Rebecca Romijn, who played Mystique in the X-Men movies, has said she sees the parallels between her Star Trek character and the shape-shifting mutant. During a panel at ’56-Year Mission Star Trek convention’ in Las Vegas, Romjin, who plays Una aka Number One on the sci-fi series, was asked whether we’ll get more of her backstory in Star Trek Strange New Worlds season 2.
Romjin said that we would and reluctantly compared the genetically modified Una to the X-Men character Mystique. “It will be expanded upon in the second season, yes,” she said, via TrekMovies.com. “What also is really strange about it, and I probably shouldn’t say this, but I kept going back to when I was playing Mystique as a mutant.”
“I had little bits of dialogue in season 2 that were literally word-for-word things I said in the X-Men series before,” she continued. “But they are related. They are two characters, and I relate to them.” While the exact parallels may be hard for non-Trek fans to see, those who know their Star Trek timeline will know what Romjin is talking about.
You see, in The Federation, bigotry is basically dead. Humanity took to the stars and, in doing so, realised how silly hating other people for no reason really is. The only people who are still actively discriminated against are genetically modified.
We saw this in the TV series Deep Space Nine when it was revealed that Doctor Julian Bashir was genetically modified. His parents had used illegal medical techniques to boost his IQ and make him physically fit. When Bashir was outed, it nearly ruined his career despite everything he’d done for Starfleet and The Federation.
You see, humanity banned genetic modification following the Eugenics Wars, which nearly wiped out the species and led to the rise of Khan Noonien Singh. Despite that happening centuries ago, by the time of Trek, the dangers of genetic supermen are still widely taught, leading to a general dislike of those who are ‘improved’.
The parallels between these genetically altered people and the mutants – who humanity hates and despises for being ‘better’ than regular homo sapiens are pretty stark. If you want to know more about Marvel’s merry mutants check out our guide to the new animated series X-Men ’97.