Michael Burnham is the fictional protagonist on '' Star Trek: Discovery'' portrayed by American actress

Sonequa Martin-Green Sonequa Chaunté Martin-Green (; Martin; born March 21, 1985) is an American actress. She is best known for her television roles as Michael Burnham, the main character in the streaming television series '' Star Trek: Discovery'', and as Sasha W ...

. She originally appears as the First Officer of USS ''Shenzhou'' under Philippa Georgiou (

Michelle Yeoh Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng, ( ; born 6 August 1962) is a Malaysian actress. Credited as Michelle Khan in her early Hong Kong films, she rose to fame in the 1990s after starring in a series of Hong Kong action films where she performed her own ...

) until she commits

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...

, for which she is stripped of rank and sent to prison for life. Burnham is later recruited by Gabriel Lorca (

Jason Isaacs Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is an English actor. Isaac's film roles include Col. Tavington in '' The Patriot'' (2000), Michael D. Steele in '' Black Hawk Down'' (2001), Lucius Malfoy in the ''Harry Potter'' film series (2002–2011), C ...

) on as a science specialist after serving only six months of her sentence, with Lorca viewing Burnham as an asset in the war against the

Klingon The Klingons ( ; Klingon language, Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star Trek'' ('' ...

s. She serves as the series lead. The character is introduced as a xeno-

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and v ...

helping the Earth-based

Starfleet Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduc ...

understand and engage with new cultures in outer space. Bryan Fuller conceived the character based on the cultural impact of

Nichelle Nichols Nichelle Nichols (, born Grace Dell Nichols; December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in ''Star Trek'' and its film sequels. Nichols' portrayal of Uhura was gr ...

' portrayal of

Uhura Nyota Uhura () is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. In the original television series, the character was portrayed by Nichelle Nichols, who reprised the role for the first six ''Star Trek'' feature films. A younger Uhura is ...

, as well as that of

Mae Jemison Mae Carol Jemison (born October 17, 1956) is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. She became the first black woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. J ...

and

Ruby Bridges Ruby Nell Bridges Hall (born September 8, 1954) is an American civil rights activist. She was the first African-American child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana during the New Orleans school desegr ...

. She is also revealed as the adoptive sister to

Spock Spock is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterprise'' as science officer and first officer (and Kirk's Second-in-command) and ...

( Ethan Peck). Burnham is an orphan after her parents are killed by Klingons, until she is taken in by

Sarek Sarek is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He is a Vulcan astrophysicist, the Vulcan ambassador to the United Federation of Planets, and father of Spock. The character was originally played by Mark Lenard in the e ...

(

James Frain James Dominic Frain is an English stage and screen actor. His best known television roles include Thomas Cromwell in the Showtime/ CBC historical drama ''The Tudors'' (2007–2009), Franklin Mott in the HBO drama ''True Blood'' (2010), Warw ...

). 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. 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

In December 2016, it was announced that Martin-Green would serve as the series lead of ''Star Trek: Discovery'', with the character initially named "Rainsford". In previous iterations of ''Star Trek'',

had never mentioned a sister. Executive producer

Alex Kurtzman Alexander Hilary Kurtzman (born September 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the ''Star Trek'' franchise since 2009, co-writing the scripts to ''Transformers'' (2007), '' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' and ...

has explained that the specifics of Burnham's backstory would be revealed in a way that would not break the existing canon continuity. 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". 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 Majel Barrett-Roddenberry (; born Majel Leigh Hudec;
, ''

The Cage." 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 George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

, Jaye and

Chuck Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer * ...

) in three of his previous series. Martin-Green decided that the character was named after her father. Executive producer Aaron Harberts spoke to ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporate ...

'' 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." He felt the name was "cool and different" and pitched it himself explaining, " wasthinking of female columnist Michael Sneed, who writes for the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicag ...

'', and

The Bangles The Bangles are an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The band recorded several singles that reached the U.S. top 10 during the 1980s, including "Manic Monday" (1986), " Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986), " Hazy Shad ...

' bassist

Michael Steele Michael Stephen Steele (born October 19, 1958) is an American political commentator, attorney, and Republican Party politician. Steele served as the seventh lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007; he was the first African-American ...

." 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." Bryan Fuller had numerous inspirations for conceiving the character of Michael Burnham. He cited the cultural impact of

' portrayal of

saying, "I couldn't stop thinking about how many black people were inspired by seeing Nichelle Nichols on the bridge of a ship s Lt. Uhura in The Original Series. Another inspiration came from the legacy of

, the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is border ...

, as well as

, the first woman of color to travel in space. Martin-Green referred to her character as being "the only human to have not just attended the Vulcan Science Academy but excelled as well,

hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...

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."

Casting

Auditioning process

The casting process was difficult for producers. They searched long and hard to find an actor to pull off Burnham's divided nature between Vulcan and human. Harberts said, "We read a lot of people and they either went way too robotic and chilly or way too emotional. What's beautiful about Sonequa's performance is she's capable of playing two, three, four things at once. She's got such a great command of her craft, she's able to be aloof but warm; logical but able to surrender her emotional side to the audience." Alex Kurtzman felt the character's portrayal needed to have "remarkable duality inside her" between being "highly emotional" while also being "contained". "Unlike

, who is half-human, half-Vulcan, she is all human, but she's been trained with the kind of Vulcan emotional-suppression ideology, and that is very challenging for her... you can see that wrestling match going on in every moment. That was the single most important thing to define the character, and I think we just had a sense that onequaintuitively understood it." He went further to express the challenges in casting an actor for the part saying, "It's a tough thing to learn with actors. You either have the ability to roll that off your tongue, or you don't. And if you don't, everything kind of trips over itself... And when onequaread, we all breathed a massive sigh of relief, because she brought an instant authenticity to it. It was very clear that the language was not going to be difficult for her." Sonequa Martin-Green first met with ''Discovery'' co-creator Bryan Fuller at

New York Comic-Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. History The New York Comic Con is a for ...

in October 2016. Fuller talked to her about Burnham, a human orphan raised on planet Vulcan alongside

(

Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, then ...

) from the original series, leading to a conflict with her two cultural identities. Knowing that her character Sasha would be killed off '' The Walking Dead'', she shot a video audition. However,

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** A ...

refused to release her from her contract, leading

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

to look elsewhere. Fuller revealed that he had long set his sights on Martin-Green to star in ''Discovery'', but CBS pushed back because AMC would not release her from her contract until Sasha's death was shown on-screen. CBS' second premiere date delay from May to September was due to the restrictions of Martin-Green's contract, though the first delay opened the door for her to land the role. She auditioned in person in December, and then began shooting in January. On getting the part, she expressed nervousness and excitement saying, "When I first got started, I had my freak-out phase. I had my almost catatonic moment where I thought, 'What is happening?' And I knew very quickly that I couldn't live there and that I couldn't create there. I owed it to the story and I owed it to the legacy to get it together. And I had to focus myself in gratitude. I had to focus myself on the passion for the vision for the story that we're doing."

Announcement

The casting for Michael Burnham, under the pseudonym "Commander Rainsford" leaked in December 2016, with many speculating Martin-Green's previous role as Sasha on '' The Walking Dead'' would come to an end. Following the announcement,

tweeted "All my love @SonequaMG, I've been smiling since I heard. You're gonna knock em dead." Charlie Jane Anders for ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...

'' felt Martin-Green's casting fulfilled

Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series ''Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and '' St ...

's ultimate vision saying, "It's all too easy to see Star Trek's humanism as merely a matter of embracing science and rejecting barbarism—but that's missing what makes Trek's version of humanism so powerful. Diversity was always a key part of Star Trek's vision of a better future for humanity. In the ideal world of the 24th century, every human being has the opportunity to reach his or her full potential, either in the sciences or elsewhere; anything less doesn't represent real progress." Showrunner of ''The Walking Dead'' admitted it was unfortunate that the casting leak happened, spoiling events to come, but that "The folks over at Star Trek got lucky with the timing". On the importance and impact of the role, Martin-Green said, "My casting says that the sky is the limit for all of us. I think what we're seeing now in our media is this push to diminish and to devalue and to make people feel that the sky is not the limit for them, that they are meant for the ground. So having me as the first black female lead of a Star Trek just blasts that into a million pieces. I am eternally grateful that the diverse casting of our show means that we are now a part of the conversation and hopefully a part of making the world a better place, as cliché as this sounds. Because I really believe it and think its vital for us all right now". Nichols and Martin-Green both posed together on the red carpet at the ''Star Trek: Discovery'' premiere. Martin-Green shared on Instagram that Nichols whispered, "Enjoy this time. It's yours now." Sonequa Martin-Green praised Nichols thereafter saying, "What a blessing, what a woman. I stand on your shoulders Nichelle Nichols".

Appearances

Background

Burnham was born to human parents, who were killed when she was a child during a

raid on a Human-

Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...

research facility on Doctari Alpha, where the family lived. She was then adopted by the Vulcan ambassador

(

) and his human wife Amanda (

Mia Kirshner Mia Kirshner (born January 25, 1975) is a Canadian actress, writer and social activist. She is known for television roles as Mandy in '' 24'' (2001–2005), as Jenny Schecter in ''The L Word'' (2004–2009), as Amanda Grayson in '' Star Trek: D ...

), who are also the biological parents of

officer

, and moved to the Vulcan homeworld. She was the first human to attend both the Vulcan Learning Center and Vulcan Science Academy, 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. The decision to make Burnham related to the history of original series character

was controversial. Beth Elderkin for ''

io9 ''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...

'' 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." 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''.

''Star Trek: Discovery''

Mutiny

In the

series premiere A series premiere is the first aired installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. In the United States, many series premieres are aired in the fall time or, for mid-season replacements, either in the spring or ...

of ''Discovery'', she has already served under Captain Georgiou on the USS ''Shenzhou'' for seven years. The series opens with ''Shenzhou'' encountering the Klingons, with Burnham committing an act of mutiny, breaking Starfleet regulations to give the order to fire first, in an attempt to save her captain and ship against the Klingons. Her plan is unsuccessful and she is detained. In "

Battle at the Binary Stars "Battle at the Binary Stars" is the second episode of the first season of the American television series '' Star Trek: Discovery'', which is set roughly a decade before the events of the original ''Star Trek'' series and shows the beginnings of ...

", Burnham escapes the brig and convinces Georgiou to take T'Kuvma hostage. However, T'Kuvma kills Georgiou. In a moment of emotional weakness, Burnham kills T'Kuvma, making him a martyr. She is convicted of mutiny, stripped of rank, and sentenced to life in prison. This mutiny is the cornerstone of the entire setup for the series; however, it also became one of the first of many complaints about the show's apparent disregard for Star Trek canon and continuity. In the Star Trek episode "

The Tholian Web "The Tholian Web" is the ninth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Judy Burns and Chet Richards and directed by Herb Wallerstein, it was first broadcast on November 15, 1968. ...

", while investigating the loss of the USS ''Defiant'', Captain Kirk and crew find that the entire crew of the ''Defiant'' was dead. The entire crew went wild and killed each other. In that episode Chekhov asks Spock specifically if there has ever been a mutiny on a starship before, to which Spock answers, "absolutely no record of such an occurrence", which is not possible, since some 10 years earlier Spock's own adopted sister became the first and most infamous mutineer in Starfleet history. At the end of Discovery season 2 they tried to rectify some of the canon issues by having Starfleet order Spock and the others never to reveal what happened to the USS Discovery, or even its existence, but the mutiny happened on the USS ''Shenzhou'', and was well known to Starfleet personnel, as seen in "

USS ''Discovery''

In " Context Is for Kings", USS ''Discovery''s Captain Gabriel Lorca brings Burnham back to duty with a temporary war-time assignment as a scientist on his crew, praising her risk-taking behaviour as valuable in the war. She is met with hostility among the ''Discovery'' crew, being viewed as responsible for starting the war with the Klingons. Burnham eventually befriends her roommate, Sylvia Tilly ( Mary Wiseman). In " The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry", Lorca orders Burnham and Landry (

Rekha Sharma Rekha Shanti Sharma is a Canadian actress of Indo-Fijian descent, best known for her role as Tory Foster on ''Battlestar Galactica,'' and Ellen Landry on '' Star Trek: Discovery''. Career Sharma began acting career in her 20s. She has stage ex ...

) to find a way to weaponize Ripper, a violent macroscopic

Tardigrade Tardigrades (), known colloquially as water bears or moss piglets, are a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals. They were first described by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773, who called them Kleiner Wasserbär ...

found on the USS ''Glenn''. Burnham hypothesizes that Ripper's behavior on the ''Glenn'' was defensive in nature and that he was not inherently dangerous, since biological analysis showed him to be herbivorous. But with the Klingons attacking Corvan II, Landry was desperate for results and fired a phaser at him, causing him to maul her to death. She also overcomes her fear of opening the last will of Georgiou through Tilly's coercion. She learns Georgiou left her with a telescope, a prized possession handed down through her family for hundreds of years, noting Burnham as a curious explorer and believing she has her own command at this point. In " Choose Your Pain", Burnham voices her concerns about the spore drive jumps used on Ripper as Saru is acting captain upon Lorca's abduction by Klingons. Saru is outraged at Burnham for turning the spore-drive offline without his knowledge, and searching for compatible DNA sequences to replace Ripper. Burnham suggests a human host replacement would be possible, but Saru disregards her point, calling her a predator. Later, Burnham asks if he is afraid of her, but he tells her he is jealous because he wanted to learn everything from Georgiou and she did instead, and rather than she become captain and teach him, her actions led him to be unprepared as acting captain for today. Burnham gives Saru the telescope Georgiou gave her, feeling she doesn't deserve it. Saru lets Burnham free Ripper back into space, and Stamets becomes the host replacement needed, injecting himself with tardigrade DNA. In "

Lethe In Greek mythology, Lethe (; Ancient Greek: ''Lḗthē''; , ), also referred to as Lemosyne, was one of the five rivers of the underworld of Hades. Also known as the ''Ameles potamos'' (river of unmindfulness), the Lethe flowed around the ca ...

", Sarek is almost killed and Burnham is forced to save him. She discovers he chose his biological son Spock over her, as Sarek was only given the option of sending one child to the Vulcan Expeditionary Group, with the Vulcans considering both children "experiments" (half-human and full human indoctrinated in Vulcan culture). The decision is ultimately pointless as Spock chose Starfleet, after Burnham was forced to go. After retrieving Sarek, Burnham attempts to get Sarek to open up to her about their encounter. Sarek pretends to be unaware, but Burnham can tell he is lying, saying he can do better. She says they will have the conversation one day, and leaves calling him "father" to spite him after he said they were technically not family because they are not related. She also develops a friendship with Ash Tyler ( Shazad Latif), who helps her through Sarek attempting to push her away. In " Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad", Harry Mudd (

Rainn Wilson Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', for which he earned three consecutive Emm ...

) takes over ''Discovery'' and keeps the ship in a time loop so he can complete his mission to sell the ship to the Klingons. Burnham appears uncomfortable as, during this time, a party is occurring and she struggles with her romantic feelings for Tyler. Stamets (

Anthony Rapp Anthony Deane Rapp (born October 26, 1971) is an American actor and singer who originated the role of Mark Cohen in the Broadway production of '' Rent''. Following his original performance of the role in 1996, Rapp reprised it in the film versi ...

), the only one aware of the time loop, warns Burnham while also helping her with her feelings for Tyler. Burnham and Tyler dance and kiss, before Mudd kills him. Burnham manipulates Mudd into turning back time again to save him, revealing who she is and how high a prize she is for the Klingons. She kills herself to convince Mudd to do so, although the next time around, Burnham successfully tricks Mudd and he is sent away. Burnham and Tyler are left to imagine their first kiss, which they only know of because Stamets has told them about it happening. In "

Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum () is a Latin adage translated as "If you want peace, prepare for war". The phrase ' is adapted from a statement found in Latin author Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus's tract '' Dē Rē Mīlitārī'' (fourth or fifth century AD), in which t ...

", Burnham and Tyler go with Saru to the planet Pahvo as part of a plan to overcome the Klingons' cloaking technology, where they kiss again and renew their romance. In " Into the Forest I Go", Burnham convinces Lorca to let her enter the Klingon Sarcophagus ship, where Burnham gets into a fight with Kol ( Kenneth Mitchell), ultimately escaping and retrieving Philippa's badge. An attack is made on Kol's ship, blowing it up. Burnham notices Tyler's PTSD attack caused by seeing L'Rell ( Mary Chieffo) and later learns that Tyler allowed her to sexually abuse him in order to stay alive.

Mirror Universe

In " Despite Yourself", the USS ''Discovery'' transports to the mirror universe. Burnham learns she earned the rank of captain on the ISS ''Shenzhou''. During her career, she won medals for Valor, for being a Master of Poisons, and for 100 kills. While in command of the ISS ''Shenzhou'', she was ordered to hunt down Gabriel Lorca, who was attempting a coup against the emperor. Her shuttlecraft was destroyed during this operation and she is presumed dead. Burnham is forced to disguise as her Terran counterpart on the ISS ''Shenzhou'' in order to retrieve the data files on the ''Constitution''-class USS ''Defiant'', to uncover how it crossed into the mirror universe's past. Burnham and Lorca play the part of their Terran selves. Ensign Connor, who is now Captain Connor, attempts to kill Burnham in an attempt to maintain his new position, but fails. The ISS ''Shenzhou'' applaud Burnham for her killing as she takes the captain's chair. Later, Burnham appears exhausted keeping up the act, and goes to her quarters where she and Tyler, who joined Burnham as her personal bodyguard, have sex. In " The Wolf Inside", Burnham becomes increasingly agitated with her facade as Mirror Burnham, and questions how long you can keep a facade up until you actually become something you initially weren't. She is alarmed by Mirror Saru, who is a nameless slave in this universe, and decides to name him Saru in honor of her friend. Mirror Saru is shocked by her friendly gesture. Burnham is tasked to destroy a rebel base on the planet Harlak. Instead, she and Tyler opt to form a secret alliance with the Vulcans, Klingons, Andorians and Tellarites who oppose the Terran Empire. Voq appears, the mirror universe counterpart of the Klingon she fought at the Binary Stars, and asks Mirror

, known as The Prophet, to

mind meld Vulcans, sometimes referred to as Vulcanians, are a fictional extraterrestrial humanoid species in the ''Star Trek'' universe and media franchise. In the various ''Star Trek'' television series and films, they are noted for their attempt to l ...

with Burnham to see if her intentions are pure. Mirror Sarek is taken aback by Burnham's memories, and concludes she is a compassionate person who means them no harm. Burnham becomes curious of Voq's ability to forge alliances with other alien races, in order to find the solution to the Klingon war in her universe. Voq's explanation triggers Tyler who speaks in Klingon and attacks Voq. Burnham convinces Mirror Voq to spare Tyler's life. When Burnham and Tyler return to the ISS ''Shenzhou'', having faked the attack, she confronts Tyler. Tyler admits he doesn't think he is actually Ash Tyler. It becomes apparent Tyler is actually Voq and speaking with Mirror Voq set off his true nature, having been brought on the USS ''Discovery'' originally as a

sleeper agent A sleeper agent, also called sleeper cell, is a spy who is placed in a target country or organization not to undertake an immediate mission but to act as a potential asset if activated. Even if unactivated, the "sleeper agent" is still an asset ...

all along. Burnham is confused, but then realizes Tyler is the one she fought at the Binary Stars. Tyler, now mentally fully turned into Voq, attempts to kill her. Burnham is unable to defend herself, and Mirror Saru arrives and attacks Tyler, saving her. Burnham fakes Tyler's execution, actually transporting him to the ''Discovery'' ship together with the files from the USS ''Defiant'' (NCC-1764) where he is held captive. Later, Burnham is dismayed to learn her falsities at Harlak have been uncovered by the silent emperor, who turns out to be her former captain Philippa Georgiou's mirror version. In " Vaulting Ambition", Burnham and Lorca are transported to the ISS ''Charon'', as the revelation that Georgiou is the emperor weighs down on her, making her feel the situation is a reckoning for her betrayal of her own Georgiou. Lorca refuses to bow to Georgiou, and is taken to an agony booth. Georgiou suspects Burnham of deception, and holding a knife to her neck asks why she has come here, revealing she is aware that she conspired to kill her and take her throne with Lorca. Burnham is left shocked by this revelation of her mirror counterpart's betrayal as well. When she refers to the emperor as "Philippa", she is outraged, as she would normally refer to her as "mother". Later, Burnham reveals prior to her execution that she is from another universe, using Prime Philippa's insignia as proof. Emperor Georgiou agrees to make a deal with Burnham to exchange the spore drive technology in exchange for her freedom to go home. Later, Burnham learns more about her mirror counterpart's history. In this universe, due to Terran supremacy, rather than Sarek and Amanda raising Michael after her parents were killed, Emperor Philippa Georgiou did instead. However, Mirror Burnham's quest to hunt down Lorca appears to be a ruse, as she was conspiring against her own adoptive mother to kill her and take her throne with Lorca, who Mirror Burnham once viewed as a father figure, until she grew up and it became romantic. Georgiou tells Burnham about Lorca planning to "cross time and space itself to take what was rightfully his" and Burnham puts the pieces together, along with Georgiou's sensitivity to light (the single biological difference between the Terrans and humans), that Lorca is from the mirror universe and their crossing over was not an accident. In " What's Past is Prologue", Burnham works out a plan to deliver Georgiou to Lorca in the same way she planned. Burnham tells Lorca she will stay in exchange for ''Discovery''s safe passage home, but it is a ruse, as Georgiou and Burnham begin attacking and killing Lorca's men. Eventually, Burnham gets the upper hand on Lorca with a phaser, telling him that they would've helped him get home, because that's who Starfleet is, and that is who she is, which is why she won't kill him. Georgiou, however, kills him instead. She then allows Burnham to go back home, with her reign as emperor gone given Lorca's rebellion, deciding to die killing Lorca's men. However, Burnham saves Georgiou at the last minute, holding onto her, as they are transported back to the ''Discovery'' and into the prime universe.

Ending the Federation–Klingon War

In " The War Without, The War Within", the ''Discovery'' jumps nine months ahead in 2257, with the Federation suffering significant losses in the war with the Klingons. Burnham reveals to Admiral Cornwell and Sarek about the arrival of their guest, Emperor Georgiou. Burnham asks Cornwell to give Emperor Georgiou political asylum, feeling sympathy for her, despite not being her Georgiou. Later, Tilly convinces Burnham to confront Ash, who is now fully recovered with dual memories, feeling deep remorse for Voq's actions. Sarek tells her not to regret loving someone, encouraging her further. Burnham ultimately ends their relationship. Ash begs her, saying he can't make it without her, but Burnham explains she was lost after the battle of the binary stars, and having to reclaim life is punishing and solitary. In the season one finale, " Will You Take My Hand?", Emperor Georgiou poses as Prime Georgiou, enlisted by Starfleet to end the war however she sees fit in exchange for her freedom. Burnham, Tilly and Tyler accompany her to Qo'nos. Ultimately, Burnham is forced to stop Georgiou's genocidal attack on the Klingon home planet, outraged at Cornwell and Starfleet for enabling the act. Burnham manipulates Georgiou to give her the explosive device, by telling her if she doesn't, she will have to watch her daughter die again. Georgiou reluctantly agrees and walks off to her freedom. Burnham offers L'Rell a peace treaty, to call off the Klingons' planned invasion on Earth in exchange for the device as a measure of peace and diplomacy in order to end the war. Ash reassures a reluctant L'Rell to take charge. After the incident, Burnham's act of diplomacy in finishing the war ends with her, and many of the ''Discovery'' crew, decorated by Starfleet with the Medal of Honor for their heroic actions. Burnham is fully reinstated as a Commander in Starfleet, her record is expunged, she is pardoned by the Federation President, and she becomes the Chief Science Officer for the ''Discovery''. Burnham and Tyler decide to go their separate ways, Tyler planning to find a union between humans and Klingons with L'Rell, and Burnham back aboard ''Discovery''. On their course to Vulcan to pick up the new ''Discovery'' captain, they receive a transmission from Captain Christopher Pike of the USS ''Enterprise''.

Novels

Prior to the release of the television series, an original tie-in novel taking place in 2255, one year prior to the pilot, was announced. The novel titled ''Star Trek Discovery: Desperate Hours'' sees Burnham face the challenge needed in being a first officer upon recent promotion. The synopsis describes Burnham's journey as "To save thousands of innocent lives, Burnham must infiltrate the alien ship. But to do so she needs to face the truth of her troubled past, and seek the aid of a man she has tried to avoid her entire life—until now." She also works with her adoptive brother Spock, who visits the ''Shenzhou'' along with Captain Pike.

Reception

Writing for E! News, Chris Harnick reviewed the first two episodes of ''Discovery''—"

The Vulcan Hello "The Vulcan Hello" is the series premiere of the American television series '' Star Trek: Discovery'', which is set roughly a decade before the events of the original ''Star Trek'' series and shows the beginnings of the Federation– Klingon co ...

" and "

"—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, " e 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''." Writing for the episode " Context Is for Kings", Mallory Ortberg of ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'' 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." Chaim Gartenberg for ''

The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts. The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...

'' praised the uniqueness of Burnham in comparison to previous ''Trek'' protagonists saying, " heisn'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." ''

'' 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." ''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. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' 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." Martin-Green was chosen as ''

TVLine ''TVLine'' is a website devoted to information, news, and spoilers of television programs. History In late 2010, ''Entertainment Weekly''s Michael Ausiello announced that he would be leaving ''EW'' after nearly two years in their employ to es ...

'' 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." In reviewing the full season, Marissa Martinelli of ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

'' 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

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, 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". Some critics had a negative reaction to Burnham's arc. Andy Vandervell for ''

'' 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 anti-climactic it just undercut all the emotional weight of her story." Zack Handlen for ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cr ...

'' 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." Liz Shannon Miller for ''

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

'' and James Luxford for ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban ...

'' 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", while Luxford commented, "It's great to see Burnham redeemed." Scott Collura for ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa dist ...

'' 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." In 2017,

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scree ...

ranked Michael Burnham the 6th most attractive person in the ''Star Trek'' universe, in between

Worf Worf, son of Mogh is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. He appears in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''TNG'') and seasons four through seven of '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (''DS9'') as well as t ...

and

. In 2019, Cinema Blend ranked Michael Burnham the seventh best Star Trek

character of all time. In 2019, Michael Burnham was ranked the number one sexiest ''Star Trek'' character by

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

References

External links

Michael Burnham
at StarTrek.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnham, Michael Black people in television Star Trek: Discovery characters Female characters in television Television characters introduced in 2017 Fictional African-American people Fictional characters displaced in time Fictional commanders Fictional anthropologists Fictional first officers Fictional criminals Adoptee characters in television Fictional military captains Fictional ship captains Orphan characters in television Starfleet captains Fictional prisoners and detainees