Summary

  • Arik Soong, a misguided scientist, led to death and potential war through genetic engineering.
  • Kai Winn Adami's thirst for power led to betrayal and unrest, making her hated across the Alpha Quadrant.
  • Vorta Weyoun's actions in the Dominion War resulted in countless deaths, making him despised, especially among Cardassians.

In a universe as massive and diverse as Star Trek’s, most individuals fail to make a lasting impression among the trillions of life forms. However, a few have etched their names into the history books, not as heroes or pioneers but as tyrants, traitors, and destroyers.

Star Trek underused villains feature
Star Trek: 5 Villains That Were Underused

The following Star Trek villains certainly deserved more screen time.

By 

The actions and decisions made by these immoral, cruel, and misguided individuals make them the characters most deserving of hate in Star Trek history. Their actions were driven by a selfish disregard for the consequences, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake that affected entire civilizations.

6 Arik Soong

An Ambitious, Reckless, & Dangerous Scientist

  • First Appearance - Star Trek: Enterprise Season 4, Episode 4, "Borderland" (2004)
  • Latest Appearance - Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1, Episode 15, "Masquerade" (2022)
  • Played By - Brent Spiner

Unlike other characters in this ranking, Arik Soong isn't a typical villain. He's less evil and more of a misguided scientist who ignored the warnings of the past and ultimately paid the price for it. Dr. Soong set out to continue where his ancestors had left off and began dabbling in genetic engineering, a practice outlawed after the Eugenics Wars.

Soong believed it was a mistake to assume all genetically engineered humans would end up like Khan. While he wasn't completely wrong, the Augments he created caused the deaths of countless people and nearly triggered a deadly war between Earth and the Klingon Empire that could have caused the deaths of billions. His misguided actions ultimately made him one of the most hateable scientists in Star Trek, hated by Humans, Starfleet, and even the Klingons.

5 Kai Winn Adami

The Religious Fanatic Hated by Billions

  • First Appearance - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 1, Episode 20, "In the Hands of the Prophets" (1993)
  • Latest Appearance - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 7, Episode 26, "What You Leave Behind" (1999)
  • Played By - Louise Fletcher

Winn Adami, later Kai Winn, was a religious fanatic with an insatiable thirst for power. She used her religious position to gain political influence, aiming to become both Bajor's spiritual and political leader. In her bid for control, she allied with the ruthless Gul Dukat and became a disciple of the Pah-wraiths, beings of pure evil.

By siding with the Pah-wraiths, Winn betrayed the people of Bajor and the Prophets themselves. Her actions undermined the Bajoran faith, sparking infighting and unrest among Bajor's nearly 4 billion citizens. She became the most hateable Bajoran in the planet's history, and her attempts to release the Pah-wraiths made her equally despised by Starfleet and others across the Alpha Quadrant.

4 Vorta Weyoun

The Loyal Dominion Who Slaughtered His Own People

  • First Appearance - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 4, Episode 22, "To the Death" (1996)
  • Latest Appearance - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 7, Episode 26, "What You Leave Behind" (1999)
  • Played By - Jeffrey Combs

Vorta Weyoun was a loyal and vital member of the Dominion, playing a central role during the Dominion War. Even without considering his specific actions, his position alone made him a deeply hated figure for the millions who suffered on both sides of the conflict.

While he may not have taken part in many of the brutal battles himself, his decisions led to the deaths of countless Federation Alliance and Breen-Dominion soldiers. One of the most infamous decisions was his refusal to send reinforcements to Septimus 3, resulting in the slaughter of over 500,000 Cardassian troops. The fact that he avoided direct conflict while carelessly sending others to die made him one of the most despised characters in the Star Trek universe, especially among the surviving Cardassians.

3 Khan Noonien Singh

The Genetically Enhanced Tyrant

  • First Appearance - Star Trek Season 1, Episode 22, "Space Seed" (1967)
  • Latest Appearance - Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
  • Played By - Ricardo Montalbán

Khan Noonien Singh is the most iconic Star Trek villain, and his infamy spreads throughout the universe, especially among the ranks of Starfleet. Alongside his genetically engineered counterparts, Khan once ruled a significant part of Earth, long before Starfleet existed, and was indirectly responsible for a great deal of suffering.

title image star trek movies for beginners
Best Star Trek Movies For Newcomers To The Franchise, Ranked

Interested in Star Trek, but intimidated by the sheer volume of content the franchise has to offer? Consider starting with one of these amazing films.

Even before he was discovered and revived by Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise, the stories of Khan and his people had already cemented his place as one of the most hateable figures in Earth's history. After his return, his actions on Regula 1, alongside causing the events that led to Spock's death, cemented his position as one of the most hateable individuals in Star Trek history.

2 Gul Dukat

The Genocidal Ruler Of The Cardassian Union

  • First Appearance - Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 20, "Emissary" (1993)
  • Latest Appearance - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 7, Episode 26, "What You Leave Behind" (1999)
  • Played By - Marc Alaimo

Gul Dukat was a former Cardassian military officer, ruler of the Cardassian Union, and a key member of the Breen-Dominion alliance. He served as the prefect of Bajor during the Bajoran occupation and was rumored among Starfleet to have directly overseen millions of deaths and been indirectly responsible for billions more.

His cruel and vile actions during the occupation of Bajor made him the most hateable individual in the Alpha Quadrant at the time. His involvement in the massacre at Setlik 3 made him one of the most despised figures in Starfleet history. On top of that, his later actions of genocide and his attempt to release the Pah-wraiths cemented his place among the most hateable individuals in Star Trek history, despised by Starfleet, Bajorans, and Cardassians alike.

1 The Borg Queen

The Ruthless Leader Of The Borg Collective

  • First Appearance - Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
  • Latest Appearance - Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 10, "The Last Generation" (2023)
  • Played By - Alice Krige, Annie Wersching

The Borg are perhaps the United Federation of Planets' greatest threat. In their quest to assimilate everyone and everything, they've become one of the most feared and hated species in the galaxy. Their leader, the Borg Queen, is easily one of the most terrifying and hateable figures in Star Trek.

She's directly responsible for countless assimilations, forcibly integrating people into the Borg Collective. Not only do the Borg nanoprobes alter an individual's biology, but their consciousness is subsumed into the Borg's hive mind, stripping away all sense of self and free will. Many have regarded Borg assimilation as a fate worse than death, and as the Borg Queen is seemingly behind it all, she deserves all the hate that the residents of the Star Trek universe can offer.

Image
StarTrekFranchiseTag
Display card main info widget
Created by
Gene Roddenberry
First Film
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Latest Film
Star Trek Beyond
First TV Show
Star Trek: The Original Series
Latest TV Show
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Creation Year
1966
Display card main info widget end

Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info