Captain Kirk in Red Star Trek Last Starship Uniform Comic Art
By
Shaun Corley
Published 22 minutes ago
Shaun Corley is a Staff Writer for ScreenRant, a position he has held for five years. While he enjoys many types of comics and graphic novels, he has a particular interest in the licensed Star Trek titles.
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Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek: The Last Starship #2!
Does Captain Kirk ever wear a red-colored uniform in Star Trek? Captain Kirk is a Starfleet legend, and he recently returned to the franchise in IDW’s Star Trek: The Last Starship. Revived hundreds of years after his death, Kirk once again joins Starfleet and embarks on his greatest mission ever, but what uniform will he wear?
In Star Trek: The Last Starship, written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly and drawn by Adrian Bonilla, Captain Kirk is revived by a renegade group of Borg. They see Kirk as a symbol for hope, which is what the galaxy desperately needs.
Star Trek Captain Kirk Uniform
At the end of issue two, he is seen wearing a gold uniform.
Starfleet is a Military Organization, Despite Star Trek's Lofty Ideals
Like Any Military Group, Starfleet Has Uniforms, and They Have Changed Greatly Over Time
Admiral Pike in a TOS movie uniform and the cast of Wrath of Khan
Starfleet is a paramilitary peacekeeping and exploratory fleet, deriving its authority from the United Federation of Planets. Like any military organization, it has a command structure, based on the United States Navy, as well as regulation uniforms. As seen in the various Star Trek movies and shows, there have been many uniform styles.
When Star Trek premiered in 1966, the three branches of Starfleet were noted by the color of their uniforms. Officers in the Command Division wore gold, security and engineering personnel wore red and those in Sciences, which also includes medical, wore blue. This held through all three years of The Original Series.
When Star Trek made the leap to movies in the late 1970s, the production teams decided on new uniforms. Star Trek: The Motion Picture introduced “pajama-style” uniforms that were unpopular with fans. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan debuted the popular “red jacket” style that would hold for many years.
Then, in 1987, the franchise returned to television with Star Trek: The Next Generation. The red jacket uniforms had been replaced by ones resembling those worn in The Original Series, but with some differences. While Science still wore blue, Command and Engineering had switched colors. Command now wore red and engineering wore yellow.
So what led to this change in uniform colors? For years, fans have searched for reasons for the switch. Debates on fan forums have raged, but the truth of the matter is The Next Generation's wardrobe department simply thought red looked better on Patrick Stewart than gold. Gene Roddenberry must have agreed, and thus the colors were changed.
Fans might be disappointed in the lack of an in-universe explanation for the great uniform switch, but the fact is, Star Trek has never been consistent in depicting them.
Fans might be disappointed in the lack of an in-universe explanation for the great uniform switch, but the fact is, Star Trek has never been consistent in depicting them. Different parts of Starfleet wear different types of uniforms. For example, the cast of Deep Space Nine wore jumpsuit-style uniforms while the rest of the fleet wore standard models.
Did Captain Kirk Ever Wear Red on Star Trek? It Depends...
At One Point, Everyone in Starfleet Wore a Red Uniform
So did Captain Kirk ever wear red in Star Trek? Technically, the answer is “yes.” From The Wrath of Khan through his final appearance in Generations, Kirk wore the aforementioned “red jacket” uniforms. However, as red was a standard, fleet-wide color at the time, Kirk had no choice but to wear it.
If fans are looking at the traditional, red/blue/gold color scheme, then the answer becomes a bit more muddled. Kirk’s earliest chronological appearances in the Star Trek timeline have been in Strange New Worlds. On that show, Kirk is seen wearing his regular gold Command colors. By this point in his career, Kirk was nearing the captain’s chair.
It could be possible that Kirk did wear red at some point in his career. Several Starfleet captains, most notably Voyager’s Kathryn Janeway, began in other divisions before going on the Command track. However, all canon sources point to Kirk always being part of the Command division, making it highly unlikely he ever wore Engineering red.
Captain Kirk Is Wearing the Wrong Colors in Star Trek: The Last Starship
Regardless of What Colors Kirk is Wearing, he is a Star Trek Hero
William Shatner as Captain Kirk in Star Trek Generations
When Kirk makes his grand return to Starfleet at the conclusion of The Last Starship #2, he is seen wearing gold. However, in the Starfleet of the 30th century, which Kirk now calls home, Command still wears red. Admiral Sato, one of the book’s central characters, is seen sporting a red uniform.
This means that if Kirk is truly going to take command and save the Federation, he is wearing the wrong colors. No doubt Sato will advise Captain Kirk on proper uniform regulations. This is despite Kirk’s occasional flaunting of rules and regulations. Regardless of what colors Kirk is seen in, he is a Star Trek legend.
Star Trek: The Last Starship #2 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!
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