Garth of Izar Garth of Izar was a decorated , highly regarded officer in the Federation Starfleet and former starship captain , who rose to rank of fleet captain in the course of his service through the mid - 23rd century . His career dissolved in a dramatic descent into madness and attempted genocide , resulting in his commitment to the Elba II asylum for the criminally insane . Biography . Starfleet ' s fallen hero . Garth emerged from Starfleet Academy to make good on his promise as a star pupil . Among contemporaries like Captain s Pike and , Garth became known as an eminent explorer , with a distinguished record for charting new worlds . As a tactician , he was a pivotal figure in the Federation victory at the crucial Battle of Axanar . His exploits were immortalized in his own time , becoming required reading at the Academy and inspiring members of a new wave of young officers . His legacy was tarnished following the accident that left him badly maimed . The gentle beings of Antos IV nursed him in his darkest hour , and gifted him with their technique of cellular metamorphosis to repair his mangled body . In gratitude , he " offered them the galaxy " – an offer refused . By this point , he was no longer the honored captain of the history books , and his diseased mind found such offense in Antos ' rejection that he ordered his forces to annihilate the entire species . Whatever loyalty he once inspired in his crews vanished , and they refused his order . Federation authorities deemed it appropriate that Garth be sent to an asylum for the criminally insane . By 2268 , he was in a ward of Elba II . Exile on Elba II . The isolated asylum was a formidable cage to house the fifteen most incorrigibly dangerous and unstable outcasts of Federation society . Beyond internal security measures , the facility was surrounded by a powerful force field that blocked transporter activity and could even withstand the orbital bombardment from a starship . Outside the asylum dome on the planet ' s surface was no option considering Elba II ' s poisonous atmosphere . Effectively blocked from escape , Garth was limited to whatever freedoms he could find within the asylum . Garth ' s sanity may have abandoned him , but his cleverness remained . In the time following his convalescence on Antos IV , Garth had secretly expanded his control of the transformative gift that had saved his life . Far beyond repairing damaged flesh , Garth amassed enough skill to assume the appearance of others , down to the sound of their voice and their clothing . He revealed his talent by taking the form of the asylum ' s Governor , Donald Cory , and convincing a guard to release him from his cell . The inmates were soon running the asylum , and all of them swore allegiance to their benefactor , " Lord " Garth . The self - styled potentate stoked his dreams of empire - building while he reinforced his control over a petty kingdom . He manufactured a chemical explosive of substantial strength from available materials ( and claimed it was the most potent weapon in history ) and transformed a rehabilitation chair into an instrument of torture – taking great pleasure in tormenting his former overseer , Governor Cory . He found the time to court the most beautiful woman on the planet , eventually taking her as his " royal consort . " The green - skinned pathogical liar Marta consistently tested Garth ' s infantile patience , but he endured her , as the seductive dancer was the " only " woman on the planet . Queen to Queen ' s level three . Garth ' s best chance to escape his exile came as the entered orbit around Elba II for the delivery of revolutionary new medicines . Garth greeted Captain James T . Kirk and his first officer , Spock , in the genial guise of Donald Cory , and presented the asylum ' s image as the visiting officers expected , including viewing inmates in their cells . All except Garth ' s supposed cell , inhabited by a practically crucified Governor Cory . Once the " Enterprise " officers were secured , Garth revealed himself and declared his ambitions for galactic domination , backed by his new cadre of followers , " the future masters of the universe " . The form of Kirk suited his long - awaited moment of escape , and Garth contacted the " Enterprise " , asking to be beamed aboard . Chief Engineer Scott , at the conn , answered the request with a chess - code challenge , " Queen to Queen ' s level three , " dashing Garth ' s hope for a prompt escape . Garth raged that his great escape had been so easily countered . Garth insisted he would " shatter every bone in Captain Kirk ' s body " to gain control of the " Enterprise " . Moments later , he invited Kirk and Spock to a little dinner and light entertainment . Kirk , who professed to hero - worship , was unmoved by the fundamental righteousness of Garth ' s cause . Flattery and offers of command in Garth ' s fleets were answered with baffling moralizing about peace and brotherhood , and reminders of Garth ' s former life . A subtle segue into Kirk ' s thoughts on chess revealed nothing , faithless Marta ' s attempt to seduce ( and kill ) Kirk failed . Impersonating Spock , in a third attempt to learn the chess counter - phrase , was useless . A magnificent self - coronation ceremony and bestowing the honor of " heir apparent " left Kirk unimpressed . Even sacrificing Marta to the elements of Elba II and " mercifully " using her to demonstrate a sample of his new explosive , bore no fruit . Garth ' s final gambit , once again assuming Kirk ' s visage in the hopes of confusing his first officer , was unable to prevent Spock ' s eventual identification of his true captain . Garth was subdued , and his followers were returned to their confinement . Cory and Dr . McCoy began to administer the new drug therapy to the asylum ' s patients with optimism . Before the " Enterprise " departed , Kirk was at last able to catch a glimpse of the hero of his youth . With the help of the new medicine , Garth seemed to be emerging out of a fog , somewhat bewildered . Kirk identified himself and the name meant nothing , but the words " starship " and " captain " sunk in , and clearly held meaning . Garth raised his hand to shake Kirk ' s . ( ) Memorable quotes . " " We are going to take the " Enterprise " . Do you hear me ? We " are " going to take her if I have to shatter every bone in Captain Kirk ' s body . " " " " I may have you beaten to death . " " " " No , you won ' t , because I am the most beautiful woman on this planet . " " " " You ' re the only woman on this planet , you stupid cow ! " " " " You wrote that ? " " " " Yesterday , as a matter of fact . " " " " It was written by an Earth man named Shakespeare a long time ago ! " " " " Which does not alter the fact that I wrote it again yesterday ! " " " " What is your reaction , Mr . Spock ? " " " " Well , I find it , uh , mildly interesting and somewhat nostalgic , if I understand the use of that word . " " " " " Nostalgic ? " " " " " Yes . It is somewhat reminiscent of the dances that Vulcan children do in nursery school . Of course , the children are not so . . . well - coordinated . " " " " You , Captain , are second only to me . . . as the finest military commander in the galaxy . < br > " " Remove this animal ! ! " " " " Should I know you , sir ? " " " " " No . . . Captain . " " Appendices . Background information . Garth , while appearing as himself , was portrayed by Steve Ihnat . William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , and Keye Luke portrayed the character in the forms of Kirk , Spock , and Cory respectively . The first draft script of " Whom Gods Destroy " ( dated ) referred to him as " Garth of Titan " . It was Kellam de Forest who proposed the name change to " Garth of Izar " , suggesting the alteration if the citation of a place was " meant to indicate an exploit . " The switch was recommended in a series of research notes de Forest sent Gene Roddenberry on 10 September 1968 . In that same document , de Forest also noted that the source of Garth ' s name was Thomas Garth ( 1872 - 1939 ) , who was an American psychologist and a world authority on racial traits and psychology . In , an illustration of Garth of Izar can be seen while Data is assimilating the Dixon Hill novels . This illustration was from the FASA RPG module " The Federation " . Garth of Izar was one candidate rumored to possibly be an antagonist in the film . Before the movie was released , a name for the villain was revealed to be " John Harrison " , though whether this was his actual name or merely an alias was undisclosed . , in the lead - up to the film ' s release , speculated a fifty - five percent probability that the character would turn out to be Garth of Izar . ( ) Apocrypha . Garth of Izar was the main antagonist in the popular comic book storyline " Who Killed Captain Kirk ? " from DC TOS volume 1 . As revealed in the issue " Finnegan ' s Wake ! " , after his rehabilitation , Garth was put into menial tasks as Starfleet was afraid of letting " damaged goods " return to duty . Frustrated , Garth escaped and sought revenge against the Federation and Kirk in particular . The RPG sourcebook " The Federation " , gives him the first name Kelvar . According to another sourcebook , " The Four Years War " , Garth commanded the Marklin - class destroyer USS Xenophon and defended the planet Axanar from a Klingon invasion . A sequel novel to was written and published by Pocket Books in 2002 , entitled " " . The novel established that Garth ' s ship at the time of his injury was the USS " Heisenberg " , and that when his crew attempted to relieve him of command , Garth vaporized his first and second officers with a phaser before he was subdued . The novel depicted a now - rehabilitated Garth assisting the crew in averting a civil war on Antos IV , some of whose inhabitants had taken up arms after their initial encounter with Garth . Garth ' s mirror universe counterpart , Kelvar Leonard Garth , appeared in the novel " The Sorrows of Empire " ; he was the Grand Admiral of the Imperial Starfleet and , like his prime universe counterpart , he possessed the shape - changing ability taught by the Antosians . Correctly guessing the true nature of ' s rise to power using the Tantalus field , Garth ran afoul of the same chess solution that foiled his prime counterpart in , before he was himself " disappeared " by the device - courtesy of . His co - conspirators involved the mirror counterparts of Marta and Governor Cory . Garth was succeeded as commander of Starfleet by the mirror counterpart of Matt Decker . In the " Myriad Universes " story " A Less Perfect Union " , which took place in an alternate timeline in which John Frederick Paxton destroyed Starfleet Command and ended the talks for the Coalition of Planets in 2155 , Garth served as the commander - in - chief of the United Earth Starfleet during the early 2260s . He was the youngest person to have held that position , having been appointed to it following his victory at the First Battle of Axanar . Garth was known for his low tolerance for failure among his subordinates . In 2264 , he attended an " unofficial " meeting in which he , Admiral James Komack , and Prime Minister Carter Winston informed Captain Christopher Pike of the that he was to transport Lady T ' Pol and Ambassador s Nancy Hedford and to Babel where they were to petition for United Earth ' s admission into the .