10 MORE Greatest Battles In Star Trek
1. The Battle In The Mutara Nebula
There were many comments on our first list decrying the lack of inclusion for Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan. Our defence here is simple: gotta keep something for the sequel. Now, perhaps we didn't anticipate it would take so long for us to get back to it!
The naval-inspired battle that the Enterprise and the Reliant engage each other in has gone down in history as one of the most tense encounters in Star Trek. For the first time in years, it truly felt as though the stakes were high. The Enterprise was physically matched, Khan was a superman in terms of intellect, and the audience had been promised that Spock was going to die.
To be blunt, we were nervous going in, and what we got only heightened things. The use of three dimensional tactics may seem obvious now but in Trek, which had for the longest time operated on a tight television budget, this was radical. When the Enterprise ascended behind the Reliant, it was a glorious moment - even if the cost was almost too high.
If it has been a while since you've watched this scene, go back and enjoy the masterclass in tension, direction, and pacing. More than forty years later, this Star Trek sequel contains one of the greatest stand-offs in the franchise's history.