• The Wikipedia entry for James T. Kirk  tells more about how Legendary Kirk is.. it says Kirk "earned a Field commission as an ensign and posted to advanced training aboard the USS Republic, that Kirk graduated in the top five percent from Starfleet Academy, Terry J. Erdman & Paula M. Block in the Star Trek 101 primer say Kirk is "cunning, courageous and confident, Kirk also has a tendency to ignore Starfleet regulations when he feels the end justifies the means" and that Kirk is "The quintessential officer, a man among men and a hero for the ages" Shatner wanted to fill Kirk with "awe and wonder" absent from the "The Cage" pilot episode , Shatner took inspiration from the ancient Greek ruler  Alexander the Great "the athlete and intellectual of his time" when playing Kirk, and Shatner based Kirk partly on himself, A comedy veteran, Shatner suggested making the shows characters as comfortable working in space as they would be  at sea. Thus having Kirk be a humorous "good-pal-the-captain, who in time of need would snap to and become the warrior." Shatner said Kirk was a man who marveled and greatly appreciated the endless surprises presented to him by the universe.. He didn't take things for granted and more than anything else, respected life in every one of it's weird weekly adventure forms, Slate.com described Shatner's Kirk as "expansive, randy,faintly ridiculous, and yet supremely capable leader of men, Falstaffian in his love of life and largeness of spirit" The Myth of the American SuperHero describes Kirk as a "superhuman redeemer" who "Like a true superhero regularly escapes after risking battle with monsters on enemy spaceships, The Last Lecture author Randy Pausch believed he became a better teacher, colleague, and husband because he watched Kirk run the Enterprise and for ambitious boys with a scientific bent, there could be no greater role model than James T. Kirk" David A. Goodman says Kirk "has as much reality as possible for a fictional character" and about Chris Pine's portrayal of Kirk in the 2009 "Star Trek" reboot film,  it's says Kirk's legacy was being honored and protected, and that the spirit of Kirk was very much alive and well in Pine's depiction, Pine said he wanted his portrayal of Kirk to most resemble Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones & Han Solo characters highlighting their humor and "accidental hero" traits