Bana's Make-up in Star Trek XI

[T'Cal]

I do kind of see some ridging on his forehead. I suppose he could actually be Klingon...

I see the ridge, too, right near his long eyebrow. If he's Klingon, I would guess he's also part human or vulcanoid. There are no ridges on his nose, which Klingons have had since "the incident of which we do not speak with outsiders." The scarring could be from being burned, which could be as a result of torture or perhaps some explosion on a ship/planet/station say from an attack by the human James T. Kirk, the quintessential devil in these matters!

 

[starburst]

He doesnt look like a Klingon, hes not got ridges just that funky tattoo...and I agree with those about the damaged ear, first thing I though is something has chewed the top off.

I dont think "he hasnt got ridges" is really a valid point as they never had them in TOS and adding them for TNG to make them look "less Vulcan" was just plain stupid.

Untill I see otherwise I think hes going to be a Romulan (although be might more interesting if he were a gone mad Vulcan)...if hes something else it will come out sooner or later

 

[ChristopherPike]

They seemed to have given Nero a sloping forehead and his nose looks broken. Unless of course, Eric always looks like that!

 

[Stag]

I got it ---


He's Chakotay's grandfather

 

[Meredith]

The ears looks scarred and whatnot like they have been intentionally de-pointed with a rusty knife.

 

[Eric Cheung]

This ridge everyone keeps talking about, is it the thing on the left side of his face? Because if you look at the high resolution photo on the site, it's pretty clear that it's an extremely upswept eyebrow that goes from where his real eyebrow to where his hairline would be, moving about six inches upward.

 

[Sharr Khan]

Anthony said that there was speculation that Nero is Romulan but that he was unable to verify it. That was some months ago.

Counter point: Name one Romulan with a Roman name. I just don't seem to recall there ever being a Roman senator or emperor named Tamalok...

Balance of Terror: "My commander sent for Decius." funny sounding none Roman names seem more a Next Generation thing for Romulans - of course the Romulans only appeared twice in TOS and the second time the Romulan Commander didn't give her name...

Sharr

 

[SonicRanger]

^^^

And Tomalak's warbird in TNG was named Decius as an homage to that Romulan officer in Balance of Terror.

 

[Kryton]

Commander Sluttius had lobbied for years for that position.

 

[Sharr Khan]

A close look at the pic shows a very very long upswept (almost Ming the Merciless like) eyebrow that reaches what appears to be a mangled ear. The light and shadow cause one to think they see a ridge but there isn't one, as it seems more an effect of the tattoos.

This guy has all the makings of coming across visually to the none Trek fan as "bad ass" since the first thing you notice isn't that he's an alien but that he's sort of mean looking.

Sharr

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Maybe the non-ridged Romulans suffered discrimination for appearing too "Vulcan-like" or for being considered too weak and unwilling to follow the will of the state some time between TOS and TNG, possibly as a result of the defeats suffered at the hands of Kirk & Co.? That could explain why you never see them anymore by the time of TNG.

Perhaps Nero's family was once influential in Romulan politics or the military and as a result of this discrimination everything they had was taken away from them. This would give him a motivation for hating Kirk so much he would want to erase him from history.

The clipped ears could be a form of exile by the Romulans, basically removing the last thing that outwardly identified him as being Romulan.

The tattoos or war paint that simulates the v-shaped brow ridges of other Romulans could be his attempt at reclaiming his rightful place in Romulan society by launching this attack.

Or you could go the other way with it and say that he is ashamed of the state of the Romulan Empire post-Dominion War/post-Nemesis and thus cut off the tips of his own ears. This attack is his attempt to reclaim Romulan glory.

 

[Franklin]

Obviously, we need to see another Romulan to know exactly what's up, here.

The spy pictures of the Romulan with Sulu didn't show much detail, but it's about all else there is, so far. In the clearest photo, the actor has his hand over his ear. But his head does seem very smooth. Smoother than Nero's, at least. So Nero may be disfigured for some reason, because there are indisputable gouges on this head.

http://www.jfxonline.com/jfxonline/2008/02/14/star-trek-xi-set-pics/

 

[Trevacious]

Look, just go get that Vulcan some spirit gum like a good fellow.

 

[Franklin]

Commander Sluttius had lobbied for years for that position.

So did Bigus Dickus.

 

[mr.peany]

I got it ---


He's Chakotay's grandfather

You joke now....

 

[M'Sharak]

^^^

And Tomalak's warbird in TNG was named Decius as an homage to that Romulan officer in Balance of Terror.

Ah, but that particular warbird was only an imaginary one, supposed to be carrying Ambassador Tomalak and Admiral Picard in a made-up future.

 

[Baldus885]

A close look at the pic shows a very very long upswept (almost Ming the Merciless like) eyebrow that reaches what appears to be a mangled ear. The light and shadow cause one to think they see a ridge but there isn't one, as it seems more an effect of the tattoos.

Agreed. There's a long, upturned eyebrow but no ridge. I can see how it looks like it from the harsh lighting, but compare to the light/shadow line on his cheek. No ridge. And the ear does look mangled; I like the theory of hiding his Romulanness for canonical purposes.

This guy has all the makings of coming across visually to the none Trek fan as "bad ass" since the first thing you notice isn't that he's an alien but that he's sort of mean looking.

Sharr

He does look like someone just spilled his pint.

 

[Jon1701]

In addition to the upswept eyebrow, and chewed off ear you can see scarring on the cheek.

You know, that pic looks nothing like Bana. A brilliant transformation.

 

[JoeZhang]

thing is - if he's hiding his Romulan nature - why would he alter his ears with a blunt knife rather than getting 24th century technology to do it?

 

[Jon1701]

Could have been some sort of accident, or he could just be a nutter.

I favor the latter.