Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the adventures of the USS Enterprise inStar Trek: The Original Serieslaid the groundwork for everyStar Trekmovie and TV showthat followed. In many ways, Captain Kirk and his crew were cowboys, flying through the galaxy by the seats of their pants, a model of exploration thatearned Kirk a reputation for fighting - and sometimes killing his enemies. From the Romulans to the Klingons to the Gorn, Captain Kirk crossed the galaxy facing downsome of the greatest enemies the Federationwould ever know.
Despite three seasons ofStar Trek: The Original Seriesand sixStar Trekmovies worth of combat, Captain Kirk admirably made a habit of leaving former foes alive whenever possible. Sure, Jim might give them aclassic double-fisted punch, butmore often than not, William Shatner’s Captain Kirk chosenotto kill. The Captain Kirk ofStar Trek:The Original Serieswas a maverick who often laughed in the face of protocol and wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, but he nevertheless exercised more restraint than he is often given credit for.
Captain Kirk Killed 574 People In Star Trek
It Sounds Like A Lot, But It’s Less In Practice
The total kill count for Captain Kirk is, depending on how you count it, at least 574 people.That is a staggeringly large number, but for starters, it is worth defining what"people"means in the context ofStar Trek. For this count, a person is any sentient being, be they humanoid or a Dikironium cloud creature. It is also worth defining thatwe are counting Kirk’s direct kills.Edith Keeler’s (Joan Collins) erasure from existence, though tragic, does not count as a kill since it wasn’t directly Kirk’s intention. The crew of the D7 Klingon vessel that is destroyed when Captain Kirk gives the order to fire inStar Trek: The Original Seriesseason 1’s “Errand of Mercy,“do count since Captain Kirk ordered their deaths.
Star Trek: Captain Kirk’s 5 Greatest Klingon Enemies, Ranked
Captain James T. Kirk went up against Klingons numerous times throughout his Star Trek career, but these five were particularly formidable.
In fact, that Klingon D7 battlecruiser accounts for the vast majority of Captain Kirk’s kills: fully crewed D7 class Klingon vessels have a crew complement of 430. Another 100 kills happened when Kirk forced the Zetarians out of a crewman inStar Trek: The Original Series'“The Lights of Zetar.” Compared to otherStar Trekcaptainswho have blown up multiple starshiips, Captain Kirk’s record seems remarkably clean. He may not have been a pacifist, butCaptain Kirk only killed 15 named characters inStar Trek:The Original Seriesand its movies.
Despite His Reputation For Fighting, Captain Kirk Avoided Killing Enemies Whenever Possible
The Longer He Was A Captain, The Less Kirk Used Lethal Force
Perhaps the most important aspect of Captain Kirk’s confirmed kills is that they were not evenly distributed across William Shatner’sStar Trekappearances. In the first season ofStar Trek:The Original Series, Captain Kirk kills five people on top of the crew of the Klingon D7 starship. In three of theTOSmovies andStar Trek: The Animated Series, Captain Kirk kills no one at all.Despite Captain Kirk’s lifetime habit of bucking Starfleet’s rules and protocols, he killed less and less asStar Trekcontinued.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Total: 6
This matters becauseStar Trek: The Original Serieslaid the groundwork for the rest ofStar Trek.At the same time that Captain Kirk was maturing and killing less,Star Trekas a franchise was doing the same.William Shatner’s Captain Kirk set the standard for every subsequent Starfleet captain, and part of that standard was a move away from killing. Captain Kirk was never one to turn away from a fight, but acrossStar Trek: The Original Seriesand beyond, he learned how to handle those fights while leaving his enemies alive.
