Captain James T. Kirk's (William Shatner) first meeting with Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban) in Star Trek: The Original Series is changed by Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. As a prequel, Strange New Worlds introduced Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), Khan's ancestor, and a love interest of Lt. James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) when he was younger and a frequent visitor aboard the Starship Enterprise. Further, Strange New Worlds has altered Khan's Star Trek timeline, adding new dimensions to Kirk's original encounter with Khan.
In Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, episode 22, "Space Seed," the USS Enterprise intercepts the S.S. Botany Bay, an Earth ship from the 1990s. Cryogenically frozen aboard are Khan and 70 of his genetically engineered followers. Welcomed as a guest aboard the Enterprise, Khan plots to hijack the starship. Seduced by Khan, Enterprise historian Lt. Marla McGivers (Madelyn Rhue) betrays Captain Kirk as Khan's followers take over the ship. However, Kirk manages to defeat Khan in physical combat and regains control of the Enterprise before banishing Khan and his followers, including McGivers, to Ceta Alpha V.
How Strange New Worlds Changed Kirk & Khan’s First Star Trek Meeting
La'an adds a new dimension to Kirk meeting Khan
On Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, set about 6-7 years before Star Trek: The Original Series, Lt. James T. Kirk's relationship with Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh now colors Captain Kirk's encounter with Khan. While Strange New Worlds season 2 doesn't show La'an telling Kirk that Khan is her blood relative, the prequel established that the surname Noonien-Singh is infamous because of Khan, so James would easily connect La'an's ancestry. Certainly, Kirk cares for La'an, and their relationship will continue to bloom, and perhaps even become romantic, in Strange New Worlds seasons 3 and 4.
Given Kirk's feelings about La'an, even if she is no longer aboard the USS Enterprise in Star Trek: The Original Series, it's now impossible to separate that he knows Khan's ancestor as the Captain interacts with the genetically engineered warlord. Kirk's controlled reticence can now be interpreted as not giving anything away about La'an, and the Captain's reliance on Spock (Leonard Nimoy) as his attack dog as Kirk watches for "weaknesses" can even be seen as their combined effort to test Khan while keeping La'an a secret. Certainly, Kirk and Spock know more about Khan than they let on because they both knew La'an years earlier on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Khan May Not Have Cared About USS Enterprise’s History
Did Khan check the Enterprise's personnel records?
In Star Trek: The Original Series' "Space Seed," Captain Kirk generously allows Khan to use the USS Enterprise's computers, which is curious considering he knows about Khan. There's a briefing later led by Spock that clarifies the Khan they have aboard is the infamous Khan Noonien Singh, and this would confirm for everyone - except for Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley), who hasn't appeared on Strange New Worlds yet - that Khan is La'an's ancestor. Scotty (Martin Quinn) joins the Enterprise's crew in Strange New Worlds season 3, so he likely knows La'an's connection to Khan as well.
There's every chance Khan never learned about La'an in "Space Seed."
Khan could have used his access to the Enterprise's computer to learn all about the starship's history. However, Khan likely did not learn about La'an Noonien-Singh serving aboard the Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). Spock told Kirk that Khan was interested in the technical schematics of the Enterprise since he was planning to hijack it. Khan very likely also accessed the Enterprise's current personnel to learn who he was up against, but Khan probably did not bother to read up on the Enterprise's history or past crew members. Therefore, there's every chance Khan never learned about La'an in "Space Seed."
Strange New Worlds Already Changed Khan's History
Khan's timeline has been changed
One aspect of Star Trek: The Original Series' "Space Seed" that is difficult to reconcile is Khan's timeline, which has been changed by Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. In "Space Seed," Spock definitively explains that Khan rose to power during the Eugenics Wars of the 1990s and controlled one-quarter of Earth's population. Khan was then defeated and fled with his followers aboard the Botany Bay in 1996. However, Khan's timeline has been moved up at least 30 years by Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 3, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" establishes that Romulan time travelers upended Star Trek's Prime timeline as a result of the Temporal Wars. Following up on Strange New Worlds series premiere's revelation that the Eugenics Wars and World War III now both happened in the 21st century, La'an discovers in "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" that Khan (Desmond Sivan) is still a child in 21st century Toronto. Khan has now been born and comes of age decades later than his original timeline established in Star Trek: The Original Series. How this affects the events of "Space Seed" is unclear.
TOS May Have A Strange New Worlds Easter Egg
Did that Khan painting come from the Archaeology Department?
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds may also provide a retconned explanation for a painting of Khan in Star Trek: The Original Series' "Space Seed." As the Enterprise historian, Lt. Marla McGivers has many works of antiquity in her quarters, and one of them is a painting of Khan Noonien Singh. Khan is even impressed and flattered by Marla owning a blast from his past. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 3, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" may hint that the painting of Khan could have come from the collection belonging to Commander Pelia (Carol Kane), the Starship Enterprise's Chief Engineer.
The Captain Kirk who visited Pelia's Archaelogy Department in 2024 Vermont died at the end of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow." Lt. James T. Kirk on Strange New Worlds is a different Kirk who belongs to Star Trek' s Prime Universe.
Commander Pelia is an extremely long-loved Lanthanite who claims to have resided on Earth for thousands of years. Pelia collected countless priceless artifacts that she stored in a facility in Vermont she called The Archaeology Department. When Pelia transferred to the Enterprise, she had numerous art pieces from her collection brought aboard, to Security Chief La'an Noonien-Singh's chagrin. It could be very sneaky of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to work in that the painting of Khan originally belonged to Pelia and was already aboard the Enterprise before it became the property of Lt. Marla McGivers in Star Trek: The Original Series.
