10 Greatest Ever Noble Sacrifices In Film

When the lethal Genesis Device is activated by Khan Noonien Singh towards the close of this second big screen Star Trek outing, the Enterprise faces certain annihilation as it cannot escape the blast radius in time thanks to a broken warp drive. In order to fix the drive, it requires someone to be exposed to a lethal amount of radiation. In other words, it’s a suicide mission that means sacrificing one life in order to save many more.

Naturally upon hearing such news, Captain Spock promptly steps up, seeing the undoubtable logic in such an action. Part of what makes his actions so affecting is Spock’s lack of emotion, the fact that he shows no flicker of doubt as to this being what he should do.

As Kirk later arrives at the warp core and finds his friend on the verge of death, we get a glimpse of both the faultless Vulcan logic and the sense of human compassion that Spock possesses. His recital of a Vulcan proverb “the needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few….or the one” is pure Vulcan, but his heartfelt assurance to Kirk, “I have been, and always shall be, your friend” is an unforgettable moment.

The close bond between Kirk and Spock has spanned countless years of TV show and movies and this final goodbye marked the culmination of a complex and occasionally fraught friendship. Seeing Spock say something so emotional and witnessing Kirk having such a distraught reaction to losing his friend was a monumental moment for any Star Trek fan.