View source for Gorn

{{Use American English|date=August 2025}}
{{Short description|Fictional reptilian species in Star Trek}}
{{for-multi|people surnamed Gorn|Gorn (surname)|the video game|Gorn (video game)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox fictional race
| name               = Gorn
| other_names        = Gorn Hegemony ''(Government)''
| image              = StarTrek-Gorn.jpg
| caption            = The Gorn whom Captain Kirk fought in "Arena"
| series             = [[Star Trek]]
| creator            = [[Fredric Brown]]<br/>[[Gene L. Coon]]
| affiliation        = Gorn Hegemony
}}

The '''Gorn''' are a fictional extraterrestrial [[humanoid]] reptilian species in the American science-fiction franchise ''[[Star Trek]]''. They first appeared in a 1967 episode of [[Star Trek: The Original Series|the original series]], "[[Arena (Star Trek: The Original Series)|Arena]]", in which [[Captain Kirk]] fights an unnamed Gorn on a rocky planet.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708418/?ref_=nm_flmg_ardp_2|title="Star Trek" Arena (TV Episode 1967)|author=Bogmeister|date=July 10, 2006|work=IMDb}}</ref> The fight scene has become one of the best-remembered scenes of the original series, in part due to the slow and lumbering movement of the Gorn, which some viewers have considered unintentionally comical.<ref>{{cite web |title=Star Trek's Gorn turns 50, and it's not easy being green |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/star-trek-gorn-is-50-captain-kirk-william-shatner/ |author=Gael Fashingbauer Cooper |date=January 19, 2017 |publisher=CNET}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Neil deGrasse Tyson on Star Trek's "Worst Fight Scene Ever" |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2015/11/03/neil_degrasse_tyson_talks_about_the_classic_star_trek_gorn_fight_scene.html |author1=Lily Hay Newman |author2=Daniel Hubbard |date=November 3, 2015 |publisher=Slate}}</ref>

The Gorn have since appeared, or been mentioned, in various ''Star Trek'' books, video games, and other media properties, including the 1973 episode "[[The Time Trap]]" of ''[[Star Trek: The Animated Series]]''. They finally appeared again in live-action form in a 2005 episode of ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'', "[[In a Mirror Darkly|In a Mirror Darkly, Part 2]]", this time with a more angular appearance and rendered using [[computer animation]]. Several Gorn spaceships (though no actual Gorn) appeared in a 2022 episode of ''[[Star Trek: Strange New Worlds]]'', "Memento Mori". In a subsequent 2022 episode of ''Strange New Worlds'', "All Those Who Wander", Gorn hatchlings were shown as small, fast-moving, and instantly lethal predators, in contrast to the slow and humanoid adult Gorn previously seen.

==Fictional history==
According to the ''[[Starfleet Technical Manual]]'', the Gorn are from Tau Lacertae IX.

The Gorn had contact with the [[Orion (Star Trek)|Orion Syndicate]] as early as 2154. The name of their government was established as the Gorn Hegemony in the ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' episode "[[Bound (Star Trek: Enterprise)|Bound]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0572180/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1|title="Star Trek: Enterprise" Bound (TV Episode 2005)|author=Claudio Carvalho|date=April 29, 2010|work=IMDb}}</ref>

In the episode "[[Arena (Star Trek: The Original Series)|Arena]]" of the original ''Star Trek'' TV series, the ''[[Starship Enterprise|Enterprise]]'' pursues an alien ship of previously unknown design after it had attacked an Earth colony. A powerful race known as the [[Arena (Star Trek: The Original Series)#Plot|Metron]]s force the captains of both ships to fight to settle the dispute. During the episode, the alien race is found to call themselves Gorn.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2013/03/kirk-gorn-fight/|title=46 Years Later, a Rematch Between William Shatner and the Gorn Warrior|magazine=WIRED}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708418/?ref_=nm_flmg_ardp_2|title="Star Trek" Arena (TV Episode 1967)|author=Bogmeister|date=July 10, 2006|work=IMDb}}</ref> This formal [[First contact (science fiction)|first contact]] with the [[United Federation of Planets|Federation]] occurred at Cestus III in 2267.

A Gorn appeared in the ''[[Star Trek: The Animated Series]]'' episode "[[The Time Trap]]".

Although the Gorn made territorial claims in the Cestus system in 2267, the Federation had a settlement there by 2371, indicating tension later softened enough for it to become a trading site between them or the Gorn had ceded the territory or had joined the Federation.

In 2005, an episode of ''Star Trek: Enterprise'' featured a Gorn (albeit in the [[Mirror Universe]]) in the episode "In a Mirror, Darkly Part II". In that episode, the Gorn (whose name was Slar) was an overseer of a group of slaves belonging to the Mirror Universe's [[Tholian]]s in an attempt to steal technology from the ''Constitution''-class NCC-1764 ''Defiant'', which had been transferred into the Mirror Universe from ours. Slar hid in the ship's corridors and killed several crewmembers until it was killed by [[Jonathan Archer (mirror)|Jonathan Archer]].

A Gorn was slated to appear in the movie ''[[Star Trek: Nemesis]]'' as a friend of [[Worf]]'s at [[William Riker|Riker]]'s bachelor party, according to an interview given by John Logan to ''Star Trek Communicator'' in 2003, but the scene was not in the final version of the film.

The series ''[[Star Trek: Strange New Worlds]]'' features a character, La'an Noonien-Singh (played by [[Christina Chong]]), who is the sole survivor of a Gorn attack, an informal first contact before the formal one shown in "Arena".  In the 2022 episode "Memento Mori" of season one, the Gorn attack the starship ''[[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|Enterprise]]'', and the trauma previously suffered by La'an is a central theme of the episode. The Gorn do not actually appear onscreen in the episode, although several of their ships do. Captain [[Christopher Pike (Star Trek)|Christopher Pike]] escapes the attack by luring the Gorn ships into a [[brown dwarf]] and [[gravity assist|slingshotting]] the ''Enterprise'' around a [[black hole]].

The Gorn reappear in an episode of the same season, "All Those Who Wander", wherein details of their biology are revealed. Gorn eggs are implanted in an Orion refugee, who fights the hatchlings and damages the USS ''Peregrine'', crashing it on an ice planet. The ''Enterprise'' crew finds another refugee with a similar infestation in the ''Peregrine''. The eggs are unable to be detected by Starfleet and other electromagnetic medical sensors, explaining medical staff's inability to find the infestation and prevent the refugee's death. The Gorn kill two Starfleet officers upon hatching. Noonien-Singh reveals that the hatchlings then fight each other to the death until the strongest one wins. The ''Enterprise'' crew uses this knowledge to defeat the Gorn before escaping aboard the repaired ''Peregrine'', but not before the Gorn implant eggs in one of the bridge crew, the [[List of Star Trek aliens#Aenar|Aenar]] engineer Hemmer, forcing him to sacrifice himself by walking out into the planet's cold to destroy the eggs.

==Depictions==
[[File:Gorn2005.jpg|thumb|Slar, a Gorn from the ''Enterprise'' episode "In a Mirror, Darkly Part II"]]
The Gorn was designed by artist [[Wah Chang]], and is depicted in ''Arena'' as a hissing, slow-moving but lethal beast.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0151853/|title=Wah Chang|work=IMDb}}</ref> The Gorn captain was portrayed by Bill Blackburn and Bobby Clark, and voiced by [[Ted Cassidy]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708418/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast|title=Star Trek – Arena (1967) – Full Cast & Crew|website=[[IMDb]]|access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref>

In the animated series, the Gorn appeared less harsh than in the original.

In the ''Star Trek: Enterprise'' appearance, the Gorn Slar was designed and rendered using [[computer animation]], and looked different from the original appearance; the clearest difference was the lack of compound eyes. Slar also moved much faster than the Gorn Captain Kirk fought. Since "In a Mirror, Darkly" takes place entirely within the Mirror Universe, the contact seen between the Terran Empire and the creature does not contradict the first contact seen in "Arena".

The 2022 ''Strange New Worlds'' episode "All Those Who Wander", depicts the Gorn as having prodigious speed and agility, and a physical form similar to their forms in the 2013 video game ''Star Trek'' (see below). The episode reveals key details of their biology, including their reproduction by mating, and then laying [[Parasitism|parasitic]] eggs in a host body through spraying venom at the body. The eggs hatch in a similar manner to the [[Alien (creature in Alien franchise)|chest bursters]] from [[Alien (film)|''Alien'']]. Gorn hatchlings can grow quickly; they and their egg forms have evolved the ability to evade Starfleet and other electromagnetic medical sensors. The episode also depicts their bodies, being reptilian, as sensitive to, and thus easily killed by, extreme cold.

The 2023-2025 two part episode "Hegemony" again depicts the Gorn, who this time capture many of the ship's crew members.<reF>{{cite web | title=Inside the 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Season Finale: Evil Gorn! Shocking Ending! And Introducing &#91;SPOILER&#93;! | date=August 10, 2023 | url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-season-2-finale-scotty-gorn-cliffhanger-1235692663 }}</ref>  In the 2025 episode "Terrarium", crew member Ortegas is stranded on a planet with a Gorn, and learns to communicate with it.<ref>{{cite web | title='Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Star Melissa Navia's Spotlight Episode is So Intense, She Was Told She Could 'Shoot a Marvel Film After' It | date=September 5, 2025 | url=https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-melissa-navia-ortegas-gorn-episode-1236508759 }}</ref> This episode serves as a prequel to the original series episode "Arena".<ref>{{cite web | title=Was Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Shocking Explanation for Kirk's Most Famous TOS Fight Necessary? | website=[[Screen Rant]] | date=September 5, 2025 | url=https://screenrant.com/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-kirk-gorn-fight-metron-set-up/ }}</ref>

==Other appearances==

===Books===
* Gorn appear in the 2005 novel ''STAR TREK – Starfleet Corps of Engineers #44: Where Time Stands Still'', a sequel to the animated episode mentioned above.
* Gorn appear in ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' book #32, ''Requiem''.
* A Gorn, with a name that sounds like "Rrrk", manages a bar in Arcturus (a city, planet and star all with the same name) in the novel ''The Lost Years''.
* The Gorn are featured in the 2010 Pocket Books novel ''Star Trek: Typhon Pact – Seize the Fire'' They also appear in the ''Star Trek: Destiny'' trilogy and the TNG novel ''Cold Equations: Silent Weapons''. In these novels, the Gorn have joined an interstellar organization known as the '''Typhon Pact''' (composed of the Gorn, [[Romulan]]s, [[Tholian]]s, [[Breen (Star Trek)|Breen]], Tzenkethi, and Kinshaya).
* The mirror universe counterparts of the Gorn appeared in ''Star Trek: Mirror Universe – Rise Like Lions''.*
* Kirk mentions his fight with the Gorn in dialogue with the Romulan Commander in the 1977 novel ''[[The Price of the Phoenix]]''.

===Comics===
* Gorn burial practices were discussed in an issue of [[Marvel Comics]]' ''Star Trek Unlimited''.
* A Gorn appeared in the first [[DC Comics]] run of ''Star Trek'', in 1984. [[Leonard McCoy|Bones]] comments that he doesn't have any [[tranquilizer]] strong enough to knock out a Gorn.
* The Gorn homeworld and government chamber are shown in the ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' trade paperback comic book ''The Gorn Crisis''.

===Video games===
* A mini-campaign with a Gorn enemy and ally appear in the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]] game and [[PC game]] ''[[Starfleet Academy (videogame)|Starfleet Academy]]''. There are video cutscenes featuring a Gorn, portrayed using a puppet. The ships are also playable in skirmish mode, and multiplayer games.
* Gorn appear in the [[PC game]] ''[[Starfleet Command (game)|Starfleet Command]]''.
* Gorn ships appear in the [[PC game]] ''[[Klingon Academy]]''. They are also playable in skirmish mode.
* Gorn appear in the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|Nintendo]] game ''[[Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (NES video game)|Star Trek: 25th Anniversary]]''.
* Gorn are available as one of the playable races for the Klingon Empire in the [[Personal Computer|PC]] game ''[[Star Trek Online]]''.  The 'Gorn' jokes are a running gag in the online chat and spawned a fan-site of the species.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gornhub.org/ |title=Home |website=gornhub.org |access-date=July 3, 2021 |archive-date=October 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029133120/https://gornhub.org/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Dr. McCoy referred to performing an emergency delivery of a brood of eight Gorn, noting "those little bastards bite!" in the 2013 film ''[[Star Trek Into Darkness]]''. This is most likely a reference to the 2013 video game ''[[Star Trek (2013 video game)|Star Trek]]'' due to McCoy performing a c-section of a Gorn in the game.
* Kirk and Spock fight the Gorn in the 2012 Star Trek Video Game.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/117694-Kirk-and-Spock-Fight-Gorn-in-Star-Trek-Game|title=Kirk and Spock Fight Gorn in Star Trek Game|date=June 6, 2012|work=The Escapist|access-date=October 21, 2014|archive-date=January 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200127202141/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/117694-Kirk-and-Spock-Fight-Gorn-in-Star-Trek-Game|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*The Gorn appear in the 2013 video game ''[[Star Trek (2013 video game)|Star Trek]]'', set in the alternate universe of the 2009 ''[[Star Trek (2009 film)|Star Trek]]'' film. Taking place between the first film and its sequel, the Gorn appear as enemies attacking the New Vulcan colony. The Gorn shown are depicted as being a brutal race of imperialistic extra-galactic conquerors who had already taken over their galaxy before crossing over into the Milky Way. They are shown to have a rigid caste system based on skin coloration and intelligence levels with the more intelligent Gorn serving as soldiers, while primitive ones serve an attack-dog role. These Gorn are far more alien-looking and are not as fully bipedal as previous incarnations. Their relations to the Gorn of the original series are not known. {{citation needed|date=February 2013}}
* In ''[[Star Trek: Starfleet Command]]'' and ''[[Star Trek: Starfleet Command II: Empires at War]]'' The Gorn's government was referred to as the Gorn Confederation.
* The Gorn race also appears in the alternate non-canon [[Star Fleet Universe]], represented in the range of board wargames from [[Amarillo Design Bureau Inc.]] as well as the first two [[Star Trek: Starfleet Command|''Star Fleet Command'']] games (and the Orion Pirates stand-alone add on for ''Starfleet Command II'') from Taldren. These are not considered canon with the ''Star Trek'' movies or series. In this continuum, the Gorn Confederation is a powerful empire located coreward of the [[Romulan|Romulan Star Empire]], also bordering the United Federation of Planets and the Interstellar Concordium. It comprises three genetically related races, each from a neighboring star system, known as Ghdar I, Ghdar II and Ghdar III. They are portrayed as a more civilized and cultured race than as referenced in the [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] ''Star Trek'' universe.
** They ally in Y174 with the Kzinti Hegemony, the [[Hydran Kingdom]]s, the Federation and the [[Tholian|Tholian Holdfast]] in the [[General War]]. The alliance between the Gorns and the Federation – following a brief conflict over a misunderstanding regarding the Federation colony on Cestus III, a Gorn world – represents one of the few alliances that is based on mutual trust and desire for friendship as opposed to political convenience. They are mutually antagonistic with the Romulans, with whom they share a border with the Interstellar Concordium, and were among the first races to feel the effects of the ISC War of Pacification.
* The Gorn appear in the PC/Android/iOS game [[Star Trek Fleet Command]], in which the player can obtain and perform game actions using a Gorn ship ("Gorn Eviscerator"), which resembles the Gorn ship type portrayed in [[Star Trek: Strange New Worlds]]. There is also a system containing Gorn ships for the player to destroy for rewards, and a short Gorn themed mission arc.

===Board games===
* Gorn ships appeared in ''[[Star Trek: Starship Tactical Combat Simulator]]'' by FASA. Lead alloy versions of the MA-12 and the BH-2 were available in the late 1980s.

===Toys===
* A life-sized Gorn statue was on exhibit in the History of the Future museum in the [[Las Vegas Hilton]]'s [[Star Trek: The Experience]] attraction. Since the attraction's closing, the figure's current whereabouts are unknown.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}
* Gorn action figures have been available over the years including the [[Mego Corporation|Mego]] line from the 1970s, appearing in that line's television commercials.

==Popular culture==
* A Gorn appeared with William Shatner in the preview/ad for the ''Star Trek 2'' game in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcgamer.com/gorn-but-not-forgotten-shatner-fights-his-old-nemesis-in-the-latest-star-trek-game-trailer/|title=Gorn but not forgotten: Shatner fights his old nemesis in the latest Star Trek game trailer|work=PC Gamer|date=March 30, 2013 |last1=Sykes |first1=Tom }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Trandoshans]]
*[[Silurians]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Memory Alpha|Gorn}}

{{Star Trek}}

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[[Category:Fictional extraterrestrial species and races]]
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[[Category:Fictional reptiles]]
[[Category:Fictional warrior races]]
[[Category:Star Trek species]]
[[Category:Television characters introduced in 1967]]