DC and Marvel have been competing for decades. As the big two of the comic book industry, they have several superhero counterparts, and their fans are constantly at war regarding who is better. Be it in the comic book storylines themselves or in their respective adaptations, opinions differ, and debates are ongoing.
DC takes the cake when it comes to its characterization and lore-building. There is a sense of hope despite the darkness in the DC universe, and some of it can be credited to Gene Roddenberry’s influence on sci-fi with his show Star Trek. While there are general inspirations, three superhero factions in the DC universe are directly inspired by Star Trek.
DC takes a piece from Gene Roddenberry’s script with Green Lantern Corps and more
Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek sort of pushed the idea that sci-fi was not just meant for big set pieces and disaster, but that technology can be utopian. His hopeful vision of the future included a more inclusive and pacifist approach to interstellar travel. The Starfleet Academy and the Galactic Federation, unlike Star Wars’ Empire, were not fascist and destructive.
Each crew of the Starfleet ships had their mission sorted, which was to explore different worlds and diplomatically solve any issues that arose. While the Captain Kirk era saw a lot of escalations, TNG’s Captain Picard really prioritized diplomacy and peace over attacks. For DC, the Green Lantern Corps and the Legion of Superheroes serve similar functions.
The two groups of heroes are interstellar peace-keeping factions in the DC continuity that include a diverse range of heroes. The Green Lantern Corps is guided by the Guardians of the Universe (like the Federation) to patrol the far reaches of the universe to promote peace. The Legion of Superheroes is a group of younger heroes who promote similar ideas.
Beyond all the philosophical questions and futuristic worlds that Star Trek is known for, Gene Roddenberry’s vision was optimistic, which DC has tried to incorporate in its storylines. Groups like the Green Lantern Corps bring in a Vulcan-like discipline to their duties, balancing emotion and logic during their missions. The inspirations are quite clear.
DC Comics also published a few Star Trek comics and had crossovers with the Green Lantern Corps
While the Star Trek universe has creatively influenced DC comics, the big publisher has also directly collaborated with the sci-fi series. Beginning in the ‘80s, DC Comics published a series of stories with TOS and TNG characters. There were also graphic novels and comic adaptations of the original movies featuring the TOS cast.
The Star Trek universe also crossed over with the Legion of Superheroes, a gang of younger heroes such as Superboy, Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and more. The comic miniseries featured Captain Kirk, Spock, and other crew members of TOS joining hands to figure out how their timelines crossed despite existing centuries apart (via Star Trek).
In 2015, Star Trek teamed up with its most direct DC counterparts, the Green Lantern Corps, in two crossover events. The two-parter included The Spectrum War and Stranger Worlds. While it was still Kirk and Spock who were part of the series, they were depicted as they were portrayed in J.J. Abrams’ Kelvin timeline (via Kotaku).
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
