10 Star Trek Characters That Gained SUPERPOWERS

9. Super Computer Reg Barclay

Reg Barclay the super computer
CBS Media Ventures

Hold on to your hats; The Nth Degree gets a little bonkers.

After being knocked out by a probe, Barclay begins to change, coming up with solutions that are beyond even La Forge. The usually insecure and awkward engineer is more confident and sharper than ever. Even his theatre performances go from a three-star to a five-star review. Dr Crusher's scans confirm that his brain has essentially become supercharged.

The shift between The Original Series and The Next Generation is striking. Mitchell becomes a superhuman and Spock's response is basically 'kill him, Jim'. But Barclay? The senior officers agree they can't confine him to quarters unless he does something threatening.

They probably should have, though, considering he ends up hooking his brain to the ship's computer. Once there, his mind expands at such a rate that it's impossible for him to disconnect without dying. That's his excuse, at least; he looks pretty comfortable in his new computer throne.

Against Picard's orders, he manages to create a subspace distortion to send the ship 30,000 light-years across the galaxy (and they don't even become salamanders). There, they meet the lifeform (well, floating head) that upgraded Barclay so he could bring the Enterprise to him as a form of first contact.

Disconnected from the computer, Barclay has to face life as just an ordinary man again, but we're not sad about it. We love Barclay just the way he is.

Contributor

Katherine has been boldly going since childhood, when the BBC Two 6pm Star Trek slot changed her life. She was drawn in by the franchise's optimism, compassion and flair for character-driven storytelling. She's been writing stories since she could pick up a pen and has spent far too much time immersed in television, films, books, music and theatre. She loves any chance to talk or write about her favourite fandoms, of which there are many. When not busy writing, she can usually be found playing video games or explaining why the concept of a transporter is actually terrifying.