Star Trek Into Darkness deleted a scene where Captain Kirk lies in his Captain’s log that painted Jim in a truly terrible light.

Star Trek Into Darkness deleted a scene in which Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) publicly lies in his Captain’s log, which painted him in a terrible light. The second Star Trek reboot film directed by J.J. Abrams pits Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise against two foes: the genetically engineered madman Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch) and the diabolically corrupt Starfleet Admiral Alexander Marcus (Peter Weller). But in many ways, Captain Kirk’s worst enemy in Star Trek Into Darkness is himself.

Before Captain Kirk tangled with Khan and Marcus to prevent all-out war the Klingons, Star Trek Into Darkness opened with the USS Enterprise’s disastrous mission on the planet Nibiru. Ordered to simply survey the primitive world, Kirk allowed the natives to see the Starship Enterprise as he tried to rescue Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto) from a volcano. While Kirk’s intentions to save Nirbiru from a planetary apocalypse were noble, Jim’s reckless actions grossly violated Star Trek‘s Prime Directive. Worse, Kirk lied about it.

Kirk Lying In His Captain’s Log In Star Trek Into Darkness’ Deleted Scene Makes Him Worse

Falsifying a Captain’s log in front of his crew is indefensible.

A deleted scene from Star Trek Into Darkness posted by @AosdailyBTS on X shows Captain Kirk composing his Captain’s log about the Nibiru mission on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. Kirk blatantly lies about what transpired on Nibiru, claiming he “thought it wise to stay off the planet altogether” and calling the catastrophe “uneventful.” Making matters worse, Captain Kirk spun his falsities and mockery of Starfleet’s code of honor in full view of his appalled bridge crew. Check out the scene below:

J.J. Abrams was wise to leave this scene out of Star Trek Into Darkness’ final cut. The arrogant way Kirk lies in his Captain’s log is indefensible, and it casts James in a poor light. As it plays out in Star Trek Into Darkness, Kirk does lie in his log, and he’s called out by Admiral Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) immediately after Spock filed a truthful report in his log. But to actually see Kirk so flippantly lie in front of his crew is a blight on his character, and makes Kirk harder to root for in Star Trek Into Darkness.

Star Trek Into Darkness Made Spock A Better Enterprise Captain Than Kirk

Spock rose to the occasion in Star Trek Into Darkness

In many ways, Chris Pine’s young Captain Kirk is at his nadir in Star Trek Into Darkness, while Spock shines as the hero Kirk ought to be. Star Trek Into Darkness paints Spock as unable to “break a rule,” but the Vulcan Science Officer acts honorably throughout the film, and maintains Starfleet’s values while Captain Kirk repeatedly falters. It’s Spock who told the truth about Nibiru because ethics demanded it, and Spock again successfully argued against the immorality of Kirk firing torpedoes to kill Khan instead of apprehending him for a trial.

Kirk admitted to Spock that, “I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. I only know what I can do.” Comparatively, the Vulcan didn’t take a false step as he effectively managed Star Trek Into Darkness‘ escalating crises. To Kirk’s credit, he did align the Enterprise’s warp core to save the ship, which led his (temporary) death by radiation poisoning. Without Kirk, Spock rose to the occasion and captured Khan with Lt. Nyota Uhura’s (Zoe Saldana) help, bringing the madman to justice and resurrecting Kirk with Khan’s “super blood.” Vulcans cannot tell a lie, unlike Captain Kirk, and Star Trek Into Darkness was better for Spock doing what Kirk could not.