Leonard McCoy’s daughter Joanna McCoy was introduced to comic book readers in two stories released by Marvel Comics. Both took place around the same year during Captain James T. Kirk’s second five-year mission aboard the refit USS Enterprise , and both had curious similarities. “All the Infinite Ways” Joanna debuted in “All the Infinite Ways” by Martin Pasko, issue 13 of Marvel’s short-lived Star Trek series . Marvel’s license was famously limited to Star Trek: The Motion Picture , and therefore not allowed to reference elements from The Original Series . Pasko slipped in as many TOS references as possible into his eight stories. Introducing Joanna was a sly choice, as she had not technically appeared in TOS , yet was familiar to devoted Trek fans who’d read about the character in Steven E. Whitfield’s best-selling reference book The Making of Star Trek . Pasko envisioned Joanna similar to the way Arnold Drake had adapted her in the form of Barbara McCoy in “The World Beneath t...

The idea of Leonard McCoy’s daughter came from a talk between actor DeForest Kelley and script editor Dorothy Fontana in January 1967, where she thought McCoy might have a son from his failed marriage. Kelley suggested that it be a daughter. Fontana jotted down a story idea in a memo on January 24, 1967. In the story, the Enterprise took on new medical staff at a starbase, and Kirk and McCoy were in the transporter room as they beamed aboard. As Fontana wrote, “One of the women, a lovely dark-haired girl of twenty, takes one look at McCoy and flings herself into his arms, much to Captain Kirk's surprise. Then McCoy turns to Kirk, grimaces, and introduces Nurse Joanna McCoy — his daughter.” Fontana wrote, “McCoy had been married a long time ago, but it turned sour and ended in divorce despite the birth of the child, Joanna. McCoy, soon after the divorce, entered the space service. He has provided for Joanna, but due to the demands of the service, has seen her very seldom as s...