To those who mock 'Star Trek' he's the epitome of the original series' low budget badness. To fans, he is a mighty reptilian warrior whose brawn was bested by Kirk's brain on one of the best episodes of television ever.

He is The Gorn! And, if the news out of E3 is any indication, he may be in the upcoming 'Star Trek' sequel.

Namco and Paramount announced at E3 that an upcoming  'Star Trek' video game will take place between the 2009 film and the upcoming sequel and will feature the reptilian Gorn as the villains. The untitled co-op game will include Kirk and Spock teaming to stop "an enemy race bent on conquering the galaxy."

As described in Namco Bandai's press release, the game (set in the J.J. Abrams timeline) will feature the "enemy race" from the Gorn Hegemony. (Yeah, that's right – they have a Hegemony, boy!) Here's the quote that killed me:

The Gorn range in size and abilities, infecting their foes with venom that can poison, cause hallucinations, and even kill. From the smaller infantry Gorn Rushers, to the larger Gorn Warriors and the massive Gorn Brutes, the Gorn provides a serious direct threat, while the wall-climbing Gorn females showcase the cunning for which this race is feared. Technologically capable and possessing the antithesis of Federation ideals, the Gorn pose a devastating threat to Starfleet, the Enterprise, and its crew.

Now, does this mean they'll be in the film? Well, this is an official Paramount and CBS licensed game in Abrams' timeline. But who the heck knows? If you look sharp in the deleted Rura Penthe scenes from the 2009 'Star Trek' you'll see a lizard-y looking dude. Some fans speculated that it was a Gorn. All we can say is that our fingers (and tails) are crossed.

So who are these Gorn anyway?

The season one episode 'Arena' is one of the series' strangest. It has an almost stream of consciousness quality to it. It starts with an away mission to an outpost Cestus III (note: a "cestus" is a roman fighting glove) that is discovered to have been destroyed. Laying in wait are unseen marauders hurling flash disrupter bursts, killing Redshirts left and right. (Okay, one Redshirt, and one dude wearing gold, but work with me.)

As the baddies zip off in retreat the Enterprise pursues them, nearly buckling the ship and then – huh? Kirk disappears. But through the magic of closed circuit television the crew can watch as he and the other ship's captain duke it out royal rumble style.

Ya see, they encroached the zone of the peace loving, all powerful Metrones who, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that a battle to the death is the most humane way to end this conflict.

The resulting fight is a bit of a joke, sure, but it is Kirk versus a giant lizard. You don't like that, you don't like life.

An instant fan favorite, the Gorn have only made three minor appearances in official Trek since then. Once on the Trek animated series, as one of the races captured by an interstellar Bermuda Triangle, and once in the “Mirror Universe” on 'Enterprise.' They come up a lot in books and comics (we recommend the graphic novel 'The Gorn Crisis,' a TNG-centric tale set during the Dominion War) and now it appears they'll be in a game.

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