10 Star Trek Characters We Had To Wait Years To See Again
Across live action and animation some characters bide a lot of time before they return.
Before we go any further let's just tick a couple of things off to make sure there's a baseline to work from.
Picking ten characters might offer up some really obvious contenders; Khan being the prime culprit. However since he only has to wait 15 years for a reappearance this is, bizarrely, a drop in the mighty Trek ocean. Thanks to the arrival of the streaming-era there are now many characters who have made their presence known in new and ever more inventive ways with a couple hotly anticipated for Star Trek: Picard.
Considering that, this article focuses purely on the Prime Universe since the Kelvin crew are technically not the same versions of the characters that we met in The Original Series. If we did then the gap would be from 1994 for Kirk, Chekov and Scotty (15 years) and even less if we count 1996's Trials and Tribbleations and Flashback 30th anniversary episodes. Therefore we are only looking at persons who graced the franchise with their presence outside of the main series cast and would be seen many, many years later in the same timeline (although potentially played by different actors).
Yes, there may well be some animation in there to spice up the mix and this provides a web of connections trailing across the whole franchise history right back, as fans would hope and expect, to The Cage!
10. Swear A Blood Oath
Featured in each of the three seasons of The Original Series respectively, Kor (John Colicos), Koloth (William Campbell), and Kang (Michael Ansara) would wait up to 27 years for a return to Star Trek in Deep Space Nine's second season Blood Oath. Interestingly Colicos is the only one of the three who would not play at least one other role in Star Trek.
While (spoilers!) Koloth and Kang would meet their deaths avenging their murdered sons against the Albino, Kor returned for two more appearances in The Sword of Kahless and Once More Unto the Breach providing the character with his own Deep Space Trilogy.
As the first Klingon in Star Trek, John Colicos faced not just Kirk and Spock but also the Organians (hold that thought) during Errand of Mercy. His performance would set the standard for the warrior race throughout the ages with the baldric inspired from his first appearance still worn by Worf in Star Trek: Picard.
The character also managed an impressive arc through his later appearances. Recovering from being a washed-out drunken Da'Har Master, Kor goes full Indiana Jones to recover the fabled sword of Kahless before dying an honourable death against the Dominion.