Star Trek: 5 Literary Precursor Captains To James T. Kirk

[TMC]

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Why do I love Captain James T. Kirk so much? His leadership skills? Is it his tactical genius or his love of history? It could be the self-developed double hammer-fist, judo-flipping, flying drop-kick style of martial arts? What about his way with the ladies? Granted, that last one would be pretty much worth all of them put together, but that would make me a pretty shallow person and end anybody’s interest in reading this article all together. So let’s not explore that option too much.

But there are a number of other heroic qualities about Kirk that make him a compelling character. For one thing, there’s his loyalty. Kirk is always the first member of a landing party. Granted, that’s more of a story device than a tactical decision. But what makes a great story is an unbeatable hero, rushing into a fray to confront the enemy. Kirk will sacrifice himself for crew and friends in a heartbeat and there are a number of occasions when he has placed himself on the altar to sacrifice himself for the sake of his command. Look at Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, for example. In order to protect the mauled Enterprise from Khan’s surprise attack, Kirk willingly offers to beam himself over to the Reliant. There are some friends or family who wouldn’t offer that level of commitment, but in a matter of mere seconds, Kirk instantly puts his life on the line without hesitation.

The other quality Kirk has going for him is the force of sheer bravado that permeates his tactical abilities. Kirk has faced a dreadnought-sized battleship in the TOS episode “The Corbomite Manoeuvre” with nothing but a simple bluff. Sure enough, the enemy backs down from his faked distress call to Starfleet that indicates he will detonate a massive explosive to prevent the Enterprise from falling into enemy hands. Or what about “The Enterprise Incident”, when faced with overwhelming odds of three-to-one, he fakes his death, disguises himself as a Romulan and steals the Romulan Empire’s most strategic piece of technology and manages to escape with his ship intact. Sheer balls … of Romulan plasma energy weapons aside, Kirk makes tactical guesses that are innately decided to the moment, taking into account all of the resources he has at his disposal. Hey, remember that this is a guy who does NOT accept the concept of a “no-win scenario”. Kirk just sees options that the rest of us wouldn’t.

What about his charm? For a leader, it’s essential to be able to persuade people to your point of view. He’s the consummate “cowboy-diplomat” we saw in “Journey to Babel”, placating violent Tellarites and even convincing Vulcans with his passion (his passion! Come on!), Kirk knows the right thing to say to enlist the support he needs. Shatner soliloquys aside, one cannot help but be moved by the impassioned speech to Commander Kang in “Day of the Dove”, when he needs the Klingon to stop fighting and drive the alien intruder from the Enterprise. He manages to stop a Klingon from fighting – and convinces him to have a good laugh at the same time.

But where does all this come from? The influences can be seen in previous works of literature. Trust me – they’re there – if you know what to look for. There are five characters that immediately come to my mind. If you’ve heard of them, maybe you can see the similarities. If you haven’t heard of them – get thee hence to a library, post-haste!

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