Star Trek: Khan Noonien Singh's Last Words Are Deeper Than You Think

Classic Star Trek villain Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán) has had a long-lasting legacy that continues into the current canon. Decades after he died in one of the best Star Trek films, "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," the Federation is still profoundly affected by his misdeeds. This is in part because he pushes for genetic engineering, but it's also a testament to how charismatic he was as a character. After being an episodic villain in "Star Trek: The Original Series," he returned to wreak havoc on Admiral Kirk (William Shatner). Khan's quest for vengeance leads to his demise, but not before his famous last words.

"No! No! You can't get away ..." Khan says to the Enterprise as it flies away. "From Hell's heart ... I stab at thee. For hate's sake, I spit my last breath ... at thee." Star Trek has long leaned into taking inspiration from modern-day classics, and that is where Khan's final words come from. He is reciting "Moby-Dick," the Herman Melville epic about Captain Ahab's quest to destroy the titular whale. This ending is fitting for the film, as Ahab and Khan were both vengeful captains in their own right. While Ahab quested to kill his literal white whale, Khan went after his metaphorical one. Kirk was always the foe that got away. But Khan's farewell is about more than surface-level connections.

Like Captain Ahab, Khan is such a larger-than-life character that he has stood the test of time. "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" focuses on the repercussions of Khan's effect on the world through the eyes of his descendant, La'an Noonien Singh (Christina Chong). Khan's devotion to genetically augmenting the human race defines him, and he never changes his mind. Similarly, Ahab is as vitriolic as he was when he first started hunting the whale. He fails to kill Moby-Dick and watches it destroy his ship and most of his men. Even so, he uses his final moments to curse the whale. He understands his fate, but wouldn't change anything. This is also the place that we leave Khan at the end of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan."

After sustaining injuries on his ship, he shows no remorse for what he did. His actions directly cause Spock's (Leonard Nimoy) death and reaffirm he was only ever interested in world domination. He dies, cursing Kirk while he himself is the one who caused his downfall. He dies as he lived, full of hate. The tragedy of it all is that he could have turned back at any moment. But like Ahab, his fate was to be drowned by his own revenge.