Portrait of a Character – James T. Kirk
James T. Kirk Origins
Kirk (Chris Pine version)
James T. Kirk. The character is, of course, canon.
Portrayal
As in canon, the character is played by Chris Pine when younger and William Shatner when more mature.
Kirk (William Shatner version)
Personality
Daring, impulsive, and intelligent, the TOS version is easier to take as a leader. The JJ Abrams version often seems bratty and out of control. While the TOS version is sometimes overly sure of himself, he never really seems to be cocky.
One thing to remember is that TOS was written for Kirk. Every episode revolves around him and it is always his POV, even when a storyline centers around Spock, McCoy, or even Scotty or Nurse Chapel.
Relationships
TOS Kirk has numerous relationships, too many to list here.
Carol Marcus
In canon, they fall in love and she has his child (prime timeline only).
Kaitaama
This is the only ‘relationship’ (it’s more like a hookup) I have written for him.
Mirror Universe
Mirror Universe Kirk (William Shatner)
Mirror Universe James T. Kirk is canon.
We do not really see the MU Jim. As I write him, much like other men with the Y Chromosome Skew, he’s always looking for sexual conquests.
About all we really see is him arguing, but we see all of the denizens of the Mirror Universe complaining and threatening. He does not seem like anyone special, a fact that is played up for Jonathan Archer in the Enterprise MU episodes.
Quote
“Starfleet is looking to us, to go exploring. Everybody wants peace, and I’m all for that, but you gotta understand something. That means actually doing something with our time. We are supposed to be getting all of the things done that we couldn’t, while we were dealing with the likes of Nero and Khan. We’re all glad that they’re gone, and I can understand the interest, but Starfleet can send one of their slower ships for that, right?”
Upshot
I was so sick of him at the end of TOS that I didn’t really want to write about him or watch him much. The truth is, I tend to watch TOS with an eye toward McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, or Chapel more than Kirk. The JJ Abrams version is often kind of whiny. At some point, I hope I can come to peace with this character, as he is, as Spock would say, fascinating.
Like this page? Tweet it!
You can find me on Google+.
