Age, Friendship and Death

Kirk
Mid life crisis

Friends with elders on the Enterprise

Has never faced death, until Spok dies Lost his best friend

Khan
Cryogenic sleep kept him from aging
Strong relationships with crew of the Botany Bay Has experienced a great deal of death Lost his wife and son

The flawed hero

Kirk
Needs glasses to see

Exiled the crew of the Botany Bay to a lifeless planet (he didnt know that)

Khan (anti-heroic)
Lost his wife Trying to save his people

Becomes obsessed with vengeance

No-win situations
Kobayashi Maru
Ship cannot be saved

Kirk changed the program (cheated) to escape

Genesis Project
Can create life, but can also take life away and replace it with new life Kirk narrowly escapes, but loses his friend to radiation poisoning

Khan almost destroys the Enterprise

Kirk knew something about the ships that Khan didnt

Spoks sacrifice
Spok sacrifices himself to save the Enterprise, which leads to his death

Science vs. Military

Science has always been a pawn of the military
Science creates

Military uses creations intended for good for use as a weapon

Nuclear energy Ironman

Afghan Rebels capture Tony Stark and want him to make the Jericho missile for them

Genesis Project
Starfleet has the power to take control of the project and implement as they wish

Science vs. Religion

Only God has the power to create Genesis Project allows humans to play God In the wrong hands, it can be used to destroy Moral and Ethical implication?

David Marcus vs. Starfleet

David vs. Goliath
Relationship?

Family: Kids are Smarter

Kirk had a brief interlude with Dr. Carol Marcus
Resulting in a son (David Marcus)

Carol wants Kirk to stay away from son

David sees Kirk for what he is, and accepts him after he proves himself

Scotty has a nephew on board

Peter Preston dies in an attack

He remained after everyone else left their post

Khan lost his wife on Ceti Alpha 5

Also lost Joachim (his son) Joachim tried to reason with Khan

Didnt want to go into the nebula

Thought they should abandon their vengeance

Other Literary References

Moby-Dick
Khan quotes Ahab
To the last I grapple with thee.
From Hells heart I stab at thee. For hates sake I spit my lest breath at thee.

Kirk is the whale (always escaping) Khans blind pursuit of Kirk mirrors Captain Ahabs obsession with Moby-Dick Both Khan and Ahab pursue their quarry against the better judgment of their crew, and end up killing themselves in an effort to take their foe with them

Tale of Two Cities

Spok gives Kirk a copy for his birthday

Kirk recites the first and last lines of the book during the film
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times It is a far, far better rest I go to, than I have ever known

In the end, Carlton- a man who wasted his life- goes to the guillotine and his death for the better man, Darnay.

Bifurcated Hero
Bifurcated: splitting of something into two parts Dueling halves of the human condition Spok
No emotions Logical and infallible

Kirk
Impassioned Human reality- prone to error At odds with self

Resurrection
Spoks sacrifice at the end of film allows for Kirks spiritual rebirth Kirk goes from feeling old to feeling young Kirk never faces death until Spoks sacrifice