The Q have been a Star Trek staple ever since their introduction on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Of course, the idea of all-powerful beings had been explored in Star Trek: The Original Series before the Q were ever introduced. However, after the character of Q first appeared, he and his species became the defining all-powerful beings for Star Trek throughout the rest of the franchise.
The Q are an immortal species that inhabit a region of space called the Q Continuum. Every member of the Continuum goes by "Q" unless they come up with an alternate name for themselves. The Q have seemingly unlimited power, able to make anything possible with a snap of their fingers. They take pleasure in manipulating the lives and events of other Star Trek species, often getting bored and searching for distraction throughout the universe.
The original Q, played by John de Lancie, was the first of his kind to encounter Starfleet in Star Trek: The Next Generation's pilot episode, "Encounter at Farpoint." Q appeared in numerous subsequent Next Generation episodes and even branched out into other shows including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. Along the way, fans were treated to a broader overview of his species and got to meet a number of other Q characters. To date, there have been eight named Q characters throughout the franchise.
Q
Q is one of the most iconic characters to come out of Star Trek. He is portrayed as a chaotic force, not exactly evil but certainly not good in the traditional sense. His first act after meeting the crew of the Enterprise-D was to put humanity on trial for being what he described as a "dangerous, savage child-race," with Captain Jean-Luc Picard and some other members of the crew as humanity's representatives.
Even though Captain Picard and his crew were able to convince Q that humanity had evolved, he maintained a slightly paternalistic interest in the Enterprise-D and visited the ship on multiple other occasions to manipulate the crew in different situations, often to teach them some kind of lesson. Q was responsible for introducing Starfleet to the Borg and has been a part of many humorous episodes, such as "Qpid" or "Deja-Q." Q's charisma and sense of whimsy have always made any episode he is in highly enjoyable to watch, and actor John de Lancie has become a fan-favorite during his many years of playing Q. Besides the eight episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, de Lancie has portrayed Q in three episodes of Star Trek: Voyager and one episode each of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Q2
Q2 was the second Q character to ever be introduced in Star Trek. Although Q2 was also named "Q," he was given the moniker "Q2" so as to distinguish between him and de Lancie's Q. Q2's only appearance was in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Deja-Q." The character was played by Corbin Bernsen, although for some unknown reason the actor's appearance was uncredited.
The plot of the episode revolved around Q being stripped of his powers by the Continuum and forced to live as a human aboard the Enterprise. Q2 was the one to take away Q's powers and banish him, having become tired of apologizing for Q's antics. While he is portrayed as a slightly more subdued foil to Q, Q2 was not exempt from the same mischievous nature. During the course of the episode, Q revealed that Q2 once "misplaced" an entire asteroid belt, suggesting that both of them were fond of using their powers to cause trouble. Ultimately, Q2 reluctantly restored Q's powers after he displayed selflessness when saving the Enterprise from an attacking alien ship, allowing him to return to the Continuum.
Amanda Rogers
Amanda Rogers provided a further exploration of the Q as a species when she was first introduced in the Next Generation episode "True Q." Amanda's parents were two Q who took human form and decided to live on Earth. They conceived Amanda as humans and raised her until the age of five before they were executed by the Continuum. Amanda was adopted by human parents and grew up knowing nothing of her true heritage until she was assigned to intern under Doctor Beverly Crusher onboard the Enterprise-D.
Soon after Amanda came onboard, Q appeared and revealed her true nature to her and the rest of the crew. Initially reluctant to use her powers and angry once she learned with the Continuum had done to her parents, Amanda resisted fully becoming a Q. When an imminent disaster threatened the lives of thousands on a nearby planet, however, Amanda felt obligated to intervene, and in doing so fully came into her powers and accepted her Q nature. She agreed to return with Q to the Continuum after informing her adoptive parents of her decision. Unlike her fellow Q, Amanda retained a strong moral code from being raised human and is one of only two children known to have been born to Q parents.
Quinn
Like Amanda Rogers, Quinn provided a fascinating look at the Q Continuum through his storyline in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Death Wish." A respected philosopher within the Continuum, Quinn was inspired to question the Q's immortal existence after he witnessed Q's punishment from "Deja-Q." He subsequently chose the name Quinn to distinguish himself from the rest of his species and publicly announced his wish to die instead of continuing to live an immortal existence, a view that caused quite a stir within the Continuum.
Quinn attempted several times to commit suicide, but each of his attempts failed, and he was imprisoned in a comet by the Continuum for his antics. The USS Voyager encountered the comet and rescued Quinn, prompting Q to show up and attempt to capture him again. Instead, Quinn requested political asylum on board Voyager and also that Q turn him mortal so that he could end his own life. A hearing commenced on the matter, presided over by Captain Janeway. Quinn managed to convince her that he deserved to be made mortal, and subsequently committed suicide with poison hemlock. His death caused a disruption in the Continuum that subsequently lead a number of Q to challenge the status quo.
Miss Q
Played by veteran Star Trek actress Suzie Plakston, Miss Q was Q's lover, first introduced in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "The Q and the Grey." She appeared on Voyager to protest Q's attempt to try and get Captain Janeway to mate with him and conceive a child. Q's interest in Janeway was less than romantic; he thought that a half-Q half-human child would effectively end the Q Civil War that had been started by Quinn's death and its challenge to the status quo.
Miss Q, however, was not too keen on being usurped in Q's affections and showed up to stop the union, something that Janeway herself was already attempting to do. When Q escaped her and took Janeway to the Continuum to help him win the war, Miss Q reluctantly helped Voyager locate the Continuum and gave them Q weapons to help rescue Janeway and Q from execution by the opposing side. Q then proposed that he and Miss Q be the ones to conceive a child to bring an end to the conflict, and once the deed had been done, the war ended and the two of them left to raise their new son together, allowing Voyager's crew to return to their journey home.
Colonel Q
Colonel Q was the leader of the faction who wanted things to stay the way they had always been in the Continuum during the Q Civil War. When Q took Captain Janeway with him to the Continuum, he made it appear like the American Civil War so that it would be easier for Janeway's mind to comprehend. As such, Colonel Q was represented as a Confederate Colonel who Janeway attempted to appeal to call off the fighting. The Colonel was adamant that Q would be executed, however, and attempted to do the same to Janeway for conspiring with the rebels. The crew of Voyager ultimately stopped the execution, and Colonel Q was captured and forced to ask his troops to stand down, reluctantly bringing about an end to the fighting so that Q and Miss Q could conceive their child and end the conflict for good.
Q Junior
Q Junior was the child conceived by Q and Miss Q. After his birth, Captain Janeway agreed to be his godmother and seemed happy that Q was going to be a father, especially since she hadn't been coerced into being Q Junior's mother. The character was played by John de Lancie's real-life son, Keegan de Lancie, and only appeared in the episode "Q2" in grown-up form.
Despite his parent's high hopes for him, Q Junior grew up to be spoiled and uncontainable, which caused his mother to leave and put the burden of his care squarely on Q's shoulders. Q brought his son to Voyager in hopes that Janeway and the crew would be able to teach him some manners, but when Junior's behavior did not improve, Q stripped his son of his powers and left him on Voyager to experience being human, a punishment similar to the one Q himself received during "Deja-Q." Q Junior ultimately did learn selflessness during the course of the episode and even became closer with his father when Q defended his son's right to regain his powers. The whole experience finally gave Q Junior a sense of humility.
Judge Q
Despite only being a small part of the episode "Q2," Judge Q was a relatively important figure in the Q Continuum. She was a high ranking member of the Continuum who had the power to control the Q's abilities, able to strip them of their powers or even change their forms. She was the one who presided over Q Junior's trial, and reluctantly reversed her sentence that he stay human after an appeal from Q to allow his son to rejoin the Continuum. While it was never confirmed, Judge Q mostly likely had some hand in Q's own punishments by the Continuum. Judge Q also provided the audience with another chance to see the iconic Q judge's uniform, first worn by Q in The Next Generation.
Similar Characters
While the Q are certainly the most well-known omnipotent species in Star Trek, they are by no means the only one. Star Trek: The Original Series had a number of all-powerful species and characters, most notably the Squire of Gothos, who many believe Q was later modeled after. Along with the Squire, the crew of the Enterprise countered many species with god-like powers, including the Organians, the Metrons, the Talosians, and even an entity to claimed to be the Greek God Apollo.
Other Star Trek series also had at least one character or species that were similar to the Q. Notable examples include the Traveller from The Next Generation, the Prophets from Deep Space Nine, and The Caretaker from Voyager. In addition to these, season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery did a recent redux on an Original Series entity that caused it to become more Q-like. In the 32nd century, it seems that the Guardian of Forever has learned to project a humanoid version of itself called Carl, who acts very similar to a Q. Carl led fans to speculate if Discovery was including the Q in its 3rd season before he was revealed to be the Guardian of Forever.
The Q's influence has been felt far and wide throughout the Star Trek franchise, and the universe would be a much less interesting place without them. Because Q in particular has become such a fan-favorite character, it is also unlikely the fans have seen the last of him or his species. Hopefully, fans can look forward to more Q being introduced as the franchise continues.