too late.

In Picard's quarters on Vulcan, Picard and Spock discuss the plan to use red matter to stop the Hobus star from going nova. Picard notes that even if they managed to convert the decalithium into red matter, delivering it would be a suicide mission. Spock replies that his path had been set the moment he learned of the star, and despite his work over the years, he knew that even the threat of mutual destruction might not have convinced the Vulcans to help. At this point, Captain Data contacts the ambassadors to inform them that the Hobus star has gone nova.

The Narada arrives in Romulan space. On the viewscreen, Nero witnesses the shock wave from the Hobus star heading towards Romulus. As Nero recalls the last time he talked with his wife, the shock wave strikes Romulus, obliterating the plane



PART 3
Aboard the Narada, looking upon the remains of Romulus, a grief-stricken Nero laments the loss of his wife, his unborn son, his family, his people, and his homeworld. Three Federation Olympic-class hospital ships arrive, having been sent to evacuate Romulus. The lead ship, the Galen, hails the Narada, asking if they can lend assistance. Nero – who suddenly feels strangely calm – replies that he has several injured refugees and requests that they be beamed aboard, and the ships lower their shields to prepare for transport. It is a trap, however: Nero believes the ships did not arrive after the destruction of Romulus by accident, reasoning that the Federation is there to claim Romulan space for their own. He thus transports explosive mining devices to all three ships, destroying them.

Later, the Narada is hailed by the Ruling Council of the Romulan Senate, who have escaped on a Senate shuttle. Nero brings the Council aboard; among them is the Praetor, who carries with him the Debrune Teral'n, an ancient weapon which serves as the greatest symbol of the Empire. The Pretor tells Nero the survival of the Senate will ensure the survival of Romulan civilization. Nero responds that their civilization is dead, and that it died when the Senate ignored his warnings about the Hobus star. The Praetor counters that "humble miners" should respect the heavy responsibility of their leaders; he intends to find a new home for the Debrune Teral'n, a burden which Nero should be fortunate is not his. At this, Nero grabs the weapon and kills two Senators and the Praetor, "relieving" him of his responsibility. He then asks the surviving two Senators how they intended to rebuild the Empire, threatening them with the Teral'n.

With their friends and families dead and their homeworld destroyed, Nero and his crew take part in a Romulan tradition. According to the tradition, when a loved one died, the mourners painted ancient symbols of love and loss onto their skin, indicating grief. In time, the paint would fade, which meant that the mourning period was over and life went on. Rather than using paint, however, Nero and his crew tattoo the symbols onto their skin, making them permanent. As Nero laments, life does not go on; they died with their loved ones and their planet, and all that is left is revenge.

Meanwhile, on Vulcan, Spock and Ambassador Jean-Luc Picard discuss the continuing threat of the Hobus star. The destruction of Romulus was only the beginning; the more the supernova destroys, the more it grows, and within weeks, it could reach both Vulcan and Earth. The only way to stop it is to use red matter create a singularity in the star's core that would devour it from within. A Vulcan councilor reports that they have already begun processing their decalithium stores into red matter, with favorable results. In order to get close enough to the center of the star to deliver the red matter, Ambassador Spock proposes the use of a prototype vessel known as the Jellyfish, which was designed to withstand unstable atmospheres. The ship's designer and pilot, Geordi La Forge, has agreed to lend his support.

Elsewhere, the Narada crew discovers the existence of a cloaked military facility known as The Vault, using an encrypted code acquired from the murdered Senate. The Vault's existence was known only to the Romulan High Command; its purpose is to provide a safe haven for the ruling council in the event of a threat to the homeworld. Nero gains entrance to The Vault, stating that the Praetor gave Nero his Senate codes and the location of the facility before dying of injuries sustained in the destruction of Romulus. Aboard the facility, Nero meets Commander D'Spal, who explains that The Vault is the rendezvous point for what remains of the Romulan fleet.

Nero asks D'Spal for weapons to help the Narada survive the current crisis. She introduces him to an advanced weapons system of Romulan design which utilizes retrofitted Borg technology. In addition to giving their ships warp, cloaking, and sensor capabilities superior to those of Federation vessels, it also uses self-repairing nanotechnology which can fix any damage and allows it to anticipate potential threats and modify its systems accordingly. As Nero looks on in awe, D'Sal states that the Narada would make a fine prototype for this weapons system.

Back on Vulcan, Geordi has arrived with the Jellyfish. He greets Picard, Spock, and Captain Data, noting he thought he had left all the adventure behind when he left Starfleet to design his own ships. In a laboratory where the red matter is being developed, Data reveals the details of their plan to La Forge: a single drop of red matter will be fired from the Jellyfish into the center of the Hobus star, creating a "unique singularity" (a "homemade black hole," as La Forge notes), which will absorb the supernova's energy.

At The Vault, the Narada has been out-fitted with the Borg weapons system. D'Spal reveals that she knows Nero's true intentions – to avenge the destruction of Romulus – and she wants to help him do it. The Narada is capable of bringing their enemies to their knees, and Nero intends on starting with Vulcan.

On Vulcan, La Forge and Data reminisce while the Jellyfish is being modified to safely carry red matter. In Ambassador Picard's quarters, Picard and Spock discuss the discovery of the bodies of the Romulan Senate floating in space, near the last known location of the Federation ships that were sent to evacuate Romulus. There are no signs of the Federation ships, and over the past few days, there have been reports of other ships vanishing near Romulan space, not only those of the Federation, but those belonging to the Cardassians and the Klingons, as well. Spock theorizes that Nero is behind all of this, a frightening aspect given Nero's warning that he would blame Vulcan should Romulus be destroyed.

Spock reveals that he will be piloting the Jellyfish rather than La Forge, since there is a high probability that whoever carries out this mission will not return; La Forge is still a young man, but Spock is "reaching the end of [his] adventures." Spock also feels obliged to carry this mission out to the end, as it was he who first warned of the star's danger and who failed to predict when it would go nova. Picard expresses his understanding, and assures Spock that he has made arrangements to prevent Nero from carrying out his threat to Vulcan.

Elsewhere, the advanced Narada has just finished destroying another Federation vessel. Nero gives the order to prepare the Narada for the final warp to Vulcan. Ayel expresses reluctance at this, reminding Nero that they are miners, not soldiers. He suggests that they wait until the Romulan fleet has been reassembled. Nero replies that there is no time for that, as Spock and the Federation are no doubt racing to save Vulcan. He tells Ayel to trust his captain, just as he trusts his crew; they are all ready.

Suddenly, the Narada is struck by weapons fire. Multiple Klingon Birds-of-Prey have decloaked and surrounded the Narada. One of the attacking ships hails the Narada, informing the crew that they are wanted for crimes against the Klingon Empire for violating their borders and slaughtering their citizens. The Klingon gives Nero and his crew a warning:

I am General Worf of the Klingon Empire. You will surrender your ship to us. Or you will die with it.

PART 4
On the border of the Klingon and Romulan Empires, General Worf and his fleet of Klingon Birds-of-Prey continue their assault on the Narada. However, their weapons have no effect on the Narada's advanced deflector shields. Growing wearisome of Worf's attacks, Captain Nero has the Narada cloak, making his ship invisible to the Klingons' sensors. The Narada then commences firing on the Klingon ships while cloaked, a trick Worf proclaims Nero must have stolen from the Klingons.

With the Klingon ships disabled, Nero demands that Worf board a shuttle and surrender himself on behalf of the Klingon Empire. Worf orders his subordinate, K'Relli, to prepare a shuttle; when K'Relli protests, Worf warns him not to question his orders again, and reminds him that Klingons never surrender. A shuttle departs Worf's ship, but stops short of the Narada's airlock; Worf and a number of his subordinates then leave the shuttle in EV suits and begin cutting into the Narada's hull. On the bridge of the Narada, Nero sends members of his crew to meet the invading Klingons.

Meanwhile, on Vulcan, the modifications to the Jellyfish have been completed and the vessel is ready for its mission into the Hobus star. Geordi La Forge informs Spock that the controls for the Jellyfish are encrypted so that they will only respond to Spock's voice. Captain Data then announces that the Klingon fleet has engaged Nero in battle, and Ambassador Jean-Luc Picard suggests that Spock depart on his mission now. In the meantime, the USS Enterprise-E will assist Worf in the battle against Nero. Spock urges the others to remember that, at heart, Nero is a good man and that perhaps they can still save him from himself. Spock then leaves for the Hobus star aboard the Jellyfish, telling the others that, should their paths never cross again, he knows that the galaxy is in good hands.

Back on the Narada, the Klingons and the Romulans have engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Worf heads to the bridge, where Nero attempts to persuade him that the Federation is using Worf, just as Nero believes Spock used him to get what he wanted, but Worf is unfazed. Nero, having read about Worf in the Enterprise database and knowing he can only be defeated by surprise, attacks Worf from behind using a mechanical tendril, impaling him. As Worf, critically injured, hangs from the tendril, Nero tells him that after he destroys Vulcan and Earth, he will destroy the Klingon homeworld.

The Enterprise, commanded by Data with Picard and La Forge also on board, arrives to find all that remains of the Klingon fleet is debris. The Narada then decloaks and Nero appears on the Enterprise's viewscreen, with the impaled Worf in the background. Nero notices that Spock is not aboard the Enterprise and deduces he has gone to stop the Hobus supernova. Picard attempts to reason with Nero, but the mad Romulan ignores him. Nero then offers to transport the barely-living Worf onto the Enterprise; all the Enterprise has to do is lower its shields.

Data and Picard figure that, should the Enterprise lower its shields, Nero will attempt to destroy them, and there is no guarantee that Nero will even return Worf. However, if they do not lower the shields, then Worf will most certainly die. Picard reasons that Nero will have to drop his own shields, as well, which may be their only chance to stop him. If the Enterprise can restore its shields fast enough, then damage to the ship could be contained. Data makes a decision: he lowers the shields. Nero has the injured Worf beamed to the Enterprise, and then immediately opens fire on the Federation ship.

The Enterprise manages to get its shields back online, but the ship sustains heavy damage in engineering and its warp engines are disabled. Nero then takes the Narada to the Hobus star to stop Spock from accomplishing his mission. Data reports that damage to engineering is contained and that warp power will be restored in minutes. Picard hopes that will be enough time.

As the Jellyfish nears the Hobus star, Spock sends out a subspace message detailing his mission. He notes that it will be impossible for him to escape the pull of the singularity he hopes to create, and thus he never expected to return. He asks that the message, should it ever be received, be delivered to the Vulcan Science Academy. He then delivers the red matter into the core of the Hobus star. Within moments, a black hole begins to form, consuming the supernova.

As the singularity grows, the Narada decloaks. Nero tells Spock that he may have saved his own people, but he did so at the cost of Romulus. Nero is preparing for his revenge, but the singularity begins to pull in the Narada. Nero vows that he will have his vengeance as the Narada disappears into the singularity. With his task accomplished and the galaxy no longer threatened by the Hobus star, Spock resigns himself to his fate, telling his friends not to grieve, for it is only logical. He begins to say "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few", but he is pulled into the singularity before he can finish.

The Enterprise arrives to find no sign of the supernova, the Jellyfish, or the Narada. Picard realizes that Spock knew he wouldn't escape and that he sacrificed himself to save the galaxy. As the Enterprise continues on its voyage, Picard laments, "May his soul live long... and prosper."

TO BE CONTINUED... ONSCREEN IN STAR TREK

edit Background Information
With the conclusion of the Countdown series, there are several similarities between the normal timeline, and the Anti-time future as experienced by Picard in the TNG finale All Good Things... (episode). These include: Picard retiring from Starfleet and taking an ambassadorial position (on Vulcan in Countdown, unknown in Anti-time); La Forge retiring from Starfleet and becoming self employed (a novelist in the anti-time future, starship designer in Countdown); Worf serving as a high ranking member of the Klingon military; and Data, being alive and well, and continuing his career. Presumably, the destruction of Romulus provides the Klingons the opportunity to overtake Romulan space, as depicted in the Anti-time future.

CivilServant

Kirk makes Captain in a day. A week later, takes full command of federation flag ship.

Why is the last option "Scotty transports to the enterprise, which is travelling at full warp, half way to Earth." getting the most votes, that was explained in the movie quite clearly... by using an equation from the future, bish, bang wallop, they're on the enterprise, plot hole solved.

Rowley Birkin QC

L31mr0d wrote: »

Neither is Star Trek... sure black holes consume everything, unless you jettison a few engine cores into them containing matter, anti-matter and dilithium crystals then detonate them, creating a wave that pushes you clear of the sinkhole.

Let me know when you've tested this to see if it works in reality.

Pretty sure I have at some stage, sounds like a combination of multiple pints of Guinness along with some Indian food. Didn't go well tbh, thus proving this is a major plot hole. :pac:

L31mr0d

When the drill was drilling a hole in Vulcan, where were all the vulcan shuttles.

bigkev49 wrote: »

Pretty sure I have at some stage, sounds like a combination of multiple pints of Guinness along with some Indian food. Didn't go well tbh, thus proving this is a major plot hole. :pac:

your confusing a black hole with the more common red hole :pac:

Rowley Birkin QC

L31mr0d wrote: »

your confusing a black hole with the more common red hole :pac:

I think that's more than enough of that.

oxygen_old

CivilServant wrote: »

Why is the last option "Scotty transports to the enterprise, which is travelling at full warp, half way to Earth." getting the most votes, that was explained in the movie quite clearly... by using an equation from the future, bish, bang wallop, they're on the enterprise, plot hole solved.

Because this was the most blatant step out of the Star Trek mythos. The enterprise had been gone for at least an hour at that stage, enough time to get them far the hell away, even in Spock Snr's time, a transporter that can transport light years away, through shields, with a single operator at the controls is a game changing technology. It was a major lazy plot device. Why not just have Scottie have a ship on the planet they use or something.

Steviemak

CivilServant wrote: »

Why is the last option "Scotty transports to the enterprise, which is travelling at full warp, half way to Earth." getting the most votes, that was explained in the movie quite clearly... by using an equation from the future, bish, bang wallop, they're on the enterprise, plot hole solved.

By far this was the most ridiculous - Why would you need ships to travel at all if you could transfer yourself at faster than full warp over huge distances. In the later Star Trek TNG people were always out of transporter range etc.

L31mr0d

When the drill was drilling a hole in Vulcan, where were all the vulcan shuttles.

FutureGuy wrote: »

There seems to be very little awareness of the countdown comic prequel. It is well worth a purchase. I have taken the spoilers from a trek wiki and posted below...

Much appreciated. That would of actually made a great episode of Star Trek, and it nicely answers a lot of the questions about Neros motivation, his tattoos, the Narada and the origins of Red Matter.

Stark

When the drill was drilling a hole in earth, where were all the earth shuttles to break the chain.

Vokes wrote: »

Kirk makes Captain in a day. A week later, takes full command of federation flag ship.

Not too put out by this one. He had proven himself, saved Earth, etc.. but then so had Young Spock.....hmmm

There were plenty of TNG episodes where Counsellor Troi, Doctor Crusher, her mutant son or some other lower ranking officer would save the day after finding themselves in charge of the ship for a few hours. Wesley Crusher received a promotion to Ensign for his efforts but that was about it. Bit of a stretch to suggest that Kirk should get an immediate promotion from Academy cadet to captain of the Federation's flagship after one moment of glory. If they were feeling generous, he might have gotten a skip level promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade but that would be about as far as you could push the bounds of plausability.

Draupnir

Stark wrote: »

There were plenty of TNG episodes where Counsellor Troi, Doctor Crusher, her mutant son or some other lower ranking officer would save the day after finding themselves in charge of the ship for a few hours. Wesley Crusher received a promotion to Ensign for his efforts but that was about it. Bit of a stretch to suggest that Kirk should get an immediate promotion from Academy cadet to captain of the Federation's flagship after one moment of glory. If they were feeling generous, he might have gotten a skip level promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade but that would be about as far as you could push the bounds of plausability.

Apart from the fact that Nero had just wiped out a tonne of the federations other ships upon arrival at Vulcan?

As such, Kirks class were the newest batch of graduates from Academy who weren't brown bread or tied to other ships already. It was either give them the ship or promote someone from the rest of the federation.

Since Pike commented that Kirk was exceptionally gifted BEFORE he went to the Academy, you'd have to assume he was pretty stand out academically and mentally so on those grounds, I don't think it is a plot hole.

CivilServant

Kirk makes Captain in a day. A week later, takes full command of federation flag ship.

oxygen wrote: »

Because this was the most blatant step out of the Star Trek mythos. The enterprise had been gone for at least an hour at that stage, enough time to get them far the hell away, even in Spock Snr's time, a transporter that can transport light years away, through shields, with a single operator at the controls is a game changing technology. It was a major lazy plot device. Why not just have Scottie have a ship on the planet they use or something.

Steviemak wrote: »

By far this was the most ridiculous - Why would you need ships to travel at all if you could transfer yourself at faster than full warp over huge distances. In the later Star Trek TNG people were always out of transporter range etc.

Fair enough

JCDenton

Sorry folks, but I really don’t understand the problem with Kirk meeting Scotty on that ice planet…


What if I had a television that could show you the past; and I showed you a video of the first time your parents met.

Would your opinion be – “that’s ridiculous! It’s waaaaaay too much of a coincidence to believe that they were both in the same pub that night!”


I don’t get why it’s seen as such a far-fetched contrivance, that’s just the way it happened.

?

User45701

JCDenton wrote: »

Sorry folks, but I really don’t understand the problem with Kirk meeting Scotty on that ice planet…


What if I had a television that could show you the past; and I showed you a video of the first time your parents met.

Would your opinion be – “that’s ridiculous! It’s waaaaaay too much of a coincidence to believe that they were both in the same pub that night!”


I don’t get why it’s seen as such a far-fetched contrivance, that’s just the way it happened.

?

think about the passabality considering the size of the planet - also consiuder how moronic it was of nero to leave spock so close to a federation base. its a big planet and the odds of pine landing beside spock are so low much loer than your parents being the same pub ...

Stark

When the drill was drilling a hole in earth, where were all the earth shuttles to break the chain.

JCDenton wrote: »

Sorry folks, but I really don’t understand the problem with Kirk meeting Scotty on that ice planet…


What if I had a television that could show you the past; and I showed you a video of the first time your parents met.

Would your opinion be – “that’s ridiculous! It’s waaaaaay too much of a coincidence to believe that they were both in the same pub that night!”


I don’t get why it’s seen as such a far-fetched contrivance, that’s just the way it happened.

?

Your parents weren't the sole two occupants of an entire planet.

FishFood

In many other episodes of Star Trek throughout the various series there have been attempts to alter timelines/events etc. I would think this film constitutes a major attempt to alter the past.

Why then arent the 'temporal division' of the future federation, who turn up quite often in the series to avert any changes, involved in this case?

Surely this constitutes a major restructure that relates specifically to the federation, ie exactly their bloody job!

irisheddie85

Spock throws Kirk off the ship to an ice planet with the occasional monster.

the movie was pretty good but it is basically a way of making more star trek movies without trying to tie in with the original series-its all a parallel universe. Everything that happened in star trek is gone, blank slate do what ever you like to make money from here on in.
They stuck in some references to the old shows to give you some ties to it. like kirk with the green alien. To make you see it as still the same charachters but now they can do whatever they want with them.
O ya and i like simon pegg in shaun of the dead and hot fuzz but what was he at in this movie. Hopefully if there is a second one he can tone it down or die in a transporter accident involving a common household fly

L31mr0d

When the drill was drilling a hole in Vulcan, where were all the vulcan shuttles.

irisheddie85 wrote: »

O ya and i like simon pegg in shaun of the dead and hot fuzz but what was he at in this movie. Hopefully if there is a second one he can tone it down or die in a transporter accident involving a common household fly

America wants a stereotype tbh. We noticed how hammed up he was but I'm sure Americans thought he was your average Scottish person. You only have to listen to what passes for an Oirish accent to see that they have a warped opinion of this side of the Atlantic. Just look what they did to Mr. Bean, and frankly, Pegg in this was a sight better than the role he was given in "How to lose friends and alienate people"

irisheddie85

Spock throws Kirk off the ship to an ice planet with the occasional monster.

L31mr0d wrote: »

and frankly, Pegg in this was a sight better than the role he was given in "How to lose friends and alienate people"

I forgot how utterly terrible that movie was, thanks for reminding me now i have to block it out again

NuMarvel

Probably not strictly a plothole, but can we add "Supernova that threatened the galaxy" to this list? That and the ability to transport to a ship that's been moving at warp for as long as you've been walking 14 kms in arctic conditions (never mind being interrupted by Cloverfield Jr) were two big clangers in the plot. Nero's motivations were a bit suspect as well, but on a second viewing there are a few lines of dialogue that could explain these to a degree.

The supernova thing though is where it really struck me that they just threw phrases out because they sounded techy.

That said, it's still a great movie. And I'm off to see it in IMAX next week (thank god for cheap flights). Just wanted to gloat about that

L31mr0d

When the drill was drilling a hole in Vulcan, where were all the vulcan shuttles.

NuMarvel wrote: »

Probably not strictly a plothole, but can we add "Supernova that threatened the galaxy" to this list?

Read the spoiler'd post by FutureGuy on the previous page. It clears up most of the holes, including Neros motivation and why the supernova could threaten the galaxy.

trishw78

I liked the movie, the only bit I didn't like was messing with my understanding of time & Paradoxes. Shouldn't Young Spock meeting Old Spock cause the universe to implod or something, this was explained very well as to why it doesn't happen. By Old Spock simply saying that "nah it doesn't actually happen" isn't good enough for me. JJ Abrams is doing the same thing in Lost and I don't like it