Best Hyper-Trekkie Theories on Benedict Cumberbatch’s Character*

*I’m the Trekkie in question here. And I’m just being silly.

• Khan. Like the entire damn internet hasn’t been saying that for the last two years. I’m going to revisit this in my other writing.
• Neo. The poster gives him just enough of a Matrix feel that you could conceivably consider a universe crossing.
• Any Sith Lord. Oh wait, wrong franchise. (That said, Star Trek was Star Wars-y enough, wasn’t it?)
• Moriarty. If you haven’t watched the TNG episodes about Moriarty in a while, you should… not do it.  But there is a meta reference to Sherlock here that might fill you with nerd glee if you’re into such things. (I am.)
• Q. Come on, I know it doesn’t fit at all with what’s in the trailer. Nonetheless, when I picture Benedict Cumberbatch as a villain, I picture him as a Q being, not a Khan being.  Snark, wit, haberdashery, dramatics. Not just alternatively hot and cool passion. BC has the presence to pull this off in a way that would be very different from any Jon deLancie performance and yet would be just as enjoyably good. Take half of his personality from playing Sherlock and you’d still be able to pull out a good Q character.
• The new Borg King. (Different universe, different genders. Like every sci-fi show out there hasn’t done this, from Star Trek to Sliders. Yep. I referenced Sliders.) I don’t see why you couldn’t have a human looking Borg. The cybernetics are buried within a better layer of skin.
• The Holodeck. Yes. He’s just the Holodeck. (I stole this idea from Topless Robot’s 30 Greatest Star Trek Villains list.) Actually, so far, in the J.J. Abrams version of things, this is the idea I like the most. At least it’d be original.
• Any member of Species 8472. Seriously. They came from another dimension. They masquerade as human beings. They wreak destruction. It’s a better story than the boring Khan Revisited! plot line the internet seems to crave so much.
• Someone from the alien race responsible for the probe that was destroying Earth while in pursuit of humpback whales. See, you thought it was all resolved when a smiling Spock and company got drenched in the San Francisco bay. But no, really, those aliens didn’t want humpback whales at all. It was just a clever cover for destroying Earth. It failed. And ergo, you get an emissary (no, not THAT emissary) who returns to complete the destruction by commanding the loyalty of sea creatures. (There is, after all, a shot of a Federation starship [presumably the Enterprise] lifting off from water.) Also, Futurama reference.
• Data. He’s pale. Data’s dead. Data’s gone batshit. If you’re going to revisit characters, they might as well be good ones. Who doesn’t want to see an android on a killing spree? (The people behind the Voight-Kampff test, I guess…)
• William Decker. If you don’t remember who he is, perhaps it’s because you fell asleep during Star Trek: The Motion Picture, some time between the 30 minute pan shot of the Enterprise and the anticlimactic realization that V’Ger is actually Voyager, but you know, the satellite that humans launched into space, not the Delta Quadrant bound ship of the damned. I like the idea of his “returning” from his merging with Ilia and V’Ger. Then taking over with his angry, angry years of having been a boring satellite. (Side note, best thing about Star Trek: The Motion picture is the music and the metallic sound effects of V’Ger communications.  Not Ilia.)
• A Terminator. He’s after Kyle Reese, of course. By which I mean Anton Yelchin. META.
• Wesley Crusher. Wait, hear me out. This is the rebooted universe. It begins when a stupid Romulan who possesses the makings of a TIME MACHINE goes back in time to destroy a different planet rather than say, stop the destruction of his own. Wesley Crusher (though he was silently present for Deanna Troi and William Riker’s wedding) was last seen leaving Starfleet to hang out with The Traveler, who had previously informed Picard that Wesley was special. Wesley also realized he could manipulate time and space and would evolve to something beyond human capacity. “Enjoy these final moments of peace for I have returned to have my vengeance.” That’s one of the big Benedictine lines in the trailer. Wesley Crusher could be a time lord. Why not?  In the Japanese trailer, he also asks “Is there anything you would not do for your family?” So clearly, you know, he’s out to save his hot mom.

Now, I’m going on a rant.  The trailer itself is boring and the sound that is now most famously associated with Inception makes it seem sillier. Whatever. You could still work with that. Some of the best episodes of Star Trek were introduced with a “coming next week” preview that was cheesy and awful. It’s not a disqualification on its own. The best part of the whole trailer is the fact that only Benedict Cumberbatch speaks and nobody else has anything to say. I know they’re setting this up to make you think that he’s playing Khan. His quotes, his lines, though not specifically Khan quotes have the same resonance. I’ve watched the trailer about 15 times at this point, pausing it on still frames and looking for detail. (Also is the blond meant to be Nurse Chapel or Janice Rand? Carol Marcus? Unnecessary diversion. But she is wearing science/medical blue and not red…) The collar of his jacket when he bursts in is reminiscent of the fashion of Wrath of Khan. And since the Japanese trailer (find me a nerd who hasn’t seen that one too) has the so-called spoiler of showing a scene where two Starfleet uniformed persons touch hands through a glass window, it is really set up to make you think that it’s repeating the ending of Wrath of Khan where Spock, of course, dies.Klingons? Are those Klingons? Because that sets up the plot of Star Trek III too.  It’s too easy. It’s too clean. I hold out a lot of hope that it’s a trick. Then again, I held out a lot of hope that the Nero storyline was not what Star Trek would be about and alas, it was. I’m concerned that the Spock dying scene will be real but it will, in fact, be the demise of Leonard Nimoy Spock.

THE NEEDS OF THE ONE SPOCK OUTWEIGH THE NEEDS OF THE MANY SPOCKS.

So here’s my question. You have rebooted the universe. Why do you want to remake everything exactly as it was? Why not recreate thins? Do better mashups? Make better stuff?  Of course, Roberto Orci wrote Transformers so I hold very little hope that it will actually be good.

• What’s to stop the Borg from showing up 80 years earlier than expected? Turn Kirk into Locutus instead? Or you know, avoid that angle all together, and instead set the Borg up as a different sort of enemy.
• Use the Romulans well. They have been hideously underutilized in Star Trek, and they deserve so much more. You’ve already destroyed Vulcan. The Vulcans and the Romulans share common ancestry  Work in a plot about Spock trying to rebuild his  heritage, a la Unification, but less preachy and with fewer results.
• If you’re going to do Khan, do a better version of the story. “Space Seed” really wasn’t that exciting. Kirk didn’t really have much of a background with Khan before Khan pretty much decides to try to murder him. The part that’s the most intriguing is a line he says in that movie… “On Earth, two hundred years ago, I was a prince.” Yes. Because of the Eugenics Wars. Somebody please make a miniseries about the Eugenics Wars. In the rebooted canon, you can abandon the idea that they happened in the latter 20th century (so as to avoid audience cringing) and do it well. I know this can be done, Hollywood. You just have to find the right people.
• Use this as a fantastic opportunity to insert Section 31 or something similar into this version of the Federation. Dark Star Trek is good, and this reboot was clearly set up to be darker, if not also more action-oriented. So there’s hope for the subversive and clandestine therein. It’s mentioned in DS9 and Enterprise both. It’s supposedly been with the Federation since the beginning. Go with it. In fact, make an entire spy series of Star Trek out of Section 31. I’ve already got your theme song…
• Create new aliens. New races. New planets. New worlds. New technology. Oh yes, basically, just use this as a valid excuse to disrupt canon and make something that is new and interesting. Believe it or not, fans actually like this sort of thing.  If they didn’t, there wouldn’t be thousands and thousands upon thousands of pieces of fanfic out there. I don’t like it when Star Trek feels like one of the rejects of the “SyFy Original Series” lineup. And the J.J. Abrams version does seem to feel a little more like that than it should.

TLDR Version? Read the MTV article instead. 

The USS Sexeh-Sexeh

Apparently Star Trek fans are predominantly male (or are interested in women) because searches for “Star Trek hot…” yield dozens of lists of the hottest Star Trek ladies.  (Personally, I recommend this one from UGO.) It’s significantly harder to find a Star Trek hottest men list. So I’ve decided to create one. I’m not the first but I still feel like I’m walking in largely unexplored territory. So here we go, folks, boldly exploring strange new lists!

35 Hot Star Trek Men: A Countdown Sequence of Exploration

My honorable mention has to go to Arex.  Okay, this one is a joke. But I couldn’t let The Animated Series slide by without mention of some kind.

#35: Alexander Rozhenko  TNG, DS9

After he grows up, of course. By the time he’s a fully-formed adult person, he’s still pensive and poetic to his father Worf’s militaristic honor-laden personality. And yet he joins the Klingon military anyway, prompting an awkward coming-of-age moment with his dad. It’s hard not to feel pangs for his sensitivity and his feelings of being “different.” He’s a man with a code, though, and mad respect goes out to him for that.

#34: Admiral Daniel Leonard ENT

Honestly, I just can’t resist a good Jim Beaver moment. Even if he doesn’t know the difference between Klingons and Klingots.  (“No, you idjit!”) His tiny, tiny role in the series premiere of Enterprise is memorable because Jim Beaver makes everything memorable.

#33: Lieutenant Commander George Kirk Star Trek – Alternate Timeline

Thor spawns Kirk. Nerd connections aside, the short pre-credit revelation of George Kirk’s sacrifice for his wife and newborn son show him to be an honorable man. Also, those eyes. Dreamy little eyes.

#32: The EMH Mark II VOY

Andy Dick may be, well, a dick, but on Voyager he was utterly un-evolved programmatically but still insanely adorable. He fretted, he panicked, he called for help at all the wrong moments. He and the Doctor fought off a band of Romulans as only two holographic neurotic messes can.

#31: General Chang Star Trek VI

Klingon armor and an eye patch don’t cover up all of this Shakespearean loving collaborationist militarist’s soul. One gets the sense that Chang would actually have gotten on quite a bit better with Picard but in his dealings with Kirk shows a certain healthy distance and respect. Chang may be a scumbag to some but he’s just a man afraid of change and willing to construct an elaborate plot to preserve his way of life. He’s like a space pirate with extra blood lust on the side.  (Hey, at least he’s not fighting the Nazis with songs about Austrian flowers.)

#30: Captain Hikaru Sulu TOS, Star Trek I- VI, VOY

How can Sulu possibly be this low on the list, especially since he produced a really hot daughter also? Well, the fact is, I find George Takei much more attractive than I find Sulu. But Sulu becomes a more intriguing man, loyal and intrepid. He’s able to pilot a Huey 204 and is given command of the USS Excelsior, thereby fulfilling a goal he mentions as far back as The Search for Spock. So he’s career-oriented and he even got to meet Tuvok before Janeway did. All in all, his most memorable Star Trek moment is probably in The Naked Time when he runs around shirtless and wielding a sword.

#29: The Doctor VOY

To be fair, the EMH shows up in other places as well, such as First Contact and DS9 (as does Lewis Zimmerman) but they aren’t the same as the beloved doctor on Voyager who plays Data to the humanoids onboard the ship, eventually showing a reluctant Seven of Nine the fruits of his struggles. The Doctor becomes charming, insightful, humorous, and generally lovable. He even creates for himself a holographic family and manages to show his depth and joy for understanding of others. He struggles with moral dilemmas and his role, adding to the overall charm of his personality. No, I didn’t pick him for the Who seeming reference.

#28: Joran Belar/Joran Dax DS9

Sure, sure, he was a murderer. But he was also a musician and a great help to Ezri when she needed to seek out answers to later murders. He had a sweet face, though, and if it weren’t for the violent temper, he really wouldn’t be so bad.

#27: Taymon VOY

Taymon may have only a quick appearance before he’s found in a grisly death position but up until that point, he’s so laid-back and relaxed that I, too, want to stay and hang out with him. It’s no wonder that Harry Kim listens to at least some of Taymon’s advice. The voice, too. (Patrick Fabian has a great voice, and being a big fan of Veronica Mars, I’ve grown to really love it.)

#26: Henry Starling VOY

(Hey, speaking of Veronica Mars…) Henry Starling is a drugged-out hippie who meets aliens in the remote wilds and parlays that meeting with technology into a Microsoftian-Applean empire in which he controls time and space in the late 1990s. (He even tries to have Sarah Silverman killed.) Starling may be a man living in the 1990s but he can use his technological superiority to outsmart the crew of Voyager and that prowess is just straight-up sexy.

#25: Henry Archer ENT

Father to future Captain Jonathan Archer and a famous warp-drive engineer, Henry Archer also has dark eyes and a slippery smile. It sneaks up his face. Technological skill and ability to communicate with and praise Vulcans are high on his list of charms. Plus Mark Moses is just a favorite of mine anyway.

#24: Lore TNG

The evil twin always has a certain je ne sais quoi about him. It’s (contraction, which Lore can totally use!) difficult to imagine why Lore and Data ended up so different in the end but this isn’t the only case of siblings taking different paths in the Star Trek universe. Lore earns his place on this list by showing his technological superiority and masterminding Borg activities. He’s essentially a supervillain but he looks just like Data.

#23: Wesley Crusher TNG, Star Trek X

You knew this was coming but let me say that when The Next Generation first aired, I was 6 years old. It was only in the later seasons when I started to really dig on the Wesley love. He’s a nerd. He’s a very gifted, highly intellectual nerd. AND PEOPLE LIKE HIM. He’s also a screw-up (see the Nick Locarno entry below) but he becomes the most interesting when he decides to use his genius brain powers and follow the Traveler around the universe, effectively abandoning his Starfleet career. He’s still a nerd, though, and therefore relatable to many a Star Trek fan. (Wil Wheaton, I’m sorry, because YOU are still way more awesome than Wesley Crusher ever was.)

#22: Cadet Nick Locarno TNG

Supposedly the Star Trek creators thought Nick Locarno was irredeemable. I disagree. He’s a “bad” kid but he martyrs himself to save his teammates and friends… because he’s the CO. Of course, since he’s played by Robert Duncan McNeill I will need to address the eyes and the flare for dissension that comes across in his every glance.

#21: Captain James T. Kirk – Alternate Star Trek – Alternate Timeline

Chris Pine is surprisingly physically similar to young William Shatner but let’s talk about how alternate Kirk is snarkier, snappier, and generally more sarcastic, and how all of that, coupled with his quipping with Spock makes him a sexy figure for nerd love. He’s damaged, he’s bright, he’s resourceful, he’s the product of a traumatic birth. He is also powerful and imaginative and his foiling of the Kobayashi Maru testifies for his optimistic spirit.

#20: Rom DS9

Like Wesley Crusher, Rom is a nerd. He’s a brilliant engineer with a lovesick heart. He married his first wife because he wanted a child but fell in love with her and got screwed over. (You go Ferengi) Then he shyly found himself attracted to sexy Leeta, and was too embarrassed to ask her out until it was nearly too late. Rom is also sly, participating in spy and reconnaissance missions, and occasional sabotage in order to save himself, his brother, his wife, his son, and Starfleet’s interests as well as his own. He’s also the father of the first Ferengi to join Starfleet… but we won’t hold that against him.

#19: Lieutenant Montgomery Scott – Alternate Star Trek – Alternate Timeline

Simon Pegg brings a flare to this character that was lacking in James Doohan’s version. He’s wacky and isolated, so he’s gone a bit crazy and therefore he really highlights that whole absent-minded, frantic engineer persona. He’s adorable, funny, and still a miracle worker.

#18: Vedek Bareil Antos DS9

Bareil may have been all about some Major Kira action (get it?) but he was a totally hot holy man in his own right. He allowed himself to be blamed and drummed out in order to preserve the emotional and spiritual continuity of the Bajoran people. He is calm and light in the midst of chaos and dark and seems to be a true believer in his faith. His relationship with Kira is how we see him grow in personality. He’s not all seriousness and he loves a good game of springball. But he’s also kind of a badass when he negotiates and navigates the Vedek assembly and helps promise a better future for Bajor.

#17: Shinzon Star Trek X

Nemesis may have been a less-than-spectacular movie and Shinzon’s role in that movie may have been somewhat confused by the writers but he was nonetheless a seriously hot, brooding dark mirror to Picard. His Reman robes and penchant for prowling in darkness add to his appeal. (The British accent doesn’t hurt either.)

#16: Gul Dukat DS9

Holocaust perpetrator, torturer, violent, twisted man with lust for his prisoners of war. And yet still hot. Dukat is a complicated man, full of expressions of love and concern, of conflicted morals and family love, battling different goals at all times. He’s powerful, scary, and wields the power of trickery and sedition. And he’s incredible right up until he decides to worship the Pah-wraiths. He does have a certain cult-leader charm with the ability to collect followers and win over various Starfleet and Bajoran militia personnel depending on the situation. He remains something of a mystery and the call of the unknown is enough for me.

#15: David Marcus Star Trek II

Oh, that hair.  Isn’t the hair enough? David Marcus is a scientist and a rebel. He’s angry, engaged, and not above bending the rules to try to effect a better outcome. And half of his genes belong to James T. Kirk, so how can you go wrong? Even when he dies, he dies because he sacrifices himself to save the lives of two others.

#14: Khan Noonien Singh TOS, Star Trek II

“For every Julian Bashir that can be created, there’s a Khan Singh waiting in the wings.”  One can only hope. The sexy voice, the bare chest, the unbridled desire for revenge and power after being marooned on Ceti Alpha V. He’s sexy when he first encounters Kirk, holding himself and carrying himself with the suave knowledge of his superior genetic structure.

#13: Lieutenant Reginald Barclay TNG, Star Trek VII, VOY

Barclay is a brilliant engineer but shy. He’s not so great with women and he suffers from holo-addiction, or at least he did, once upon a time. He’s also so retiring and sweet (he’s afraid of spiders) that he could easily remind one of Ron Weasley, always overshadowed by others with more dominant personalities. Barclay is very hugable, the sort of man you want to embrace and pet on the head so he knows everything is okay. He’s also at least partly responsible for bringing home the crew of Voyager, which makes him a hell of a lot more effective than many of the other engineers in Starfleet, thereby earning him a +5 genius booster.

#12: Ensign Travis Mayweather ENT

As somebody else on the internet said, I’m not above the pure physical attraction factor. The cheekbones. The chest. The eyes. The face. The shoulders. Okay, the whole damn package is sexy as hell, all chiseled and beefy (but in only the best possible way.)

#11: Dr. Leonard H. “Bones” McCoy– Alternate Star Trek – Alternate Timeline

DeForest Kelley was at his best when he was a cynical but caring ranting mess. Karl Urban does the same with the added benefit of being physically more robust. He’s an agile doctor with steady hands and a sarcastic snappy tongue but he genuinely cares about humans and his friends. He has wild eyes and real person foibles. He doesn’t like to fly or transport. He doesn’t want to argue with cold logic when real “people” are involved but he’s also quick to talk sense into others when needed. In short, he’s a well-rounded man with a sexy build.

#10: Captain/Admiral James Tiberius Kirk TOS, Star Trek I-VII

Here’s the deal. Young William Shatner was hot. Don’t believe me? Google image search for “William Shatner Twilight Zone”  You’ll get there.  Kirk is impetuous, joking, adventurous, and sneaky. He’s the all-around man’s man but he’s also the all-around ladies’ man. He’s a gifted negotiator but doesn’t necessarily believe the diplomatic solution is the winning one. He’s not above using deception or wild maneuvers to get what he wants and balks at regulation, which gives him a sense of danger. His loyalty and friendship to others totally boost the sexy points.

#9: Lieutenant Malcolm Reed ENT

Ack. Nerd love. Physical hotness plus realistic fears and growth. He walked on a freaking comet! This, in spite of his allergies and medical problems. Also, great hair.

#8: Captain Spock TOS, Star Trek I-VI, TNG

Even Jadzia Dax preferred Spock to Kirk. Cold, disciplined Vulcan logic and emotional unavailability with hot eyes and pointy ears. What lady wouldn’t fall for that? (Especially a dirty perverted young woman like Dax.) Spock isn’t above certain kinds of deceit, particularly after he comes back from the dead. You hear that, guys, he COMES BACK FROM THE DEAD because of his superior Vulcan brain. And even though he’s only half-Vulcan, he clearly shows a preference for the science and steady, sturdy processes of his homeworld. He’s a partner, a buddy, and he gets some of the best moments, such as suggesting Starfleet can go to hell.

#7: Q TNG, DS9, VOY

Q is a toying, childish entity who just happens to wield every bit of omnipotent power in the known universe. He’s almost coquettish in a sense, and he teases, pokes fun, and humiliates and infuriates everybody he encounters. But he’s still unbelievably hot when he decides to put humanity on trial and to snap away the crew members he dislikes. He isn’t above asking Kathryn Janeway to make him a baby and even grows a little to accept that a fellow Q may not want the same life he has. He’s strangely charming even as he’s utterly infuriating.

#6: Commander Geordi LaForge TNG, Star Trek VII-X

For some reason, engineers really do it for me. Geordi is promoted to chief engineer on the Enterprise after serving in other, less mechanically-focused capacities and this shows his youthful progression through eagerness. He matures into a calm, steady man who is cool under pressure and who can deliver Scottian miracles without all of the bragging. His best friend is an android, he is progressive, respectful, and very pleasant to be around. Overcoming obstacles makes him kinder to others and when he falls in love with a Holodeck character, he falls in love with a woman whom he respects for her engineering skill more than her physical beauty (even though she is a looker.)

#5: Commander Data TNG, Star Trek VII-X

Android struggling to be human. King of the emotionally unavailable men. Incapable of love but utterly able to provide attention, he’s not funny most of the time (at least not intentionally) but he cares for a cat and maintains a friendship with Geordi LaForge that might be considered a bromance in modern times. He tries to improve himself with an emotion chip and struggles through learning how to behave in a non-robotic way. He also has a Dexter moment when he is forced to shut off and deactivate each of his two siblings at various points in time. He’s extremely cute, looking oddly flustered and bewildered when he doesn’t respond correctly. He is also a martyr to his crewmates in the end.

#4: Lieutenant Tom Eugene Paris VOY

The ubiquitous sci-fi bad boy with a heart of gold. Every ship needs one. Former Starfleet, former Maquis, former prisoner, son of a Starfleet admiral. Traitor, treacherous actor, but ultimately moral and loving. Loyal to those who deserve it, kind to most. Willing to defend and fight. Tom mentions throughout his tenure on Voyager that he had an unhappy childhood and speaks frequently of his adolescent room where he passed the time playing games, listening to music, crying, and losing his virginity. He’s a bad boy but he’s reformed. He’s the Han Solo of the Star Trek universe and B’Elanna Torres is his Princess Leia. Ultimately, Tom shows his hotness and cuteness in his slightly offbeat sense of humor, his belied self-doubt and lack of self-esteem, and his willingness to take on adventure. (It should be noted that Voyager premiered 10 days before my 14th birthday so it was prime season to find the “bad boy with a heart of gold” paradigm something to lust after.) His Captain Proton personality and enjoyment of 20th century Earth don’t hurt. He also looks good in a World War II military uniform. Robert Duncan McNeill made it onto this list twice and only he and Brent Spiner have done that, so props to them!

#3: Elim Garak DS9

Cunning, sneaky Garak. He can sew. He can spy. He can survive implantation of torture devices and tight, confined spaces despite being utterly claustrophobic. He can interrogate a man through hostile, physically violent means and then turn around and prepare a beautiful dress. He falls in love with Tora Ziyal, Gul Dukat’s half-Bajoran daughter and legitimately respects and cares for her. Meanwhile, he deals in trade to end the lives of innocents. Progressive, regressive, afraid of tight spaces and prone to make morallyquestionable and morally laudable decisions as quickly as most of us can take a breath. Never fully fleshed out. He’s the Shepherd Book of DS9. It’s never “just plain simple Garak.” He’s hot because he’s so damn complex. And possibly gay, given the attention he pays to Julian Bashir.

#2: Dr. Julian Bashir DS9, TNG

Sigh. Bashir starts off as an egotistical, self-righteous, self-proclaimed genius, shoving his foot down his handsome mouth, and interfering with other people’s lives. He’s overeager and continually insults his various crewmates. Then he starts to grow up (after all he’s only 27 when he comes to DS9) and his intellect remains firmly intact, but better managed. He learns to present a delicate authority, instructing others and ordering them about in a firm, doctoral manner. He fights and engages in diplomatic negotiation and is a brilliant researcher and medical practitioner. Like Tom Paris, he enjoys holosuite programs, and most of them involve spy games. He was illegally genetically engineered as a child, which is what made him so brilliant, and we find out that he threw his opportunity to be valedictorian of his medical class, possibly in order to stay out of the limelight. His olive skin and wide smile, his fluffy hair, and general svelte build set him up to be something of a lab nerd but he does it so well while also being badass, thoughtful, kind, and energetic. War hardens him but he learns various new forms of compassion during those battles, and this only endears him further as a strong, ingenious man with a lust for life. Mirror universe Julian Bashir is smoldering hot, even more so than regular universe Julian Bashir. (Remember what I said above about evil twins?)

#1: Captain Jean-Luc Picard TNG, DS9, Star Trek VII-X

Absolutely no explanation is required to defend this point. It is a known quantity. If this were a mathematical proof, “Jean-Luc Picard is hot as fuck” would be a universal given. Picard as Locutus is just bonus points. He’s an explorer, an intellectual, a solidified badass, totally capable of defending himself in a fight but generally too smart to head out on away missions when he doesn’t have to put himself in danger. He’s wise, loving, willing to crack a joke, and hot as the flames of hell, even when he makes the occasional bad decision. He protects his crew, and the sanctity of life beyond his own ship. He comes from France and his family makes wine. (THEY MAKE WINE!) He is in amazing physical shape, enjoys Holodeck recreation, and consistently respects and builds up his top officers. Seriously, “Jean-Luc Picard is hot as fuck” is pretty much all you need to know.