Even though this movie technically takes place in an alternate universe, and theoretically, Kirk’s mom could have made it back to Iowa in time to give birth, were it not for the intervention of Romulan time travellers, folks in Riverside weren’t happy. According to reports at the time, residents were “stunned” by the “disconcerting” film. Some felt that Abrams “stripped the birth of Captain Kirk away from our future,” further arguing that the whole parallel universe business “muddies the waters” of the franchise – adding that “even Stephen Hawking doesn’t believe in time travel.”
To be fair, Star Trek 2009 did include multiple scenes set in Iowa, including one in which Kirk sees the Enterprise being built at a shipyard in Riverside. And as one, slightly more charitable Iowan pointed out that, at very least, the movie didn’t explicitly contradict the supposition that Kirk was “conceived at Murphy’s Bar and Grill, underneath a pool table.”
You (yes, you) should follow JM on Twitter!
Thumbnail: Paramount