10 Best Movies Where The Hero And Villain Never Meet

3. Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan

True Romance
Paramount Pictures

Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan is widely considered by fans to be the best film in the franchise, and the main reason for that has everything to do with the rivalry between Admiral James T. Kirk and Khan Noonien Singh. The two met previously in the original Star Trek series via an episode called "Space Seed."

That event set in motion what came to pass in Wrath of Khan, and Khan wanted nothing but revenge against the man who defeated and exiled him on a planet that suffered a major environmental calamity. When Khan got his hands on a ship, he wasted no time hunting down the Admiral.

The film follows several conflicts between Khan and Kirk, which sees the latter trapped within an asteroid, and eventually climaxes with Kirk's Enterprise and Khan's Reliant facing off against one another. Throughout this exchange, the two communicate through viewscreens and comms but never face to face.

In many ways, their conflict plays out much like a submarine movie, but seeing as they could teleport and meet in person, had they wanted to, it stands apart. Instead, both actors managed to convey their disdain for one another in an elegant and destructive way, that makes Wrath of Khan stand as one of the greatest movies in science-fiction history.

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Jonathan is a graphic artist, illustrator, writer, and game designer. Jonathan retired from the U.S. Army in 2017 and enjoys researching and writing about history, science, theology, and many other subjects. He writes for ScreenRant, CBR, NerdBastards, Listverse, Ranker, WhatCulture, and many other sites online. You can check out his latest on Twitter: @TalkingBull or on his blog: jonathanhkantor.com