Spock is one of Star Trek’s most complex and compelling characters. Born a Vulcan, Spock had quite a troubled upbringing, as his father was a Vulcan and his mother was a human. Spock was bullied for being regarded as a hybrid, and this made Spock more vulnerable to having human emotions.
Spock served as a Starfleet officer and was the first officer to Captain James T. Kirk aboard the USS Enterprise. The two formed a friendship worthy of a legacy in itself. However, along the way across the stars, Spock made many defining mistakes and failures.
8 Interfering With The Past
For the reboot of Star Trek, the 2009 film saw the return of Leonard Nimoy as the iconic character Spock. The Spock seen in this film is the original, trapped in a changed timeline. Spock reunites with his old friend, James T. Kirk, who is at the start of his Starfleet career, and considers him and Spock on less than friendly terms.
Spock does something that is often regarded as taboo when it comes to time travel and tells of a future still possible. However, this is not the worst mistake Spock made, as he also warns himself of what Khan is capable of, thus interfering with the future. Spock takes a vow not to alter the destiny of his friends but warns Khan considering just how great an adversary he is.
7 Unfit For Captain
2009’s Star Trek saw a more emotional characterization of Spock. This version of Spock became the captain of the Enterprise after Captain Pike was kidnapped by Romulans. To get the captain’s chair, Kirk had to rouse Spock into committing an act that would make him unfit to be a captain.
During their spat, Spock lashes out and strikes Kirk, leaving his emotions compromised. This makes the ever-logical Spock consider himself unfit to captain this vessel and leaves the captain’s chair for Kirk. He may regret allowing his emotions to come out, but it was for the best of the Enterprise.
6 Khan’s Destruction
Star Trek: Into Darkness continues the adventures of the rebooted original crew. The film follows loosely what was seen in Star Trek2: The Wrath of Khan but keeps one common thread: the friendship between Spock and Kirk ends in death. For Into Darkness, it is Kirk who sacrifices himself.
Left with nothing but rage and grief, Spock embarks on Earth to find and kill Khan. They have a great battle, with Spock’s Vulcan strength attempting to kill Khan. Yet, Spock would have to live with his greatest mistake if he killed Khan, as he soon discovers that Khan’s blood can be used to resurrect Kirk.
5 Forcibly Mind Melded
Vulcans are capable of a mind meld, which allows for Vulcans to create a telepathic link between two people. This mind fusion allowed an intimate exchange of thoughts and emotions. In sharing a consciousness, a Vulcan can probe the thoughts of another. This is exactly what Spock does on more than one occasion.
Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country had Spock do something that he would instantly know he would see as a failure. The forced mind meld of Lt. Valeris to extract otherwise unwilling information. It’s a tense scene that shows the horror that Spock is capable of, given extreme circumstances. As Spock ends the mind meld, he seems on the verge of tears, knowing the abuse that he has committed.
4 Almost Killing Kirk
In the original series episode “Amok Time,” Spock begins to act rather illogical around his crew. Kirk, knowing Spock better than anyone, sees that his friend is going through something. What is soon discovered is that Spock is dying and needs to return to his home planet to be wed or die.
Spock’s marriage is halted as his betrothed, T’Pring, wishes for a kal-if-fee. This is the right to have Spock fight for her. Spock must fight Kirk to the death, and Spock’s mating urges make him strangle Kirk to death. Luckily, no phasers were used, so Kirk could be resurrected. If Kirk was not resurrected, this would surely be one of Spock’s biggest failures.
3 The Loss Of His Mother
Spock was raised as a Vulcan but had a human mother. This mother, a human teacher from Earth, was Amanda Grayson. She shared a deep love for her husband, Sarek, and her son, Spock. Amanda followed the culture of Vulcans and was trying to preserve the knowledge of Vulcan culture with her husband and the Vulcan Council in the katric ark.
Spock beamed down to the planet they were on to get them out of the caves so that they could all be beamed safely onto the Enterprise. This was because Romulans were in the process of blowing up the planet. Spock loses his mother to falling cliffs as they beam up. His mother dead, Spock ponders if more could have been done. The logical Spock must consider her death a failure, as he was mere seconds away from having her life.
2 Destruction Of Romulus
In the year 2387, the sun to the planet Romulus went supernova. Spock promised the Romulans that he would save their planet and embarked on the fastest ship the Federation had. He journeyed to the planet with the red matter, which was capable of creating black holes to absorb the sun.
However, the supernova destroyed Romulus, all because Spock was too late. Spock extracted the red matter and destroyed the supernova but was pulled into the black hole into a new reality. Spock was held responsible for the loss of Romulus and saw his planet destroyed by Nero’s vengeance. Spock told a young Kirk that this was his greatest failure.
1 Left Kirk In The Nexus
Star Trek: Generations is a passing of the torch from the crew of the original series to that of The Next Generation. The film serves as the cinematic beginning of the TNG crew and one in which audiences see James T. Kirk return alongside Jean-Luc Picard. The film begins with Kirk’s death, but audiences soon find out he was swallowed into the Nexus.
Spock was not around to witness Kirk’s death, but it’s hard to believe that Spock would accept such a fate, considering he was resurrected after death. It’s a shame that audiences never got one last look at the friendship of Kirk and Spock, as Kirk died in the Nexus helping Picard save the day, whilst Spock remained unaware of such an event. If he did, it may well be his greatest