Summary

• Borg's evolution from mindless drones to formidable villains led to their various versions in the Star Trek universe.
• The Borg Queen introduced in Star Trek: First Contact brought deeper lore, adaptability, and persistence to the Borg Collective.
• Star Trek: Picard continued the Borg legacy, showcasing their adaptability and the potential for new versions to emerge.

The ever-changing Borg have had several different versions throughout Star Trek history. Sparsely used as a mindless force of nature in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the cybernetic Borg, with unison voices proclaiming, "Resistance is futile," became breakout villains in TNG. The Borg were formidable enough to become the villains of the second Star Trek: The Next Generation movie, Star Trek: First Contact, which introduced the Borg Queen (Alice Krige). With its Delta Quadrant setting, Star Trek: Voyager made the Borg a primary enemy of Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), as Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) provided an insider's perspective on the Borg Collective.

Even after their apparent destruction, the Borg still played a major role in Star Trek: Picard, which addressed the trauma that Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) sustained after being transformed into Locutus, the voice of the Borg. Echoes of the Battle of Wolf 359, Starfleet's Pyrrhic victory against Locutus and the Borg in Star Trek: The Next Generation, rippled through the backstories of several Star Trek characters, making the battle a defining moment in the Star Trek timeline. The Borg, however, are highly adaptable, so instead of being haunted by trauma, the Borg respond by constantly evolving. Let's take a look at the Borg evolution, starting at the beginning.

9 Original Borg Collective

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Initially conceived as a purely technological species, the original Borg Collective was first introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2, episode 16, "Q Who", when Q (John de Lancie) showed Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-D crew the horrors that waited at the far reaches of space. The original Borg Collective had pallid, indifferent drones who were unified in one mind and only interested in assimilating alien technology, but as the Borg proved to be a fascinating foil for the plurality of the Federation, they did what the Borg would come to do best: the Borg adapted.

Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 26, and TNG season 4, episode 1, "The Best of Both Worlds", was a turning point for the Borg, for Picard, and for Star Trek as a whole. Picard's capture and transformation into Locutus of Borg haunted Jean-Luc for the rest of his life. "The Best of Both Worlds" also introduced the concept of the Borg assimilating people, not just technology, that would come to be a hallmark of the Borg.

8 Lore’s Borg Collective

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 6, Episode 26 & Season 7, Episode 1, "Descent"

The roots of Lore's (Brent Spiner) Borg Collective can be found in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5, episode 23, "I, Borg". A year before "Descent", the USS Enterprise-D discovers and rescues an abandoned Borg drone who chooses the name Hugh (Jonathan del Arco) after being rehabilitated by Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton). Hugh takes the concept of individuality back to the Collective, but instead of liberating the Borg, it backfires.

An unusual faction of the Borg Collective with individual names and personalities appears in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6, episode 26 & season 7, episode 1, "Descent". These individual Borg still require direction, so Lore graciously steps in to fill the power vacuum. Lore uses the Borg under his banner as a personal army to capture the USS Enterprise, making them seem relatively toothless compared to the Borg's earlier TNG appearances, but thankfully, there are far more versions of the Borg in Star Trek.

7 The Borg Queen's Collective

Star Trek: First Contact & Star Trek: Voyager

While technically the same Collective as the original Borg seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the cosmetic changes and the deeper lore in Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Voyager warrant recognition as a new version. Perhaps the most significant change to the Borg in Star Trek: First Contact is introducing the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) as the physical embodiment of the Borg Collective, but these Borg are more adaptable and more persistent, stopping at nothing short of complete assimilation of all intelligent organic life.

In Star Trek: Voyager, Seven of Nine becomes the Borg's new voice, and after being liberated from the Collective, provides insight as to the Borg's true motives. Seven explains that the ultimate goal of the Borg is perfection, not conquest, and assimilation is the means by which the Borg learn about other cultures. Adding the biological and technological distinctiveness of other species only refines the Borg Collective.

6 The Borg Cooperative of Former Drones

Star Trek: Voyager - Season 3, Episode 15, "Unity"