10 ways Kelvin Star Trek is better than Prime, and 5 ways it’s Worse

Star Trek (2009) – Chris Hemsworth as Captain George Kirk Copyright Paramount

15: Worse: Lost Ships

The name of the timeline in the J.J. Abrams created version of the Star Trek universe  is The Kelvin Timeline for a reason, when the Narada arrived in 2233 and attacked the USS Kelvin commanded by Captain Richard Robau (Fraan Tahar) it created an alternate timeline from that moment forward.

The Kelvin and seven other ships were lost in direct combat with the Narada, this is a significant number of ships for the Federation to have lost.

We don’t know exactly how many Starfleet ships were in service in 2233 but we know that there were only 12 constitution class ships as it is mentioned several times during the run of Star Trek The Original Series and if we take into account non-canon materials we an see from The Star Fleet Technical Manual that there are a grand total of 89 vessels in various classes and configurations in service during this time.

If we take this number at face value that means the Narada itself destroyed 8.9% of all Starfleet vessels in active service in just two battles, add to that the changed relationship with the Klingons and the fact that they have a larger fleet, having taken a fair amount of technology from the Narada and possibly held and interrogated Captain Nero (Eric Bana) in the years between the attack on the Kelvin and the destruction of Vulcan, and it’s entirely likely that the Klingons had also destroyed a number of Starfleet vessels in this timeline then they had in the Prime Timeline.

As a result of the lost ships and lives characters the lost ships are ranked as worse for theKelvin Timeline, not only for the backup they might have provided in any given dangerous situation, but also for the family and potential friends and co-workers that were lost on those ships.