Colonel Phillip Green
 Colonel Green (portrayed here by Phillip Pine) as seen in the ST:TOS episode "The Savage Curtain" |
|
| Species | Human |
|---|---|
| Home planet | Earth |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Portrayed by | Phillip Pine, Steve Rankin |
Colonel Phillip Green is a character in the fictional Star Trek universe. He is introduced in the Original Series episode "The Savage Curtain." Green first was portrayed by Phillip Pine and then later by Steve Rankin.
Overview
In The Savage Curtain, set in the 2260s, Captain James T. Kirk and Spock find themselves battling duplicates of several of the most evil and brutal dictators from throughout time and space. Among these individuals is Colonel Green, who is said to have led a genocidal war on Earth in the early 21st century and whose actions led to the deaths of millions of people. No further details about this war are given, although the Green re-creation expresses the original's ideas about the rules of warfare (he is reluctant to negotiate with anyone, except where it might personally benefit him). Also, Kirk and Spock point out that Green was fond of turning against his own allies whenever it suited him, and that he tended to strike at his enemies in the midst of conducting treaty negotiations.
The Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Terra Prime" confirms a popular fanon speculation: the war Green was involved with was World War III. Green was a leader of a major faction during the war; the group's actions directly led to 37 million deaths. The Enterprise episode "Demons" reveals that after the war, Green killed hundreds of thousands of victims of radiation poisoning in order to prevent their future mutant offspring from contaminating the human genome. Despite Green's claims that the operation was "humanitarian," this eugenicist action was labeled as genocidal by future historians. Green's ultimate fate still remains unknown.
Green's first name is revealed on a computer readout screen in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "In a Mirror, Darkly."
Legacy
Green was noted as a major historical figure centuries after his crimes. John Frederick Paxton, in particular, took Green's theories to heart when founding the isolationist organization known as Terra Prime.
Non-canon appearances
- Star Trek: The Role Playing Game by FASA gave Green the full name of Edward Featherstone Green that was accepted until his canonical name was revealed in Star Trek: Enterprise.
- The novel Federation portrays Green as the leader of a Nazi-like organization called the Optimum Movement in the mid-21st century. In this, the Optimum slowly took power throughout the Western world, and was the ultimate cause of World War III.
Almost-influences
- Manny Coto had attempted to use Green in the Augments arc in Star Trek: Enterprise.[citation needed] However, after Coto learned that Brent Spiner was interested in appearing on the show, Coto created the character of Arik Soong and removed Green from the story arc.
- In the original outline for Green's appearance on the show, the logo worn by the Fourth World military in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Encounter at Farpoint" would have been shown as Green's personal emblem. After the script was rewritten and Green removed, the only other appearance of that logo was in the Mirror Universe Enterprise episode "In a Mirror, Darkly."
