Top 10 Star Trek Villains

Kicking off our dilithium powered list is the mysterious and iconic reptilian alien captain. Responsible for destroying a federation outpost, he also lured the Enterprise crew into an ambush. Kirk is then forced by an omnipotent being to face the Gorn commander in an unarmed duel on a barren asteroid. Facing off against this slow and rubbery but unstoppable foe, Kirk only managed a narrow victory by remembering his high school chemistry.

This is the villain who took on two generations of Enterprise captains. An El-Aurian survivor of the Borg, he is obsessed with gaining entrance to the Nexus, another dimension to achieve immortality. Along the way, he made an alliance with Klingon sisters Ursa and B’Etor, causing the destruction of the Enterprise D, before destroying an entire solar system! Think that’s diabolical, he made Levar Burton relive his “Roots” days…

This iconic and ruthless rogue Klingon, played by Christopher Lloyd, set his sights on Armageddon by seeking the secrets of the Genesis device. In the process he destroyed a scientific vessel and killed Kirk’s own son. A ruthless villain, he is best remembered for commanding with his pet by his side, for not tolerating failure from his underlings, prompting Kirk to self-destruct the Enterprise, and engaging ol’ Shatner in fisticuffs.

This blue collar bad guy, played by Eric Bana, quite literally rewrote Trek history with his massive mining ship. Seeking revenge against Spock for failing to help his doomed planet, he destroyed Vulcan of the past, as well as most of Starfleet Academy’s graduating class. Most importantly, he updated the Romulan look, ditching the garish square tunic, while making face tattoos cool again.

This Cardassian is the former commander of the Deep Space Nine station who arose to lead his species of space fascists while helping spur Dominion War. A charming and versatile villain, he can range from playing nice to becoming completely merciless. Truly complex and relatable, few have others have earned and betrayed the trust of the federation crew with such skill and consistency.

Christopher Plumber plays this traitorous Shakespeare quoting Klingon who secretly attempted to disrupt peace between his race and the Federation. At the head of a conspiracy, he arranged the death of his own leader and framed Kirk! He is among the greatest villains for not only sending Kirk to prison, but also for blasting the Enterprise with an experimental Bird of Prey that can shoot while cloaked. Unfortunately for him, some things aren’t meant to be…

This android is Data’s identical evil twin brother. An earlier model, he was given an emotion chip, which unfortunately led to instability and malice. This prompted him to both trick and impersonate Data, summon a deadly crystalline entity to kill the Enterprise crew, murder his own creator, and even lead a group of disconnected and murderous rogue Borg. It’s too bad he was disassembled; he would have made a perfect film villain.

This omnipotent being is a member of the Q continuum. The first major threat the crew faced, he put them on trial for the crimes of their entire race, with extinction as the penalty. Following this, he regularly caused trouble, but eventually warmed up to Picard. Unfortunately, his need for entertainment and theatrics prompted him to make the Borg aware of the Federation…

With the Borg being the Next Generations most terrifying enemy, you’d expect the Borg Queen to represent the collective here. However, her existence actually diminishes the fear factor of the faceless foe, unlike the assimilated Captain Picard. A drone with complete tactical knowledge of the Federation, Lacutus was used as a figurehead to strike terror and facilitate a surgically efficient assimilation of Earth, and in the process obliterated 40 ships in his way.

Warping into the top spot of our list is the definitive Trek villain with the unforgettable name. Brought to life by Ricardo Montalban, and his chest, he is a superhuman tyrant with an insatiable lust for power. After trying to take over the Enterprise, he returns to exact his terrible revenge. Khan’s quest for vengeance included using a mind-controlling slug on poor Chekov, stealing the Reliant, disabling the Enterprise, marooning Kirk and ultimately causing the death of Spock.

Agree with our list? Which Trek villain keeps you on red alert? For more entertaining Top 10s, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.