Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 honors countless memes about the hairstyle of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). Dubbed “Pike’s peak“, Anson Mount’s hair in Strange New Worlds has become a Star Trek icon in its own right. And now, Captain Pike’s iconic hairstyle gains a few inches in a brand-new clip from SNW season 3 which sees him turned into a Vulcan. You can watch the clip from Strange New Worlds season 3 below:

Screened during the Star Trek Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, the clip teases a sequel to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 5, “Charades”, while adding even more volume to Pike’s peak. In “Charades”, Spock was inadvertently turned human following a shuttle accident; in SNW season 3, a human Enterprise away team including Pike and Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) will become fully Vulcan. Where “Charades” made Leonard Nimoy’s rubber Spock ears canon, the episode’s sequel is turning its attention to Pike’s peak.a

Captain Pike’s Hair Memes Become Canon In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3

When Captain Pike is injected with an altered version of the Kerkhovian serum from “Charades”, he is transformed into a hyperefficient Vulcan. The serum also gives him pointy ears, immaculately sculpted eyebrows, and an even taller Pike’s peak than ever before. This is a clear nod to the online culture around Captain Pike’s hair in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, from the designated @CaptPikesHair Twitter account, to multiple hilarious memes about Pike’s peak getting even taller. Even Captain Pike actor Anson Mount is on the joke at this point, retweeting this back in 2022:

Fans of Captain Pike’s peak hairstyle have also noticed that its height can often differ depending on the situation. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 is taking this to the extreme, by making it the tallest it’s ever been for Pike’s deep-cover Vulcan away mission. This will no doubt delight the online community that surrounds Anson Mount’s iconic hairstyle, who may even take it as a challenge to scale even further heights of Pike’s peak.

Why Pike’s Peak Hairstyle Is Such A Hit With Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Fans

Danny Epperson, the brains behind the @CaptPikesHair account on X, formerly Twitter, was interviewed by heavy back in 2022 about the unique appeal of Pike’s peak. Discussing why he chose to give Pike’s peak its own social media account, Epperson said that he felt that Anson Mount’s hairstyle was so striking that it felt like another member of the Strange New Worlds cast. Read Epperson’s quote below:

“It felt like it could be a character of its own because it added some visual excitement to a show that, you know, is already full of it,”

Captain Pike’s hairstyle becoming its own Star Trek character also follows in the grand tradition of the iconic beard sported by Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) in Star Trek: The Next Generation, or the ever-changing hairstyles of Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) in Star Trek: Voyager. By following the folical footsteps of Riker and Janeway, Pike’s peak has a certain throwback charm that perfectly fits Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. With season 3 confirming that Pike’s hair can grow even taller, the possibilities are truly endless for this iconic Star Trek hairstyle.