'Star Trek Into Darkness': Benedict Cumberbatch's Identity Revealed?

Star Trek Into Darkness Robert April

The release of the first issue of a three-part prequel comic to Star Trek Into Darkness has lent some credence to the theory that the true villain of JJ Abram's upcoming movie is not Khan or Gary Mitchell, but rather Robert April, the very first captain of the Starship Enterprise.  

HitFix's Drew McWeeny first raised the idea late last year after Abrams' Bad Robot held a press day for the feature, which hits theaters in May, and now Brandon Connelly at Bleeding Cool has posted panels from the prequel comic which feature April.

Star Trek Into Darkness screenwriter/producer Roberto Orci has said that the film's will be a canon character, and April is. He was introduced in the animated Star Trek series that ran for 22 episodes in 1973 and '74.  As McWeeny notes below, although Bad Robot has not confirmed that April figures in Star Trek Into Darkness,  the plot of the animated episode that featured April appears to dovetail with aspects of the movie that have been revealed so far:

 He first appeared in the animated series, and in the episode where he appeared, it was established that he was was the first Captain of the Enterprise, even before Pike.  He was much older in the episode, "The Counter-Clock Incident," which you can watch right now if you have NetFlix Instant.  In that episode, everyone on the Enterprise starts to age backwards, and by the time they're all kids, unable to fix the problem, only April and his wife are still old enough to figure out how to reverse the process.  April figuring out that mechanism for how to control aging and even reverse it could be an important part of the plot for "Star Trek Into Darkness."  If you saw the first nine minutes of the film in front of "The Hobbit," then you already know that the film opens with a London couple driving to the hospital where their daughter lies immobilized, and from the few shots we see of her, she appears to be aging too rapidly.  At the end of that scene, her father (Noel Clarke) steps outside for some air, and that's when Cumberbatch shows up and tells him, "I can cure her.''

As McWeeny points out in his post, Peter Weller, who's also in STID could very well turn out to be April instead of Cumberbatch, who Abrams has chosen to identify simply as John Harrison. Whoever he turns out to be when the movie finally premieres, one thing is clear:  this whole who-is-Benedict-Cumberbatch? mystery is brilliant guerrilla marketing on Bad Robot's part.

Here's the revealing comic panel that Bleeding Cool posted. It's the final page of the first issue of Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness.

Star Trek Into Darkness Robert April

[HitFix, Bleeding Cool]

More on Star Trek Into Darkness

'Star Trek Into Darkness': Cumberbatch's Identity, Carol Marcus, And A New 'Trek' Villain Theory

Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter.

Follow Movieline on Twitter. 



Comments

  • There are a variety of health-related insurance policy strategies which are presented because of the organizqtion
    and thus, an personal or an employer can uncover the a person which fits their requirements bby faar the most and that also
    with the insured. For more useful tips and hints, points to ponder and keep
    in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to Internet Business, do please browse for more information at our websites.
    ' Has been found to clear the skin of acnes, reduce wrinkles, improve elasticity, cure psoriasis.

  • Health Inshrance Companies in Dugai now have plenty
    of options and individuals can buy the best ones. This iss great for keepig cosets down but
    doesn't generate great PR and there was push back from
    the insured and eventually, the State government. The best option
    in the initial stages remains hiring part-time, contracted health-care workers.

  • As far as the insurance companies aare concerned, these
    measures will minimise the chances of your home being brokeen into and thbey will alpso minimise thee risk of a potentially devastating house
    fire. It's like insuring a person who smokes cigarettes or tobacco.
    Your insurance policy will replace damages
    to the home structure.

  • Cheap health insurance has a tendency to protect an incredibly restricted level off
    solutions buut it's worthy of searching because you might obtain the choices change tremendously involving health
    insurance suppliers. There are also premium health insurance packages available for adults who would cover
    mental health treatment, drug and alcohol treatment centers, major diseases,
    and lengthy hospital stays. If you need to see a specialist, you will need to go to your primary care provider first and obtain a referral to
    see the specialist.

  • Your beat strategy is tto make ass little amount of trips to the back of the house as necessary.
    Firstly, one thing that is seldom mentioned in policies, but that I think
    should be required, is that all tenant dogs attend either a training class, or at least six priivate classes,
    and show proof of attendance at all the sessions.
    Remember, easy does it and you are taking a great step by your willingness to try forr beter financial clarity.

  • Give them a calll today and protect your propety from all kinds of damages.

    Everything was ruined, including the beautifully packaged Office - Land computers.
    Don't take the risk, every year make sure you re quote your insurance.

  • Along with having an idea about thhe benefit fire insurance offers, it is apso important that yyou
    have an overview about different type of policies
    available. Knowing which level and type of insurance you nesed for a particular situation is always important.

    The spore are are ingested and then enter the body through the skin,
    mucous and airways.

  • The garden utilizes a larger lawnmower and can pass
    through the treeline perfectly. After ten years of having
    been divorced there were storm clouds surrounding the potential adoption of my two daughters by
    my Irish-Catholic ex-wife's third and , as she told me, wealthy new Jewish husband.
    'I egan carvikng rocking horses because I thought I would never be
    able to afford to buyy my own' Debbie told us.

  • Millard says:

    Always ttry to mke sure that you have a guarantor as well, because this means
    that in the event of the tenant not paying their rent,
    you can ten go to the guarantor to collect the
    money, aas this is a legally binding contract that both parties have to adhere to.
    The power of the mind has long been acknowledged as an essential ingredient in bringing desires to fruition.
    As wuth most insurance policies, there are certain types
    of limitations.