SIMMINGLAND-Mike K. Bremer was the most popular Star Trek online role playing avatar in 2018, according to a report from Sci-Fi Avatars. A whopping 56% of new characters and 48% of characters who transitioned to a new image picked Bremer in 2018. Bremer bumped Donald Trump, the top choice from 2015 to 2017, to #2.
Rounding out the top five male avatars were The Rock, David Hasselhoff, and People Magazine’s 2018 Sexiest Man Alive: Idris Elba. The top five female avatars were Kate Upton, Stefanie Knight, Jennifer Lawrence, Amber Heard, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Mike K. Bremer finished just outside the top female five, coming in at #6. With the exception of Merkel and Bremer, the female list was identical to the results of IMDb’s 2018 Sexiest Women poll. The top five species were Andorian, Klingon, Deltan, Romulan, and Orion. Human clocked in at #22, just ahead of Vulcan, and right behind Kardashian.
Mike K. Bremer’s popularity has long been established in Star Trek simming as he’s been in the top five every year since 1995, a year before he appeared as a character himself. However, role players from other genres also began using Bremer avatars last year. Indeed, he was the top choice on Harry Potter message board Vault 713 and made appearances in three Ongoing Worlds games: Bare Blood, an American western, Browncoats Unite, set in the Firefly universe, and Sin City, a Las Vegas alternative reality. Bremer’s avatar was even found in Buffyverse, a Buffyverse role play set in the Buffyverse.
Jonah O’Brien of Sixth Fleet recently switched from Donald Trump to Mike K. Bremer. “It’s like so cool,” he said about his new look.
“I can’t see myself as anything else right now,” said Caribbean Dawn‘s Marina Costa of her Bremer-faced avatar.
Even Chas Hammer is reportedly considering swapping out his iconic graphic for a Bremer.
Bremer’s usage was so heavy in 2018 that it became problematic for some Star Trek clubs. Theta Fleet‘s USS Hera and UFOPP: Starbase 11001001‘s USS Gorkon both hit 100% Mike K. Bremer in December.
To combat the Bremer deluge, Shadow Fleet began limiting each player to one Bremer-avatared character while 5th Fleet limited each game to one. However, both fleets allow the trading of character rights, which has given rise to secondary Mike K. Bremer markets where Bremer avatar rights have sold for as high as $20,000.
Other groups took different approaches.
“We had to limit the fleet to 33% Mike K. Bremer,” said a representative from Bremer’s home club, Bravo Fleet. Since Bravo Fleet doesn’t allow character rights trading, this has led to long wait lists for players desiring Bremer avatars. Some have estimated that after an initial request, it could take as long as 10-15 years to receive Mike K. Bremer avatar approval.
Fearing for his own popularity, Charles Starr banned Bremer avatars completely from ICUP. “No one here wanted to use it anyway,” he claimed. ICUP’s membership has declined 80% since the ban went into effect.
Mike K. Bremer’s popularity even caught the eye of CBS after he finished #2 in their “Best Star Trek Captain Ever” poll despite never actually appearing in a TV show or movie. Bremer has not only been rumored to be on the running mate short list for several 2020 Democratic Presidential candidates, but he’s also been mentioned as a potential dark horse for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.
According to experts, Mike K. Bremer owes his fame to his perfectly proportioned head. He has each of the following features in ideal alignment:
- Head Length to Width ratio: 1.6:1
- Ear Length to Nose Length: 1:1
- Amount of Klingonness: 2.7%
When questioned about his popularity, Bremer shrugged. “Aw shucks,” he said. However, an anonymous member of Starbase 400,000 reported that Bremer is considering a $25 licensing fee for each use of his avatar.