This article is part of a directory: Game Rant's Ultimate Sci-Fi Guide
Table of contents

One would be hard-pressed to find any remotely common science fiction concept that isn't covered by Gene Roddenberry's long-running franchise. This particular well-established backstory detail is Star Trek's take on the super-soldier trope, and it goes in a very dark direction.

Generally, the one film in the franchise that is most popular amongst fans and outsiders alike is Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The 1982 film features a ton of the quotable moments and iconic exchanges that fans love about the franchise. The eponymous Khan is the villain whom most picture when they consider the Star Trek universe, even in the less appreciated remake.

RELATED: Star Trek Characters Who Just Make The Dumbest Decisions

The Eugenics Wars occurred in the distant future time period of 1992, as imagined by filmmakers and TV professionals of the 70s and 80s. The event is also known as the Second Civil War and World War III among the people of Earth. The Eugenics Wars began in a familiar way for science fiction stories: a group of unnamed, unethical scientists sought to improve the human race through selective breeding. The very real concept of eugenics held sway over a large portion of popular thought throughout human history until its horrors were made more viscerally apparent by the Nazi party. Star Trek takes the concept in a slightly different direction, one in which the scientists are largely successful.

khan-into-darkness Cropped

These unnamed human scientists, seeking a solution to the nuclear terror of the Cold War, successfully bred a race of superhumans known as the Augments. The Augments were more intelligent, more perceptive, and substantially more powerful than human beings. In brisk defiance of history, selective breeding resulted in evolution, only to then result in disaster. The folly of the scientists was in their hubris, as the Augments that they created were cruel and arrogant. Being objectively better than everyone else made the Augments hateful and imperious, so they slaughtered their creators and led a reign of terror over the planet. One scientist argued that the beings they hand-crafted were fundamentally evil, a flaw with the human soul that science couldn't correct. The Augments carved up the planet Earth into dominions that they ruled over, leaving most of mankind enslaved by their might.

Khan was considered the most benevolent of the monstrous dictators who now owned the planet. At his peak, he ruled just over a quarter of Earth's landmass, owning both Asia and the Middle East. Khan's unnamed fellow supermen were often significantly worse than the best-known of their ranks, enslaving and butchering large portions of their domain for little to no reason.

By 1992, the overwhelming majority of Earth was owned and operated by the Augments. With a culture of tyranny having ruined most of the planet, it was only a matter of time before conflict broke out. Interestingly, it remains unclear exactly how the Eugenics Wars began, but war was inevitable. Some say that mankind swiftly rose up against their captors and sought to violently overthrow them. Others maintain that the war began when Augments did battle with each other for land and resources. Either way, the Eugenics Wars began and sowed destruction over the entire planet.

Khan and Kirk in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Between 30 and 37 million people were killed in the Eugenics Wars. That's a substantial increase from the 20 million killed in World War I and a substantial decrease from the 40 to 50 million killed in World War II. The war lasted four years, from 1992 to 1996, and resulted in immense destruction across the world. Entire populations were bombed out of existence, but the wars have a somewhat happy ending. Humanity successfully overthrew the Augments, reclaiming Earth for themselves and freeing the population. Khan and more than 80 of his brethren were captured alive and sentenced to death for their incalculable war crimes. Despite their defeat and scheduled executions, Khan and company managed to board a sleeper ship and escape the planet, setting out to find a new homeworld.

The Eugenics Wars are a tale of unethical science taken to its logical worst-case scenario. A group of scientists, desperate for peace, turned to the same unforgivable actions that had just sent them to war and paid the ultimate price. The idea of lab-grown supermen is extremely common, and many works depict them as heroes. Though never the focus of a particular work, the story of the Eugenics Wars is powerful and fascinating. Mankind waging war against both the scientific apex of their hubris and the living embodiment of their worst impulses is a moving narrative. It's a very simple tale with a ton of important meaning behind it, like many of the best Star Trek stories. The franchise, at its core, is about the seemingly impossible dream of humanity coming together to solve the mysteries of the universe. The Eugenics Wars are a dark, but poetic, moment in the franchise's history.

MORE: Things We Loved About Star Trek: Strange New Worlds's Pilot Episode