Summary
Warning: contains spoilers forStar Trek#21!
Star Trekjust confirmed the jaw-dropping final fate of Doctor M’Benga’s daughter. When fans last saw M’Benga’s daughter in the first season ofStrange New Worlds, she had bonded with a non-corporeal alien, and departed for parts unknown. Now, nearly a century later, inStar Trek#21,Rukiya M’Benga returns–and in the years since, she has ascended to something more than human.
Star Trek#21 is written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly and drawn by Megan Levens. Captain Sisko and the crew of theTheseushave arrived at the Pleroma, the newly-revealed “Realm of the Gods.” As the first mortals to lay eyes upon it, Sisko and his crew are overwhelmed at the assembly in front of them. One of them is Rukiya M’Benga.
Thanks to the alien she bonded with, Rukiya has evolved into a god-like being, one that is welcome in the Pleroma. While sympathetic to Sisko’s plight, she votes no on T’Lir’s plan.
Doctor M’Benga Made a Huge Impression onStar TrekFans
Strange New WorldsGave M’Benga A Tragic Backstory
Doctor M’Benga debuted during the classicStar Trekshow, but only appeared in two episodes. Despite these scant appearances, M’Benga left a huge enough impression on audiences that he was revived nearly 50 years later for the spin-offStrange New Worlds. Still a blank slate, M’Benga was finally given a backstory. It was revealed that he had been the Chief Medical Officer of theEnterpriseunder Captain Pike. Whileelevating M’Benga to such a vaunted position should have been a cause for celebration, it came with a dark twist.
As revealed inStrange New World’sfirst season, Doctor M’Benga was a family man. Unfortunately, his daughter Rukiya was born with a rare, terminal disease. M’Benga cheated the clock by keeping his daughter in a transporter buffer, hoping to delay her death long enough for him to find a cure. Later, in the episode “The Elysian Kingdom,” Rukiya meets and befriends a non-corporeal entity. She would bond with it, and the two departed theEnterprise, presumably to share adventures together. It was a bittersweet moment for Doctor M’Benga.
Star Trek Confirms Doctor Phlox’s Fate Centuries After ENTERPRISE
Doctor Phlox was the first Chief Medical Officer of the Enterprise, and now Star Trek has revealed his fate, nearly a century after the ship’s mission
Rukiya M’Benga Is Now aStar TrekGod
Doctor M’Benga Never Knew What Happened to His Daughter
But now, over 100 years later, Rukiya’s final fate is revealed, and it is the perfect next step in her character arc. Rukiya was a bright young woman, full of promise and life, and very much loved by her father. Doctor M’Benga went to great lengths to save his daughter, even jeopardizing his own career. He never lived to learn what truly became of Rukiya. While it broke M’Benga’s heart to let Rukiya go, it ultimately proved to be for the best, as she has ascended and become a god in theStar Trekuniverse.
