Gorn The Gorn were a warp - capable , biped al reptilian species . History and culture . According to Orion privateer Harrad - Sar in 2154 , the Gorn government , known as the Gorn Hegemony , " " brew the finest Meridor in the five star systems . " " ( ) In 2256 , Captain had a Gorn skeleton in a laboratory . ( ) The Gorn ' s first contact with the prime reality Federation took place in 2267 , when the Gorn attacked a Federation colony on Cestus III . The Gorn saw the strike as a preemptive move , since they regarded the Cestus system as part of their territory . The pursued a Gorn starship from Cestus III into a previously unexplored region of the galaxy , near 2466 PM . There , both starship s were immobilized by the Metron s , who transported James T . Kirk and the Gorn captain to a planet ' s surface , where the two captain s were instructed to settle their differences in a " contest . . . of ingenuity against ingenuity , brute strength against brute strength . " Although the Gorn captain was physically stronger than Kirk , Kirk was able to construct a makeshift cannon out of materials on the planet ' s surface and defeat the Gorn . When Kirk showed mercy to his defeated opponent , the Metrons sent both captains back to their respective ships and transported the " Enterprise " out of the area . ( ) " The Gorn made first contact with the Federation at least eight years earlier in the alternate reality . " ( ) While on the " Enterprise " in 2268 , Benjamin Sisko admitted to Jadzia Dax that he would like to ask Kirk about the fight with the Gorn captain during this encounter . ( ) A Gorn served on the ruling council of the pocket dimension Elysia , in the late 23rd century . It is unknown how long members of his species had been trapped in that universe . ( ) Physical characteristics . Gorn were a cold - blood ed , reptilian species with green , rubbery skin , red blood and an average height of approximately two meter s . They tended to be many times stronger than most humanoid s , albeit slower and less agile but with greater stamina and , like most cold - blooded species , preferred warmer temperatures . ( ; , " et al . " ) Gorn could survive exposure to the vacuum of space . ( ) Some Human s had an instinctive revulsion to the Gorn , as they were a type of reptile , and may think them primitive or unintelligent . This is unwise , as the Gorn are at least as intelligent as Humans . Their ear s were simple holes on the sides of their skull s , while their mouths boasted an impressive array of sharp teeth and their hands and feet possessed vicious claws . In the mirror universe , quipped that the Gorn were comparable to that of the extinct " Velociraptor " , based on one Gorn ' s size and bite . ( ) Some Gorn display eye s that are silvery and faceted , much like the compound eyes of insect s , while others have typical humanoid eyes complete with pupils . They also possess incredible durability and are able to take an extreme amount of punishment . During the first skirmish between Captain Kirk and the Gorn captain , Kirk hurled a boulder at his opponent , only for it to bounce off the Gorn ' s skin . Later , he caused a giant boulder to roll down a mountain and hit the Gorn captain . Though this temporarily stunned him , he was not injured . Kirk finally managed to wound and disable the Gorn with a primitive cannon comprised of rope - wrapped bamboo as a barrel , with raw diamonds as projectiles and a homemade gunpowder mixture as propellant . ( ) Gorn pregnancies might result in as much as eight children , who were known for biting already directly after birth . Caesarean section might be indicated . ( ) Technology . As of the late 23rd century , much of the Gorn technology was on par with Starfleet ' s . Their ship s were almost as fast as that of a starship , as it would have to push its engines to dangerous speeds to overtake a Gorn ship . Their weapon s were described as " like phaser s , only worse " by a survivor of the Cestus attack . This description may have been colored by fear , as they were later described as disruptor s . Gorn shield s were capable of enduring an initial full barrage of phaser and photon torpedo fire , with little or no appreciable damage . They had transporter technology and possessed voice duplicator equipment at least good enough to fool a casual listener . Gorn ground tactical units utilized powerful disruptors , capable of completely disintegrating targets at ranges of between 1 , 200 and 1 , 500 yard s . Their sensor technology may have been less effective than that of the Federation , as they had some difficulty targeting a landing party during their ambush at Cestus III . The Gorn were able to home in on signals from a tricorder , allowing them to " bracket " the user with fire . ( ) Mirror universe . In the mirror universe , a Gorn named Slar was a slave master working for the Tholian Assembly . He was in charge of the workers assigned aboard the until the crew of the took it over . Slar was seen as untrusting of s . and vicious when it came to dealing with them . He was ultimately killed by . ( ) A century later , a Gorn skull was on display aboard the . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The cast list in the final draft script of " Arena " described the Gorn as " " a large ( six foot four ) lizard - like creature , well - muscled , very strong . " " When the Gorn first appeared in the scripted events of the episode , the description of the alien read , " " It is a lizard , who walks like a man . . . two - legged , two - armed , a thick glistening scaly hide , the size of a man with outstanding musculature . . . a wide mouth full of sharp teeth , a ridge of hard plate running down his back , even a prehensile , thick , strong tail . He is wearing a garment like a short robe [ . . . ] He does not wear shoes of any sort . " " Detailing other aspects of the Gorn ' s anatomy , the script later referred to the creature as having shoulder blades as well as eyes that at one point " glitter [ ed ] " and the script further stated , " " He has two tiny earholes on his head , where a Human being ' s ears would be . " " The script also described the Gorn ' s voice , as heard through his Metron communicator , as " harsh , whistling , hissing " and deemed his strength to be comparable to that of a . The Gorn ' s costume was designed by Wah Chang , who also created the M - 113 creature ( aka the " salt vampire " ) . ( " The Art of Star Trek " , p . 34 ; et al . ) The Gorn captain in " Arena " was intended to not be particularly agile , with the episode ' s script stating about the Gorn , " " It moves slowly , awkwardly , " " and referring to the creature as " sluggish " and " lumbering " . " " He ' s big and awkward . . . That all fits the costume , " " said Bobby Clark , who wore the reptilian suit . " " Because the costume was thick rubber , it had big muscles – you couldn ' t bend your arms . You couldn ' t walk fast because the feet would hold you back . You couldn ' t run , because you ' d be walking like you had two swimming fins on your feet . And we were walking in brush a lot , so that was tough . . . [ The producers have ] said several times that , in their estimation , it was the slowest fight they ' d ever seen . Well , yes , it was slow . If it was fast , it would ' ve been the funniest fight they ' d ever seen . " " ( " SFX " , issue # 200 , p . 135 ) Michael Westmore attributed the slowness of the alien to the makeup design for what he termed " the lumbering Gorn . " Westmore commented , " " For all his mobility in Wah ' s costume and props , the Gorn , because of the heavy rubber appliances and the thick wet suit , is relatively slow and cumbersome [ . . . ] even though the Gorn was a very advanced creation for his time . " " ( " " , p . 43 ) Dan Curry agreed that the Gorn suit " was very bulky and very hard for the actor to move around in . " ( " Inside the Mirror Episodes " , ENT Season 4 DVD special features ) One day shortly before , someone asked Archer actor Scott Bakula about the Gorn . " " I hadn ' t thought about him in a long time , but oh , my gosh , it was just so terrible , " " said Bakula , remembering the relatively primitive special effects used to depict the alien in " Arena " . ( ) The Gorn were originally to have been featured as the villains in the " " episode . One reason why their role in the story was replaced with the Andorian s was that the Gorn , unlike the Andorians , were considered to be unable to talk . ( ) Near the end of " Enterprise " s first season , staff writer Mike Sussman offered , " " Before we decided to have the Andorians , we all talked about doing the Gorn [ . . . ] But when we looked at the show , it was decided by Rick [ Berman ] and Brannon [ Braga ] that it was pretty clear that Captain Kirk ' s run - in was the first time anyone had seen a Gorn . So , as much as we would love to use them , it doesn ' t fit with what ' s been established , so they ' re kind of off the table for us . " " ( ) Subsequently , Berman didn ' t , however , completely rule out the possibility of including the Gorn in " Enterprise " . On the contrary , he declared , " " The Gorn are certainly a possibility . " " ( ) In fact , prior to the Gorn ' s appearance in , " Enterprise " s writing staff spent much time trying to find some means of including the Gorn into the series without violating continuity . ( " In a Mirror , Darkly , Part II " audio commentary , ENT Season 4 DVD ) David A . Goodman was one production staffer who spent a lot of time developing a Gorn episode of " Enterprise " . ( ) The mirror universe setting of the " In a Mirror , Darkly " two - parter finally allowed for the Gorn ' s inclusion in ENT . ( " In a Mirror , Darkly , Part II " audio commentary , ENT Season 4 DVD ) " " Yeah , we had to get a Gorn in there , " " noted Manny Coto . " " I always wanted to do a Gorn . " " ( " Before Her Time : Decommissioning " Enterprise " , Part Two : Memorable Voyages " , ENT Season 4 Blu - ray special features ) On the other hand , Garfield Reeves - Stevens remembered , " " The Gorn is the one [ alien ] they almost didn ' t have [ in the ' In a Mirror , Darkly ' two - parter ] and we put on an impassioned plea to have it and Manny capitulated . Manny wondered if it was integral to the story and we mounted a defense for it . " " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 37 , No . 2 , p . 69 ) As described in the final draft script of " In a Mirror , Darkly , Part II " , the Gorn were " giant reptiles " with three clawed fingers and " razor - sharp teeth . " Slar was also scripted to be wearing " the Gorn equivalent of an EV undersuit . " As for Gorn language , the script commented that , immediately before being shot by Archer , Slar was " cursing at Archer in his own tongue . " Initially , the production crew were perplexed as to how they would create the Gorn required for " In a Mirror , Darkly , Part II " . Michael Westmore explained , " " With the Gorn . . . in the beginning , they didn ' t know what direction we were gonna go in . Are you going to put a man in a suit ? And if we do , what modifications are you going to make , so it doesn ' t look like the original one [ . . . ] which was very bulky and very hard for the actor to move around in ? We played around with the idea , and we all came . . . Basically , all of us came to the same conclusion . If we want to do something that ' s new and that ' s still " à la " Gorn , it ' s going to have to be an optical – not a man in a suit . " " ( " Inside the Mirror Episodes " , ENT Season 4 DVD special features ) This method of creating the modernized Gorn would allow it to have much more freedom of movement than had been possible with its predecessor in the original series . ( ENT Season 4 DVD text commentary ) A starting point for creating the ENT Gorn was concept artwork by Dan Curry . " " We looked at the Gorn from the original series , " " he explained , " " and then I did some sketches on how the Gorn might look more reptilian and made anatomical changes in the skin [ . . . ] After I did the sketches we turned that over to the makeup department under Mike Westmore ' s supervision and Earl Ellis sculpted a maquette of the Gorn . " " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 37 , No . 2 , p . 69 ) The maquette created by Ellis – a sculptor in Westmore ' s makeup department – measured eighteen inches and was made from clay . This potential Gorn design was further developed with input from producers Manny Coto , Rick Berman and Brannon Braga . Westmore later echoed their advice , saying , " " Well , maybe it should be a little bit more of this . The shoulders should be a little bigger . Maybe the chest should be a little bigger . It looks too much like a Human . Can you extend the torso ? " " As the final maquette was a very useful starting point for the creation of a digital model , the maquette was given to Dan Curry who , in turn , gave it to digital effects supervisor John Teska at Eden FX . Teska was then able to transform the design into a fully animatable computer - generated Gorn . ( " Inside the Mirror Episodes " , ENT Season 4 DVD special features ) Meanwhile , footage of Stunt Coordinator Vince Deadrick , Jr . , playing the Gorn – dressed in a fitted black leotard outfit that had white grid marks on – and acting alongside Scott Bakula , was filmed . ( " Inside the Mirror Episodes " , ENT Season 4 DVD special features ) After the same shots were repeated without Deadrick playing the Gorn , the computer - generated version of the alien was added into the shots , replacing Deadrick ' s movements . ( ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary ; " Inside the Mirror Episodes " , ENT Season 4 DVD special features ) For close - up shots of the Gorn ' s alien hands , a pair of Gorn gloves were especially designed by Michael Westmore ' s makeup effects department . ( " Inside the Mirror Episodes " , ENT Season 4 DVD special features ) Ultimately , Manny Coto had mixed feelings about how successful the Gorn in " In a Mirror , Darkly , Part II " had been . " " I wish our little Gorn had looked a little better than it did , " " he critiqued , " " but I would have loved to have done more Gorn stuff in season five , which would have been fun to explore [ . . . ] I think we had talked about doing Mirror - Universe Gorns . Uh , you know , expand that whole thing . " " ( " Before Her Time : Decommissioning " Enterprise " , Part Two : Memorable Voyages " , ENT Season 4 Blu - ray special features ) The Gorn were referenced in an ultimately omitted line of dialogue from the first draft script of , in which Picard , delivering his best man ' s speech at the wedding of Riker and Troi , recalled that Riker ' s bachelor party had included " three Andorians , two Tellarite s and a Gorn . " A Gorn was among multiple individuals Barney Burman and his company , Proteus Make - up FX Team , created for Rura Penthe prison scenes in the film , footage that was ultimately cut from the movie ' s final release . Including the Gorn was the idea of Sculptor Don Lanning , who had spent the past year and a half sculpting surgeries for television series " Nip / Tuck " . " " I immediately wanted to revisit the Gorn from ' Arena ' , " " he said , " " because I had just spent a lot of time sculpting realistic stuff , so I was ready for some hard - core fantasy ! " " Hired onto the production in the role of key sculptor , Lanning was permitted his wish of furthering a redesign of the Gorn . This developed into one of two sculptures which he worked on whenever he got some down time , the other being the M - 113 creature . " " The Gorn was our best effort to revisit the original material , " " observed Lanning , " " and I think it was very successful . " " Lanning was left with the impression that the Gorn was removed from the film because Director J . J . Abrams and others on the production staff wanted the upcoming film to concentrate on newer aliens . ( " Star Trek Magazine Special 2014 " , pp . 135 & 137 ) Apocrypha . The Star Fleet Battles and Federation Space board games , published by Task Force Games , indicated that a Gorn confederation formed when three separate but nearly identical sentient species , each having developed on a different planet ( Gdhar I , Gdhar II , and Gdhar III , presumably in the Gdhar system ) joined into a single political entity . The Gorn are a civilized and cultured race . The Star Fleet Battles game universe refers to an initial brief conflict between two hotheaded starship captains over what was then considered a misunderstanding ( an indirect reference to the events in " Arena " ) . This conflict was resolved peacefully and led to the Gorn being a close ally of the Federation . It is said to be one of the few alliances in the SFU that is apparently based on mutual trust , respect , and desire for friendship as opposed to political convienence . ( see also Star Fleet Universe ) . The graphic novel " The Gorn Crisis " is the story of Jean - Luc Picard ' s attempt to ally with the Gorn in the Dominion War despite a Gorn civil war . The novel " Articles of the Federation " followed up on this and stated that the Gorn fought in the Dominion War on the Federation ' s side . The crew of the helped to convince them to join the fight against the Dominion . In " A Singular Destiny " , the Gorn joined the – an alliance including the Romulan Star Empire , the Breen Confederacy , the Tholian Assembly , the Tzenkethi , and the which was set up in competition with the powers of the Khitomer Accords . The Gorn appear in the FASA RPG adventure book " Demand of Honor " , where their government is called the Gorn Alliance and their homeworld is called S ' sgaron . In the " " , the Gorn homeworld was called Agornu . Video games . The Gorn are playable races in several " Star Trek " video games . These include " " , " " , " " , and " Star Trek Online " . The game manual for " " mentions the Gorn were allied with the Dominion during the Dominion War . In " Star Trek : Klingon Academy " , the Gorn are available as a playable race in Skirmish and Multiplayer modes . According to the game ' s manual , their government is referred to as the " Gorn Kingdom " , rather than the more common Gorn Confederation . They are engaged in a mutual exchange agreement with the Federation , and as such their vessels are equipped with similar technologies , such as phasers and tractor beam weapons . Like the other non - campaign races in the game , the Gorn possess fewer ship classes than the Klingons or the Federation . The Gorn are also a playable race , and allies of the Klingon Empire , in " Star Trek Online " . When designing a Gorn character , only the male gender is selectable . Gorn are also the enemies faced during many Federation missions , and some employ a rock - throwing attack reminiscent of the battle between Kirk and the Gorn Captain in " Arena " . Furthermore , in " Star Trek Online " , the Gorn engaged in late - 24th - century war against the Klingon Empire . The Klingons eventually prevailed – allowing the Gorn to maintain their rule over their space – but , in exchange , made allies . In this continuity , the insect - like eyes seen on the Gorn Captain from " Arena " are explained as a set of eyepieces that give a tactical heads - up display . The tie - in novel " The Needs of the Many " reveals that the difference between the Gorn seen in " The Original Series " and " Enterprise " is part of a caste system ; the silver - eyed , five - fingered Gorn are from a warrior caste , while the gold - eyed , three - fingered Gorn are members of a technological caste . The Gorn are the villains of the 2013 " " game set before , featuring fifteen varieties of male and female Gorn ranging in size , intelligence and color , designed by Neville Page . They are depicted as originating from another galaxy which they have conquered by the time they reach the Milky Way Galaxy via a wormhole created by a terraforming device on New Vulcan . The Gorn utilize a mind - controlling venom to turn enemies on each other , practice bio - enhancement , and just as in the film , McCoy mentions they are . He recounts having stunned a pregnant female while on the surface of the Lymax planet , necessitating McCoy ' s medical intervention to deliver the babies .