Face of a Franchise: Mister Spock!
[face of a franchise presents two individuals that’ve fulfilled the same role. your task — choose the better of the two and defend your choice in the kal-if-fee that is the comments section]
It’s time for us to get emotional about science-fiction’s most beloved logician.
With the release of J.J. Abrams’ second Star Trek flick, Zachary Quinto has proven that his rendition of Spock is no one-hit wonder. In the vein of this reboot/tangent universe, Quinto does a tremendous job of conjuring the familiar ghosts of sci-fi past while still injecting his own spirit. Sure, Spock is still distant and calculating and cold, but he’s also cool. Whereas the classic franchise was never action-packed (at least not in the way that we, the overstimulated Internet-children of the Future, have come to expect), Quinto makes us believe that Spock can risk his life in a volcano, battle Klingons, and chase Sherlock through the streets and skies of San Francisco.
Zachary Quinto’s Spock is a goddamn bad-ass.
On the other hand, there’s no refutin’ the fact that Leonard Nimoy absolutely kills it as Spock. Nimoy, as the original Spock, succeeded in stirring incredible sentiments from audiences with a character who usually values logic over passion. With Spock being a product of both Earth and Vulcan, Nimoy’s depiction of an ethnically-mixed heritage was a crux of the classic series’ aspirations of a future in which peoples worked in harmony. Also, it was Leonard Nimoy that first showed the world the beauty that is the Vulcan nerve pinch. So while Nimoy may not have had the benefits of 2013’s special effects and action sensibilities, his Spock did a fair-share of ass-whooping.
Leonard Nimoy’s Spock is an OG.
Fortunately, we don’t really have to choose between Quinto and Nimoy. With the conceit of the Abrams’ movies being a parallel universe, we’ve gotten to see two Spocks coexisting peacefully. Hell, the two Spocks’re even doing commericals together. But it’s still fun to think about who, at this point, we favor as pointy-eared first officer.
Who, in your mind, is Spock? Leonard Nimoy or Zachary Quinto? Which of these choices do you find…highly illogical?
Grab your lirpa and defend your choice in the comments section!