WILLIAM T. RIKER
William Thomas "Will" Riker is a distinguished Starfleet officer best known for serving fifteen years as First Officer to Captain Jean-Luc Picard aboard the USS Enterprise-D and USS Enterprise-E. Portrayed by Jonathan Frakes, Riker is a master tactician who later took command of the USS Titan and returned to active duty in the early 25th century to lead the USS Titan-A during a major Federation crisis.
Cronologia
Biografia
William Thomas Riker (serial number SC-231-427) is a 24th and 25th-century Starfleet officer who served as the legendary First Officer ("Number One") of the flagship vessels USS Enterprise-D and USS Enterprise-E under Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
Known for his tactical ingenuity, command presence, and away-team leadership, Riker repeatedly turned down independent captaincy offers to remain on the Enterprise alongside Picard.
Beyond his executive duties, Riker is recognized for his love of jazz music, playing the trombone, cooking, and engaging in competitive poker games with senior officers. Following 15 years as Picard's first officer, he accepted command of the exploratory starship USS Titan in 2379. In his personal life, Riker married Counselor Deanna Troi, with whom he had two children, Thaddeus and Kestra. After retiring to planet Nepenthe following the loss of his son, Riker returned to active duty in the early 25th century as Acting Captain of the USS Titan-A to defeat a widespread Changeling and Borg conspiracy.
Storia
William T. Riker was born on August 19, 2335, in Valdez, Alaska, Earth, to Kyle and Betty Riker. His mother passed away when he was only two years old, leaving his father to raise him alone. The trauma of her loss caused a severe rift between Will and his father.
Their relationship deteriorated further over fishing trips and intense anbo-jyutsu matches, culminating in Kyle completely abandoning fifteen-year-old Will in 2350. Riker entered Starfleet Academy in 2353. Although he struggled with math while constantly dreaming about starships, he excelled tactically, including calculating a sensory blind spot on a Tholian vessel during a simulation.
He graduated eighth in his class in 2357. His early career included a posting as Ensign on the USS Pegasus under Captain Erik Pressman, where he was nicknamed "Ensign Babyface" and got involved in a mutiny coverup regarding an illegal phasing cloaking device. He later served on Betazed, where he formed a romantic bond with Deanna Troi, and served on the USS Potemkin—where a transporter accident on Nervala IV created a duplicate of him, later known as Thomas Riker—before becoming first officer on the USS Hood.
I PEZZI DI WILLIAM T. RIKER
Evoluzione
Will Riker began his career as an eager, clean-shaven ensign aboard the USS Pegasus, heavily focused on blind obedience to authority. Over time, his service on the USS Potemkin and USS Hood fostered strong independent judgment, culminating in an act of principled insubordination when he refused to let Captain DeSoto beam into danger on Altair III—an action that earned Jean-Luc Picard's admiration. Upon joining the USS Enterprise-D and growing his signature beard in Season 2, Riker evolved into a balanced, highly trusted First Officer.
Although driven in his youth to become captain before age 35, he repeatedly declined separate commands (such as the USS Drake) to remain on the Enterprise, prioritizing mentorship and team loyalty. In his later years, Riker took command of the USS Titan, embraced fatherhood, and subsequently stepped back from active service following the death of his son Thad. However, his return to active duty during the events of *Star Trek: Picard* demonstrated his evolution into a legendary elder statesman of Starfleet, possessing unmatched tactical sharp-mindedness and decisive leadership when the Federation faced destruction.
Riker once risked a court martial on the USS Hood by refusing to allow Captain DeSoto to beam into a hazardous situation on planet Altair III.
