Summary
- McCoy quit Starfleet as a tribute to Kirk, not out of anger or insult.
- McCoy didn't feel safe going on missions without Kirk and believed no other captain could protect him like Kirk did.
- McCoy's decision to leave Starfleet was driven by his lack of trust in any other captain.
Star Trek’s Doctor McCoy quit Starfleet as a tribute, not an insult, to Captain Kirk. When Star Trek returned to live-action in 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture, some of the Enterprise’s senior officers, including Spock and Doctor McCoy, had left Starfleet. Their reasons for doing so were never explored on screen, but in Star Trek: Mission’s End #5, McCoy’s reason for leaving the service is finally revealed–and it is a tribute to his friend Kirk.
Star Trek: Mission’s End #5 is written by Ty Templeton and drawn by Steve Molnar. As the Enterprise’s original five-year mission comes to an end, Kirk is preparing for a promotion to iral, which McCoy cannot believe. Because of Kirk’s decision, McCoy decides to leave Starfleet. He explains that he does not feel safe going on missions without Kirk, and that he believes in Starfleet, but does not necessarily believe in dying for it.
McCoy confesses he has no faith in any other Starfleet captain.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture Left a Lot Unexplained--Such as Why Doctor McCoy Left Starfleet
As soon as NBC cancelled the original Star Trek series in 1969, fans began tirelessly working to bring it back, culminating in the release of Star Trek: The Motion PIcture a decade later. In that movie, the Enterprise’s “trinity” of Kirk, Spock and Doctor McCoy, had gone their separate ways: Kirk took a desk job and Spock and McCoy left Starfleet altogether. McCoy initially had no interest in returning, forcing Kirk to essentially “draft” him. Kirk was able to convince Doctor McCoy to stay on board, but why he left in the first place was never revealed.
For years, many fans believed Doctor McCoy left Starfleet out of anger towards Kirk over taking a promotion. McCoy felt that Kirk was not meant to be a paper pusher. Kirk has butted heads with irals on many occasions, and McCoy believed this was the wrong avenue for Kirk to take. For the entirety of Kirk’s time as iral, McCoy was never comfortable with it, expressing his concerns to Kirk on the eve of his birthday in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. He (rightfully) saw that the iralty was not right for Kirk.
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McCoy paid Captain Kirk the Ultimate Tribute
Now, thanks to Star Trek: Mission’s End, fans finally know that McCoy left not because he was mad at Kirk, but because he did not trust any other captain. Doctor McCoy was on the high-strung side, as seen in several episodes, but most notably in the 2009 JJ Abrams’ reboot. In one scene, McCoy laments all the potential ways one can die in space. McCoy was an anxious individual who was continually put in highly dangerous situations. Captain Kirk got him out of every single one, and McCoy did not believe anyone else could do this–leading to his decision to leave Starfleet.
