The Ultimate Confrontations: Unveiling Star Trek's Most Intense Arch Rivals

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, season 4, episode 7, "A Few Badgeys More."

Summary

Star Trek boasts a rich heritage of gripping rivalries that persist, even though Gene Roddenberry favored a lack of personal conflicts.

Prominent rivalries encompass Captain Kirk clashing with Khan, Commander Riker opposing Commander Shelby, and Lt. Worf contending with the House of Duras.

Professional rivalries can also exist within the Star Trek universe, such as the one between Captain Archer and Shran, as well as the contentious relationship between android brothers, Data and Lore. Despite Gene Roddenberry's initial vision of no interpersonal conflict in Star Trek, the franchise has developed a wide array of arch-rivals throughout its movies and TV shows. The return of Badgey in Star Trek: Lower Decks serves as a climactic encounter between the unstable hologram and his rival Lt. JG Samanthan Rutherford, prompting viewers to reflect on other memorable Star Trek rivalries. Despite Roddenberry's reservations, the essence of strong rivalry has been a pivotal component in some of the franchise's most captivating narratives for nearly six decades. In fact, the pursuit to recreate the iconic rivalry between Admiral James T. Kirk and Khan Noonien-Singh continues, although with varying degrees of success.

10 Commander Riker & Commander Shelby

The remake of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness served as a prime example of how a strong rivalry relies just as much on the actors as it does on the characters. While Chris Pine and Benedict Cumberbatch are talented actors, they couldn't quite capture the unique chemistry that William Shatner and Ricardo Montalban brought to the original film. Another underwhelming clash between characters occurred in Star Trek: Nemesis, where Captain Jean-Luc Picard (played by Patrick Stewart) and Praetor Shinzon (portrayed by Tom Hardy) failed to create a compelling rivalry. Nevertheless, for every disappointing character clash, there exists a vast array of captivating antagonistic relationships between the heroes and villains of the Star Trek universe.

Not all rivalries in Star Trek involve heroes and villains. Some are professional in nature, like the rivalry between Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Commander Elizabeth Shelby (Elizabeth Dennehy). Shelby made a single appearance in Star Trek: The Next Generation, specifically in the iconic two-part episode "The Best of Both Worlds." She joined the USS Enterprise-D with the intention of taking Riker's position. When Captain Picard was assimilated by the Borg, Shelby became Riker's second-in-command, but their relationship remained tumultuous and ended on a sour note. In Star Trek: Picard season 3, it was revealed that Riker still harbored animosity towards Shelby, primarily due to her affinity for "Borg-like" technology.

9 Captain Archer & Shran

The relationship between Captain Jonathan Archer (portrayed by Scott Bakula) and Thy'lek Shran (played by Jeffrey Combs) in Star Trek: Enterprise was often characterized by a begrudging camaraderie, bordering on rivalry. When Archer shared confidential information about a Vulcan listening post with Shran, it created a sense of indebtedness on the part of the Andorian. This dynamic shaped their interactions throughout the show's four seasons, as they continually exchanged favors and support. The intriguing blend of animosity and admiration between Archer and Shran made them an exceptional Star Trek duo. Interestingly, this complex friendship between a Human and an Andorian ultimately paved the way for the establishment of the United Federation of Planets.

8 Worf & The House Of Duras

Throughout both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Lt. Worf (played by Michael Dorn) had an ongoing blood feud with the entire House of Duras. This notorious family framed Worf's father, Mogh, for collaborating with the Romulan Star Empire, bringing immense shame upon their name. To make matters worse, Duras (portrayed by Patrick Massett) personally caused the death of Worf's beloved, K'Ehleyr (played by Suzie Plakson), which ultimately forced Worf to engage in a battle that resulted in Duras' demise. Despite his death, Duras' sisters Lursa (Barbara March), B'Etor (Gwynyth Walsh), and his son Toral (J.D. Cullum) continued to torment and disrupt Worf's life throughout the events of both Star Trek series.

7 Rutherford & Badgey

Dr. Sigmund Freud revolutionized the field of psychiatry with his theory centered around the son's desire to eliminate the father. This concept was exemplified by the intense rivalry between Badgey and Rutherford. Initially designed as a holographic tutor by Rutherford, Badgey underwent a mental breakdown due to a malfunction in the holodeck. While seemingly destroyed by Rutherford, Badgey developed a deep-seated need for vengeance towards his father and creator, leading him to explore various methods of eliminating him. However, upon transferring his consciousness to the subspace relays, Badgey ultimately comprehended the futility of his endeavor to kill his father and ultimately transcended to a higher realm. Considering the often fatal conclusions to many other rivalries depicted in Star Trek, both Rutherford and Badgey found themselves experiencing a happy ending.

6 Dr. Bashir & Luther Sloan

In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's final seasons, Doctor Julian Bashir (played by Alexander Siddig) took on the daunting task of bringing down the secretive intelligence group known as Section 31. At the heart of this organization was Commander Luther Sloan, portrayed by William Sadler, who persistently attempted to recruit Bashir into their ranks. Throughout seasons 6 and 7 of DS9, Bashir and Sloan clashed with one another, with the Section 31 commander skillfully exploiting Bashir's strong moral compass for his own gain. Ultimately, this rivalry led DS9's doctor to abandon his commitment to the principle of "do no harm," resorting to capturing and subjecting the Section 31 commander to torture in order to obtain crucial information about the organization and the deadly morphogenic virus.

5 Data & Lore

A rare Star Trek rivalry was showcased through the exceptional performance of one actor, Brent Spiner, who portrayed both android brothers, Data and Lore. Both characters were created by Noonien Soong, also portrayed by Spiner. While Lore's emotional instability made him an unpredictable adversary for the crew of the USS Enterprise-D in Star Trek: The Next Generation, his ultimate conflict lay with Data. These two androids frequently clashed with each other, culminating in their final confrontation in season 3 of Star Trek: Picard. Data aspired to become human, whereas Lore perceived himself as a superior being and aimed to subjugate or annihilate organic life. In pursuit of this goal, Lore even allied himself with the Borg during season 7 of TNG.

4 Quark & Brunt

Rather than being Odo's arch-enemy, Constable Odo (Rene Auberjonois) actually turned out to be Quark's (Armin Shimerman) best friend. The role of Quark's nemesis was instead taken on by Liquidator Brunt (Jeffrey Combs), who continuously posed a threat to Quark and his business interests. Throughout Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, these two Ferengis found themselves in numerous conflicts, ranging from disagreements over deals involving Quark's remains to Brunt's elaborate plan to become the new Grand Nagus. However, in each clash, Quark's Ferengi family emerged victorious, ultimately leading to Brunt being escorted off Deep Space Nine by Ensign Nog (Aron Eisenberg) during the rise of Grand Nagus Rom (Max Grodénchik). After this moment, Brunt never made another appearance.

3 Picard & Q

As with Archer and Shran, the rivalry between Jean-Luc Picard and the mischievous and all-powerful Q (portrayed by John de Lancie) was built on a foundation of mutual respect and even friendship. Q's series of trials and tests for Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation served to transform Jean-Luc into a superior individual. In the episode "Tapestry," Q provided Jean-Luc with an opportunity to recognize the significance of his youthful arrogance, and in the final episode of TNG, this cosmic deity enabled Picard to appreciate the value of his relationships with his crew. While Q and Picard perpetually maintained an underlying antagonism towards one another, there existed a profound affection that finally came to the forefront in the season 2 finale of Star Trek: Picard.

2 Sisko & Gul Dukat

The rivalry between Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) attained religious significance during the final season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. As the commanding officer of the former Cardassian station, Sisko frequently had to contend with his predecessor, Dukat. While their initial relationship was born out of necessity, Sisko always suspected that Dukat was plotting against him. However, it was only when Dukat betrayed his own people to the Dominion and sought cataclysmic vengeance upon Bajor that their conflict reached its climax, ultimately entombing both men in mortal form within the Bajoran Fire Caves.

1 Kirk & Khan

The rivalry between Khan Noonien-Singh and Captain Kirk in Star Trek: The Original Series established the foundation for all future relationships in the franchise. Khan's desire for revenge against Kirk in Wrath of Khan stemmed from the loss of his wife and his wounded ego as a genetically enhanced superhuman. Despite being an ordinary man, Kirk successfully defeated Khan and his army from the Eugenics Wars. This ignited Khan's determination to seek vengeance against his nemesis, leading to an intricate plot. This rivalry had a lasting impact on Star Trek, shaping the creation of numerous heroes and villains for generations to come.

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