Star Trek Into Darknessimmediately broke an impressive Starfleet record held by Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine).Star Trek Into Darknesswas the follow-up to director J.J. Abrams’Star Trek(2009) reboot that recast the charactersfromStar Trek: The Original Seriesand set the young Starfleet heroes in an alternate timeline.Chris Pine’s Kirk lived a different life than William Shatner’s Kirk,and he became Captain of the Enterprise years before Shatner’s Kirk did inStar Trek’s Prime timeline.
Star Trek (2009) endedwith James T. Kirk and Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto) leading the Starship Enterprise to defeat Nero (Eric Bana), a genocidal Romulan who came from the 24th century. For his exemplary heroism, Kirk was promoted to Captain and given command of the USS Enterprise, relieving its injured former commander, Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood). Kirk launched the Enterprise on a new mission to explore strange new worlds, andStar Trek Into Darknesspicks up the story one year later, in 2259.
Kirk Didn’t Lose Any Starship Enterprise Crew Until Star Trek Into Darkness
Not Even Redshirts Died Under Captain Kirk’s Watch
Star Trek Into Darknessbegan with Captain Kirk leading a mission to Nibiru, where the Starship Enterprise prevented a volcanic eruption that would destroy the planet. Kirk’s gambit nearly killed Spock, and the Enterprise violatedStar Trek’s Prime Directiveby exposing the starship to the primitive people of Nibiru. At Starfleet Command, Admiral Pike tore into Kirk, admonishing him for nearly getting his crew killed. Kirk replied,“Except I didn’t! You know how many crew members I’ve lost? Not one! Not one!”
Star Trek Into Darkness Ending & Problems Explained
Star Trek Into Darkness' chaotic ending belied the numerous issues that plagued J.J. Abrams' sequel, which rehashed Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Taking Captain Kirk at his word - and Jim’s boast could have easily been disproven - thenKirk had an exemplary record during his first year as Captain of the Enterprise. Kirk didn’t even lose anyRedshirts betweenStar Trek(2009) andStar Trek Into Darkness. Tragically,Star Trek Into Darknessquickly blemished Kirk’s spotless record. Numerous Enterprise crew members died in the film, some horrifically flung into space while the starship was in mid-warp and pursued by Admiral Alexander Marcus' (Peter Weller) USS Vengeance.
Captain Kirk Also Died In Star Trek Into Darkness (But Was Quickly Resurrected)
The Enterprise’s Body Count Also Included Its Captain
Among the body count ofStar Trek Into Darknesswas Captain James T. Kirk himself. Kirk sacrificed his life by physically reactivating the Starship Enterprise’s warp core, and he quickly succumbed to radiation poisoning. However, unlike the personnel he lost, Kirk was quickly resurrected. After Spock and Lt. Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana) captured Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch),Dr. Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban) used Khan’s genetically engineered"super blood"to bring Kirk back to life.
For one shining year before Star Trek Into Darkness began, Captain Kirk kept his entire Enterprise crew alive.
Star Trek Into Darknessmarked the only time in aStar Trekmovie that Captain Kirk died while commanding the USS Enterprise, and was brought back to life. In contrast,William Shatner’s Captain Kirk died inStar Trek Generations, and he was never resurrected. InStar Trek Beyond, Captain Kirk lost more crew members to Krall (Idris Elba) and his Swarm on Altamid, and the Starship Enterprise was also destroyed. But for one shining year beforeStar Trek Into Darknessbegan, Captain Kirk kept his entire Enterprise crew alive.
