Star Trek: 10 Most Underrated Characters

Beginning Voyager as a member of the Maquis Rebellion, the half-Klingon, half-human B'Elanna Torres was known for her fiery nature and strength of will. She could hold her own in any scrap and wasn't opposed to rearranging a mouthy engineer's face over a power grid.

B'Elanna quickly became Voyager's chief engineer almost by default, but her abilities confirmed the wisdom of Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay's faith in her. Not bad for a Starfleet dropout.

Unlike other Star Trek characters of mixed background, B'Elanna was routinely at war with herself, struggling to reconcile her Klingon and human sides. After being bullied for her cranial ridges and abandoned by her human father, is it any wonder B'Elanna felt self-conscious of her Klingon heritage?

It's a brave depiction of her, and one that echoed the experiences of many biracial fans. Thankfully, with a bit of help, B'Elanna was able to accept her Klingon side and trust that her husband Tom Paris wouldn't follow in her father's footsteps by taking off like a Pyrithian bat out of hell.