Q (Star Trek)

Q is a recurring character in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He is one of Jean-Luc Picard's best friends.
He was portrayed by , who also played Discord and Santa Claus.
==Biography==
Q is the omnipotent prankster who belongs to the Q Continuum, a race of godlike aliens who live outside our plane of existence. He is simultaneously the main 'villain' and the false antagonist of the series.
Q's pranks seem chaotic on their surface, but have a subtle purpose: namely, to humble the Federation, which in his view has grown too complacent. Q demonstrates this by flinging the Enterprise light-years across the galaxy and dropping them in Borg space.
Q, who makes it his business to meddle in mortal affairs, seems to enjoy his competitions of ego and wit with Picard in particular. For his part, Picard is unsure whether Q has humanity's best interests at heart, or if he's simply a bored, jaded kid meandering around the galaxy torturing insects to find some form of amusement. John De Lancie's own stated opinion was that Q does have a sincere interest in "making sure that this man succeeds", showing that for all his bravado Q does care for Picard's development.
By 2401, Q realized that contrary to what he had earlier believed, he was not an immortal being, and was by then dying. He decided to help Picard face the trauma of his mother's suicide, and helped prevent destruction of a large swath of the galaxy by a galactic event. Using the last of his power to help return Picard and his friends from the early 21st century, and to resurrect Elnor Q died. Before his death Picard finally came to see Q as a good friend, and embraced the entity before Q died. 
Thanks to Q's complicated timeline, an earlier iteration of him appeared before Jean-Luc's son Jack. He explained that though Jean-Luc's part in humanity's trial was now over, it was now Jack's turn to be the metaphorical defense attorney.
==Personality==
Q basically has the traits of an on-and-off hero.
He is never outright malicious in his encounters with mortals, acting more as an annoying jester figure who likes to pester people for his own amusement, and behind his heavy snark and sarcasm manages to sneak in a few lessons that turn out to be useful to the mortals he pesters. Though the manner in which Q teaches these lessons is bothersome for his "students", making him more of an annoyance to Picard and his crew rather than a villain. At least for those crewmen who don't die as a result of his 'lessons'.
While on good terms with Picard and the crew, Q can sometimes be a bit of an overconfident braggart and a bit of a cunning liar.
==Appearance==
Q can take any form he desires, though he prefers humanoid forms. Initially, he dressed as a judge and was very wrathful, playing the part of a misanthropic god.
After growing an affinity for humans, he took on a form akin to a Federation officer, though he was never officially part of any crew.
In an alternate 2401 he appeared to Picard looking as he did in the 2360s and 2370s. Finding that Picard had aged quite a bit since he last saw him, Q decided to adopt the appearance of an older human male closer in age to Picard. 
==Trivia==
* Discord is based on Q and is therefore similar to him in many ways, as well as sharing the same actor John de Lancie. However, Discord is more mischievous than Q and uses less contractions in his vocabulary.
** Q was also much more malicious than Discord when first introduced, outright killing others (something Discord would morally never do, despite his chaotic nature.
* Q is easily the most powerful character in the entire Star Trek universe, only rivaled by other members of his species - Q has no known limit outside his imagination and the laws enforced by other Q.
* Q's aging himself up to an older human male in season 2 of Picard was done to provide an explanation of why Q appeared older, and to keep from having to use special effects to continuously de-age John de Lancie in season 2.
* "Q-Less" of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine marks the first time Q wears the Voyager-style uniform after briefly wearing the old TNG-style uniform while being on Deep Space Nine. He would wear it again throughout his appearances in Star Trek: Voyager.
*Q's infamous line "the trial (of humanity) is never over" is true. When he told Picard it was over, he meant that Picard's part in it was over.
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