It’s easy to forget that before we were breaking the Internet trying to figure out who Benedict Cumberbatch was playing in Into Darkness, Star Trek fans were picking apart rumors for decades. Turns out Leonard Nimoy himself had some strong words for the way one outlet reported one back in the early 1980s.

Yes, before the Internet, fans often posed questions and interacted in the letters sections of fan magazines, such as Starlog. Well, back in 1982 the magazine printed some rumors about Spock’s death in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan — and their apparent lack of fact-checking really pissed off Nimoy.

Here is the letter Nimoy sent to Starlog, taking aim at their journalistic integrity:

In the November issue you report that the death of Spock was "brought about by Leonard Nimoy's request." In your January issue you reiterated the same report and then you quoted "Star Trek II" executive producer Harve Bennett as saying "... Nimoy did not insist on killing the character as a prerequisite to his appearing in the second film." I was not contacted for a statement, but here it is: Harve Bennett was right, you were wrong ...... twice. Yours for more accurate journalism, Leonard Nimoy

Zing! Of course, Spock’s death didn’t last long, as Nimoy had such a good time making part two that he opted to return for the next few sequels and embrace his Vulcan heritage (or something like that).

So, never forget — Trek fans (and stars) have been taking this stuff seriously for a long, long time.

(Via The Huffington Post)