Christopher Pike

Biography

Christopher Pike, a native of Mojave, California, once owned a horse he called Tango. He became the second captain of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701, though he was the first such captain depicted in Star Trek canon. His predecessor, Robert April, is identified in Star Trek: The Animated Series and various printed materials. Pike assumed command of the Enterprise in 2250 at age 38, succeeding April.

Appearances

In 2254, Captain Christopher Pike and his Enterprise crew are recovering from a disastrous mission on Rigel VII, where several landing party members were killed. The guilt weighs heavily on him, and he is thinking about resigning. While heading to Vega Colony to deliver wounded crew, the ship picks up a distress signal from the SS Columbia, a survey vessel lost eighteen years earlier. Pike first refuses to change course, arguing the injured crew come first, but after a shorter follow-up message arrives, he orders the Enterprise diverted to Talos IV to look for survivors.

On Talos IV, Pike discovers that nearly all the survivors are illusions created by the Talosians to trap the Enterprise. The only real survivor is Vina, and the Talosians use her as a fantasy figure to tempt Pike. With help from his first officer, Number One, and Yeoman J. M. Colt, Pike escapes his cell. The Talosians then show him Vina’s true form: a disfigured older woman. They had saved her life after the Columbia crashed but lacked a model for repairing a human body. Pike asks them to restore her illusory beauty, and the Enterprise departs.

By 2266, before the events of "The Menagerie," Pike has been promoted to fleet captain. While rescuing cadets from a baffle plate rupture on a J-class training vessel, he is exposed to delta ray radiation. The exposure leaves him paralyzed, unable to speak, badly scarred, and confined to a brainwave-operated wheelchair. He communicates only through a light on the chair: one flash for yes, two flashes for no.

Reception

IGN ranked Christopher Pike as the 23rd best character in the entire Star Trek universe back in 2012, based on his appearances in the original series and the 2009 film. A few years later, in 2017, The Washington Post placed him sixth among all Star Trek captains, considering both the Kelvin timeline films (where Bruce Greenwood played him) and the original pilot and series (portrayed by Jeffrey Hunter and Sean Kenney). By 2019, TV Guide had dubbed Anson Mount’s version of Captain Pike from Star Trek: Discovery a “fan favorite,” and also highlighted his first officer, Number One, played by Rebecca Romijn.

That same year, after Pike’s role in Discovery’s second season, Screen Rant ranked Mount’s take as the second best captain in the franchise, praising his bravery for pressing on despite knowing his future as a disfigured man in a wheelchair. The popularity of Mount’s Pike and Ethan Peck’s Spock on Discovery led fans to launch a Change.org petition asking CBS to create a spin-off series focused on their adventures aboard the Enterprise. By November 2019, that petition had gathered more than 29,000 signatures.