Star Trek: The Original Series
One of the most decorate Starfleet Captains of all time , Captain James T. Kirk has made many appearances across variousStar Trekproperties , starting time , of class , withStar Trek : The Original Series . Originated by William Shatner , Captain Kirk is best know as the Captain of the USS Enterprise . Though not the first Captain to command that iconic ship , he was the first one audiences unfeignedly got to know . With his distinct performing style , William Shatner made Captain Kirk a menage name and help set in motion a beloved and enduring dealership .
Star Trek : The Original Seriesfollowed Kirk , his First Officer , Spock ( Leonard Nimoy ) , the ship ’s Doctor , Leonard McCoy ( DeForest Kelley ) , and the rest of the Enterprise crew as they explore the galaxy . That first show that began in 1966 has since spawn 10 more television show and 13 movie , with no signs of slowing down anytime soon . TheEnterprise has since had several Captains , but without William Shatner leading viewers on those earliest voyage , none of the otherStar Trekstories would have been possible . Captain Kirk has since been referenced and parody across pop cultivation , but here are all of the officialStar Trekmovies and boob tube display in which he appear .
8Star Trek: The Original Series
InStar Trek : The Original Series , Captain James T. Kirk has become a soda culture icon alongside hisFirst Officer and unspoiled friend , the half - Vulcan / half - human Spock . As the commanding officer of the flagship of the United Federation of Planets , Kirk encountered many different forms of alien life sentence and found himself in plenty of interesting situations . He made a name for himself as a police chief willing to take risks , but who always count out for his crew . Kirk rifle up against many of the Federation ’s biggest enemies , from the Klingons to the Romulans to the Gorn , and always come out the master . Without William Shatner ’s Captain Kirk and his voyages on the endeavour , theStar Trekfranchise would sure enough not be what it is today .
7Star Trek: The Animated Series
Acting as a pseudo - fourth season toTOS , Star Trek : The Animated Seriesdepicted the keep risky venture of the Starship Enterprise . Most of the original casting render to voice their characters , include William Shatner as Captain Kirk . Over the path of the show , the Enterprise encountered several beings they had antecedently made contact with . In the time of year 2 episode , " Yesteryear , " Spock traveled back in clip using the Guardian of Forever fromTOS'“City on the Edge of Forever . " Kirk and his crew also function into Klingons , Romulans , and Harry Mudd , and they revisited the satellite from " Shore Leave . " Kirk and Spock even get turned into water - take a breath beast in " The Ambergris Element . "
6Star Trek: The Original Series Movies
Captain Kirk and many of his Enterprise crew starred in a half - dozen big - screen door risky venture after the conclusion of their five - year charge . The first sixStar Trekmovies saw Kirk and his crew make unnecessary the coltsfoot several times over . Kirk go up against a massive entity that threatened to destroy Earth , thegenetically augment Khan Noonien - Singh(Ricardo Montalbán ) , Spock ’s unstable half - brother , and Klingon conspirators . He and his crew prove triumphant every metre , though not without losses . Kirk lost his best friend , Spock , in the fight against Khan , but was afterward capable to help bring him back . Some of Kirk and Spock ’s best moments come from the flick , and Kirk delivers several of his most renowned lines , include the ship heading ( borrow from J.M. Barrie’sPeter Pan):“Second wizard to the right , and straight on ' til morning . "
5Star Trek Generations
In his concluding official appearance as James T. Kirk , William Shatner evidence up in the first of theStar Trek : The Next Generationfilms , Star Trek Generations . While the film was meant to act as a net send - off for Kirk and his enterprisingness bunch , the film received mediocre reviews , largely because of the wayKirk was kill off . After voluntarily leaving a Heaven - like link realm , Kirk was killed with only Captain Jean - Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) to witness his terminal moments . Picard buries Kirk on Veridian III and the picture show ends with Picard and Commander William Riker ( Johnathan Frakes ) lamenting the loss of the USS Enterprise - D.
4Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Though Captain Kirk never set foot on the titular space station , he did make an show in one episode ofStar Trek : Deep Space Nine . DS9revisits one of the most iconic episodes ofStar Trek : The Original Seriesin season 5 ’s " Trials and Tribble - ations . " When the USS Defiant gets flung 200 years into the past , Captain Sisko ( Avery Brooks ) and his bunch observe themselves enquire a possible blackwash attack against Captain Kirk . Using footage from episodes ofTOS , mostly from time of year 2 ’s " The Trouble With Tribbles , " this DS9 episode evidence Sisko and his gang interacting with the crew of the Enterprise . An incredibly fun episode , " Trials and Tribble - ations " revisit one of the safe episodes ofTOSto keen force .
3J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Movies
coif in the alternate Kelvin timeline , J.J. Abrams’Star Trekmoviesfollow a different interpretation of Captain James T. Kirk , played by Chris Pine . While these movies lacked some of the heart and thoughtfulness of previousTrekstories , they were solid skill fiction action movies with fun callback toStar Trek : The Original Series . Chris Pine ’s Kirk leans into the portrayal of Kirk as a rule - breaking ladies ' man even more than Shatner ’s original Kirk did . Kirk and this bunch of the go-ahead go up against a vengeance - drive Romulan , an alternate population Khan Noonien - Singh ( Benedict Cumberbatch ) , and a former Starfleet officer with a grudge against the Federation inStar Trek2009,Star Trek Into Darkness , andStar Trek Beyond .
2Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Introduced in the final installment ofStar Trek : Strange New Worldsseason 1 , Paul Wesley act as thenewest iteration of Captain James T. Kirk . Though the version from " A Quality of Mercy " is not the Kirk fans know , but rather a translation from an alternate realness where Captain Christopher Pike ( Anson Mount ) remained Captain of the Enterprise . Similarly , the version of Kirk that makes an appearance in time of year 2 ’s " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow " come from a dystopian future where Earth has been destroyed by the Romulans . Though Kirk is not one of the main characters inStrange New Worlds , Paul Wesley has already bring new life to the character .
1Star Trek: Picard
This one may be a bit of a reach , as James Kirk does not in reality appear inStar Trek : Picardseason 3,but his body does . Sort of . When Captain William T. Riker ( Jonathan Frakes ) , Commander Raffi Musiker ( Michelle Hurd ) and Captain Worf ( Michael Dorn ) infiltrate the Daystrom Station readiness run by Section 31 , they pass a display record that Kirk ’s body is lay in nearby . ConsideringSection 31 also hive away Jean - Luc Picard ’s body , this lift the interrogative of what they be after to do with those stiff .
Someone must have spend no small-scale amount of exertion to secure Kirk ’s body from Veridian III , where he was buried after the events ofStar Trek Generations . The fact that Kirk ’s body still sit in Daystrom Station does suggest that he could make a return at some power point . no matter of which versions of James T. Kirk appear in futureStar Trekprojects , the case who first appeared onStar Trek : The Original Serieswill stay an indelible frame of pop culture .
