10 Weirdest Star Trek Doppelgängers

Years before Will Riker became First Officer of the Enterprise, he led an evacuation of Nervala IV. A freak transporter accident resulted in Riker beaming back to his ship...while a perfect duplicate also appeared on the planet. The transporter doppelgänger was stranded alone for eight years until the arrival of the Enterprise in Second Chances.

Commander Riker and the stranded Lieutenant Riker take an immediate disliking to each other. And it's hardly surprising. While it's easy to see the Commander's reaction as unsympathetic or hostile when considering the other man's ordeal, imagine the shock of coming face-to-face with yourself. And, if you thought that this was bad, imagine the look on Kyle Riker's face when he realised he now had two sons to deal with. No one would blame him for booking a catch-up call with Dr Pulaski.

We value our individuality and take pride in our uniqueness. But the Commander is faced with the fact that he's no longer one of a kind. Add to that his discomfort over the Lieutenant's struggle on the planet and the repercussions for his relationships, and it's no wonder he becomes a bit prickly.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Riker sees the future that was stolen from him. While he went through almost a decade of gruelling survival, his duplicate carried on a distinguished career, earning himself a seat on the Federation flagship. They might have been the same man up until the point of duplication, but their experiences after shaped them into two very different men.

Still, they eventually manage to adjust to a world with two Rikers in it (brace yourself, ladies), and Lieutenant Riker decides to continue in Starfleet, using the name Thomas. But he proved how different he really was when he joined the Maquis, cutting a rather dashing figure as a rebel...until his imprisonment by the Cardassians. Thanks to Lower Decks, we know that he's still out there somewhere, a storyline we would very much like to see picked up one day.

Honestly, this list makes a pretty convincing argument that Reginald Barclay was right all along; transporters are bad news. Even Boimler ended up with a transporter clone in Lower Decks while serving under Will Riker himself. Seriously, if there's one learning here, it's to always take a shuttle.