Star Trekwould not be what it is without the Starship Enterprise, but a ship is little more than metal and machinery without its captain and crew. Many impressive Starfleet officers have commanded differentversions of the Enterprisesince the iconic starship made its debut in 1966 onStar Trek: The Original Series,beginning, of course, with Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). Kirk was undoubtedly one of the best captains to command the USS Enterprise and became one of Starfleet’s most well-known and decorated officers.
InStar Trek: The Next Generation,Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) took over command of the USS Enterprise-D, introducing an entirely new audience to theStar Trekfranchise. Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) onStar Trek: Enterpriseand Captain Christoper Pike (Anson Mount) onStar Trek: Strange New Worldsalsomade history during their stints in command of the Enterprise.While these four captains may be the most well-known officers to have sat in the Enterprise’s captain’s chair, many others have commanded the iconic ship over the years.
12Captain John Harriman (Alan Ruck)
USS Enterprise-B — Star Trek Generations
Captain John Harriman took over command of the newly christened USS Enterprise-B in 2293, with Captains James T. Kirk andMontgomery Scott (James Doohan), and Commander Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) on board as honored guests. Upon receiving a distress call fromtwo transport vessels carrying El-Aurian refugees,the Enterprise-B was quickly pulled into an impromptu rescue mission.
Captain Harriman’s hesitance to act and reluctance to take risks contributed to the ultimate failure of this mission.
Captain Harriman protested that the Enterprise-B was not ready for such a mission, but, as it was the only ship in range, Harriman had no choice but to respond.Harriman tried several different unsuccessful methods to rescue the shipsbefore finally asking Kirk’s advice. Only 47 of the 415 El-Aurian refugees survived, and Captain Kirk was lost to the Nexus realm and presumed dead — not a great start for Captain Harriman.
11Captain Will Decker (Stephen Collins)
USS Enterprise (Refit) — Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Following Captain Kirk’s promotion to admiral after the end ofStar Trek: The Original Series,Captain Will Deckertook over command of the refitted USS Enterprise inStar Trek: The Motion Picture.Kirk had personally recommended Decker for the position,but already missed being captain of the Enterprise. When Starfleet detected the V’ger probe approaching Earth, Kirk temporarily took command of the ship to investigate the powerful object.
Captain Will Decker and Lt. Ilia’s love story is the basis of Commander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) onStar Trek: The Next Generation.
Temporarily demoted to first officer, Decker’s knowledge of the newly upgraded Enterprise proved useful throughout the mission. Still, he never really got the chance to be captain, althoughhis actions suggest he would’ve been a good one.At theend ofStar Trek: The Motion Picture, Decker merged with the V’ger probe and his former lover, Lt. Ilia (Persis Khambatta), evolving into a new lifeform and vanishing to some other part of the galaxy.
10Captain Robert April (Adrian Holmes)
USS Enterprise — Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Captain Robert April oversaw the construction of the USS Enterprise and took command of the new Constitution-class starship in 2245. AlthoughStar Trekhas not revealed much about April’s time in command of the Enterprise,he eventually became one of the most decorated officers in Starfleet history.April chose Christopher Pike as his first officer, and the two remained friends after April was promoted.
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Like many of the best Starfleet captains, April was willing to bend the rules when necessary, such as when he broke General Order 1 (later known as theUnited Federation of Planets' Prime Directive) to save a pre-warp civilization. As revealed inStar Trek: Strange New Worlds,April was promoted to fleet admiral after the end of his five-year missionaboard the Enterprise. By all accounts, April seems to be a great admiral, and he regularly stands up for Captain Pike and his crew.
9Captain Edward Jellico (Ronny Cox)
USS Enterprise-D — Star Trek: The Next Generation
After his brief stint in command of the USS Enterprise-D duringTNG’s"Chain of Command" two-parter,Captain Edward Jellicomay not be remembered particularly fondly by someStar Trek: The Next Generationfans.Jellico’s strict command style contrasted sharply with Captain Picard’s,creating friction among the Enterprise crew. Still, Captain Jellico ultimately got the Cardassians to stand down and return Captain Picard, whom they had been holding prisoner.
Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) took particular issue with Jellico’s command style, forcing the captain to temporarily relieve Riker from duty.
As seen inStar Trek: Prodigy,Jellico had been promoted to admiral by 2384and assigned to Starfleet Headquarters on Earth. Jellico contactedAdmiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew)on several occasions throughout her mission to find the USS Protostar and later, to return the ship to its proper time. Despite his reputation for being a bit of a tyrant in command, Jellico clearly cared about Starfleet and respected the officers with whom he served.
8Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy)
USS Enterprise (Refit) — Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan
After the events ofStar Trek: The Motion Picture,Spock received a promotion to captain and began training cadets at Starfleet Academy. By this point,the Enterprise had been retired from active service and was being used as a training vesselunder Captain Spock’s command. Soon after the Enterprise departed on a training cruise, Admiral Kirk received a strange distress call fromDr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch), who was working on the Genesis Project on Regula I.
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Spock then gave Kirk command of the Enterprise, insisting that commanding a starship was always Kirk’s"first best destiny.“Kirk commanded the ship throughout the mission to stop Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), butSpock had already proven himself more than capable of commanding the Enterprisenumerous times onStar Trek: The Original Series.Still, any good commander knows when to step aside and Spock knew that Kirk was the best choice for that particular mission.
7Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan)
USS Enterprise-G — Star Trek: Picard
At theend ofStar Trek: Picardseason 3, Seven of Nine was promoted to captain and given command of the newly rechristened USS Enterprise-G. Seven became an integral part of the USS Voyager’s crew onStar Trek: Voyager,butshe truly proved herself to be captain’s material throughoutPicard’sthree seasons.Prior to her promotion, Seven served as the first officer on the USS Titan-A under the command of Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick).
With Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) as her first officer, Lt. Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut), as her helmsman, and Ensign Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) as a special counselor, Seven has a solid Enterprise crew.
Despite Shaw’s apparent disdain for Seven’s Borg past, he nevertheless recommended her for promotion,acknowledging Seven’s recklessness and relentlessness to be assets rather than weaknesses.From her time on the USS Voyager to her tenure with the Fenris Rangers to serving on the Titan, all of Seven’s experiences have built her into an excellent Starfleet officer, and she will no doubt make a great captain as well.
6Captain Worf (Michael Dorn)
USS Enterprise-E — Between Star Trek: Nemesis & Star Trek: Picard
After Commander Riker accepted a promotion to captain and took command of the USS Titan inStar Trek: Nemesis,Worf became Captain Picard’s first officer on the USS Enterprise-E. When Picard became an admiral around 2381,Worf took over command of the Enterprise.Star Trekhas not revealed much about Worf’s time in command of the iconic ship, buthe was serving as captain when the Enterprise-E was somehow lost(although Worf claims whatever happened was not his fault).
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ThroughoutStar Trek: Deep Space Nine,Worf regularly commanded the USS Defiant, proving himself to be a skilled captain even in times of crisis.Worf led the Defiant and its crew on vital missions and in intense battlesduring the Dominion War, cementing his legacy as both a Klingon warrior and an exemplary Starfleet officer. Although Worf’s time as captain of the Enterprise-E appears to have been brief, he undoubtedly commanded the ship with honor.
5Captain Rachel Garrett (Tricia O’Neil)
USS Enterprise-C — Star Trek: The Next Generation
First seen inStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 3’s “Yesterday’s Enterprise,“Captain Rachel Garrett took over command of the USS Enterprise-C sometime before 2344. Although not much is known about her command, all the evidence suggests she was a competent and skilled captain.In 2344, Garrett responded to a distress call from a Klingon outpostthat was under attack from four Romulan warbirds.
Star Trek: Section 31offered a glimpse of a young Lt. Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl), who acted as a Starfleet representative on Section 31’s Alpha Team.
As the Enterprise-C battled against the warbirds, the ship was pulled into a temporal rift and emerged in 2366. Upon arriving in an altered future where the Federation was at war with the Klingons,Garrett encountered Captain Picard and the USS Enterprise-D.Picard informed Garrett that she had to take her ship back through the rift, and Garrett agreed, even knowing it meant certain destruction. Garrett inspired loyalty in her crew, and she heroically sacrificed herself to save a future she knew she would never get to see.
4Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula)
Enterprise NX-01 — Star Trek: Enterprise
Captain Jonathan Archer took command of the Enterprise NX-01 in 2151, making history as the captain of Earth’s first warp 5-capable starship. Archer may have made his fair share of mistakes while exploring the galaxy, buthe was largely making up the rules as he went along.Archer and his crew not only saved Earth from the Xindi, but also helped establish the United Federation of Planets, laying the groundwork for every deep space mission that followed.
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Captain Archer’s friendship withSub-commander T’Pol (Jolene Blalock)helped cement Earth and Vulcan as strong allies, even when they had their differences.Captain Archer’s contributions to Starfleet and the Federation cannot be overstated,and he faced numerous difficult moral dilemmas. Archer learned from his mistakes, essentially writing the earliest version of the rulebook that Starfleet captains would follow for centuries to come.
3Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount)
Captain Christopher Pike took command of the USS Enterprise in 2250, after serving as the first officer under the command of Captain Robert April. By this time, Pike was considered to be one of Starfleet’s most decorated officers, and he personally chose Lt. Commander Una Chin-Riley(Rebecca Romijn)to serve as his Number One. Unlike more distant starship captains like Picard,Pike regularly invited his crew members over for dinnerand had a very collaborative leadership style.
Throughout his time in command of the Enterprise, Pike made first contact with numerous species, including the powerful Talosians on Talos IV.
Even knowing his eventual tragic fate, Captain Pike continued to inspire hope among his crew, and he truly embodied everything it meant to be a hero and a great Starfleet officer. With his strong moral center and profound compassion,Pike has already cemented himself as one ofStar Trek’sgreatest captainsin only one season ofStar Trek: Discoveryand his spinoff,Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
