History Awesome / StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan

!!Movie

-->''(in a heartbeat, the Enterprise warps away from Reliant, mere seconds before the Genesis Device denotates)''

** Hell, just Kirk's order of giving fire. Unlike Khan going full on LargeHam while ordering the attack, Kirk just calmly and cold-bloodedly deals them out, reminding everyone that when it comes to it, Kirk is more than capable of being cool and professional. And a meta one for William Shatner and director Nicolas Meyer, proving it ''is'' possible to get a subtle, nuanced performance out of Shatner.

!!Meta
* This film singlehandedly turned Khan from being just another VillainOfTheWeek in the original series, to being arguably the most respected and remembered individual villain in an nearly 50 year old franchise. That alone should tell someone the impact that he had on the characters in this film. So much so for Khan that his story is reprised in ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'', an alternate universe take on Khan's sheer badassery that also forces another ''Enterprise'' crew to really think outside of several boxes, with an interesting inversion on the heroic sacrifice to save that particular ''Enterprise'', and a cameo for the last character that saved the "first" ''Enterprise''.
** It really says something that when Old Spock is talking about Khan, he describes him as ''the'' single most dangerous being the crew of the ''Enterprise'' ever encountered. Please keep in mind that they had faced down the Klingon Empire, cloaked Romulan ships, multiple god-entities, alien Nazis, and a weapon that casually blew up entire planets, and ''this guy'' was the greatest threat.[[note]]His intellect, ruthlessness, and ability to manipulate people and learn 23rd century technology far faster than anyone anticipated brought him arguably closer to victory over the ''Enterprise'' crew than any other.[[/note]]
* Producer Harve Bennett deserves a nod--when he expressed interest in the movie, saying he could produce something more interesting than the first movie (which had been criticized for its slow pace), Paramount execs were concerned with only one thing: keeping the budget as low as possible. Charles Bluhdorn flat out asked Bennett, "Can you do it for less than fucking 45 million [dollars]?" Bennett, who prior to this was a TV producer, boasted that where he came from (his TV producing background), he could do five movies with that total budget. Needless to say, he got the job.
* As mentioned above, the SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome in showing starships suffering hull damage in real-time, which had never been done before in ''Franchise/StarTrek''. (The ''Constellation'' from "The Doomsday Machine" doesn't count, as they had simply taken a small model of the ''Enterprise'' and burnt it in several places prior to filming.)
* An off-screen nod to the Costuming Department. The retooled Starfleet uniforms were such an improvement over the [[SpaceClothes terrible jumpsuit design]] from the first film that the movie series kept them until the ''Next Generation'' films. They showed up all the time on the various Trek TV series with any scenes set during the same time period as well.
* Both Shatner and Montalban deserve a nod for their performances when you consider that, even though Kirk and Khan are reacting to each other, their actors ''aren't''. Both men filmed their scenes separately, having someone else read the other character's lines to them off camera.[[note]]Many years later, Shatner would describe her as "a script girl with a squeaky voice".[[/note]] You'd be forgiven for thinking both men are acting face to face, because they just do ''that'' good a job.

* Kirk. He's trapped in the middle of an asteroid with his companions, and the ''Enterprise'' is presumably too far away to rescue them. Then he pulls out his communicator and requests that Spock beam them aboard. As everyone looks at him, completely stunned, he just smirks: "I don't like to lose."
** All of this immediately after explaining that he beat the ''Kobayashi Maru'' test by hacking it. Whipping out his comm and summoning the ''Enterprise'' only justifies his point. Kirk will play your game, but he always plays by his rules.
** Minor bit, but [=McCoy=] is the only one who doesn't look stunned. He SMIRKS. You can read the expression on his face and it clearly says "That's the Jim Kirk I remember." He's spent the better part of the movie worried for Kirk's mental wellbeing, and even though they're still in dire straits, he's obviously pleased that Kirk has taken hold of the reins again.

** When Khan first appears on the ''Enterprise'' screen, he's wearing the most shit-eating smirk you can imagine. Kirk's reaction is nothing but stunned disbelief, taking a moment to realize it's Khan and can't ''believe'' this guy has come back to haunt him.
* Khan's DyingDeclarationOfHate, triggering [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajsNJtnUb7c the famous Kirk scream:]]
-->'''Khan:''' I've done far worse than kill you. I've hurt you. And I wish to go on hurting you. I shall leave you as you left me, as you left ''her''; marooned for all eternity in the center of a dead planet, buried alive. (''JumpCut to Kirk's communicator'') Buried alive...
-->'''Kirk:''' (''shaking with rage'') '''[[SayMyName KHAAAAAAAN!]] ''[[SayMyName KHAAAAAAAAAAN!]]'''''
** Kirk's reaction is also awesome when you realise that he already knows the Enterprise will be able to get them out in two hours and is lulling Khan into a false sense of security.
** And again, in the ''Literature/MobyDick'' dialogue: "To the last I grapple with thee, from hell's heart I stab at thee... for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee..."
** "Ah, Kirk, my old friend. Do you know the Klingon proverb that tells us revenge is a dish best served cold? It is very cold... ''in space''."
** "He TASKS me! He tasks me, and I shall HAVE him. I'll chase him around the moons of Nibia and around the Antares Maelstrom and ROUND PERDITION'S FLAMES before I give him up!" Hell, pretty much anything that Khan says.

** Special mention must go to the ''Enterprise'' slowly rising up behind the unaware ''Reliant''. First she torpedoes ''Reliant's'' own launcher, leaving a husk behind--then she directly phasers ''Reliant's'' left nacelle, just short of making it completely explode. Then she fires another torpedo ''straight at the pylon'', severing the damaged nacelle and sending backlash throughout the rest of ''Reliant'', effectively crippling the whole ship. [[note]] At this point, the level of debris and simple ''destruction'' shown simply hadn't been seen in ST before, and it's glorious. [[/note]]

* During the Mutara Nebula battle, when the ''Enterprise'' rose up behind the ''Reliant'', ''everyone'' in the theater cheered.
* "Sir, the mains are back online."
** "Bless you, Scotty. Go Sulu!"
* With hindsight possibly the greatest and most subtle SequelHook ever: "I'm sorry, Doctor, I have no time to explain this logically." (cue the mind meld) "''Remember.''"
* Spock gets one just by standing up ''and straightening his uniform''. Because if he's going out, he's going out with some goddamn ''dignity''.
* "We tried it once your way, Khan, are you game for a rematch? Khan... I'm ''laughing'' at the 'superior intellect'."
* With the exception of their first exchange when the ''Reliant'' gets the jump on the ''Enterprise'', ''every single conversation'' between Kirk and Khan for the rest of the film is basically Kirk [[IShallTauntYou pogo-sticking on top of Khan's]] BerserkButton, knowing that sooner or later, he'd get Khan to [[NotSoStoic lose control and make a mistake]].
** This was even when Kirk and company were trapped beneath the surface of Regula, and Khan could have transported him up to ''Reliant'' to do as he pleased with him. Khan had a proverbial sword to Kirk's throat, and Kirk ''taunts him''.
--->'''Kirk:''' You've managed to kill just about everyone else, but like a poor marksman, you ''keep missing the target!''
** And of course, when Kirk reveals to his comrades that he [[BatmanGambit played Khan like a cheap fiddle]] by making him think he had [[VillainBall far more of an advantage over Kirk than he really did.]]
** Finally, after knocking the crap out of the ''Reliant'', Kirk tells Uhura, "Send to commander ''Reliant'': surrender and prepare to be boarded." It's the ultimate insult: Kirk won't even call Khan by his name or speak to him directly. Unfortunately, Khan [[TakingYouWithMe has one last trick up his sleeve...]]
*** The fact that after everything, Kirk is still willing to bring Khan in alive to stand trial for his actions.
* A small one, and sadly it doesn't stick, but give Chekov credit: he's got balls of steel. When he and Terrell first meet Khan, Chekov openly sneers at Khan, dismissing him as "a criminal," and a liar even when it's obvious that Khan could kill them both, or snap his fingers and have his mooks kill them. Even after he realizes how obsessed Khan has grown, and how much Khan hates Kirk, Chekov ''still'' gives Khan a ShutUpHannibal, basically saying to Khan, ''"You're'' the one responsible for the fix you're in, asshole." It's only when Khan reveals the Ceti eels that Chekov starts to panic (and who can blame him).
** When one thinks about it, Chekov has quite a few awesome moments. Even when Khan gets ready to MindRape Chekov and Terrell with the eels, Chekov doesn't spill the beans about Genesis; he tries to ''reason'' with Khan. Then when ordered to kill Kirk, Chekov can't go through with it and he ends up ''rejecting'' the eel's influence, causing so much self-pain that he knocks himself out cold. (Terrell deserves credit here, too. He doesn't know Kirk and has no loyalty to him, so he knows he won't be able to resist Khan's influence for long. So he turns the gun ''on himself'' rather than commit cold-blooded murder. Really, Khan underestimated ''everyone'' at Starfleet.) Finally, after he's been treated, Chekov goes straight to the bridge and asks Kirk if he can help out. Kirk's reply: [[SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}} "Man the weapons console, Mr. Chekov."]] And it is ''Chekov'' who fires the three shots that kick the crap out of both the ''Reliant'' and Khan.
** Notably, once Chekov mans the weapons console, the ''Enterprise'' has her full crew on board for the first time in a long while. They're well-nigh unbeatable now.

* ''Enterprise'' clearing the spacedock. While a blatant reuse of the visual effects from the first movie, with the addition of Music/JamesHorner's SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic, aptly titled as "''Enterprise'' Clears All Moorings" to mark ''Star Trek's'' naval roots, it turned an awesome scene to a doubly awesome one, when it feels like the ''Enterprise'' herself is saying "I'm back". Compare the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPUdrMzvxrc scene from the first movie]] to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKogc14hHtQ this]].

* Midshipman Peter Preston, Scotty's nephew, had two awesome moments: First, as Kirk is inspecting Engineering, he tells him "If the Admiral can't see the facts for himself, then, WithAllDueRespect, [[RefugeInAudacity he's as blind as a Tiberian bat]]!", which impresses him. Later, during Khan's first attack, causing severe damage directly to the Engineering section, Peter's fellow cadets are panicking, but he manages to rescue a fallen engineer from being trapped behind the emergency door. Sadly, he dies from injuries later.
-->'''Scotty:''' He stayed at his post when the trainees ran.
** The novelization states clearly that Peter's act of staying at his post and monitoring the systems probably ''saved the ship.''

* Both Shatner and Montalban deserve a nod for their performances when you consider that, even though Kirk and Khan are reacting to each other, their actors ''aren't''. Both men filmed their scenes separately, having someone else read the other character's lines to them off camera.[[note]]Many years later, Shatner would describe her as "a script girl with a squeaky voice".[[/note]] You'd be forgiven for thinking both men are acting face to face, they do that good a job.

** Starfleet's computer technicians deserve some credit for thinking to ''put in a back door'' to their systems, [[CrazyPrepared just in case it was needed.]]

* During the Mutara Nebula battle, when the ''Enterprise'' rose up behind the ''Reliant'' (as seen in the page image), ''everyone'' in the theater cheered.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/st2_twok_dc_2525.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[PreAssKickingOneLiner "Torpedoes ready, sir."]]]]

* A small one, and sadly it doesn't stick, but give Chekov credit: he's got balls of steel. When he and Terrell first meet Khan, Chekov openly sneers at Khan, dismissing him as "a criminal," and a liar even when it's obvious that Khan could kill them both, or snap his fingers and have his mooks kill them. Even after he realizes how obsessed Khan has grown, and how much Khan hates Kirk, Chekov ''still'' gives Khan a ShutUpHannibal, basically saying to Khan, ''"You're'' the one responsible for the fix you're in, asshole." It's only when Khan reveals the earwigs that Chekov starts to panic (and who can blame him).

** "Here it comes. [[PreAsskickingOneLiner Now, Mr. Spock.]]"

** Special mention must go to the ''Enterprise'' slowly rising up behind the unaware ''Reliant''. First she torpedoes ''Reliant's'' own launcher, leaving a husk behind--then she directly phasers ''Reliant's'' nacelle, just short of making it completely explode. ''Then she fires another torpedo straight at the pylon, severing the damaged nacelle and sending backlash throughout the rest of ''Reliant''.'' [[note]] At this point, the level of debris and simple ''destruction'' shown simply hadn't been seen in ST before, and it's glorious. [[/note]]

** When one thinks about it, Chekov has quite a few awesome moments. Even when Khan gets ready to MindRape Chekov and Terrell with the eels, Chekov doesn't spill the beans about Genesis; he tries to ''reason'' with Khan. Then when ordered to kill Kirk, Chekov can't go through with it, and he ends up ''rejecting'' the eel's influence. (Terrell deserves credit here, too. He doesn't know Kirk and has no loyalty to him, so he knows he won't be able to resist Khan's influence for long. So he turns the gun on himself rather than commit cold-blooded murder. Really, Khan underestimated ''everyone'' at Starfleet.) Finally, after he's been treated, Chekov goes straight to the bridge and asks Kirk if he can help out. Kirk's reply: [[SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}} "Man the weapons console, Mr. Chekov."]] And it is ''Chekov'' who fires the three shots that kick the crap out of both the ''Reliant'' and Khan.
** Notably, once Chekov mans the weapons console, the ''Enterprise'' has her full crew on board for the first time. They're well-nigh unbeatable now.

* Let's just say it. Spock's [[spoiler:HeroicSacrifice]], even knowing how it ends. Creator/RogerEbert says it best: "He makes a choice in ''Star Trek II'' that would be made only by a hero, a fool, or a Vulcan." You get a quick shot of his face before he gets up, and you see him make the decision with no fear, no self-pity, only sheer deduction and dedication to his captain and crew. He just calmly walks into a [[spoiler:compartment flooded with lethal radiation]] and tugs open the stream to fix it. Bad. Ass.
** And once it's done, his first concern is to make sure it was worth something, then to comfort his best friend [[spoiler:as he dies, showing no pain or fear except for breathless, halting speech.]] Nobody has ever faced danger with such inimitable dignity.

* Spock gets one just by standing up ''and straightening his uniform''. [[spoiler:Because if he's going out, he's going out with some goddamn ''dignity''.]]

* Sulu gets a quiet moment when ''Enterprise'' is trying to escape before the Genesis Torpedo goes off. When the crew notes how much time they have, and how far they are from ''Reliant,'' Sulu calmly says, "Not going to make it, are we." No real fear; he doesn't like the idea of dying this way, but he can take it. Sulu, and by extension the rest of the crew (including the cadets), would certainly FaceDeathWithDignity if [[spoiler: Spock hadn't decided to sacrifice himself.]]
* This film singlehandedly turned Khan from being just another VillainOfTheWeek in the original series, to being arguably the most respected and remembered individual villain in an nearly 50 year old franchise. That alone should tell someone the impact that he had on the characters in this film. So much so for Khan that [[spoiler:his story is reprised in ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'', an alternate universe take on Khan's sheer badassery that also forces another ''Enterprise'' crew to really think outside of several boxes, with an interesting inversion on the heroic sacrifice to save that particular ''Enterprise'', and a cameo for the last character that saved the "first" ''Enterprise''.]]
** [[spoiler: It really says something that when Old Spock is talking about Khan, he describes him as ''the'' single most dangerous being the crew of the ''Enterprise'' ever encountered. Please keep in mind that they had faced down the Klingon Empire, cloaked Romulan ships, multiple god-entities, alien Nazis, and a weapon that casually blew up entire planets, and ''this guy'' was the greatest threat.]][[note]]His intellect, ruthlessness, and ability to manipulate people and learn 23rd century technology far faster than anyone anticipated brought him arguably closer to victory over the ''Enterprise'' crew than any other.[[/note]]

* Midshipman Peter Preston, Scotty's nephew, had two awesome moments: First, as Kirk is inspecting Engineering, he tells him "If the Admiral can't see the facts for himself, then, WithAllDueRespect, [[RefugeInAudacity he's as blind as a Tiberian bat]]!", which impresses him. Later, during Khan's first attack, causing severe damage directly to the Engineering section, Peter's fellow cadets are panicking, but he manages to rescue a fallen engineer from being trapped behind the emergency door. [[spoiler:Sadly, he dies from injuries later.]]

* Khan, triggering the famous Kirk scream: "I've done far worse than kill you. I've hurt you. And I wish to go on hurting you. I shall leave you as you left me, as you left ''her''; marooned for all eternity in the center of a dead planet, buried alive." (JumpCut to Kirk's communicator) "Buried alive..."
--> [[SayMyName "KHAAAAAAAN! KHAAAAAAAAAAN!"]]

* Sulu gets a quite moment when ''Enterprise'' is trying to escape before the Genesis Torpedo goes off. When the crew notes how much time they have, and how far they are from ''Reliant,'' Sulu calmly says, "Not going to make it, are we." No real fear; he doesn't like the idea of dying this way, but he can take it. Sulu, and by extension the rest of the crew (including the cadets), would certainly FaceDeathWithDignity if [[spoiler: Spock hadn't decided to sacrifice himself.]]

** For a young computer programming student, the entire idea of the Prefix Code becomes doubly and triply awesome, as you usually don't see that level of computer programming accuracy in a science fiction action movie. This troper used it as an example to grasp the basics of object-oriented coding, in which talk of pointers and references can really confuse a newcomer to the field, and has used it since to explain the basics to other students.