The only time he outsmarted Kirk was when he shot at the enterprise before revealing who he was, which, let's be honest, didn't take a military genius to pull off. For the rest of the movie, Kirk has the upper hand is outsmarting him. When was Khan ever a genius in this?
Hayao Miyazaki is the most overrated director of all time. Deal with it!
In keeping his people alive for 14+ years on Ceti Alpha 5.
In learning so quickly how to control a starship.
But by the time of this film, Khan was mad with hatred and obsession of Kirk. And he was also superiorly arrogant. He almost never listend to Joachin (who served as the voice of reason in the film).
It's a common theme in Star Trek. Humans endowed with power will almost invariably become corrupt.
👷👳
Bob the Builder and Hadji walk into a bar...
As bjlevine attests, Khan was able to sustain some sort of an existence in Ceti Alpha V. The supplies given to him by Kirk were suited for a hospitable environment, but that went out the window when CAVI exploded. Khan had to make do for 14 and a half years. Despite the lack of any scientific probes, he was able to understand the workings of Ceti eels on a person.
He was able to take over the Reliant, and by the Enterprise information given to him (during his convalescence on the vessel), was able to quickly understand Federation starships enough to control (and repair) one with effectiveness. It's possible to assume that if he acquired the data about the Genesis torpedo, he could build one. He was also able to detonate the torpedo (yes, it looked simple, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was simple).
At any rate, his plan to get the torpedo was successful. Unable to find it, he allowed any visitor to the spacelab to discover the device's whereabouts for him (leaving sleeper agents to follow and give the coordinates). Although Kirk was suspicious enough about possible bugging to give a coded message- fooling Khan about the Enterprise's whereabouts and Scotty's talents- once he entered Regulus 1 he was at Khan's mercy. He was unable to stop him from taking the torpedo, and if Terrell hadn't made his fatal refusal, there would be no Kirk for the Enterprise to pick up. With the exception of the Mutara Nebula battle (and even that one had risks like the near collision and Khan throwing his trump card), Kirk had to rely on luck to defeat Khan. Luck that Khan hadn't changed the code. Luck that the Enterprise was able to make any effective shots on Reliant with power on short supply. Luck that Scotty was able to make enough repairs in two hours to enable Enterprise to evade Reliant and engage her for another battle.
^^^This.
shareAnd not to forget khans wife. A Star fleet officer who spent the last 14 years blabbing about all of star fleets secrets.
shareI doubt she knew many "secrets", as she was the ships historian. It doesn't say when she died, but, given the amount of his bitterness, it was implied it was a while.
shareHow many men (not women) can claim to have caught James T. Kirk with his britches down?
See you guys at the 10 year prison reunion - Ben Richards
Considering he did all of the things in the film he did with. Let's be honest he'd been in hyper freeze for almost 4 centuries. So that he actually could do any of what he did is pretty damn genius. As other people took starships et al. as a common fact of life. While Khan was shot off into space in the late 1990s.
shareI've always assumed that one of the film's themes was the triumph of age and experience over youth and adrenaline; Khan is tough and book-smart, but doesn't have very much experience of space combat. The whole film is about how it sucks to grow old, but at the same time there's an implication that it's not *all* bad.
And if we're being honest the IMDB's signature block system doesn't work at all. It never has. The signatures aren't differentiated from the text, so you end up with messages that have odd non-sequiturs at the end. It's the forum equivalent of wearing a t-shirt with a zany slogan, eventually you get fed up having to explain the joke.
"hes intelligent but not experienced , his pattern indicates 2 dimensional thinking "
IF YOURE GONNA MESS WITH BRASS EYE DONT LEAVE YOUR PONSY ROLLERSKATE PARKED OUTSIDE
Spock: "If we go by the book, like Lt. Saavik, hours could seem like days. We have two days. By the book. Get it? Jim I'm talking in code!! 'BY THE BOOK'!"
Khan: "Aah, we have two days. Plenty of time. Derp."
More like...
Khan: "Two days? I would have gone to Enterprise in two minutes and destroy the ship and tell Kirk. Unfortunately, Kirk's surprise attack left me with a damaged weapons system. It would be foolish to attack the ship with no firepower. A beast with no fangs or claws does not attack the wounded beast possessing both. Enterprise shall wait. But this is better. Kirk and Genesis. Kirk shall find Genesis for me. And then, my vengeance will be complete."
More like...
Khan: "Two days? I would have gone to Enterprise in two minutes and destroy the ship and tell Kirk. Unfortunately, Kirk's surprise attack left me with a damaged weapons system. It would be foolish to attack the ship with no firepower. A beast with no fangs or claws does not attack the wounded beast possessing both. Enterprise shall wait. But this is better. Kirk and Genesis. Kirk shall find Genesis for me. And then, my vengeance will be complete."
Sensible, but the point was that Spock overstresses his ploy to the point of transparency.
share