Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 established that then-Lieutenant Kirk was the youngest First Officer in Starfleet when he was promoted to the USS Farragut's Number One. Jim beat the previous record set by his father, Lieutenant George Kirk, to the chagrin of James' older brother, Lieutenant Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte).

Strange New Worlds involves a lot of time travel, so this isn’t actually the first time the show has put some variation of Kirk in the captain’s chair. Wesley’s version of Kirk was introduced in the season 1 finale as the aggressive commander of the USS Farragut,

We're so used to seeing James T. Kirk be the most confident person in any room, even in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. To see him so shaken and upset after his first taste of acting as captain was truly jarring, but ultimately made for one of the most compelling episodes of Season 3.