What Is Red Matter In Star Trek & Why Is It So Dangerous?

When taking on one of the most beloved sci-fi franchises of all time, J.J. Abrams made a calculated decision to attempt to ensure his success. Instead of earning the ire of fans by besmirching established canon, the 2009 "Star Trek" film became one of the better Star Trek movies by entering a different timeline. Long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe doubled down on the multiverse, Abrams introduced a time travel plot line where Jim Kirk's (Chris Pine) father is killed by what appeared to be a lightning storm in space. This decision gave Abrams the advantage of calling back to mythology that fans were familiar with while introducing completely new concepts.

One such device was the devastating use of Red Matter. The invention is initially used to make a dying star inert before it goes supernova. Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) injects the amorphous substance into the star, intending that the Red Matter will create a black hole and consume the event. Unfortunately, he is too late, and the star goes supernova, destroying the nearby planet of Romulus. This tragedy starts a course of events where the Red Matter is weaponized for revenge. A surviving Romulan, Nero (Eric Bana), gets pulled into the black hole and, after capturing Spock, decides to use the Red Matter with terrifying consequences.

While Spock uses the substance in an attempt to save lives, Nero decides to take them. His actions with the Red Matter show how, in the wrong hands, it can yield unthinkable consequences.

Though Spock's intentions were pure, Red Matter is dangerous and should not be taken lightly. In essence, the substance creates a black hole in space that absorbs any material it touches. The technology can be used to contain exploding stars, but as Nero demonstrates in "Star Trek," it can also be mishandled and weaponized. Because the Red Matter creates a singularity in space, Nero uses it to destroy an entire civilization.

Wanting Spock to endure the pain that Nero felt watching his home destroyed, the Romulan plants Red Matter at the center of Vulcan. Just as it did with the star that went supernova, the substance creates a black hole that destroys Spock's entire planet. Both Spock Prime and this universe's Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto) watch as their home is turned into nothing. Quinto's Spock beams to the surface of the planet to save who he can, and even though he is successful in rescuing his father and other Vulcan elders, he loses his mother after she falls into a chasm created by the planet-wide destruction.

Nero uses the Red Matter to become a war criminal, utterly unremorseful as he enacts genocide on an unsuspecting planet, even though Romulus has not even been destroyed in the Star Trek Kelvin timeline. The events of the film make it clear that, due to its incredible destructive power, Red Matter does more harm than good.