It’s Spock against Riker in a battle of Star Trek seconds-in-command

polygon.com:

They were both first officers of the U.S.S. Enterprise — separated by time, but not by duty. But for some reason, rarely does anyone think to compare Mr. Spock and Commander Riker. Until now.

Ever since Jean-Luc Picard took the helm of the Enterprise-D and set out for Farpoint Station (it was Stardate 41153.7, but late September 1987 to us on Earth) people have agonized over whether he was a “better” captain than James T. Kirk. Indeed, for those of us old enough to remember, it felt like the primary topic of conversation on theearly internet, as evidenced by The Simpsons’s first ever reference to theWorld Wide Web.

Typically, when talk left the center seat, the next point of comparison was between The Original Series’ Spock and The Next Generation’s Lieutenant Commander Data. It makes sense. Story-wise, they serve a similar function: They are the geniuses that are clutch to the ship’s survival, but forever on the periphery. Spock, of course, is the half-Vulcan, tamping down his emotions in favor of cold logic, and Data is an android of such superior (though never quite explained) design that even the sniveling Commander Maddox agrees he is sentient. Both characters were immediate fan favorites (and remain so) and the formula was repeated again in later series, with Odo on Deep Space Nine and Seven of Nine on Voyager. (Much has beenwritten about Star Trek’s groundbreaking neurodivergent representation, even if some of the creators claim to have beenunaware that that was what they were doing.)

Even thoughStarfleet is not a military organization it does follow a chain of command. Spock and Riker function as equals and, if they ever were to be on opposing sides, one must wonder: who would win? Let’s break the competition