 Superficially , Khan has been compared to Friedrich Nietzsche 's concept of the " Übermensch " ( superman or overman ) . Khan is mentally and physically superior to any normal human . In the Star Trek : Enterprise episode " Borderland " , Malik , the leader of a group of " supermen " created from the same genetic engineering project as Khan , quotes Nietzsche , telling Archer that " Mankind is something to be surpassed " . Professor William J. Devlin and coauthor Shai Biderman examined Khan 's character compared to the Übermensch and found that Khan 's blind pursuit of revenge is against Nietzsche 's ideals of transcendence and self @-@ creation of a meaningful life . Instead , the authors offer Spock 's self @-@ sacrifice in The Wrath of Khan as a better example of the Übermensch . 
