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'Star Trek': The 10 Best Villains, Ranked

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With well over twenty television series and movies focusing on the exploits and adventures of numerous Starfleet commanders, the Star Trek saga has become one of the most iconic sci-fi stories in entertainment history. With its incredible line-up of heroic leads, though, there also needs to be an array of antagonists capable of striking fear into the hearts of fans.

From the original Star Trek series to revival shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation to 2009’s cinematic re-imaging of the franchise, the saga at large has a cohort of worthy villains. Ranging from misunderstood antagonists to outright evil and tyrannical beings, Star Trek ’s 10 best bad guys are just a small collection of the regular threats to the galaxy Starfleet faces.

10 Captain Gabriel Lorca – 'Star Trek: Discovery' (2017-)

From Harry Potter to Star Wars: Rebels , Jason Isaacs has made a career out of playing villains with outstanding and underrated impact. As such, it really shouldn’t have come as a surprise when Gabriel Lorca was revealed to be a bad guy in Star Trek: Discovery .

As the commanding officer of the USS Discovery, Lorca presented as a hard-edged captain, but not one without a sense of fairness and accountability. However, it was then revealed that he was an imposter from the mirror universe who had murdered and schemed to get to his position. To date, Discovery is yet to produce a villain as compelling as Lorca.

9 Nero — 'Star Trek' (2009)

A credit to the brilliance of 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , many of the series’ villains have boasted epic tales of revenge against crew members of Starfleet. While most of those homages have fallen well short, one that did get close was Eric Bana ’s portrayal of Nero, a spiteful Romulan who blames Spock ( Zachary Quinto ) for not preventing the supernova which killed his family.

RELATED: Why We Haven't Gotten a New 'Star Trek' Movie Yet

Traveling back in time to exact his vengeance, Nero creates an alternate timeline the new Star Trek movies take part in. While the character is a little one-dimensional, Bana makes his seething hatred burst off the screen with a magnetic vigor, and the fact that he realizes part of his plan by destroying Vulcan made him all the more impactful.

8 Kai Winn Adami — 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' (1993-1999)

Religious zealots often make for fantastic villains. In addition to having immense power and influence in their story worlds, they also usually excel as complex characters who are difficult for protagonists to outmaneuver. That was exactly what fans got in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine with Winn Adami ( Louise Fletcher ).

As a ruthless opportunist, Adami often used her prominent standing in her faith as a means to gain more power and often came at odds with Captain Benjamin Sisko ( Avery Brooks ), despite being named the Emissary of the Prophets. Delivering every snide line with her spiteful, condescending smirk, Adami may not have been the most terrifying villain in Star Trek , but she was certainly capable of stoking the ire of fans like few others.

7 General Chang — 'Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country' (1991)

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country served as the film farewell to the cast of the original series. It also saw the belligerent race of the Klingons restored to the brand of villainy that made them so popular in the original series, with General Chang ( Christopher Plummer ) an over-the-top antagonist for the ages.

With peace talks between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets nearing a conclusion, Chang uses his unique Birds of Prey warship to frame Captain Kirk for a political assassination, thus shattering relations between the Klingons and humanity. Resentful of the prospect of a peaceful future, the wily old Klingon was also made memorable for his love of Shakespearean quotes.

6 Weyoun — 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' (1993-1999)

A gifted villainous actor, Jeffrey Combs has appeared as a wide range of characters throughout Star Trek , but the greatest one he portrayed was Deep Space Nine ’s Weyoun. A Vorta who serves as the mouth of the Dominion, the conniving diplomat always presented a wide smile but was never one to be trusted.

RELATED: From 'Picard' to 'Discovery': Every 'Star Trek' TV Show (So Far), Ranked

As a clone (which all Vorta are), he was also quite difficult to get rid of. Despite being killed several times throughout the series, he kept coming back for more and usually delighted fans every time he returned with his wonderfully slimy personality still firmly intact.

5 Q – 'Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

As a being of unlimited power, it is quite funny that Q ( John de Lancie ) became almost a comedic figure in the series, but that is not how he was introduced. First appearing in the pilot episode of The Next Generation , the omnipotent villain charged Picard for the crimes of humanity before becoming a recurring character, not only in The Next Generation but in the wider Star Trek series.

Arguably his most villainous action came when he challenged Picard’s mettle as a leader by transporting the Enterprise to a distant system. His display of immense power introduced the Borg to the Federation, which kick-started a conflict that resulted in the deaths of millions.

4 Kruge — 'Star Trek III: The Search for Spock' (1984)

Feudal, ruthless, and incredibly brutal, the Klingons were a military power to be feared ever since their introduction in Star Trek: The Original Series . That couldn’t have been emphasized better when Christopher Lloyd portrayed Kruge in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock .

A commander of a Klingon Bird of Prey warship, Kruge was a relentless fighter with a stern desire to acquire secrets of Genesis to further his career and strengthen the Klingon Empire. He killed his own lover for looking at classified information and sanctioned the murder of Captain Kirk’s ( William Shatner ) son, something which haunted Kirk throughout the rest of the Star Trek saga.

3 Gul Dukat — 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' (1993-1999)

Star Trek has had many unforgettable villains across its numerous television series, but few are as truly evil as Gul Dukat ( Marc Alaimo ). A Cardassian war criminal who appeared throughout Deep Space Nine , he ruled over Bajor with an iron fist, assembling labor camps that saw millions of Bajorans die.

RELATED: Ranking the Top 10 Takes on the Enterprise: Trekking Throughout the Years

Interestingly, Alaimo didn’t only excel at making Dukat a force of evil, but he was also able to give him layers and complexity as well, which made him all the more compelling. Not only the best of Deep Space Nine ’s antagonists, Gul Dukat is arguably greatest villain in Star Trek ’s television history.

2 The Borg Queen — 'Star Trek: First Contact' (1996)

After making their first appearance in the second season of The Next Generation , the Borg fast became one of Star Trek ’s most notable antagonistic clans. As a cybernetic force operating as a hive mind to assimilate all other lifeforms to their state of being, the Borg were a terrifying threat that fans feared would be undermined with the introduction of their queen in Star Trek: First Contact .

With Alice Krige portraying her, however, the character became one of the saga’s most striking villains with her horrific goals and her unnerving sensuality. The character became a recurring role in the franchise, appearing in Star Trek: Voyager and recently returning in Star Trek: Picard .

1 Khan Noonien Singh — 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan' (1982)

If its cinematic predecessor left some fans a little underwhelmed, then The Wrath of Khan more than made up for it. The first of many sequels, it features all the fan-favorite main characters of the series but became such an adored film within Star Trek ’s filmography thanks to Ricardo Maltabán ’s turn as Khan.

A past enemy of Starfleet, Khan was a genetically engineered superhuman on a warpath to exact revenge against Captain Kirk and his crew. With his raw and resonant motivation, some great dialogue, and a magnetic performance from Maltabán, Khan elevated The Wrath of Khan to be the best Star Trek movie produced to date and stands unmatched as the greatest villain the saga has ever produced.

KEEP READING: From 'Star Trek' to 'The Mandalorian': 10 Iconic Shows Set in Space

15 Greatest Star Trek Villains Of All Time, Ranked

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The Star Trek universe has grown by leaps and bounds since the first episode aired on September 8, 1966. The fan-favorite series is famous for depicting a future where mankind has come to find peace. Humanity now traveled the stars seeking new life and new civilizations. Star Trek has given the world of pop culture quite a few different heroes. Star Trek is nearly 60 years old, and the science fiction saga created by Gene Roddenberry only lasted this long because of its heroes.

With Star Trek , its villains are often mere ideas, misunderstood alien creatures, or entire races created as a metaphorical allegory. Still, Captain Kirk, Spock, Jean-Luc Picard, or Seven of Nine transcend even their own heroic status when they come face-to-face with a real villain. From Khan Noonien Singh to the nameless Borg, Star Trek 's villains may not be as iconic as that other space franchise, but they nonetheless stand apart from the typical threat to the United Federation of Planets . While not every villain has stood out over time, some have become as well-known as Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. These are the villains that have left an impression not only in the Star Trek universe but in pop culture as a whole. They are presented in chronological order based on their first appearance in the franchise.

Updated on December 30, 2023, by Robert Vaux: The article has been updated to include details on each character and when they appeared in the franchise. The entries have also been reorganized to better rank each villain accordingly.

15 Gary Mitchell Tried To Turn The Captain Kirk Against His Crew

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Star Trek extends across a vast universe and many timelines filled with powerful, and often dangerous, alien species, like the Borg and the Moopsy.

Gary Mitchell appeared in one of the most memorable episodes of Star Trek: TOS . He started as a close friend of Captain Kirk and the ship's navigator for the USS Enterprise . However, the Galactic Barrier irradiated Mitchell, and he gained supernatural powers. Gary's powers continued to intensify, and as he grew more powerful, he became less human.

Gary Mitchell lost all connection to his humanity, and he put the crew of the Enterprise at risk. He tried to force Captain Kirk to do the one thing no good leader ever wants to do; kill his own crewmate. Gary Mitchell set the standard for what made a good Star Trek villain. He was a character fans rooted against even as they felt for him. This episode was the second pilot for Star Trek: The Original Series . While Captain James T. Kirk proved to be the hero NBC wanted, he needed Gary Mitchell to show them why.

14 The Romulan Star Empire Attacked From The Shadows

While the Romulans have never been given the same standing in pop culture as the Klingons, they are arguably even more villainous. The Earth-Romulan War led to the creation of the United Federation of Planets. The secretive Romulans were so elusive that no one saw their faces for over a hundred years. While there have been many dangerous individual Romulans, like Nero, perhaps the most sinister was Picard 's Narek. A member of the Zhat Vash, hidden within the Tal Shiar "secret police," he used kindness and empathy as his weapon against Soji Asha, the "daughter" of Star Trek: TNG 's Data.

When Romulans first showed up in The Original Series , it shocked everyone to learn that they looked just like Vulcans. The Romulans were an offshoot of the Vulcan race from millennia before the series. They refused to bury their feelings and become purely logical beings, which led them to establish their own society. By the time of the 32nd Century, however, the Vulcans and Romulans reunited thanks to Spock's efforts.

13 Khan Noonien Singh Left Destruction In His Wake

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A former ruler of Earth, Khan Noonien Singh was a genetically engineered superhuman who rose to power during the Eugenics Wars. He became Star Trek 's greatest villain after he was overthrown and exiled into space. In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , he and his surviving fellow "augments" nearly killed everyone on the Enterprise . To save the ship, beloved character Spock died .

Khan stands out as not only the greatest villain in Star Trek but one of the greatest villains in sci-fi. The Wrath of Khan reinvigorated the Star Trek franchise, leading to a series of sequels and new shows that continue to this day. Khan was such a compelling villain that he was even brought back for the second movie in the reboot trilogy, Star Trek Into Darkness . His descendant, La'an Noonien Singh, serves as the Chief of Security on the Enterprise in Strange New Worlds .

12 The Klingon Empire Was Ruthless And Formidable

One of the best-known alien races from the Star Trek franchise is the Klingons. They started as an allegorical representation of the Soviet Union to Starfleet's America in The Original Series . By the time of Star Trek: TNG , it was revealed that the Klingons made a tenuous peace with the United Federation of Planets. This was set in motion in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , paralleling the fall of the Soviet Union.

However, Kruge, played by Christopher Lloyd in The Search for Spock , was perhaps the most formidable of all, because he killed Captain Kirk's son, David Marcus. The Federation-Klingon War seen in the first season of Star Trek: Discovery featured the Klingons as one of the greatest foes in Star Trek . Despite the heroic actions of Lt. Cmdr Worf in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine , Klingons like Kruge and General Chang prove that one can never turn their backs on the Klingons.

11 Q and the Q Continuum Were Over-Powered

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Kevin and Dan Hageman discuss the effectiveness of Star Trek "deep cuts" and how Star Trek: Prodigy might adapt its characters in live-action one day.

Introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation , Q is an extradimensional being of unknown origin who appears to have nearly full control over all time and space. He is a member of a continuum of other beings, who also identify as "Q," meant to keep the cosmic balance of the universe. Q takes a specific interest in Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of his Enterprise. He put them on "trial" to see if humanity had overcome their "savage" nature. If Picard failed to convince Q, he would erase humanity from the galaxy.

While many of Q's exploits were fun to watch, it was his actions that first brought the Federation to the attention of the Borg. Q tried to play his games with another of Star Trek 's best captains, Benjamin Sisko. He quickly discovered that not every human was as willing to play along with his whims when Sisko punched the omnipotent being. He also frequently visited Captain Janeway on the USS Voyager, including involving her in the Q Continuum civil war that only ended when the fan-favorite Q mated with another of his species.

10 Lore Was A Master Manipulator

One of the things some fans forget about Data is that he has a brother. Dr. Noonien Soong created Lore, who is a prototype android and the older brother of Lt. Cmdr. Data. He had emotions, but his inability to handle his feelings properly led to Lore becoming a dangerous villain. He believed he was better than humans and other organic lifeforms.

Throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation , Lore believed he was not only superior to living beings but to his brother Data as well. His association with powerful forces like the Crystalline Entity allowed him to manipulate it and turn it towards destruction. Lore would later lead a group of Borg against the crew of the Enterprise. However, his ego would eventually lead to his destruction.

9 Armus Killed Lt. Tasha Yar

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While there were several "redshirts" who died in service to the Enterprise , no member of the main bridge crew was permanently killed off without being resurrected somehow. That all changed in Star Trek: The Next Generation 's "Skin of Evil" from the first season. A few of the best members of Star Trek: TNG 's away team encountered a powerful being known as Armus.

Armus was a being composed of the discarded evil from an ancient race of alien celestials. He had incredible psionic abilities that he used to strike down Lt. Tasha Yar. She died instantly, and Armus threatened other members of the crew by trapping them inside his inky liquid body. Picard outsmarted Armus and free his crew members, but the damage was done. Denise Crosby, the actor who played Yar, wanted to leave the series during its tumultuous first season. However, she would return in "Yesterday's Enterprise" and "Unification I & II."

8 The Borg Queen Led A Conquering Army

One of the most dangerous enemies from Star Trek: TNG was the Borg . They were a hivemind of cyborgs that hoped to wipe out all living things in the universe and replace them. The Borg go from planet to planet, assimilating the alien races they come across and turning them into Borg. They also used up the resources of the planets to fuel their evolution and power their ships.

The Borg Queen led the Collective when they threatened the Enterprise in Star Trek: First Contact . The only true threat to the Borg was the Federation, and they even attempted to assimilate Earth in the past to erase its place in history. The Borg were ultimately defeated by a one-two punch (separated by 25 years) from Captains Picard and Janeway. In the Voyager series finale, a time-traveling Admiral Janeway poisoned the collective while also using them to get the lost ship back to the Alpha Quadrant. In Picard Season 3, the Borg made a last-ditch attempt to assimilate Starfleet but were defeated by the crew of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D.

7 The Cardassian Empire Had A Violent History Of War And Oppression

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The final Star Trek: Discovery season will have to cover a lot of ground, including giving satisfying endings to the show's many ongoing love stories.

Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced a few new alien species who would become lasting threats to the Federation. The Cardassians were a xenophobic race of aliens involved in quite a few violent skirmishes over territory. They also occupied the planet of Bajor and committed several atrocities before the enslavement ended. Ensign Ro Laren was the first recurring Bajoran character, until Major Kira Nerys became Benamin Sisko's first officer on the Deep Space Nine station, originally built by the Cardassians to further oppress Bajor.

There were a few memorable Cardassian soldiers who left a lasting impression on fans. Gul Madred captured and psychologically tormented Captain Picard in "Chain of Command." The former head of Deep Space Nine was Gul Dukat, who was responsible for war crimes against the Bajoran people. If Deep Space Nine had a central villain, it was Gul Dukat, who ultimately met his end along with Captain Sisko in the series finale.

6 The Changelings and the Dominion Sought Power

While Captain Picard's biggest problems were Q and the Borg, Captain Sisko and the crew of Deep Space Nine had to deal with the Dominion. Hailing from the Gamma Quadrant, the Dominion was essentially an evil version of the United Federation of Planets. Made up of hundreds of races, the Dominion looked to expand past the Gamma Quadrant using the Bajoran Wormhole. Called "the Founders" by other Dominion races, a character known only as "the female changeling" led their war effort.

The Dominion War lasted two years and became one of the deadliest wars in Federation history. It only ended when a secretive faction of Starfleet, known as Section 31, created a deadly plague. It threatened to wipe out the shape-shifting alien race known as the Founders, who led the Dominion. Od o, the constable of Deep Space Nine, was a changeling who didn't know his history. In their liquid state, changelings can "join." He administered the cure first to the female changeling and then, in the series finale, returned to their home, the Great Link, to cure the rest of his species. Little is known about what happened to other Dominion races.

5 The Hirogen Were Blood-Thirsty Hunters

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A species of hunters, The Hirogen harried the USS Voyager as they attempted to return to Federation space. Wanting the Voyager and her crew as trophies, various groups of the Hirogen attacked the lost ship numerous times throughout the series. With their insatiable need for the hunt, the Hirogen proved one of Voyager's toughest challenges.

The encounters varied from one or two of the crew coming across the Hirogen to a two-part episode where some Hirogen, including Alpha Karr and his second Turanj, capture the ship. They force the brainwashed crew into performing various scenarios on the Holodeck, including a version of German-occupied France. When Captain Janeway successfully negotiated a cease-fire with Karr, Turanj killed him and tried to continue hunting the crew.

4 'Boothby' and Species 8472 Could Impersonate Others To Get Their Way

Despite only appearing in a few episodes, Species 8472 was one of the most dangerous enemies the Voyager ever faced. Hailing from another dimension known as "fluidic space," Species 8472 used a form of biotechnology for the ships and weapons. After their first entry into the dimension Star Trek heroes occupy, they set up a holographic Starfleet headquarters as a reconnaissance operation, including duplicating legendary Academy groundskeeper Boothby, played by the late Ray Walston.

Initially, they posed such a threat that it took an uneasy alliance between the Voyager and the Borg to defeat them, bringing Seven of Nine into the crew. Yet, Captain Janeway learned Species 8472 wasn't as aggressive as the Borg claimed. Rather, the Borg tried to assimilate them, and they assumed all creatures in the galaxy were like the Borg. The member of Species 8472 who impersonated Boothby was a threat but not unreasonable. He later told Janeway he would try to convince his fellows to not invade the Milky Way.

3 The Xindi Murdered Millions Of Humans During Their Attack On Earth

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The Xindi were a species made up of a collective of six alien races located in the Delphic Expanse. There were the humanoid primates, the ape-like aboreals, an insectoid race, an aquatic race, and the militant, villainous reptilians. The main villains in the third season of the controversial Star Trek: Enterprise , the Xindi sent a superweapon to Earth after hearing that Starfleet planned to destroy them, designed by primate scientist Degra.

The Xindi superweapon killed seven million people and left a scar stretching from Florida to Venezuela. The Xindi stand out as the only enemies in all of Star Trek — besides humans, of course — who have caused serious damage to Earth. After being captured and deceived by the NX-01 Enterprise crew, Degra realized the Xindi had been duped by another alien race from another dimension. They built spheres throughout the Delphic Expanse meant to "terraform" the galaxy so their people could live in it. Only after the Xindi and humanity united were the Sphere-Builders defeated.

2 Nero Destroyed The Planet Vulcan

Introduced in the 2009 Star Trek reboot, Nero was a Romulan, one of the greatest adversaries of Star Trek 's Federation. Nero blamed Spock for the destruction of the Romulan homeworld. Nero traveled 129 years into the past, which allowed him to use his superior technology to attack the USS Kelvin, a Federation ship on which James T. Kirk's parents were stationed. He and his mother lived, while his father died with the ship.

This created the "Kelvin Timeline" an alternate reality like the Mirror Universe, but one where different versions of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest lived "new" lives. One of Nero's most villainous acts was using implosive "red matter" to destroy the planet Vulcan. Nero's actions set the course for the new Star Trek films, while the current TV shows continued in the original timeline. Later, Star Trek: Picard revealed the destruction of Romulus had lasting consequences there as well.

1 Captain Gabriel Lorca Used His Position To Manipulate His Crew

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Star Trek: Discovery introduced the titular new ship and its captain, Gabriel Lorca . He recruited Michael Burnham to his crew and manipulated his mission orders to take the Discovery to another reality. Lorca was secretly from the Mirror Universe, a dark alternate reality that first appeared in The Original Series , and was revisited in both Deep Space Nine and Enterprise . He's become something of a standard-bearer for the concept, which the franchise periodically returns to in order to explore its protagonists' dark sides.

Lorca was a traitor who turned on the Terran Emperor in the Mirror Universe. He escaped punishment by accidentally traveling to another reality. Lorca took the place of his counterpart, using his rank in Starfleet to get assigned to the one ship that could take him home. Lorca was conniving and determined, but still a captain who could inspire his crew. He was a dangerous enemy, emblematic of the third wave of Star Trek .

The Star Trek universe encompasses multiple series, each offering a unique lens through which to experience the wonders and perils of space travel. Join Captain Kirk and his crew on the Original Series' voyages of discovery, encounter the utopian vision of the Federation in The Next Generation, or delve into the darker corners of galactic politics in Deep Space Nine. No matter your preference, there's a Star Trek adventure waiting to ignite your imagination.

Every Major Star Trek Movie Villain, Ranked

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Since its television debut in 1966, Star Trek has bloomed into a massive, multimedia franchise and has become a staple of the sci-fi genre. TV shows, video games, novels, comic books -- you name it, and Star Trek has done it. But one of its most successful branches over the years has been movies. The first film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, was released in 1979.

Since then, Hollywood has pumped out an additional twelve movies that cover three different eras, characters, and timelines. The setting, though, is always the same: "Space — the final frontier." Like with many movies, each Star Trek installment is partially defined by its villain. It's the antagonist, after all, that represents the central conflict and ignites the movie's action.

Some villains are powerful, frightening, and awesome, and have intriguing character designs. Their names have been engraved into the minds of the Star Trek fan base and are remembered fondly in the years to come. Other villains are completely forgettable. And some...well, they can barely be described as villains. And many of them have been portrayed by notable actors. Let's travel the universe and rank every major Star Trek villain from all 13 films.

13 The Whale Probe - Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is the fourth film in the Star Trek series. Here, the iconic USS Enterprise returns to Earth to find it under threat from an alien probe that's been trying to contact humpback whales, which have gone extinct in the Star Trek timeline. The crew must now take on its strangest mission yet: to travel back in time , to 1980s Earth, and search for humpback whales that can answer the probe's call. Despite its unusual premise, The Voyage Home is a favorite among the Star Trek community and was lauded for its humor and unconventional story.

A Mindless Machine Carrying Out a Mission

Another unconventional aspect to this film: it didn't really have a villain. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) theorizes that the Probe was sent by an unknown intelligence that had been in contact with whales while they still existed on Earth, trying to determine why that contact had been lost.

Yes, the whale probe threatens to wreak havoc upon future Earth unless its call is answered. But at the end of the day, the probe is really nothing more than a machine that's mindlessly carrying out a mission. Plus, the film's comedy and lighthearted nature make the whale probe feel a lot less dangerous than other villains on this list. Stream Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home on Max.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

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12 V'ger - Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

When the original television series was canceled in 1969, Paramount Pictures decided to continue the franchise through a movie. Star Trek: The Motion Picture is the first film in the franchise and brings the original TV cast to the silver screen, such as William Shatner's James Kirk and Leonard Nimoy's Spock. The film didn't quite meet expectations , maybe because it lacked a true villain.

Not Especially Villainous

Here, the Enterprise comes across a seemingly hostile sentient machine that calls itself V'ger. As it turns out, V'Ger is actually an old Earth space probe known as Voyager 6, which was believed to be lost in a black hole. Voyager 6 was found by an alien race of living machines that re-programmed it to learn as much information as possible and then transmit that information to its original creator.

The machines sent Voyager 6 back into space, where it gathered such a wealth of knowledge that it eventually achieved consciousness. Having learned everything it possibly could, V'ger has somewhat of a midlife crisis and now considers its existence meaningless. It's not a villainous enemy with bad intentions like other characters on this list. Its problems are more of a misunderstanding, which ranks it lower than its counterparts. Stream Star Trek: The Motion Picture on Max.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

11 shinzon - star trek: nemesis (2002).

Star Trek: Nemesis is the 10th installment in the Star Trek franchise. It's the last film to star the cast of TV's Star Trek: The Next Generation, following Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew aboard the famous Enterprise and to the far reaches of space.

An Early Role for Tom Hardy

It stars a then-unknown Tom Hardy as the film's villain, Praetor Shinzon. He's a young, imperfect clone of Picard (complete with the bald head) and has grand plans to annihilate Earth. It's a fascinating concept that provides an insightful look at how Picard might have turned out had he been born under different circumstances. But unfortunately, Hardy's villain was overshadowed by the film's negative reception; Nemesis is often regarded as the worst film in the Star Trek franchise. It bombed so badly that the franchise went into hibernation until J.J. Abrams' 2009 reboot. Stream Star Trek: Nemesis on Max.

Star Trek: Nemesis

10 ru'afo - star trek: insurrection (1998).

Star Trek: Insurrection is the ninth entry in the Star Trek franchise and the third to follow the characters in The Next Generation series. Here, the Enterprise becomes entangled with a decrepit race known as the Son'a. The Son'a rely on technology to postpone death and undergo excessive cosmetic surgery to recapture their youth, which instead gives them an ugly, mummified appearance.

Stifled by Weak Character Development

Their leader, Ru'afo (F. Murray Abraham), develops a plot to harvest radiation that will reinvigorate him and his people. It's not the most compelling scheme ever; it sounds more like an episode of the Kardashians than a Star Trek movie. Not even the Oscar-winning Abraham could make Ru'afo stand out underneath all those prosthetics and that weak character development. Stream Star Trek: Insurrection on Max.

Star Trek: Insurrection

9 false god - star trek v: the final frontier (1989).

For most of Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier , we’re led to believe that Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), the rebellious Vulcan half-brother of Spock, is the villain of this film. Unlike Spock, Sybok renounces the Vulcan teachings and goes in search of God (yes, that's right, God), who's believed to live on the mythical planet Sha Ka Ree. Sybok and the rest of the Enterprise eventually find it: a glowing field that morphs through representations of various religions before settling on the image of a bearded human face.

A Great Concept with a Cool Plot Twist

But as it turns out, this entity isn’t a god at all. It’s a malicious and powerful being that’s been imprisoned in Sha Ka Ree, who unknowingly reveals itself when it asks to use our heroes' starship. As a skeptical Captain Kirk (William Shatner) points out, "What does God need with a starship?"

Realizing how badly he's been duped, Sybok apologizes and becomes one of the good guys, as they battle the entity and try to escape Sha Ka Ree. It's a cool concept for a villain and an interesting plot twist. But unfortunately, the film's negative reception and mediocre quality make this villain easy to forget. Stream Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier on Max.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

8 khan - star trek into darkness (2013).

Star Trek Into Darkness is the 12th movie in the Star Trek franchise and the second film in Abrams' revival series. It captures what's known as the Kelvin timeline, following the rebooted versions of the USS Enterprise, Captain James Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), and other iconic characters from the original series. And one of those iconic characters is none other than Khan Noonien Singh, played here by Benedict Cumberbatch.

A Weaker Version of Khan

This version of Khan is a force to be reckoned with. He's a genetically engineered superhuman, a skilled combatant and a brilliant mastermind. It's cool to see such a famous villain rebooted, and even cooler to see Spock meet his match in hand-to-hand combat.

For modern Star Trek fans, this is likely the definitive version of Khan. If you have nothing else to compare him to, then this is undoubtedly an awesome villain. But for old-school Star Trek fans, Benedict's Khan doesn't quite live up to the original character. Rent Star Trek Into Darkness on Amazon Prime Video.

Star Trek Into Darkness

7 tolian soran - star trek generations (1994).

Star Trek: Generations is the seventh installment in the Star Trek film series. For fans, this movie was a big deal. It brought two iconic Star Trek captains together on the big screen: James Kirk (William Shatner) and Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Unfortunately, Generations left many fans disappointed due to its underwhelming story and performances. But one of its few highlights is the movie's villain, Dr. Tolian Soran, played by none other than Malcolm McDowell.

Another Villainous Character from Malcolm McDowell

McDowell has made an illustrious career out of playing villainous characters ( A Clockwork Orange, Caligula, and Heroes, just to name a few), and Soran is no exception. This character will do whatever it takes to return to the extradimensional realm known as the Nexus, even if it means killing whoever stands in his way. But Soran's most notable accomplishment is contributing to the death of Star Trek's original hero, Captain Kirk himself, which earns him some major brownie points on this list. Stream Star Trek: Generations on Max.

Star Trek: Generations

6 krall - star trek beyond (2016).

Few actors can play a hardcore character as well as Idris Elba. In Star Trek Beyond, Elba appears as the film's villain, Krall. Krall was once a human Starfleet officer named Balthazar Edison, whose starship crash-landed on a planet long before the film takes place. The crew's distress calls went unanswered for 100 long years, which led Edison to grow resentful of the Federation to which he had dedicated his life. Edison's time on that planet also mutated his DNA, changing his appearance from the handsome Idris Elba to a more vicious-looking alien.

Simply a Great Villain

Krall has all the makings of a good villain. He's portrayed by a great actor, he has a cool appearance, and he has a great origin story that clearly outlines his hatred of the Federation. Star Trek Beyond is the most recent film movie to come out of the Kelvin timeline, though it's not the last. A fourth, untitled Star Trek film is reportedly in the works . Rent Star Trek Beyond on Prime Video.

Star Trek Beyond

Related: Star Trek: The 10 Best Captains in the Franchise, Ranked

5 Kruge - Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984)

One of the most famous alien species in Star Trek is the Klingons, those ruthless, humanoid warriors with the bumpy foreheads. Klingons are recurring antagonists in Star Trek and appear prominently throughout the franchise. And one of the most notable and antagonistic Klingons is the mercenary Kruge, played by Christopher Lloyd in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock.

A Rare Villain Role by Christopher Lloyd

You can barely tell that it’s Christopher Lloyd in this role, and it’s not just because of his make-up. Lloyd loses himself in this character, embracing the brutality and ruthlessness of the Klingon race. His character design popularized the Klingons’ iconic head ridges, and his portrayal revamped interest in this alien race. Kruge is also responsible for killing Kirk’s son, David, which makes him one of the more memorable and dangerous villains in the Star Trek franchise . ​​​​ Stream Star Trek III: The Search For Spock on Max.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

4 nero - star trek (2009).

After the critical and box office bomb that was Star Trek: Nemesis, the Star Trek movie franchise went into hibernation. It would take seven years for it to return to the big screen, courtesy of J.J. Abrams , the golden nerd of Hollywood. 2009’s Star Trek is a quasi-reboot: it presents the original characters in a separate timeline, keeping the old movies, events, and characters intact and allowing them to co-exist with this new series.

A Great Villain for a Much-Needed Reboot

Abrams knew that he needed a good villain to kick off this new series and attract both old and new fans. Enter Nero (Eric Bana). A Romulan from the future, he’s calm and collected while also being imposing and dangerous. He’s the one responsible for creating this separate timeline, altering events by traveling through time and destroying Kelvin.

Because of him, Kirk’s father is killed, and Spock’s home planet of Vulcan is destroyed. He’s not just the best villain to come out of the Kelvin series; he’s one of the best villains to come out of a Star Trek movie. Rent Star Trek on Prime Video.

3 General Chang - Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

The sixth installment in the franchise, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the final movie to feature the entire main cast of the original television series . It was a return to form after the critical and commercial disappointment of The Final Frontier . The Undiscovered Country introduced a new Klingon antagonist: General Chang. played by Christopher Plummer (Christophers and Klingons seem to go well together).

A Classic Klingon Villain

Opposed to the treaty between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, Chang frames Captain Kirk for the murder of the Klingon Chancellor -- who Chang helped to assassinate. Chang is a classic Klingon villain -- ruthless, brutal, and intelligent -- and is one of the most iconic adversaries from the original Star Trek series. Stream Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country on Max.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

2 the borg queen - star trek: first contact (1996).

Star Trek: First Contact is technically the first movie to focus on The Next Generation cast; their first film, Generations, starred the original television cast as well. First Contact is widely regarded as one of the best movies in the Star Trek franchise, and that's partially thanks to its villain: The Borg Queen (Alice Krige). The Borg are an alien group of cybernetic organisms, or cyborgs, and possess both mechanical and biological body parts. They were a new antagonist for The Next Generation series, a signature villain that the show was sorely lacking.

The Borg Are Terrifying

In First Contact, the Borg take center stage and are given a character redesign to appear as though they were converted into machine beings from the inside-out. They also never had a hierarchical command structure before. First Contact changed that by introducing the dreaded Borg Queen. Her appearance alone makes her one of the more fascinating villains in the Star Trek franchise: that mechanical body coupled with her pale, slimy skin, elongated head, and hairstyle of wires.

She's a sinister entity who's determined to assimilate everything into Borg. Despite her wicked behavior and appearance, the Borg Queen has an unsettling kind of allure. And as a female villain , she's a breath of fresh air for the franchise. ​​​​ Stream Star Trek: First Contact on Max.

Star Trek: First Contact

Related: Star Trek: The Coolest Ships in the Franchise, Ranked

1 Khan - Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Sometimes, the most obvious answer really is the right one, and our number one choice here is no exception. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is revered by both fans and critics and is regarded as the best installment of the Star Trek franchise. It improved upon its predecessor's biggest mistake by introducing a legitimate villain: Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban).

Khan!!!!!!!

Khan first appeared in season two of the televised series. But it was The Wrath of Khan that fleshed out his character and established his rivalry with the crew of the Enterprise. His theatricality and over-the-top energy make him the perfect antithesis to Captain Kirk. And his involvement with Spock's alleged death makes for one of the most emotional moments in the franchise.

Khan has become the golden standard for Star Trek villains, the model that every future antagonist is compared to. He isn't just the greatest villain in the Star Trek series; he's one of the most iconic antagonists of the entire sci-fi genre. ​​​​ Stream Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan on Max.

Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan

• Movie Lists

The Best Star Trek Villains Ranked

Space — the final frontier. In that vast expanse, there waits mystery, challenge, and according to  Star Trek , a bunch of gods, cyborg collectives, and countless species waiting to kill us, assimilate us, or test the boundaries of our civility. 

Since  Star Trek: The Original Series  ( TOS ) premiered in 1966, the Trek universe has been feeding our imaginations with villains — from bizarre to embarrassing to utterly ruthless — for over half a century. Since many of the earliest  Trek series were episodic, we didn't often get the chance to see the same bad guys return to hound the heroes. But as Trek experimented with serialized storytelling — particularly with  Deep Space Nine   ( DS9 ) — the more promising space-faring antagonists got multiple chances to show how bad they could be or, in some memorable cases, to prove they weren't quite as bad as you thought.

Among Trek 's villains are some of the most fun and memorable in popular media, and we thought we'd give you our own choices of who among them shines the brightest. Best lists are always subjective, but we're fairly confident there won't be too many disagreements for our picks of the best Star Trek  villains, ranked from worst to best. 

Badgey makes fun of both Star Trek and Microsoft

As one of the youngest  Star Trek  series with a much stronger focus on comedy, the animated  Star Trek: Lower Decks doesn't boast a wealth of recurring villains. Regardless, one of the few reappearing bad guys from the series is one of the funniest and cleverest conceptions in the entire  Trek  franchise. Voiced by Jack McBrayer (best known as  30 Rock 's Kenneth the Page), the holographic villain Badgey is a hilarious and brutal send-up of not only one of  Star Trek 's most tired tropes but of one of the most famously annoying aspects of Microsoft's software. 

We first meet Badgey in season 1's "Terminal Provocations," when Ensign Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) introduces Ensign D'Vana Tendi (Noel Wells) to his holodeck training program. Acting like the animated paper clip "Clippy" from Microsoft Office and shaped like a Starfleet badge, Badgey at first seems eager to help Rutherford and Tendi with whatever they need. But when an attack by alien scavengers causes the holodeck to malfunction and disengage the safety protocols, Badgey takes the opportunity to get vengeance on the person he sees as his abusive creator — Rutherford. Sharing such Clippy-like homicidal gems as, "Fun fact: I'm gonna rip your eyes out!" and, "Here's a tip: I'm going to burn your hearts in a fire!" Badgey pursues Rutherford and Tendi across holographic landscapes until Rutherford figures out a way to defeat him. 

Badgey makes a second appearance in the season 1 finale, and we hope we'll be seeing plenty more of him in the future. 

Annorax is one of Star Trek's most sympathetic villains

Kurtwood Smith has made a number of TV and film appearances in the  Star Trek  franchise, but none of his characters are both as chilling and sympathetic as the brilliant scientist Annorax from season 4 of Star Trek: Voyager . He places a low on our list because he never reappears after the two-parter "Year of Hell," but he makes enough of an impression to earn a spot regardless.

Part of a race known as the Krenim, Annorax begins his cursed quest by seeking to restore his people's once expansive empire to power. To this end, he develops a temporal weapon called simply the "Weapon Ship," which he uses to wipe out other species — not simply killing them but making it as if they never existed in the first place. While his attempts do restore more and more of the Krenim Imperium, the restoration of a single colony eludes him every time — the colony of Kyana Prime, where Annorax's wife, children, and grandchildren lived until his actions unintentionally erased them. So he and his restless crew, protected from the time-space continuum within their ship, have continued like this for two centuries, committing genocide again and again to feed the obsession of a captain who's convinced time itself is claiming vengeance upon him.  

While his time is brief, Annorax is one of the most quietly horrifying and tragic villains in the entire Trek  franchise.

General Chang was a perfect rival for Captain Kirk

Few Star Trek  villains simultaneously embody the sophistication, Shakespearean nobility, and ruthlessness of the late Christopher Plummer's General Chang. Plummer was a fitting choice not only because of his acting chops but because he was an important part of William Shatner's career. A decade before Shatner assumed the role of Captain Kirk, he was Plummer's understudy in a 1956 production of  Henry V .  

Chang appears exclusively in the final film to feature the complete  Original Series  crew, 1991's  Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . Chang is one of the architects of an alliance between rogue elements of the Federation, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Empire who are unwilling to see a lasting peace between Earth and Qo'noS. Chang plays a large part in the framing of Captain Kirk (Shatner) and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) for Klingon chancellor Gorkon's (David Warner) assassination, he prosecutes them in the unforgiving Klingon court, and he captains the prototype Bird-of-Prey that comes close to destroying both the  Enterprise  and the  Excelsior  toward the end of the film. 

While Chang is ultimately unsuccessful, from start to finish he exudes a singular presence among  Trek 's rogues' gallery. Plummer is particularly impressive when he and the rest of Gorkon's entourage are leaving the  Enterprise  after a diplomatic dinner. In spite of not saying a single overtly threatening word or making any hostile gesture, his body language and facial expressions tell you everything you need to know in the scene — that Chang is eager to be the man who defeats Kirk in battle. 

Data's evil brother was a fun and formidable foe

The android Data is unquestionably one of the fan-favorite characters from  Star Trek: The Next Generation . But one of the downsides of portraying the android is that — except in instances when something causes Data's programming to go haywire (which, admittedly, is often) — the emotional spectrum that actor Brent Spiner gets to play with is fairly limited. That changes just a little bit with the season 1 introduction of Data's evil brother, Lore, in "Datalore." 

Unlike Data, Lore is "gifted" with human emotions, but unfortunately, he receives them long before Dr. Noonian Soong has truly learned to properly program them. As a result, Lore is unstable and treacherous. It's eventually discovered that it's Lore who summoned the powerful Crystalline Entity that destroys all human life on Omicron Theta — the planet upon which both androids are discovered. After Lore is reassembled, he deactivates his brother and assumes Data's identity in an attempt to feed the crew of the  Enterprise  to the Crystalline Entity. And in his final appearance — the two-part "Descent" bridging the sixth and seventh seasons — he becomes something of a cult leader to a group of Borg who've liberated themselves from the Collective.

As humorous as he is evil, Lore is one of the most fun villains to show up on  The Next Generation  ( TNG ). At the same time, his appearances often pack an emotional punch, since the evil android remains one of the few creatures Data can call family. 

Gowron isn't always a villain, but when he is, he threatens the entire Federation and more

First appearing in the season 4  TNG  episode "Reunion," Gowron isn't always a villain. He's introduced as one of two contenders for the Klingon chancellorship, a title he eventually achieves. For the most part in his TNG  appearances, Gowron is more of a neutral character pursuing his own agenda. This changes once  TNG  ends and Gowron becomes a recurring character on  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . 

While his first DS9 appearance is season 3's "The House of Quark," Gowron doesn't become an important part of the show's serial drama until Michael Dorn's Worf joins the series in the season 4 premiere "The Way of the Warrior." While still perfectly expressing the trademark Klingon passion for battle, on  DS9,  Gowron is portrayed more as an opportunistic politician. He uses the threat of the Dominion to reignite his people's warlike tendencies with an invasion of Cardassia and, later, a new war with the Federation. During the epic war storyline in the show's final season, Gowron purposely wastes the lives of his warriors by sending the forces of General Martok (JG Hertzler) — who he sees as a political rival — to fight battles they can't win in order to humiliate Martok. 

Played expertly by Robert O'Reilly in all of his appearances, Gowron is an unforgettable Klingon villain with some of the craziest eyes you'll ever see.

Gabriel Lorca fooled us all

For most of  Star Trek: Discovery 's inaugural season, Jason Isaacs' Captain Gabriel Lorca commands the eponymous vessel. While he has a mysterious air early in the series, you're convinced he's the real deal because of his leadership skills and what appears to be an unwavering dedication to his crew. 

That changes after the  Discovery  winds up in the Mirror Universe in the final moments of "Into the Forest I Go." For most of the time  Discovery  is in this strange, much more brutal reality, no one seems to know exactly how they got there. It isn't until the third-to-last episode of the season, "Vaulting Ambition," that we learn Gabriel Lorca is a Mirror Universe native. Having switched places with his Prime counterpart before the events of the series, Lorca sees the potential of Discovery 's spore drive to bring him back home so he can continue his rebellion against Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh).

Arguably, just the fact that Lorca is able to pull the wool over so many viewers' eyes is enough reason to earn him a spot on this list. But Isaacs' superb acting and the layered conception of the character earn the accolades all on their own. Lorca is able to fool us precisely because he isn't simply a mustache-twirling bad guy. While he's using the  Discovery  crew for his own ends, he bears no ill will toward them, and in some ways, the respect and care he shows for them is genuine ... until it isn't.

Shran walks the line between friend and foe

A lot of fans would balk at the idea of the blue-skinned Commander Shran being labeled a villain. Portrayed by Jeffrey Combs — who's played more roles on  Star Trek  shows than most — Shran is an Andorian fiercely loyal to his people who's introduced in  Star Trek: Enterprise 's ( ENT ) first season. We meet Shran in "The Andorian Incident" when he leads a squad of his blue-skinned brethren in the violent takeover of a Vulcan monastery. Shran and the other Andorians come off as paranoid and xenophobic bullies. But in spite of their thuggish behavior, Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) discovers they're right about the monastery being a cover for a Vulcan facility monitoring the Andorians. When Archer exposes the truth, he earns an uneasy ally in Shran.

Shran comes to the aid of Archer and the Enterprise  on more than one occasion. In particular, in season 3, Shran bails the heroes out twice, including in the final battle to save Earth from the Xindi's doomsday weapon. But there's always a volatility working under Shran's surface, threatening to once more put him at odds with Archer and his crew. It happens, for example, in season 4's "United" when Shran's stubborn refusal to give the Tellarites the benefit of the doubt leads to Archer challenging him to a death duel.

Commander Kruge is one scary Klingon

For the most part,  Christopher Lloyd 's most famous characters – like Doc Brown in the  Back to the Future  series — aren't particularly intimidating. So it's a testament to the actor's range that he performed so well as the Klingon Commander Kruge in 1984's  Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . When Kruge learns of Starfleet's secret Genesis project — meant to instantly turn lifeless celestial bodies into habitable planets — he means to seize it as a doomsday weapon for the Klingon Empire. In the process, he orders the murder of Captain Kirk's son — a death that scars Kirk for years. 

In many ways, Kruge is the first example of the kind of Klingon we'd see in the subsequent Trek movies, as well as the  Star Trek: The Next Generation  era of TV series. While the Klingons' new look is seen briefly in 1979's  Star Trek: The Motion Picture , it isn't until Kruge that we get to see a fully fleshed-out performance. While the Klingons were always warlike, Kruge and his crew are more brutish than their predecessors in  TOS.  Locking himself in a death grip with an alien beast just for fun and going mano a mano with Kirk as Genesis is in its explosive death throes, Kruge gives us a portrayal of what remains one of the most potent examples of the Klingon passion for combat.

Benjamin Sisko is no fan of Michael Eddington

You don't find a lot of Trek villains wearing Starfleet uniforms. After all, the desire to join Starfleet is usually accompanied by a drive to uphold the values of the United Federation of Planets . But one notable exception is Lieutenant Commander Michael Eddington (Kenneth Marshall). Introduced in  DS9 's season 3 premiere, Eddington starts out as an officer who appears to be overly concerned with promotion and more than willing to turn in the heroes of  DS9  if they dare disobey their Starfleet superiors. 

Toward the end of season 4, we learn Eddington's seemingly tireless devotion to Starfleet is a ruse. In "For the Cause," Eddington tricks most of DS9's command crew away from the station, and in their absence, he steals a shipment of industrial replicators, revealing himself as a member of the Maquis — a group of violent rebels who oppose the Federation's treaty with Cardassia and wage relentless guerrilla war against the aliens.

The very fact that Eddington is able to pull the wool over his eyes makes Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) obsessed with capturing the traitor. He's one of the few villains capable of getting so thoroughly under a series captain's skin, to the point where Sisko actually humors some rather questionable tactics in apprehending him.

Harry Mudd is a truly conniving Star Trek villain

The flamboyant and deceptive Harry Mudd is one of the few named antagonists from  TOS to enjoy a second appearance. He first shows up played by Roger C. Carmel in season 1's "Mudd's Women," trying to sell women like cattle and using an illegal drug to render them physically irresistible. Later in season 2's "I, Mudd," the con man gives up the  Enterprise  crew to a group of androids with dreams of galactic conquest. 

Carmel returned to voice his famous crook in "Mudd's Passion," an episode of  Star Trek: The Animated Series . He runs afoul of the  Enterprise  once more after attempting to con the inhabitants of an alien planet into believing he could sell them Starfleet Academy. 

That wouldn't be the end of Mudd. Rainn Wilson (best known as  Dwight Schrute on  The Office ) plays a more vicious version of Harry Mudd in  Star Trek: Discovery 's ( DISCO ) first season. Captain Lorca (Jason Isaacs) meets Mudd in "Choose Your Pain," when they're both prisoners of the Klingons, and Mudd is more than happy to give up his fellow humans to avoid a beating or two. After Lorca and Lieutenant Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) leave Mudd behind when they escape the Klingons, the con man gets revenge with a plot involving a time manipulation device in "Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad."

Luther Sloan is a complicated character

One of the most popular pieces of Trek mythology introduced by  DS9 is the clandestine organization Section 31. And William Sadler's brilliant performance as Luther Sloan — the director of Section 31 during the events of  DS9  – is one of the main reasons for the group's popularity. 

Suspecting Dr. Bashir (Alexander Siddig) of being an unwitting spy for the Dominion, Sloan first shows up on DS9  using a holodeck to find out the truth. He subjects Bashir to an elaborate illusion, in which all of his friends on DS9 turn their backs on him. Once Bashir discovers the truth, Sloan is convinced of Bashir's innocence and offers him a position with Section 31. In spite of Bashir's clear refusal, Sloan soon returns to use the doctor in a covert operation involving infiltration of the Romulan Empire. Toward the end of the series, we learn Sloan is behind poisoning Odo (Rene Auberjonois) and all of his people with a deadly plague.

Sloan is a singular Trek villain. He's ruthless, cunning, and mysterious, but he's surprisingly sympathetic. He's aware of the hypocrisy of betraying the Federation's core values in order to protect it, yet he still believes in what he's doing and has no ill will towards Bashir for despising him. He sees Bashir as exactly the kind of man he was born to protect, even if in safeguarding him, he earns nothing but Bashir's disgust.

Intendant Kira is one of Star Trek's most sadistic bad guys

Introduced in  TOS ' "Mirror, Mirror," the Mirror Universe is an alternate dimension where the Federation is replaced by the tyrannical Terran Empire. Rather than living by values like tolerance, diplomacy, and discovery, the Terrans are a brutal people believing in conquest and cruelty. But in  DS9 's "Crossover," Dr. Bashir and Major Kira (Nana Visitor) find themselves in the alternate universe, where they learn that since the events of  TOS , the Terran Empire has been conquered by the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance. Terrans have become a slave race, and DS9 — retaining its original Cardassian name Terok Nor — is led by Intendant Kira.

Intendant Kira is the cold-blooded counterpart to Major Kira, and the character gives Visitor a chance to show us her acting range. Other than the Kiras of both universes sharing the quality of natural leadership, Intendant Kira is a wild departure from Major Kira. She's seductive, with an unapologetically endless appetite for pleasure, using Sisko — a pirate in the Mirror Universe — as her personal plaything. She's as vicious as any of the Cardassians or Klingons under her command and deceptively sadistic, sometimes acting as if she's about to absolve her victims before ordering their executions. 

Intendant Kira was far too much fun for just a single  DS9  episode. She's a recurring villain, including showing up for all of  DS9 's Mirror Universe stories.  

Kai Winn's tale is a tragic one

You hear a lot about villains you "love to hate." But then there are villains you just straight-up hate. Kai Winn is definitely one of the latter. 

Louise Fletcher — Nurse Ratched in 1975's  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest — plays Winn on DS9 , beginning as an ambitious vedek of a rigid religious order on Bajor. Winn is a slippery and manipulative vedek, working behind the scenes in coup and assassination attempts. Her actions, she claims, are always at the service of the Prophets — the aliens living inside the wormhole who the Bajorans worship as gods — yet it seems she's always working towards her own ascension in the ranks of Bajor's clergy. She succeeds in becoming Bajor's spiritual leader, the Kai, but by the end of the series, her jealousy towards Ben Sisko, her seduction by Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo), and her anger toward the Prophets leads her to finally abandon her religion and follow the devilish Pah-wraiths.

Winn is one of the most interesting and complex villains in all of Trek . Her downfall is tragic in the most classic sense of the word. Once she wins the title of Kai, rather than simply basking in her power as we expect, she seems to genuinely want to help her people. The problem is, of course, she also seems to fully believe that the ends justify any and all means. 

Weyoun steals the spotlight with his manipulative charm

What if you could genetically engineer a race to be equally cunning leaders and diplomats in the most hostile of situations? What you come up with might look a lot like the Vorta, the Dominion's lieutenant race, leading the hordes of brutal Jem'Hadar while being completely subservient to the Founders. And of the Vorta we meet on  DS9 , none is more memorable than Jeffrey Combs' Weyoun. While Weyoun dies at the end of his first appearance in season 4's "To the Death," the villain was just too good to keep dead. So, it was decided that the Founders keep clones of the Vorta always at the ready, complete with the memories of their predecessors. 

As the head of the Dominion's military in the Alpha Quadrant, Weyoun shows up often in the last two seasons of  DS9 , and he steals every scene he's in. He's dishonest and manipulative without shame, ready to shift from intimidating to conciliatory at a moment's notice. In scenes with politically influential  DS9  characters like Ben Sisko and Gul Dukat, Weyoun uses conversation like a deadly, evasive weapon — always adapting to his counterpart's mood with everything from wrath to abject apology. He lies so easily that you wonder whether or not Weyoun knows, or even cares, what's true or false.  

The Prime Universe's Khan Noonien Singh is obsessed with revenge

Any list of best Star Trek villains that doesn't include Ricardo Montalban's Khan needs to delete everything and start over. First appearing in  TOS 's "Space Seed," Khan is a genetically enhanced despot who ruled over a quarter of the Earth before escaping the Eugenic Wars with 84 of his followers. The  Enterprise  crew soon regrets waking Khan and his people from suspended animation once they take over the ship.

While Khan is a fun villain in his first appearance, his appeal doesn't reach full bloom until 1982's  Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , arguably the best Star Trek movie ever . Blaming Kirk for the tragedies that have befallen him since they crossed paths years earlier, Khan and his followers take over the U.S.S.  Reliant  and wage war on the  Enterprise . While Khan's followers believe they're using the stolen Federation property for power and prosperity, it's soon clear their leader is willing to sacrifice everything — including his own life and theirs — to get revenge on Kirk. 

Through Montalban, Khan becomes the absolute embodiment of all-consuming vengeance. The villain regularly either paraphrases or directly quotes lines from Herman Melville's novel  Moby Dick . And just as Captain Ahab is obsessed with destroying the titular whale, Khan ultimately has no purpose left but vengeance against Kirk.

The Borg Queen is equal parts sexy and scary

In  TNG 's "Q Who," the Borg — one of the Federation's deadliest enemies — are introduced. The cybernetic, zombie-like, hive-minded bad guys kill with impunity. However, their goal is not to kill but to assimilate the technology and biology of other intelligent species into their collective to bring them closer to perfection. There are no individuals within the Borg Collective, but in 1996's  Star Trek: First Contact ,   we're introduced to the Borg Queen, the living embodiment of the Collective's will.

The Borg Queen does something you wouldn't think possible with the Borg — she makes them sexy. In fact, she spends most of her scenes in  First Contact  seducing Data (Brent Spiner) with promises of pleasures he's never been capable of fully experiencing. But she's far from just a temptress. Particularly in her subsequent appearances in  Star Trek: Voyager  ( VOY ), the Borg Queen — played by both Alice Krige and Susanna Thompson at different points — conveys the singular horror of being confronted by a being who is, in her own words, "one who is many."

Speaking to  Looper in early 2020 , Krige shared interesting insights about playing the cybernetic villain, including just how old she thinks the Borg Queen is. "I think she was an entity that happened at the moment of creation," Krige explained. "And she's always been that and she always will be, and it is entirely abnormal."

Q is a delightfully devious trickster

Perhaps no other single villain has appeared in as many  Star Trek series as John de Lancie's all-powerful Q. Showing up for the premiere of  TNG , its finale, and a bunch of fun episodes in between, Q is a mischievous, godlike being who defies definition. He would eventually come to harass  VOY 's Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) almost as much as he does Picard (Patrick Stewart), along with making brief but memorable appearances on  DS9  and  Star Trek: Lower Decks . 

Hilarious and carefree, Q is so popular that it might be a problem for some fans to even call him a villain. But while he isn't wholly evil, he's certainly a villain in the sense that when he shows up, he's almost always an antagonist. While he usually reverses any direct harm he inflicts upon humans, he couldn't care less about those lost indirectly, such as the  Enterprise  crew members killed by the Borg in "Q Who."

Whether you see him as a good guy or a bad guy, de Lancie's portrayal of the trickster is one of the most delightful parts of TNG  and  VOY . Without him, after all, we'd never see a mariachi band on the  Enterprise  bridge, we'd never see Guinan plunge a fork into a dude's hand, and most importantly, we'd never see the  Enterprise  crew in Sherwood Forest.

Dukat is Star Trek's greatest villain

One of the places where  DS9  excels over other Trek series is that its serialized storytelling allows for characters to evolve. And you can see this evolution clearly in the Cardassian tyrant Gul Dukat. Formerly the prefect of Bajor during its occupation, Dukat is none too happy to find a human sitting in his old office in  DS9 's premiere, and his fixation on Sisko and his crushing sense of inadequacy grow over the course of the series, to the point where it suffocates him. 

The Dukat we meet in  DS9 's premiere isn't the Dukat we see in its finale. A characteristic Cardassian, Dukat spends the first few seasons of  DS9  working towards the goal of once again finding himself ruling over the people of Bajor. He's not only unwilling to face the atrocities he committed, but he's so delusional that he harbors resentment for the Bajorans refusing to honor him with statues and plaques. For a time, he's something of an ally to the DS9 crew, but when the Dominion gives him an opportunity to seize control over all of Cardassia, he becomes the Alpha Quadrant's most feared warlord. Before the end of the series, he goes from conqueror to madman, madman to cult leader, and from cult leader to the powerful vessel of the Pah-wraiths — the Prophets' destructive adversaries.

Wonderfully portrayed by Marc Alaimo, Dukat is ultimately the most complex, believable, and twisted villain in all of Star Trek .

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Star Trek: Villains Review: A collection of some (but not all) of Trek’s biggest baddies

Star Trek: Villains : A guide to some of the franchise’s most iconic villains — featuring profiles and interviews.

This is a review of the digital version of the book.

I have a confession to make, and this seems as good a place as any to do it: I love the villains of Star Trek. In an ecosystem overflowing with movies, television series, comics, and books that have generic, cliched bad guys, Star Trek’s villains are head and shoulders above the rest. Partly because of the actors who play them, partly because of their colorful, striking look, and partly because of the intricate and complex nature of Trek stories the bad guys, gals, supercomputers, babies, spongy alien blobs, androids, evil clones, etc. tend to be more original and leave a more lasting impression than villain outside of the franchise. Not every one of them is as remarkable as Khan Noonien Singh but we have many more Khans than we do Gods who have needs for starships. At the heart of it, though, I think the reason why Trek villains stand out is the same reason why the good guys of Trek stand out: they are relatable, they have strong agency, and the tragedy that shapes them invokes a sense of understanding and empathy.

Did you enjoy that last paragraph? Then you’ll love Star Trek: Villains , a 179 pages cover to cover collection from Titan Comics containing essentially that kind of commentary. Actor interviews, fan discussion transcripts, analysis articles, and more snipped straight out of issues from Star Trek Magazine ( now Star Trek Explorer ). Movie stills, production photos, and concept art of nearly forty villains that are explored in this book grace these pages as well. Star Trek: Villains begins with a disclaimer from Titan that nothing has been changed — words, pictures, formatting, layout – in these pages in order to retain the articles’ originality. That’s a decision with its own pros and cons. Having now been spoiled by the seeming perfectionist approach that IDW takes with their Star Trek comics or Eaglemoss does with their starships encyclopedias I can’t help but notice how disjointed the book is at first glance. The different font, page layouts, quality of photos work against the book more than they work for it. I enjoyed reading it chapter by chapter or rather villain by villain than I did on one straight readthrough. It’s much better approached as an anthology that you put on your bookshelf than it is a boom that you sit down with next to a pot of coffee for a deep dive.

The title is also unintentionally misleading because the publication leaves out quite a few villains of the Star Trek universe that deserve a spot in the book. Nearly forty Star Trek villains is a good chunk of them but for us bad guy lovers it is half empty. A good selling point would have been exclusive write-ups about other villains not touched on in the book from alumni of the magazine with new photos and interviews. Star Trek: Villains doesn’t incentivize the magazine collector in any way because all of the material in the book is already available to them. There are also villains who left a big impact on their sector of the Trek universe but only get half a paragraph in the book, sometimes less. Did we really need multiple pages for Khans from both timelines at the cost of at least a page for the female changeling? When putting a collection like this together, the decision of who is included matters as much as who isn’t.

I’m a little harsher on this book than I am with most — admittedly, because Star Trek: Villains is a welcome break from the continuing cycle of Kirk/Spock/Picard books we get that always shower endless praise on the good guys and leave the baddies out. Villains could have used sprinklings of newness and a hint of an overarching layout to make it easier on the eyes, but that this book even exists is a cherished miracle. Ultimately Star Trek: Villains is indeed worthy of your support and a win the bad guys desperately needed.

Final rating: 8 out of 10

Star Trek: Villains is now available on Amazon .

Stay tuned to TrekNews.net for all the news on Star Trek merchandise releases, along with the latest details on Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , Star Trek: Picard , Star Trek: Lower Decks , Star Trek: Prodigy , and more.

You can follow us on Twitter , Facebook , and Instagram .

An immigrant from India living in the Deep South, Shashank takes breaks in between dreaming about life on a starship to write comic books, co-host PoliTreks and role-play Captain Varun Rai on Faraday . You can follow Shashank on Twitter @gutter_hero .

December 19, 2021 at 1:50 pm

Since when are Gorns villains? The real villains in “Arena” turned out to be the Federation colonists who had inadvertently invaded their territory and then the Enterprise crew for continuing the perceived invasion. Haven’t the people who made this magazine seen Star Trek? Putting a Gorn on the cover of a magazine devoted to villains strongly suggests they haven’t. They were the VICTIMS in that episode, for crying out loud.

December 19, 2021 at 1:52 pm

Also, Richard Daystrom? A villain??? Daystrom was a hero. Even in the 24th century, they STILL honored him. He’d simply had a mental breakdown due to stress. There’s no way anyone could watch “The Ultimate Computer” and conclude Daystrom was a villain. I’m now convinced the publisher and its editors and writers are not very familiar with Star Trek, because that is ridiculous.

December 19, 2021 at 1:54 pm

And good god… the Romulan commander from “Balance of Terror?” A villain??? What imbeciles made this magazine?

December 19, 2021 at 2:00 pm

I can only hope that in the future, Titan Comics hires some competent personnel who understand the franchise. This is just embarrassing.

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The Best ‘Star Trek’ Villains Who Give Starfleet Nightmares

Vote up the Star Trek villains who are a blight on the final frontier.

Few science fiction franchises have been as enduring or as popular as  Star Trek.  Sprawling across numerous media, it has drawn in legions and generations of fans who welcome the opportunity to lose themselves in this alternate world. Like all great sci-fi,  Star Trek  is populated by many infamous villains.

While some take the form of races and groups opposed to the Federation, the most fascinating are the individuals who have posed a danger to Kirk, Picard, and other notable captains and crew members journeying across the final frontier .  These are the figures who stay with the viewer long after the episode itself is over - a perpetual reminder of the many guises villainy can take.

Khan Noonien Singh

• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Paramount Pictures

Appears In: Star Trek: The Original Series;  also appeared in  Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan  and  Star Trek Into Darkness 

Species: Augmented human

Background: As one of a group of superhumans, Khan solidified control of a major part of Earth, with a domain that encompassed much of Asia. Although he was incredibly powerful, he wasn’t nearly as despotic as he might have been (and certainly not like many of his fellow superhumans). He was deposed, but managed to escape Earth and was cryogenically frozen until discovered by the  Enterprise.

Why He's A Bane To Starfleet: Khan attempts to take over the  Enterprise  in an episode of the original series, after which Kirk defeats him. However, he returns in  The Wrath of Khan,  set on vengeance . He comes perilously close to killing Kirk - whom he's determined to destroy to avenge being left to die - but ultimately fails. 

Khan also served as the main antagonist of  Star Trek Into Darkness , albeit with slightly different motivations. He's forced to develop superweapons for Admiral Marcus, after which he rebels and tries to take over the  Enterprise,  before being defeated by Spock.

The Borg Queen

• Star Trek: First Contact

Appears In: Star Trek: First Contact;  also appears in  Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Voyager,  and  Star Trek: Picard 

Species: Borg

Background: As her name suggests, she is the epitome of the collective consciousness of the species known as the Borg. In many ways, she's the guiding intelligence of the collective as a whole. In addition to being ruthless in her approach to all other life in the universe - which she sees as inherently inferior to the Borg - she also views her role as bringing order to chaos.   

Why She's A Bane To Starfleet: After her initial appearances, she became one of the most powerful and potent threats faced by the crew of the  Enterprise.  Unsurprisingly, her primary goal was the propagation of the Borg, even if this meant the extinction of all other life forms. 

She pursued this with relentless efficiency even though - like many other great  Star Trek  villains - she also had moments of complexity, particularly once she started to feel the  sting of loneliness and despair . Although she was a formidable foe, she was beaten many times before her final demise in  Picard.

• Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Paramount Domestic Television

Appears In: Introduced in  Star Trek: The Next Generation;  also appears in  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Lower Decks,  and  Star Trek: Picard 

Background: Part of what makes Q such a compelling  Star Trek  villain is just how little is known about him/them. As the ambiguity of the name suggests, Q is a being of almost incomprehensible power and abilities, and seems to delight in showing off its superiority to humans. Q is particularly invested in making sure humans aren’t becoming a  threat to other elements of the universe .

Why They’re A Bane To Starfleet: In earlier appearances, particularly in  The Next Generation,  Q enjoys posing various challenges to members of the  Enterprise.  In part, these are opportunities for humanity to prove its worth, but they also seem to be for the being’s own amusement. Among other things, Q puts the crew on trial, and even temporarily gives Riker the power of a Q - again, as a sort of test. As the series goes on, and in subsequent iterations, Q proves to be an ally and teacher to Picard and to other humans. At the end of  Picard , it's unclear if Q still exists.

• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Appears In: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Species: Cardassian

Background: A member of the Cardassian race, Gul Dukat for a time ruled over the planet of Bajor. While charming and charismatic, he's also shown to be very authoritarian, ruling with an iron fist.  He was particularly embittered once his position was taken away from him.

Why He's A Bane To Starfleet: Dukat was one of the most potent villains faced by Benjamin Sisko, the commanding officer of Deep Space Nine . The two clashed numerous times throughout the series, and Dukat was determined to get back what he thought was rightfully his. Perhaps the gravest threat he posed, however, occurred when he allied himself with the  Pah-wraiths , sinister beings who possessed his body. He's ultimately foiled and imprisoned forever, thanks once again to Sisko.

• Star Trek: The Original Series

Appears In: Introduced in  Star Trek: The Original Series;  also appeared in  Star Trek: Enterprise and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Species: A humanoid reptilian species 

Background: Even before Captain Kirk and the  Enterprise  encountered one of the Gorn, there had been other moments of contact between this species and the Federation.  They were notorious for their predatory attitude toward any warm-blooded creatures, including humans.

Why They’re A Bane To Starfleet: The most notable incident concerning the Gorn on-screen is when Kirk has to engage one in hand-to-hand combat. It initially seems as if the creature might defeat him, but he eventually emerges victorious. In typical Kirk fashion, however, he shows the creature mercy rather than killing it. After decades of obscurity in the Star Trek universe, the Gorn returned in Strange New Worlds , updated as a violent threat for Captain Christopher Pike, despite the series taking place a decade before the Gorn's initial appearance in The Original Series .

General Chang

• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Appears In: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Species: Klingon

Background: As a Klingon, Chang was a skilled warrior who took a dispassionate and sometimes ruthless view toward the world. He harbored a particular dislike for the Federation, and was motivated by the belief that war cannot be prevented. Given his prowess as a warrior, he understandably took part in several conflicts within the Klingon Empire.

Why He's A Bane To Starfleet: Given his longstanding antipathy to the Federation, Chang was particularly angered by the prospect of his beloved Empire turning to them for any kind of assistance, which did indeed happen. He joined a conspiracy whose sole intention was to keep the Empire and Federation from declaring peace, which caused the demise of several of his own people, including Chancellor Gorkon. 

Chang went to extraordinary lengths to destroy the peace process, even though he was ultimately destroyed by the  Enterprise,  despite using an invisible ship to launch attacks.

Appears In: Star Trek: The Next Generation; also appears in Star Trek: Picard 

Species: Soong-type android 

Background: Lore was created by human cyberneticist Dr. Noonien Soong. The android was highly sophisticated, but Soong soon realized he was malevolent and destructive , and decommissioned him. Before that, however, Lore orchestrated the destruction of life on Omicron Theta.

Why He's A Bane To Starfleet: Lore was discovered by the  Enterprise,  and it wasn’t long before he was wreaking havoc again. Among other things, he deactivated his sibling android Data and assumed his identity. In Lore's first appearance, he tried to give the crew up to the being known as the Crystalline Entity . He also enslaved a group of Borg (whom he programmed to kill rather than assimilate others), and for a time he even managed to bring Data under his sway. 

In The Next Generation , he was ultimately defeated by Data and disassembled, including the destruction of his “brain.”

Appears In: Introduced in  Star Trek: The Next Generation;  also appears in  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Background: After his initial appearance in  The Next Generation,  Gowron became Chancellor of the Klingon Empire. Throughout the series he faced a number of challenges to his position, sometimes necessitating intervention from Picard and others on the  Enterprise. 

Why He's A Bane To Starfleet: Gowron became more of an antagonist in  Deep Space Nine.  Among other things, he disinherited Worf and his entire family, and attempted to force Benjamin Sisko to surrender Gul Dukat and the rest of the Detapa Council . He was repeatedly prone to challenging the Federation with demands, no matter how unreasonable, which ultimately led to a shattering of the peace between the Klingon Empire and the Federation. Wolf eventually killed him in hand-to-hand combat.

Kai Winn Adami

Species: Bajoran

Background: Winn was a steadfast believer in the Prophets , which earned her imprisonment when the Cardassians ruled her planet, Bajor. At the same time that she developed a rigid adherence to orthodoxy, she also became bitter at the Prophets, whom she believed never spoke to her as she deserved, given her sacrifices. She repeatedly showed a subtle political mind, and was willing to ally herself to whoever  would give her what she wanted . 

Why She's A Bane To Starfleet: Winn was a particularly inveterate enemy to Benjamin Sisko, whom she resented due to his status as Emissary of the Prophets. Aside from her various manipulations, she also became one of the primary antagonists as  Deep Space Nine  reached its conclusion; she even went so far as to ally herself with none other than Cardassian villain Gul Dukat, joining his efforts to release the Pah-Wraiths. Fortunately for Winn, she ultimately returned to the side of good, though this led to her destruction at Dukat’s hands.

Gary Mitchell

Appears In: Star Trek: The Original Series

Species: Human

Background: Throughout his life, Gary Mitchell demonstrated remarkable skill with guessing games, which may have had something to do with his ancestry - many of his family members possessed extrasensory perception. He also had a long history with Captain Kirk, as the two met at Starfleet Academy. They had also conducted several missions together, where Mitchell demonstrated remarkable telepathic abilities. 

Why He's A Bane To Starfleet: Things took a turn for the worse for Mitchell when the  Enterprise  passed through a galactic barrier, which made his telepathic abilities ever stronger. Unfortunately, a side effect was a major personality change; he became a megalomaniac, convinced of  his own power and superiority . He was eventually overpowered by Kirk and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, and was buried beneath tons of rock.

Species: Vorta

Background: Weyoun was a Vorta , a race of violet-eyed, genetically modified humanoids serving in the Dominion. He had been cloned numerous times over the years. 

Why He's A Bane To Starfleet: Like many others of his kind, Weyoun’s various iterations were deployed by the Dominion in its war against the Federation. Weyoun 5, for example, was a personal aide to Gal Dukat. Possibly the most sinister of the clones was Weyoun 8, who played a key role in a Cardassian genocide before meeting his death at the hands of Cardassian Elim Garak.

• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Appears In: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Background: As a member of the House of Kruge, he belonged to very powerful political family, with the resultant connections and influence. His full name was a mouthful: Kruge sutai-Vastal . By the opening of The Search for Spock , he had also long been a member of the Klingon Defense Force. 

Why He's A Bane To Starfleet: In the film, Kruge believed the device used to transform the planet Genesis was a weapon, which is why he captured those present on the planet, setting up a confrontation with Kirk and others on the  Enterprise.  Kruge proved himself to be a violent and unpredictable adversary, but was ultimately outwitted by Kirk, who had the  Enterprise  self-destruct. The two ultimately engaged in a hand-to-hand duel, in which Kirk defeated Kruge by kicking him over a cliff.

Captain Gabriel Lorca

• Star Trek: Discovery
• CBS/Paramount+

Appears In: Star Trek: Discovery

Background: The man known in the primary universe as Gabriel Lorca was, in fact, the Lorca from the Mirror Universe, who at some point had taken over the identity of his counterpart. Previously, he served as a lieutenant for Empress Philippa Georgiou. Lorca was at one point the captain of the  Buran  and later became captain of the  Discovery. 

Why He's A Bane To Starfleet: In the primary universe, Lorca was shrewd and manipulative, particularly when it came to Captain Michael Burnham. His real purpose was always to unseat the Empress; he was willing to do anything necessary to bring this goal to fruition, no matter how much damage it might cause to the primary universe (and the damage was indeed extensive). However, Lorca was ultimately defeated by Georgiou herself, who stabbed him with a sword and threw him into a reactor. The fate of the primary Lorca remains unknown. 

Appears In: Star Trek  (2009)

Species: Romulan

Background: Nero was a miner, and the master of the ship  Narada.  However, his planet was destroyed by a supernova, which engendered in him a relentless thirst for revenge . When he was caught in a black hole and sent back in time, he killed Captain George Kirk, setting in motion an alternate timeline and changing the fate of George's son, James T. Kirk. Nero also managed to leave an alternate Spock - who had tried to save Romulus but failed - stranded on a distant planet.

Why He's A Bane To Starfleet: Nero is the primary antagonist of the new timeline established in 2009’s  Star Trek.  His primary motivation was to get revenge on anyone he thought was responsible for the destruction of his planet, which included Spock (both the one from his timeline and the alternate one). Among Nero's many heinous actions was setting in motion the destruction of Vulcan by a black hole. He clearly intended the same for Earth, but was foiled by Spock, who created a black hole into which Nero and his ship disappeared.

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Appears In: Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Species: Machine entity / Space probe

Background: V’ger began as a space probe sent into outer space by humans, appropriately named  Voyager 6 . It later became lost in a black hole, after which it gained sentience thanks to the intervention of an alien race of thinking machines. It subsequently  gave itself a new name .

Why They’re A Bane To Starfleet: V’ger’s main purpose was to fulfill its original mission: learn everything possible about the universe and take this information back to Earth. Given how much power and knowledge it came to wield, it nearly destroyed its very creators in the process, and to further complicate matters, it began seeking answers to vast existential questions. Fortunately, its threat to destroy Earth if its questions weren't satisfied was averted when the new captain of the  Enterprise  merged with the being, giving it the answers it craved.

Talak’talan

Species: Jem'Hadar

Background: Talak’talan was a reptilian creature who served the Dominion as part of a corps of shock troops beholden to the Founders, the Jem'Hadar. This regularly put them in conflict with others, and the Jem'Hadar were known for their belligerence and their tendency to resort to violence (including genocide). 

Why He's A Bane To Starfleet: Talak’talan captured Commander Benjamin Sisko and several others when they made their way into the Gamma Quadrant. He made no secret of his contempt for humans (he had hoped to connect with Klingons), and he also did not give Sisko any of the information he desired. Though a relatively minor antagonist, it was still clear Talak’talan was not one to be trifled with. His ultimate fate remains unknown. 

Species: Breen

Background: Thot Gor was a Breen, a race with a longstanding conflicted relationship with the Federation, and with humans in particular. Their most notable allies were the Dominion, who likewise had a bellicose dynamic with the Federation. Gor and other Thots served as high-ranking military officers among the Breen.

Why He's A Bane To Starfleet: Gor was one of those most responsible for forging an alliance between the Breen and the Dominion against the Federation. He showed himself to be a formidable military leader, particularly in the attack on San Francisco and in the Battle of Chin'toka. He was eventually succeeded by Thot Pran under unclear circumstances.

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• Star Trek Universe
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• Fictional Characters

Live long, and prosper.

Star Trek: Best Movie Villains, Ranked

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All 41 Cameos in Deadpool & Wolverine

Dc: 9 strongest versions of superman, ranked, halo tv series canceled by paramount+, but there is hope for a season 3.

Star Trek is one of the most popular science fiction series to ever grace movie screens. Following the popularity of science fiction in the 1970s, Star Trek was going to be rebooted as a television series before producers decided to make a movie instead. That film's success spawned sequels and helped launch the follow-up television series.

RELATED: Star Trek: Most Iconic Klingons

As of this writing, there have been 13 films featuring the casts of The Original Series and The Next Generation as well as a trilogy of films set during a different timeline. While each of these films has an antagonist, not all Star Trek villains are created equally.

13 V'Ger – Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Star Trek: The Motion Picture follows the Enterprise crew as they try to prevent V'Ger from annihilating the Federation. V'Ger turns out to be the probe Voyager 6 that Earth sent to explore space centuries before. It had gained sentience and was trying to return to its creator.

V'Ger isn't a true villain. The probe is a threat, but it's not truly seeking to destroy the Federation. It's a misunderstanding by an inanimate object that has gained sentience. Eventually, Commander Decker merges with V'Ger to help save the Federation.

12 The Whale Probe – Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home

Much like V'Ger, the Whale Probe was only a threat due to a misunderstanding and not because it was truly villainous. In Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home , the Whale Probe is endangering Earth while searching for humpback whales who have gone extinct in the Star Trek timeline.

The Enterprise crew is able to go back in time and transport two humpback whales to the future. The whales' calls caused the Whale Probe to stop causing massive damage to Earth. The Voyage Home is the rare Star Trek film where no one dies, and the entire adventure is lighthearted.

11 Sha Ka Ree – Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier

Sha Ka Ree is the god worshiped by Spock's half-brother, Sybok, in The Final Frontier . Sybok is bringing a starship to this god only to find out that Sha Ka Ree isn't really a god but an evil alien trying to escape the Great Barrier that had trapped it.

Sybok is the villain's representative the viewer sees throughout the film, so he is viewed by many as the villain. However, Sybok is merely a believer whose religion is manipulated by an alien. He isn't innocent, but he's still a victim.

10 Ru'afo – Star Trek: Insurrection

Ru'afo is the leader of the Son'a people who wants another group of people, the Ba'ku, removed from a region of space. He manipulates Starfleet Vice Admiral Dougherty who is just trying to mitigate the fallout of the Dominion War.

RELATED: Best Star Trek Admirals, Ranked

Ru'afo is essentially the Star Trek version of the evil bureaucrat trying to use eminent domain . He's a one-note villain that worked well for single episodes in Star Trek series but couldn't carry a film.

9 Shinzon – Star Trek: Nemesis

A clone of Captain Picard who grew up in a Reman slave mine is now leading the Remans to overthrow the Romulan government. Then, he sets his sights on Picard and destroying Earth. Shinzon is a look at what Picard might have been had he grown up under different circumstances.

Shinzon fails to be a compelling villain because so many of the things that are supposed to be intriguing about him had already been explored during The Next Generation .

8 Dr. Soran – Star Trek: Generations

In the first film to feature The Next Generation cast, Dr. Soran is a refugee who just wants to return to the Nexus . It's viewed as a way to get to paradise, and that's all Dr. Soran really wants.

What makes Dr. Soran so villainous is that he doesn't care who he hurts to reach his goal. He's willing to let millions of people die, so he can experience paradise. Plus, he ultimately brings about Kirk's death. That's an impressive run of destruction for someone who isn't inherently evil.

7 Admiral Marcus – Star Trek Into Darkness

In the Kelvin timeline, Admiral Marcus finds Khan's ship and manipulates him into doing his bidding . Unlike the events of The Wrath of Khan , Into Darkness ' Khan is more the henchman than the villain, much like Sybok to Sha Ka Ree. Admiral Marcus is the true villain by holding Khan's followers hostage.

It was a different way to introduce well-known characters to the new timeline. Khan is still ruthless, although not as charismatic, and he is more compelling as a foil for Kirk than Marcus is.

6 Krall – Star Trek Beyond

Krall is a former Federation captain who crashed on a planet that warped his appearance and his mind. After a century on this planet, he is disillusioned with the Federation and ready to destroy everything about it.

Krall embodies hatred and bitterness. He's the opposite of what hope the Federation is supposed to stand for. He wasn't always this way, but a century stranded will certainly test anyone's views. It's a compelling take on a villain.

5 Kruge – Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock

Kruge is a Klingon mercenary who is looking to take advantage of the Genesis device Kirk launched at the end of The Wrath of Khan . Kruge is ruthless and ends up killing Kirk's son, David, before Kirk finally defeats him.

Kruge brought a renewed interest in the Klingons which became an integral part of the storytelling of future films. He wasn't seeking vengeance, but he still made his beef with Kirk personal, albeit unintentionally.

4 General Chang – Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country

Speaking of Klingons, General Chang is a throwback to the evil Klingons of The Original Series . He is opposed to the upcoming treaty between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, so he frames Kirk for the murder of the Klingon Chancellor.

RELATED: Star Trek: Best Lieutenant Commanders, Ranked

His actions ultimately lead to peace between the Federation and Klingons, along with members of the latter group, like Worf, joining the former in future installments of the series.

3 Nero – Star Trek

When JJ Abrams chose to reboot the franchise, he needed a strong villain, something the first film in the Kelvin timeline delivered. Nero is a Romulan from the future who saw his planet destroyed in a Supernova . He decides to take revenge against Spock who was trying to prevent the Supernova from happening.

Nero travels through time and destroys Kelvin, which leaves Kirk without a father. He also destroys the planet Vulcan, killing Spock's mother in the process. Furthermore, he seriously injures Captain Pike and tries to destroy Earth. Nero is the strongest Star Trek villain of the Kelvin timeline.

2 Khan – Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan

Khan was introduced during season two of Star Trek , but he made enough of an impression that he was brought back for Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan . Khan is an augment who previously conquered Earth and now wants to conquer Kirk.

Khan is seeking vengeance and is able to damage the Enterprise in a way that Spock sacrifices himself to save the ship. Kirk beat Khan in battle, but the latter ensures the former learns that some situations are no-win scenarios.

1 The Borg Queen – Star Trek: First Contact

Every Star Trek series has its signature villains, and the Borg fills this role in The Next Generation . With the introduction of the Borg Queen in Star Trek: First Contact , the view of the Borg shifted into an insect-like race with a hive mind .

She wanted every creature in the world to be Borg, and, as the Borg would say, "resistance was futile." There have been many Star Trek villains looking to conquer a planet, a race of people, or a quadrant, but the Borg was the only villain that wanted everything assimilated.

MORE: Star Trek: Every Live-Action Series on Paramount Plus, Ranked

• Movies & TV

Who Are STAR TREK: PICARD Season 3’s Main Villains?

As of Picard season three, episode three, we finally know who the true villains of the season are. And they are perhaps the biggest threat the Federation ever faced. No, not the Borg. Not even the Klingons. We’re talking about the Dominion, a despotic intergalactic empire that waged war against the Alpha Quadrant for a solid three seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . In fact, they were such a threat that the Federation allied with both the Klingons and their longtime enemies the Romulan Star Empire to save themselves.

But just who, or what, is the Dominion? And who are their mysterious shape-shifting Founders, now causing so much trouble for Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his friends? The answer goes back to the very first episode of S tar Trek: Deep Space Nine, over 30 years ago. And one of the Star Trek franchise’s most beloved characters.

Odo, Deep Space Nine ‘s Friendly Changeling

The very first member of the Founder’s species we met was Odo, the shapeshifting chief of security aboard starbase Deep Space Nine. He was portrayed by René Auberjonois, and appeared in “Emissary,” Deep Space Nine’s first episode in 1993. Odo’s natural state was liquid, but he could hold a humanoid form for several hours a day. They found him as an infant blob near the Bajoran wormhole . This implied his species came from the distant Gamma Quadrant, where the wormhole connected to.

A Bajoran scientist named Dr. Mora gave the infant the name Odo, and he mimicked his humanoid shape as a tribute to him. Odo did not know where he came from. Or even what species he was. But he knew he liked order, and chose a life in policing. He became Chief of Security on Deep Space Nine. First, under the Cardassians , and later, under the Bajorans. However, he never stopped wondering about his origins. This longing for a people he never knew factored heavily into Odo’s character in the first few seasons of DS9 .

The Dominion, the Anti-Federation

At the end of season two of DS9 , we learned of a major power in the Gamma Quadrant–the Dominion. This empire enslaved many planets. Their hierarchy consisted of a group of genetically engineered lizard-like clone soldiers, known as the Jem’Hadar. Their administrators, a humanoid race called the Vorta, gave the reptilian Jem’Hadar their orders. As well as the drugs they needed to survive. The Vorta maintained their orders came from the Dominion’s mysterious “Founders,” who they worshipped as gods. But no one had ever seen these Founders, and most species in the Gamma Quadrant considered them a myth.

The Dominion Founders Revealed

By the time of the end of DS9 season three, Odo made a shocking discovery in the Gamma Quadrant. On a rogue planet in the Omarian Nebula, Odo discovered his people at long last. They were a group of Changelings just like himself. They existed together in what they called “The Great Link,” a large liquid mass where they all joined as one consciousness. Unlike the hive mind of the Borg , they could retain their individuality and leave the Great Link if they wished. Odo was an infant the Changelings let loose into the cosmos with 99 others. Upon maturation, it was meant for them to explore the galaxy and come back to the Link with what they had learned.

At first, Odo was overjoyed to discover his people. But then he learned the terrible truth. The Changelings were themselves the mysterious Founders of the Dominion. After persecution by what they called “solid” species, they exerted control over the galaxy so no solid beings could harm them ever again. They genetically enhanced the Vorta, one of the few humanoid species to show them kindness, and created the Jem’Hadar as their foot soldiers. For 2,000 years they inflicted terror in the Gamma Quadrant, forcing worlds into their Dominion. Odo, disgusted with what he learned, left the Great Link and returned to Federation space.

The Dominion War Unites Former Enemies Against a Common Foe

But that was just the start. The Dominion decided to conquer the Alpha Quadrant, and had their Changeling agents infiltrate the ranks of Starfleet , the Klingon Empire, and others. They infiltrated Federation starships and sabotaged them, and manipulated the powers of the Alpha Quadrant against each other, causing a brief war between the Klingons and the Federation after decades of peace. Eventually, the Dominion waged a full-scale war against the Federation. Starfleet had to unite with their enemies the Klingons and even the Romulans to save the galaxy. Meanwhile, the Dominion and the Cardassians, longtime Federation enemies, forged an alliance. This prolonged conflict they named The Dominion War, and covered seasons five to seven of DS9.

An Attempted Genocide Averted

The Dominion War ended due to the shady actions of the secret off-the-books Starfleet Intelligence agency called Section 31. Against Federation principals, they engineered a genetic virus they implanted into Odo, one meant to cause the genocide of the Founders when he bonded physically with any other Changeling from the Great Link. This action disgusted many in Starfleet, who were against the genocide of a race, even a hostile one.

Starfleet doctors engineered a cure for Odo, one he could administer to the rest of the Great Link should he choose to rejoin them permanently. He chose to return, on the condition the Dominion end the war on the Federation and its allies, and leave the Alpha Quadrant in peace. With this action, the Dominion War ended, after the loss of millions of lives. They signed the Treaty of Bajor on station Deep Space Nine, in the year 2375.

Revenge of the Changelings

When Picard season one began, it was close to 25 years since the end of the Dominion War. We’ve had little knowledge of the fallout of this great galactic conflict. But in Picard season three, Worf reveals that certain parts of the Great Link did not agree to the treaty with the Federation, and have broken off into a terrorist faction. Worf learned of this information from his contact within the link, someone he considered “a man of honor.” This was no doubt a reference to Odo himself.

So is Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer) a Founder herself, or does she merely work for them? And what is her obsession with Jack Crusher? As we learned in Star Trek: Insurrection , the Enterprise-E under Picard’s command spent much of the Dominion War conducting peace negotiation s and were not part of the fighting much. So a vendetta against Picard himself would be curious. But then, we really don’t know everything the Enterprise was up to during the Dominion War. While there is much still left to be revealed, one thing is certain — the Federation’s most lethal enemy is back, and they have not forgotten their humiliating defeat at the hands of the Federation.

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Every Major Star Trek Villain Species, Ranked

Spock’s star trek tos romance explains his tng vulcan & romulan dream, star trek’s future requires more patience than ever.

• The best Star Trek female villains include complex characters like the Intendant and the Female Changeling.
• The Female Romulan Commander and Alixus offer early examples of intriguing female villains in Star Trek.
• While some female villains like the Borg Queen excel, others like Seska from Voyager fall short of their potential.

While the canon of iconic Star Trek antagonists can often feel like an exclusive boy's club, many of the franchise's best villains have been complex female characters. For nearly 60 years, many of the best known villains in Star Trek movies and TV shows have been male, from Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban) to Shinzon (Tom Hardy). Looking back, it feels quite regressive, and speaks to a wider issue with how women were written in early Star Trek .

For example, the notorious Star Trek: The Original Series finale "Turnabout Intruder" features Dr. Janice Lester (Sandra Smith), who was presented as a hysterical woman scorned, rather than a multi-layered and complex villain. However, even in those early days, there were one or two memorable female villains that could hold their own against Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). While Star Trek 's movie villains have been predominantly male, the TV shows of the 1990s and 2020s introduced some truly iconic recurring female villains to the franchise .

Star Trek has featured plenty of intimidating alien races over the years, from the highly secretive Romulans to the terrifying space zombies the Borg.

12 Alixus (Gail Strickland)

Star trek: ds9, season 2, episode 15, "paradise".

The impact of Alixus (Gail Strickland) is relatively minor. However, Alixus is an incredibly compelling Star Trek: Deep Space Nine villain who deserves to sit alongside some franchise greats. In DS9 season 2, episode 15, "Paradise", Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) are stranded on a planet that has abandoned technology in favor of a more simple life. Alixus is the leader of this traditionalist community, but Sisko and O'Brien soon unearth the darkness at its core. Alixus was a Federation scientist who had theorized that a return to nature would be better for humanity in the long run.

Gail Strickland had previously appeared with Avery Brooks in Spenser: For Hire .

To prove her point, she sabotaged the colony ship, the SS Santa Maria, forcing it to crash-land on a remote planet. Alixus installed a duonetic field generator that prevented all technology from operating, forcing the colonists to live by her new vision. To prove her thesis, she resorted to cruel punishments and stood by and let her colonists die from easily curable ailments. Gail Strickland plays Alixys with such nuance, transforming "Paradise" from a filler episode into an underrated Star Trek: Deep Space Nine classic . Her electric scenes with Sisko foreshadow the DS9 captain's later conflicts with other zealots.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Not available

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.

11 Seska (Martha Hackett)

Star trek: voyager, seasons 1 to 3.

Star Trek: Voyager 's Seska (Martha Hackett) was a fantastic idea for a character, but very poorly executed. Introduced as one of the secondary Maquis crew members of the Valjean, it quickly became clear that Seska was hiding something. Not only did Seska want Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran) to lead a mutiny against Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), she was also a Cardassian spy in disguise. These two elements combined ended up confusing Seska's character in Voyager , as an outnumbered Cardassian would surely have set their sights on an alliance with Janeway, not the Maquis .

Martha Hackett previously played the Romulan Sub-commander T'Rul in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's season 3 premiere "The Search, Parts I & II".

Eventually, Seska left the USS Voyager, to make an alliance with the Kazon in an attempt to capture the ship. The motivations for Seska's plan to capture Voyager were seemingly rooted in her disappointment at being scorned by her former lover, Chakotay. Disappointingly, one of Star Trek: Voyager 's most interesting villains was reduced to the level of Captain Kirk's evil ex-girlfriend, Janice Lester . The most successful plot by Seska was only discovered after she'd died, when a holodeck simulation of a Maquis mutiny turned into a deadly trap in Voyager season 3, episode 25, "Worst Case Scenario".

Star Trek: Voyager

The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they've never faced before. 

10 Asencia, The Vindicator (Jameela Jamil)

Star trek: prodigy season 1.

Janeway's ship was once again infiltrated by an enemy alien in Star Trek: Prodigy season 1. Masquerading as a Trill ensign, Asencia helped track the USS Protostar, in the hopes of activating its deadly Living Construct weapon and destroying Starfleet. Asencia's true identity was discovered after Janeway and the USS Dauntless rescued the Diviner (John Noble). Hoping that the two Vau N'AKat could work together, Asencia was shocked when the Diviner chose his daughter Gwyndala (Ella Purnell) over their plan to destroy Starfleet. In the Prodigy season 1 finale, Asencia successfully activated the Living Construct and returned to her own time .

Asencia's story will presumably continue in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 , as Admiral Janeway heads into the alternate future to rescue Captain Chakotay and his crew from the Vau N'Akat. It's therefore hard to rank Asencia higher until her story plays out in full. However, judging by the ruthlessness and cunning that Asencia displayed in Prodigy season 1, it's clear that Janeway and the crew of the USS Voyager-A will have their work cut out for them.

Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Prodigy is the first TV series in the Star Trek franchise marketed toward children, and one of the few animated series in the franchise. The story follows a group of young aliens who find a stolen Starfleet ship and use it to escape from the Tars Lamora prison colony where they are all held captive. Working together with the help of a holographic Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the new crew of the USS Protostar must find their way back to the Alpha Quadrant to warn the Federation of the deadly threat that is pursuing them.

9 Female Romulan Commander (Joanne Linville)

Star trek: the original series, season 3, episode 4, "the enterprise incident".

In Star Trek: The Original Series , season 2, episode 4, "The Enterprise Incident", Captain Kirk is tasked with stealing a Romulan cloaking device . Part of the plan requires Lt. Commander Spock (Leonard Nimoy) to seduce an unnamed Female Romulan Commander (Joanna Linville), who is attracted to the Vulcan. However, unlike Seska in Star Trek: Voyager , the Female Romulan Commander's ambitions lie far beyond romantic interests. She believes that capturing the USS Enterprise for the Romulan Star Empire will be a boon for her career progression, and wants Spock to serve alongside her.

Years after the events of "The Enterprise Incident", the Federation was banned from developing cloaking technology thanks to the Treaty of Algeron.

Having seemingly turned on Kirk and even killed him in a fight, Spock keeps the Female Romulan Commander interested while Kirk infiltrates the ship. However, the Commander saw through the ruse and beamed aboard the Enterprise to try and take it by force, or have it destroyed. The plan to steal the USS Enterprise is foiled, and the Female Romulan Commander is left embarrassed by falling for Kirk and Spock's fight and losing the cloaking device to the Federation. Interestingly, Spock doesn't throw the Female Romulan Commander into the brig, and instead takes her to standard quarters, implying his seduction wasn't all pretend.

Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek: The Original Series follows the exploits of the crew of the USS Enterprise. On a five-year mission to explore uncharted space, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) must trust his crew - Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Forest DeKelley), Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Sulu (George Takei) - with his life. Facing previously undiscovered life forms and civilizations and representing humanity among the stars on behalf of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets, the Enterprise regularly comes up against impossible odds and diplomatic dilemmas.

8 Lursa and B'Etor Duras (Barbara March and Gwynyth Walsh)

Star trek: tng, ds9 and star trek generations.

The House of Duras were sworn enemies of Worf, Son of Mogh (Michael Dorn) in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . After Worf killed the House's patriarch in TNG season 4, episode 7, "Reunion", Duras' sisters Lursa (Barbara March) and B'Etor (Gwynyth Walsh) were left seeking vengeance. The House of Duras tried to instigate a Klingon Civil War, and even provided a Bajoran terrorist with the explosives needed to destroy the wormhole in DS9 season 1. Following the aborted Klingon Civil War, the Duras sisters effectively became guns for hire, placing them in the orbit of Dr. Tolian Soren (Malcolm McDowell) in Star Trek Generations .

Star Trek Generations was a disappointing end for the Duras Sisters, as they never really got a final confrontation with Worf . Sidelined as Soran's muscle, the sisters and their Klingon crew did manage to destroy the USS Enterprise-D, but their own ship was destroyed soon after. Weirdly, Generations never lingered on what a big deal this would have been for Worf, given how the House of Duras had been behind many of his issues with the Klingon Empire. This dissatisfying ending means that the Duras Sisters can't make it into the top tier of female Star Trek villains.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.

7 Sela (Denise Crosby)

Star trek: the next generation, "redemption" and "unification".

Sela was the Romulan daughter of Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby), who spent years working for the intelligence services. Sela's first notable operations against the Federation were brainwashing Lt. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) to assassinate Klingon governor Vagh (Edward Wiley) in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Mind's Eye". Sela tried again to destabilize relations between the Klingon Empire and the Federation when she supported the Duras Sisters' attempt to take control of the Klingon Empire. Sela's plans were foiled by Captain Picard and a Starfleet armada that prevented Romulan reinforcements from entering Klingon space .

Denise Crosby conceived the character of Sela as a means to return to Star Trek: The Next Generation after enjoying the experience of making "Yesterday's Enterprise".

Sela became the mastermind behind an attempted Romulan invasion of Vulcan, by manipulating Ambassador Spock's reunification mission. Using a holographic duplicate of Spock, Sela hoped to convince the Federation that an incoming fleet of Vulcan ships contained a Romulan peace envoy, and not an invasion force. Picard, Data, and Spock foiled Sela's plan, and she was incapacitated with a Vulcan nerve pinch, never to be heard from again. It was an ignominious end for Star Trek: The Next Generation 's best Romulan villain.

Spock wanted Vulcan and Romulan unification in TNG's era, which may be born from what happened in TOS' "The Enterprise Incident."

6 Valeris (Kim Cattrall)

Star trek vi: the undiscovered country.

Lt. Valeris (Kim Cattrall) is a great Star Trek villain because there's a genuine emotional impact on the crew of the USS Enterprise-A. It may have been better if Saavik betrayed Spock in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , but the weight of Valeris' betrayal is still impactful. Valeris' cold Vulcan logic dictated that peace with the Klingons was illogical , which is why she joined the Khitomer Conspiracy. Spock's protégé helped to frame Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) for political assassination, and deliberately hindered the investigation.

While Gene Roddenberry objected to her inclusion, Saavik was actually written out of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country because Kirstie Alley declined to return to the role.

Valeris' coldness makes her quite a compelling Star Trek villain, as she genuinely believes her many crimes are based on logic. It's a fascinating insight into how interpretations of logic can differ from Vulcan to Vulcan, as proved by Spock and Valeris' clash in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . Interrogated by Kirk and forced to endure a controversial mind meld with Spock, Valeris finally revealed the identities of the conspirators, and was taken to the Khitomer Conference to publicly unmask the conspiracy.

5 Vadic (Amanda Plummer)

Star trek: picard season 3.

Vadic was one of the most unpredictable foes ever faced by Admiral Jean-Luc Picard. A Changeling tasked with delivering Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) to the Borg Queen (Alice Krige), Vadic took some big swings to achieve her goals in Star Trek: Picard season 3. Vadic's awesome ship, the Shrike, almost destroyed the USS Titan-A and its crew during their multiple skirmishes in the course of Picard season 3 . Vadic even found time to kidnap Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) in an attempt to secure the assistance of Captain William T Riker (Jonathan Frakes).

Amanda Plummer is the daughter of Christopher Plummer, who played the villainous General Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .

It's a testament to Amanda Plummer's unique portrayal of a Star Trek villain that it wasn't immediately clear that Vadic was a Changeling . The scenes in "Dominion" in which Vadic described the brutal treatment of Changeling prisoners during the Dominion War were beautifully performed by Plummer, adding depth to Star Trek: Picard season 3's villain . It even elicited a degree of sympathy, but Vadic soon lost that when she began executing members of the USS Titan-A's crew. Eventually, she was blown out into space by Jack Crasher, where, ironically, her Changeling body solidified then exploded into pieces.

Star Trek: Picard

After starring in Star Trek: The Next Generation for seven seasons and various other Star Trek projects, Patrick Stewart is back as Jean-Luc Picard. Star Trek: Picard focuses on a retired Picard who is living on his family vineyard as he struggles to cope with the death of Data and the destruction of Romulus. But before too long, Picard is pulled back into the action. The series also brings back fan-favorite characters from the Star Trek franchise, such as Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), Worf (Michael Dorn), and William Riker (Jonathan Frakes).

4 The Intendant (Nana Visitor)

Star trek: deep space nine (various).

The Intendant, the Mirror Universe variant of Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) is one of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's most memorable villains. DS9 brought back the Mirror Universe in a big way, and the Intendant played a key role in each return visit. Kira's dark opposite was effectively the Gul Dukat of the Mirror Universe's Terok Nor, ruling the station with intimidation, manipulation, and violence. She was assisted in her tyrannical role of the station by Elim Garak (Andrew Robinson), who opposed some of the Intendant's more holistic methods .

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine producer Michael Piller had been rejecting Mirror Universe episodes since his days on Star Trek: The Next Generation . However, he and Ira Steven Behr finally figured out that the most interesting story to tell would be the aftermath of the fall of the Terran Empire, as seen in DS9 's Mirror Universe episodes.

The Intendant eventually lost control over the Terran rebels, thanks to various Mirror Universe incursions by Kira and Captain Sisko . This led to her losing her position, and being imprisoned aboard Regent Worf's flagship in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7. Hoping to win favor with Worf, the Intendant orchestrated a plot to have the flagship fitted with a stolen cloaking device. However, the cloak was sabotaged, leaving the flagship open to attack from the Terran rebels, striking another blow against the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance, and giving the former Intendant a chance to escape with her life.

3 Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher)

Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher) was one of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's most fascinating characters. First introduced in the DS9 season 1 finale, Vedek Winn was a religious zealot who objected to Sisko's closeness to the Bajoran Prophets. This jealousy of Sisko eventually poisoned the calculating religious leader even further, pushing her to more and more extreme lengths to bring herself closer to her gods. Played by Oscar winning actress Louise Fletcher , Kai Winn's descent into hell across seven seasons of DS9 was compulsive viewing.

Louise Fletcher and Michelle Yeoh are the only two Star Trek stars to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.

While Kai Winn had a redemption of sorts in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's finale, it was still rooted in the cowardice and pettiness of her character. When she realized that the Pah wraiths wanted Gul Dukat as their emissary and not her, she decided to put her faith back in Sisko. While that saved Bajor from destruction, it's hard to ignore that Kai Winn's motivations were once again rooted in Bajor's higher beings ignoring her.

2 The Female Changeling (Salome Jens)

The Female Changeling (Salome Jens) was Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's most interesting female villain . The spokesperson for the Dominion Founders, she was a master manipulator, and a steely villain with little regard for the "solids". The Female Changeling's attempts to manipulate Constable Odo (René Auberjonois) were compelling viewing, and ultimately solidified the Constable's loyalty to his friends aboard DS9. Seen as a god by the Vorta, the Female Changeling also appeared to delight in manipulating Weyoun (Jeffrey Combs) by playing him off against the Breen in the latter stages of DS9 's Dominion War .

Salome Jens also played the First Humanoid, now referred to as a Progenitor, in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "The Chase", which Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is a sequel to.

Salome Jens' performance as the Female Changeling was utterly compelling, delivering her lines with an icy sense of superiority befitting a species that set themselves up as gods. When the Dominion War ended in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine finale, the Female Changeling was taken into custody for her multiple war crimes. However, despite Odo's attempts to educate his people to move past the Female Changeling's ideology, those like Vadic still wanted to destroy the Solids following the Dominion War.

1 The Borg Queen (Alice Krige)

Star trek: first contact, voyager, picard.

Introduced in Star Trek: First Contact , the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) is the greatest female villain that the franchise has produced . Unlike her drones, Star Trek 's Borg Queen had a personality, and used that to seduce others into joining the Collective. Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) seemingly fell under the Borg Queen's spell in First Contact , but was merely distracting her so he could avert the Collective's plan to sabotage the Phoenix's first warp flight. The Borg Queen's consciousness was stored elsewhere, able to be downloaded into a new body, which is why other actress have played the role originated by Krige.

Each Borg Queen performer has brought something new to the character, the most notable being Annie Wersching and Alison Pill's partnership in Star Trek: Picard season 2 . Their co-dependent relationship revealed new information about the Borg Queen that humanized her somewhat. Through her connection to the Queen, Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill) discovered that the Borg long for connection, and the Queen is ultimately lonely. Rather than being a retcon, this was a callback to the Queen's previous relationships with Data and Picard, confirming that they were the only matches for Star Trek 's most enduring female villain.

Star Trek: First Contact is available to stream on Max.