Star Trek’s Vulcans generally live far longer than humans, and the franchise’s most famous member of the fictitious species is set to be overtaken by a fellow Vulcan who didn’t make his debut until decades after Leonard Nimoy’s legendary character. Although he first played Spock in theStar Trek: The Original Series' cast, Nimoy reprised the role of Spock several times, including inStar Trek: The Next Generation, and in JJ Abrams' Kelvin Timeline movies.Spock’s fame both in and outside the show’s canon is inarguable, but he could easily be bumped from his current age record sometime soon.
The character set to overthrow Spock in the contest of long-living Vulcans is Tim Russ' Tuvok, who was part ofStar Trek: Voyager’s cast. Tuvok served as chief of security inall seven seasons ofStar Trek: Voyager, and although he hasn’t been quite as prolific outside the show where he made his debut, he has still stepped into other branches of Gene Roddenberry’s sci-fi franchise. Canonically,Tuvok is very close to overtaking Spock.
Tuvok Can Outlive Spock In Star Trek After Just 25 More Years
Tim Russ' Star Trek character has the advantage of being a full-blooded Vulcan
Spock has died twice inStar Trekcanon, but the second and final time was on New Vulcan in 2263, after crossing over from the Prime Universe into the Kelvin Timeline. He was 161 at the time of his death. With Zachary Quinto’s version of the character remaining as the Kelvin Timeline’s primary Spock,Abram’s rebootedStar Trekuniverse wasn’t left short of an iteration of the Vulcan/human hybrid. Interestingly, Russ' most recent appearance as Tuvok came near theend ofStar Trek: Picardseason 3.
Vulcans not only live longer than humans, but they also age slower from a physical and biological perspective.
In this scene, the USS Voyager’s former second officer was 137 years old. This means that if Tuvok lives just another 25 years, he will beat hisOriginal Seriescounterpart by one year. Of course, Tuvok has the advantage of being a full-blooded Vulcan - a species that often lives to the age of 200 years old and beyond.Spock’s human side compromised this longevity, dying of natural causes decades before a pure Vulcan might have done. That being said, 161 is still far older than any human would have lived - even inStar Trek.
Can Tuvok Outlive Spock’s Father Sarek?
Sarek died of Bendii Syndrome at 203 years old
As impressive as Spock’s age was, his birth father, Sarek, passed away at a far healthier age of 203 years old. Even if Tuvok overtook Spock’s record, Russ' character would still be 67 years short of Sarek. Unfortunately, there is also the issue of the Vulcan illness, Bendii Syndrome, which can afflict members of the species who are 200 or older. The neurological condition, which can cause loss of emotional restraint in the sufferer and those around them, is ultimately what killed Spock’s father. So,Tuvok will also need to avoid Bendii syndrome to take Sarek’sStar Trekrecord.
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Star Trekfans will be well aware of the fact that they won’t necessarily need to wait so long to see Tuvok become older than Spock and Sarek. NoteveryStar Trekshowtakes place immediately after its successor. So,Russ' next time playing Tuvok could be in a show set decades after hisStar Trek: Picardcameo, even if the project itself is just a few years away. Alternatively, one of the upcoming 32nd-century projects, likeSection 31, could reveal Tuvok’s date of death, which would either confirm or disprove that Russ’Star Trekcharacter lived longer than Sarek.
Star Trek
Star Trek is one of pop culture’s biggest multimedia franchises, spanning multiple movies, TV shows, books, comics, video games, and various other media. The franchise was created by Gene Roddenberry and started with the 1960s TV series starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Over the decades, several equally popular series have come out since as Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Discovery.
