Star Trek timeline have referred to Scotty as a miracle worker. He was an engineer capable of doing whatever his commanding officer asked, even when faced with the impossible. These miracles usually involved getting a badly damaged warp core up and running in record time or ensuring an incapacitated Enterprise had weapons at the ready in dire situations.

Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott was the Chief Engineer aboard several versions of the Starship Enterprise commanded by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner, Chris Pine, Paul Wesley). By the time Star Trek: The Original Series ended, Scotty was the standard to which every engineer in Star Trek was held. Other Starfleet engineers, like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) and Star Trek: The Next Generation's Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), are compared to Scotty because of the many "miracles" he performed. However, the real history behind Scotty's "miracle worker" title is a little more complicated.

Is Star Trek’s Scotty Really A Miracle Worker?

Montgomery Scott is undoubtedly one of Starfleet's most talented engineers

Every version of Scotty in Star Trek has the same ability to somehow overcome extreme hardships and do the impossible. This trend continues in modern depictions and can be seen as recently as Martin Quinn's portrayal of the Scotsman, who aids the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds during a conflict with the Gorn. In many episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series and its subsequent films, Scotty is depicted as saving the day with surprising solutions in difficult positions. Despite Scotty's impressive engineering skills and commendable ability to work well under pressure, the Enterprise's Chief Engineer isn't perfect.

Despite earning the reputation as a miracle worker and never denying it, Scotty has a good reason his work is so acclaimed. Instead of giving Captain Kirk an accurate estimation of the time it would take to complete a task, Lt. Commander Scott would quadruple that timeframe. So, instead of taking the actual two days, Scotty would claim the repair would take a week or more. When he completed the task early, usually just in time to stop the USS Enterprise from being destroyed, Scotty appeared to be a miracle worker to everyone on board, including the captain.

How & When Scotty Got His Miracle Worker Nickname

Scotty took creative liberties when it came to his stellar reputation

When working alongside Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Scotty reveals his overestimation trick to a surprised La Forge, who claims to have never known about it. The same technique is used in Star Trek: Lower Decks, where it's referred to as "buffer time." By the time the events of Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock take place, Captain Kirk is at least partially aware of his chief engineer's trick. He asks if Scotty has "always multiplied your repair estimates by four," and Scotty responds, "How else can I keep my reputation as a miracle worker?"

Scotty was first referred to as the doer of miracles in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Doomsday Machine," and he has continued to receive that compliment ever since. Each version of Scotty, including the 3-film portrayal by Simon Pegg, has added to the character's impressive and innovative repertoire. While it may just be a deception, Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott solidified his place in both Starfleet and Star Trek history by ensuring he had ample time to make repairs that saved countless lives over the course of his service on the USS Enterprise.