Quantum (James Bond)
Encyclopedia
Quantum is a fictional criminal organization, featured as the antagonist
s in the James Bond
films Casino Royale
, and its sequel, Quantum of Solace. The organization prefers to remain in the shadows, and is known to contract third parties to avoid implicating itself. It is connected to the highest circles of government and corporate power in the world; among its known leaders, two are major business magnates, one a well-connected environmental activist, and one a special adviser to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
.
from the Casino Royale
novel, and subsequently became a sort of successor or revision to both SMERSH from the early novels and SPECTRE
from the early years of the film series. Their name derives from the short story "Quantum of Solace" published in For Your Eyes Only, which was also used as the film's title. One of the organization's trademarks is that the leaders of Quantum mostly are chauffered around in black Jaguar XJ
s
. The film's main villain, Le Chiffre
, is a private banker for international terrorists with connections to the organization. At the beginning of the movie, Mr. White introduces Le Chiffre to Steven Obanno, a feared leader in the Lord's Resistance Army
, who entrusts him with his money. Le Chiffre then loses the money while playing the stock market, and again in a high stakes poker game with Bond; Mr. White hears of this and executes him towards the end of the movie, stating that "money's not as valuable to our organization as knowing who to trust." In reality, he executed Le Chiffre to allow Bond (the only person who knew the password to the money) to remain alive so they could steal it.
However, these events alert the American CIA and British Secret Intelligence Service
to Quantum's existence. One of the organization's moles inside the British government, Vesper Lynd
, falls in love with Bond and gives him information on Mr. White before committing suicide. At the end of the movie, Bond tracks down and captures Mr. White, shooting him in the leg and putting him in the trunk of his car. However, he quickly escapes at the beginning of the next movie with the help of a blackmailed MI6 agent who shoots up the room they're in, after warning M that "the first thing you should know about us is that we have people everywhere."
Quantum of Solace features Bond chasing Dominic Greene
, one of Quantum's top leaders. Greene plans to create a coup d'état in Bolivia, installing his associate General Medrano as the country's new dictator, in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land on the Atacama desert
, which will give Greene and Quantum complete control of the nation's water supply. The coup is thwarted just in time by Bond and Camille Montes of Bolivian Intelligence. Bond interrogates Greene and then abandons him in the middle of the desert; Greene is later found dead with two bullets in the back of his head, presumably killed by Quantum for his failure.
By the end of the movie, Bond and MI6 are aware of Quantum's name and finally have one of its members, Yusef Kabira, in custody; however, Mr. White is still at large and the organization has not been dismantled.
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
s in the James Bond
James Bond (film series)
The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
films Casino Royale
Casino Royale (2006 film)
Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
, and its sequel, Quantum of Solace. The organization prefers to remain in the shadows, and is known to contract third parties to avoid implicating itself. It is connected to the highest circles of government and corporate power in the world; among its known leaders, two are major business magnates, one a well-connected environmental activist, and one a special adviser to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
.
Concept and creation
Quantum filled in for SMERSHSMERSH (James Bond)
SMERSH is a Soviet counterintelligence agency featured in Ian Fleming's early James Bond novels as agent 007's nemesis. СМЕРШ is an acronym from two Russian words: "SMERt' SHpionam" meaning "Death to Spies"...
from the Casino Royale
Casino Royale (novel)
Casino Royale is Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel. It paved the way for a further eleven novels by Fleming himself, in addition to two short story collections, followed by many "continuation" Bond novels by other authors....
novel, and subsequently became a sort of successor or revision to both SMERSH from the early novels and SPECTRE
SPECTRE
SPECTRE is a fictional global terrorist organisation featured in the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming, the films based on those novels, and James Bond video games...
from the early years of the film series. Their name derives from the short story "Quantum of Solace" published in For Your Eyes Only, which was also used as the film's title. One of the organization's trademarks is that the leaders of Quantum mostly are chauffered around in black Jaguar XJ
Jaguar XJ
Jaguar XJ is the designation that has been used for a series of luxury saloon cars sold under the British Jaguar marque. The first XJ was launched in 1968 and the designation has been used for successive Jaguar flagship models since then. The original model was the last Jaguar saloon to have had...
s
Appearances
In Casino Royale, Quantum is featured in the background but not named; it is represented only through its middleman, Mr. WhiteMr. White (James Bond)
Mr. White is a fictional character and antagonist played by Jesper Christensen in the James Bond films Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace....
. The film's main villain, Le Chiffre
Le Chiffre
Le Chiffre is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. On screen Le Chiffre has been portrayed by Peter Lorre in the 1954 television adaptation of the novel for CBS's Climax! television series, by Orson Welles in the 1967 spoof of the novel and...
, is a private banker for international terrorists with connections to the organization. At the beginning of the movie, Mr. White introduces Le Chiffre to Steven Obanno, a feared leader in the Lord's Resistance Army
Lord's Resistance Army
The Lord's Resistance Army insurgency is an ongoing guerrilla campaign waged since 1987 by the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group, operating mainly in northern Uganda, but also in South Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, who entrusts him with his money. Le Chiffre then loses the money while playing the stock market, and again in a high stakes poker game with Bond; Mr. White hears of this and executes him towards the end of the movie, stating that "money's not as valuable to our organization as knowing who to trust." In reality, he executed Le Chiffre to allow Bond (the only person who knew the password to the money) to remain alive so they could steal it.
However, these events alert the American CIA and British Secret Intelligence Service
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
to Quantum's existence. One of the organization's moles inside the British government, Vesper Lynd
Vesper Lynd
Vesper Lynd is a fictional character featured in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. The name is a pun on "West Berlin". It has been claimed that Fleming based Lynd on the real life Special Operations Executive agent Christine Granville. In the 1967 film of Casino Royale, she is played by...
, falls in love with Bond and gives him information on Mr. White before committing suicide. At the end of the movie, Bond tracks down and captures Mr. White, shooting him in the leg and putting him in the trunk of his car. However, he quickly escapes at the beginning of the next movie with the help of a blackmailed MI6 agent who shoots up the room they're in, after warning M that "the first thing you should know about us is that we have people everywhere."
Quantum of Solace features Bond chasing Dominic Greene
Dominic Greene
Dominic Greene is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace. He is portrayed by French actor Mathieu Amalric.-In the film:...
, one of Quantum's top leaders. Greene plans to create a coup d'état in Bolivia, installing his associate General Medrano as the country's new dictator, in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land on the Atacama desert
Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert is a plateau in South America, covering a strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes mountains. It is, according to NASA, National Geographic and many other publications, the driest desert in the world...
, which will give Greene and Quantum complete control of the nation's water supply. The coup is thwarted just in time by Bond and Camille Montes of Bolivian Intelligence. Bond interrogates Greene and then abandons him in the middle of the desert; Greene is later found dead with two bullets in the back of his head, presumably killed by Quantum for his failure.
By the end of the movie, Bond and MI6 are aware of Quantum's name and finally have one of its members, Yusef Kabira, in custody; however, Mr. White is still at large and the organization has not been dismantled.
Known members and associates
Bond's major Quantum antagonists are bolded.- Dominic GreeneDominic GreeneDominic Greene is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace. He is portrayed by French actor Mathieu Amalric.-In the film:...
– leader of Quantum's Tierra Project and a major player in the organization. Ran an environmentalist corporation called Greene Planet. Assassinated for betraying Quantum.- Edmund Slate – a freelance assassin hired by Greene to murder Camille Montes. Stabbed in the neck and then the leg with scissors by Bond.
- Elvis – Greene's main subordinate. Blown up.
- Mr. WhiteMr. White (James Bond)Mr. White is a fictional character and antagonist played by Jesper Christensen in the James Bond films Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace....
– Quantum's representative between Obanno and Le Chiffre. Still at large.- Le ChiffreLe ChiffreLe Chiffre is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. On screen Le Chiffre has been portrayed by Peter Lorre in the 1954 television adaptation of the novel for CBS's Climax! television series, by Orson Welles in the 1967 spoof of the novel and...
– private banker to major terrorists who are introduced through Quantum, until Mr. White executes him. Shot in the head. - Adolph Gettler – a Quantum operative with a Jericho 941Jericho 941The Jericho 941 is a double action/single action semi-automatic pistol developed by Israel Weapon Industries and introduced to the market in 1990 as the Jericho 941. It was first imported into the US in 1990 by K.B.I., Inc. of Harrisburg, PA. It was later imported by O.F. Mossberg & Sons and named...
and one darkened eyeglass lens sent to retrieve money coerced from Vesper LyndVesper LyndVesper Lynd is a fictional character featured in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. The name is a pun on "West Berlin". It has been claimed that Fleming based Lynd on the real life Special Operations Executive agent Christine Granville. In the 1967 film of Casino Royale, she is played by...
; Mr. White's second-in-command. Shot in darkened lense with a nail gun by Bond once his security team is decimated in a colapsing venetian palazzo. - Craig Mitchell – a deep cover Quantum operative who deceived both MM (James Bond)M is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. The head of MI6 and Bond's superior, M has been portrayed by three actors in the official Bond film series: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and since 1995 by Judi Dench. Background =Ian Fleming...
and Bond. Shot by Bond after a tense standoff in a Siena art gallery when Mitchell wasn't quick enough retrieving his SIG-Sauer P226. - "Tall Man" – Gettler's subordinate in Venice. Crushed by elevator.
- Le Chiffre
- Yusef Kabira – a Quantum operative who functions as a honeypotHoneypotHoneypot or honeytrap may refer to:* A pot used to store honey* Espionage recruitment involving sexual seduction in** reality** fiction* A type of sting operation such as a** Bait car...
to deceive foreign intelligence agents (first Vesper LyndVesper LyndVesper Lynd is a fictional character featured in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. The name is a pun on "West Berlin". It has been claimed that Fleming based Lynd on the real life Special Operations Executive agent Christine Granville. In the 1967 film of Casino Royale, she is played by...
, then Corrine). Arrested. - Guy Haines – Quantum leader among those identified by TannerBill TannerBill Tanner is a fictional character in the James Bond film and novel series.-Character summary:Superb in a crisis, and blessed with a dry sense of humour, Tanner is M's Chief of Staff. He is also Bond's staunchest ally in the Service, and they often enjoy a round of golf when off-duty...
using Bond's photos from the Tosca opera; private advisor to the Prime Minister. Still at large. - Gregor Karakov – Quantum leader among those identified by Tanner using Bond's photos from the Tosca opera; former minister, now owns most of the mines in Siberia. Still at large.
- Moishe Soref – Quantum leader among those identified by Tanner using Bond's photos from the Tosca opera; former MossadMossadThe Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
, now telecom giant. Still at large. - "Man with Gift Bag" – a Quantum member at the Tosca opera; Bond incapacitates him and uses his earpiece to spy on the organization's leadership.
- Numerous heavily armed henchmen and sleeper agents.