Michael Burnham
Michael Burnham is the protagonist of Star Trek: Discovery, portrayed by American actress Sonequa Martin-Green.[1] She originally appears as the First Officer of USS Shenzhou under Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) until she commits mutiny, for which she is stripped of rank and sent to prison for life. Burnham is later recruited by Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs) on USS Discovery as a science specialist after serving only six months of her sentence, with Lorca viewing Burnham as an asset in the war against the Klingons. She serves as the series lead. The character is introduced as a xeno-anthropologist helping the Earth-based Starfleet understand and engage with new cultures in outer space.
Michael Burnham
"The Vulcan Hello" (2017) (Discovery)
Sonequa Martin-Green
Arista Arhin
(young)
Kyrie Mcalpin (Short Treks; young)
Human
Female
xeno-anthropologist
First Officer (2250s–2256)
Science specialist (2256)
Captain (mirror universe)
Science officer (2257–3189)
Captain (3189–3200)
Admiral (3200 onward)
- Mike Burnham (father; deceased)
- Gabrielle Burnham (mother)
- Sarek (adoptive father; deceased)
- Amanda Grayson (adoptive mother; deceased)
- Spock (adoptive brother; deceased)
- Sybok (adoptive brother; deceased)
- Philippa Georgiou (adoptive mother, mirror universe)
- Ash Tyler / Voq (lover; deceased)
- Cleveland Booker (partner)
- Gabriel Lorca (mirror universe Burnham only; deceased)
Leto (son)
Earth and Vulcan(Ni'Var)
United Federation of Planets
Starfleet
USS Shenzhou
USS Discovery
ISS Shenzhou
2226
(As of 3200) 43 (physiological)/978 (chronological)
Bryan Fuller conceived the character based on the cultural impact of Nichelle Nichols' portrayal of Uhura, as well as that of Mae Jemison and Ruby Bridges. She is also revealed as the adoptive sister to Spock (Ethan Peck). Burnham is an orphan, after her parents are killed by Klingons, until she is taken in by Sarek (James Frain). Controversy arose among fans from the decision to connect her history to Spock's family, with fans debating whether this is consistent with established continuity.[2] Development of the character was largely praised by critics leading up to the debut for having a black woman lead for the first time in Star Trek history, and reviews of Martin-Green's performance have been positive.
Creation and development[edit]
In December 2016, it was announced that Martin-Green would serve as the series lead of Star Trek: Discovery,[3] with the character initially named "Rainsford".[1] In previous iterations of Star Trek, Spock had never mentioned a sister. Executive producer Alex Kurtzman has explained that the specifics of Burnham's backstory would be revealed in a way that would not break the existing canon continuity.[4] Unlike previous Star Trek leads, Burnham was not made a starship captain, "to see a character from a different perspective on the starship—one who has different dynamic relationships with a captain, with subordinates, it gave us richer context".[5]
The character was originally to be referred to only by the name Number One, to honor the character of that name portrayed by Majel Barrett in the original Star Trek pilot "The Cage."[6][5] With changes in the pre-production storyline, the character is found guilty of mutiny and no longer a First Officer by the end of the pilot episode. Thus, the Michael Burnham name was revealed during the first episode, quickly making "Number One" her informal name, the same as First Officer William Riker's informal name on the series Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Series creator Bryan Fuller deliberately gave Martin-Green's character a traditionally male name, which he had done with the female leads (George, Jaye and Chuck) in three of his previous series. Martin-Green decided that the character was named after her father.[7] Executive producer Aaron Harberts spoke to TV Guide and explained the reason for calling the character a traditionally male name, explaining, "We've worked on many shows with Bryan and it's a motif. It's his signature move to name his lead women with names that would typically be associated as male."[8] He felt the name was "cool and different"[9] and pitched it himself explaining, "[I was] thinking of female columnist Michael Sneed, who writes for the Chicago Sun-Times, and The Bangles' bassist Michael Steele." He added, "And, of course, an archangel is named Michael as well, and it just had a lot of potency for us." Sonequa Martin-Green expressed enthusiasm about the name, liking the symbolism and anticipating a more gender-fluid and equal opportunity future. Of the name, she said, "I appreciated the statement it makes all on its own to have this woman with this male name, just speaking of the amelioration of how we see men and women in the future."[10]
Bryan Fuller had numerous inspirations for conceiving the character of Michael Burnham. He cited the cultural impact of Nichelle Nichols' portrayal of Uhura saying, "I couldn't stop thinking about how many black people were inspired by seeing Nichelle Nichols on the bridge of a ship [as Lt. Uhura in The Original Series]".[11] Another inspiration came from the legacy of Ruby Bridges, the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school in Louisiana, as well as Mae Jemison, the first woman of color to travel in space.[12]
Martin-Green referred to her character as being "the only human to have not just attended the Vulcan Science Academy but excelled as well, [which] speaks to Burnham's intellect and just sheer level of intelligence". She referred to her character as "highly disciplined, highly principled, and the Vulcan-Human dichotomy that lives within her is emblematic of her personality. It is the two realities living within me at all times."[13]
Appearances[edit]
Background[edit]
Burnham was born to human parents, secretly Section 31 scientists, who were killed when she was a child during a Klingon raid to retrieve a time crystal on a Human-Vulcan research facility on Doctari Alpha, where the family lived.[23] She was then adopted by the Vulcan ambassador Sarek (James Frain) and his human wife Amanda (Mia Kirshner), who are also the biological parents of Starfleet officer Spock, and moved to the Vulcan homeworld. This, of course, made her Spock’s heretofore unmentioned sister. Burnham was the first human to attend both the Vulcan Learning Center and Vulcan Science Academy,[6][4] training as a xenoanthropologist. After completing the academy she was brought by Sarek, who shared his Katra with Burnham, to the USS Shenzhou to rejoin her people.[24]
The decision to make Burnham related to the history of original series character Spock was controversial. Beth Elderkin for io9 decided that it "breaks canon" and that "It seems unlike Spock to completely ignore someone who seemed to be a major part of his life—especially one who came into his life after such tragedy."[25] In contrast, Laurie Ulster of TrekMovie.com felt the decision was "not that big of a deal", clashing with Elderkin's point about Spock, citing the fact that Spock never mentioned his half-brother Sybok until he showed up, or revealed his parents were Sarek and Amanda, as well as the numerous "secret siblings" placed in Star Trek.[26]
Reception[edit]
Writing for E! News, Chris Harnick reviewed the first two episodes of Discovery—"The Vulcan Hello" and "Battle at the Binary Stars"—and considered Martin-Green's performance the strongest element of the show. He praised her acting as a human raised in a Vulcan world by saying, "[T]he emotional conflict between the two ideologies in Michael Burnham is perhaps the most interesting part of the series, and presents a fascinating window into the world of Star Trek: Discovery."[47] Writing for the episode "Context Is for Kings", Daniel Mallory Ortberg of Vulture referred to Martin-Green as "the standout" who is "given a lot more to work with and is, in turn, captivating, charming (I didn't know I wanted to see her scrabbling through a series of Jefferies tubes reciting Alice in Wonderland to herself until it happened), and heartbreakingly winsome."[48]
Chaim Gartenberg for The Verge praised the uniqueness of Burnham in comparison to previous Trek protagonists saying, "[she] isn't like any protagonist we've seen in Star Trek so far, and not only because she doesn't command a starship or space station. She's a far more rounded, human character than any of the previous captains, with some serious trauma from a Klingon attack in her youth that's left her predisposed to hate the warrior race. And while Star Trek has plumbed the 'main character has demons' well in the past—most notably with Sisko in Deep Space Nine, and Picard in the later films, when it comes to the Borg—Burnham feels far more compelling for not being a flawless human being in other respects, as her series-protagonist predecessors were."[49]
TV Guide listed Martin-Green in the ranking of "The 25 Best TV Performances of 2017" coming at 14. The article highlighted, "Martin-Green has delivered the sort of performance that lights up every moment she's on screen. This is how stars are born."[50] CultureFly's David Bedwell included Burnham in their list of "11 Best TV Characters of 2017" saying, "With their first ever black female lead and a character that's hardly straight-laced, Sonequa Martin-Green gets a lot to sink her teeth into.[51]
Variety added Martin-Green among the list of Top Breakout TV Stars of 2017 in the role of Burnham. Joe Otterson said, "Despite a lot of negative news coming out ahead of "Discovery's" premiere (including multiple premiere date delays), Martin-Green deftly took on the challenge of leading the new installment of the iconic sci-fi franchise. Her portrayal of convicted Starfleet mutineer Michael Burnham made the new show truly binge-worthy."[52]
Martin-Green was chosen as TVLine performer of the week for the episode "The Wolf Inside", as she "conveyed the resulting shock in gut-wrenching fashion, her eyes welling up with tears as Burnham was forced to point a phaser at the man she thought she loved." They went further saying, "Equally adept at big action scenes and quiet character moments, Martin-Green has been the glue holding Star Trek: Discovery together all season long—and all those weeks of repressed emotion just made this week's splendid showcase all the more impactful. Here's hoping Burnham lives long... and prospers."[53]
In reviewing the full season, Marissa Martinelli of Slate felt that Martin-Green saved Discovery from "getting lost in a maze of plot twists [...] As a human raised by Vulcans, it would have been easy to make Burnham yet another Spock or Data, her humanity buried under layers and layers of logic. Instead, Martin-Green plays her with a fierce charisma and warmth, making Burnham not only a compass in the wilderness but a light in the darkness, too." Although the reviewer also felt Burnham's arc wrapped up "too neatly".[54]
Some critics had a negative reaction to Burnham's arc. Andy Vandervell for Wired expressed disappointment in the conclusion of Burnham's first season arc saying, "I can see what they were trying to do with the finale in completing Michael Burnham's journey from mutineer to saviour of the Federation, both literally and figuratively, but the execution was so clumsy and anticlimactic it just undercut all the emotional weight of her story."[55] Zack Handlen for The A.V. Club commented, "I can sort of see how Burnham changed (the trip to the Mirror Universe taught her the consequences of brutal thinking), but the show has done such a terrible job at establishing the character and motivations of Starfleet and the Federation that the sudden decision to commit murder on such a massive, unprecedented scale is at once shocking and utterly weightless."[56]
Liz Shannon Miller for IndieWire and James Luxford for Metro appreciated the conclusions of Burnham's arc. Miller said, "Burnham's lengthy speech to the council awarding her and her fellow crewmen with well-deserved honors had plenty of standout moments. But there's something interesting about her choice to invoke Voq's official title within the Klingon Empire, which speaks to how both civilizations are now struggling to sort out their place in the world",[57] while Luxford commented, "It's great to see Burnham redeemed."[58] Scott Collura for IGN said, "There's a nice symmetry to Burnham and Voq/Tyler's journeys between the pilot episode and this finale, with Michael once again staging a sort of mutiny, only this time doing so for all the right reasons and with the support of her friends too."[59]
In 2017, Screen Rant ranked Michael Burnham the 6th most attractive person in the Star Trek universe, in between Worf and Spock.[60]
In 2019, CinemaBlend ranked Michael Burnham the seventh best Star Trek Starfleet character of all time.[61] In 2019, Michael Burnham was ranked the number one sexiest Star Trek character by Syfy.[62]