Pop Culture References in Wizard101: Empyrea – Fear of Being Surpassed

Fear of Being Surpassed – Captain Jean-Luc Picard
https://wiki.wizard101central.com/wiki/Creature:Fear_of_Being_Surpassed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Luc_Picard

Doctor Demented and her stooges are helping the Admiral with his grand plan to drive the Dwarves and the Nimbari mad with fear. They stage attacks to make the Nimbari paranoid. They scare the Dwarves with Myth Monsters so the Dwarves will bring their nightmares to life which in turn riles up the Myth Monsters. It’s a beautiful cycle of fear.

However, the Doctor couldn’t care less for the Admiral’s scheme. She just wants to study the Myth and Storm Chain up close. Getting ready to fight Captain Pork and your wizard she summons three of Captain Pork’s greatest fears.

The first is the Fear of Being Surpassed. This fear is embodied by Captain Jean-Luc Pincard. He’s ready to engage.

Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise, most often seen as the captain of the Federation starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D). Played by Patrick Stewart, Picard has appeared in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and the premiere episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as well as the feature films Star Trek Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002). He is also featured as the central character in the show Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023).

After the success of the contemporary Star Trek feature films, a new Star Trek television series featuring a new cast was announced on October 10, 1986. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry named Picard for (one or both of) the twin brothers Auguste Piccard and Jean Piccard, 20th-century Swiss scientists.

Patrick Stewart, who has a background in live theater at the Royal Shakespeare Company, was initially considered for the role of Data. In the early 1970s, UCSB professor Homer Swander had recruited Stewart to help teach American college students about William Shakespeare. It was because of this connection that in 1986, Stewart was visiting UCLA to assist professor David Rodes with a series of public lectures on Shakespeare. At one of those lectures, producer Robert H. Justman immediately recognized that Stewart was the ideal candidate for Picard.

Jean-Luc Picard was introduced on television in 1987, in the debut episode “Encounter at Farpoint” of Star Trek: The Next Generation. In this science fiction television show, he is the captain of a crewed spacecraft of the fictional organization Starfleet as it visits various exoplanets and aliens within and away from its governing United Federation of Planets. It is set in the late 24th century, and Picard must balance the challenges of people and technology. He is portrayed as being deeply moved by a desire to explore the universe and with a strong sense of duty; however, he has misgivings about not having a family and difficulty interacting with children. Some of his interests, as presented by the show, include space exploration, Shakespeare, and archaeology.

The close-knit crew of the Enterprise provides his main friendships as they take on the Milky Way Galaxy. Notably, he builds very long-lasting friendships with his first officer William T. Riker, tactical officer Worf, counselor Deanna Troi, helmsman-turned-chief engineer Geordi La Forge, and science officer Data. Picard is also occasionally depicted as having subtle romantic tension with the ship’s Cheif Medical Officer, Beverly Crusher, widow of his former crewmate and best friend Jack.

Notable episodes featuring the Jean-Luc Picard character include “The Best of Both Worlds” (Parts I and II), “Yesterday’s Enterprise”, “Family”, “All Good Things…”, “Tapestry”, and “The Inner Light”. Actor Patrick Stewart noted of the character “During these past years, it has been humbling to hear many stories about how The Next Generation brought people comfort, saw them through difficult periods in their lives or how the example of Jean-Luc inspired so many to follow in his footsteps, pursuing science, exploration and leadership…”

This reference is an appropriate one as by most measurable metrics, Star Trek: the Next Generation did indeed surpass the original series. The character received critical acclaim among fans of The Next Generation, and he is usually considered one of the top two captains in the Star Trek franchise – there are often lengthy and serious debates over whether Picard or James T. Kirk is the “best” Starfleet captain. A 1991 TV Guide cover story was titled “It’s Kirk vs. Picard: Experts and fans debate who’s best”. In a more lighthearted take on the debate, the cover of a 1994 Mad magazine Star Trek special features both Kirk and Picard wrestling childishly to fit into the Enterprise’s captain’s chair, while Scotty and Worf watch their respective commanders with looks of astonishment. In his parody song “White and Nerdy”, satirizing nerd culture, “Weird Al” Yankovic sang the lines “Only question I ever thought was hard/Was do I like Kirk or do I like Picard?” Picard is deemed the ultimate delegator of authority, knowing “how to gather and use data better than any other Star Trek captain”. His leadership style “is best suited to a large, process-centric, either geographically identical or diverse team”. Kirk and Picard are considered to be attentive to the needs of their respective crews. When Stewart and William Shatner were asked in 1991 how their characters would have dealt with Saddam Hussein, Shatner stated that Kirk would “have told him to drop dead” while Stewart joked that Picard “would still be talking”.

The current list of all the (known) Empyrea references can be found here.

Although I am well versed in Pop Culture references but I do not claim to have caught them all. Let me know your favorites in the comments and if I’ve missed one you caught, let me know so I can add it to the list.

Text for this article is excerpted from the linked wiki pages

Fear of Being Surpassed image is from Wizard101, and is copyright of KingsIsle Entertainment.

All Star Trek the Next Generation images are copyright CBS Studios / Paramount Global

Mad Magazine Holiday 1994 cover image is borrowed from eBay and is copyright EC Communications

Image usage qualifies as fair use under US copyright law.