star trek khan last name

Who is Khan Noonien Singh from Star Trek?

Star Trek is a 60-year saga known for its gorgeous starships and equally gorgeous heroes but Khan Noonien Singh is the series' most important villain.

The galaxy far, far away has Darth Vader, the Emperor, Grand Admiral Thrawn and a host of other iconic baddies. Yet, Star Trek and the galaxy right, right here isn't as focused on individual villains that way. However, if the universe created by Gene Roddenberry has a single, identifiable villain it's a 20th Century human who found himself in the future. Khan Noonien Singh is an important villain in Star Trek , and those who don't already know his story are in for an incredible adventure. The character has a long history in the nearly 60-year-old saga, and he remains important to its past and future.

Originally appearing in the Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1 episode, "Space Seed," the character was conceived as a Viking-style character. Roddenberry, however, wanted to subvert the audience expectations of the 1960s by changing that background. The character was named Khan Noonien Singh, in part because Roddenberry hoped a similarly-named acquaintance from World War II would see it and seek him out. (Alas, he never did.) The character was conceived as an actor of West Asian heritage, but the only actor they could convincingly cast to play the futuristic super man was Ricardo Montalban. In 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness, Benedict Cumberbatch was cast to play Khan Noonien Singh, despite him looking more "Viking" than West Asian. While "Space Seed" is an iconic Star Trek: TOS episode, it wasn't until his return in 1982's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan written and directed by Nicholas Meyer. Not only did this revitalize the character, but the film reenergized the entire Star Trek franchise after The Motion Picture failed to spark joy in the hearts of Trekkers.

RELATED: This Star Trek: TOS Character Would Fit Perfectly In Strange New Worlds

Who Is Khan Noonien Singh In the Star Trek Canon?

The "Space Seed" episode revealed two things about the Star Trek universe. It revealed the "Eugenics Wars," which involved Khan Noonien Singh. Khan, among others, were genetically engineered to be "perfect" humans. The episode also revealed that as a result of these wars the "records" of that time were mostly lost to Starfleet. Still, Spock told Captain Kirk Kahn ascended into power in 1992 and was defeated in 1996 (30 years from the show's real-world present-day). Khan and 96 of his fellow genetic augments were put into a kind of stasis and sent off into space, where they drifted until the USS Enterprise found the vessel and awakened them. A historian on the Enterprise, Marla McGivers, was charmed by Khan and, almost, helped him take over the ship. Once Kirk and company retook the vessel, he allowed Khan, McGivers and his people to settle on Ceti Alpha V to build a new life for themselves.

In the beginning of The Wrath of Khan , Pavel Chekov (a character not added to The Original Series until Season 2) landed on what they believed was Ceti Alpha VI. They soon found Khan and what remained of his people, because the planet had "shifted" its orbit after a cataclysm. Kahn captured Chekov's ship, the USS Reliant, and used it to take possession of the Genesis Device. Created by Kirk's former partner Carol Marcus and Kirk's son David, it could take a lifeless world and make it teeming with life in hours. Khan wanted to use it as a weapon, but he also wanted to visit vengeance on Kirk. At the end of the film, he's defeated and famously quotes Moby Dick before he uses the Genesis Device to destroy his own ship. "From Hell's heart I stab at thee," he says, "for hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee."

In Strange New Worlds Season 2, Khan's descendant, La'an Noonien Singh , was sent back in time to the early 21st Century to stop a cataclysm. In Star Trek: Voyager , the crew was sent back to 1996, but instead of a Eugenics War-ravaged landscape, they found the dawn of the internet age. This was established as the "fault" of another time-travel accident. When La'an arrived in her past, she encountered Sera, a Romulan agent from the "Temporal Wars." She was sent back to 1992 to kill Khan in order to prevent the Federation and Starfleet from ever existing. Yet, because of the other time-shenanigans, Khan wasn't born until the 21st Century. "Time pushes back," she told La'an, implying that "canon events" aren't just limited to the Spider-Verse.

RELATED: Kevin Feige's Secret Ingredient in the MCU Came From Star Trek's 'Worst' Movie

Why Khan Noonien Singh Is So Important to Star Trek Fans and Storytellers

Khan Noonien Singh remains important to the larger Star Trek story because of what he represents about the universe's past. The Eugenics Wars, now set in the mid-21st Century also coincided with "World War III," the cataclysm from which Star Trek 's ideal future emerged. In Star Trek: First Contact , the crew of the USS Enterprise-E are sent back to ensure that Zefram Cochrane makes the first warp-drive flight, causing the Vulcans to visit Earth. Khan represents the personification of the worst of humanity. Notions of superiority, violence and authoritarianism are the main impediments, Roddenberry believed, to the idyllic future humanity was capable of achieving.

His many returns, from "Space Seed" in Star Trek: The Original Series to The Wrath of Khan are a warning that these human foibles, like Star Wars ' Palpatine , will somehow return if people aren't careful. Yet, Khan didn't just help create the universe in the narrative. After The Motion Picture , fans hoped for a return to the type of storytelling Star Trek: TOS was known for. Nicholas Meyer delivered a film that felt a bit like an episode of the show on a grander scale. Yet, it also kicked off a run of four more movies that helped cement Star Trek as an enduring franchise. Fans were enamored by the film and its sequels. Even when he's not present, he influences the story. Star Trek: Picard Season 3 thematically echoed the "trilogy" that started with The Wrath of Khan through Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home .

Khan is a genetically altered super man who was so cruel, violent and despotic he almost destroyed the planet. Yet, like most real-world villains, the actual Khan was charming, seemingly measured. Ricardo Montalban infused the character with gravitas and even humor, along with his impressive bare chest (which was not a prosthetic in the movie). If the heroes of Star Trek represent the best of humanity, Khan represents the worst of it. Heroes are defined by their villains, and any hero that can take out a guy like Khan Noonien Singh is an impressive one indeed.

Khan Noonien Singh

Character » Khan Noonien Singh appears in 67 issues .

Genetic superman, an Augment from the late 20th century. Warlord whose followers controlled nearly a quarter of the Earth before fleeing aboard the SS Botany Bay. Discovered in 2267 by Captain James T. Kirk, Khan would become his greatest enemy.

Summary short summary describing this character..

Star Trek: Khan

Star Trek/Green Lantern

Star Trek Magazine

Star Trek: Khan Ruling in Hell

Khan Noonien Singh last edited by gravenraven on 07/06/23 07:02PM View full history

Khan was created for the original series Star Trek episode " Space Seed ", and was named in honor of Gene Roddenberry 's friend from World War II , Kim Noonien Singh. Roddenberry hoped his friend would hear his name on television and contact him, but never heard from Mr. Singh.

Genetic Engineering

Records of the period, including Khan's origins, are fragmentary and therefore vague. He was the product of a selective-breeding and genetic-engineering scientific program, based on the eugenics philosophy that held improving the capabilities of a man improved the entire Human race.

Augments produced by the program possessed physical strength and analytical capabilities considerably superior to ordinary Humans, and were "engineered" from a variety of Earth 's ethnic groups. Khan's background was suspected to be Sikh, from the northern region of India .

The Eugenics Wars

Khan lived up to the axiom coined by one of his creators, "superior ability breeds superior ambition" . By 1993, a wave of the genetic "supermen", including Khan, had simultaneously assumed control of more than forty of Earth's nations. From 1992 to 1996, Khan was absolute ruler of more than one-quarter of Earth's population, including the regions of Asia and the Middle East. Considered "the best of tyrants" , he severely curtailed the freedoms of his subjects, but his reign was an exception to similar circumstances in Earth history – lacking internal massacres or wars of aggression. In the mid 1990s, the Augment tyrants began warring among themselves. Other nations combined their efforts to force them from power in a series of struggles that became known as the Eugenics Wars. Eventually, most of the tyrants were defeated and their territory recaptured, but as many as ninety "supermen" were never accounted for.

Khan escaped the wars and their consequences along with 84 followers (including Joachim, Joaquin, Kati, Ling, McPherson, Otto, and Rodriguez) who swore to live and die at his command. He saw his best option in a risky, self-imposed exile. In 1996, he took control of a DY-100-class interplanetary sleeper ship he christened the SS Botany Bay , named for the site of the Australian penal colony. Set on a course outbound from Earth's solar system, but with no apparent destination in mind, Khan and his people remained in suspended animation for Botany Bay's centuries-long sublight journey.

“We offered the world order!”

They were discovered in the Mutara sector in 2267 by the U.S.S. Enterprise , captained by James Kirk . Kirk and an away team including historian Marla McGivers went aboard the Botany Bay and revived Khan, unaware of his involvement in the Eugenics Wars. Khan studied ship records, quickly bringing himself up to speed on 271 years worth of technological innovation. He then revived his own people and captured the crew of the Enterprise. The crew regained control of the ship and Kirk left Khan to rule on the abandoned planet Ceti Alpha V with 71 followers and McGivers, who became his beloved wife.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

" Ah, Kirk, my old friend, do you know the Klingon proverb that tells us revenge is a dish best served cold? Well...it is very cold in space! "

But the new colony was on Ceti Alpha V for only a few months when Ceti Alpha VI exploded, shifting the orbit of Ceti Alpha V and killing many of Khan's people. With the loss of most life on the planet, except the Ceti eels, Khan's indomitable will reemerged. The eels took 20 of his followers, including his beloved wife. Fourteen years later, the U.S.S. Reliant went down to what they thought was Ceti Alpha VI, only to find out that due to the planet's shift they were really on Ceti Alpha V.

Khan and his people quickly captured Captain Clark Terrell and First Officer Pavel Chekov . The eels were dropped into their ears, affecting the cerebral cortex to allow them to become obedient to suggestion by Khan. He used them to capture the Reliant and strand its crew on the planet, returning to his merciless beginnings as leader. Kirk, now an Admiral, was left with a skeleton crew of trainees to investigate. Khan had the Reliant feign communications problems, allowing him to approach and fire on the un-shielded Enterprise. Khan gave Kirk five minutes to inform his crew that they must unconditionally surrender. Kirk used the Reliant's prefix code to override their shields and fire back. Khan now had to flee, his ship limping away as Kirk beamed to the center of the Genesis planet. Khan's suggestion triggered Captain Terrell and Commander Chekov to transport the Genesis device up to Khan's ship.

Once Terrell was ordered to kill Kirk and refused, vaporizing himself with his own phaser to avoid murdering a fellow officer, Khan decided to maroon Kirk on the planet, leaving him with these words:

"I've done far worse than kill you...I've hurt you. And I wish to go on hurting you. I shall leave you as you left me – as you left her – marooned for all eternity at the center of a dead planet. Buried alive...buried alive!"

But following another ruse, Kirk and the rest of his party were beamed back up to the ship and fled toward the Mutara Nebula. Kirk taunted him, and Khan once again let his anger get the better of him in his quest for revenge. He pursued Kirk into the Nebula, losing track only to be overtaken and fired on. The ship nearly destroyed, a dying Khan activated the Genesis Device. He perished in an explosion of creative force that failed to reach the escaping Enterprise, delivering his last words, from Melville's Moby Dick as he did so:

" No, no...you can't get away. To the last...I will grapple with thee. From Hell's heart, I stab at thee....For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee... "

Personality

"Captain, although your abilities intrigue me, you are quite honestly inferior. Mentally, physically. In fact, I am surprised how little improvement there has been in human evolution. Oh, there has been technical advancement, but, how little man himself has changed. Yes, it appears we will do well in your century, Captain. Do you have any other questions?"

Khan is a megalomaniac who craves power above all else. While competent in many fields, particularly leadership and strategy, he is overconfident to the point that he will assume his "superior intellect" is more than sufficient to compensate for his lack of experience in a particular activity (ship-to-ship combat in space).

Characteristics

• Name : Khan Noonien Singh
• Homeworld : Earth, India
• Born : Mid-20th century
• Species : Augment (Human)
• Gender : Male
• Height : 6'
• Weight : 175 lbs
• Hair Color : Black (gray in Wrath of Khan)
• Eye Color : Brown
• Age : 300+ (due to cryogenic suspension, 1996-2267)
• Died : 2285, Mutara Nebula
• Affiliation : Great Khanate

Skills and Abilities

"It was only the fact of my genetically engineered arrogance that got us into this mess."

Khan possesses incredible physical and mental attributes, making him physically, mentally and intellectually superior to even the most exceptional of humans:

• Enhanced strength : He possesses superhuman strength, capable of knocking a person into the air, crushing a phaser pistol in his fingers and lifting a grown man off the ground with one hand.
• Enhanced durability : Khan was extremely durable, and could withstand immense amounts of damage with complete ease, shown during his fight with Kirk.
• Superior intellect : His intelligence is incredibly high, making him the perfect strategist. He possesses a very precise memory - he never forgets a face - and is capable of quickly deducing completely correct conclusions based on little-to-no information.
• Master strategist : Khan became extremely adaptivity in space combat and strategy, shown widely throughout The Wrath of Khan .
• Expert combatant : Khan's strength, intelligence and strategic abilities make him an expert fighter - he uses his brute strength and durability to overwhelm an opponent, but also relies on the overconfidence of his opponents. He only lost his fight with Kirk because of his own arrogance and overconfidence.

Alternate Versions

Children of khan.

In an alternate timeline where the Augments won the Eugenics War, Khan became the ruler of a genetically engineered Human race called the Children of Khan who sought to conquer all of known space. His followers managed to conquer the planet and Khan himself was noted to have finished his conquest of the United States by arriving in Washington in order to accept the President's surrender. His actions led to the Great Ascension of Humanity and he led his people as the First Khan, the Eternal Master and the First Lord of Mankind. Through his actions, he managed to lead his people against numerous alien races and conquered them such as the Andorians who knelt in servitude before him.

His empire later came under attack from the Romulan Star Empire during the Romulan War of the 2100's. At some point, he was noted as having seduced and killed a Romulan commander after which he stole a cloaking device from the Star Empire. It was noted that he died as an elderly statesman after living for over two centuries and had a grandchild who continued to lead the Augment empire. Through his leadership, he became a well respected leader of his people and revered by them for centuries.

Before his death, he was also involved in a program that led to his intelligence and memories being implanted into a computer. With the development of holotechnology, this intelligence was capable of manifesting the appearance of Singh in various points of his life. The program was highly sophisticated as it required three times the processing power of a normal holoprogram. This created a potent counsel which only high ranking Princeps were capable of accessing and thus gained a measure of Khan's wisdom as he advised these younger Augments on their role in the future of their race.

Into Darkness

"You think your world is safe? It is an illusion, a comforting lie told to protect you. Enjoy these final moments of peace, for I have returned, to have my vengeance."

In the alternate Kelvin timeline, Khan's origin remains the same, but he instead of being revived by Captain Kirk he is revived Admiral Alexander Marcus of the Federation to construct weapons and warships for an upcoming war with the Klingon Empire. To prevent any suspicion, Khan was given the alias of "John Harrison". Khan would rebel against Starfleet by conducting acts of terrorism, one of which included the murder of Admiral Christopher Pike . The Enterprise crew captures him on Kronos, and he reveals the truth about his motives to them, his past and Marcus' plan to wipe out his people. Khan assists Captain Kirk in an attempt to arrest Marcus, but betrays Kirk, kills Marcus, and capture the massive battleship, the USS Vengeance. Khan attempts to destroy the Enterprise, only to be tricked by Spock . He then attempts at another escape by sending the Vengeance into Starfleet's base and San Francisco .

Khan is eventually defeated in combat by Spock, who uses his blood and regenerative DNA to revive the deceased Kirk. He is then put back into cryogenic sleep along with his cohorts.

Khan is an extremely powerful, unpredictable, ruthless and brutal person who mostly enjoys terrorizing and killing people and destroying everything in his path. Also, as he is confronting and negotiating with Spock in exchange for Kirk and Marcus' daughter, he seems to have a very massive sense of manipulation. Besides being ruthless and powerful, Khan is also an extremely intelligent and brilliant individual who has vast sophistication and wisdom.

• Aliases : John Harrison
• Height : 6' 1''
• Weight : 172 lbs
• Hair Color : Black
• Eye Color : Blue
• Age : 300+ (due to cryogenic suspension, 1996-2258)
• Status : Cryogenic suspension
• Affiliation : Great Khanate, Section 31
• Muscular capacity augmented beyond human extremes
• Can kick a person several feet into the air
• Can punch through walls
• Capable of cracking open a human skull with his bare hands
• Skin is abnormally tough and resistant to bladed weaponry and explosions
• Completely immune to phaser blasts and lasers
• Can jump from vast heights
• Possesses an IQ of well over 300, approximately
• Capable of absorbing and calculating enormous amounts of information instantaneously
• Capable of thinking three-dimensionally
• Logical to an extreme
• Possesses an extremely eidetic memory
• His eyes can process environments with extreme precision
• Can survive abnormally long periods without fresh oxygen
• Blood cells possess extraordinary regenerative abilities
• Speed of heart rate and lactic acid production means can engage intense physical activity for days on end
• Nervous system and procession of thought means his reflexes are incredibly fast and precise
• Genius-level intellect
• Has matched and very nearly defeated Spock in close-quarters combat
• Capable of wiping out an entire Klingon battalion single-handedly, and killing them all without sustaining a single blow
• Can pilot a ship larger and infinitely more complex than the USS Enterprise single-handedly
• Master strategist
• Master of manipulation
• Expert on orbital skydiving
• Extreme arrogance - superiority complex
• Will do anything to preserve the lives of his people
• Psychopathic personality means that his sanity has very narrow limits
• Susceptible to surprise attacks in combat
• Can be fooled by a person of extreme intelligence that matches or exceeds his own

Weaponry and Equipment

• Portable transwarp beaming device (Ship only)
• USS Vengeance
• Three man cannon (Can carry and wield effortlessly in one hand)
• Phaser pistols
• Phaser rifles
• Combat knife
• Portable life-support equipment

Other Media

Star trek ii: the wrath of khan (1982).

Khan is portaged by actor Ricardo Montalbán .

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Khan is portaged by actor Benedict Cumberbatch .

In 2262, Khan and 72 Augments were awakened by the Red Lantern founder Atrocitus who demanded obedience from them, however, Khan and his followers defeated him. He then took his red power ring as he could sense it calling to him and becomes a Red Lantern, killing Atrocitus. The Green Lanterns try to fight Khan and the Augments, but are quickly defeated and retreat. Khan overthrows Larfleeze and makes a proposition to the Klingon High Council: join him in exchange for their freedom from Sinestro 's rule. To make this alliance more lucrative, Khan is aware of Sinestro's plan after gaining information from Larfleeze, and he wants the Yellow Impurity and use it to destroy the Federation.

The Green Lanterns and the Enterprise crew team-up to stop Khan and Sinestro, with Kirk becoming a Green Lantern.

Edit Image Title

Embed image, what size image should we insert (this will not affect the original upload), how do you want the image positioned around text, link to comic vine content.

You can search for any Comic Vine content.

Link to a page

Insert table, embed tweet.

Enter the URL for the tweet you want to embed.

Pick a List

This edit will also create new pages on Comic Vine for:

Comment and Save

Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Comic Vine users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.

Thanks, we're checking your submission.

Use your keyboard!

Log in to comment

• Show Spoilers
• Night Vision
• Sticky Header
• Highlight Links

Follow TV Tropes

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/StarTrekTheOriginalSeriesKhanNoonienSingh

Characters / Star Trek: The Original Series - Khan Noonien Singh

Edit locked, khan noonien singh.

Played by: Ricardo Montalbán , Desmond Sivan (child, Strange New Worlds )

Dubbed in french by: françois chaumette (star trek ii), dubbed in brazilian portuguese by: darcy pedrosa, appearances: star trek: the original series | star trek ii: the wrath of khan | star trek: strange new worlds.

Khan: Khan is my name. Kirk: Khan, nothing else? Khan: Khan.

A 20th-century genetically-engineered tyrant who ruled a quarter of the world in the 1990s. As his fellow "supermen" (or Augments) were overthrown, Khan and roughly 80 of his followers launched themselves into space in cryogenic sleep before being found by Kirk. With his weakness being his ambition, Khan then tried to seize control of the Enterprise with the help of Marla McGivers , the Enterprise ship historian whom he managed to seduce. It failed thanks to the crew's opposition and an attack of conscience from McGivers . Kirk then exiled Khan, his followers, and Marla to a remote but hospitable planet as an act of mercy, giving them the chance to build a new society. Unfortunately, not long afterwards, the planet suffered a catastrophic ecological disaster and, being completely forgotten by Kirk, Khan grew vengeful toward the man who cast judgement on him...

    open/close all folders 

• A Father to His Men : He saw his fellow super humans as a family, to the point where he vowed to avenge Joachim when he died following a crippling blast on the Reliant .
• Affably Evil : In his first appearance, Khan's pretty charming, polite, and a bit of a rogue, just like Kirk. However, come Wrath of Khan and Khan is just losing it.
• Alas, Poor Villain : At the end of Wrath of Khan , he's lost everything, including his beloved wife as well as his people, along with any hope of being able to establish a society for them. As he's left to die in the exploding Reliant , he remains Defiant to the End , reciting dialogue from Captain Ahab in Moby-Dick before the Reliant explodes. All that potential he had as a superhuman was essentially wasted out of a desire for control and revenge.
• Ambiguously Brown : He's a genetically-augmented human from some point in the late 20th century. Culturally, he's a North Indian Sikh, but as he is also a genetically-engineered human, his DNA could contain many different genetic traits (his Mexican accent, however, is difficult to explain - especially after the effects of various Temporal Wars caused his birth to be bumped a half century later ... and to Canada ).
• Anti-Villain : Cruel and immoral his actions may be, he wants a society that he and his people can thrive in, no matter how many others have to suffer for it.
• Arch-Enemy : More than a hundred years later , Spock would credit him as being "the most dangerous adversary the Enterprise ever faced."
• Ascended Extra : Goes from a random Villain of the Week to the main antagonist of The Wrath of Khan and one of the franchise's most iconic villains.
• A tie-in comic to Star Trek Into Darkness addresses Trek 's Alternate History directly, starting with Khan nuking Washington, D.C. in 1992 .
• The final episode of Star Trek: Picard Season 2 implies and the first episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds confirms that under the Alex Kurtzman production umbrella the Eugenics Wars are being moved from the 1990's to the 2030's, with the implication that the 1990's is when the technology to create Khan was developed. This could be explained as Spock getting the dates wrong due to incomplete records, if it weren't for one line from The Wrath of Khan in which Khan himself states he departed Earth in 1996.
• The third episode of Season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds untangles the thread by revealing that Khan is responsible for bringing humanity to a dark age, which ultimately brings humanity to eventually form the Federation and Starfleet. Khan himself is the target of a temporal war to prevent this from occuring, which only succeeds in delaying his rise from the 1990's to the 2030's. His failure to rise culminates in humanity failing to progress beyond their own Solar System, having failed to ally with other species such as the Vulcans who are eventually wiped out in a war with the Romulans.
• Bread and Circuses : His ruling style back when he was a dictator over a fourth of Earth, at least compared to his competitors, which was enough to give him a legacy as "the best of tyrants." Notably, there were no massacres under his rule, and he didn't involve himself in the Eugenics Wars until after his territory was attacked. On the other hand, the people under his rule were reduced to subjects with few freedoms.
• Breakout Villain : Originally just a Villain of the Week . Ever since Wrath of Khan , he's arguably the most highly-regarded villain in the entire franchise.
• Character Catchphrase : He has a particular way of saying "Admiral" he develops once he learns Kirk has gotten a promotion. At least one interpretation is Khan thinking Kirk got that for dumping him on Ceti Alpha V (because why wouldn't it be about Khan?), and raging jealousy that that's what he got while Khan got the shaft.
• Classic Villain : Khan represents a nice combo of Pride and Wrath .
• Control Freak : Khan demands absolute obedience from everything. While some of his followers can object, none of them will sway him from his course.
• Damned by Faint Praise : He is seen as "the best of tyrants" in regards to the Eugenic Wars.
• Dramatically Missing the Point : A fan of Moby-Dick , Khan sees himself as Captain Ahab and Kirk as his White Whale. Khan seemed to have forgotten how Ahab's quest for vengeance ended. Not just self destruction - he understands and accepts that - but that Ahab didn't even get a chance to make sure he succeeded.
• The Dreaded : Even a century after his death, Starfleet is still terrified of him. It's outright said that the main reason the Federation still has a No Transhumanism Allowed policy in the Star Trek: Prodigy era is because they're scared of a new Khan rising from the ashes. His reputation even extends into a new timeline: When young Spock asks for information about Khan, Spock breaks his own oath not to tell him about the future to warn him about how dangerous Khan is, outright saying that he's the most dangerous enemy the Enterprise ever faced.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones : While he started manipulating Marla McGivers to betray Starfleet as a tool to escape, he came to passionately love her after she joined him in exile. He forgave her betrayal of him to her old crew, and she ruled as his queen. Her death on Ceti Alpha V - more than that of his other loyal followers - is what drives the man who once conquered a quarter of Earth.
• Evil Overlord : Back in the day, anyway. He tries to give it another go in "Space Seed" but is thwarted and offered the opportunity of becoming one to an abandoned planet. But when the planet unexpectedly suffers a catastrophe that devastates him and his followers , he settles on a simpler motive.
• Joachim begs Khan to ignore Kirk and exploit Genesis. Khan shoves him aside and orders the Reliant to follow the Enterprise into the Nebula.
• Faux Affably Evil : Becomes one in The Wrath Of Khan , blinded by his desire to get revenge on Kirk. That doesn't undermine his intelligence, though.
• Genius Bruiser : A Superhuman with immensely powerful physical and mental capabilities.
• Glass Cannon : Has the physical strength to bend a phaser in half with his bare hands and effortlessly lift a spacesuit-wearing Chekov with one arm, but gets taken down by Kirk with a pipe.
• Greater-Scope Villain : Arguably his interactions with the Enterprise are much smaller in significance compared to how much his role as a 20th Century Dictator defines and causes the creation of the Federation.
• Heinousness Retcon : In Space Seed , and to a lesser extent Wrath of Khan , Khan is introduced as a 20th century dictator, but otherwise fairly little is made of him. It's in fact noted that he's only one of several dictators active at the time - if the strongest of them. He's otherwise unremarkable and obscure enough that unraveling his identity is a huge chunk of the episode, and the crew need a briefing to explain who the man was. Scotty, and later Kirk even confesses having a degree of admiration for the man. Bones even mentions in slight defense of Khan that "there were no massacres" in his rule, though Spock immediately states, "and little freedoms." Later series would characterize Khan as basically Trek's version of Hitler ( with Captain Picard alluding to both of them in the same breath ). A man whose name is a byword for evil and death, and whose actions are so despicable, the Federation centuries later is still sort of processing the trauma of them, and has laws on the books to stop a man like him from ever being made. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds even had admirals admit that these laws are draconian and discriminatory but humans are still so sensitive about what Khan did that repealing them is unthinkable.
• Hero Killer : He was directly responsible for Spock's death in the second movie. Hard to fit the trope more plainly when you've done that .
• Hitler's Time Travel Exemption Act : His descendant La'an Noonien-Singh has to save his life as a child in 2022, not just so she will be born but also as Romulans had sent an agent back in time to kill him. It turns out that without the Eugenics Wars to make humanity want to be better, whilst humanity will still reach space they will become the isolationist United Earth Fleet an easier smaller target amongst many rather than the alliance that is the Federation.
• In Love with the Mark : He started off manipulating Marla, but quickly came to genuinely love her.
• Karma Houdini : He was this In-Universe for his crimes during the Eugenics Wars. While all the other superhumans were implied to have been killed or imprisoned, Khan managed to escape on the Botany Bay . Even when he's later released by the Enterprise crew, there's no serious talk of putting him on trial and he's eventually given a whole planet of his own to rule. Then Ceti Alpha VI exploded , depriving Khan of his beloved wife and sentencing him to a hellish existence on a Death World .
• Morality Pet : His possible son Joachim, who he genuinely loves and cares about.
• Motive Decay : Initially, all he wants is to create a society where he and his people can thrive, but by the time of The Wrath of Khan , all he wants is revenge against Kirk.
• Mr. Fanservice : He's almost always wearing an outfit that displays his muscular chest and great physique.
• My God, What Have I Done? : Khan's final moments include one of these with the death of Joachim, who may very possibly be his biological son and almost certainly is his adopted son. Realizing he got him killed doesn't deter him from further actions, though.
• Navel-Deep Neckline : A Rare Male Example , his pecs are well displayed.
• No Shirt, Long Jacket : In the movie (though the jacket is quite damaged), to show off Montalban's great shape.
• No Transhumanism Allowed : In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , it's explained that Khan is the reason the Federation prohibits genetic modification or engineering.
• Photographic Memory : Implied to be one of his genetically engineered gifts, and stated explicitly in the novelization of Wrath of Khan and the expanded universe's "Khan trilogy". He tells Chekov he never forgets a face, and even after 15 years he still seems to have the Enterprise 's technical specifications committed to memory, given that he still has perfect knowledge of the ship's weak points.
• Pride : He has oodles of it.
• Reasonable Authority Figure : At least to his fellow superhumans. His interactions with Joachim in Wrath of Khan show that his followers are comfortable enough with him to give him critical feedback without any hesitancy, although in the end his own authority is absolute.
• Vaguely justified in that Khan and Singh are both overwhelmingly common Indian names, however.
• Revenge Before Reason : He will do anything to kill Kirk, no matter how self-destructive. Even when Kirk is clearly baiting him into an obvious trap, Khan seems physically incapable of resisting the urge to roar into it, so fervent is his hatred. Khan: No... you won't get away. From Hell's heart, I stab at thee. For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee...
• Revenge Myopia : Khan ignores Chekov's observation that he attacked Kirk after the latter had taken in him and his crew.
• Rule of Symbolism : Much of the conflict between Kirk and Khan plays out like Paradise Lost , with Kirk as God and Khan as Lucifer . Khan even lampshades this in "Space Seed." In The Wrath of Khan , he has two copies of Paradise Lost on his bookshelf (one which included Paradise Regained ).
• Sanity Slippage : By the time of The Wrath of Khan , he’s lost it thanks to being stranded on Ceti Alpha V and the death of his wife and most of his followers.
• Sealed Evil in a Can : He and his cryogenically-frozen followers, in the episode " Space Seed ." And again in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , when he's abandoned on Ceti Alpha V (which the crew of the Reliant mistake for Ceti Alpha VI after a natural disaster alters its orbit and destroys its environment).
• Sequel Adaptation Iconic Villain : Star Trek: The Motion Picture had the crew of the Enterprise confront V'ger as the antagonist. Wrath of Khan brought Khan back and more dangerous than ever.
• Silver Fox : For a man who was stranded on a nightmare planet for two decades, Khan still managed to age pretty damn well, and he clearly knows it. Check out them pecs, for one.
• Skilled, but Naive : Other than his pride and ambition, one of Khan's greatest weaknesses is that, despite his incredible intellect, all his knowledge and experience is that of a 20th century man, and he lacks the decades of experience in space that Kirk has. This shows when he's unable to quickly find the Reliant 's command console override despite having memorized Starfleet's standard starship technical specifications, and when he fails to consider that space is three-dimensional during starship combat. Spock: He's intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two-dimensional thinking.
• Soft-Spoken Sadist : In Wrath , at least regarding Kirk and all collateral damage. Khan: I've done far worse than kill you. I've hurt you... and I wish to go on hurting you.
• Stalker with a Crush : Meyer confirmed that the Foe Romance Subtext between Khan and Kirk was intentional, and Khan twists Moby Dick lines to “he tasks me, he tasks me and I shall have him.”
• Star-Crossed Lovers : He and his wife, a crewman on the Enterprise who suffered from Heel–Face Revolving Door Syndrome.
• Suddenly Shouting : "This is Ceti Alpha Five!!
• Why Khan wants Project Genesis. With his homeworld destroyed and his people dwindling in numbers, he feels that terraforming a planet is the only way to ensure his and his people's continued existence.
• In "Space Seed", Khan makes it clear he believes that he would have been the eventual victor of the Eugenics Wars if things had gone differently (" One man would have ruled eventually. As Rome under Caesar, think of its accomplishments!")
• The Bad Guy Wins : Yes, Khan is killed by the end of The Wrath of Khan , but what happens after that? Spock — Kirk's closest friend — dies painfully as a result of radiation poisoning in his efforts to repair Enterprise enough to escape the Genesis Device detonation . Then as a result of his quest to bring his friend back from the dead , Kirk loses not only his beloved Enterprise but also his son. Ultimately, Khan has done far worse to Kirk than kill him — he hurt him.
• Took a Level in Jerkass : Khan becomes far more ruthless and unhinged in The Wrath of Khan , thanks to his Sanity Slippage and single-minded vendetta against Kirk.
• Tragic Keepsake : Khan wears a Starfleet emblem on a chain around his neck, strongly implied to have been part of Marla McGiver's uniform. note  It's also a continuity problem: The insignia is similar to the belt buckle worn as part of the movie uniforms, however was not actually present on the uniform McGivers would have worn.
• Tragic Villain : Subverted. Khan has all the hallmarks of a tragic character, having suffered a great loss that drives him to committing evil, but while he is sympathetic, he was a ruthless dictator even before this. The only thing it really changed was how evil he was, causing him to go from Affably Evil to a spiteful, unhinged demagogue.
• Trouble from the Past : He perfectly embodies both the modern age's charismatic daring and its prideful ambition, transported through time almost 300 years to menace the utopian future of the 23rd century, which he comes to believe is ill-prepared to resist himself and his crew of supermen. Kirk ultimately proves him wrong on that account.
• Ungrateful Bastard : Kirk and company find a stasis ship just in the nick of time, as Khan's own capsule is about to fail, revive him and his followers, and treat him with frankly undue courtesy given who he is— so Khan decides to steal his ship. Then Khan resents Kirk leaving him and his people on Ceti Alpha V, even though that was more lenient than taking him back to Earth, where he would have been prosecuted as a war criminal.
• Justifies his quest to Take Over the World as an attempt to unify humanity during a time of war.
• Subverted by the movie, in which it becomes abundantly clear he isn't as interested in conquering as he is in killing one man over a grudge.
• Wicked Cultured : His Final Speech comes from Moby-Dick , he mentions Paradise Lost before Kirk exiles him, and the Botany Bay appears to have other classic books. Part of his obsession with Moby-Dick in particular seems to be because Khan was stuck on Ceti Alpha V with only a handful of books to read, leading him to read them over and over again.
• Young Conqueror : Both Expanded Universe versions of his Origin Story (the 2001 novels by Greg Cox and the 2014 comic book tying in to Star Trek Into Darkness ) place him as being either in his early or late 20's during the Eugenics Wars. The novels indicate that faster-than-normal maturation is part of his genetic modifications.

Commander John Harrison/Khan Noonien Singh (Kelvin Timeline)

Played by: Benedict Cumberbatch

Dubbed in french by: pierre tissot, dubbed in brazilian portuguese by: ronaldo júlio, appearances: star trek into darkness.

Starfleet's top agent, before a perceived betrayal by his superiors sent him on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge against the entire Federation command structure.

• The Ace : As Harrison himself claims, he is simply "better" at everything . Justified, as he is genetically designed to be so.
• Adaptational Jerkass : The original Khan was in no way a nice person, but he was Affably Evil , at least in "Space Seed", and had an entertainingly hammy persona. This one is far more cold blooded and stoic.
• Adaptational Villainy : As seen above, in Space Seed Khan had committed no massacres in his reign. Here Spock accuses him of planning to commit mass genocide on any being he deems "less than superior".
• Aesop Amnesia : Openly vows to resume "the work" he and his crew had done prior to banishment. Despite having failed in his despotism in the Eugenics Wars, he still hopes to start right over.
• He also has a spinoff comic. See Villain Episode .
• Alternate History : The Villain Episode tie-in comics tackle the Failed Future Forecast issues around the Eugenics Wars head on... by showing Khan nuking Washington D.C. and Moscow... in 1992 .
• The Antichrist : He's not supernatural, of course, but the tie-in comics use a fair share of "The Beast of Revelations" imagery when describing his rise to power during the Eugenics Wars.
• Arch-Enemy : For Kirk, much like Nero for Spock in the last film . And well, himself for Kirk in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan .
• Boasts about his superhuman abilities. Harrison: I am better. Kirk: At what? Harrison: Everything. note  In the novelization , the tone of voice he says this with isn't that of a boast, but a simple statement of fact by a man who knows that it's true.
• Boasts about how he's going to end you. Harrison: I will walk over your cold corpses.
• Badass Longcoat : Sports a black trenchcoat with a hood. He even steals one off a chair towards the end of the film to replace it. Presumably, this was to help disguise him to some extent.
• Benevolent Boss : Zig-zagged between this and Bad Boss . While he does seem to truly care for his crew, he was also a ruthless tyrant and war criminal 300 years prior. Harrison: My crew is my family, Kirk. Is there anything you would not do for your family?
• Berserk Button : Threatening his crew or implying that they're dead is a seriously bad idea. Admiral Marcus found that one out the hard way.
• Big Bad : A Starfleet agent with superhuman abilities turned terrorist. He's really Khan Noonien Singh, an infamous war criminal working for Starfleet under an assumed identity.
• Big Bad Ensemble : Serves as Into Darkness 's main antagonist, alongside Admiral Marcus . Towards the climax, however, Khan kills Marcus , establishing himself as the sole Big Bad .
• Big "NO!" : He yells "No" when he thinks that his crew has been killed after the torpedoes explode on his ship.
• Bio-Augmentation : Genetically engineered for superhuman strength, endurance and intelligence.
• Bullying a Dragon : Nice job trying to force a 300-year-old superman stronger, smarter and more ruthless than you to do your dirty work by threatening to kill his crew (which is essentially his family), Marcus .
• Byronic Hero : A Villainous example. He fits the bill in a few ways: Brooding, charismatic, sympathetic and physically attractive but also incredibly vengeful, prideful and was once an Evil Overlord back in the day.
• Canon Character All Along : This is one of Into Darkness 's main twists. John Harrison is revealed to be none other than Kirk's Arch-Enemy Khan Noonien Singh.
• Canon Foreigner : Subverted. He's actually Khan Noonien Singh.
• The Chessmaster : Most of the events of Into Darkness are the result of Harrison's planning and manipulations.
• Chewing the Scenery : While there is some mugging during "annoyed/angry exposition" , when he gets furious, Evil Is Hammy gets into full force. You should have let me SLEEP!
• Commanding Coolness : Harrison's falsified rank in Starfleet was Commander.
• Cool Starship : The USS Vengeance , a jet black Federation dreadnought that Harrison helped design and later steals after killing Admiral Marcus .
• Creepy Monotone : Making him even more scary. And a complete inversion of Ricardo Montalban's hammy original. Benedict Cumberbatch 's performance just drives the whole thing home since you really can't watch him like this without shuddering at least once.
• Dark Is Evil : Dresses exclusively in black clothing. Benedict Cumberbatch also dyed his hair black for this film again. Also, the Vengeance , a pitch-black monster of a warship, was his design, and he takes command of it near the climax of the film.
• After Kirk's utterly ineffective beatdown on Kronos, Harrison contemptuously repeats Uhura's invocation of Kirk's rank. Harrison : Captain .
• During his conversation with Spock after Harrison hijacks control of the Vengeance . Spock : You betrayed us . Harrison : Oh, you are smart , Mr. Spock.
• Death Seeker : When he thinks his crew is dead, Khan has shades of this when he attempts to ram The Vengeance into Starfleet Headquarters. Harrison : SET DESTINATION: STARFLEET HEADQUARTERS! Vengeance's computer system : Engines compromised. Cannot guarantee destination. Confirm order. Harrison : Confirm.
• Despair Event Horizon : He crosses it when he believes his beloved crew to have been killed. After that, Khan stops caring if he lives or dies, setting the Vengeance on a suicide run to Starfleet Headquarters.
• Do Not Taunt Cthulhu : As he notes, Starfleet really should have kept him asleep .
• Dragon-in-Chief : Marcus forced him to help design the USS Vengeance for Starfleet but he is a much more direct threat to the heroes than the Admiral and only serves him to save his crew, and Harrison shows himself to be the more competent villain when he kills Marcus to commandeer the Vengeance .
• The Dreaded : Spock Prime's encounters with Harrison/Khan's prime universe counterpart are enough to convince him to give Spock information about him, despite his previous pledge to let Spock walk his own path.
• Driven to Villainy : Subverted. While his present motivations are to get back at Starfleet for Admiral Marcus for holding his family hostage, Khan was a war criminal before being frozen, and was specifically defrosted for both his intellect and his willingness to use it aggressively .
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette : He has dark hair, retains his actor's pale complexion and serves as a contrast to Kirk and Admiral Marcus .
• Emperor Scientist : In the tie-in comics it's indicated that this was his ruling style after he accomplished his initial conquests.
• Empowered Badass Normal : Being a bio-engineered super-human, he's a Nigh-Invulnerable One-Man Army Evil Brit in a Badass Longcoat . Not even an extremely angry Vulcan on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge was enough to stop him without help.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones : Wants to save his former crew who were on board the SS Botany Bay . Harrison: Is there anything you would not do for your family?
• Evil Brit : Retains the accent of his actor, the British Benedict Cumberbatch .
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good : His terrorist attacks are motivated by his suspicions that Starfleet has already killed his crew, mainly because that's exactly what he would have done in their place. Later, after the torpedo incident, he again assumes that his enemies have killed off his crew and decides to make the Vengeance 's name very literal. One gets the impression that Khan just can't wrap his head around other people not being as murderous and willing to kill for convenience as him.
• While Harrison/Khan displays similar mannerisms to that of Spock in his initial appearance, the differences in their character increasingly become apparent following The Reveal . Khan actually goes so far as to distinguish himself from Spock by pointing out that he indulges and takes pride in his savagery while Spock suppresses such emotions. Harrison: Intellect alone is useless in a fight, Mr. Spock. You, you can't even break a rule. How could you be expected to break bone ?
• Evil Is Hammy : Even when he's not raising his voice, he is full of Cold Ham with the way he overenunciates his words.
• Evil Is Not a Toy : Starfleet really shouldn't have tried to manipulate or threaten him.
• Evil Is Petty : Being shunned after helping Marcus with his warmongering plans is as bad for him as the fact the admiral kept his "family" hostage.
• Evil Overlord : Ruled over a quarter of Earth centuries ago.
• Evil Sounds Deep : Benedict Cumberbatch plays the character with a deep baritone voice.
• Fantastic Racism : He finds being at the beck and call of the genetically "inferior" humiliating.
• Face–Heel Turn : He went from a decorated member of Starfleet to a terrorist trying to destroy it. Only not; the John Harrison identity was created for him when he was thawed, and the closest he came to working for Starfleet was his unwilling stint making weapons for Admiral Marcus.
• Fallen Hero : Subverted. He was a bad guy long before his falsified past.
• Fatal Flaw : Pride . While his original timeline version was more defined by the It's Personal nature of Wrath pushing him to obsessively pursue Kirk in Revenge Before Reason , here, his condescending contempt for Kirk’s crew manifests as arrogance bordering on blindness— in particular, he seems incapable of conceiving that Spock could have the cunning to match him even briefly, or meet Khan’s savagery with his own. The first costs him his ship, and the second leads to a brutal fist fight with the half-Vulcan that is more than even Khan could have predicted.
• A Father to His Men : He genuinely cares about his crew and will do anything to protect them. Harrison : My crew is my family, Kirk. Is there anything you would not do for your family?
• Faux Affably Evil : Though Harrison genuinely cares for his crew, the politeness he demonstrates towards Kirk and others is relatively fake. Once his nominal allies have outlived their usefulness , he'll have no hesitation about killing them.
• First-Name Basis : Upon the revelation of his true identity, he's addressed solely as "Khan". Only Spock Prime even mentions the rest of his name.
• Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke : Harrison is a One-Man Army created through genetic manipulation. It turns out to be the first hint of his true identity.
• Genius Bruiser : He's incredibly intelligent ( within a year, he learned enough about 23rd century technology to design advanced weaponry, as well as the nigh-unstoppable USS Vengeance ) and extremely strong (enough so to crush a man's skull with his bare hands ).
• Guns Akimbo : For the shootout with the Klingons, he wields a phaser rifle in one hand and a Chainsaw-Grip BFG in the other.
• Hannibal Lecture : Delivers several speeches while captured over the heroes' shortcomings.
• Healing Factor : Heavily implied but not seen. Harrison's blood allows his cells to heal at an astonishing rate, which he uses to heal a sick girl in the beginning in exchange for a favor. Later, Bones revives a dead tribble with it, and then uses it to save Kirk .
• The Heavy : Harrison's actions are what set off and move along the plot of Into Darkness .
• Heel–Face Brainwashing : The tie-in comics show that after they found the Botany Bay , Section 31 gave Khan extensive plastic surgery, a memory wipe, and a fake life history in an attempt to turn him into John Harrison, Hero of the Federation . After he finds out what was done to him, he's understandably pissed.
• Hero Killer : This guy has killed a whole bunch of Starfleet officers, including Pike . Near the end of Into Darkness , Khan's attack on the Enterprise manages to kill Kirk himself, although the crew do manage to save their captain.
• Human Popsicle : Was cryogenically frozen for about 250 years. He ends the film this way, too .
• Icy Blue Eyes : Which serves to highlight his cold, calculating personality.
• Implacable Man : Over the course of the film, Harrison withstands a ( completely ineffective ) beating from Kirk, stunning shots from a phaser, an explosion that cripples the Vengeance , and the Vengeance crashing into San Francisco, all of which barely slows him down. Exaggerated during his fight with Spock, where he forces his way through a Vulcan nerve pinch and takes roughly a dozen stun shots from Uhura's phaser without going down. Ultimately, it takes Spock beating him nearly to death to subdue Khan .
• In a Single Bound : The first time we see him, he jumps an enormous distance into battle and lands perfectly.
• In Spite of a Nail : No matter the universe, Khan and Kirk will always end up at each other's throats.
• Ironic Echo : He does underestimate Spock somewhat, telling him that intellect alone is useless in a fight and that Spock "can't even break a rule. How would [he] be expected to break bone ?" Guess what, Spock manages to do exactly that just fine to him in a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown at the climax of the film.
• Taunts Kirk as he destroys the Enterprise. Harrison: No ship should go down without her captain.
• Taunts Admiral Marcus as he crushes his skull. Harrison: YOU SHOULD HAVE LET ME SLEEP.
• Taunts Kirk while securely imprisoned. Harrison: Captain, are you going to punch me again, over and over and over , until your arm weakens? Clearly you want to.
• Karmic Death : Marcus was planning one of these for Harrison when you take into account that he was to be killed by the torpedoes he designed, which also contained his crew. Luckily, Kirk didn't go through with that plan and opted to arrest him. Even better, Harrison surrenders himself the moment he finds out about the number of the torpedoes.
• Kick the Dog : Right before he kills Admiral Marcus , he stomps on Carol's leg hard enough to break it.
• Knight of Cerebus : If you thought Nero was nasty, he pales compared to this guy.
• Kubrick Stare : Harrison occasionally tilts his head down and to the right and then angrily stares up to look more threatening.
• Late-Arrival Spoiler : Subsequent release materials, his Villain Episode comic mini-series, and even the DVD/Blu-ray cases of Into Darkness make no secret of the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch's character is, in fact, Khan.
• Leitmotif : Besides the main theme, Khan's theme is the most noticeable leitmotif in the movie. It's oddly heroic, which makes sense when you look at the movie's symbolism and realize he's not so much meant to be Osama Bin Laden as he is meant to be Leonidas .
• Lightning Bruiser : The thing that stands out most about his fighting style is just how damn fast he is. The second thing is how strong he is, to the point that he can carry a cannon with one hand or squash people's skulls like melons. The third thing is how he can withstand multiple punches and phaser stuns without slowing down.
• Love Makes You Evil : Played with. He was certainly evil before, but his actions in Into Darkness are driven almost entirely by his love for his crew.
• One-Man Army : Harrison is a "one-man weapon of mass destruction" who takes on entire Klingon security teams by himself. Admiral Marcus : For reasons unknown, John Harrison has just declared a one-man war against Starfleet.
• Manipulative Bastard : He cures Thomas Harewood's comatose daughter to manipulate him into suicide-bombing a Starfleet records office. This in turn causes most of the Starfleet officers to gather in one place, where he promptly tries killing most of them.
• Manly Tears : When he talks about his crew during his capture on-board the Enterprise , tears are seen streaming down his face while he looks away from Kirk and Spock the entire time.
• Meaningful Re Name : The Villain Episode tie-in comics reveal that his birth name was Noonien Singh; he named himself Khan after completing his conquest of the Middle East and Central Asia.
• Mirror Character : As he points out to Kirk, both of them would do anything to protect their respective crews .
• Moral Myopia : Genuinely cares for his former crew and is distraught and furious when he thinks they've been harmed, and while his actions toward Starfleet and the Enterprise crew may possibly be justified, in his mind they were unlawfully kidnapping him for justified actions, his other actions make it clear that he barely considers the rest of the genetically inferior population to even be people. In fact, Spock mentions that Khan was accused of practicing eugenics in Earth's past.
• More Dakka : His attack on the meeting at Starfleet Headquarters basically consists of him shooting the crap out of his target. He doesn't exactly skimp on bullets when it comes to fighting the Klingons, either.
• Downplayed. When Kirk confronts him over his massacre of Starfleet officers, he indignantly protests that Marcus was holding his crew hostage. In his eyes, they weren't innocent civilians, as Kirk claims, but military personnel that Khan believes killed his defenseless crew, so he sees it as a case of Pay Evil unto Evil .
• He also claims that he was labeled a criminal and exiled from Earth, ignoring his actions as a tyrant.
• When he threatens to kill everyone on the Enterprise if Spock does not return his crew, he says he "will have no choice" but to do it if Spock defies him. However, it was Kirk and Scotty who double-crossed him by having him stunned once they had taken the Vengeance , so in Khan's eyes, the crew is not entirely innocent and have proven untrustworthy, which is solidified when Spock double crosses him again by arming the torpedoes.
• Takes a huge pounding over the course of the movie, and only ever shows a few scratches.
• Faked being stunned by a phaser shot at point blank range .
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown : He delivers a pretty vicious one to Spock during the finale of Into Darkness . Once Uhura arrives and Spock manages to recover, Khan finds himself on the receiving end.
• No-Sell : Takes a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown from Kirk, and only registers some mild annoyance. He also manages to shrug off the Vulcan nerve pinch, albeit with some pain, but considering most beings crumple after being subjected to it...
• Not So Stoic : At three points of Into Darkness : he sheds a tear as he reveals his story to Kirk and Spock, dissolves into sheer rage while beating Kirk and killing Admiral Marcus, and loses it completely during his Villainous Breakdown .
• Older Is Better : When Kirk wonders what possible value a man who's been frozen for the past 250 years could be to the leader of Starfleet, Harrison implies that he was awakened to help militarize Starfleet because as a conqueror from the savage 20th century he has a better understanding of combat and warfare than the more peaceful, evolved humans of the 23rd century. His 20th century genetic enhancements also make him far stronger and smarter than any 23rd century human.
• One-Man Army : Takes out an entire squad of Klingon commandos and several of their gunships by himself, wielding an assault rifle and a beam cannon .
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business : Inverted: the only scene in which he is not menacing is pure comedy, with him giving Kirk a shocked look at Kirk's casual reply to their imminent space jump.
• Papa Wolf : He's completely bent on recovering and protecting the rest of his people, and his Roaring Rampage of Revenge is mostly because he thinks they're all dead ( twice ) . He even refers to them as his family— see Even Evil Has Loved Ones .
• The Paragon Always Rebels : Harrison was Starfleet's best agent before he rebelled. Subverted, however. While he could be considered a "paragon" in the sense of his physical and mental abilities, Khan was never truly a Starfleet agent (or if he was, it wasn't by choice); that position, like the entire identity of "John Harrison", was nothing but a lie fabricated by Section 31.
• Depending on how you look at it, using his blood to cure Lucille Harewood of her illness could count at this. Granted, Harrison was most likely manipulating her father's desperation to get him to agree to carry out a terrorist attack for him, but even so, he could have found someone easier to coerce.
• Also, his saving Uhura from the Klingons by attacking before they kill her. She was distracting them from him while alive, but her death itself would have been just as good. And sure, it was probably in his favor to keep all of the Starfleet officers alive, since a MORE pissed-off Kirk might have been less receptive to what he had to say, but it's not like Harrison needed a communications officer alive to carry out his plans.
• Poisonous Captive : The Enterprise crew manage to shut Harrison in the brig, only to receive a withering Hannibal Lecture from him.
• Pride : His defining character trait is his certainty in his own superiority. The hell of it? He's not even wrong. This is a man so ridiculously good at literally everything that he nearly single-handedly designed an entire militarized sub-Starfleet and then nearly destroyed the entire Starfleet / Federation edifice on his own , with no help from anyone else.
• Race Lift : He goes from being played by the brown-faced make-up-wearing , Mexican Ricardo Montalban to the white-skinned, British Benedict Cumberbatch. And Khan is meant to be Indian, which neither men are. The tie-in comics detailing his youth and origins reveal that he is really Indian. It's shown that Admiral Marcus gave him extensive plastic surgery along with a memory wipe in an attempt to recruit him as a Section 31 super-operative.
• Really 700 Years Old : The guy's been in cryo for 300 years.
• Retired Monster : He wanted to be this... but they wouldn't let him sleep.
• The Reveal : His true identity is Khan Noonien Singh, of Space Seed and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , a genetically modified superhuman who had been awoken after centuries of cryosleep by Admiral Marcus and forced to develop advanced weapons.
• The Rival : While he shares several traits with Spock, he and Kirk's relationship has a somewhat competitive edge to it. What did you expect? It's Kirk vs. Khan the remake. They also have a pretty clear understanding of each other, and both are cunning enough to prepare for their inevitable betrayal during an Enemy Mine . And without his revenge hard on from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , Khan proves the victor, because he is "better."
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge : Is out to take revenge on the entire Federation for what he believed was the murder of his beloved crew .
• Rogue Agent : Was Starfleet's best agent before a perceived betrayal by his superiors sent him on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge against the entire Federation. It's a cover story for his work at Section 31 and his true identity.
• Rogues' Gallery Transplant : Khan, in a change up from the original chain of events, ends up with Spock as his primary adversary in this film. He lacks the grudge that defined him from being marooned by Kirk in the prime-timeline, and ends up spending more time in an Enemy Mine with Kirk than he does fighting him, since without that glaring flaw of It's Personal with Kirk, he can make wiser decisions around him. Kirk still seems to gain his respect as a Worthy Opponent with a similar care for his crew, but this movie might be called Wrath of Spock once Kirk's Almost Dead .
• Sealed Evil in a Can : A former Evil Overlord accused of war crimes, cryogenically frozen for centuries in a derelict ship... until Starfleet Intelligence found him. He ends the film this way, too.
• Self-Serving Memory : Khan described himself and his followers as being meant to "lead others to peace in a world at war" before being branded as criminals and forced into exile. While it's likely that this genuinely is how Khan sees himself, he conveniently leaves out the minor detail that he and his crew were war criminals who did everything in their power to take over the world. This is quite similar to the scene in Space Seed where Khan gives another romanticized description of the Eugenics Wars, stating that he and the other supermen "offered the world order" and an attempt to unify humanity.

• Shrouded in Myth : His reputation as Starfleet's top agent precedes him. In his past life, he was also an infamous superhuman tyrant, who was so feared that by the 24th century of the origin timeline his name was apparently on par with Hitler's as shorthand for ultimate evil.
• Smug Super : Harrison is well aware of his superhuman abilities and makes no effort at false modesty. Harrison: I am better. Kirk: At what? Harrison: Everything .
• The Social Darwinist : Implied. Spock says that he intends to destroy those he deems inferior. Khan doesn't confirm it, but he doesn't deny, either. The tie-in comics show that Khan genuinely saw himself as humanity's savior and that (unlike some of the other Augment rulers) he explicitly wanted to rule, not destroy. However, the methods he employed to achieve his goal (including nuking Washington D.C. and Moscow) would certainly justify humanity recording in their history that he was an Omnicidal Maniac .
• Spared by the Adaptation : Khan notably died at the end of his outing in The Wrath of Khan , but was simply put back on ice in Into Darkness — definitely a kinder fate.
• The Spock : To Admiral Marcus's Kirk . Cold, calculating, and brilliant.
• The Spook : He worked for Section 31 before the film started.
• The Stoic : He's usually very calm and calculating.
• Superhuman Transfusion : Being injected with Harrison's bio-augmented blood temporarily grants others his Healing Factor .
• Super-Toughness : Barely even flinches when Kirk tries beating on him as hard as he can. Also, nothing seems to be able to incapacitate him for more than a few moments. It takes a Vulcan nerve pinch, a dozen or so point-blank stun phaser hits, a vicious Tap on the Head , then an arm-break, all in rapid succession to finally stun him enough for Spock to get the upper hand.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute : Shares a number of character traits with Khan Noonien Singh from Space Seed and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . That's because he is Khan.
• Tom the Dark Lord : "John Harrison" isn't an impressive name for a villain. Subverted, as it's actually an alias disguising his true identity as A Villain Named Khan .
• Tragic Villain : To an extent. See Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds .
• Transhuman : Harrison has gained superhuman abilities thanks to a little genetic engineering , including a decent Healing Factor , Super-Intelligence , Super-Strength and Super-Toughness .
• The Unfettered : Khan would do anything for his crew, and after believing them dead, would do anything to avenge them.
• Villain Episode : Like Nero, he stars in a comic book mini-series exploring his background. The Race Lift issue is brought up on the very first page, with Kirk pointing out at his trial that "Harrison" looks nothing like the very Indian Khan.
• Villain Respect : As expected from Khan, he gains some genuine, if condescending, admiration of Kirk, especially during their Enemy Mine , and even seems intrigued by Kirk’s reference to his adventure in the preceding film. However, without the It's Personal nature of their feud in the original timeline, Khan is more of a No-Nonsense Nemesis towards Kirk here, and wastes no time in incapacitating him without any fanfare when their alliance is done.
• Villainous Breakdown : After believing that his crew had been killed, Khan seems to decide "screw it all" and sets the fatally damaged Vengeance on a collision course with San Francisco. The breakdown continues during his fight with Spock. Any emotional control he'd had before is gone , and he brutally pummels Spock in sheer, undiluted rage.
• Hell, most of the DVD's, Blu-Rays, and even a few digital services outright state who he is.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist : Believes he's ultimately doing what's best for humanity, regardless of what they think.
• Wham Line : "My name is Khan."
• Wicked Cultured : Harrison is pretty well spoken for a madman and even paraphrases Moby-Dick (a book that Khan loved in the Prime timeline) at one point when he beams Kirk, Carol and Scotty off of the Vengeance and back onto the Enterprise . Harrison : No ship should go down without her captain .
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds : He may be a bit of an asshole, as well as a ruthless killing machine, not to mention an Evil Overlord at one point, but he's been frozen for 250 years, then turned into a killing machine by the Federation, then tried saving his crew only for Admiral Marcus to take them away from him once again. It's a bit hard not to feel sorry for him.
• Would Hit a Girl : Breaks one of Carol Marcus' legs.
• Your Head A-Splode : He can do this with his bare hands and seems to reserve it for people who have really pissed him off. Just ask Admiral Marcus . He also tries to do the same to Spock during their fight and would have succeeded if Uhura hadn't beamed down.
• Star Trek: The Original Series - Spock
• Characters/Star Trek
• Star Trek: The Animated Series

Important Links

• Action Adventure
• Commercials
• Crime & Punishment
• Professional Wrestling
• Speculative Fiction
• Sports Story
• Animation (Western)
• Music And Sound Effects
• Print Media
• Sequential Art
• Tabletop Games
• Applied Phlebotinum
• Characterization
• Characters As Device
• Narrative Devices
• British Telly
• The Contributors
• Creator Speak
• Derivative Works
• Laws And Formulas
• Show Business
• Split Personality
• Truth And Lies
• Truth In Television
• Fate And Prophecy
• Edit Reasons
• Isolated Pages
• Images List
• Recent Videos
• Crowner Activity
• Un-typed Pages
• Recent Page Type Changes
• Trope Entry
• Character Sheet
• Playing With
• Creating New Redirects
• Cross Wicking
• Tips for Editing
• Text Formatting Rules
• Handling Spoilers
• Administrivia
• Trope Repair Shop
• Image Pickin'

Advertisement:

Memory Beta, non-canon Star Trek Wiki

A friendly reminder regarding spoilers ! At present the expanded Trek universe is in a period of major upheaval with the continuations of Discovery and Prodigy , the advent of new eras in gaming with the Star Trek Adventures RPG , Star Trek: Infinite and Star Trek Online , as well as other post-57th Anniversary publications such as the ongoing IDW Star Trek comic and spin-off Star Trek: Defiant . Therefore, please be courteous to other users who may not be aware of current developments by using the {{ spoiler }}, {{ spoilers }} OR {{ majorspoiler }} tags when adding new information from sources less than six months old (even if it is minor info). Also, please do not include details in the summary bar when editing pages and do not anticipate making additions relating to sources not yet in release. THANK YOU

• Memory Beta articles sourced from comics
• Memory Beta articles sourced from comic adaptations
• Memory Beta articles sourced from RPGs
• Memory Beta articles sourced from games
• Humans (20th century)
• Humans (21st century)
• Political leaders
• 1970 births
• 2010s births
• 2285 deaths

Khan Noonien Singh

• View history
• 1.1 Early life
• 1.2 Ruler of the Earth
• 3.1.1 Attributes
• 3.2.1 Appearances
• 3.2.2 References
• 3.3 External link

Biography [ ]

Early life [ ].

He was born in 1970 . His mother was Doctor Sarina Kaur , the director of the Chrysalis Project from its foundation until her death on May 18 , 1974 . ( TOS novel : The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 1 )

Ruler of the Earth [ ]

By 1992 , Khan and his followers had seized control of over half the Earth. He fought with Vasily Hunyadi , the force behind the Serbian government. While a dictator, history would note Khan's empire was devoid of genocide and other such atrocities normally associated with similar forms of government. After the Eugenics Wars had been lost, Khan and his followers escaped aboard the sleeper ship SS Botany Bay . ( TOS episode : " Space Seed "; WizKids module : Attack Wing )

The Botany Bay drifted in space until 2267 , when Khan and his people were revived by Captain James T. Kirk and the USS Enterprise . After an unsuccessful attempt to seize control of the Enterprise , Khan and his followers, as well as Lieutenant Marla McGivers were exiled to Ceti Alpha V . ( TOS episode & Star Trek 2 novelization : Space Seed )

Khan, McGivers, and his crew along with the Botany Bay were then taken to Ceti Alpha V. After Kirk, Scott and their landing party finished settling them on the planet, Khan and his people started to build a new world. Khan led hunting parties through the jungles on the planet.

Sometime after this point, Ceti Alpha VI exploded, which altered the orbit as well as the environment of Ceti Alpha V. Six months after it was destroyed, food started to become scarce. Khan tried to send a signal from the Botany Bay to no avail. Khan was also facing dissent from his people such as Tamas . ( TOS novel : To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh ; TOS comic : " Khan: Ruling in Hell ") Many of Khan's followers died in the aftermath, including his wife.

Eighteen solar years later, an avenue of escape presented itself to Khan when the USS Reliant arrived on a survey mission. He would quickly use this opportunity to escape his prison and hijack the Reliant . He learned of Project Genesis and coveted the Genesis Device for his own use. Whether by sub space eavesdropping (as he did later at Regula I ) or through the library computer ; Khan also learned about Klingon ideals, such as revenge. He also used this time to wreak that vengeance against James T. Kirk (now an admiral ). His attempts would fail and Khan would be killed in the Mutara Nebula . Khan, afterwards, activated the Genesis Device as a last act of revenge against Kirk, in the hope that he would destroy his hated enemy along with himself. ( TOS movie , novelization & comic adaptation : Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ; WizKids module : Attack Wing )

In 2254 , Spock compared the impact of the pre-reformation Vulcans of the Last-of-all-Cities returning to Vulcan to that of Humans finding a lost colony of Khan's Augment warriors. Little did Spock know he would participate in just such a discovery in 2267 . ( EV comic : " Cloak and Dagger "; TOS episode & Star Trek 2 novelization : Space Seed )

Khan's actions led to genetic engineering being banned on Earth and within the Federation. In 2373 , Admiral Bennett described Julian Bashir as being a positive aspect of genetic engineering, but warned that "for every Julian Bashir that can be created, there's a Khan Singh waiting in the wings ". ( DS9 episode : " Doctor Bashir, I Presume ")

Bashir often thought of Bennett's words whenever someone mentioned his genetically enhanced nature, such as Elim Garak did in 2374 . ( DS9 episode : " Call to Arms ", DS9 novelization : Call to Arms... )

The Section 31 Doctor Ethan Locken was a great admirer of Khan and planned a New Federation based on his ideals. Tanok of Vulcan posed the question what would have happened if Khan had won the Eugenics Wars. ( DS9 - Section 31 novel : Abyss )

A year after his arrival in the Kelvin timeline , Ambassador Spock warned his counterpart about Khan when Kirk decided to ally himself with Khan's counterpart . The Ambassador describe him as being the most brilliant and dangerous adversary the Enterprise faced. Spock then told his counterpart that his Enterprise was able to defeat him at great cost. ( ST movie & novelization : Star Trek Into Darkness )

Appendices [ ]

Background [ ], attributes [ ].

For the purpose of the FASA RPG , this character was assigned a number of attributes to determine the outcome of die rolls.

Appearances and references [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• TOS episode : " Space Seed "
• The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 1
• The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 2
• To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• DS9 comic : " No Time Like the Present "

References [ ]

• TOS novel : A Contest of Principles

External link [ ]

• Khan Noonien Singh article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• 1 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
• 3 Odyssey class

You've Heard That Name Before: The Name 'Noonien Singh' Explained

When the crew of the Enterprise on "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" was announced, fans might have been shocked to see the name of the ship's chief of security: La'an Noonien Singh. Played by Christina Chong, the character shares her name with one of the franchise's most infamous villains. While the exact connection between La'an Noonien Singh and Khan Noonien Singh is still a mystery, it's guaranteed that having such a controversial surname is going to cause some problems for the franchise's newest security chief. Khan was Captain Kirk's (William Shatner) greatest foe, a genetically-engineered superhuman who at one point ruled over nearly a quarter of Earth's population. 

Casual fans recognize Khan best from the 1982 film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," in which Ricardo Montalbán, who also played Khan on the original series, seeks revenge on his nemesis. Kirk infamously screams his name in rage in one of the franchises' most memeable moments, with Shatner's face contorted into an angry grimace, his fists shaking. So how, exactly, does a character who is a member of Starfleet end up with the name of one of the worst war criminals in the universe? 

Star Trek: The Original Series

It's important to realize just how big of an impact Khan had on humanity in the "Star Trek" timeline. He was part of a eugenics program that was intended to create a race of superhumans, and 1993 (remember, "Trek" was originally produced in the '60s), these genetically-engineered people took over more than 40 nations, and Khan himself became absolute ruler of about one-quarter of the planet. Despite being an authoritarian dictator, Khan's rule was relatively peaceful, though he kept his citizens on a tight leash. The superhumans, called Augments, began to fight amongst themselves before involving other nations. The Eugenics Wars ended with most of the dictators overthrown or killed, but Khan found himself and 84 of his most devout followers exiled on a ship named the SS Botany Bay, after the Australian penal colony. The escapees were put into stasis and the ship set off for an unknown destination, eventually being discovered by Captain Kirk and the USS Enterprise in 2267, an event we see firsthand in the original series episode "Space Speed." Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) rescues Khan from stasis, and the crew of the Enterprise chooses to leave the remaining inhabitants undisturbed.

It doesn't take too long for Khan to take advantage of Kirk and the rest of the crew, reawakening many of his followers and taking over the Enterprise. When the crew fights back and his plan is foiled, Khan tries to explode the Enterprise's warp core ... though Kirk is able to defeat him by smacking him with a large metal rod. Kirk offers Khan and his followers two options: face the Federation's justice or try to start a new colony on the nearby planet Ceti Alpha V, which is habitable, though definitely not a paradise. Khan and the followers choose the colony and Kirk gives them some basic supplies to start their new lives. Unfortunately, there is a massive environmental disaster on the planet only six months after the Enterprise leaves, leaving only the colonists and indigenous, horrifying Ceti eels alive. Many of the Botany Bay colonists die slow, horrible deaths as the eels' young invaded their brains ... including Khan's wife.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn

22 years later, the USS Reliant sends members of its crew down to the planet, which they believed to be uninhabited, as a part of a project tied to terraforming. Commander Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig), formerly of the Enterprise, and his captain, Clark Terrell (Paul Winfield) are captured by Khan, who uses some Ceti eels to take over their minds and discover Kirk's location. He sets a course for his revenge, growing more obsessive as time goes on. He seems to get his revenge, at least in part, when he maroons Kirk and his away team inside of the planetoid Regula I, much like Kirk had marooned him on Ceti Alpha V. But the Enterprise rescues Kirk and the away team, as they always do, and head off to battle with Khan and the commandeered Reliant. In a final act of desperation, Khan activates the experimental Genesis device that was intended for Ceti Alpha V, hoping to take the Enterprise out with him. Instead, the Enterprise zips off at warp, leaving Khan to die alone. 

Khan and the other Augments were considered so potentially dangerous that genetic engineering was outlawed by the Federation in the late 24th century, though scientists continued researching it in secret and it was possible to get black market genetic engineering to enhance traits, which we saw with Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ." His parents had illegally paid someone to augment their son, to make him smarter and stronger, and though Bashir never demonstrated any of Khan's narcissistic or tyrannical tendencies, he did struggle with his genetically altered status for much of his life.

Who is La'an?

That's everything there really is to know about Khan Noonien Singh, but what about the woman on "Strange New Worlds" who bears his name? We know that she is related to Khan in some way, though the series' co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman was very dodgy about how, exactly: 

"She's related to Khan, for sure, and, uh, and the deal will unfold ... We don't want to bring folks into the show to be splashy. We want to dig deeply into characters that are part of our ensemble and then, obviously, we're open to getting our arms ... but right now, what you see is what you get."

Having a character that's related to Khan is an interesting way to approach the character, though I hope they don't try to actually bring him back. "Strange New Worlds" is a prequel series to the original series, which means it's possible for Khan to be woken up at some point during this show. Theoretically . Khan is just such an emotionally charged character for everyone involved, from the fans who love him in "Star Trek II" to those who would rather forget the Kelvin timeline version (where he was played by a forgettable Benedict Cumberbatch). 

As far as La'an's concerned, she will have to reconcile sharing a name with one of history's greatest villains. From what we've seen so far, she seems like a tough, no-nonsense security officer, but could that be a way to protect herself from any cruelty she might experience on account of her name and heritage? Many of the characters on "Strange New Worlds" have ties to other "Trek" characters and stories, but hers might be the most complicated, with potential to explore what it means to have the blood of a monster inside you. 

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

Published Jun 5, 2022

Vengeance: A Tale of Two Khans

Revenge is a dish best served cold, but how did it turn out for the villainous Augment?

StarTrek.com

Khan Noonien Singh is, arguably, Star Trek ’s greatest villain. He is a complex character whose intelligence, experience and strength made him a formidable and dangerous adversary for James T. Kirk. Khan’s mythos has proved enduring for Trek fans, who’ve seen this character arise across their screens in different decades and even timelines. This character is compelling not only because his engineered intellect and strength make him a threat to Trek ’s protagonists, but because his failing is one that’s easily reflected in our own character and choices. While Khan was compelled by his drive to conquer and gain superiority over others in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode, “ Space Seed ,” it was his need for vengeance in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan that cemented his place in Trek lore.

On the surface, it could be argued that Khan’s complaint is not entirely without merit. He agreed to be left on a planet that, while difficult, could provide a way of life for him and his crew that would allow them to flourish, but would prevent them from exercising their militaristic and colonial ambition. As Khan recounts the story to first officer Chekov and Captain Terrell, a cosmological explosion caused planetary desolation six months after their arrival, which led to the deaths of several crew members -- including his wife. Neither Kirk nor Starfleet returned to confirm Khan’s viability or whether his planetary conditions had been altered. There is reason for this, given Starfleet’s reticence regarding genetic engineering, but it seems odd that a humanitarian organization such as the Federation would not have registered the potential harm to these people once Ceti Alpha VI had exploded. This began the process of Khan’s 15-year meditation on revenge and an obsession with seeking vengeance upon Kirk for what he’d lost.

In an essay originally published in 1625, Francis Bacon wrote that “revenge is a kind of wild justice.” If an initial wrong is an offense against law, Bacon argues that the need for revenge puts law aside altogether. This is especially the case with what he calls private revenge, which acts out of vindictive desire. Public revenge is an account of justice where a wrong committed is repaid in like manner/measure. However, Bacon prefaces both public and private by noting the harmful psychology of revenge in each instance. He writes that people meditate upon revenge in order to keep their wounds fresh, to prevent them from healing, to maintain the desire and need for retribution.

This can be easily seen in Khan’s desire for vengeance. He’d kept his wounds fresh and made retaliation his singular object of desire. What’s more, on two separate occasions his first officer warns him of this and attempts to persuade him to leave that path. When Khan first captured the Reliant and later when he successfully stole the Genesis device, Khan’s second-in-command highlights that he’s now free. He has in fact beaten Kirk and proven his superiority over the Starfleet captain. Khan responds, “He tasks me. He tasks me and I shall have him.” The issue is that while Khan had a starship, he was not free. He was not free from his obsession and longing for revenge. He’d meditated for so long on his wounds that he couldn’t leave them behind or live without them. Ultimately, this obsession leads to his undoing. The thirst for vengeance is never satiated and so it begins to consume itself.

It’s easy to see Khan’s desire for revenge be his own undoing; it’s often a villain’s fate. However, in the Kelvin timeline we are introduced to a troubling reversal. Here, Khan is not the only one bent on revenge. Kirk and Starfleet as a whole are at risk of succumbing to a need for vengeance and public protection. Admiral Marcus is obsessed with external threats to the Federation and is willing to sacrifice the Federation’s principles to preserve its structure. In doing so, he resuscitates Khan and holds his crew hostage to manipulate him into doing the admiral’s bidding. In response, Khan attacks Section 31 and later the command council, killing Captain Pike in the process. Khan is once more seeking revenge for his crew and attempting to gain power for his own ends. However, the loss of his mentor lures Kirk to seek revenge. It clouds his judgment and allows him to also be manipulated by Marcus. Kirk’s obsession with avenging Pike’s death and the war declared on Starfleet by Khan brings him close to sacrificing his principles and his friendships.

Here, the potential fallout of what Bacon called public revenge is also explored. A public wrong has been done, but both on a personal and institutional level, the desire for vengeance causes the implosion of the individuals obsessed with it. Kirk nearly gives up his Federation and Starfleet values, along with his friendship with Scotty, and as Spock points out, his moral foundation. Marcus gives up what the Federation stands for in his need to violently respond to the Klingons he considered aggressors. Khan’s desire for vengeance against all Federation principles and persons results in the loss of those he held most dear. Once more, revenge consumed itself.

In a diary entry written in September 1947, Gandhi wrote, “Anger breeds revenge and the spirit of revenge is today responsible for all the horrible happenings here and elsewhere… Let not future generations say that we lost the sweet bread of freedom because we could not digest it.” In the Prime Universe, Khan had gained his freedom (albeit through violent means), but his obsession with revenge prevented him from digesting that bread. In the end, for Khan, and for Marcus in the Kelvin timeline, revenge was not wild justice, but the abrogation of laws, principles and sanity. The stories of the two Khans show that it’s not just our enemies that can be consumed with a desire for revenge. We, too, must guard against its corrupting tendencies.

Timothy Harvie is Associate Professor of philosophy and ethics at St. Mary's University in Calgary, Canada.  His interests lie primarily in philosophical theology, political philosophy, environmental and animal philosophies, and ideas of the role of hope in society.  He is a lifelong Star Trek fan. http://www.stmu.ca/dr-timothy-harvie/

Get Updates By Email

Star Trek: Khan Noonien Singh's Last Words Are Deeper Than You Think

Classic Star Trek villain Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán) has had a long-lasting legacy that continues into the current canon. Decades after he died in one of the best Star Trek films , "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," the Federation is still profoundly affected by his misdeeds. This is in part because he pushes for genetic engineering, but it's also a testament to how charismatic he was as a character. After being an episodic villain in "Star Trek: The Original Series," he returned to wreak havoc on Admiral Kirk (William Shatner). Khan's quest for vengeance leads to his demise, but not before his famous last words.

"No! No! You can't get away ..." Khan says to the Enterprise as it flies away. "From Hell's heart ... I stab at thee. For hate's sake, I spit my last breath ... at thee." Star Trek has long leaned into taking inspiration from modern-day classics, and that is where Khan's final words come from. He is reciting "Moby-Dick," the Herman Melville epic about Captain Ahab's quest to destroy the titular whale. This ending is fitting for the film, as Ahab and Khan were both vengeful captains in their own right. While Ahab quested to kill his literal white whale, Khan went after his metaphorical one. Kirk was always the foe that got away. But Khan's farewell is about more than surface-level connections.

Khan is an epic figure

Like Captain Ahab, Khan is such a larger-than-life character that he has stood the test of time. "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" focuses on the repercussions of Khan's effect on the world through the eyes of his descendant, La'an Noonien Singh (Christina Chong). Khan's devotion to genetically augmenting the human race defines him, and he never changes his mind. Similarly, Ahab is as vitriolic as he was when he first started hunting the whale. He fails to kill Moby-Dick and watches it destroy his ship and most of his men. Even so, he uses his final moments to curse the whale. He understands his fate, but wouldn't change anything. This is also the place that we leave Khan at the end of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan."

After sustaining injuries on his ship, he shows no remorse for what he did. His actions directly cause Spock's (Leonard Nimoy) death and reaffirm he was only ever interested in world domination. He dies, cursing Kirk while he himself is the one who caused his downfall. He dies as he lived, full of hate. The tragedy of it all is that he could have turned back at any moment. But like Ahab, his fate was to be drowned by his own revenge.

Star Trek: The Legacy of Khan, Explained

Star Trek used Khan Noonien-Singh (Ricardo Montalban) to introduce genetic engineering into the franchise, much to the detriment of those who’ve come after him. They are seen as dangerous because Khan’s ambitions of world domination made him a threat to Starfleet officers. They are seen as untrustworthy because Khan tried to use the kindness of Captain Kirk (William Shatner) to make submissive followers out of the Enterprise crew. They are banned from Starfleet because officers fear someone like Khan having access to Federation resources or secrets .

In Deep Space Nine , this judgment doesn’t take into account that genetic alterations sometimes happen to a child too young to refuse them. In Strange New Worlds , it didn’t consider genetic enhancements as a part of cultural practices. In Prodigy , no one imagines how such negative stereotypes could harm a genetically engineered teenager. All anyone seems to focus on is that making genetic alterations is bad, regardless of the circumstances. In some ways, it’s unfair to those whose genetically-altering experiences might have been out of their hands. In other ways, though, the fear is well-founded for anyone who remembers the Eugenics Wars and Khan’s part in them.

RELATED: Star Trek: Untangling The Problematic Morality Surrounding Holographic Lifeforms

Who Was Khan Noonien-Singh?

Self-improvement is never a bad thing, and Star Trek has always emphasized its importance as part of the pursuit to leave old human atrocities behind. However, there’s a big difference between being the best version of one’s self and using science to be better than others. During the late 20th century, scientists implemented Project Khan to create and study genetically enhanced humans. It resulted in individuals known as Augments who possessed senses, strength, and intellect far beyond that of most of their non-enhanced peers. The Original Series showed fans the tip of this terrifying iceberg when Khan tried to take over the Enterprise in season 1, episode 24, “Space Seed.”

He proved to be cunning and highly intelligent, but he was also manipulative and controlling with a nasty temper. When the Enterprise found Khan’s ship floating in space, they had no idea who they’d stumbled across until it was much too late. They later discovered Khan to be the same genetically-enhanced tyrant who ruled over the lands from Asia to the Middle East during the Eugenics War. He took Lt. Marla McGivers’ (Madlyn Rhue) obsession with powerful warmongerers of the past, and used it to bully her into helping him gain control of the ship. Khan’s deceptive, honey-like charm eventually turned into arrogant cruelty when he threatened to kill the Enterprise crew if they didn’t cooperate with him and his fellow Augments.

Why Is Starfleet Still So Afraid?

Luckily, Captain Kirk and crew lived up to their reputation as creative thinkers in tricky situations. When Khan stood by while an Augment named Joaquin (Mark Tobin) repeatedly struck Lt. Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) in the face, it was just further motivation for the crew. They managed to wrestle control of the ship back from Khan and his followers, who were later sentenced to isolation on the uninhabited Ceti Alpha V. This seed they planted would later sprout the crop of catastrophe that reared its devastating head in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . Augments came too close to regaining power for Starfleet’s comfort, and it left them even more paranoid about genetically enhanced individuals.

During the Eugenics War from January 2, 1992, to June 7, 1996, Augments became obsessed with their individual power and began fighting each other. It was the only thing stopping them from collectively obtaining galactic control. This war, as well as Khan's incident, are what spring to the minds of most Starfleet officers when they hear about genetic alterations. They’re afraid that Augments will one day come back for domination in a way that can’t be stopped. More than that, though, they fear the tendency of scientists to unthinkingly apply their skills toward creating monsters while trying to improve people.

Genetically Modified Star Trek characters

This fear led to a Federation ban on any genetically enhanced individuals working in Starfleet. However, this only stopped genetically enhanced applicants from being honest. In Deep Space Nine , Dr. Julian Bashir revealed that his parents had him genetically enhanced as a child in season 5, episode 16, “Doctor Bashir, I Presume.” Amsha (Fadwa El Guindi) and Richard (Brian George) Bashir thought they were giving him a fair chance to make up for the ways he’d been struggling in school. Instead, they left him with a dark secret that almost got him thrown in prison once Starfleet found out.

Una Chin-Riley/Number One (Rebecca Romijn) had a similar experience on Strange New Worlds when Starfleet discovered her Illyrian heritage . This race of beings was known for using genetic engineering to make themselves adapt to their planets, rather than the other way around. Season 1, episode 3, “Ghosts of Illyria” revealed Una’s species, and she was later arrested for it in season 1, episode 10, “A Quality of Mercy.” She’s currently on trial in season 2, and fans are on the edge of their seats in anticipation of what will happen to her next. It’s ironic, since fellow crewmember La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) is a direct descendant of Khan and even carries his last name. But she’s had an easier career than someone whose only connection to the Augment is their experience with genetic alterations.

Dal R’El (Brett Gray) probably has the saddest history when it comes to being genetically enhanced. He’s a human hybrid with 26 different alien variants making up his genetic coding. Like Una and Bashir, he didn’t choose that for himself. Unlike them, though, he was still very young when his secret came out, and it left him vulnerable to the manipulations of an overzealous geneticist in Star Trek: Prodigy . Dr. Jago (Amy Hill) played on Dal’s insecurities in season 1, episode 15, “Masquerade” to implant a chip that would activate his enhanced genes. Only the swift actions of his crew and friends saved Dal from becoming the worst version of himself.

A common theme with many genetically enhanced individuals is their lack of choice. Another one is that Starfleet is more interested in using them to set an example than they are in understanding their stories.

Khan left a strong impression on Star Trek fans. They’ve spent years gushing over everything from his personality to his handsome appearance. Starfleet remembers him and other Augments with much less love, and for good reason. Khan represents aspects of humanity that the Federation has spent a long time desperately trying to hide. They want to forget about the Eugenics War and the Augments who started it. They want time to be the pillow between their hopeful present and their dark past

However, history is repeated when it is not understood, and when the lessons it can teach are swept under the rug. One day, Starfleet will have no choice but to let go of the past and stop allowing it to punish good people. When that day comes, Star Trek will enter a whole new phase of how it treats genetically enhanced individuals – hopefully for the better.

MORE: Star Trek: The Eugenics Wars, Explained

40 years later, Star Trek will finally solve a classic Khan mystery

What happened on Ceti Alpha V after the Enterprise left?

Khan is back! After several years of speculation and rumor , a prequel series all about the Star Trek villain's exile on Ceti Alpha V is finally happening. But the format might not be what fans expected. Here’s what to know about what to expect from the Wrath of Khan prequel series, and how it's poised to answer a burning Trekkie question four decades in the making.

On Star Trek Day 2022, Nicholas Meyer — director of The Wrath of Khan and The Undiscovered Country , and consulting producer on Discovery Season 1 — made a surprise announcement: The infamous Star Trek supervillain Khan Noonien Singh will finally get his own series. But it will happen in the form of a limited-run scripted podcast.

According to Paramount:

“The scripted podcast will examine what happened in the years after Captain Kirk left Khan on the untamed world of Ceti Alpha V and tells the story of Khan and his followers prior to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. ”

What does this all mean? Let’s dive in.

Khan: Ceti Alpha V timeline, explained

In between the Star Trek episode “Space Seed,” and the return of Khan in The Wrath of Khan , 18 years pass. So in theory, the new Khan series will explore the time between 2267 and 2285. The large question the series will answer is: what exactly happened during that time ?

But that question also leads to several other smaller questions fans have had for years. Such as:

• When did Khan’s wife pass away?
• Where did his younger followers come from?
• Why didn’t Starfleet send another ship to check on Khan?
• How could the Reliant have confused Ceti Alpha VI for Ceti Alpha V?
• How did Khan get that sweet necklace? (Okay maybe this question doesn’t need to be answered.)

Nicholas Meyer onstage for “Star Trek Day,” announcing Star Trek: Khan.

Star Trek: Khan , explained

According to Paramount, the series will be produced by Alex Kurtzman, Aaron Baiers, Trevor Roth, and Rod Roddenberry . However, sole writing credit seems to be going to Nicholas Meyer, the visionary behind The Wrath of Khan . Back when rumors of a Khan miniseries first started circulating in 2017, Meyer wrote to Inverse jokingly saying “I khannot possibly comment” on the existence of the concept, which pretty much confirmed it was in development. But now, what’s great is that it seems that Meyer will get to write what is basically a radio play entirely on his own.

As Star Trek producer Alex Kurtzman put it:

“Nick made the definitive ‘Trek’ movie when he made ‘Wrath,’ and we’ve all been standing in its shadow since. Forty years have offered him a lot of perspective on these extraordinary characters and the way they’ve impacted generations of fans. Now he’s come up with something as surprising, gripping and emotional as the original, and it’s a real honor to be able to let him tell the next chapter in this story exactly the way he wants to.”

Star Trek has never done this before. An in-canon scripted podcast is officially a new venture for the franchise. Although the official Trek podcast, The Pod Directive — hosted by Tawny Newsome and Paul F. Tompkins — has been around since 2020, a scripted fictional podcast is bold new territory for the final frontier.

Do we know the Star Trek: Khan release date and cast?

Khan in “Space Seed.”

So, when do we get to hear Khaaaaaan? Well, right now, there’s no release date. The Pod Directive will return in early 2023, but we’re just going to have to wait a little longer for Khan . There’s also no voice cast, yet. Ricardo Montalbán, who played Khan in “Space Seed” and The Wrath , passed away in 2009. Benedict Cumberbatch played the alternate Khan in 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness , but it feels unlikely he’d voice the character for this project.

At this point, we don’t know. But when it comes to Khan, Trek fans can wait. It’s already been 40 years. What’s a few more months?

This article was originally published on Sep. 8, 2022

• Science Fiction

Screen Rant

Star trek’s eugenics wars & 3 khan timelines explained.

Here's everything you need to know about the devastating Eugenics Wars, and the 3 different versions of infamous Star Trek villain Khan Noonien-Singh.

Arguably Star Trek 's greatest villain, Khan Noonien-Singh (Ricardo Montalban) has cropped up in several different Star Trek projects across multiple timelines. Introduced in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode, "Space Seed," Khan was a genetically enhanced human who became "the most dangerous adversary the Enterprise ever faced." In the original Star Trek canon, Khan rose to power in the 1990s along with several other genetically augmented tyrants. Soon after, wars broke out between the augments and their subjects in a conflict that became known as the Eugenics Wars.

After the events of TOS' "Space Seed," Captain Kirk (William Shatner) stranded Khan and his people on the barely-hospitable planet, Ceti Alpha V. In the following fifteen years, Starfleet never checked up on the augments, despite the fact that the orbit of Ceti Alpha V shifted, making the planet even more dangerous. Khan sought his retribution against Kirk and the USS Enterprise in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , eventually causing the death of Spock (Leonard Nimoy). After TOS and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , subsequent Star Trek series have added to the complex history of Khan Noonien-Singh , sometimes complicating (or rewriting) the previously-established timeline.

What Is Khan’s Eugenics Wars In Star Trek’s Original Timeline?

As established in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Space Seed" and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , the Eugenics Wars were a devastating conflict that occurred in the mid-1990s. Sometime before this, scientists had been experimenting with genetics and selective breeding in an attempt to create superior humans. The scientists hoped that these superhumans, or augments, would be able to bring peace to Earth, but the augments grew overly ambitious and power-hungry. In 1992, Khan Noonien-Singh became the absolute ruler over one-fourth of the Earth's population. Though several other augmented humans seized power during this time, Khan became known as the "best of the tyrants."

Though it remains unclear how the Eugenics Wars began, the conflict proved to be utterly devastating, resulting in over 30 million deaths. The last tyrant to be overthrown, Khan's reign came to an end in 1996. Though they had been condemned to death, Khan and 84 of his followers managed to escape by placing themselves in cryogenic sleep aboard the SS Botany Bay. The rest of the augments had been wiped out and humanity grew fearful of any kind of genetic manipulation. Soon after the end of the Eugenics Wars, Earth banned genetic engineering entirely. Despite the ways this ban became a justification for discrimination against the genetically-modified Illyrians, the augment ban remained in effect throughout the 23rd and 24th centuries.

Strange New Worlds Changed Khan’s Eugenics Wars Timeline

In the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 episode, " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ," a young Khan (Desmond Sivan) appears in 21st-century Toronto, Canada. The episode follows Khan's descendent La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) and an alternate universe version of Captain Kirk (Paul Wesley) as they find themselves in the 21st century. As they work to figure out what event changed the timeline, they discover an undercover Romulan operative named Sera (Adelaide Kane) who planned to assassinate the young Khan. Sera reveals that Romulans have been attempting to slow the progress of humanity in order to keep them from achieving space travel and warp speed.

Since the Romulans have been manipulating history, the rise of Khan and the augments, as well as the ensuing Eugenics Wars, happen later than previous Star Trek series have stated. In an interview with CinemaBlend , Strange New Worlds' co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman confirmed that the dates of certain events, including the Eugenics Wars, were pushed forward "in order to keep Star Trek in our timeline." Star Trek supposedly takes place in the future of our timeline, and this change in Trek canon makes that still plausible. In "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow," La'an and Kirk successfully prevent the child Khan's death, setting up the future return of the powerful dictator.

J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek: Khan's Eugenics Wars Happened In The Kelvin Timeline

Set in the alternate Kelvin timeline, J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies introduced yet another version of Khan Noonien-Singh , this time played by Benedict Cumberbatch. In Star Trek Into Darkness, Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and the crew of the USS Enterprise encounter Khan posing as a Starfleet officer who went rogue. In this version of the timeline, the Eugenics Wars took place in the 1990s, after which Khan and his people were exiled into space. After the destruction of Vulcan, Admiral Alexander Marcus (Peter Weller) eventually found the SS Botany Bay drifting in space. Despite knowing Khan's violent history, Marcus revived Khan, believing he would prove useful in the upcoming war with the Klingons.

Admiral Marcus created a false identity for Khan as Starfleet Officer and Section 31 agent John Harrison. Khan began helping to design new weapons and ships, including the USS Vengeance, a Dreadnaught class vessel. Because Marcus had threatened Khan's people, Khan eventually turned against him and declared war on Starfleet. Though Kirk and the Enterprise crew eventually stopped him, Khan still managed to cause a great deal of destruction. It seems that Khan remains dangerous and vengeful regardless of the timeline, but it remains to be seen how future Star Trek projects will treat the infamous tyrant.

• USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) personnel
• USS Farragut (NCC-1647) personnel

La'an Noonien-Singh

• View history

Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh was a female Human Starfleet officer who lived during the 23rd century . ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ")

• 1 Early life
• 2.1 Starfleet Academy
• 2.2 USS Enterprise
• 2.3 Finding Oriana's parents and stopping the Broken Circle
• 2.4 Return to Enterprise
• 2.5 Time-travel to Toronto
• 3 Alternate timeline
• 4 Personality and abilities
• 5.1 Joseph M'Benga
• 5.2 Una Chin-Riley
• 6 Key dates
• 7.1 Appearances
• 7.2 Background information
• 7.3 External link

Early life [ ]

La'an Noonien-Singh was born December 8, 2228 on Alpha I to Sa'an and Ronu Noonien-Singh . She also had a brother named Manu . ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ") La'an and her family were descendants of Khan Noonien Singh , the Augment tyrant who once ruled a quarter of Earth 's population during the Eugenics Wars . She made herself something of an expert on Khan when she was a child, but also suffered bullying from other children due to her infamous family name , being called " Augment " and " monster ", among other things. ( SNW : " Ghosts of Illyria ") She carried her family’s augmentations and worried because of them, she might become dangerous. ( SNW : " Ad Astra per Aspera ")

Young La'an

As a child, Noonien-Singh lived aboard the colony ship SS Puget Sound , which was attacked by the Gorn . The population of the colony ship was captured and placed on a Gorn planetary nursery , where the entire population of the ship except La'an were subsequently either eaten alive or had their bodies slit open and used as breeding sacks. During that time, her brother Manu would sacrifice himself so she could live.

La'an, the sole survivor , was then sent into space on a " raft " as part of a ritual . She was eventually rescued by the crew of the USS Martin Luther King Jr. , including Ensign Una Chin-Riley . ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ", " Memento Mori ")

Starfleet career [ ]

Starfleet academy [ ].

Chin-Riley sponsored La'an Noonien-Singh's application and she was able to attend Starfleet Academy where she graduated at the top of her class. Following her commission as a Starfleet officer, she was promoted each subsequent year during her tenure in Starfleet. ( SNW : " Ad Astra per Aspera ")

USS Enterprise [ ]

In 2259 , Lieutenant Noonien-Singh was assigned to the USS Enterprise as acting first officer following Chin-Riley's disappearance. She didn't tell Captain Pike she knew Una, fearing he wouldn't accept her for the mission. He nonetheless offered her a position on his ship after Una's rescue and La'an became permanent chief of security of the Enterprise . ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ")

Like most of the crew, La'an was infected with the light virus , in her case to the point of nearly causing a warp core breach as La'an attempted to throw herself into the ship's warp core . When Commander Una Chin-Riley saved her life, La'an was exposed to chimeric antibodies from Una which allowed Nurse Christine Chapel to develop a cure to the virus. After learning that her friend was hiding her status as an Illyrian , La'an expressed frustration that Una hadn't told her as La'an had shared her frustrations and past history of being bullied and ostracized as an Augment and a descendant of Khan Noonien Singh with her. However, the two made up with Una pointing out that, unlike La'an, her status made Una being a part of Starfleet illegal and something that she had no choice but to hide or to risk facing prison time if it ever came out. ( SNW : " Ghosts of Illyria ")

During a routine supply mission to a colony, La'an was the first to realize they had ran into a trap by the Gorn . Enterprise was subsequently ambushed by Gorn ships and forced to hide in a gas giant which was being sucked into a nearby black hole . La'an was made acting first officer again, and she advised Captain Pike on the severity of the threat posed by the Gorn. La'an asked Spock to perform a mind meld on her and relive her time on the breeding planet. This helped her remember the code of the light signals Gorn ships used to communicate with each other. La'an was able to employ this knowledge to destroy one of the Gorn ships. ( SNW : " Memento Mori ")

La'an was also hesitant to wear a commemoration pin of the Puget Sound for Starfleet Remembrance Day because she didn't want to remember the painful memories of her childhood, leaving the past in the past. After the encounter with the Gorn, she changed her mind. ( SNW : " Memento Mori ")

When an alien consciousness from the Jonisian Nebula brought the fairy tale The Kingdom of Elysian to life on the Enterprise , La'an was used for the character of Princess Thalia . La'an didn't remember the events after the ship was returned to normal. ( SNW : " The Elysian Kingdom ")

Later, La'an came face to face with the Gorn again, when she was part of a mission to the USS Peregrine , which had made a crash landing on Valeo Beta V after they brought someone on board who was infected with Gorn eggs that hatched and hunted the crew and then the Enterprise 's landing party. She managed to keep her anger in check and help her comrades to survive the encounter. Then, she requested a leave of absence to help a survivor, a young girl named Oriana , find her family. Captain Pike granted her request and asked her to return afterwards, no matter how long it took. ( SNW : " All Those Who Wander ")

Finding Oriana's parents and stopping the Broken Circle [ ]

La'an found Oriana's parents on Cajitar IV , a dilithium mining planet shared by the Federation and the Klingon Empire . By this time, La'an had been on voluntary leave for months and Admiral Robert April expressed doubt over whether or not she ever intended to return. However, La'an discovered an anti-Federation plot by the Broken Circle , a cabal of former Federation and Klingon soldiers who sought to reignite the Federation-Klingon War . La'an sent a distress call to the Enterprise with the command crew under acting captain Spock stealing the ship to help her after April refused to give them permission to investigate. With the help of the Enterprise , La’an was able to help stop the plot and prevent a further war.

Return to Enterprise [ ]

With Oriana safe, La'an returned to her duties aboard Enterprise . ( SNW : " The Broken Circle ")

La'an appeared at Una Chin-Riley's court-martial as a character witness, with her stating her belief that without Una, she would not only not be in Starfleet, but not be alive at all. ( SNW : " Ad Astra per Aspera ")

Time-travel to Toronto [ ]

In her capacity as chief of security, La'an was required to intercede in personal arguments aboard Enterprise , as well as deal with noise complaints and inspections of personal property, to the chagrin of her colleagues.

While on her routine security rounds, La'an encountered a grey-suited man who had been shot, with a bullet rather than a phaser. He warned of an attack in the past, and handed her a device, and told her to "get to the bridge" before he died and vanished. Upon reaching the bridge, La'an was stunned to find a different captain in the chair, who identified himself as James T. Kirk , captain of the UEF Enterprise . She surmises with Kirk that the attack in the past has created an alternate timeline and erased her own, and needs to prevent this attack in order to restore 'her reality'. When Kirk tries to confiscate the device he accidentally activates it, transporting them both to Toronto in the year 2022 .

Realizing that this must be the time and location of the attack in question, La'an and Kirk acquire period clothing, currency and food to aid their survival. They witness the explosion of the Lake Ontario Bridge ; as they both remember this from their own versions of history, they realize this cannot be the attack they are to prevent. La'an recognizes the charring of a piece of wreckage as being that of a photonic bomb , a weapon at least a century beyond the technology of this time. They befriend Sera , a conspiracy theorist who has nonetheless stumbled on more evidence than she has realized, including a photo depicting a Romulan Bird-of-Prey , pointing to Romulan involvement in slowing or preventing Human advancement into space. Kirk remembers the destruction of a cold fusion reactor in Toronto at this time, which wipes out the city in his timeline.

Needing a way to detect this reactor and find it before the Romulans, La'an remembers an earlier conversation with Pelia and heads to Vermont , where she currently resides. Together they improvise a tritium detector using an old diver's wristatch , whose uncovered face would glow when near the reactor. They find the building where the reactor was being housed, the Noonien-Singh Institute for Cultural Advancement , and La'an was able to gain access to the building by her DNA . They are surprised by Sera at gunpoint, who reveals herself as an undercover Romulan agent with a mission to destroy the reactor. When they refuse to take Sera into the building, she fatally shoots Kirk and takes La'an hostage.

With security alerted, Sera improvises a new plan: to kill a young Khan Noonien Singh , one of several children kept at the institute, as a way of preventing Humanity's eventual enlightenment. La'an overpowered Sera despite being at a disadvantage in strength and speed, and cannot resist entering Khan's room to check on him, coming face-to-face with her own tyrannical ancestor. She assures the young Khan that he was where he needed to be, coming to terms with her own lineage and its role in Human history. Doing so allows La'an to return to her own timeline aboard Enterprise , where she was warned by another Department of Temporal Investigations agent not to discuss her experiences with anyone.

During these events La'an formed an emotional attachment to Kirk, culminating in the two sharing a kiss in the past. Following her mission, La'an contrived a reason to contact the James T. Kirk of her timeline, who was still a lieutenant on the USS Farragut , breaking down in tears thereafter. ( SNW : " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ")

Alternate timeline [ ]

Commander La'an Noonien-Singh in an alternate timeline

In an alternate timeline created after Christopher Pike prevented the death of several Starfleet cadets and his own exposure to delta radiation , La'an would transfer from the Operations division to the Command division and reached the rank of Commander by 2266 . She was assigned to the USS Farragut under the command of Captain James T. Kirk . ( SNW : " A Quality of Mercy ")

Personality and abilities [ ]

La'an had a spotless Starfleet record, although she had trouble working in teams and found other people "challenging". ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ")

La'an was a fan of Enterprise NX-01 ; at one point, she noted that she " loves the grapplers " on the ship. ( SNW : " Those Old Scientists ")

She was used to enduring pain and maintaining her composure when in pain. She actually preferred not to be sedated and remain fully aware even during a very painful gene therapy. ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ", " Children of the Comet ")

La'an preferred work and her duties over recreational activities, even in her spare time. She had the reputation to be someone "where fun goes to die" with her shipmates. She herself credited her painful childhood for not enjoying childish activities. ( SNW : " Spock Amok ")

She was a strict teacher when it came to tactical and combat training, especially with cadets . La'an's "Lessons of Security" included the following:

• Lesson 1: "A Rigelian tiger pounces with no warning."
• Lesson 2: "There are no breaks in security because threats never take breaks."
• Lesson 3: "Let your tricorder do the investigating."
• Lesson 6: "Know when to bend the rules."
• Lesson 7: "Leave no stone unturned."

Lesson 7 required Cadets to look under Mugatan breathing stones to reinforce the lesson, a rather unpleasant task. ( SNW : " Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach ")

La'an's hand-to-hand combat experience made her a valuable member of away teams to less advanced civilizations where Starfleet technology was not to be used. ( SNW : " Among the Lotus Eaters ")

Relationships [ ]

Joseph m'benga [ ].

La'an and Dr. Joseph M'Benga conducted regular sparring matches, training in hand-to-hand combat . As M'Benga was former Starfleet special forces and La'an was the security chief, it was a way for them to both practice their skills and blow off steam. Joseph saw that La'an was troubled by something, and tried to reach her, not as her doctor, but as her sparring partner. ( SNW : " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ")

Una Chin-Riley [ ]

La'an first met Una when she was rescued by the USS Martin Luther King Jr. on which Una served as an Ensign. Una was involved in La'an's rescue, helped her recover from the incident, and inspired her to join Starfleet . La'an occasionally called Una "Chief". ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ") When La'an was infected by the light virus , her anger towards augments came to the forefront when she realized Una was genetically engineered. Una later made amends, apologized for keeping secrets from her and the two continued their friendship. ( SNW : " Ghosts of Illyria ", " Ad Astra per Aspera ")

Key dates [ ]

• 2228 : Born on December 8 to Ronu and Sa'an Noonien-Singh on Alpha I
• Assigned to the USS Enterprise as acting first officer , then later offered permanent position as chief of security
• Takes a leave of absence from Starfleet to find Oriana 's family
• Returns to active duty aboard the Enterprise
• Participates in Una Chin-Riley's court-martial

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• " Strange New Worlds "
• " Children of the Comet "
• " Ghosts of Illyria "
• " Memento Mori "
• " Spock Amok "
• " Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach "
• " The Serene Squall "
• " The Elysian Kingdom "
• " All Those Who Wander "
• " A Quality of Mercy "
• " The Broken Circle "
• " Ad Astra per Aspera "
• " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow "
• " Among the Lotus Eaters "
• " Charades "
• " Lost in Translation "
• " Those Old Scientists "
• " Under the Cloak of War "
• " Subspace Rhapsody "
• " Hegemony "

Background information [ ]

La'an Noonien-Singh was played by Christina Chong . Ava Cheung played La'an as a child in SNW : " Memento Mori " and " All Those Who Wander ".

External link [ ]

• La'an Noonien-Singh at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)