Dunno if this issue has been raised. It struck me like a diamond bullet when I got ST11 and watched it a couple of nights ago.
And no, it's not about not going with Kirk and Scotty to help Universe 2's heroes. That's potentially reckless, but it is admittedly hard to see what good an old Vulcan would have done, other than dictating the correct course of action by dint of his vastly superior experience and knowledge... but I digress.
In the close of the film, we see Spock-2 bearing down on the Narada in the Jellyfish, holding tank chock full of red matter, which he fully expects will "ignite" on impact--and take him with it. The Jellyfish is clearly capable of evading or enduring the punishment of the Romulan vessel for the timeframe necessary to deliver a kamikaze attack, even while piloted by an inexperienced Spock-2.
Earlier, however, Spock-1 essentially surrendered the Jellyfish to Nero. It is not apparent that he attempted to flee. It is clear that if he had thoughts about fighting, these quickly receded. There is nothing that suggests that Spock-1 could not have done exactly what his younger, alternate self did an hour later, and smashed the Jellyfish into the Narada, "igniting" the red matter, and probably destroying both. Failing everything else, he could've smashed open the containment unit, or blown up his own ship, with exactly the same results.
Even if you argue that the Narada would have survived the ensuing black hole, the red matter itself would have been expended, and the black hole generated at the edge of the Narada's hull definitely damaged it. At the least, Spock-1 had the capability of denying Nero the weapon of planetary annihilation that he would later use on Vulcan and attempt to use on Earth.
So, why the heck did Spock-1 not give his life? He had every reason to, and we have good reason to expect this valiance from him, of all people: 1)Nero and the other Romulans cannot be trusted with a weapon of great power; 2)Spock is perfectly capable of supreme sacrifice; 3)it's not like he's got a home to go back to anyway.
The counter-argument is that Spock thought he could reason with Nero, but this seems really unlikely.
Spock-1 could have ended the threat of Nero in the 23d century and saved Vulcan-2 (and a lot of starships, and Pike-2's spine). But instead he surrendered. It's extremely curious.
Couple of closing points--I like ST11. Its structure is so deeply, deeply flawed, but it's a hell of a lot of fun. Also, I prefer "Spock-1" over the more conventional "Spock Prime" nomenclature. Every good DC fan knows that "Prime" designates our non-fictional universe!
And no, it's not about not going with Kirk and Scotty to help Universe 2's heroes. That's potentially reckless, but it is admittedly hard to see what good an old Vulcan would have done, other than dictating the correct course of action by dint of his vastly superior experience and knowledge... but I digress.
In the close of the film, we see Spock-2 bearing down on the Narada in the Jellyfish, holding tank chock full of red matter, which he fully expects will "ignite" on impact--and take him with it. The Jellyfish is clearly capable of evading or enduring the punishment of the Romulan vessel for the timeframe necessary to deliver a kamikaze attack, even while piloted by an inexperienced Spock-2.
Earlier, however, Spock-1 essentially surrendered the Jellyfish to Nero. It is not apparent that he attempted to flee. It is clear that if he had thoughts about fighting, these quickly receded. There is nothing that suggests that Spock-1 could not have done exactly what his younger, alternate self did an hour later, and smashed the Jellyfish into the Narada, "igniting" the red matter, and probably destroying both. Failing everything else, he could've smashed open the containment unit, or blown up his own ship, with exactly the same results.
Even if you argue that the Narada would have survived the ensuing black hole, the red matter itself would have been expended, and the black hole generated at the edge of the Narada's hull definitely damaged it. At the least, Spock-1 had the capability of denying Nero the weapon of planetary annihilation that he would later use on Vulcan and attempt to use on Earth.
So, why the heck did Spock-1 not give his life? He had every reason to, and we have good reason to expect this valiance from him, of all people: 1)Nero and the other Romulans cannot be trusted with a weapon of great power; 2)Spock is perfectly capable of supreme sacrifice; 3)it's not like he's got a home to go back to anyway.
The counter-argument is that Spock thought he could reason with Nero, but this seems really unlikely.
Spock-1 could have ended the threat of Nero in the 23d century and saved Vulcan-2 (and a lot of starships, and Pike-2's spine). But instead he surrendered. It's extremely curious.
Couple of closing points--I like ST11. Its structure is so deeply, deeply flawed, but it's a hell of a lot of fun. Also, I prefer "Spock-1" over the more conventional "Spock Prime" nomenclature. Every good DC fan knows that "Prime" designates our non-fictional universe!
