How Many People William Shatner's Captain Kirk Killed In Star Trek

Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the adventures of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek: The Original Series laid the groundwork for every Star Trek movie and TV show that followed. In many ways, Captain Kirk and his crew were cowboys, flying through the galaxy by the seats of their pants, a model of exploration that earned Kirk a reputation for fighting - and sometimes killing his enemies. From the Romulans to the Klingons to the Gorn, Captain Kirk crossed the galaxy facing down some of the greatest enemies the Federation would ever know.

Despite three seasons of Star Trek: The Original Series and six Star Trek movies worth of combat, Captain Kirk admirably made a habit of leaving former foes alive whenever possible. Sure, Jim might give them a classic double-fisted punch, but more often than not, William Shatner's Captain Kirk chose not to kill. The Captain Kirk of Star Trek: The Original Series was a maverick who often laughed in the face of protocol and wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty, but he nevertheless exercised more restraint than he is often given credit for.

Captain Kirk Killed 574 People In Star Trek

It Sounds Like A Lot, But It's Less In Practice

The total kill count for Captain Kirk is, depending on how you count it, at least 574 people. That is a staggeringly large number, but for starters, it is worth defining what "people" means in the context of Star Trek. For this count, a person is any sentient being, be they humanoid or a Dikironium cloud creature. It is also worth defining that we are counting Kirk's direct kills. Edith Keeler's (Joan Collins) erasure from existence, though tragic, does not count as a kill since it wasn't directly Kirk's intention. The crew of the D7 Klingon vessel that is destroyed when Captain Kirk gives the order to fire in Star Trek: The Original Series season 1's "Errand of Mercy," do count since Captain Kirk ordered their deaths.

In fact, that Klingon D7 battlecruiser accounts for the vast majority of Captain Kirk's kills: fully crewed D7 class Klingon vessels have a crew complement of 430. Another 100 kills happened when Kirk forced the Zetarians out of a crewman in Star Trek: The Original Series' "The Lights of Zetar." Compared to other Star Trek captains who have blown up multiple starshiips, Captain Kirk's record seems remarkably clean. He may not have been a pacifist, but Captain Kirk only killed 15 named characters in Star Trek: The Original Series and its movies.

Despite His Reputation For Fighting, Captain Kirk Avoided Killing Enemies Whenever Possible

The Longer He Was A Captain, The Less Kirk Used Lethal Force

Perhaps the most important aspect of Captain Kirk's confirmed kills is that they were not evenly distributed across William Shatner's Star Trek appearances. In the first season of Star Trek: The Original Series, Captain Kirk kills five people on top of the crew of the Klingon D7 starship. In three of the TOS movies and Star Trek: The Animated Series, Captain Kirk kills no one at all. Despite Captain Kirk's lifetime habit of bucking Starfleet's rules and protocols, he killed less and less as Star Trek continued.

This matters because Star Trek: The Original Series laid the groundwork for the rest of Star Trek. At the same time that Captain Kirk was maturing and killing less, Star Trek as a franchise was doing the same. William Shatner's Captain Kirk set the standard for every subsequent Starfleet captain, and part of that standard was a move away from killing. Captain Kirk was never one to turn away from a fight, but across Star Trek: The Original Series and beyond, he learned how to handle those fights while leaving his enemies alive.