10 Times Star Trek Didn't Think It Through

7. Curing Death

Star Trek Into Darkness McCoy Tribble
Paramount Pictures

In Star Trek Into Darkness, Dr McCoy cures death. 

When Kirk is killed toward the film's climax, all seems lost. McCoy, spent and upset, collapses into his chair only to then be distracted by Tribble Jesus beginning to move. This divine creature had been the recipient of Khan's blood, which revived it. Inspired, McCoy then calls for Spock to bring Khan in alive.

A few fisticuffs later, Kirk opens his eyes, having been resurrected by McCoy. The doctor jokes that Kirk had only been 'barely' dead, and not another word is said about it.

So, in the Kelvin universe, now that Khan is on ice, is death merely a state like sleep? Can people who are killed in the field get access to a synthetic version of Khan's blood? Does this mean that genetic engineering is completely fine with Starfleet there? 

Did anyone care? The entire sequence makes for a nice save in this quasi-remake of The Wrath Of Khan, but one has to wonder how much thought went into the ramifications of McCoy's realisation.

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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"