Sulu

Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu was the chief helmsman of the U.S.S. Enterprise in the TV show Star Trek. An Asian, he was part of a diversified cast. Along with Pavel Chekov and Nyota Uhura, he was one of the secondary characters; as such, his character wasn't as developed as Captain Kirk, Spock, or Dr. McCoy, although his character was frequently shown as having a wide variety of outside hobbies, including fencing, botany, and firearms. One episode in which the character was prominently featured was the mirror universe episode "Mirror, Mirror", in which an evil Sulu attempted to assassinate Kirk and Spock, which would have left him in command of the Enterprise.

By the time of the movie Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Sulu had been promoted to captain and was in command of the USS Excelsior. He appeared in this capacity in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager (via flashback).

He had one daughter, who also joined Starfleet (mentioned in the movie Star Trek: Generations).

Sulu was played by actor George Takei, who became openly homosexual in 2005.^[1]

In the 2009 Star Trek film and its sequels, Sulu was played by actor John Cho. In Star Trek: Beyond, in honor of his original actor, Sulu was likewise also made homosexual. However, Takei indicated that making Sulu homosexual betrayed his entire character.^[2]

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