To the person saying Pike should do more, I can think of only one way they could do anything with Pike outside of making him an "M" or "Commissioner Gordon" type character. It's an idea I like to call:
The New Menagerie AKA "Spock Caged": I have this fanon idea that "The Cage" still happened. Y'see, "The Cage" happened in the Prime Reality in 2254, since the Enterprise had already been launched by then. But in the altered reality it's 2258 when the Enterprise launches. So you'd think that "The Cage" never happened... BUT, remember:
-Pike is Earthbound in 2255, doing recruiting. He apparently does not have a ship, he's apparently waiting for the Enterprise to finish up. But I doubt he'd be getting such a great gig as the Federation Flagship without having done some great stuff before, no matter how good that dissertation about the Kelvin was.
-It is noted in the movie that Spock was one of SFA's most distinguished graduates and that he'd been doing Kobayashi Maru programming for 4 years (since 2254, when he'd be about 22). Yet I doubt that a "graduate" would be considered "distinguished" if he was on Terra Firma most of the time: Spock must have had some time aboard a operational vessel seeking out new life, etc. etc.
So here's what I think happened:
-So anyway, here's my idea: In early 2254, Captain Christopher Pike, aboard the USS Yorktown, traveled to Talos IV with a young Half-Vulcan named Spock (straight out of the academy!), a intelligent woman named Number One, etc. What they found there so shocked Starfleet Command that it was classified to only the highest ranked of eyes, and a General Order (7) was put out: anyone who visits or approaches Talos IV FOR ANY REASON will be put.... to death.
-Pike, however, was so affected by the experience that he decided to transfer off the Yorktown and instead do recruiting for SFA for a few years, and eventually become the captain of Starfleet's new flagship, USS Enterprise.
-Spock just plain old went back to SFA and became a instructor for a few years. He so impressed Pike in early '54, however, that Pike decided he'd be the First Officer when the Enterprise launches.
So anyway, here's my idea: The (23rd century) Romulan Empire (although you could easily replace it with Klingons, Tholians, Orions or Gorn) has decided to take advantage of the UFP's weakened situation (no more Planet Vulcan, many Starships destroyed, Earth having been attacked, etc.) and make a grab for power by raiding the outskirts of Federation territory and attacking Starfleet ships that dare to explore beyond the safety of the Federation. The Enterprise, having begun a 5-year mission of exploration, would be surveying a previously uncharted world (one that is uninhabitable but contains highly valuable resources) a couple LYs away from Talos when the attack comes. In the heat of battle, Kirk would be forced to leave the shuttle containing Spock, Uhura, Nurse Chapel and Ensigns Deadmeat, Cannonfodder and Cupcake behind, but would make a decree that he will come back for them. However, the problem is that the shuttle does not have enough supplies etc to last very long, so the shuttle has to go to the nearest M-class planet.... Talos IV.
There would be two threads: There'd be the general action of Kirk and rest of the Enterprise crew trying to fight off the Romulans/Klingons/Gorn/Whatever, and there would be the drama on Talos IV, where Spock and friends would be once again mentally probed by the Talosians (Spock, of course, would no doubt be taunted with images of Vulcan, his dead mother and having to choose between Uhura and Nurse Chapel, who would be the more logical [no pun intended] love interest for him). Then of course after the RomuKlinGorn raid is over there would be all the arguments between Kirk, Bones and Starfleet Command over whether to go rescue the shuttle. Kirk would win this argument, and if he didn't he'd just go anyway.
It'd never happen, but I think it'd be pretty cool.
