History Characters / StarTrekTheOriginalSeriesKhanNoonienSingh

* KickTheSonOfABitch: [[spoiler:Murders Carol's father, the equally evil Admiral Marcus]].

* AdaptationalVillainy: As seen above, in ''Space Seed'' Khan had committed no massacres in his reign. Here Spock refers to him as committing mass genocide on any being he deems "less than superior".

* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: Joachim urges Khan to ignore Kirk and exploit Genesis. Khan angrily ignores Joachim and charges into the Mutara Nebula.

!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/RicardoMontalban, Desmond Sivan (Child, Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds)

->'''Played by:''' Creator/RicardoMontalban, Desmond Sivan (Child, Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds)
->'''Dubbed in French by:''' Creator/FrancoisChaumette (Star Trek II)
->'''Dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese by:''' Darcy Pedrosa

-->'''Khan:''' ''Khan is my name.''
-->'''Kirk:''' ''Khan, nothing else?''
-->'''Khan:''' ''Khan.''

->'''Played by:''' Creator/BenedictCumberbatch
->'''Dubbed in French by:''' Pierre Tissot
->'''Dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese by:''' Ronaldo Júlio

* BeenThereShapedHistory: Given that "Space Seed" states Khan lived in the late 20th century and "it's 2001 and Khan wasn't on the cover of ''People'' magazine," two novels titled ''The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh'' tries to explain that the Eugenic Wars was some sort of SecretHistory. Among Khan's achievements are fighting the USSR alongside Afghanistan, causing a plane crash that killed the leader of the Pakistan's military government, and opening a hole in the ozone layer (and in a kind of ActorAllusion, his hideout is [[Series/FantasyIsland an island in the French Polynesia]]).

* HeinousnessRetcon: In ''Space Seed'', and to a lesser extent ''Wrath of Khan'', Khan is introduced as a 20th century dictator, but otherwise fairly little is made of him. It's in fact noted that he's only one of several dictators active at the time - if the strongest of them. He's otherwise unremarkable and obscure enough that unraveling his identity is a huge chunk of the episode, and the crew need a briefing to explain who the man was. Scotty, and later Kirk even confesses having a degree of admiration for the man. Bones even mentions in slight defense of Khan that "there were no massacres" in his rule, though Spock immediately states, "and little freedoms." Later series would characterize Khan as basically Trek's version of Hitler. A man whose name is a byword for evil and death, and whose actions are so despicable, the Federation centuries later is still sort of processing the trauma of them, and has laws on the books to stop a man like him from ever being made. ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds'' even had admirals admit that these laws are draconian and discriminatory but humans are still so sensitive about what Khan did that repealing them is unthinkable.

* {{CharacterCatchphrase}}: He has a particular way of saying "Admiral" he develops once he learns Kirk has gotten a promotion. At least one interpretation is Khan thinking Kirk got that for dumping him on Ceti Alpha V (because why ''wouldn't'' it be about Khan?), and raging jealousy that that's what he got while Khan got the shaft.

* {{Catchphrase}}: He has a particular way of saying "Admiral" he develops once he learns Kirk has gotten a promotion. At least one interpretation is Khan thinking Kirk got that for dumping him on Ceti Alpha V (because why ''wouldn't'' it be about Khan?), and raging jealousy that that's what he got while Khan got the shaft.

* TheBadGuyWins: Yes, Khan is killed by the end of ''The Wrath of Khan'', but what happens after that? Spock -- Kirk's closest friend -- dies painfully as a result of radiation poisoning in his efforts to repair ''Enterprise'' enough to escape [[TakingYouWithMe the Genesis Device detonation]]. Then as a result of [[Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock his quest to bring his friend back from the dead, Kirk loses not only his beloved ''Enterprise'' but also his son]]. Ultimately, Khan has done far worse to Kirk than kill him -- he ''hurt'' him.

* TheBadGuyWins: Yes, Khan is killed by the end of ''The Wrath of Khan'', but what happens after that? Spock -- Kirk's closest friend -- dies painfully as a result of radiation poisoning in his efforts to repair ''Enterprise'' enough to escape [[TakingYouWithMe the Genesis Device detonation]]. Then as a result of his quest to bring his friend back from the dead, Kirk loses not only his beloved ''Enterprise'' but also his son. Ultimately, Khan has done worse to Kirk than kill him -- he hurt him.

* AdaptationalVillainy: In ''Space Seed'', and to a lesser extent ''Wrath of Khan'', Khan is introduced as a 20th century dictator, but otherwise fairly little is made of him. It's in fact noted that he's only one of several dictators active at the time - if the strongest of them. He's otherwise unremarkable and obscure enough that unraveling his identity is a huge chunk of the episode, and the crew need a briefing to explain who the man was. Scotty, and later Kirk even confesses having a degree of admiration for the man. Bones even mentions in slight defense of Khan that "there were no massacres" in his rule, though Spock immediately states, "and little freedoms." Later series would characterize Khan as basically Trek's version of Hitler. A man whose name is a byword for evil and death, and whose actions are so despicable, the Federation centuries later is still sort of processing the trauma of them, and has laws on the books to stop a man like him from ever being made. ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds'' even had admirals admit that these laws are draconian and discriminatory but humans are still so sensitive about what Khan did that repealing them is unthinkable.

* FaceHeelTurn: He went from a decorated member of Starfleet to a terrorist trying to destroy it. Only not; the John Harrison identity was created for him when he was thawed, and the closest he came to working for Starfleet was his unwilling stint making weapons for [[spoiler: Admiral Marcus.]]

* HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct: His ancestor La'an Noonien-Singh has to save his life as a child in 2022, [[GrandfatherParadox not just so she will be born]] but also as Romulans had sent an agent back in time to kill him. It turns out that without the Eugenics Wars to make humanity want to be better, whilst humanity will still reach space they will become the isolationist United Earth Fleet an easier smaller target amongst many rather than the alliance that is the Federation.

* AmbiguouslyBrown: He's a genetically-augmented human from some point in the late 20th century. Culturally, he's a North Indian Sikh, but as he is also a genetically-engineered human, his DNA could contain many different genetic traits (his Mexican accent, however, is difficult to explain).

* TheDreaded: Even a century after his death, Starfleet is still terrified of him. It's outright said that the main reason the Federation still has a NoTranshumanismAllowed policy in the [=DS9=] era is because they're scared of a new Khan rising from the ashes. His reputation even extends into a new timeline: When young Spock asks for information about Khan, Spock breaks his own oath not to tell him about the future to warn him about how dangerous Khan is, outright saying that he's the most dangerous enemy the ''Enterprise'' ever faced.

* AdaptationalVillainy: In ''Space Seed'', and to a lesser extent ''Wrath of Khan'', Khan is introduced as a 20th century dictator, but otherwise fairly little is made of him. It's in fact noted that he's only one of several dictators active at the time - if the strongest of them. He's otherwise unremarkable and obscure enough that unraveling his identity is a huge chunk of the episode, and the crew need a briefing to explain who the man was. Scotty, and later Kirk even confesses having a degree of admiration for the man. Later series would characterize Khan as basically Trek's version of Hitler. A man whose name is a byword for evil and death, and whose actions are so despicable, the Federation centuries later is still sort of processing the trauma of them, and has laws on the books to stop a man like him from ever being made. ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds'' even had admirals admit that these laws are draconian and discriminatory but humans are still so sensitive about what Khan did that repealing them is unthinkable.

* FatalFlaw: His pride. In ''The Wrath of Khan'', he is pressed to pursue the ''Enterprise'' into the Mutara Nebula once Kirk tells him "I'm laughing at the superior intellect."

* FatalFlaw: {{Pride}}. While his original timeline version was more defined by the ItsPersonal nature of Wrath pushing him to obsessively pursue Kirk in RevengeBeforeReason, here, his condescending contempt for Kirk’s crew manifests as arrogance bordering in blindness - in particular, he seems incapable of conceiving that Spock could have the cunning to match him even briefly, or meet Khan’s savagery with his own. The first costs him his ship, and the second leads to a brutal fist fight with the half-Vulcan that is more even than Khan could have predicted.

* ImplacableMan: Over the course of the film, Harrison withstands [[spoiler:a ([[NoSell completely ineffective]]) beating from Kirk, stunning shots from a phaser, an explosion that cripples the ''Vengeance'' and the ''Vengeance'' crashing into San Francisco, all of which barely slows him down. Exaggerated during his fight with Spock, where he forces his way through a ''Vulcan nerve pinch'' and takes roughly a ''dozen'' stun shots from Uhura's phaser without going down. Ultimately, it takes Spock beating him nearly to death to subdue Khan]].

* KickTheDog: Right before he kills [[spoiler:Admiral Marcus]], he ''stomps'' on Carol's leg.

** When he [[spoiler: threatens to kill everyone on the Enterprise if Spock does not return his crew, he says he "will have no choice" but to do it if Spock defies him.]] However, it was Kirk and Scotty who double-crossed him by having him stunned once they had taken the ''Vengeance'', so in Khan's eyes, the crew is not entirely innocent and have proven untrustworthy, which is solidified when Spock double crosses him again by arming the torpedoes.

* PapaWolf: He's completely bent on recovering and protecting the rest of his people, and his RoaringRampageOfRevenge is mostly because he thinks they're all dead [[spoiler: (''twice'')]]. He even refers to them as his family - see EvenEvilHasLovedOnes.

* {{Pride}}: His defining character trait is his certainty in his own superiority. The hell of it? He's not even wrong. This is a man [[TheAce so ridiculously good at literally]] ''[[TheAce everything]]'' that he nearly single-handedly designed an entire, militarized, sub-Starfleet and then nearly destroyed the entire Starfleet[=/=]Federation edifice ''on his own'', with no help from anyone else.

* ShowerScene: Averted in the film itself, as a shower scene was shot, but cut in the editing process. [[EstrogenBrigade Sherlock fans]] immediately made gifs of the cut footage while bemoaning the fact it wasn't included in the movie.

* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:Khan notably died at the end of his outing in ''[[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan The Wrath of Khan]]'', but was simply put back on ice in ''Into Darkness''--a definitely kinder fate.]]
* TheSpock: To Admiral Marcus's [[TheKirk Kirk]]. Cold, calculating and brilliant.

* SuperToughness: Barely even flinches when Kirk tries beating on him as hard as he can. Also, ''nothing'' seems to be able to incapacitate him for more than a few moments. [[spoiler: It takes a (unsuccessful) Vulcan nerve pinch, a dozen or so point-blank stun phaser hits, a vicious TapOnTheHead, then an arm-break, all in rapid succession to finally stun him enough for Spock to get the upper hand.]]

** Hell, most of the DVD's, Blu-Rays and even a few digital services outright state [[spoiler: who he is.]]

* WickedCultured: Harrison is pretty well spoken for a madman and even paraphrases ''Literature/MobyDick'' (a book that Khan loved in the Prime timeline) at one point when he [[spoiler:beams Kirk, Carol and Scotty off of the ''Vengeance'' and back on to the ''Enterprise''.]]

** The third episode of Season 2 of ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds'' untangles the thread by revealing that Khan is responsible for bringing humanity to a dark age, that ultimately brings humanity to eventually form the Federation and Starfleet. Khan himself is the target of a temporal war to prevent this from occuring, which only succeeds in delaying his rise from the 1990's to the 2030's. His failure to rise, culminates in a failure of humanity to progress beyond their own Solar System, having failed to ally with other species such as the Vulcans who eventually are wiped out in a war with the Romulans.

* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: A fan of ''Literature/MobyDick'', Khan sees himself as Captain Ahab and Kirk as his White Whale. Khan seemed to have forgotten how Ahab's quest for vengeance ended. Not with self destruction; [[TakingYouWithMe he understands and accepts that]], but with the fact that Ahab didn't even get a chance to make sure he succeeded.
* TheDreaded: Even a century after his death, Starfleet is still terrified of him. It's outright said that the main reason the Federation still has a NoTranshumanismAllowed policy in the [=DS9=] era is because they're scared of a new Khan rising from the ashes. His reputation even extends into a new timeline: When young Spock asks for information about Khan, Spock breaks his own oath not to tell him about the future to warn him about how dangerous Khan is, outright saying that he's the most dangerous enemy the Enterprise ever faced.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: While he started manipulating Marla [=McGivers=] to betray Starfleet as a tool to escape, he came to passionately love her after she joined him in exile. He forgave her betrayal of him to her old crew, and she ruled as his queen. Her death on Ceti Alpha V--more than that of his other loyal followers--is what drives the man who once conquered a quarter of Earth.

* HeroKiller: He was directly responsible for Spock's death in the second movie. Hard to fit the Trope more plainly when you've done ''that''.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Khan's final moments include one of these with the death of Joachim who may very possibly be his biological son and almost certainly is his adopted son. The fact he realizes he got him killed doesn't deter him from further actions, though.

* PhotographicMemory: Implied to be one of his genetically engineered gifts, and stated explicitly in the novelization of ''Wrath of Khan'' and the expanded universe's "Khan trilogy". He tells Chekov he never forgets a face, and even after 15 years he still seems to have the Enterprise's technical specifications committed to memory, given that he still has perfect knowledge of the ship's weak points.

* RememberTheNewGuy: In both ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'' and his debut episode ''Space Seed'', each set in different continuities, Khan Noonien Singh is established to be a genetically / eugenically engineered [[{{Ubermensch}} übermensch]] despot from the late 20th / early 21st century- the most prominent of several in fact-, who ruled various nations across the globe and who partook in a destructive global conflict known as the Eugenics Wars. Despite this, it takes them half an episode to identify him even after he interacts with several characters- including the ''ship's historian''- whereupon both Kirk and Scotty admit to being aware of Khan and even admiring him somewhat, the ships' computer is shown to have photographs of him, and everyone on board knows about Eugenics Wars and the superhumans who started them, not to mention that he ''freely tells them his name from the beginning''. The crew might as well have ran into a cryogenically frozen French general named Napoleon and failed to think he might be ''that'' Napoleon until the 11th hour.

* SkilledButNaive: Other than his pride and ambition, one of Khan's greatest weaknesses is that fact that, despite his incredible intellect, all his knowledge and experience is that of a 20th century man, and he lacks the decades of experience in space that Kirk has. This shows when he's unable to quickly find the ''Reliant'''s command console override despite having memorized Starfleet's standard starship technical specifications, and when he fails to consider that space is three-dimensional during starship combat.

* SoftSpokenSadist: In Wrath, at least regarding Kirk and all collateral damage.

* StalkerWithACrush: Meyer confirmed that the FoeRomanceSubtext between Khan and Kirk was intentional, and Khan twists Moby Dick lines to “he task me, he tasks me and I shall ''have'' him.”

* TookALevelInJerkass: Khan becomes far more ruthless and unhinged in ''The Wrath of Khan'', thanks to his SanitySlippage and singleminded vendetta against Kirk.

* UngratefulBastard: Kirk and co find a stasis ship just in the nick of time, as Khan's own capsule is about to fail, revive him and his followers, and treat him with frankly undue courtesy given who he is--so Khan decides to steal his ship. Then Khan resents Kirk leaving him and his people on Ceti Alpha V, even though that was more lenient than taking him back to Earth, where he would have been prosecuted as a war criminal.

* WickedCultured: His FinalSpeech comes from ''Literature/MobyDick'', he mentions ''Literature/ParadiseLost'' before Kirk exiles him, and the ''Botany Bay'' appears to have other classic books. Part of his obsession with ''Literature/MobyDick'' in particular seem to be because it seems that Khan was stuck on Ceti Alpha V with only a handful of books to read, leading him to read them over and over again.