10 Star Trek Villains Who Actually Won

7. Nero - Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek Nero
Paramount

In 2009, Eric Bana burst onto our screens as the derranged Romulan, Nero. He had travelled via black hole into the past, intent on chasing Ambassador Spock to make him pay for, what he felt was, the crime of allowing Romulus to be destroyed.

Within moments of arriving, he made waves. The attack on the USS Kelvin cost the lives of many crewmembers, including George Kirk, father of James. While the ship was damaged (and Nero himself would spend time in a Klingon prison), both returned years later to launch an attack on the planet Vulcan, determined to make Spock watch as his world was lost.

And it is successful.

Nero launches a drill to bore a shaft through to the planets core, then launches red matter into the hole. The crew of the Enterprise can only watch in horror as Vulcan is torn apart by the gravimetric forces of the newly constructed black hole.

Whatever Nero's later fate became, he was the man who destroyed Vulcan.

Contributor
Contributor

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"