Yes, I can totally understand Khan going mad with grief over his wife ( who betrayed him and he forgave her ) and his people, and years of hardship on a harsh planet. But he was given a choice: "Rule in Hell or serve in Heaven". And rule in Hell he did... a bit more of a Hell than either he or Kirk thought when they were left there, but... it was a gamble and they both lost in the end. Yeah, it sucked. But Khan was screwed from the start. I don't really buy the "superiority breeds superior ambition" thing as a total necessity in all cases, but according to Enterprise there was something not right with them, and I definitely think that being raised as a tool for a specific purpose which then fails and the people you were supposed to save turn against you will screw anybody up beyond belief. But I agree, if Kirk had been stranded on a hostile planet for some 15 years, and lost the woman he loved and 20 of his crew, everybody would cheer him on for getting revenge on the man who stranded him there.
I guess with me sometimes first impressions can colour my view of a certain character for very long. For example Uhura's "I thought you were a hick who only had sex with farm animals" has pretty much given me a negative impression of her that lasted into the next movie ( and I really wanted to like her because I like classic Uhura! ). So that whole "abusive boyfriend" thing made me think Khan was... something I didn't feel comfortable with ( and that's saying a lot, because I normally have no problems with assassins and terrorists in fiction if they're portrayed in a way I can sympathize with ) so when I saw nuKhan and he didn't have a relationship like that with a woman, plus he seemed more sensitive, even crying for his people, I sort of mentally separated the two Khans in my head because I liked this one but couldn't reconcile that feeling with somebody who would treat a woman like that.
Somehow breaking a woman's thigh bone ( I think it was ) to incapacitate her is different from forcing a woman to kneel in front of him. If it had been a man I would have been ok with it, it wouldn't have given me that sexualized dominance / rape feeling. Or rather the treating women as weak and deserving abuse. And the "now you have to beg me to be allowed to stay"... and stuff. Dominating man, submissive woman. Just... no. But based on the historical men she admired, I think she might have actually liked it. Which creeps me out even more. Ok if you want that stuff in sexual roleplaying, but if it's pretty much their first interaction?
So based on these feelings, and contrary to canon, I choose to pretend that they aren't exactly the same person. A slightly different universe, even before Nero and Spock travelled back in time and changed things. Because I want to like nuKhan. ( And yes, I admit it's partly because I think Cumberbatch is gorgeous..! I never cared much for these super-muscular men... Sometimes fangirlish feelings override canon and objectivity... It is all make-believe and entertainment after all..! ;-)
I guess with me sometimes first impressions can colour my view of a certain character for very long. For example Uhura's "I thought you were a hick who only had sex with farm animals" has pretty much given me a negative impression of her that lasted into the next movie ( and I really wanted to like her because I like classic Uhura! ). So that whole "abusive boyfriend" thing made me think Khan was... something I didn't feel comfortable with ( and that's saying a lot, because I normally have no problems with assassins and terrorists in fiction if they're portrayed in a way I can sympathize with ) so when I saw nuKhan and he didn't have a relationship like that with a woman, plus he seemed more sensitive, even crying for his people, I sort of mentally separated the two Khans in my head because I liked this one but couldn't reconcile that feeling with somebody who would treat a woman like that.
Somehow breaking a woman's thigh bone ( I think it was ) to incapacitate her is different from forcing a woman to kneel in front of him. If it had been a man I would have been ok with it, it wouldn't have given me that sexualized dominance / rape feeling. Or rather the treating women as weak and deserving abuse. And the "now you have to beg me to be allowed to stay"... and stuff. Dominating man, submissive woman. Just... no. But based on the historical men she admired, I think she might have actually liked it. Which creeps me out even more. Ok if you want that stuff in sexual roleplaying, but if it's pretty much their first interaction?
So based on these feelings, and contrary to canon, I choose to pretend that they aren't exactly the same person. A slightly different universe, even before Nero and Spock travelled back in time and changed things. Because I want to like nuKhan. ( And yes, I admit it's partly because I think Cumberbatch is gorgeous..! I never cared much for these super-muscular men... Sometimes fangirlish feelings override canon and objectivity... It is all make-believe and entertainment after all..! ;-)
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