Who's the Better Villain; Kahn or Q?

[A'ern Zerxes]

Kahn is a big topic again in Trek circles with the ongoing mystery about Benedict Cumberbatch's character in "Star Trek: Into Darkness." Some still hold on to the idea that he's playing a version of Kahn, while others dismiss it. Either way, the fervor makes it clear that Kahn perhaps the most important villain in Trek history.

Similarly impactful, in my opinion, was Q. Like Kahn's rivalry with Jim Kirk, Q's relationship with Picard was the defining thread of that series and even provided the bookends to TNG's premiere and finale. He even showed up in cameos for DS9 and Voyager, easily making him the most recurring villain in Trek history.

That said, Q never appeared in any of the feature films. Many hold "Wrath of Kahn" to be the best of any of the Trek movies thanks largely to Ricardo Montalban's work. Also, unlike Q, Kahn never flirted with moments of heroism or altruism. He was a pure villian, whereas for some Q may not even qualify.

I thought this would be a fun debate/discussion. If you think someone else belongs in the mix, feel free to nominate them. I feel pretty confident that for most of us, though, one of these two guys would be our answer.

Edited February 6, 2013 by A'ern Zerxes

[+ LtCmdr Alexander Richards]

I'm going to go outside the box here and put forward two other candidates I think at least belong up there with Q and Khan.

First up is Lore, Data's older 'brother' with his lack of morality.

Although he appeared only a few times throughout TNG's run, Lore proved a more than diabolical nemesis to both Data and by extension the crew of the Enterprise D. Notable moments include luring Data to the dark side with the promise of emotion and uniting the Borg Hugh corrupted (at least I assume that's the Borg he leads) on a quest not to assimilate organic life but to wipe it out as inferior.

I feel that his level as a Villain stems mainly from the acting skills of Brent Spiner who really got to show his full range of talent in episodes with Lore.

Next I place Mister Eddington on the table.

Eddington was a recurring villain pre Dominion war on the DS9 show and the leader of the Maquis. Until his capture he always managed to stay one step ahead of Benjamin Sisko and as the Starfleet Security chief on the station manipulated the power given to him magnificently, even outwitting Odo at times. The best episode involving Eddington has to be his last appearance which ends with him dying in tragic yet rather poetic and heroic circumstances having tricked Ben into saving the last of the Maquis. His death in my opinion is the best character death in Trek after Spock and Khan.

That's not to say I don't feel both Q and Khan are worthy villains because they are. Riccardo and John play the characters extremely well and they are very memorable.

[A'ern Zerxes]

Good ones! I don't know if I'd put either of them on Kahn/Q level in terms of defining roles, but they were great villains. Lore was great because, liked you said, it let Spiner show off.

The guy I really felt bad about leaving out was Gul Dukat. He was such a huge part of DS9 but fluctuated so much in terms of good/bad/other. There were times where you were genuinely rooting for him, which I don't know was ever true for Q. Even when Q lost his powers you were more amused by him, but not supporting him.

[Rinev Shryn]

For the two options I would say Khan, I am one of those people who feel that Q is a menace rather than a villain.

However, in the whole Star Trek Spectrum, I feel there are many more villains far superior to Khan.

Gul Dukat:

My all time favorite villain, mainly for the reasons pointed out already. He is such a complex character compared to Khan/Q.

Weyoun:

The ultimate bureaucrat, he is one of the major leading figures on the Dominion side and he can get killed... then come back again.

Brunt:

Albeit not a villain in the sense the others are, but he causes plenty of problems for Quark...

[T'Mihn]

What "makes a villian a villian? Born bad or made that way. Do they even see themselves asvillians?

What about Gul Dukat and Kai Winn Adami.

Infortunatly moone delved into the layers for Kai Winn but sort of did for Dukat.

Or Elim Garek, is he a villian? Its a toss up with nim, noone knew wjere Eln stood, not even his own people.

Q, well acted by DeLancie but I wouldn't call him villian but more a trickster like Puck crom Spakespear's Hamlet.

Or the Borg.later personified by the Borg Queen played by Alice Krieg later reprised in Voyager.

Kazon Ogla facton.. villain or merrely a product of constamtbwar?

Or the Vidians?

[Brek]

I voted for Khan, but if the choice had been more extended, I'd opted for Gul Dukat, whom I liked to dislike

[+ Rune Jolara]

Khan is my pick. Q is more of a spoiled brat with too much power, mischievous yet he wasn't really evil.

Lore would have been on the villain list as well along with Dukat and I just absolutely hated Kai Winn from the very beginning. She would be right next to Khan for top villain in my book.

[Hannibal Parker]

Khan was menacing, deadly, and incredibly resolute...he would do whatever he had to do whether it meant the destruction of his own people or not...as long as he got the toe tag on Kirk, he was willing to do anything....

[Liam Frost]

Kahn was, in my opinion, a better villain. He had a singular vision to destroy one man. The one man he blamed for his downfall. He didn't want to just kill Kirk, he wanted to break him. And if he had to destroy someone or something along they way, he wouldn't hesitate.

I think the worst Q ever got to was malevolent curiosity. HE never actively sought to destroy Picard, but rather to challenge him; to see what he, and by extension, the rest of humanity could do.

Dukat was a charismatic sociopath. Simple as that.

Wynn is a strange one. As much as it's easy to see the villainy in her actions, she really did believe what she was doing was for the good of the Bajoran people.

[+ Tu'Peq]

My favourite villains of all time are the borg I think they are just the perfect enemy; their very being is the perfect antithesis to our existence. Out of these two, my favourite purely as a character is Q. I feel like if I were to meet someone like him, I would be more amused by him than threatened (which is how everyone else seemed to react to him).

From a villain standpoint, however, I think Kahn would be the better pick out of the two because, as was stated earlier, he had a single goal and that was to destroy Kirk. Kahn was a villain while Q seems to be more akin to Picard's foil.

[A'ern Zerxes]

The Borg is an awesome pick. You really can make a case for them for a variety of reasons. They were the centerpiece for one of the feature films ("First Contact"), were involved in multiple episodes of more than one series, and the "Best of Both Worlds" two=-parter is widely considered the best single episodes of any Trek series. Much like Kirk's feud with Kahn is the defining moment for that character, Picard's transformation to Locutus and his subsequent Borg issues was his biggest arc.

Good call!

[Alexander Brodie]

I think I'd have to give it Kai Winn. Her personal adgenda masked behind her faith. I think DS9, as a whole, had some top quality villains (Gul Dukat, Kai Winn, The Dominion, Sloan - and may minor ones besides) and these were able to be developed a little more due to the shows static nature.

I'd also like to give an honourable mention to 'The Holodeck' - as the collective 'it' seems to cause no end of trouble for just about everyone who uses it. Also to the M-113 'Salt Vampire' - mostly as it's the first one a really remember atching the show as a kid.

[Renos]

I didn't see Q as much more than an annoyance and a bit of a brat than anything truly menacing and villainous.

[Kendra Eberhart]

Yeah I am going to also say that Q is no villain in any of the episodes he was in. With that said Q has got to be one of the best characters ever seen and the acting by John DeLancie was always epic. I will say however that if I was to actually meet a Q in real life I would be doing anything but laughing and patting him on the back. Q might not have been a threat but "the Q" (I mean the species here) could easily outstrip the Borg if they really wanted to be the bad guys.

Not counting the Borg, I think that Dukat is probably among the best villains seen. Personally I think its because of the scope of his actions and desires. He wanted more then to just get revenge on one man.

[Mnheia]

Q. While I would not identify Q as a villain, if he were, then, Q. Q represents both the past and future opposition that Humanity faces. Besides in an annoying way, he is kind of sexy... then again, someone that powerful who is ageless... yes, sexy.

[+ Johanna MacLaren]

Definitely Kahn for his egomanical contempt for anyone other than himself. His pathological hatred of Kirk seemed truely evil while Q was like an overgrown precocious brat. I never had the sense that he loathed Picard or wanted to destroy him. He was playing unkind games while Kahn was drunk on his own power and ego. Kahn wanted to reign; Q wanted to play.