 Khan makes his introductory appearance in the episode " Space Seed " , first broadcast on February 16 , 1967 . According to the backstory revealed in the episode , Khan is one of a group of genetically engineered superhumans , bred to be free of the usual human mental and physical limitations , who were removed from power after the Eugenics Wars of the 1990s . Khan had been both the most successful conqueror and the most benign ruler of the group , ruling more than a quarter of the Earth 's area across Asia to the Middle East from 1992 to 1996 with a firm but generally peaceful hand until he was deposed . While most of the supermen were killed or sentenced to death , Khan and 84 others escaped Earth by way of the sleeper ship SS Botany Bay . Botany Bay is discovered by the crew of the Starship Enterprise in 2267 , with Khan and 72 of the 84 crew members of Botany Bay still alive , cryogenically frozen in suspended animation . 
