Changes: Vulcan death grip

Revision as of 01:07, 5 July 2015

The Vulcan death grip was a fictitious Vulcan technique, apparently invented by Spock. Its application appeared similar to that of the mind meld, but it was administered with two hands, and without speaking. It was supposed to be deadly pressure applied to the face and head.

History of Use

In 2268, Spock used the so-called "Vulcan death grip" on Captain James T. Kirk as a means to fool the Romulans into believing Kirk was dead, so as to bring him back on board the USS Enterprise without causing suspicion. Spock claimed that he had used the death grip instinctively, in response to an unexpected assault from Kirk. Dr. Leonard McCoy angrily spat, "Well, at least your instincts are still good, Mr. Spock. THE CAPTAIN IS DEAD!!!"

In reality, Spock had administered an especially deep nerve pinch to Kirk to falsify the latter's death and also to block Kirk's life-signs from Romulan bio-scanners. When he recovered, Kirk complained of his neck feeling like it had been twisted off--apparently, this was from the stabbing pain of an actually physically pinched nerve.

When informed of the incident, Nurse Christine Chapel exclaimed, "But there's no such thing as a Vulcan death grip!" Kirk replied, "Ah, but the Romulans don't know that!" (TOS: "The Enterprise Incident")

Apocrypha

Spock uses the Vulcan death grip as a threat when attempting to learn the location of a stolen Protomatter warhead in the novel Foul Deeds Will Rise, with Scotty feigning shock at the idea that Spock would go that far and later teasingly wondering what they will do if people ever learn that the Vulcan death grip does not exist.

Trivia

In Leonard Nimoy's television special entitled Leonard Nimoy: Star Trek Memories, Nimoy mistakenly remembers that Spock applies the Vulcan death grip on Dr. McCoy instead of Captain Kirk.

According to writer D.C. Fontana, the Vulcan death grip was actually intended to be more than just a fictitious technique. "It harks back to the days when they were savage, and emotion ruled them," she revealed. "It's not often used; it's only used in dire circumstances, probably just to protect your life." [1]

External link

Vulcan death grip at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Image:VulcanDeathGrip.jpg|thumb|Spock administering the '''Vulcan death grip''' to Kirk.]]
+[[File:Vulcan death grip.jpg|thumb|Spock pretending to apply the Vulcan death grip to Kirk.]]
-The '''Vulcan death grip''' is a fictitious [[Vulcan]] technique, apparently invented by Spock.  Its application appears similar to that of the [[Mind Meld]], but it is administered with two hands, and without speaking.
+The '''Vulcan death grip''' was a fictitious [[Vulcan]] technique, apparently invented by [[Spock]]. Its application appeared similar to that of the [[Vulcan mind meld|mind meld]], but it was administered with two hands, and without speaking. It was supposed to be deadly pressure applied to the face and head.
+==History of Use==
-In [[2268]], [[Spock]] used the so-called "Vulcan death grip" on [[James T. Kirk|Captain Kirk]] as a means to fool the [[Romulan]]s into believing Kirk was [[death|dead]], so as to bring him back on board the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS ''Enterprise'']] without causing suspicion. ([[TOS]]: "[[The Enterprise Incident]]")
+In [[2268]], Spock used the so-called "Vulcan death grip" on [[Captain]] [[James T. Kirk]] as a means to fool the [[Romulan]]s into believing Kirk was [[death|dead]], so as to bring him back on board the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701}} without causing suspicion. Spock claimed that he had used the death grip instinctively, in response to an unexpected assault from Kirk. [[Doctor|Dr.]] [[Leonard McCoy]] angrily spat, ''"Well, at least your instincts are still good, Mr. Spock. '''THE CAPTAIN IS DEAD!!!"'''''
+In reality, Spock had administered an especially deep nerve pinch to Kirk to falsify the latter's death and also to block Kirk's life-signs from Romulan bio-scanners. When he recovered, Kirk complained of his neck feeling like it had been twisted off--apparently, this was from the stabbing pain of an actually physically pinched nerve.
-Spock claims to have used the "Vulcan death grip" instinctively in response to Kirk's unexpected assault.
+When informed of the incident, Nurse [[Christine Chapel]] exclaimed, ''"But there's no such thing as a Vulcan death grip!"'' Kirk replied, ''"Ah, but the '''Romulans''' don't know that!"'' ({{TOS|The Enterprise Incident}})
+==Apocrypha==
+Spock uses the Vulcan death grip as a threat when attempting to learn the location of a stolen [[Protomatter]] warhead in the novel ''[[Foul Deeds Will Rise]]'', with [[Montgomery Scott|Scotty]] feigning shock at the idea that Spock would go that far and later teasingly wondering what they will do if people ever learn that the Vulcan death grip does not exist.
+==Trivia==
+In [[Leonard Nimoy]]'s television special entitled ''[[Leonard Nimoy: Star Trek Memories]],'' Nimoy mistakenly remembers that Spock applies the Vulcan death grip on Dr. McCoy instead of Captain Kirk.
+According to writer [[D.C. Fontana]], the Vulcan death grip was actually intended to be more than just a fictitious technique. ''"It harks back to the days when they were savage, and emotion ruled them,"'' she revealed. ''"It's not often used; it's only used in dire circumstances, probably just to protect your life."'' [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx_zdQ-36nc&feature=relmfu]
 ==See also==
 *[[Vulcan nerve pinch]]
+*[[Tal-shaya]]
+==External link==
+* {{mbeta}}
 [[Category: Vulcan]]