JJ Abrams’ Star Trek the film trilogy featured a slew of major league supervillains worthy of taking on Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and the starship Enterprise. Abrams produced all three Star Trek films from 2009-2016, and he directed Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek in the Dark. Abrams switched to directing in 2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakensand Justin Lin directed 2016 Star Trek Beyond. Each of the Abrams Star Trek films are full of action, special effects extravaganzas with planetary stakes and villains bent on chaos and destruction.
Ricardo Montalban’s performance as Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was the obvious model for JJ Abrams’ villains Star Trek films. Abrams never tried Star Trek film with a faceless adversary pondering metaphysical questions like V’Ger in Star Trek: the movie or the whale sounder in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Abrams Star Trekare action films and they all require a villain who could threaten entire worlds and defeat Captain Kirk physically or mentally. Abrams cast good actors and big names as the heavyweights in his Star Trek films, and this is how his grandiose villainy stacks up.
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Krall – Star Trek Beyond
Played by Idris Elba
Idris Elba played the scary Krall in Star Trek Beyond. Krall is the most alien of JJ Abrams’ villains Star Trek films other than the Klingons seen briefly in Star Trek in the Dark. Behind Krall’s monstrous face is a secret: Krall is really a mutant human. Before being transformed by an energy transfer technology that allowed him to extend his own life, Krall was Captain Balthazar Edison of the USS Franklin.
A former Starfleet officer and MACO space marine, Captain Edison became disheartened by the peaceful, exploratory vision of the United Federation of Planets. Edison and Jessica Wolff (Lydia Wilson) were among the few survivors when the Franklin crashed on the planet Altamid, and Wolff was similarly transformed into the alien Kalara. Using swarm technology, Krall destroyed the USS Enterprise and kidnapped Captain Kirk’s crew. Krall’s ultimate goal was the destruction of the massive Federation starbase USS Yorktown.
Elba gets lost in Krall’s elaborate prosthetics.
Despite its unique design and Idris Elba’s fierce performance, Krall doesn’t make a lasting impression Star Trek Beyond intended. Elba loses himself in Krall’s elaborate prosthetics, and his motivation is simply revenge and destruction for dark reasons. Krall appears to be a brutal misanthrope, and his origin as Captain Balthazar Edison and his connection to Star Trek: Enterprise are the most interesting things about him.
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Khan Noonien Singh – Star Trek Into Darkness
Played by Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Cumberbatch plays the genetically modified Khan Noonien Singh, who is the same character that Richardo Montalban played in Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan as Khan originates in the 20th century, before the creation of the alternate Kelvin timeline. However, in Star Trek Into Darkness’ In reality, Khan is awakened from his cryogenic sleep a decade earlier than in Star Trek’s Prime Timeline, and it is Starfleet Admiral Alexander Marcus (Peter Weller) who finds Khan, not Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the USS Enterprise.
Khan introduces himself as Commander John Harrison and commits a terrorist attack on the Section 31 headquarters in London, in addition to attacking Starfleet Command, killing Admiral Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood). But Khan’s true target was his enemy, Admiral Marcuswho was manipulating Khan’s genetically modified intellect and savagery to militarize Starfleet and start a war with the Klingons. However, Khan ultimately kills Marcus and attempts to destroy San Francisco with the Admiral’s massive ship, the USS Dreadnought, before being stopped by Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto).
Leaving feature films like Atonement and its innovative role Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch was a controversial choice to play Khan because he is Caucasian. While Cumberbatch exuded menace and fierce intelligence, Star Trek in the Dark Sabotages him by making him a pawn of Alexander Marcus, and the film undermines itself with the unnecessary obfuscation of Khan’s true identity. Cumberbatch’s Khan inevitably invites comparison to Ricardo Montalban’s villainbut unfortunately, Star Trek in the Dark‘Genetically modified madman doesn’t measure up,
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Admiral Alexander Marcus – Star Trek Into Darkness
Played by Peter Weller
Peter Weller’s Admiral Alexander Marcus is the commander-in-chief of Starfleet in Star Trek Into Darkness, and he is also one of the most evil admirals in Star Trek. Marcus is the father of Dr. Carol Marcus (Alice Eve), who hid aboard the USS Enterprise under an alias because she was suspicious of the admiral. Carol was right about her father, because Admiral Marcus was exposed as the leader of Section 31the covert covert operations division of Starfleet, and Alexander intended to plunge Starfleet into a war with the Klingons.
Admiral Marcus was the leader of Starfleet when the time traveler Nero (Eric Bana) destroyed Vulcan and nearly annihilated Earth in Star Trek (2009). Marcus became so fearful and paranoid that upon discovering Khan Noonien Singh, he forced the 20th century rise to indentured servitude in order to develop powerful weapons that would fulfill Marcus’ vision of a militarized Starfleet. Marcus’s ultimate weapon was the USS Dreadnought, the Federation’s largest and most powerful starship.
It was Admiral Marcus, not Khan, who pulled the strings as the true villain of Star Trek Into Darkness.
Admiral Marcus appointed himself as Captain James T. Kirk’s mentor, but he was merely using and manipulating the young Enterprise captain. Marcus never thought twice about his plan to destroy the Enterprise and everyone on board, and even turned against Carol, his own daughter. It was Admiral Marcus, not Khan, who pulled the strings as the true villain of the Star Trek Into Darkness, and Marcus’ plot would have devastated the Federation if Khan hadn’t taken revenge and killed the diabolical admiral.
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Nero – Star Trek (2009)
Played by Eric Bana
Eric Bana played Nero, the main villain of Star Trek (2009). Nero was a Romulan mining vessel commander in the 24th century who witnessed the destruction of his home world of Romulus due to the sun going supernova. Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) promised to stop the supernova and save Romulus, but his attempt to use the red matter failed. Instead, Nero’s starship, the Narada, and Spock’s starship, the Medusa, were pulled into a singularity and emerged in the 23rd century. Nero destroying the USS Kelvin commanded by Lieutenant George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth) inadvertently created the alternate Kelvin Timeline.
25 years later, in 2258, Nero went on a crazy mission to destroy the Federationwith special emphasis on the torture of Ambassador Spock, whom Nero blamed for the destruction of Romulus. Nero destroyed Spock’s home world of Vulcan and intended to do the same to Earth. In Nero’s opinion, the end of the Federation in the 23rd century would save Romulus in the 24th century. Nero also arrested and injured Captain Christopher Pike with his torturous interrogation techniques. Ultimately, Nero was stopped by Kirk, Spock, and the USS Enterprise.
Nero is head and shoulders above the other supervillains in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek film.
Even more than Khan in Star Trek in the Dark, Nero is the closest to JJ Abrams Star Trek cinema villains to match Ricardo Montalban’s Khan, and the vengeful Romulan caused much more devastation. Nero was driven by inconsolable grief to seek revenge, aided by Ayel (Clifton Collins, Jr.), his first officer. Nero destroyed numerous starships, destroyed entire planets, and his wave of terror across the galaxy spawned an entirely new alternate reality. Nero is head and shoulders above JJ Abrams Star Trek movie supervillains.
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- Release date
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May 8, 2009
- Writers
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Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Gene Roddenberry
- Execution time
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127 minutes
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- Release date
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May 16, 2013
- Writers
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Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof
- Execution time
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132 minutes
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- Release date
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July 22, 2016
- Execution time
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122 minutes