The 20 Best Star Trek Captains of All Time

Diplomats, cowboys, wartime commanders and one animated bureaucrat — every chair on every bridge, argued over by fans for sixty years. Who deserves the centre seat?

1. 1
   Jean-Luc Picard

   Patrick Stewart's diplomat-scholar, captain of the Enterprise-D across seven seasons of The Next Generation.
   1000pts
2. 2
   James T. Kirk

   William Shatner's original Enterprise captain, the impulsive template every successor is measured against.
   610pts
3. 3
   Benjamin Sisko

   Avery Brooks' station commander on Deep Space Nine, the first Black lead of a Trek series and its most morally conflicted captain.
   356pts
4. 4
   Spock

   The Vulcan first officer who commanded the Enterprise between Kirk's tours in the film era.
   356pts
5. 5
   Kathryn Janeway

   Kate Mulgrew's Voyager captain, stranded 70,000 light years from home and the franchise's first female lead.
   356pts
6. 6
   Christopher Pike

   Anson Mount's Enterprise captain on Strange New Worlds, a role first played by Jeffrey Hunter in the 1965 pilot.
   261pts
7. 7
   Michael Burnham

   Sonequa Martin-Green's Discovery lead, who rose from convicted mutineer to captain.
   261pts
8. 8
   Jonathan Archer

   Scott Bakula's Enterprise NX-01 captain, humanity's first deep-space explorer a century before Kirk.
   261pts
9. 9
   Robert April

   The Enterprise's very first captain, canonised decades after his 1973 animated-series debut.
   261pts
10. 10
    Carol Freeman

    The demanding captain of the USS Cerritos in the animated comedy Lower Decks.
    0pts
11. 11
    Hikaru Sulu

    George Takei's helmsman turned captain of the USS Excelsior, whose command in The Undiscovered Country rewarded decades of loyal service on the bridge.
12. 12
    William Riker

    Jonathan Frakes' long-serving first officer who finally took command of the USS Titan, turning down promotion for years to stay at Picard's side.
13. 13
    Liam Shaw

    Todd Stashwick's gruff, sardonic captain of the USS Titan-A in Picard's final season, a reluctant host who became a fan favourite.
14. 14
    Saru

    Doug Jones' cautious Kelpien officer who rose to captain the USS Discovery after its leap into the 32nd century.
15. 15
    Gabriel Lorca

    Jason Isaacs' ruthless, war-hungry captain of the USS Discovery whose shocking Mirror Universe origin redefined the show's first season.
16. 16
    Philippa Georgiou

    Michelle Yeoh's wise captain of the USS Shenzhou and Burnham's mentor, whose Mirror Universe counterpart later stole the spotlight as a ruthless emperor.
17. 17
    Seven of Nine

    Jeri Ryan's former Borg drone who grew from Voyager crew member into Starfleet officer and captain of the USS Enterprise-G.
18. 18
    Edward Jellico

    Ronny Cox's brusque, by-the-book captain who took over the Enterprise-D during Picard's capture in the Next Generation two-parter Chain of Command.
19. 19
    Cristóbal Rios

    Santiago Cabrera's world-weary former Starfleet officer and captain of the freighter La Sirena, who flies Picard on his first two missions.
20. 20
    Nahla Ake

    Holly Hunter's long-lived chancellor of Starfleet Academy and captain of the USS Athena, leading a new generation of cadets in the 32nd century.

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