A Number of Reasons Why Captain Kirk is (Objectively) Not the Best Star Trek Captain of All Time.

ARTICLE WRITTEN & EDITED BY:

Lee Fenton

Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise.

I love the guy, yet there’s always been something nagging at the back of my mind about the eternal debate of who is the superior captain – Kirk or Picard?

And it’s this:

Kirk realistically has no chance in this contest.

Sure, he’s an awesome action hero, with hugely attractive qualities; generally speaking — he saves the day and manages to do it with a full head of hair and with the swagger and air of a protagonist who’s impervious to hardship. But this question isn’t about “the best sci-fi action hero”, no, it’s a question of who is the best “Starfleet Captain”.

Or at least that’s how I’ve always heard it phrased when argued in the annals of fansite message boards and the everdreaded… youtube comment section. Kik vs Picard. A question as old as time itself. And I’m here today to settle it, once and for all.

List of Reasons Why Kirk Is Inadequate at His Job (being Captain of a Federation Starship).

He’s always getting into fistfights, even though it’s the future and y’know he’s a starship captain. His contemporaries tend to use their mental faculties to solve problems, relying more on diplomacy and outwitting their opponent. Yes, Kirk does this as well – but he also likes to punch the crap out of his enemies when all other avenues have failed. See Kirk kick the crap out of an unsuspecting Gorn in Season 1 Ep.18 for an example of this.

His brand of improvisation and ‘Magyver’ like tactics have allowed him out of a sticky situation on more than one occasion, but they don’t really align with Federation principles. He often breaks rules, and it could be argued that he has easily disobeyed his Starfleet training more than any of the other captains in Star Trek canon.

Here’s a quote that proves my point:

“Spock cites Kirk as having “violated 234 Starfleet regulations during his tenure,” which actually seems like a somewhat small figure, given Kirk made a career out of hot-headed disobedience. Spoke adds that Kirk, “disobeyed direct orders 19 times, the Prime Directive several more than that, and was – remarkably – only court-martialed twice.” [1] -ScreenRant.com

(IDW’s Defiant #5 an in-canon Star Trek comic)

I’m all for being a bit of a wildcard — but if it wasn’t for Kirk’s faithful compatriot and first officer, Spock – he would be too loose of a canon, unreliable, and wouldn’t have managed to achieve the level of recognition that he has. The man is unpredictable (which can be an asset, but doesn’t really mesh with Federation values) therefore he is not the best star-fleet captain, no, he’s more like their secret weapon that they use just in case… Y’know, “break glass in case of Klingons, release Kirk”, that sort of thing.

Okay, I think I’ve sufficiently made my point.

He never wanted to be a starship captain in the first place! Okay, well that’s only true in an alternate timeline, but he does try to shirk his responsibilities in Star Trek: Generations and remain in the Nexus, living in a virtual construct of his happiest moments.

Mind you, who wouldn’t?

He’s too busy looking for a one-night stand to be a focused and diligent leader.

Yes, obviously every starfleet captain gets some nookie during their tenure as commander, yet – it seems blatantly apparent that James Tyberius Kirk registers highest on the thirst-o-meter, managing to snag a date every other episode of TOS. Now it’s well known that Gene Roddenberry’s vision for the future was still mired in misogyny, as well as a more positive 60s sexual liberation movement; informing the writing (also casting & wardrobe, risqué attire being the norm for extras) and also the direction of the character. This is neither here nor there, my statement stands – James T. Kirk is too much of a ‘poon-hound’ to be entirely dedicated to his job.

He lacks the commitment and resoluteness to be the best Star Trek captain.

He never encountered the Borg.

I could honestly leave it there, and I think the statement stands for itself. Instead, let’s talk about the ‘Shatnerverse’.

Before I go on, this question seems tantamount to the whole discussion, what is my view on Canadian actor William Shatner? Well, in short – I think he’s a huge part of Hollywood history and one of the most important figures in Science Fiction TV of the last half of a century. I also love the character Captain Kirk, he’s unequivocally one of the most magnetic and easy to root for heroes that will ever grace Prime Time television.

This article is all in good fun, and the next one I write is going to be about William Shatner & his contributions. Also, someone else at WDM(c) is going to write a counter to this essay, arguing for Kirk being the best captain, so in the end it’s just an interesting topic to write about!

Hope I don’t get hate-mail over this.

Alright, now that that’s taken care of – back to the ‘Shatnerverse’ and the time that James Kirk fought the Borg. That’s right, there’s a book written by William Shatner, (technically canon) and it details an epic adventure in which Kirk manages to basically one-up everyone in the ‘The Next Generation’ cast and save their buttocks from a Borg invasion.

An excerpt from the book ‘The Return’

by William Shatner:

“He is able to defeat Worf in a bat’leth fight handily, seemingly without breaking a sweat. Riker, while being pursued by Kirk, describes Kirk’s phantom-like supernatural ability to easily get the drop on him. Finally, at the end of the novel, even Kirk’s enemies play up his amazing god-like abilities. Just like the Klingons in Star Trek V, the Romulans in The Return are so awed and amazed by Kirk’s abilities, they can’t help but mention just how awesome he is at every turn. “Kirk must be on that ship!” “Why do you think that?” “How else can they so easily defeat us?” Seriously? Also, over the years since “The Best of Both Worlds,” Starfleet has been contending with the Borg and barely escaping destruction at every turn. Well, no more! Enter Kirk! Silly 24th century, can’t even deal with a galactic menace. Guess Kirk will clean that up for them, too!” [2]- Quotes from a review of ‘The Return’ by Dan Gunther – www.TrekLit.com

So in closing I will state this, yes, James T. Kirk is quite possibly the most heroic and daring individual in the Star Trek universe; his ability to think outside the box and mentally outmaneuver his opponents is bar none — but when it comes to being a Federation captain, he doesn’t like to follow the General Orders and Regulations and has violated more than 234 Starfleet Regulations. William Shatner defined the series and is easily the biggest sci-fi star of the 60s. Kirk is one of the coolest characters in pop culture history (like Clint Eastwood in space but with a better set of hair!) but that’s not what the debate has been out for all these decades.

So, is Kirk the Best Starfleet captain?

No.

Not by a long shot.

(Want to know which Starfleet captain does rank as the greatest of all time?

Stay tuned for the next article, coming out within the week.)

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Starfleet Command General Orders and Regulations were a series of guidelines used to instruct members of Starfleet on the proper etiquette and policy in a situation that required consultation for a resolution. These protocols were the foundation of Starfleet and the responsibility of its officers to uphold and protect, ranging from all manners of duty, such as interstellar diplomacy to punctuation of reports. Violations of protocol could have led to being placed on report, a court martial, demotion of rank, or other reprimands. -https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/General_Orders_and_Regulations