Star Trek and Star Wars are usually seen as very different science fiction worlds. However, despite their differences, the creative visions of Gene Roddenberry and George Lucas occasionally overlap. Now, the new Star Trek series, Starfleet Academy, is exploring one of those shared ideas.
It’s clear that Star Trek and Star Wars use the same basic approach to show who’s fighting on the side of good and who’s fighting for the bad guys.
Starfleet Academy Reveals Star Trek Is Now Playing By Star Wars Rules
The final episode of Starfleet Academy, titled “Rubincon,” is now available on Paramount+, and it delivers a truly exciting conclusion to the season. The episode before this one established high stakes when the season’s villain, Nus Braka (played by Paul Giamatti), finally acted on his plans, threatening the Federation with a powerful weapon called the Omega molecule. He manages to capture both Captain Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter) and Anisha Mir (Tatiana Maslany), a former criminal who also happens to be the mother of cadet Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta).
Following a classic Star Trek pattern, Braka accuses the Federation of wrongdoing. He’s trying to discredit them to persuade other independent worlds to join him in a new alliance. The situation becomes deeply personal when Braka shares his tragic history, including the destruction of his home planet. He claims the Federation was responsible, remembering a devastating “red hellfire,” but Caleb and Ake point out that Federation weapons haven’t been red for centuries – they now use blue and green. This contradiction reveals that Braka’s own father was actually the one who destroyed the planet, publicly embarrassing him in front of those he was trying to recruit.
Is Star Trek Formally Adopting Star Wars Battle Rules?
Anyone who’s been a Star Trek fan for a while knows the show’s rules about how weapons look have changed a lot over the years. In the original series, the colors of the weapons in space battles were whatever the special effects team could create with the technology of the 1960s and 70s. When The Next Generation started, they decided the Enterprise’s phasers would always be orange or red, and photon torpedoes would be clearly red. But later shows, like Deep Space Nine and Voyager, didn’t always stick to those colors. Typically, weapons used by Star Trek’s enemies – like the Klingons and Romulans – were shown as green. Cardassian weapons were usually yellow, and less common villains, such as the Dominion or the Xindi, often had weapons in colors like purple or teal.
If you’ve watched any space battles in Star Trek, you’ve probably noticed that heroes typically fire green beams, while villains like the Klingons use red. Many viewers didn’t realize this shift happened until it was highlighted in the episode “Rubincon,” but now it’s clear. This change should make it easier for fans of both Star Trek and Starfleet Academy to follow the action.
Why This Color-Coded Weapons Change Makes Sense for Starfleet Academy
Starfleet Academy is a new take on Star Trek, taking place further in the future than any previous series – specifically, in the 32nd century. It builds upon the time travel elements introduced in Star Trek: Discovery. The story follows a ship from the 23rd century – the era of The Original Series – as it attempts to restore the original principles of Starfleet to a future devastated by an event called ‘The Burn.’ This catastrophe destroyed warp drive capabilities for 120 years, leaving many worlds isolated. Starfleet Academy focuses on Starfleet’s efforts to rebuild and rediscover a galaxy where the Federation is much smaller and numerous systems have been cut off for decades.
After so many years and with the Federation completely rebuilt, it’s reasonable to think that the genetic alterations used by both them and their opponents might have changed over time. Traditionally, sci-fi villains are often shown with red coloring, while heroes are usually depicted with blue, green, or gold. Using these familiar colors in Star Trek could make the show easier for new viewers to understand and enjoy.
You can now watch Season 1 of Starfleet Academy on Paramount+. Join the conversation about the show on the ComicBook Forum!
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2026-03-13 18:40