10 Star Trek Captains Who Broke The Rules

5. Hikaru Sulu

Sulu Star Trek Undiscovered Country
Paramount Pictures

Sulu first appears in Where No Man Has Gone Before, the second pilot of Star Trek, but it would take twenty five years for the man to finally achieve the rank of the captain. That is, if you ignore those original scripts for Star Trek II, but let's not worry about that right now.

In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Hikaru Sulu has taken command of the USS Excelsior, having already completed two years of scientific research in the Beta Quadrant when Praxis explodes. 

This sets off a chain of events that leads to Sulu breaking all of the rules to come to the aid of the 'renegade' Enterprise-A. Having rescued Kirk, that ship needs to know the location of the peace talks between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Sulu is only too happy to oblige.

There's also no argument that the man wasn't fully aware of his actions. Kirk even reminds him that by accepting this communication from the Enterprise, he risks a court martial. Sulu sardonically says their transmission is breaking up, and that he cannot he a thing the captain is saying.

Whatever is to be said about Shatner and Takei's long-term feud, they truly play very well off each other on-screen, one rule breaker to another. 

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"