According to the classic movie Star Trek II : The Wrath of Khan , James T. Kirk has never face Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims - win scenario . Except that anyone who ’s ever watched the original Star Trek knows that ’s not true . He facedthem all the clock time . Here are 10 no - winnings scenarios that Kirk faced .
Before we get started , let ’s acknowledge that NicholasMeyer , writer / director of Star Trek II , was not engulf in Trek continuityand really had n’t seen much of the original series . Kirk certainly faceddeath and loss on many function , and several of his victories were eithermiraculous or belike short - live on . Or passably pyrrhic . This inclination draws on theAnimated Series and draw - in media to some extent , but is mostly Original Series .
With that out of the direction , here are the 10 times Kirkactually look a situation where there was no “ winning ” :
This is from Kirk ’s childhood , but it ’s still a situation hefaced . When Kirk was a baby , he was a settler on the satellite Tarsus IV , wherea fungus destroyed most of the colony ’s solid food supply . The governor , Kodos , decide to seize world power by declaring warriorlike law — and then divided thepopulation into two radical , executing half the settlement ’s population so the otherhalf could survive . As Spock explain in the installment “ The Conscience ofthe King , ” “ Relief arrived , but too belated to keep theexecutions . ” Kirk had to stand up by and watch half the people on the planetbeing put to death .
Another formative experience for Kirk . His first tour ofduty as an officer on the U.S.S. Farragut , the ship encountered a mysteriouscloud puppet that butcher the maitre d' and almost the entire crew . Kirkblamed himself because he hesitated briefly before can his phaser at thecreature — but in the sequence “ Obsession , ” Kirk realizes thatphasers are ineffective against this creature , and in fact there was literallynothing he could have done to save the Farragut ’s crowd .
Taking a brief yaw to the new pic continuity … in auniverse where Kirk was n’t a colonist on Tarsus IV or an officer on the U.S.S.Farragut , he still faced a huge loss that he could n’t do anything about . Theentire planet Vulcan gets ruin in the 2009 Star Trek moving-picture show , despite Kirk’sbest sweat to save it . Kirk is n’t in command yet when this happens , but itstill takes position on his lookout and he has no means to deliver it .
This one is slimly more debatable — after all , Kirk savesthe Enterprise in the sequence “ Where No Man Has get Before . ” But hecan’t save his honest friend Gary , who ’s turned into a superbeing after passingthrough an muscularity barrier . In fact , the whole episode comprise of Spockconvincing Kirk , over and over again , that the situation is hopeless andthere ’s no way to relieve his friend and his ship . He has to choose .
Meanwhile , the episode “ The Man Trap ” finish withafairly clear triumph for Kirk — except that he wipes out the last extremity of an intelligent metal money , who hadbeen living for yr without harming anyone .
When the Federation come to the verge of war with theKlingons , the divine Organians decide to step in and put a stop to it . Sure , this means Kirk and his crew get to go on living , and the galaxy isn’tsubjected to a brute war , so that ’s sort of a win . But Kirk seems prettypissed about it , ask the Organians “ What consecrate you the right?”Later , Kirkconfesses,“I was furious with the Organians for halt a war I did n’t want . ” Ifthe Organians had n’t stepped in , the enterprisingness might have been demolish , butthen again Kirk could have helped score a real victory against the Klingons . There are lots of episodes where Kirk overreach divine aliens or shows them thathumanity have greatness … but this is n’t one of them .
Similar to Gary Mitchell , this is a situation where Kirksaves the Enterprise ( and fixture the timeline ) — but he ca n’t save the personhe really wants to economize . Once again , it ’s up to Spock to make Kirk realize hecan’t have it all . He has to choose between Edith and everything else . All ofthe spectacular weight in this terrific episode number from Kirk agnise thatsometimes you ca n’t draw off a miracle .
In the episode “ A Private Little War , ” Kirk isfaced with an unacceptable option . The Klingons are arming one side in a local conflictwith ranking ( albeit still primitive ) weaponry . So Kirk decides to arm“his ” villagers with equal weapons system , to point the playing battlefield . Except , as McCoy manoeuvre out , “ that means you ’re condemn this wholeplanet to a war that may never end . It could go on for year after year , massacre after massacre . ” Add to that the bizarreness that Kirk is possiblydrugged out of his mind by his friend ’s wife . The whole installment is clearlymeant to be a metaphor for the Cold War , but it has a first-rate undecipherable ending . Kirk instructs Scotty to manufacture 100 flintlocks , but then changes his orderto 100 “ serpents , for the Garden of Eden . ” The episode ’s last wordsare “ radiate us up , Spock . We ’re very well-worn . ” And that ’s … it . Did theysupply the 100 flintlocks , or did Kirk just decide it was n’t deserving it ? Eitherway , he ’s fundamentally confront a billet where he ca n’t really win .
Now we ’re start to reach into tie-in - in medium somewhat . Inthe episode “ The Apple , ” Kirk discovers a primitive society prey adictatorial computer with a lizard heading . And Kirk destroys the computer , freesthe citizenry , gives them a few minutes of sexual activity education , and then give . In a1987 comic Scripture , we revisit the planet and discover that Gamma Trianguli VI was a syntheticplanet create by the survivors of a planetary calamity , who were determined toprevent their own tragedy from recurring — so they create Vaal to serve ascaretaker of the earth . And once Kirk destroyed Vaal , everything give out to helland the mass on the planet set about destroying the entire public again . Inthe comic , Spock risks his own life to reanimate Vaal , to save the major planet . Because it turns out that Vaal was necessary , and blowing him up was n’t theneat solution Kirk thought it was .
And finally , an episode of the Animated Series — theEnterprise crew catches a space plague in the episode “ Albatross,”and only Spock is unaffected . Kirk puts Spock in statement of the ship , andbefore he leave he issues General Order VI . This calls for the ship to waituntil the last human aboard dies , wait 24 hour , and then ego - destruct . To preventanyone else catching the disease . McCoy finds a cure at the last possibleminute — but Kirk was ready to be adrift up his ship and admit licking .
Many thanks to ourStar Trek brain cartel : Greg Cox , David Mack , Kevin Dilmore and Robert MeyerBurnett . You guys were a huge avail !
Screenshots viaTrekCore .
Star TrekTelevision
Daily Newsletter
Get the good technical school , scientific discipline , and culture news in your inbox daily .
word from the future , delivered to your nowadays .
You May Also Like
