Khan Noonien Singh

Khan Noonien Singh, commonly shortened to Khan, is a villain in the fictional Star Trek universe. According to the backstory given in the character's first appearance, the Star Trek: The Original Series season 1 episode "Space Seed" (1967), Khan is a genetically engineered superhuman tyrant who once controlled more than a quarter of the Earth during the Eugenics Wars of the 1990s. After being revived from suspended animation in 2267 by the crew of the Enterprise, Khan attempts to capture the starship, but is thwarted by James T. Kirk and exiled on Ceti Alpha V to create a new civilization with his people. The character returns in the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, set fifteen years after "Space Seed," in which Khan escapes his exile and sets out to seek revenge upon Kirk.

The character was portrayed by Ricardo Montalbán in both the television episode and the movie. Khan appears as an Indian who is both admired and reviled by the Enterprise crew. Harve Bennett, executive producer for Star Trek II, chose Khan as the villain for the film. To reflect the time spent marooned on an inhospitable world, Khan was given a costume that looked as though it had been scavenged from different items and showed off Montalbán's physique. The character has been positively received by critics and fans; Khan was voted as one of the top ten greatest film villains of all time by the Online Film Critics Society.