Spock ( alternate reality ) Spock – full name generally considered unpronounceable to Humans – was a Human / Vulcan hybrid who served with Starfleet in the 23rd century . As an instructor at Starfleet Academy , he programmed the " Kobayashi Maru " scenario . From 2258 , he was first officer under and his successor , , aboard the . ( ) Early life . Spock was born to , a Vulcan , and , a Human , on January 6 , 2230 in the city of Shi ' Kahr on . ( ; ; ; ) As a young boy , Spock was often the target of abuse from his schoolmates because of his Human ancestry . On one particular occasion in which three of his classmates accused his father of being a traitor for marrying " that Human whore , " Spock lost emotion al control and was so angered that he violently beat up the lead tormentor , exhibiting such rage that , despite their advantage in size and numbers , the other two made no attempt to help their friend . Previously , he had counted that the incident was the thirty - fifth time those particular schoolmates had attempted to elicit an emotional response from him . When Spock then spoke to his disappointed father about his mother , asking Sarek why he had married a Human , Sarek coldly remarked that his decision to marry her had been the logical choice , given that he was an ambassador of Vulcan to Earth . After completing advanced training which he began during childhood in the Vulcan Learning Center , Spock applied to both the Vulcan Science Academy and Starfleet Academy . He was also considering completing his training in the " kolinahr " – the Vulcan ritual of purging all vestigial emotions – and asked his mother whether she would think less of him for discarding emotion in that way . His mother simply remarked that she would always be proud of him , no matter what choices he made . He later was admitted to the Vulcan Science Academy , but declined the offer after the board remarked that his admission to the Academy was especially commendable considering his " disadvantage " of being half - Human . Starfleet career . Instructor at Starfleet Academy . Spock went on to attend Starfleet Academy , and came to be known as one of its most distinguished graduates . By 2258 , he had attained the rank of commander , and acted as an instructor at the Academy . Spock was in charge of starship assignments for the cadet s . He initially assigned Lieutenant to the , in spite of Uhura having stated a desire to serve aboard the , the new flagship . Commander Spock had served as Cadet Uhura ' s instructor and judged her performance to be consistently exemplary but , to avoid giving the appearance of favoritism as a result of her being one of his star students as well as being in a romantic relationship with him , he assigned her to the " Farragut " instead . Uhura later confronted him about this choice , noting that she was more than qualified to serve aboard the " Enterprise " , as had been confirmed by Spock on many occasions . After this conversation , he assigned her to the " Enterprise " . Spock programmed the " Kobayashi Maru " scenario , the purposes of which were to allow cadets to experience fear in the face of death and , in confronting such fear , to enable them to develop skills necessary for command . When was ultimately able to pass the test and defeat the scenario , Spock accused the cadet of inserting a subroutine into the program , changing the simulation to his favor , so he could win . At a hearing of the Academy board , Kirk asked for the right to confront Spock directly , and the two clashed over Kirk ' s actions . First officer of the " Enterprise " . Stopping Nero . The hearing was cut short by the receipt of a distress call from , and Spock reported to the as first officer under Captain . " En route " to Vulcan , Spock once again clashed with Kirk , who had come aboard the " Enterprise " without authorization . Over Kirk repeatedly arguing that the distress call from Vulcan was the result of an attack by Romulan s , Spock demanded that Kirk be removed from the bridge . However , when Uhura vouched for the accuracy of a crucial element of Kirk ' s claims , Spock decided Kirk was probably right , and as a result , Pike ordered the ship ready before dropping out of warp . Ultimately , arrival at Vulcan , which was under attack , proved that Kirk was correct , and contact was made with the Romulan mining vessel " Narada " , which was attacking the planet . When contact was established with the ship ' s captain , Nero , he appeared to know Spock , although Spock had never met the Romulan before . Pike , who was ordered to transport himself to the " Narada " , left Spock in charge as acting captain . After the " Narada " s drill platform was disabled and Nero ' s plans were revealed , Spock beamed to the surface of Vulcan to at least rescue the Vulcan Council , including his father and mother . As the survivors were about to be beamed aboard the " Enterprise " , the disintegrating surface of the planet collapsed beneath Spock ' s mother , before the transport could be completed , and she died . She was one of almost six billion killed with the loss of the planet . Struggling with the destruction of his homeworld and the death of his mother , Spock received comfort from . He decided to take the " Enterprise " to the Laurentian system – to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet – and engaged in a furious debate with Kirk , which led to Spock subduing the acting first officer with a Vulcan nerve pinch . Spock then ordered Kirk to be thrown off the ship , jettisoning him in an escape pod near . With the " Enterprise " now at warp , Spock was surprised when Kirk and were able to beam aboard the ship , and demanded to know how they had been able to transport during warp . Kirk , who had by now met with a version of Spock who had traveled back in time with Nero , had also been told that in order to save Earth , he himself had to take over command of the " Enterprise " . The older Spock had asked Kirk to sufficiently provoke the younger Spock , in order to show everyone that he was too emotionally compromised to be in command . Kirk made several unsuccessful attempts to insult and cajole Spock , until finally a jibe about whether Spock had loved his late mother made the Vulcan snap , attacking Kirk and coming extremely close to killing him . He was only stopped by his father and , quickly realizing what had happened , he stepped down from command . Returning to the transporter room , Spock was comforted by the words of his father , who admitted he actually had married Amanda because he loved her . After a brief cool - down period , Spock returned to duty , accepting Kirk ' s command , and approved of suggesting they could hide the " Enterprise " in Titan ' s atmosphere . Spock then volunteered to beam to the " Narada " , noting that the similarities between Romulan and Vulcan language and culture would help him in locating Captain Pike and determining a way to destroy the vessel . Kirk , now in command , agreed , and accompanied Spock aboard the " Narada " . On the Romulan craft , Spock and Kirk engaged in a brief phaser fight with the " Narada " s Romulan crew . Mind melding with an unconscious Romulan crewmember , Spock was able to locate the " " and Captain Pike . On board the " Jellyfish " , the computer recognized him as Ambassador Spock ; when Kirk made an obviously sarcastic show of " surprise " and the computer stated that the ship had been built 129 years in the future , Spock realized exactly who Kirk had encountered on Delta Vega . Attacking the " Narada " from the inside , Spock escaped into Earth ' s orbit , and was able to destroy the drill platform as it dug into San Francisco Bay . Ultimately , an artificially created black hole , with assistance from the " Enterprise " s weapons , consumed the " Narada " and Nero , who had refused humanitarian assistance . Spock , angered over the destruction of his world , took the non - logical path for once , telling Kirk that , while it was logical to offer help , this time he didn ' t want to do it . Back on Earth , Spock finally met with his older counterpart , who explained to him that he had wanted to make sure that Spock and Kirk became friends and shared the kind of friendship he and the other Kirk from his timeline shared : something which would ultimately define them both and was a crucial aspect of their lives . Spock had planned to resign from Starfleet and help rebuild Vulcan society , but the elder counterpart urged him to remain with Starfleet , put aside logic once in a while and do what felt right . About to join the surviving Vulcans himself , the prime Spock chose not to offer his alternate self the traditional Vulcan salute , noting that it would have seemed self - serving ; instead , he wished him good luck . With Kirk now in command of the " Enterprise " , Spock offered his services as First Officer , which Kirk gladly accepted . ( ) Nibiru . A year later , Spock was on Nibiru trying to prevent a volcano from causing the extinction of all life on the planet . From a shuttle piloted by and Uhura , Spock was rappelled in an environmental suit with a cold fusion device that would prevent the catastrophic eruption . The heat damaged the shuttle , snapping the wire and forcing Sulu and Uhura to leave Spock . From the " Enterprise " ' s bridge , Kirk was informed that ash from the volcano would prevent them from transporting Spock away before the device detonated . Spock requested his captain leave him to die , as getting the " Enterprise " in range would expose the ship to the primitive Nibiran s and violate the Prime Directive . Kirk did this anyway : Spock found himself in the transporter room and could only express concern over his captain breaking Starfleet ' s main rule . Transferred to the USS Bradbury . Because Kirk covered up what happened in his captain ' s log , Spock filed a more truthful report when they returned to San Francisco . The Admiralty chose to return Kirk to the Academy and return the " Enterprise " to Pike , although Pike convinced to alter the decision to make Kirk his first officer shortly . Spock was transferred to the under Captain Frank Abbott . That evening , Spock attended a summit at Starfleet Headquarters regarding a bomb ing at the Kelvin Memorial Archive in London . The perpetrator , John Harrison , appeared in an attack vehicle and opened fire . Spock tended to the wounded Pike , attempting to comfort him with a mind meld , and felt the life depart from his body . Going after John Harrison . The next morning , Scott informed them Harrison had used the confiscated transwarp beaming formula to flee to Qo ' noS . Marcus gave the vengeful Kirk permission to hunt down Harrison , and allowed him to reinstate Spock as his first officer . Spock objected to Marcus ' s orders to execute Harrison from orbit with 72 experimental photon torpedo es , deeming it immoral to kill him without trial . Kirk listened , and decided to arrest Harrison instead . Spock was also suspicious of the weapons specialist Marcus appointed to the " Enterprise " , , and found no records of her serving on any ship . Spock and Uhura joined Kirk ' s away team in a shuttle to Harrison ' s location . When they were attacked by a Klingon patrol , Harrison appeared and singlehandedly killed them all so he could be taken into Kirk ' s custody . In the brig , Spock and Kirk questioned Harrison , who only responded that they examine the torpedoes , as well as a set of coordinates . In the meantime , Spock learned Wallace was actually Marcus ' s daughter , who was using her mother ' s maiden name as a cover , and informed Kirk before he ordered her to examine the torpedoes . McCoy and Marcus opened a torpedo and found a man held in cryogenic stasis . Harrison revealed he was Khan Noonien Singh , revived and forced by Admiral Marcus to design ships and weapons for war with the Klingon Empire , and he had tried to smuggle away his fellow Augment s but was forced to leave them after being caught . Marcus arrived in the and demanded Kirk hand over Khan , but Kirk refused , wanting Khan to stand trial and expose the conspiracy . During the confrontation between the two ships , the " Vengeance " ' s weaponry was deactivated by Scott , who was on a leave of absence and had boarded the ship after investigating the coordinates given by Khan . Kirk decided to board the ship with Khan , given his knowledge of its design , but Spock protested , distrusting Khan . Kirk countered he was desperate and needed his help . While Kirk and Khan boarded the " Vengeance " in thruster suit s , Spock contacted his older counterpart on New Vulcan , asking for information on Khan . Although the older Spock had sworn not to further interfere with history , he warned Spock that Khan was the most dangerous adversary the Enterprise ' s counterpart had ever faced . Spock ordered McCoy to remove the stasis chamber s from the torpedoes , before Khan appeared on the viewscreen , revealing he had murdered the admiral and taken control of the " Vengeance " . He demanded the torpedoes in return for Kirk and Scott , so Spock obliged , but Khan began firing on the " Enterprise " . An unsurprised Spock had the torpedoes detonated , crippling the " Vengeance " . The damage sustained to both ships caused them to fall to Earth . Spock strapped on his seatbelt and ordered all emergency power to life support , demanding the crew evacuate , but they refused , wanting to go down with their ship . However , the " Enterprise " ' s engines reactivated , preventing it from crashing . Scott asked Spock to come to the warp core , where he found Kirk had repaired it without putting on a suit to shield himself from radiation poisoning . Kirk said he wanted Spock to know why he ' d saved Spock from the volcano . Spock brokenly replied " Because you are my friend . " As Kirk died , Spock lost his Vulcan demeanor and screamed , " " KHAN ! " " He beamed down to San Francisco where the " Vengeance " had crashed , and pursued Khan with the intent of executing him . The two fought on automated floating barges , but neither the nerve pinch or mind meld had any effect on Khan . Uhura beamed down and fired several shots to stun Khan , while explaining they needed his blood to cure Kirk . Spock finally knocked out Khan and brought him to sickbay , where McCoy performed a blood transfusion . Two weeks later , Spock greeted a conscious Kirk and McCoy in a hospital room , where he expressed gratitude " Jim " was alive . The five - year mission . Nearly a year later , Spock attended a memorial service for those killed by Khan and Admiral Marcus , and then stood by his captain as the " Enterprise " embarked on a five - year mission . ( ) Three years into the mission , Spock was present for the diplomatic mission to Teenax , placing the alien artifact known as the Abronath in the ship ' s archive vault upon its vehement rejection by the Teenaxi Delegation . After the " Enterprise " arrived at Starbase Yorktown , Spock , who was already questioning whether his place was with the Vulcans or in Starfleet ( which caused a rift between him and his girlfriend Nyota Uhura ) , was greatly affected by the news of the death of his counterpart which further persuaded him to resign his commission to focus on continuing the elder Spock ' s work of rebuilding Vulcan society . Stranded on Altamid . Before Spock could inform Starfleet or Captain Kirk of his decision to leave , the " Enterprise " was dispatched to the Necro Cloud ostensibly to rescue the crew of Kalara - - in secret an agent of Krall . As the " Enterprise " was attacked and boarded , Spock and McCoy left the bridge to investigate and repel the invading force . Witnessing Krall obtain the alien artifact Abronath , Spock was pursued by the invaders , escaping into a turbolift with McCoy . As the " Enterprise " was severely damaged in the battle , the turbolift containing Spock and McCoy was ejected into space and captured by a Swarm ship . Escaping the lift , Spock and McCoy commandeered the Swarm ship and crashed on the surface of Altamid as the " Enterprise was destroyed . " Severely injured in the crash and suffering from massive blood loss , Spock was treated by McCoy as best the doctor could under the circumstances . Finding an alien structure , Spock recognized markings indicating Altamid was the origin of the Abronath , a super weapon hunted for by Krall . In the structure , Spock again experienced a loss of emotional control , alternating between mortal fear , hopelessness , and giddiness when interacting with McCoy . Finally located by their fellow " Enterprise " crewmates aboard the wreck of the , Spock was immediately taken to the ship ' s mess where McCoy began emergency surgery . As the doctor repaired the hemorrhage , Spock assured Kirk they would " find hope in the impossible " and later assisted in locating the rest of his shipmates by using the ship ' s sensors to track the " vokaya " necklace he had given to Lieutenant Uhura . After assisting in the rescue of the " Enterprise " crew from Krall ' s encampment , Spock volunteered to once again board a Swarm ship to prevent Krall from unleashing the Abronath at Starbase Yorktown . Once again joined by a reluctant McCoy , Spock helped pilot a Swarm ship as the " Franklin " used radio signals to disrupt Krall ' s swarm . Pursuing a single ship piloted by Krall into Yorktown ' s internal structure , Spock and McCoy assisted in the destruction of Krall ' s ship before rescuing Kirk as he fell from Yorktown Headquarters . The " Enterprise " - A . Following the defeat of Krall , Commander Spock was given the few belongings which Ambassador Spock brought from the future , including a photograph of himself with his crewmates circa 2287 , which moved Spock to reverse his decision and remain with the " Enterprise " crew when they were assigned to a replacement vessel : the . ( " Star Trek Beyond " ) Relationships . Romantic relationships . Nyota Uhura . Spock and had a relationship that was established prior to the start of their careers on board the " Enterprise " . Spock was openly confronted by Uhura regarding her getting assigned to the even though she was qualified to serve aboard the , to which Spock replied that his decision had been just " an attempt to avoid the appearance of favoritism . " By Uhura insisting he change her posting to the " Enterprise " , he was indeed persuaded to do so . While on duty aboard the " Enterprise " , Spock and Uhura maintained a formal professional relationship – Spock usually addressing her by her rank and surname – with the exception of some moments where the nature of their feelings for one another was displayed or hinted by their actions . Shortly after they arrived on the ship , Spock supported and extolled Uhura ' s abilities before Captain Pike . One moment of affection between them was just after Spock realized Nero had created a black hole in the planet Vulcan . This incident impacted on Spock ' s relationship with Uhura , especially since he decided to beam down to the Vulcan surface himself , in an attempt to save his parents and the Vulcan High Council . When a concerned Uhura called him by name and not by rank , he paused , in the midst of a crisis , to explain to her what he was about to do and offered further explanation . After Vulcan was destroyed by Nero , Spock was at one point pursued by Uhura off the bridge and into a turbolift , where she comforted him , the two lovers kiss ing and embracing each other . After Spock lost control and attacked Kirk , he looked to Uhura , ashamed of what he ' d done . He shared another look with her as he walked off the bridge after giving up command . Later , their relationship revealed itself to Kirk and Scott when they witnessed Spock and Uhura kissing in the transporter room . There , Spock also called her by her first name , " Nyota " . ( ) A year later , Uhura accompanied Spock to Nibiru before he was rappelled from a shuttle into a volcano , to prevent it from wiping out the Nibiran s . The ash damaged the shuttle and snapped the wire , forcing Uhura and to leave him . Uhura swam back to the " Enterprise " , which was hidden underwater . She was distraught to learn ash from the volcano would prevent the " Enterprise " from transporting Spock back aboard , and to hear Spock explain he would prefer to die activating the cold fusion device than violate the Prime Directive . Later , when the " Enterprise " was tasked with hunting down terrorist John Harrison , Uhura hinted to Kirk in the turbolift that she and Spock were having relationship troubles . While on a shuttle to Qo ' noS where Harrison was hiding , Uhura and Spock got into an argument , where she accused of him of being too ready to sacrifice himself for a mission and not caring how she would feel if he died . Spock acknowledged that since his mother ' s death , he had been closing himself to such thoughts about how she would feel since he had experienced those feelings , specifically because he did care . Later , after getting back to the Enterprise , the two shared a reconciliatory kiss . After Harrison revealed he was Khan Noonien Singh , Spock asked Uhura to contact his older parallel universe counterpart on New Vulcan for information . Uhura managed to make contact although the ship was outside of normal range of communication with his location . When Kirk died in attempt to save the ship and his crew , Uhura encouraged Spock to beam down to go after and capture Khan , who had crashed the " Vengeance " into San Francisco . However , when McCoy discovered that a blood transfusion from Khan could heal Kirk , Uhura volunteered to beam down saving Spock from having his head crushed by Khan in the same manner in which he had killed admiral Marcus . As Spock took the opportunity to gain the advantage in the fight and kill him , Uhura stopped Spock by informing him they need Khan alive to save Kirk . ( ) Almost 3 years into their five years mission , Spock and Uhura were still a couple but they experienced a brief time - out in their relationship as a consequence of him starting to doubt his purpose in Starfleet , and wondering if he maybe owed a debt of duty to his species , and he should have therefore left the ship to join the rest of the vulcans on New Vulcan helping them rebuild their race . When the crew got to Starbase Yorktown , Uhura tried to give him back his mother ' s vokaya necklace that he had gifted her , but a visibly sad Spock declined the offer insisting her to keep it . Shortly after leaving Yorktown , the Enterprise was destroyed by Krall ' s attack leaving Spock stranded on planet Altamid with Leonard McCoy while Nyota Uhura , and the rest of the enterprise crew minus the Captain , Pavel Chekov and Montgomery Scott , got captured by Krall and held prisoner at his base . While talking with McCoy , an injured Spock regretfully confessed that before their ship got destroyed and they lost the crew , he had wanted to discuss things more with Uhura but was interrupted by news about Ambassador Spock dying that affected him unexpectedly , and further persuaded him to leave Starfleet in spite of his feelings for her . Later on after he was beamed aboard the USS " Franklin " by Kirk and Scotty , Spock realized that if Uhura was still wearing his Vokaya amulet , Chekov could track the unique Vulcan mineral ( that emitted a harmless radiation ) and find her ( and thus the rest of the crew held prisoner by Krall ) . When the group made a plan to free the crew , a still injured Spock insisted to participate to the mission because Uhura was in the base too . In spite of his condition , both Kirk and McCoy allowed him to go with them acknowledging their friend ' s need to be there due to his relationship with the Lieutenant . Once him , McCoy and Jaylah got to the base as planned and the two men freed the crew , Hikaru Sulu informed Spock that Uhura unfortunately wasn ' t with them anymore because she had been taken by Krall shortly before him and McCoy got there . Spock then went looking for her alone but he got attacked by two Swarm soldiers and fell to the ground in pain , only to get saved by Uhura who helped him stand up and asked what he was doing there . When Spock answered that he clearly was there to rescue her ( noticing the irony of the situation ) , Uhura smiled pleased by his care for her and his efforts . Later , when Spock volunteered to pilot one of the swarms ships to try to stop Krall from destroying Yorktown , Uhura expressed concerns over him being still hurt for his injury to which Spock replied he respected and appreciated her concerns . After the events on Altamid put his life into perspective , Spock realized that his place was with his friends just like the other Spock ( who had a picture of his crew mates still with him when he died ) . Having decided to stay , him and Uhura , whose feelings for one another had not changed , reprised their relationship . At the party for Jim ' s birthday , Uhura , who openly wore his Vokaya necklace again , teased Spock saying that she thought he had a mission report to make , to which he replied that he did , but he thought that being with her would be more pleasing ( implying he changed his original evening plans , putting work aside , and went to the party to spend time with her ) . Later , Spock , Uhura and their friends observed the new " Enterprise " under construction . Friendships . James T . Kirk . Spock and Kirk had a complicated and troubled relationship from the start . As an instructor at Starfleet Academy and the creator of the " Kobayashi Maru " scenario , Spock did not appreciate that Kirk had altered the program so he could beat it . In fact , he openly accused him of having cheated and as a result , Kirk had to answer before an inquiry board at the Academy for his actions . Kirk was subsequently suspended and only with the help of Doctor was he able to come on board the " Enterprise " . Spock and Kirk continued to clash with one another over vastly different viewpoints and philosophies they held . Spock was highly disciplined , always honoring regulations and adhering to a strict code of conduct , whereas Kirk was self - assured , overconfident and had an unconventional way of approaching matters . However , despite having initially dismissed Kirk ' s theory about an attack on Vulcan , Spock heard him out and proceeded to support the hypothesis as logical . Spock ' s lack of tolerance for Kirk ' s ways resulted in Spock just throwing Kirk off the ship altogether , the first opportunity he got . When Kirk later provoked him by referencing his mother , Spock lost all control and was more than eager to hurt Kirk . After speaking with his father about the loss both had shared , Spock returned to his duties as first officer and teamed up with Kirk to stop Nero . Unlike the other members of the crew who mostly followed Kirk at first as he was the next in line for captain , Spock followed his leadership without hesitation and called him " captain " , which only Chekov , Scotty and Uhura ( sarcastically ) did besides him . He also displayed an understanding and somewhat acceptance of Kirk ' s unusual methods , commenting – when Kirk decided to join him in attacking Nero – that he himself could state the regulations against it but that he wouldn ' t do so , as he knew Kirk would ignore them . Besides saying that , Spock didn ' t object . Spock subsequently fought side - by - side with Kirk in the attack , even trusting him to watch his back after having nearly strangled him to death shortly before . He also addressed Kirk by his first name , " Jim " , at one point , while asking him to convey his feelings to Uhura if he didn ' t survive . Spock ' s attitude toward Kirk softened , however , after his encounter with an alternate version of himself , who advised both of them to set aside their momentary irritations , revealing that , in his timeline , the two had shared a great friendship . After they worked side by side to save Earth and beat the " Narada " , Spock became Kirk ' s first officer aboard the " Enterprise " . ( ) Although Kirk came to see Spock as a friend and even broke the Prime Directive to save his life , Spock did not think of Kirk in that way . After Spock ' s report resulted in Kirk ' s demotion , Kirk came to resent Spock ' s apparent lack of gratitude , though Spock was relieved that Kirk didn ' t receive a more severe punishment . Spock was stunned speechless when Kirk said he ' d miss him , a reaction that annoyed Kirk . However , Kirk still wanted Spock on board as his first officer , and when Kirk was dying of radiation poisoning , he confided he had rescued Spock because he was his friend . Spock lost control of his emotions at seeing Kirk dying to the point he lost his temper and was even willing to kill Khan in revenge . His unusual method of defeating the " Vengeance " , tricking Khan into thinking he had sent him his crew while he had really sent him armed photon torpedoes , was also inspired by Kirk ' s unorthodox methods of handling situations rather than Spock ' s usual by - the - book methods , acknowledged by Kirk before his death , saying they both handled the situation as the other would : Kirk sacrificed himself for the greater good while Spock used unorthodox tactics against his opponent . ( ) Leonard McCoy . Although McCoy originally admired Spock from afar after seeing him best Kirk during a hearing regarding the cadet ' s cheating on the Kobayashi Maru scenario , their relationship quickly became complicated . ( ) In 2263 , after working aboard the same ship for some years , Leonard McCoy and Spock weren ' t exactly best friends yet . When the ship got to Starbase Yorktown for a break , McCoy accidentally witnessed a sad moment between Spock and Nyota Uhura as the man sadly looked after the woman walking away from him . Knowing about their romantic relationship , he ironically asked Spock if they were breaking up and promptly assumed it surely was because of something the Vulcan had done . During the dramatic moments aboard the Enterprise following Krall ' s swarm ships attack , Spock and McCoy teamed up and got to the damaged ship sectors so that McCoy could check on the injured crew . During this time , they both got trapped into a turbolift that was subsequently expelled from the ship into space , and intercepted by one of the swarm ships . Not without effort , the two men successfully defeated the swarm drones aboard the vessel with McCoy taking control of the ship , and both of them looking in disblelief and fear as the enemy ships captured crew members that were leaving the hopeless ship in escape pods . As a consequence of their harsh landing on the planet Altamid ' s surface , Spock got severely injured on his lower abdomen and McCoy pointed out that with the Vulcan heart being placed where the human liver is , he was lucky the injury was located some centimeters away from it or he would have been dead . With no medical equipment available to him , the doctor was forced to cauterize and seal Spock ' s injury the best he could using the heat produced by a phaser . Later , when two of them reached a cave where to rest for a while , Mccoy got concerned about Spock when the latter looked unconscious , and he tried to wake him up . Spock replied that he had closed his eyes to simply contemplate mortality . After a moment , in visible distress both physical and psychological , Spock confided to the doctor that the reason for the tension he had witnessed between him and Lieutenant Uhura before was the fact that he had started to be unsure about his place in Starfleet and wondering about whether he still owed a debt of duty to his endangered species , and the recent news about the death of Ambassador Spock had further persuaded him that he needed to leave Starfleet to help his people on New Vulcan . McCoy wondered about what Captain Kirk would have thought about it , to which Spock answered he had not told him about his decision yet . McCoy joked that if Spock left , he ' d throw a party and , to his surprise Spock smiles , a detail that made him realize that the man was indeed delirious because of his injury . Having understood that they needed to get out of their refuge to attempt to contact the surviving crew , the two men left the cave , which exposed them to the drones . Spock asked the doctor to leave him behind because it was important for him to find the rest of the crew , but McCoy refused to leave him there and sarcastically commented that for a moment he thought Spock cared about his well being too , to which Spock replied , as the swarm ship were getting close to them , that he thought his respect for him had always been clear in spite of their not always friendly dialog through the years . After getting beamed to safety aboard the USS Franklin on time , McCoy finally tried to medicate Spock ' s injury using some of the old , albeit less effective , medical equipment they found on the ship . Later on , after Spock realized that they could track the Vokaya mineral of the necklace he had given to Uhura and find her and the rest of the crew still held captive by Krall , McCoy teased the vulcan about the fact that he had not only gifted radioactive jewelry to his girlfriend , but it also was a tracking device , much to Spock ' s chagrin and disbelief because that had not been his intention . McCoy was understanding and supportive of Spock ' s decision to join the rescue team because of Uhura ' s presence in the base among the ones in danger , in spite of the Vulcan ' s physical condition still being impacted by his injury thus requiring him to stay behind and rest . After successfully saving the rest of the crew and finally leaving the planet aboard the Franklin , Spock volunteered to pilot one of the swarm ships in order to find the signal that made them move in sync and give the rest of the crew the required information to disrupt it and defeat the the swarm before they could destroy Yorktown . When both Uhura and Kirk expressed concerns over his condition , Spock proposed that he could be helped by doctor McCoy because he , too , was more familiar with those ships after their shared experience on one of them . This much to the Doctor ' s horror and annoyance over the prospect of piloting one of those vessels again . Despite his protests , the two men are able to accomplish their mission and ultimately save Captain Kirk in time before he ' s sucked into space after defeating Krall . The experience on Altamid no doubt gave to both Spock and McCoy a new mutual understanding and respect of each other . However , the doctor still maintained some of his old mocking habits when he saw Spock chatting with Uhura at the party he had organized for Kirk ' s birthday , and he eyed her necklace in a manner that suggested he was still judging the Vulcan for giving to his girlfriend a ' tracking device ' . Ultimately , Uhura and McCoy were the only people who knew about Spock ' s personal conflict . Memorable quotes . " " I ' m sorry . I ' m sorry . I ' m so sorry . What do you need ? Tell me . Tell me . " " " " I need everyone to continue performing admirably . " " " " If you eliminate the impossible , whatever remains – however improbable – must be the truth . " " " " I intend to assist in the effort to reestablish communication with Starfleet . However , if crew morale is better served by my roaming the halls weeping , I will gladly defer to your medical expertise . Excuse me . " " " " I am as conflicted as I once was as a child . " " " " You will always be a child of two worlds . I am grateful for this . . . and for you . " " " " I feel anger for the one who took ' s life . An anger I cannot control . " " " " I believe she would say , if she were here , ' do not try to ' . " " " " I ' m coming with you . " " " " I would cite regulation , but I know you will simply ignore it . " " " " See ? We " are " getting to know each other . " " " " So , her first name is Nyota ? " " " " I have no comment on the matter . " " " " Captain , what are you doing ? " " " " Showing them compassion , may be the only way to earn peace with Romulus . It ' s logic , Spock . I thought you ' d like that . " " " " No , not really . Not this time . " " " " Doctor , the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few . " " " " Spock ! You all right ? " " " " Captain , you let them see our ship . " " " " Oh , he ' s " fine " . " " " " Are you giving me attitude , Spock ? " " " " I am expressing multiple attitudes simultaneously . To which are you referring ? " " " " You misunderstand . It is true I chose not to feel anything upon realizing my own life was ending . As Admiral Pike was dying , I joined with his consciousness and experienced what he felt at the moment of his passing . Anger . Confusion . Loneliness . Fear . I had experiences those feelings before , multiplied exponentially on the day my planet was destroyed . Such a feeling is something I choose never to experience again . Nyota , you mistake my choice not to feel as a reflection of my not caring but I assure you , the truth is precisely the opposite . " " " " Mr . Spock . " " < br > " " Mr . Spock . " " " " Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaan ! ! " " " " It is unwise to trivialize that which one simply does not understand , Doctor . " " " " If I may borrow a parlance you are familiar with Doctor , I can confirm your theory to be " horse shit " " " " " We will do what we have always done , Jim . We will find hope in the impossible . " " " " Lt . Uhura wears a Vokaya amulet which I presented to her as a token of my affection and respect . " " " " You gave your girlfriend a radioactive jewelry ? " " " " The emissions is harmless , Doctor . But its unique signature makes it very easy to identify . " " " " You gave your girlfriend a tracking device . " " ( realizing ) " " That was not my intention " . " " " What are you doing here ? " " " " Clearly , I am here to rescue you . " " " " I thought you had to finish your mission report . " " " " I do . But I thought it would be more pleasing to engage with you socialy . " " " " You old romantic . " " Appendices . Background information . Spock was mostly played by Zachary Quinto . As a child , he was played by Jacob Kogan . In a deleted scene , an infant Spock was played by Jenna Vaughn . In the script of , Spock was referred to as a " very courageous Vulcan . " Sean Gerace , a researcher on the film " Star Trek " who also appeared in the movie , turned the producers ' attention to Jacob Kogan . ( audio commentary for " Star Trek " , " Star Trek " ( Special Edition / Three disc Blu - ray ) ) Placing faith in Bad Robot Productions , Zachary Quinto publicly pursued the role , aware there was a risk he wouldn ' t be cast in the part . ( ) " " Zach has always known somewhere in his heart that he was going to play this role , " " remarked casting director April Webster . ( ) She further said , " " This is something that he ' s always wanted to play . I guess when you have intention that strong , it sort of became inevitable in this case . " " Even before casting for the film began , rumors were rife that Quinto would be selected to play Spock . ( " SciFiNow " , issue 27 , p . 033 ) April Webster and fellow casting director Alyssa Weisberg saw a couple of male actors for the part but Zachary Quinto was one of the first who they recorded auditioning . He was auditioned shortly after Webster began working on the film herself , his performances observed by not only her but also by a casting director friend of hers named Mark Scott . ( ) Quinto ' s auditions were taped for producer and director J . J . Abrams , with the realization that the actor ' s schedule on " Heroes " would have to be worked around . ( " SciFiNow " , issue 27 , p . 033 ) " " We didn ' t put that many [ actors ] on [ tape ] because truly , once Zachary Quinto did it , we " knew " he was Spock , " " Webster recalled . His physical appearance was a huge part of what made Quinto an appealing option for the casting department , who found him to have a striking resemblance to how original Spock actor Leonard Nimoy looked in his own youth . ( ) While J . J . Abrams was considering Zachary Quinto for the role , Leonard Nimoy himself had some limited involvement in the casting . He later explained , " " J . J . [ . . . ] sent me some footage of Zachary ' s previous work . I immediately saw the value . He looked to me to be believable , but probably more importantly , he showed great intelligence as an actor , and a great internal life , which I think is terribly important for the Spock character . I called J . J . immediately and said ' I think you ' ve found a wonderful choice . " " ( " Star Trek Magazine Souvenir Special " , pp . 67 - 68 ) Despite his degree of physical similarity to Leonard Nimoy , auditioning Zachary Quinto for the role nevertheless involved multiple iterations of his performance . " " We had poor Zach do it 12 different ways – we didn ' t know what we were looking for , really . We didn ' t know if they wanted the controlled Spock , or the Spock where we see his Human side , " " stated Webster . " " We played with it a million ways and just showed J . J . everything . " " ( ) Thus , attempting to adopt the character of Spock at first proved somewhat challenging for Quinto . " " That ' s a very tough part [ for ] anyone to play , " " Webster mused . " " Even if you look like them , it ' s a hard part for someone to play . How do you play someone caught between these two personalities ? Or caught between these two realities of having been shamed his whole life for being half human , and having that aspect of himself in control all of the time ? I think that Zachary really found a fine line there for us . In the end , his casting was a no - brainer . " " Indeed , Quinto was , according to Webster , cast " almost right away . " He subsequently opined that one element which helped him attain the role was that he personally related to the duality inherent in the character . " " I think that there are many experiences that I ' ve had , " " remarked the actor , " " that informed this iteration of the character and where he is in this journey . " " ( " SciFiNow " , issue 27 , pp . 032 & 033 ) Zachary Quinto signed up to play Spock before having read the script for " Star Trek " . Once he read the screenplay , he was satisfied that he had made the right choice , later stating , " " The complexity of the story , the deeply rooted internal conflict , the vulnerability that Spock comes up against in this film was really compelling to me as an actor [ . . . ] One thing really leads to another in a great way for my character . " " ( ) The reserved emotionality of the character continued to be vital to Zachary Quinto , throughout the making of the movie , and was also important to Jacob Kogan . The latter actor mused about the role , " " Pretty much , if you ' re playing a part that is trying to keep their emotions in , then " that " s the emotion you ' re trying to convey [ . . . ] I feel like it ' s not exactly showing your emotions but showing your motives and if Spock ' s motive is to hide his emotions , then that ' s what he ' s showing . " " Quinto similarly commented , " " For me as the actor playing the character , there was so much that had to be contained throughout Spock ' s journey . " " ( ) Because Leonard Nimoy has earlobes whereas Zachary Quinto doesn ' t , lobes were intentionally sculpted into Quinto ' s prosthetic ears for his appearance as Spock , in order to match Nimoy ' s ears . ( ) Quinto ' s ear prosthetics encompassed most of both his ears . A prototype clay sculpture of Quinto with Vulcan ears , though without hair , was also created by Proteus FX make - up effects supervisor Barney Burman , who was credited with designing and creating the film ' s aliens . ( " Cinefex " , No . 118 , pp . 47 & 52 ) Make - up artist David Snyder applied Spock make - ups with Joel Harlow ' s make - up crew on the film " Star Trek " . ( " Cinefex " , No . 134 , p . 77 ) Quinto ' s first make - up screen test as Spock was in and included his own hair but a pair of prosthetic ears . ( / Three disc Blu - ray documentary featurette " To Boldly Go " ) To further enhance Zachary Quinto ' s appearance as Spock , Makeup Department Head Mindy Hall shaved Quinto ' s eyebrows and replaced them with hair that she used to create more sharply angled eyebrows , after which Hair Department Head Terrell Baliel added a custom wig . ( " Cinefex " , No . 118 , p . 47 ) Upon preparing for the filming of , Quinto described the requirement of having his eyebrows shaved for the role as " definitely the most tedious part of playing Spock . " He went on to say , " " The first time , it took three weeks for them to come back in a way that I didn ' t have to wear my glasses every day to hide them . It was probably two months before they were really thick and bushy again . " " On the other hand , Quinto did value the make - up and hair required for the part , generally . " " The hair and make - up process is incredibly important for a character like Spock , who is so inextricably identified by his aesthetic , " " said Quinto . " " It informs a tremendous amount of his cultural identity . The process took about two hours , and around halfway through that time I felt a shift within myself – a kind of emergence that would bring the character to life for the remainder of the day . " " ( " Star Trek - The Art of the Film " , p . 63 ) When he first played Spock , Zachary Quinto was attempting to learn lots about the physicality of the character . ( " Star Trek Magazine Movie Special 2016 " , p . 35 ) His and Kogan ' s performances as Spock were not influenced by each other , with neither of them seeing the other ' s acting until after the film " Star Trek " was produced . Quinto instead took inspiration from Leonard Nimoy ' s past portrayal of the character . They " " spent a great deal of time getting to know each other and talking before I started shooting , " " Quinto explained , " " and in all that time , I was also doing my own stuff . Leonard and I watched two Spock - centric episodes together – was one of them – and we talked about the character and the experience of shooting them . Most of my work was done on my own – a lot of research and reading – or with Leonard before we started shooting . While we were shooting the movie , I would watch old episodes of in my trailer when I was hanging out in there , just to keep me rooted in the specificity and uniqueness of the world [ . . . ] When I saw [ the film ] , it made so much sense that my version of Spock would evolve into [ Nimoy ' s ] . " " ( ) Nimoy himself offered , " " When Zachary and I met for the first time , he had already done a lot of research on his own . He had a good sense of what it was all about . We did spend quite a bit of time together , but it was more getting to know each other , than any specifics like how to do the Vulcan grip . It was really something terribly important : an understanding of the internal life of this character . What of mine came to the character , and what of his could come to the character . " " ( " Star Trek Magazine Souvenir Special " , p . 69 ) Leonard Nimoy was ultimately very impressed with how Zachary Quinto assumed the role of Spock in the film " Star Trek " . " " I found Zachary Quinto did things with the character that had never occurred to me , which I found quite delicious , " " Nimoy enthused . " " I think he really has found a way to expand the character while at the same time , if you can understand what I ' m trying to say , being true to the character . He has found ways to enrich the character . He ' s wonderful and I ' m really proud of what he has done . " " ( " Star Trek Magazine Souvenir Special " , p . 69 ) Nimoy also reckoned about Quinto , " " I think he could have a great career as Spock : if he wants it , it ' s there for him . " " ( ) In " Star Trek Into Darkness " , Spock witnessing the death of Kirk is a reversal of Kirk ' s reaction to Spock ' s death in " " , without the sense of being a milestone in a long - held relationship . " " Our [ Kirk and Spock ] haven ' t known each other that long , so in our movie , that moment is a revelation for Spock that Kirk is his friend , " " said Roberto Orci . " " It ' s the beginning of Spock recognizing , ' Oh my god , this guy is my friend , and just as I figured it out , I lose him . " ' " To return as Spock , Zachary Quinto again had to don Vulcan ear prosthetics for " Star Trek Into Darkness " . " " And a breath of acetone was enough to blend the appliance to Zachary ' s ear , " " noted make - up department head David LeRoy Anderson . To ensure correct alignments when applying the character ' s Vulcan eyebrows , Anderson made everyday use of a clear plastic vacuform template , a mask which covered the area immediately around Quinto ' s eyes . The eyebrows , even if they were heightened by merely an incremental degree more than usual , could easily make Quinto ' s Spock appear angry . Consequently , the film ' s makeup team regularly used a small hole in the mask , positioned at the temples , to mark a registration dot on the actor ' s skin . " " Zach tweezed away portions of his real eyebrows under my supervision , " " stated Anderson . " " We applied hairs one by one , gluing them in place , and then added a tiny bit of green - blue eye shadow . " " ( " Cinefex " , No . 134 , p . 77 ) While co - writing , Simon Pegg found that writing Spock ' s dialogue , which he termed " Spockese " , was very fun but also challenging . ( " Star Trek Magazine Movie Special 2016 " , p . 74 ) " Star Trek Beyond " Director Justin Lin once noted that , before he arrived to direct " Beyond " , " Zack had already crafted an amazing Spock with Leonard [ Nimoy ] . " ( " SFX " , issue 276 , p . 49 ) However , appearing in " Star Trek Beyond " still presented a challenge to Quinto , as regards portraying Spock ' s preference for logical thinking combined with his underlying emotions . " " Emotionally , he has definitely evolved since the last time we saw him , but I think he ' s a little more settled in his human / Vulcan disparity [ . . . ] The trick [ with playing the role ] is to cultivate an inner life that ' s deep enough to draw in the audience , and make them understand that there ' s so much more going on than meets the eye . Also , my version of this character has always been a little bit more in that grey zone , between the Vulcan and the human sensibility . That continues in this movie , too , " " Quinto related . " " My version of Spock has always been a little bit more human than maybe you would expect him to be , because he ' s really trying to figure out these two aspects of himself . It ' s an interesting challenge – certainly a unique one [ . . . ] With a role like this , there ' s such a familiarity now . I felt like I was able to drop into this world and explore it as the script allows . It becomes more and more a part of me every time I do it [ . . . ] Now I understand it in a different way [ than when first portraying the character ] , but it ' s still a process . " " ( " Star Trek Magazine Movie Special 2016 " , pp . 34 & 35 ) While being generally uncertain about which direction he would want to take Spock in the fourth film , Zachary Quinto has suggested , " " I could be interested in exploring more of his personal life , maybe , and getting into some explorations of what that looks like . " " ( " Star Trek Magazine Movie Special 2016 " , p . 36 ) Apocrypha . In the novelization of " Star Trek " , Spock says that he is going to be the first Vulcan in Starfleet . However , this would seem to contradict T ' Pol enlisting in , although he may be referring to the Federation Starfleet , as opposed to the United Earth Starfleet . In the " " video game , Spock ' s failed attempts at cooking dinner for Uhura are discussed . The virtual collectible card battle game " " is using a picture of Jacob Kogan as young Spock on card # 11 , titled " Half Vulcan Spock " , and pictures of Quinto for card # 57 , titled " Recruit Spock " , card # 87 " Exo Suit Spock " , and card # 100 " First Officer Spock " . In " Parallel Lives , Part 1 " and 2 , he has a female counterpart who is also in love with Uhura ' s male counterpart . In the of IDW ' s " " comic series that is set after the events of , Spock takes a sabbatical from Starfleet and he and Uhura return to New Vulcan .