Seven ways they could have improved... Star Trek (2009)
— Instead of having the Kobayashi Maru test be the reason Kirk gets in trouble, present it as the original reason Spock considers him a risk to Starfleet. Don't have Spock be the test's creator; just have him be the one who places a formal complaint against Kirk's cheating. Kirk is cleared (as in the original timeline), but this creates animosity between him and Spock. — After this, fast-forward at least a year, with Kirk serving as a junior officer on the newly-commissioned Enterprise, under Captain Pike, with Spock as First Officer. When the attack on Vulcan comes, the Enterprise is delayed, Kirk freaks out and points out that it's a trap... and is proven right. The Enterprise takes major hits, killing several officers, and then when Pike is summoned by Nero, he makes Spock acting Captain and Kirk acting First Officer. This last choice is now far more realistic, since Kirk has been actively serving for at least a year (instead of being an academy student on discipli...