 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 <unk> 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 . 
