Continued from Khan Noonien Singh: Design and Analysis, Source, Vengeance
Parallels
Khan appointment and reflects the character of Captain Ahab in Moby-Dick several times during the movie, taking their anger to the extreme to make Kirk pay for the evil that he violated, also has a parallel been highlighted in several literary publications. According to the professor of the University of Northern Colorado Jane Wall Hinds, Kirk represents both Ishmael and also to the whale, while Khan shows an obsession that leads him to ignore the wise advice of his crew, eventually leading to death in his vain attempt to destroy Kirk:
"He tasks me! He tasks me, and I Shall Have Him! I'll chase him round the Moons of Nibia, and round the Antares Maelstrom, and round perdition's flames Before I Give him up! "
"I hate you. I hate him and make him my prisoner. We will pursue through Nibia moons around the Antares [sic] and through the flames of destruction and never give up until you are. "
Khan in The Wrath of Khan.
According to Nicholas Meyer, the inspiration of the Revenge of Khan is in other classics like Paradise Lost and King Lear :
"I started thinking, 'What books does a superman take Into exile with him?" At one point, Khan says, 'On Earth I Was a prince,' and Certainly he's a fallen angel, so I Picked all the books That Were Lucifer-related - fallen angel - whether it Was 'Moby Dick' or 'Paradise Lost' or 'King Lear', and There Began to build from. I Thought, 'He's Probably Been obsessively reading These books again and again Until Every word out of His mouth has-been written by Shakespeare or Milton. " Actually, Melville Was the One Who Took finally over, I just Ahab Becomes Completely. "
"I started thinking," What books would take a superman to exile? " At one point, Khan said: "On Earth I was a prince" and certainly is a fallen angel, so I chose all the books I had to do with Lucifer, the fallen angel, was Moby Dick, Paradise Lost or The King Lear and began to build from there. I thought, "probably been obsessively reading these books over and over again until every word out of his mouth had been written by Shakespeare or Milton." In fact, Melville was finally won, he became completely Ahab. "
Nicholas Meyer, director's commentary.
As a superior man
On the surface, have been considered Khan shares some similarities with the concept of " Ubermensch "(Superman) by Friedrich Nietzsche . is mentally and physically superior to any human being, and shows an amoral reasoning. Professor William J. Devlin and Shai Biderman discussed in his book, Star Trek and Philosophy: The Wrath of Kant, Khan's character compared with the concept of Nietzsche and concluded that the blind commitment of character for revenge is against the ideal of transcendence and self-creation a life full of philosophical meaning of the term. In contrast, self-sacrifice of Spock in The Wrath of Khan is a better example of "Übermensch."
Reception and legacy
Khan's character was well received by critics. In a review of all films in the series Star Trek, Associated Press noted that the films could be classified according to how threatening was the enemy and Khan was the best of the series. One critic called the series 2002 on Khan as the greatest enemy seen in any movie. Star Trek's producer, Rick Berman , called the villain "menacing and memorable." Critics of The Wrath of Khan, as Roger Ebert , drew Khan as one of the best aspects of the film.
The critic Christopher Null says that "it is almost revealed word now among Trekkies Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is the undisputed best in the series and you'll never find his equal, " Khan also call 'the Best part in the race [Montalban]. " Despite feeling that the enemy of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , V'ger , was more cerebral and mysterious, author James Iaccino notes that many fans prefer the fight archetypal good vs. evil of confrontation between Kirk and Khan. The villains of the following Star Trek movies have been categorized according to Khan, reaching even the producer Paramount promised fans that the villain Star Trek Generations would be at least equal to Superman.IGN considered the best villain Khan in Star Trek, noting that paved the way for all seekers of vengeance enemies of the series: decades after the premiere of the film, "even those with little interest [in the series] know his name. "
Khan is also recognized as a great villain out of the series Star Trek. Associated Press considers it "one of the great villains of science fiction." In 2002, the 132 members of the Online Film Critics Society voted for Khan as one of the ten major movie villains of all time, being the Star Trek only character that appears in the list. Emmy Magazine also voted in 2006 to Khan as "the coolest TV character", beating other classic characters as The Doctor in Doctor Who and Commander Adama of Battlestar Galactica . The editors came to write that "Khan was so interesting that we would have bought a Chrysler Cordoba if you had told us, "referring to an advertising campaign in which Montalbán announced a Chrysler . The character also had a cultural impact beyond Star Trek universe. For example, a fragment of The Wrath of Khan in which Kirk yells "Khaaan!" Has been cited in series like The Big Bang Theory and used for humorous at websites like YTMND and in series like Robot Chicken .
After the blockbuster film Star Trek XI , of JJ Abrams , and the announcement that Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto would agree to appear in two sequels, several rumors circulating the Internet about the argument of the second film. Abrams said that thanks to the alternate timeline created in the film, return to Khan was a possibility. In an interview on MTV , said that "[Khan and Kirk] exist, and although his story is not exactly what is familiar to people, I can argue that the character of a person is what it is." Thus, for Abrams, Khan can be both just as evil, even Kirk never went into exile in Ceti Alpha V, since, for the director, "some people are destined to cross paths and Khan (...) is out there even if he does the same. "