Leonard McCoy (TOS)

Played by DeForest Kelley in Star Trek TOS and subsequent movies, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy served as ship's doctor aboard the starship Enterprise. He provided the emotional voice of the show, concerned with morality and humanity, as a foil to Spock's cold logic. The two operated as opposing angels on the shoulders of Captain James T. Kirk; only with their input could he make a proper decision.
McCoy is established as older than most of his crewmates, having left a career as a medical doctor on Earth to join Starfleet later in life. He is acerbic, and rude to Spock sometimes to the point of xenophobia – banter that Spock can give right back to him. Many fans do not interpret Spock and McCoy's relationship as harmful or hateful: the two have been known to defend each other to common enemies, and even Kirk seems amused by their bickering.See this thread on trekbbs.com re Spock and McCoy's relationship (thread started August 2013)
The nature of Spock and McCoy's relationship makes McCoy an interesting addition to the popular Kirk/Spock pair, or an interesting substitution for either primary. All configurations of the trio are popular in slash.
McCoy's catchphrases "He's dead, Jim" and "I'm a doctor, not a [bricklayer, escalator, etc]" are iconic to Star Trek, and to an extent, to pop culture at large.
==Pairings==
* Kirk/McCoy
* Spock/McCoy
* Kirk/Spock/McCoy
=== Gen Relationships ===
* Kirk & McCoy
==A Fan's Comments on McCoy in Fanfic==
==Common Tropes in Fanworks ==
===Mirror McCoy===
Some examples of fanworks where McCoy experiences the Mirror Universe:
* Living in Spite of Logic by Ellen O'Neil (features a Mirror McCoy who is an alcoholic) (1990) 
* Mirror Leerer by Paula M. Block from Warped Space #10 (1975) and The Compleat Faulwell/Landing Party 6 #2 (1984) 
* Sight Unseen by Kathy Stanis (1995)
===McCoy as John Watson and Sherlock Holmes===
The popularity of Leonard Nimoy's appearance on stage as Sherlock Holmes, general interest in Sir Arthur Canon Doyle's characters, Spock's logic and personality, and fannish speculation about Amanda Grayson's possible relationship to Holmes (which was fanned by in 1991 by the motion picture, The Undiscovered Country") The Undiscovered Country was ritten and directed by Nicholas Meyer, who'd also written The Seven Percent Solution, it gave Spock this bit of dialogue: "When you have eliminated the impossible, everything that is left must be the truth", which he attributes to one of his ancestors. Since this is a quote from the Sherlock Holmes novel, The Sign of Four, it implies that Spock, and therefore his human mother, Amanda Grayson, are descendants either of Holmes or of his creator Arthur Conan Doyle. , interest in Sherlock Holmes ran high with fans. This bled over to McCoy as John Watson, and less common, McCoy as Holmes himself. 
See Sherlock Holmes and Star Trek.
 
File:Holms1back.jpg|from The Holmesian Federation #1, artist is Gayle F (1978)
File:Bonesstrikes.jpg|from The Adventures of Sherlock Bones #3, artist is Kathy Rao (1980)
File:Spicedpeaches35-3.jpg|from Spiced Peaches #35, artists are Ellen Smock & Melinda (2013)
===McCoy and His Daughter, Joanna===
Joanna McCoy was Dr. McCoy's only child, and was a character in an unfilmed script. ; archive link (May 2010) Joanna is often mentioned and portrayed in fanworks. 
See Joanna McCoy.
===McCoy's Troubled Marriage===
Explorations of divorce, incapability, betrayal, the effects of careers on personal life; McCoy is sometimes portrayed as a victim, but just as often as an equal perpetrator in his own failed marriage.
* Angry Sunset (1974)
* Broken Rules, Desperate Chances by Julie McCoy in Cordrazine (1981)
* Not All of Your Laughter, Not All of Your Tears by Ingrid Cross in Odyssey #1 (1977)
===McCoy and Original Characters===
McCoy as a lover of original characters, see Sadie Faulwell for example
===McCoy and Natira===
Fiction and art about McCoy and the canon character, Natira.
===McCoy and the American Civil War/Time Travel===
A common trope was to explore McCoy's adventures and reactions to being sent back in time to the American Civil War. The origin of this scenario was due to McCoy's roots as a "country doctor, something he stated on the show. Fans extrapolated this bit of background, both from McCoy's southern accent and a statement in secondary canon stated in the 1980 book, U.S.S. Enterprise Officer's Manual by Geoffrey Mandel, and ran with the fanon that McCoy's specific place of birth was Georgia, U.S.
* Dr. McCoy's Medical Log contains "Dr. McCoy's Medical Log#The "Lost" Series: Descriptions by the Author|Lost," "a series of 10 stories set to a timewarp theme where McCoy/Kirk/Spock find themselves in a civil war period.
 
* The Southern Surgeon’s Nightmare by Paula Block in Alpha Continuum #2 (1977) (McCoy wonders what sins have landed him in a purgatory of endless Civil War surgery.)
* Southern Comfort (1982) ("...a McCoy/Kirk/Spock adventure taking place back in the 1800's, where a time-tampering alien will ensure a Confederate victory in the Civil War. The South was never THIS wild! Meet General Sam McCoy and a Confederate soldier who ain't quite what 'he' seems to be." from an ad in Datazine #19 )
* The Tale the Cap Told by Cathy German (2002)
File:Delta3art5.jpg|from Delta Triad #3 (1976), for the story To a Time Divided, artist is John Martin
File:Alphacont2southernsurgeon.jpg|from Alpha Continuum #2, artist is Marty Siegrist, from the story "The Southern Surgeon's Nightmare" (1977) 
=== Whump or Hurt/Comfort ===
Fanworks where McCoy experiences pain is fairly common, the severity varies. The scenarios are often brought about by common Star Trek tropes like shuttle crashes, capture by hostile aliens, some sort of space born illness, among others. In hurt/comfort fanworks it is most commonly Kirk or Spock providing the comfort, but in rarer stories you will find other members of the senior crew giving him comfort
==Fanworks==
===Fanfiction===
*The Real McCoy by Leslie Hobart
*The Alphan Primaries by Mary Louise Dodge
*Kith or Kin by Rabble Rouser
*Pegasus and the Starman by Joyce Tullock
*And All My Days Before Me by Ingrid Cross
*Equilibrium by PSW
* To Each His Own, a very controversial 1980 story
===Meta===
* by i-dreamed-i-had-a-son (2020)
* by ifdragonscouldtalk and fuckyeahspones (2021)
* by divineturtle (2025)
===Zines===
*Betrayed (Star Trek TOS zine)
* Bone Diggers Inc.
*Dr. McCoy's Medical Log
*Fear No Evil
* The Honorable Sacrifice
* I finally got... THE LAST WORD
*If Not for Heroes
*I'm a Doctor, Not a...
*Healer of the Wraith
*McCoy (Star Trek: TOS zine)
*The McCoy Files
*McCoy - Examined!
*McCoy's Illegible Log
* The McCoy Tapes
*McCoy's T.O.Y.
*Medical Journal
* Odyssey
*Rx McCoy
*Scattered Molecules
*The Stars are Lonely
==Additional Art Gallery==
===1960s===
File:Trisk2-6.jpg|from Triskelion #1, artist is Elizabeth Wyble (1968)
File:InsideStarTrek 3 Reprint.jpg|Cover art of Inside Star Trek by N. Oriss (1968)
File:Plaktowfive.jpg|Cover art from Plak-Tow #5 (1968)
 
===1970s===
File:Tneg11.jpg|from T-Negative #11, artist is Jackie Franke (1971)
File:Trisk4art17.jpg|Art from Triskelion #4 by Alice Jones (1971)
File:Voyages1art8.jpg|artist is Ellen Winder, from Voyages #2 (1973)
File:Interphase.jpg|Cover art of Interphase #3 by Connie Faddis (1975)
File:Sub-space4-7.jpg|Art from Sub-Space #4 by Karin Giblin (1975)
File:Belle2-56-5.jpg|Art from Bellerophon #5/6 by unspecified artist (1976)
File:Delta3art7.jpg|Art from Delta Triad #3 by an unspecified artist (1976)
File:Bestofimadoctorfront.jpg|Cover art for I'm a Doctor, Not a... by Laura Virgil (1976)
File:Idic4-1.jpg|Art from IDIC by Alice Jones (1976)
File:Interphase3back.jpg|Back cover art for Interphase #3 by Gee Moaven (1976)
File:Stardatesacre10-2.jpg|Art from Stardate #10 by Jane Clinkenbeard (1976)
File:Alphacont2-18.jpg|from Alpha Continuum #2, artist is M.J. Fisher (1977)
File:Beren9art5.jpg|Interior art from Berengaria #9, by Mel Shreve (1977)
File:Contact3art20.jpg|Art from Contact #3 by Pat Stall (1977)
File:Rr3art8.jpg|Art from R & R #3 by Gayle F (1977)
File:Fartheststarart8.jpg|from Farthest Star #1, artist is Pat Stall (1978)
File:Computerplayback2-1.jpg|Art from Computer Playback #2 by Mike Eason (1978)
File:Otherside3back.jpg|Art from The Other Side of Paradise by Alice Jones (1978)
File:Galactictraveler2.jpg|Art from Galactic Traveler #2 by Rita White (1978) 
===1980s===
File:Cordrazine.jpg|from Cordrazine, artist is Susan Armstrong (1981)
File:Galacticdis4art19.jpg|from Galactic Discourse #4, artist is Lydia Moon (1983)
File:Homeisinside3.jpg|from Home is Where the Heart Is, artist is Barbara P. Gordon (1982)
File:Thyla2art3.jpg|from T'hy'la #2, artist is Barbara P. Gordon (1982)
File:Nearandfar-4.jpg|Art from Friends & Strangers, Near & Far by Sherry Greene (1980)
File:Fizzbin12-2.jpg|from Fizzbin #12, artist is Linda McGrath (1980)
File:Odyssey5back.jpg|from Odyssey #5, artist is Marty Siegrist (1981)
File:Vault3backcover.jpg|Art from Vault of Tomorrow #3 by Chris Grahl (1982)
File:Odyssey7.jpg|from Odyssey #7, artist is Suzan Lovett (1983)
File:Od7art9.jpg|from Odyssey #7, artist is Vel Jaeger (1983)
File:Galacticdis4art19.jpg|Art from Galactic Discourse #4 by Laura Virgil (1983)
File:Fantasy1art3.jpg|from Fantasy #4, by Christine Myers (1984)
File:Beyondantares23art2.jpg|from Beyond Antares #23, artist is Lana Fahey (1984)
File:Parallaxartgordon-1.jpg|from Parallax Ring, artist is Barbara P. Gordon (1984)
File:Nome8art3.jpg|from Nome #8, artist is Nan Lewis (1985)
File:Katra1art2.jpg|Interior art from Katra: The Living Spirit by Mike McGann (1985)
File:Intriplicateback.jpg|from In Triplicate, artist is Vel Jaeger (1985)
File:Odyssey8inside.jpg|Art from Odyssey #8 by Lydia Moon (1986)
File:Dili3-8.jpg|from Dilithium Crystals #3, artist is Sherry Veltkamp (1986)
File:Mccmoystoy1art2.jpg|Art from McCoy's T.O.Y. #1 by Christine Myers (1989) 
===1990s===
File:Log83art1.jpg|Art from Log Entries 83 by unknown artsit (1990)
File:Encounters1-10.jpg|Art from Encounters #1 by Leah Shaw (1990)
File:Thyla9-13.jpg|Art from T'hy'la #9 by Sherry Veltkamp (1990)
File:Novatrekdeeb-5.jpg|Art from Nova Trek by Deeb (1990)
File:Encounters1-7.jpg|Art from Encounters #1 by Leah Shaw (1980)
File:Spock59-1.jpg|Art from Spock #59 by Wendy Purcell (1990)
File:Mccoy8front.jpg|Cover of McCoy #8 by Sherry Veltkamp (1991)
File:Timeschange7.jpg|Art from Times Change by Cindy Barnard (1992)
File:Amazing2-3.jpg|Art from Amazing Grace by Dorothy Laoang (1992)
File:STTNG Idylls10.jpg|Cover art for Idylls #10 by Linda Baker (1994)
File:Shadowsmaggie.jpg|Art from Shadows of the Mirror by Maggie Symon (1994)
File:Betrayed.jpg|Cover art for the Betrayed (Star Trek TOS zine) by Christine Myers (1998)
 
===2000s===
 
 
===2010s===
File:Spicedpeaches35-1.jpg|from Spiced Peaches #35, artist is T'Prillahfiction (2013)
File:Spicedpeaches34-2.jpg|from Spiced Peaches #34, artist is Mary Barnes (2013)
File:Equilibrium cover art.png|Cover art for Equilibrium by frangipani-wanderlust (2018)
===2020s===
 
==Mailing Lists==
*BonesLives
==Archives and Links==
*Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Original Series at Archive of Our Own
*Leonard McCoy, Original Series and Bones, Original Series at FanFiction.net
*Leonard McCoy at Trekiverse
*The Mint Julep Inn (defunct)
==Resources==
*Leonard McCoy at Memory Alpha
*Wikipedia
==References==
Category:Star Trek TOS Characters