James T. Kirk (alternate reality)
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference
(split 2233)
 Captain James T. Kirk (2258) | |
| Gender: | Male |
| Species: | Human |
| Affiliation: | United Federation of Planets |
| Rank: | Captain |
| Occupation: | Starfleet officer |
| Status: | Alive (2258) |
| Born: | 2233 (stardate "2233-zero-four"), Medical Shuttle 37, space |
| Father: | George Kirk a stepfather |
| Mother: | Winona Kirk |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Other Relative(s): | Tiberius Kirk (paternal grandfather) James (maternal grandfather) |
| Played by: | Chris Pine (2255-2258) Jimmy Bennett (2240s) unknown performer (2233) |
 James T. Kirk (2240s) | |
- You may be looking for the prime reality James T. Kirk.
- You may be looking for the mirror universe James T. Kirk
James Tiberius Kirk was a Human Starfleet captain during the 23rd century. He was named commanding officer of the USS Enterprise directly out of training at Starfleet Academy after saving Earth and the United Federation of Planets from the vengeful Nero. (Star Trek)
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Birth
James T. Kirk was born in 2233, on Medical Shuttle 37 of the USS Kelvin, to Winona Kirk and George Kirk in the alternate reality that was created by Nero's incursion. James' birth occured while his father piloted the Kelvin towards the Narada. George was able to hear his son's first cries over the comm system. James was named after his mother's father, Jim, and his father's father, Tiberius, shortly before George Kirk died in the collision with the Narada.
[edit] Early life
Kirk was raised in Iowa by his mother and had a somewhat rebellious streak in him when growing up, once taking his stepfather's car on a joyride that culminated with the car sailing over a cliff and into a deep quarry, nearly taking a defiant young James with it.
By 2255, Kirk was an aimless rebel who had found himself on the wrong side of the law on more than one occasion, despite taking Starfleet aptitude tests with "off the chart" results. While visiting the bar near the Riverside Shipyard, an inebriated Kirk met and began flirting with a Starfleet cadet named Uhura. Although annoyed by Kirk's advances, Uhura was impressed by Kirk's familiarity with the study of xenolinguistics. Moments later, four male cadets, displeased at the attention Kirk was giving Uhura, engaged him in a bar fight. He was ultimately overwhelmed by the cadets until Captain Christopher Pike broke off the fight.
Pike, who wrote his dissertation on the USS Kelvin, pushed the rebel to challenge himself and reach the greater potential he was capable of achieving. He tried to persuade him to join Starfleet, firmly believing that he was destined for greater things than being "the only genius-level repeat offender in the mid-west." Kirk laughed at the idea of joining Starfleet, but Pike reassured him based on his exams that he could make captain and have his own ship in only eight years. He reminded Kirk that his father had saved 800 lives, including Kirk's and his mother's, and dared young Kirk to do better.
Soon after their conversation, and to Pike's surprise, Kirk decided to enlist with the intent of completing the Academy training in three years. He rode onto the shipyard, gave his bike to a construction worker, and boarded a shuttle for new recruits heading to Starfleet Academy. It was on the trip to the Academy that he first met Leonard McCoy.
[edit] Starfleet Academy
While at the Academy, Kirk and McCoy became close friends. Kirk had been promoted to Lieutenant, but had failed the Kobayashi Maru test twice. He decided to take it a third time, being sure that he would succeed. He eventually managed to cheat the test and won. Spock, who programmed the "no-win scenario," investigated the matter.
While defending his actions to his superiors, Kirk argued that the test itself was a cheat, and stated he didn't believe in the no-win scenario, something he believed his father would agree with. Kirk asked to face his accuser, and Spock stepped up. This was the first time the two met, and they immediately clashed over their differences.
Kirk and Spock continued to engage in a heated argument, when the hearing was suddenly interrupted after Starfleet received a distress call from Vulcan. Many of the cadets were called into action, but Kirk - who had been suspended because of his recent academic dishonesty charges - was not allowed to join. McCoy, however, was able to get him aboard the Enterprise by injecting him with a vaccine for the Levaran Mud Fleas to make him temporarily sick. McCoy then used medical regulations to get Kirk aboard the shuttlecraft Moore, which transferred them both the the U.S.S. Enterprise.
[edit] USS Enterprise
[edit] Stowaway
Kirk attempted to warn Captain Pike and Commander Spock that the ship was heading into danger, and that the disaster occurring over Vulcan was actually an attack by Romulans. However, distracted by their own frustrations over Kirk's unauthorized transfer and ill-advised presence on the Bridge, the two men initially refused to listen. Eventually, Kirk, McCoy, and Uhura were able to convince Pike of the danger. Pike raised the Enterprise's shields as they entered the Vulcan system, only to find a massive field of destroyed Federation starships that had been attacked by Nero.
As Pike was en route to a shuttlecraft to negotiate with Nero, he appointed Kirk as acting first officer, and Spock was put in charge of the ship.
[edit] First officer
Along with Chief Engineer Olson and Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, Kirk skydived onto the drilling platform that had been lowered by the Narada into the planet's atmosphere. Olson failed to deploy his chute in time, and was vaporized by the drilling beam. Kirk and Sulu landed on the platform, and faced off against two of Nero's crew. Kirk and Sulu eventually killed both of their adversaries before destroying the platform. Sulu fell from the platform before they could be beamed off, and Kirk dove after him. He caught Sulu before being narrowly transported by navigator Pavel Chekov.
The Narada, on Nero's orders, deployed a red matter device into the newly-created chasm, creating a black hole in the planet's core. Spock quickly ordered an immediate evacuation and personally beamed down to the surface to escort the Vulcan elders, but lost his mother when the ground beneath her feet collapsed during transport. Vulcan was then completely swallowed by the black hole, with only 10,000 Vulcans surviving the cataclysm.
As the Enterprise went to warp, Kirk attempted to dissuade Commander Spock from a rendezvous with the rest of Starfleet at the Laurentian system. He urged Spock to go after the Narada, which was headed for Earth, reminding him that Pike had intended for Spock to retrieve him. After discussing the nature of Nero's presence in what the crew discerned to be an alternate reality, Kirk redoubled his effort to persuade Spock to change his mind. Spock finally ordered Kirk's removal from the bridge, and when Kirk tried to fight off the security guards, Spock rendered Kirk unconscious and threw him off the ship in an escape pod.
[edit] Exile
Kirk landed on Delta Vega, some kilometers away from a Starfleet outpost. The computer instructed Kirk to remain in his pod until authorities could retrieve him, but he quickly ignored those instructions.
After being chased into a cave by a hengrauggi, Kirk was rescued by Ambassador Spock, the counterpart of Kirk's exiler, from the year 2387. Spock was surprised to learn that Kirk had been marooned on the planet for mutiny, as he had assumed that Kirk was in command of the Enterprise. The two then entered into a mind meld, in which Spock explained that he was from 129 year into the future, and that Nero was seeking revenge for the destruction of Romulus.
Kirk and Spock traveled to the Starfleet outpost, and found a man named Montgomery Scott, whom Spock recognized from his own timeline. Spock instructed Kirk to take command of the Enterprise by forcing the young Spock to compromise his emotional control, and to step down under Starfleet Regulation 619. Using knowledge of trans-warp beaming from the future, Spock beamed Scotty and Kirk aboard the Enterprise, where they were eventually captured by security. Following the advice of Ambassador Spock, Kirk provoked the alternate version to attack him by mentioning the destruction of his planet and the death of his mother, whom he accused Spock of never having loved. Spock violently attacked Kirk, nearly strangling him before Spock's father stepped in and stopped him.
An emotionally-compromised Spock resign command, and Kirk became acting captain of the Enterprise. He immediately ordered all departments to prepare to engage the Narada.
[edit] Acting captain
Returned to duty, Spock volunteered to board the Narada to stop Nero. Kirk refused to let him go alone, insisting that he join him. Spock realized that he could try and stop Kirk by citing regulation, but knew that Kirk would just ignore it.
Hiding in orbit above Saturn's moon, Titan, the Enterprise beamed Kirk and Spock aboard Nero's ship. However, instead of beaming in with the element of surprise, they were beamed into a large chamber occupied by several of Nero's men. Kirk and Spock drew their phasers and a gun fight ensued, with Nero's men being killed. Kirk and Spock decided to split up, with Spock diverting Nero away from Earth and Kirk going to find Pike.
Kirk confronted Nero and a fight ensued in which Nero nearly killed Kirk. However, Spock, having stolen the Jellyfish from the Narada's hold, destroyed the drilling rig as it plummeted into San Francisco Bay, distracting Nero and leaving Ayel to fight Kirk. When it seemed Ayel had the upper hand in the fight, Kirk grabbed the Romulan's disruptor from his own belt and shot him at point-blank range. Spock then led the Narada away from Earth, inciting Nero to attack.
Kirk found Pike, and was beamed back to the Enterprise. At the same time, Spock put the Jellyfish on a collision course with the Narada just before being beamed off himself. The resulting explosion ignited the red matter and created a black hole inside the Narada. Against Spock's advice once again, Kirk decided to give Nero and his remaining crew a chance to beam to the Enterprise and surrender. After Nero strongly declined, Kirk ordered the Narada destroyed in order to prevent Nero or his ship from appearing somewhere else in time.
[edit] Captain of the USS Enterprise
Upon his return to Earth, Kirk was officially appointed as captain of the Enterprise by Admiral Richard Barnett. He received commendation for successfully leading the mission and saving Earth, as Spock Prime observed the proceedings.
Sporting a proper gold command uniform, Kirk entered the bridge and took command of the Enterprise, telling McCoy to "buckle up" as he sat in the captain's chair. Spock arrived and requested the permanent post as Kirk's first officer, which Kirk accepted. He then ordered the launch of the Enterprise, and the ship went into warp speed.
[edit] Relationships
[edit] Friendships
[edit] Spock
Kirk initially had a largely antagonistic relationship with Spock, mainly due to their vastly different philosophies and approaches to command. The frictions began first at Starfleet Academy when Kirk cheated on a test Spock had designed, and then later continued when the disparate pair worked side by side on the USS Enterprise, eventually resulting in Spock throwing Kirk off the ship altogether. However, their attitudes towards each other softened after an encounter with an older version of Spock from an alternate future, who revealed that in fact the two had shared a great friendship in his timeline.
[edit] Spock (Prime)
Spock helped Kirk understand the alternate reality and to know that he was captain of the Enterprise and friends with Spock in the Prime Spock's timeline.
[edit] Leonard McCoy
Kirk and McCoy met on a transport shuttle to Starfleet Academy, when the pair found themselves in adjacent seats where a slightly neurotic McCoy instantly opened up to the rebellious and somewhat incredulous Kirk. The two remained good friends throughout their time together at the Academy. When the time came, McCoy always had Kirk's back, such as helping to get him aboard the Enterprise after his suspension and berating Spock for throwing Kirk off the ship and marooning him on Delta Vega.
[edit] Nyota Uhura
Kirk first met Nyota Uhura at a bar in Iowa in 2255, audaciously flirting with her while intoxicated, angering some other patrons of the bar, resulting in a fight. He met her again when the two studied at Starfleet Academy, although she preferred to keep a distance from him - not even ever telling him her first name - as she saw him as brash and uncouth. The pair ended up serving together aboard the Enterprise but she continued to maintain her distance. It was Kirk and his dependency on her xenolinguistics that got her stationed on the bridge. When Kirk was granted permanent command of the Enterprise, he chose Uhura as one of his senior officers.
[edit] Hikaru Sulu
Kirk seemed to have been surprised at Hikaru Sulu's special training in close-hand combat, specializing in fencing. Kirk committed a selfless act when he dove off the drill platform to save Hikaru Sulu from death on Vulcan.
When Kirk appointed himself as acting captain, Sulu reminded everyone that he was already first officer and therefore was technically captain after Spock had stood down from the post.
[edit] Enemies
[edit] Nero
Nero killed Kirk's father George in 2233. Despite this, Kirk was willing to offer assistance to his father's killer when his ship was caught in between a black hole created by the remaining red matter. However, the Romulan refused his assistance and stated that he'd "rather suffer the end of Romulus a thousand times" and "die in agony". Kirk obliged him by completing the destruction of the Narada as it was consumed by the black hole.
[edit] Key dates
- 2233: Born on Medical Shuttle 37 that was attached to the late USS Kelvin
- 2233-2255: Raised in Iowa
- 2255-2258: Cadet/Lieutenant at Starfleet Academy
- 2258:
- Appointed acting first officer of the USS Enterprise
- Elevated to acting captain of the USS Enterprise
- Appointed captain of the USS Enterprise
[edit] Memorable quotes
"Citizen, what is your name?"
"My name is James Tiberius Kirk."
- - Iowa Cop and a young Kirk (Star Trek)
"If you don't give me a name, I'm gonna have to make one up."
"It's Uhura."
"Uhura? No way! That's the name I was gonna make up for you!"
- - James Kirk and Nyota Uhura (Star Trek)
"Four years? I'll do it in three."
- - Kirk accepts Pike's offer (Star Trek)
"Two Klingon vessels have entered the Neutral zone and are locking weapons on us."
"That's ok."
"That's ok?!"
"Yeah, don't worry about it."
- - McCoy and Kirk in the Kobayashi Maru scenario (Star Trek)
"I don't believe in no-win scenarios."
- - Kirk (Star Trek)
"Who was that pointy-eared bastard?"
"I don't know. But I like him."
- - Kirk and McCoy after meeting Spock for the first time (Star Trek)
"I am Spock."
(Pause)
"Bullshit."
- - Spock Prime and James Kirk (Star Trek)
"Attention crew of the Enterprise, this is James Kirk. Mr. Spock has resigned commission and advanced me to acting captain. I know you are all expecting to regroup with the fleet, but I'm ordering a pursuit course of the enemy ship to Earth. I want all departments at battle stations and ready in ten minutes. Either we're going down... or they are. Kirk out."
- - Kirk, after taking command (Star Trek)
"I got your gun."
- - Kirk to Ayel right before he shoots and kills him with his own disruptor (Star Trek)
"I would rather suffer the end of Romulus a thousand times. I would rather die in agony, than accept assistance from you."
"You got it. Arm phasers, fire everything we've got."
- - Kirk's response to Nero after suggesting Nero to surrender peacefully (Star Trek)
"Bones... buckle up!"
- - James Kirk to Leonard McCoy, as his first words on the bridge of the Enterprise as its assigned captain (Star Trek)
| Commanding officers of the starships Enterprise | |
|---|---|
| Enterprise (NX-01): | Archer • T'Pol • Tucker • Lorian |
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701): | April • Pike • Kirk • Decker • Spock |
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A): | Kirk |
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B): | Harriman |
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C): | Garrett |
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D): | Picard • Riker • Jellico • Halloway |
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E): | Picard |
| ISS Enterprise (NX-01): | Forrest |
| ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701): | Pike • Kirk |
| USS Enterprise (alternate reality): | Pike • Spock • Kirk |
[edit] Background information
James T. Kirk was portrayed by Chris Pine. Younger versions were portrayed by Jimmy Bennett and an unknown performer.
Originally, Winona would not have remarried, but left her boys to be cared for by her brother (or brother-in-law) Frank (Brad William Henke), who was abusive to them whenever she was off-world. This forced George Samuel Kirk to run away from home, and Jim, who was a good pupil who always obeyed orders, to steal George's antique car that Frank treated as if it was his own.
The novelization of 2009's Star Trek by Alan Dean Foster states that Winona Kirk was given an inhibitor that would help slow the birth of James until the Kelvin's return to Earth. However, the impacts to the ship by the Narada's attack cause her to go into early labor. Screenwriter Roberto Orci joked in a message board post that the radiation from Kirk's premature birth in space caused his eyes to go blue. [1]
Orci and Kurtzman based Kirk and Spock's relationship on Paul McCartney and John Lennon, two very different musicians who bonded early in life, partly because they both lost a parent (in Kirk's case, his father, and in Spock's, his mother). [2]
