6. Captain James Tiberius Kirk - Star Trek Into Darkness
If, like me, you were a newcomer to the Stark Trek universe before J.J. Abrams got his wizard-like hands on the franchise, then you might have been shocked to see Captain Kirk's demise in Star Trek: Into Darkness. After all, lead characters aren't supposed to die. In true Kirk style, and echoing the actions of his late father, Kirk sacrifices himself to save the USS Enterprise and her crew. After Khan goes back on his agreement not to fire on the Enterprise, the ship is caught in a downward plummet towards Earth. With no power and the death of his crew imminent, Kirk bravely clambers into the reactor chamber to realign the warp core and save the ship. The radiation levels are too much though, and Kirk succumbs just as he makes it to the door of the reactor chamber, dying of radiation poisoning as a distraught Spock watches on helplessly through the glass. The death sets up the finale excellently with Spock going out of his Vulcan mind with rage, beaming down to Earth to capture Khan and save his friend: it's this uncharacteristic anger alone which saves Kirk. If you're a long-term Trekkie and loved the Wrath of Khan movie, then you probably hated this instalment! I know it's supposed to be Spock that dies in the chamber, with Kirk memorably screaming "KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!", but this only adds to the shock value: after all, how many fans were expecting these roles to be reversed once they found out John Harrison was actually Khan?
