Television Star Trek: The Original Series ; "The Cage" At the beginning of "
The Cage", set in the year 2254, Pike and his crew are recuperating from a mission to Rigel VII during which several members of the landing party were killed by the inhabitants. The incident filled Pike with so much guilt that he is considering resigning his commission. Meanwhile, the
Enterprise is en route to Vega Colony to drop off wounded crew members when it receives a distress call from the survey vessel SS
Columbia, lost eighteen years previously. Pike initially refuses to investigate, citing that the injured crew members take priority. However, when an abbreviated follow-up message is received, he orders the ship diverted to
Talos IV to rescue survivors. Pike soon learns that all but one of the survivors are illusions created by the Talosians in order to lure the
Enterprise crew to Talos IV. The Talosians make every effort to provide fantasies that they hope will appeal to Pike, using Vina, the only real
Columbia survivor, as the object of desire. After Pike escapes from his prison cell with the aid of his first officer,
Number One, and Yeoman J. M. Colt, the Talosians reveal, to Pike, Vina's real appearance as a disfigured older woman. The Talosians saved her life after the
Columbia crashed, but they had no guide on how to repair a human body. Pike requests that the Talosians restore her illusion of beauty and the
Enterprise leaves Talos IV. ; "The Menagerie" At some point prior to the two-part episode "
The Menagerie", set in the year 2266, Pike is promoted to
fleet captain. He is severely injured while rescuing several
cadets from a baffle plate rupture on board a J-class training vessel, the
delta ray radiation leaving him paralyzed, unable to speak, badly scarred, and using a brainwave-operated wheelchair for mobility. His only means of communicating is through a light on the chair: one flash meaning "yes" and two flashes indicating "no". In "The Menagerie", the
Enterprise, now under the command of Captain
James T. Kirk, travels to Starbase 11.
Spock, who had served with Pike for "eleven years, four months, and five days", makes clandestine arrangements to take Pike back to Talos IV, despite travel to Talos IV being the only criminal offense still punishable by
death in Starfleet. Spock undergoes
court-martial, with his evidence presented during the trial being footage from "The Cage". At the two-part episode's conclusion, it is revealed that the entire procedure was a Talosian-generated illusion to ensure that the
Enterprise reached Talos. The Talosians invite Captain Pike to spend the remainder of his life among them, "unfettered by his natural body", which was the entire purpose of Spock's actions. Pike accepts the offer and Spock, now cleared of all charges, sees him off. The Talosians then show Captain Kirk an image of Pike in perfect health and reunited with Vina (another scene from "The Cage").
Star Trek: Discovery panel for
Discovery Prior to appearing on
Star Trek: Discovery as a main character, Pike is referenced twice in the show's first season. The episode "
Choose Your Pain" has Pike listed on the Starfleet Database as one of Starfleet's most decorated Captains as of 2256. (Also included in the list are
Jonathan Archer,
Matt Decker,
Philippa Georgiou and
Robert April.) The season finale "Will You Take My Hand?" shows the
Enterprise on-screen, with Pike sending a distress call to the
Discovery.
Anson Mount being cast as Captain Pike for the second season was announced on April 9, 2018. Captain Christopher Pike was introduced to
Star Trek: Discovery in the second-season premiere, "
Brother", which first aired in the U.S. on January 17, 2019. Set in the years 2257–2258, the season-long story arc involves Pike assuming temporary command of the USS
Discovery while the
Enterprise is disabled, in order to investigate the mysterious "red signals" – temporal anomalies appearing throughout space that have some connection to the apparent breakdown and disappearance of Spock. The planet Talos IV reappears in the episode "If Memory Serves", which also has Pike and Vina once again making mental contact. In the episode "Through the Valley of Shadows", Pike receives a premonition of his own future including his injury and disfigurement. He is forced to choose between taking a time crystal from Boreth which would solve the red signal crisis at the cost of his disability in the future or risking the fate of the galaxy. He chooses to remain loyal to Starfleet ideals and accept his future injuries. Pike departs the show in the season finale "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2", first aired 18 April 2019, which shows him relinquishing command of the USS
Discovery to
Saru, who solves the crisis by taking the ship 930 years into the future. Pike reunites with Spock and chooses to resume command of the
Enterprise, knowing his future but enjoying the present.
Star Trek: Short Treks Anson Mount reprised his role as Pike in the first three episodes of the second season of the anthology series
Star Trek: Short Treks. originally airing October 5 to November 14, 2019.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds After Anson Mount left
Discovery following the second-season finale, fans of the series began calling for him to reprise his role of Christopher Pike in a spin-off set on the
USS Enterprise, alongside
Rebecca Romijn as
Number One and
Ethan Peck as
Spock. Alex Kurtzman confirmed that development on such a series had begun in January 2020. Production began on the series in February 2021, and the series premiered in May 2022. In the first season, set in the year 2259, Pike undergoes a crisis of faith concerning his future injuries. He spends much of the season debating and grappling with the forthcoming incident. When he encounters a child who will become one of the cadets he will fail to save, Pike attempts to alter the timeline to save everyone and himself. However, his future self Admiral Pike appears with a time crystal to reveal that averting his fate leads to an alternate timeline where the events of “
Balance of Terror” took place with Pike, not Kirk, commanding the
Enterprise. Pike's pacifist approach to the
Romulan incursion encourages a full-scale Romulan invasion, causing Spock to suffer grievous injuries and plunging the Federation into a decades-long war. Ultimately, Pike realises that he can do nothing to change his fate.
Reboot (Kelvin Timeline) Films Star Trek Captain Pike appears in the
reboot Star Trek (2009), this time portrayed by
Bruce Greenwood. In the film, Pike encourages a young, directionless
James T. Kirk (
Chris Pine) to follow in the footsteps of
his hero father and enlist in Starfleet. Pike is the first Captain of the USS
Enterprise, with the then deselected, cadet Kirk on board as a stowaway. In the culmination of the Battle of Vulcan, Pike follows an ultimatum of Nero (
Eric Bana) to board the enemy ship. Pike leaves Spock in command of the
Enterprise with the words: "And I'm not the captain. You are." (Kirk later assumes Spock's role of
acting captain.) Pike is tortured for information about Earth's defenses but is later rescued by Kirk, whom Pike also manages to save from an attack despite his wounds. At the end of the film, Pike is promoted to the rank of admiral and uses a wheelchair. Unlike his counterpart in "The Menagerie", however, Pike still retains the ability to speak and to use his upper body. He proudly yields command of the
Enterprise to Kirk while he recovers from his injuries, stating that Kirk's father would be proud of his actions.
Star Trek Into Darkness Greenwood reprised his role as Pike in the next film,
Star Trek Into Darkness. In the film, Pike has partially recovered from the trauma Nero inflicted, using a cane rather than a wheelchair. After Kirk violates the Prime Directive to rescue Spock (
Zachary Quinto), Pike briefly retakes command of the
Enterprise and warns Kirk that the Admiralty is threatening to put him back into the academy. Pike confronts Kirk about his reckless behavior and how his own actions can get those nearest to him killed. Despite his anger at Kirk, however, Pike retains him as his First Officer, sparing him from having to return to the academy. He later explains to Kirk that he still believes in him and that he also sees a "greatness" behind his recklessness. During a meeting with the Starfleet commanders, including veteran Admiral Marcus and Captain Kirk, Pike is killed in a terrorist attack on Starfleet by
John Harrison. Pike's death incites a desire for revenge in Kirk, who seeks to hunt down Harrison, nearly bringing the Federation into a full-scale war with the
Klingons. At the end of the film, a memorial service is held for Pike and all of the other people who died as a result of Admiral Marcus and Harrison's actions.
Later references Pike is referenced in the episode "
Mirror, Mirror". An alternate-universe version of Captain Kirk reportedly assassinated Pike to become captain of the
ISS Enterprise (the Mirror Universe version of the USS
Enterprise). In the
Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "
The Most Toys", the name "Pike" can be seen briefly on the side of the shuttlecraft Lt. Commander
Data was going to pilot at the beginning of the episode. A citation named for Pike is revealed in the
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "
Tears of the Prophets"; Captain
Benjamin Sisko receives the "Christopher Pike Medal of Valor" for his actions during the
Dominion War. Captain Sisko and his
Vulcan rival Captain Solok congratulate each other on receiving "Christopher Pike Medal" in the
Deep Space Nine episode "
Take Me Out to the Holosuite" (S07E04).
Licensed media Novels and short stories Pike appears in the
Pocket Books novels
Enterprise: The First Adventure (Vonda N. McIntyre, 1986),
Final Frontier (Diane Carey, 1988), ''Vulcan's Glory
(D. C. Fontana, 1989), The Rift
(Peter David, 1991), Burning Dreams
(Margaret Wander Bonanno, 2006) and Child of Two Worlds'' (
Greg Cox, 2015). A mirror-universe version of Pike (established in "
Mirror, Mirror", as having been assassinated by the mirror
James T. Kirk.) He also appears in the novel
Dark Victory (
William Shatner, 1999), and the short story "The Greater Good" (Margaret Wander Bonanno) in the anthology
Star Trek: Mirror Universe: Shards and Shadows (2009). Dave Stern's 2010 original series novel
The Children of Kings was set aboard Pike's
Enterprise. Captain Pike has his own novel in "Captain's Table" series,
Where Sea Meets Sky, written by Jerry Oltion and published in October 1998. Captain Pike and the
Enterprise appear in the first
Star Trek: Discovery novel
Desperate Hours (
David Mack, 2017) and feature prominently in the fifth novel
The Enterprise War (
John Jackson Miller, 2019), which chronicles the
Enterprise's activities concurrent with the first season of that series.
Comics ;
Star Trek: Early Voyages In the Paramount-licensed
Star Trek comic book series published by
Marvel Comics,
Star Trek: Early Voyages chronicled the adventures of the
Enterprise under the command of Pike. The earliest issues lead up to the events seen in "The Cage", which was retold from Yeoman Colt's point of view. Although extremely popular, the comic series ended on a cliffhanger when Marvel lost the
Star Trek license rights. ;
Star Trek Annual #2 – "The Final Voyage" (DC comics, 1986) In this issue, the
Enterprise tries to return home to Earth only to find itself around Talos IV. They discover that the Klingons have gone to the planet reasoning anything that scared the Federation enough to maintain the death penalty could be used as a weapon. While on the surface they also discover two Klingons torturing Pike, who is back in his chair due to the Klingons having partially mastered the Talosian's mind powers. One of the Klingons then tortures the crew of the
Enterprise by making them live their worst fears. Kirk, forced to relive the death of Edith Keeler, goes berserk with rage and breaks the illusion. Kirk then beats the Klingon tormenting them to death with his bare hands. The crew quickly free the Talosians, who mentally imprison the Klingons in illusions of peaceful, tranquil settings as they purge their memories of Talos IV. The crew returns home with Pike remaining on Talos IV to continue his illusionary life. ;
Starfleet Academy comic series In the Paramount-licensed
Star Trek comic book series published by
Marvel Comics,
Starfleet Academy,
Nog and some fellow cadets encounter a solid image of Pike on Talos IV. ; ''Star Trek Captain's Log: Pike'' (IDW Publishing, 2010) ''Captain's Log: Pike
published by IDW details the events leading up to and including Pike becoming disabled from the baffle plate rupture aboard the USS Exeter'' (NCC-1788) under the watch of Captain Colt, Pike's former yeoman on the
Enterprise. The story also reveals Colt's unrequited love for her former Captain.
In popular culture ; Fan Film –
Star Trek: The New Voyages In an episode of the non-canon fan film series
Star Trek: New Voyages, a time-traveling Kirk and Spock attempt to warn Pike
not to attempt to rescue the trapped cadets. Pike attempts it, in spite of what future-Kirk and future-Spock say, causing him to be injured by the delta rays and subsequently transition to a life in the wheelchair and its light communication device. ==Reception==