There’s a lot of love for virtually every Star Trek property, no matter how obscure, but The Next Generation seems to be the one series that everyone likes. Its success in the 80s and 90s ensured the popularity that the modern IP still enjoys, including several movies and shows that are direct spinoffs and include many of the same characters.
The Next Generation was popular because of the upgraded 24th-century technology, which includes ships, space stations, and weapons. Some of the coolest weapons in the Star Trek franchise can be found in the hands of Picard, Data, Tasha Yar, and Worf, or mounted on the hull of the Enterprise NCC-1701-D.
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6 The Borg Cutter
Even The Name Sounds Nasty
- Appeared In:Star Trek: The Next Generation, S3E16, “Q Who”
Laser weapons appear more often in older Star Trek shows, like The Original Series, but the few that appear during the TNG era are massive constructs as opposed to hand-held weapons or even cannons mounted on the ship’s hull. An example of this was the Borg laser cutter. This weapon was designed to have different settings for both large-scale and more precise, surgical destruction.
The Borg laser cutter can slice through a modern starship hull with ease, disintegrating even the toughest of shields. However, it wasn’t just a blunt force area-of-effect-type weapon. At lower levels of power, it could be used as a giant precision cutter to rip larger structures apart, a handy ability for salvage or theft as opposed to straight assimilation.
5 Varon-T Disruptor
Powerful, Valuable, And Devastating
- Appeared In:Star Trek: TNG, S3E22, “The Most Toys”
Of these banned weapons, only five exist in the whole universe. Obsessive trader, kidnapper, and extortionist Kivas Fajo owns four of them. He used them in the TNG episode “The Most Toys” to kidnap Data and hatch a plot to release a virus in an unsuspecting colony.
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These aren’t the usual phasers that stun, disintegrate, or even put a hole in someone, which is bad enough in itself. The Varon-T Disruptor destroys the target from the inside out, on a molecular level, ripping them apart before they die. It’s gruesome, nasty, and for a bad guy who wants to steal an android, kind of cool.
4 Ferengi Energy Whip
Just As Cool As It Sounds
- Appeared In:Star Trek: TNG, S1E5, “The Last Outpost”
The Ferengi Energy Whip is comparable to a bullwhip in shape and size, although it appears to be little more than a long blue stick at first glance. This early TNG episode was the first time the Ferengi appeared onscreen, and several of their weapons were featured in a brief clash with the Enterprise crew.
Any kind of Ferengi weapon might be difficult to take seriously, since these aren’t exactly known as warlike people. But in addition to being as dangerous as a conventional bullwhip, this weapon also discharges a phaser pulse in the same direction. It’s hard not to admit that it still looks pretty cool, even if it isn’t that dangerous.
3 Glavin
A Poisonous Handshake
- Appeared In:Star Trek: TNG, S1E4, “Code Of Honor”
Certain cultures have unusual or dangerous weapons that are unique in the universe, and the Glavin is a good example. It appeared in only one episode, “Code of Honor,” but it was a memorable encounter, even if this episode has aged poorly as a whole.
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The Glavin is like a gauntlet or glove that is worn on the hand. The “fingers” are equipped with sharp claws, while the back of the hand and wrists are lined with poisonous spikes. It was Tasha Yar who had the good fortune to wield it in combat, and Worf kept it in his quarters in her honor along with the other distinct weapons in his collection.
2 The Stone Of Gol
A Mysterious Vulcan Weapon
- Appeared In:Star Trek: TNG, S7E4, “Gambit”
Galactic legend says this weapon was so devastatingly powerful that the Vulcans who developed it decided that it should never be used. They broke it into two pieces and hid them in separate locations in a vast and uncharted part of the galaxy. Eventually, though, those unknown quadrants were mapped and colonized. Mercenaries and separatists started looking for the Stone of Gol, knowing only that it was a powerful weapon but knowing nothing else about its nature. It’s fitting that Picard, the thinking fan’s captain, was the character to figure it out.
The Stone of Gol is a psionic weapon that responds to strong feelings, and when the Vulcans of ancient times learned to control their emotions, it was rendered obsolete. The weapon wasn’t so much hidden as just forgotten, upon becoming a glorified paperweight.
1 Quantum Torpedoes
So Powerful they Saved Them For The Movies
- Appeared In: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, S3E9, “Defiant”
Quantum torpedoes are used in Deep Space 9 more often than in The Next Generation, only making an appearance in one of the movies. However, Jonathan Frakes appeared as Riker in the DS9 episode in which they were introduced, making it a crossover of sorts. They were also some of the weapons featured in the TNG movies Star Trek: Nemesis and Star Trek: First Contact.
Quantum torpedoes, as the name states, rely on the quantum energy of the universe, which means that they harness the power of the vacuum of space. They’re an upgrade from the photon torpedoes of previous shows, with twice as much destructive power. That’s the equivalent of 100 megatons of trinitrotoluene, also known as TNT, which is pretty cool if anyone needs to blow up a Borg cube.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
- Release Date
- September 28, 1987
- Creator
- Gene Roddenberry
- Number of Episodes
- 178
