3 reasons the Borg were perfectly handled upon their debut

Look

The original Borg looked like Edward Scissor Hands, meets HR Giger meets Hellraiser. Well, at least the originals did. The look evolved over the years and went from a more gothic, hell-spawn-inspired look to a far more technological appearance. Gone were the hoses and bulky bits and bobs of the look, and in was a more super-villain-like appearance. They don’t have the same horror vibe that they once had but they are still imposing as a combative force.

Early on, however, you could tell there were some attempts to bring a far more horror-like element into their design. The pale skin, the dead-eyes, the lack of any emotion, the cavernous design of their ship. Heck, even the Borg cube itself looked like it rose up from a Clive Barker movie to steal the souls of the ship’s crew.

While the look was certainly inspired by Giger, the crew may not have realized just how hellish these beings looked. That macabre dead-skinned look really sold the idea that these weren’t people anymore. Just things. Things that would do anything they wanted, when they wanted.

That gave them a truly otherworldly vibe and made them the top villains in Trek. They were also far more frightening than the original concept for the Borg; a race of insects.