Copyright Paramount Spock – Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan
#1 – Spock
Fan favourite character Spock died horribly in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but fortunately for us his Katra lived on in the mind of Doctor Leonard McCoy.
“Remember… Remember…” It was a scene shot late, one with no concrete plans, but it opened a doorway for one of the most beloved, and the longest running character in the franchise, to be resurrected and continue his run as Spock for another 33 years, spanning seven more movies, the foundation for a whole new timeline and a guest appearance in Star Trek The Next Generation.
Not only was Spock’s death an emotionally impactful moment for many fans, but the joy of his possible return in the next movie, though they kind of gave it away in the title by calling it Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, sparked a continued interest in the franchise that allowed the movies to continue for many years.
How it happened:
Spock died sacrificing himself to save the critically damaged USS Enterprise during the final moments of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan as he immobilized Dr,. McCoy and locked himself in a radiation filled chamber to bring the Enterprise’s engines back online. Though a version of this scene would be recreated in a later Star Trek movie, the gravity of both the actors involved in the original version, and the deep relationship between characters have made this scene one of the most famous in any movie.
How he returned:
Fortunately, knowing he was going to die, Spock implanted his Katra, or soul, into Dr. McCoy before his death. In a continued fortunate circumstance Spock’s coffin was deposited on the Genesis planet, which with the detonation of the Genesis Device caused Spock’s cells to regenerate bringing him back to life. Once his Katra was returned we slowly saw the Original Spock returned to how he had been before.
The needs of the many may outweigh the needs of the few, or the one, but the strength of this character have made him outweigh all the others and land at number 1 on our list.
Considering the stories that would come from all of these characters after their deaths we can be thankful that none of them ended up being permanent, unfortunately for us these types of resurrection rarely happen outside of the world of television and movies.