A draw dropping moment for one simple reason. They dared to kill off a main character. And one as iconic as Spock. I write this from an outside perspective because I was one when this Star Trek The Wrath Of Khan came out. Instead Ive considered how this event must have been perceived by its audience at the time. If you were to consider the original crew, most could be substituted. As great a loss as it would have been, you could have replaced Sulu or McCoy or even Scotty. Probably not Kirk. And definitely not Spock. It would be a different show (or film series) without him. As someone watching the Wrath of Khan at the time it was released, you must have assumed that despite all the dramatic events that had occurred battling the titular villain, the main characters would find away to escape alive. So for Spock to die saving his comrades (and remember there wasnt a plan for him to return at this point) must have left the audience in a state of shock. As his body is shot out to space in the torpedo tube, here was the death of one of the greatest icons in sci-fi. Spocks death is such a pivotal moment, theres a dramatic homage to this scene in Star Trek Into Darkness. (But dont worry, Spock will still be saving the day 9 films later, long after all those colleagues he once saved are long dead)