Five Times Wesley Crusher's Sweaters Were Better Than Any Starfleet Uniform

Midway through Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2, Rok-Tahk, Zero, Dal, Murf, Jankom Pog, Maj'el and Gywn find an unlikely ally from the good old days of The Next Generation.

In "The Devourer of All Things, Part I," the ragtag crew has ditched the U.S.S. Voyager-A in the wonky ship called the Infinity, and are in search of their beloved Protostar, lost somewhere in time. Enter a fellow outer space wiz kid, someone who can totally relate to what the Prodigy crew is going through — Wesley Crusher, formerly of Starfleet, and now a part of the inter-dimensional group known as the Travelers.

Without a doubt, Wesley has never looked slicker than he looks in Prodigy Season 2, which is at least partly thanks to that sweet, sweet trench coat. We tend to think of Starfleet uniforms as the coolest clothes in the Final Frontier, but Wesley's style in Prodigy certainly challenges that assumption. Is he dressed like a vagabond? A mad scientist? Both? In the grand scheme of sci-fi heroes, from The Matrix to Doctor Who, to Sherlock, everybody wants to rock a longcoat, and Wesley's get-up feels like the combination of several of those tropes at once.

But what's that he's wearing underneath this coat? Is that a vintage Wesley Crusher sweater? That's right, in addition to becoming a time-and-space agent, Wesley has also returned to Trek to regain his former crown as that of the Sweater King. Back in The Next Generation's first season, before Wesley got his gray acting ensign's uniform, he wore a variety of sweaters. He references this fact in Prodigy saying, "I have more sweaters than you would believe."

We believe it, Wesley! So, in honor of Wesley's return in Prodigy, and in celebration of Wil Wheaton's birthday, here are the five greatest sweaters worn by Wesley Crusher — ever.

5. The Knitted Brown Sweater

("Encounter at Farpoint" and "Justice")

One of Wesley’s most normal sweaters is also one of his best. This knitted brown sweater is what Wesley wears on the holodeck in the very first Next Generation episode ever, "Encounter at Farpoint," and is rocking the same sweater in the episode "Justice" when he falls on some flowers and is threatened with instant death.

What's nice about the knitted brown sweater is that it not only looks super comfy, but of all of Welsey's wardrobe, it's probably the sweater that looks the most like something we could all actually get. The sleeves and shoulders are a little strange, but the overall look is both vintage and classic. This was the right sweater for Wesley to wear as he first made his way into Star Trek. In the knitted brown sweater, Wesley is all of us.

4. The Light Heather Gray Sweater

("The Naked Now")

An underrated Wesley sweater, this very light heather gray sweater is easily his most preppy look, complete with what looks like a sort of collared-shirt underneath. As the second episode of The Next Generation, "The Naked Now" is the first instance of Wesley saving the entire crew of the Enterprise, even though he's the one person not fully trained as a Starfleet officer.

Unlike some of the other sweaters on this list, there's almost nothing space-y or faux-futuristic about this sweater. This looks like something Wesley got from the 24th Century Gap, and it's clearly his getting-things-done sweater. Could you design and build your own portable tractor beam if you had a sweater like this? Maybe.

3. The Original Green Sweater

("Encounter at Farpoint")

After Wesley had his brown sweater totally soaked in the holodeck, he had to change clothes. This leads to one of Wesley's most iconic sweaters, the slightly lumpy, ruffled green sweater which he wears when he first visits the Bridge of the Enterprise-D and sits in Captain Picard's chair. Although this moment feels like it happens close to the beginning of "Encounter at Farpoint," it’s actually a fashion turn that begins the second hour of the two-part premiere.

In other words, once the story really got going, Wesley knew it was time to change into something fancy, and this green sweater does not disappoint.

2. The Classic Gray and Rainbow Uniform Sweater

("Hide & Q," "Coming of Age," "Datalore," et al.)

This is the big one, a sweater that's almost not a sweater, and in some ways, defined how we all remembered Wesley's sartorial choices forever.

Vaguely resembling the design of the Starfleet uniforms of the mid-23rd Century, Wesley's rainbow uniform sweater seems to represent all the possible Starfleet divisions at the same time. So, this makes his uniform sweater more symbolic than you might have thought.

When Wesley finally gets a burgundy-colored command uniform as an acting ensign, we don't think much of it. But, with the rainbow of this sweater, it's almost as if Wesley could have gone into any division of Starfleet he wanted to, and his sweater knew that, too.

1. The Rust-Colored Multi-Patterned Sweater

("Where No One Has Gone Before," "Lonely Among Us," and Prodigy)

The braiding on this sweater defies reason, time, and space. So it's appropriate that Wesley wore this absolutely killer sweater when he first met The Traveler in "Where No One Has Gone Before." The high almost turtleneck-y collar is awesome, and more than any of his other sweaters, this one looks the most comfortable and functional. You may want to rank his rainbow sweater as the number one Wesley sweater, but that's only because it looks the most Starfleet-ish, and because he wore it a lot. But, this slightly baggy, rust-colored sweater is the one. Which is probably why Wesley decided to rock it again, in Star Trek: Prodigy. We can't confirm whether this is the exact same sweater he wore on the Enterprise, but when Wesley reveals himself to the Protostar crew in Prodigy, it very much feels like he's honoring his past self.

This Wesley Crusher sweater is his coolest, even if he wasn't wearing it with his new coat. In Prodigy, Wesley says he's motivated to save the Prime Universe because he was born there, and his mom lives there. But perhaps, if he didn't save the Prime Universe, his sweaters would unravel. And because we don't want to destroy Wesley's sweaters, we should all be thankful that the timeline has now been repaired, and no threads — literal and otherwise — are out of place.