The Problem with Khan: Trek‘s Shortage of Suitable Villainy

Saturday, December 10th, 2011 at 7:30am
  • 133 Comments
 
The Problem with Khan: <i>Trek</i>‘s Shortage of Suitable Villainy  

I don’t care if it’s Benicio Del Toro or Edgar Ramirez who ends up playing the mysterious villain in the long-awaited second JJ Abrams Star Trek movie, I swear. The only thing that I’m worried about is that, no matter who gets the role, it’s beginning to look a lot like they’ll be playing Khan Noonien Singh and… Well, do we really have to do this again? Isn’t there anyone else who can take over the Big Bad role for the next Trek?

Admittedly, the answer to that question might be “no”; the seemingly unquenchable desire to see Khan make a comeback in the second Trek movie from this new series underscores a strange fact about Trek in all its various forms: It didn’t really get into the arch-nemesis idea. Sure, there were a lot of recurring characters, and certainly all manner of alien races that were considered threats, but in terms of individual recurring villains…? Not so much. Surprisingly, there really is no Trek version of the Joker, or the Green Goblin or whoever.

When Trek was a television series, this was a plus; it meant that each episode potentially had the same weight as any other, and that you wouldn’t think that a Tribble episode or Harry Mudd or whatever would just be killing time until the next reappearance of the Big Bad – A problem, I think, that some of the revival series fell into, especially the arc-based Deep Space Nine, which (for me, at least) had episodes that really just felt like filler when I wanted to get to the next development with the Dominion. But movies are different; they almost demand the kind of sense of scale and “Things are going to get bad” that automatically comes with an arch-nemesis, and also the brevity in exposition that comes with one characters, rather than, say, an entire race like the Klingons or the Borg. There’s less time for worldbuilding in a movie, compared with a series, and more need for the bad guy to have a particular face.

(Consider Nero from the last Trek movie; an attempt to fill this gap, but not necessarily an entirely successful one; he lacked the name recognition that Khan or, let’s be honest, any other character from the original series could have brought, and I think that ultimately hurt both him and the movie, a little. Plus, let’s be honest: No-one really cares about the Romulans that much, even if you do destroy their entire race. They’ve always been the grumpy Vulcans to most people.)

So, it pretty much is Khan or nothing, right now, isn’t it? There aren’t any other singular villains in Trek that share his elevated status (Even if that status only, ironically, comes from his being plucked from relative obscurity and built up in a movie not unlike this one will likely be, twenty-odd years ago. While I’m at it, please someone tell me that I’m not the only person amused that said movie is called The Wrath of Khan considering that’s the character’s first name? Admittedly, The Wrath of Singh doesn’t sound as good, but still; it’s like calling the movie The Wrath of David or The Wrath of Jim or something). That feels like it could be a problem for Trek movies going forward, which is why I’m hope that the denials that whatever actor ends up as the big bad is going to get his Ricardo Montelban on aren’t just swerves/lies because everyone has already guessed what’s going on. I’d rather see an attempt to build up other familiar ideas and/or faces in the second movie, so that we won’t be left with the idea that Khan is the one major bad guy in the entire franchise.

Of course, not using Khan in the second movie also has the added benefit of keeping him available for a shock appearance in the third, just in case the second movie leaves audiences extremely disappointed. Trying new ideas and not giving the audience what they think they want only works for so long if the audience isn’t receptive, after all…

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  • Anonymous

    I think anyone who knows Bad Robot’s works, knows that they are all about “comparative existences”. So don’t expect to see something exactly the same as before. If Khan is in it, it doesn’t mean he is the villain, just because he was the villain before. Second, who says we only have one villain or issue to deal with? –It’s my guess that Abrams and Co. will juggle and spin. 

    Like in FRINGE, Reciprocity could still be playing out….you could see people change roles, or pass them onto someone else, someone we don’t even know. Additionally I have always wondered given that Bad Robot’s first film with Star Trek played strongly on whom is Spock going to be, if that also had to do with the fact that the previous time line was also attached to ‘the mirror universe’ and so the fate of this one is sort of struggling between the identities of the other two and just weighing out the effects of the initial displacement?

  • Anonymous

    I think anyone who knows Bad Robot’s works, knows that they are all about “comparative existences”. So don’t expect to see something exactly the same as before. If Khan is in it, it doesn’t mean he is the villain, just because he was the villain before. Second, who says we only have one villain or issue to deal with? –It’s my guess that Abrams and Co. will juggle and spin. 

    Like in FRINGE, Reciprocity could still be playing out….you could see people change roles, or pass them onto someone else, someone we don’t even know. Additionally I have always wondered given that Bad Robot’s first film with Star Trek played strongly on whom is Spock going to be, if that also had to do with the fact that the previous time line was also attached to ‘the mirror universe’ and so the fate of this one is sort of struggling between the identities of the other two and just weighing out the effects of the initial displacement?

  • Anonymous

    Exactly -it was execute the possibility of change. Reciprocity is occurring to help balance the new timeline out…planet for planet…but we don’t know if the effects are ever going to let the timeline be the same at some point, as the previous, but clearly with out Vulcan, the immediate time period in the new timeline could be signifigently different. Not to say that nothing will repeat, because you could say the previous timeline(s) is it’s parental timeline(s), and there for some ‘genes’ may be passed, but they may come out in different ways, or from unexpected places, while also making way for brand new things (evolution/law of averages)

    All the best cowboys have daddy issues. Be better than your father.

  • Anonymous

    Exactly -it was execute the possibility of change. Reciprocity is occurring to help balance the new timeline out…planet for planet…but we don’t know if the effects are ever going to let the timeline be the same at some point, as the previous, but clearly with out Vulcan, the immediate time period in the new timeline could be signifigently different. Not to say that nothing will repeat, because you could say the previous timeline(s) is it’s parental timeline(s), and there for some ‘genes’ may be passed, but they may come out in different ways, or from unexpected places, while also making way for brand new things (evolution/law of averages)

    All the best cowboys have daddy issues. Be better than your father.

  • Anonymous

    Exactly -it was execute the possibility of change. Reciprocity is occurring to help balance the new timeline out…planet for planet…but we don’t know if the effects are ever going to let the timeline be the same at some point, as the previous, but clearly with out Vulcan, the immediate time period in the new timeline could be signifigently different. Not to say that nothing will repeat, because you could say the previous timeline(s) is it’s parental timeline(s), and there for some ‘genes’ may be passed, but they may come out in different ways, or from unexpected places, while also making way for brand new things (evolution/law of averages)

    All the best cowboys have daddy issues. Be better than your father.

  • Excronimuss

    You couldn’t just jump into WRATH era with young Jimmy Kirk anyway, there’d need to be a Space Seed-ey type event before you could tell a Wrath-ey event.

  • Excronimuss

    You couldn’t just jump into WRATH era with young Jimmy Kirk anyway, there’d need to be a Space Seed-ey type event before you could tell a Wrath-ey event.

  • Excronimuss

    You couldn’t just jump into WRATH era with young Jimmy Kirk anyway, there’d need to be a Space Seed-ey type event before you could tell a Wrath-ey event.

  • Madcat

    Why not use the Gorn?!?..Just imagine velociraptors with starship capabilities and they view other races and/or species as nothing more than food sources.

  • Madcat

    Why not use the Gorn?!?..Just imagine velociraptors with starship capabilities and they view other races and/or species as nothing more than food sources.

  • Madcat

    Why not use the Gorn?!?..Just imagine velociraptors with starship capabilities and they view other races and/or species as nothing more than food sources.

  • sandwich eater

    Best idea ever

  • sandwich eater

    Best idea ever

  • sandwich eater

    Best idea ever

  • Tribbled

    I would’ve thought, given the changes from the last movie having ALL the original stuff available but different that they would have explored one of the threats that the original series never had the time or budget for. My personal hope was to see the Tholian Web. Just think, they were a badass in the original series (sure they got bluffed but hey Kirk is Kirk) but they left with some mystery. We never saw them (an original series race that was NEVER seen, Abrams could go nuts with FX and story because we know NOTHING about them…..except they can’t bluff). Oh well, maybe in three.

  • Tribbled

    I would’ve thought, given the changes from the last movie having ALL the original stuff available but different that they would have explored one of the threats that the original series never had the time or budget for. My personal hope was to see the Tholian Web. Just think, they were a badass in the original series (sure they got bluffed but hey Kirk is Kirk) but they left with some mystery. We never saw them (an original series race that was NEVER seen, Abrams could go nuts with FX and story because we know NOTHING about them…..except they can’t bluff). Oh well, maybe in three.

  • Tribbled

    I would’ve thought, given the changes from the last movie having ALL the original stuff available but different that they would have explored one of the threats that the original series never had the time or budget for. My personal hope was to see the Tholian Web. Just think, they were a badass in the original series (sure they got bluffed but hey Kirk is Kirk) but they left with some mystery. We never saw them (an original series race that was NEVER seen, Abrams could go nuts with FX and story because we know NOTHING about them…..except they can’t bluff). Oh well, maybe in three.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QKN5MHOI6VUFOYCTV5REK7M7A4 Jacob

    If you want to see TOS adventures with this cast, check out the ongoing Star Trek book from, I think, IDW.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QKN5MHOI6VUFOYCTV5REK7M7A4 Jacob

    If you want to see TOS adventures with this cast, check out the ongoing Star Trek book from, I think, IDW.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QKN5MHOI6VUFOYCTV5REK7M7A4 Jacob

    If you want to see TOS adventures with this cast, check out the ongoing Star Trek book from, I think, IDW.

  • Faherman

    There shouldn’t have to BE a villain, dammit.

  • Faherman

    There shouldn’t have to BE a villain, dammit.

  • Faherman

    There shouldn’t have to BE a villain, dammit.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XA4RDSRSUX3XRSCPRR7XNGSPUQ Joshua

    DS9 had Gul Dukat and the female shape shifter

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XA4RDSRSUX3XRSCPRR7XNGSPUQ Joshua

    DS9 had Gul Dukat and the female shape shifter

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XA4RDSRSUX3XRSCPRR7XNGSPUQ Joshua

    DS9 had Gul Dukat and the female shape shifter

  • Not Daniel

    It’s true, they HAVE said that.  But why let facts get in the way of a good, uninformed rant?

  • Not Daniel

    It’s true, they HAVE said that.  But why let facts get in the way of a good, uninformed rant?

  • Not Daniel

    It’s true, they HAVE said that.  But why let facts get in the way of a good, uninformed rant?

  • Lastnamecumbie

    Well enterprise changed the timeline originally by introducing us to the borg early so what if they use kahn but throw a curve ball in there by bringing in the borg which can be possible

  • http://profiles.google.com/video.beagle Video Beagle

    Those were 3 different characters.
    Kang was played by Ansara. Colicos played Kor, and Campbell played Koloth.  They were different in TOS and they were different when they reunited in DS9 (played by the original actors).

  • http://profiles.google.com/video.beagle Video Beagle

    I haven’t done a second watch, having gotten the SNL sketch feeling while watching it the first time. 

    Yes it had “epic” battles, but Trek wasn’t ever about that.

    The special disappointment was nuKirk who was playing a parody of what Shatner has become, rather than what Kirk was.  While he had swagger, Kirk was also very by the book and got to his position by being better then those around him, not by being the guy standing next to the captain when he was hurt.

  • http://profiles.google.com/video.beagle Video Beagle

    The problem with Q, is that unless you cast DeLancie, why bother.  And he’s frankly too old, and too not a name to be the big villian for the movie, I’d think.

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