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#4: Lt. Commander Worf

  Hey, I didn't say all my subjects had to be human! For the uninitiated, Worf is part of the Star Trek universe, coming from a warrior race of people known as Klingons(put the static jokes on hold please). This is a group of people with a culture rooted in violence, war, drunkenness, and other forms of generally obnoxious behavior. One might say they resemble the ancient Viking explorers in some ways. Of course, this is not to say that's all they're about.
  Underneath the thrill of battles and blood wine is a strong sense of honor and pride in their heritage. Klingons are exceedingly loyal to family, country and tradition...and will shun any of those with equal fervor if betrayal is discovered. As the first Klingon officer to ever serve in the Earth-based Starfleet, what qualifies Worf to hold the #4 mantle here is his ability to filter out many of the negative aspects of his native culture, and reconcile the virtuous ones that remain with the mores of the human society he calls home.
  After his birth parents were killed in battle, he was subsequently adopted and raised by a Russian couple. His stepfather was also a Starfleet officer, which serve to inspire Worf, out of his sense of honor, to follow in his footsteps. Over the course of his Starfleet service, Worf would face much criticism from fellow Klingons for his perceived "softening" under human influence, as well as pressure to leave Starfleet and rejoin his own people.
  While he valued the culture he came from and sometimes became wistful with the thought of being apart from it, his time in human surroundings served to temper(although not completely eliminate) the primal impulses that coursed through his blood. An inborn lust for combat was channeled into a fierce courage and unyielding sense of fairness and justice. And occasionally, a slight joke or some other random act of light-heartedness would slip through the dour persona he carried around.
  The story of Worf is one of lifelong struggle between instinct and conscience, to which I liken the Christian's struggle against sin. Two ideals, always at war, each seeking to gain dominion over the other. The quest to transcend this battle, and the success it brings to those faithful in pursuing it and in forging a solid trail for themselves, makes this divided warrior a compelling example of Essential overcoming.