Tuvok Only Needs 25 Years To Outlive Spock In Star Trek (2024)

Star Trek's Vulcans generally live far longer than humans, and the franchise's most famous member of the fictitious species is set to be overtaken by a fellow Vulcan who didn't make his debut until decades after Leonard Nimoy's legendary character. Although he first played Spock in the Star Trek: The Original Series' cast, Nimoy reprised the role of Spock several times, including in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in JJ Abrams' Kelvin Timeline movies. Spock's fame both in and outside the show's canon is inarguable, but he could easily be bumped from his current age record sometime soon.

The character set to overthrow Spock in the contest of long-living Vulcans is Tim Russ' Tuvok, who was part of Star Trek: Voyager's cast. Tuvok served as chief of security in all seven seasons of Star Trek: Voyager, and although he hasn't been quite as prolific outside the show where he made his debut, he has still stepped into other branches of Gene Roddenberry's sci-fi franchise. Canonically, Tuvok is very close to overtaking Spock.

Tuvok Can Outlive Spock In Star Trek After Just 25 More Years

Tim Russ' Star Trek character has the advantage of being a full-blooded Vulcan

Spock has died twice in Star Trek canon, but the second and final time was on New Vulcan in 2263, after crossing over from the Prime Universe into the Kelvin Timeline. He was 161 at the time of his death. With Zachary Quinto's version of the character remaining as the Kelvin Timeline's primary Spock, Abram's rebooted Star Trek universe wasn't left short of an iteration of the Vulcan/human hybrid. Interestingly, Russ' most recent appearance as Tuvok came near the end of Star Trek: Picard season 3.

In this scene, the USS Voyager's former second officer was 137 years old. This means that if Tuvok lives just another 25 years, he will beat his Original Series counterpart by one year. Of course, Tuvok has the advantage of being a full-blooded Vulcan - a species that often lives to the age of 200 years old and beyond. Spock's human side compromised this longevity, dying of natural causes decades before a pure Vulcan might have done. That being said, 161 is still far older than any human would have lived - even in Star Trek.

Can Tuvok Outlive Spock’s Father Sarek?

Sarek died of Bendii Syndrome at 203 years old

As impressive as Spock's age was, his birth father, Sarek, passed away at a far healthier age of 203 years old. Even if Tuvok overtook Spock's record, Russ' character would still be 67 years short of Sarek. Unfortunately, there is also the issue of the Vulcan illness, Bendii Syndrome, which can afflict members of the species who are 200 or older. The neurological condition, which can cause loss of emotional restraint in the sufferer and those around them, is ultimately what killed Spock's father. So, Tuvok will also need to avoid Bendii syndrome to take Sarek's Star Trek record.

Star Trek fans will be well aware of the fact that they won't necessarily need to wait so long to see Tuvok become older than Spock and Sarek. Not every Star Trek show takes place immediately after its successor. So, Russ' next time playing Tuvok could be in a show set decades after his Star Trek: Picard cameo​​​​​​, even if the project itself is just a few years away. Alternatively, one of the upcoming 32nd-century projects, like Section 31, could reveal Tuvok's date of death, which would either confirm or disprove that Russ' Star Trek character lived longer than Sarek.

Star Trek

Star Trek is one of pop culture's biggest multimedia franchises, spanning multiple movies, TV shows, books, comics, video games, and various other media. The franchise was created by Gene Roddenberry and started with the 1960s TV series starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Over the decades, several equally popular series have come out since as Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Discovery.

Created by

Gene Roddenberry

First Film

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

First TV Show

Star Trek: The Original Series

First Episode Air Date

September 8, 1966

Cast

William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , George Takei , Nichelle Nichols , Deforest Kelley , James Doohan , Walter Koenig , Jonathan Frakes , Patrick Stewart , Michael Dorn , Marina Sirtis , Gates McFadden , Brent Spiner , LeVar Burton , Wil Wheaton , Avery Brooks , Nana Visitor , Rene Auberjonois , Alexander Siddig , Cirroc Lofton , Armin Shimerman , Colm Meaney , Terry Farrell , Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Jeri Ryan , Robert Duncan McNeill , Robert Picardo , Ethan Phillips , Garrett Wang , Jolene Blalock , Connor Trinneer , Dominic Keating , Scott Bakula , Linda Park , John Billingsley , Anthony Montgomery , Chris Pine , Zachary Quinto , Simon Pegg , Zoe Saldana , Karl Urban , John Cho , Chris Hemsworth , Benedict Cumberbatch , Anton Yelchin , Idris Elba , Sonequa Martin-Green , Mary Wiseman , Doug Jones , Anthony Rapp , Wilson Cruz , Oyin Oladejo , Emily Coutts , Jess Bush , Christina Chong , Anson Mount , Ethan Peck , Rebecca Romijn , Michelle Yeoh

TV Show(s)

Star Trek: The Original Series , Star Trek: The Animated Series , Star Trek: The Next Generation , Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Star Trek: Voyager , Star Trek: Enterprise , Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Short Treks , Star Trek: Picard , Star Trek Lower Decks , Star Trek: Prodigy , Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

Character(s)

Captain James Kirk , Spock , Jean-Luc Picard , Captain Worf , Data , Nyota Uhura

Video Game(s)

Star Trek Online , Star Trek: Resurgence , Star Trek: Bridge Crew