On the other hand, Both the Vulcan Nerve Pinch and Data's Resilience are probably best seen as Racial Abilites rather than class-based ones.
If racial mechanics are going to be separate from class mechanics, then Star Trek doesn't seem to be a particularly useful guide--there simply isn't enough variation in combat styles.
On the opposite end, we have superheroes. Their Combat styles are so differentiated that they're obviously not useful when determining class abilities, but I think they're a useful case study in that:
a) Supergroups represent well-defined adventuring parties. The Enterprise Bridge Crew doesn't all beam down to the planet each week, but The Fantastic Four all show up when A monster tries to destroy Manhattan.
b) From a space-sharing standpoint, they're a good guide to what works and what doesn't. Wolverine and Colossus can work on the same team even though they're both defenders, but Kitty Pride and Jubilee seems redundant.
Case study--The Fantastic Four:
Mr. Fantastic:
In combat, I think he's probably a controller or a defender. His elasticity is tough to place, because it lets him be a serious hindrance to one powerful foe, or to literally spread himself across the entire map. His super-science practically makes him the party wizard--definitely a controller role--but is often reserved for out-of-combat uses.
And speaking of out-of-combat, Reed is pretty clearly a sage. It's interesting to note, though, that Reed Richards the Sage is very different from Sherlock Holmes the sage, in that one is very technical and hands-on, and the other is purely descriptive and theoretical. Perhaps "Guy who builds stuff" is an entirely different archetype than Sage.
The Invisible Girl:
In Combat, Sue is probably a Leader. Sure, her primary role is to defend, but she doesn't accomplish that by interposing herself between the bad guy and the squishy folks--indeed, she is one of the squishy folks. I see her shielding powers to be much more akin to a cleric's healing than to anything that a fighter does.
Out of Combat, Sue's probably pure sage. She's almost as accomplished as a scientist as Reed, but much less hands on, much more purely analytical.
The Human Torch:
Maneuverable and blasty, Johnny is an exemplar striker. Out of Combat, he's probably the face--he's got a little bit of star quality, and tends to be friendlier with outsiders simple because he's not too nerdy, grumpy, or just plain shy.
The Thing:
Defender, probably. He's a classic fighter (good melee, can shrug of hits well), but he doesn't evidence any of the 'stickiness' that fighters and paladins are supposed to be getting this time around.
Out of Combat is tougher. Ben is a pilot, which suggests guide, but that seems like a pretty minor part of his character. Ben is gruff, imposing, and entirely without tact--it seems like his contribution is almost that of an anti-face: to stir up trouble. Not sure how you'd translate that into RPG terms, though.
