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SPECTRE
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SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) 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. Led by evil genius and supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the organisation first formally appeared in the novel Thunderball (1961) and in the movie Dr. No (1962).
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Encyclopedia
SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) 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. Led by evil genius and supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the organisation first formally appeared in the novel Thunderball (1961) and in the movie Dr. No (1962). SPECTRE is unaligned to any nation or political ideology, enabling the later Bond books and Bond films to be regarded as apolitical. SPECTRE began in the novels as a small group of criminals; but became a vast international organisation with its own SPECTRE Island training base in the films.
Philosophy and goals
In Ian Fleming's novels, SPECTRE is a commercial enterprise led by Blofeld. Their membership comprises 18 individuals, three each from the world's six great criminal organisations—the Gestapo, SMERSH, Marshal Tito's secret police, the highland Turks, the Mafia, and the Union Corse. Their debut appearance in Thunderball is concerned chiefly with "Plan Omega," a plot to capture two nuclear weapons from NATO for a ransom of 100 million pounds. The organisation is next mentioned in The Spy Who Loved Me, when Bond describes investigating their activities in Toronto before the story begins.
The organisation's third appearance is in On Her Majesty's Secret Service where Blofeld, hired by an unnamed country or party (though the Soviet Union is implied) is executing a plan to ruin British agriculture. Blofeld, without SPECTRE would appear for the final time in You Only Live Twice.
In the films, the goal of the organisation is world domination. To achieve this, the basic strategy of the organisation is illustrated by the analogy of the three Siamese fighting fish Blofeld keeps in an aquarium in the film version of From Russia with Love. Blofeld notes that one fish is refraining from fighting two others until their fight is concluded. Then, that cunning fish attacks the weakened victor and kills it easily. Thus SPECTRE's main strategy is to instigate conflict between two powerful enemies, namely the superpowers, hoping that they will exhaust themselves and be vulnerable when SPECTRE finally moves in to seize power.
However, it should be noted that this goal of world domination was only ever stated in You Only Live Twice, and Blofeld does not say that SPECTRE will be the dominant power. He is seen earlier in the film speaking with two unidentified Asian men and it is stated he is working for their government. This is likely either Japan- only because SPECTRE's base in the film is situated in that country, or more likely North Korea or Red China, which had split from the Soviet Union by that time and in the third film were the backers of Goldfinger. SPECTRE's goals in the other films it has appeared in have always been less lofty.
In both the film and the novel Thunderball, the physical headquarters of the organisation are laid in Paris, operating behind the front of an international organisation aiding refugees (Firco in the novels; International Brotherhood for the Assistance of Stateless Persons in the films).
Organisational discipline is notoriously draconian with the penalty for disobedience or failure being death. As quoted by Blofeld on several occasions: "This organisation does not tolerate failure". Furthermore, to heighten the impact of the executions, Blofeld often chooses to focus attention on an innocent member, making it appear his death is imminent, only to suddenly strike down the actual target when that person is off guard.
Fleming's SPECTRE has elements inspired by mafia syndicates and organized crime rings that were actively hunted by law enforcement in the 1950s. The strict codes of loyalty and silence, and the hard retributions that followed violations, were hallmarks of U.S. gangster rings, Mafia, the Unione Corse, the Chinese Tongs/Triads and the Japanese Yakuza/Black Dragon Society.
Leadership
SPECTRE is headed by the supervillain, Ernst Stavro Blofeld who usually appears accompanied by a white Persian cat in the movies, but not in the books. In both the films and the novels, Emilio Largo is the second in command. It is stated in the novel that if something were to happen to Blofeld, Largo would assume command. Largo appears for the first and only time in Thunderball and also in the unofficial James Bond film Never Say Never Again.
In the novels, the numbers of members were initially assigned at random and then rotated by two digits every month to prevent detection. For example, if one was Number 1 this month, he would be Number 3 next month. At the time of Thunderball, the leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, has been assigned "Number 2", while Emilio Largo is assigned "Number 1". In the films the number indicates rank: Blofeld is always referred to as "Number 1" and Emilio Largo, in Thunderball, is "Number 2".
The SPECTRE cabinet had a total of 21 members. Blofeld was the chairman and leader because he founded the organisation and Largo was elected by the cabinet to be second in command.
This particular example of numbering is perhaps deliberately borrowed from revolutionary organisations, wherein members exist in cells, and are numerically defined to prevent identification and cross-betrayal of aims. By deliberately drawing attention away from the true leader of the organisation, he is protected by masquerading as a target of lower importance, and the structure of the organisation is also obscured from intelligence services.
Appearances
Novels
In the original Bond novel series, SPECTRE's first and last appearance as a worldwide power is in the novel Thunderball, published in 1961. In the novel, SPECTRE, headed by Blofeld, attempts to conduct nuclear blackmail against NATO. Apparently disbanded afterwards, SPECTRE is said to be active again in the next book, The Spy Who Loved Me although the organisation is not involved in the plot. In On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the second chapter of what is known as the "Blofeld Trilogy", Blofeld has revived SPECTRE, and Blofeld's final appearance, sans SPECTRE, is in the final novel of the trilogy, You Only Live Twice.
Later, the John Gardner Bond novel, For Special Services introduces a revived SPECTRE led by Blofeld's daughter, Nena Bismaquer. Although Bond ultimately prevents SPECTRE from reforming, it continued, under the leadership of Tamil Rahani, to play a part in Role of Honour and Nobody Lives For Ever. The next Bond novelist, Raymond Benson, reintroduces Irma Bunt, Blofeld's assistant, in his short story "Blast From the Past", which is a sequel to You Only Live Twice.
Films
In the EON Productions James Bond series, which began in 1962 with Dr. No, SPECTRE plays a more prominent role. The organisation is first mentioned in Dr. No as the organisation for which Dr. Julius No works. This was changed from Fleming's novels, which had Dr. No working for the USSR. In the films, Spectre usually replaced SMERSH as the main villains, although there is a brief reference to SMERSH in the second EON Bond film, From Russia with Love. The film adaptation of From Russia with Love also features the first on-screen appearance of Blofeld, although he is only identified by name in the closing credits of the film. After being absent from Goldfinger, SPECTRE returns in Thunderball and subsequently is featured in the following films You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Diamonds Are Forever, although it is not referred to by name in the final film. Following Diamonds Are Forever SPECTRE and Blofeld were retired from the EON Films series, except for a cameo by Blofeld (not identified by name, but accompanied by the character's trademark cat) in For Your Eyes Only.
Despite speculation that SPECTRE would return for the Daniel Craig era of Bond films, it has been unveiled that 007 will instead tackle an underground terrorist organisation similar to SPECTRE and SMERSH known as Quantum. They first appeared unnamed in 2006's Casino Royale and reappear in 2008's Quantum of Solace.
Non-EON
In 1983, Warner Bros. released Never Say Never Again, a remake of Thunderball. Not considered part of the official Bond series, the film retells the story of Thunderball and reintroduces both SPECTRE and Blofeld.
Video games
SPECTRE is shown, but never mentioned by name, in the game GoldenEye: Rogue Agent. It is depicted as being much more powerful than it was in any of the films or books, and seems to possess a massive undersea base resembling Karl Stromberg's lair from The Spy Who Loved Me, as well as a large army of well-equipped soldiers. It also seems to possess extremely advanced technology, such as virtual reality and strange energy generators in its volcano lair. Dr. No and Auric Goldfinger appear as SPECTRE members, with Dr. No "...(Doctor Julius No) having broken ranks with our organisation. He must be eliminated."
After Dr. No is killed, Goldfinger takes over the Volcano Lair using the OMEN [Organic Mass Energy Neutralizer] which causes Disintegration of Organic Matter. Goldfinger is eventually killed by the Omen when it explodes, releasing the energy and killing everyone in the Volcano Lair (except the player, who is safe from the Omen in a cut off area. The irony being that the area was a trap set by Goldfinger, where the air would drain out and the player would die.)
SPECTRE is also featured in From Russia With Love, although it is called Octopus in this game.
Copyright issues
SPECTRE and its characters have been at the centre of long-standing litigation starting in 1961 between Kevin McClory and Ian Fleming over the film rights to Thunderball and the ownership of the organisation and its characters. In 1963, Fleming settled out of court with McClory, which awarded McClory the film rights to Thunderball, although literary rights would stay with Fleming and thus allow continuation author John Gardner to use SPECTRE in a number of his novels.
In 1963, EON Productions producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman made agreement with McClory to adapt the novel into the fourth official James Bond film, stipulating also that McClory would not be allowed to make further adaptations of Thunderball for at least ten years since the release. Although SPECTRE and Blofeld are used in a number of films before and after Thunderball, the issue over the copyright of Thunderball, did prevent SPECTRE and Blofeld from becoming the main villains in 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me. In 1983, McClory released the unofficial remake of 1965's Thunderball, entitled Never Say Never Again.
Although McClory retained the film rights to Thunderball until he died, the courts in 2001 awarded Eon exclusive film rights to the fictional character James Bond. This technically prevented McClory from creating further adaptations of the novel.
SPECTRE henchmen
Henchmen working for SPECTRE, one of its members, or directly for Ernst Stavro Blofeld in (order of appearance):
Novels
- Emilio Largo — 'Number 1'
- Giuseppe Petacchi — Domino Petacchi's brother
- Pierre Borraud — Had sex with a girl that he kidnapped for ransom. As a punishment, Blofeld had Borraud killed and returned half of the ransom money to the girl's father as compensation. While Blofeld considered the possibility that the sexual relationship was consensual, it was more important that SPECTRE was reputed to keep its word.
- Dr. Kandinsky
- Dr. Kotze
- Count Lippe — "Sub-operator G"
- Agent #6 — Kills Count Lippe at the behest of Blofeld for being unreliable
- Irma Bunt
- Black Dragon Society
This is only a brief description of the numbers of each member. In the first book to include SPECTRE, "Thunderball", it is stated that the numbers of each member changes periodically (it "advances round a rota by two digits at midnight on the first of every month") to avoid detection and Blofeld is in fact number 2.
Films
By order of appearance and fate:
Dr. No)-killed by James Bond Professor R. J. Dent (Dr. No)-killed by James Bond Miss Taro (Dr. No)-arrested by Jamaican Police Donald "Red" Grant (From Russia with Love)-killed by James Bond Morzeny (From Russia with Love)-killed by James Bond Kronsteen (No. 5, From Russia with Love)-killed on Blofeld's orders by Morzeny Rosa Klebb (No. 3, From Russia with Love)-killed by Tatiana Romanova Colonel Jaques Bouvar (No. 6, "Thunderball")-killed by James Bond Emilio Largo (No. 2, Thunderball)-killed by Domino Vitali Fiona Volpe (Thunderball)-killed by own henchmen by accident trying to kill James Bond Clive Cazes (No. 9, Thunderball)-killed by Blofeld for stealing from Spectre Count Lippe (Thunderball)-killed by Volpe on Blofeld's orders Angelo Palazzi (Thunderball)-killed by Largo Vargas (Thunderball)-killed by James Bond Janni (Thunderball)-killed when Largo yacht explodes Professor Ladislav Kutze (Thunderball, defected)-last seen jumping into ocean with lifebouy-fate unknown Quist (Thunderball)-thrown by Largo into shark pool Helga Brandt (No.11, You Only Live Twice)-thrown by Blofeld into piranha pool Hans (You Only Live Twice)-thrown by James Bond into piranha pool Mr. Osato (Head Of Osato Chemicals, You Only Live Twice)-shot and killed by Blofeld (No.3, You Only Live Twice)-killed by explosion (#3 played by Burt Kwouk) (No.4, You Only Live Twice)-fate unknown (# 4 Played by Michael Chow) Irma Bunt (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)-fate unknown Grunther (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)-killed by Tracy Bond Mr. Wint & Mr. Kidd (Diamonds Are Forever)-killed by James Bond Bert Saxby (Diamonds Are Forever)-killed by CIA Agents Several other agents of SPECTRE remain nameless and unimportant
By Hierarchy
| SPECTRE Command Structure | | Name | Number | Position | Film | Status | Actor |
|---|
| Ernst Stavro Blofeld | 1 | Leader | From Russia With Love
Thunderball
You Only Live Twice
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Diamonds Are Forever
For Your Eyes Only
Never Say Never Again | Presumed dead | Anthony Dawson/Eric Pohlman
Donald Plesance
Telly Savalas
Charles Gray
John Hollis
Max von Sydow (Non EON) | | Emilio Largo | 2 | Second in command and head of extortion. | Thunderball | Deceased | Adolfo Celi | | Rosa Klebb | 3 | Former SMERSH Operative | From Russia with Love | Deceased | Lotte Lenya | | Dr. Julius No | 4 | Nuclear Technician | Dr. No | Deceased | Joseph Wiseman | | Kronsteen | 5 | Chief planner | From Russia with Love | Deceased | Vladek Sheybal | | Jacques Bouvar | 6 | Member | Thunderball | Deceased | Bob Simmons (uncredited in film) | | Unidentified | 7 | Member | Thunderball | Deceased | Cecil Cheng | | Mr. Osato | 8 | Member | You Only Live Twice | Deceased | Teru Shimada | | Unidentified | 9 | Member | Thunderball | Deceased | Cive Cazes | | Unidentified | 10 | Member | Thunderball | Deceased | Andre Maranne | Unidentified
Helga Brandt | 11 | Member | Thunderball
You Only Live Twice | Deceased | Gabor Baraker
Karin Dor | | Fatima Blush | 12 | Member | Never Say Never Again (non EON) | Deceased | Barbara Carrera |
Non-EON
Never Say Never Again) Fatima Blush (No.12, Never Say Never Again) Eva Adara (From Russia with Love) (Video game)
Parodies and clones
SPECTRE is often parodied in films, video games, and novels. The most obvious is the Austin Powers series of movies. In this, a man named Dr. Evil (a parody of Ernst Stavro Blofeld) is the leader of a villainous organisation called Virtucon. Dr. Evil's second in command, known only as "Number Two", is a parody of Emilio Largo, Blofeld's second in command.
No One Lives Forever a man simply called "The director" leads a similar organisation called "H.A.R.M.". A running joke during the series is that no one actually knows what H.A.R.M. stands for. H.A.R.M may jokingly refer to Human Aetiological Relations Machine, the name of a fictional intelligence agency featured in the 1960s spy film Agent for H.A.R.M.
- The James Bond spinoff animated series,
James Bond Jr., featured a clone of SPECTRE called "S.C.U.M." (Saboteurs and Criminals United in Mayhem).
Inspector Gadget featured a clone of SPECTRE called "M.A.D." (Mean And Dirty). Dr. Claw, the head of M.A.D. is also based on the villain Blofeld.
Get Smart featured a SPECTRE-like organisation called KAOS.
- In 1983, a highly successful James Bond tabletop RPG was released. With the films as inspirations, the stories were adapted for players. Minor changes to plots and villains were made; for example, Kidd & Wint were freelance assassins working for SPECTRE. They in fact leased out services to other terrorist organisations and various crime syndicates. The most noted changes were to SPECTRE: Blofeld's name was changed to Karl Ferenc Skorpios, and he was given a grayhound instead of a white cat; the organisation itself was renamed TAROT (Technological Accession, Revenge, and Organized Terrorism), with the face cards represented various departments. This was due to the copyright issues referenced above. Victory Games (http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/jamesbond007/) worked with Eon productions (the film producers) for the rights to Bond, and were told they were not allowed to negotiate with McClory for the rights to SPECTRE, hence the hasty renaming.
- The Disney animated series
Darkwing Duck featured a masked crimefighter who often worked with an agency called S.H.U.S.H. against the forces of F.O.W.L. (the Fiendish Organization of World Larceny).
- The THUNDER Agents comic featured an enemy called S.P.I.D.E.R. (Secret People's International Directorate for Extralegal Revenue)
The Incredibles borrowed many tropes from James Bond movies, including a SPECTRE like island hideout complete with army of goons to support the film's villain.
Galaxy organisation features in Our Man Flint where "Agent 0008" tells Flint that Galaxy is "bigger than SPECTRE".
Rainbow Six features a terrorist organisation that the characters compare to SPECTRE once they learn that the terrorists are using chemical warfare similar to that in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
Mortadelo y Filemón features a parody of SPECTRE called ABUELA (Agentes Bélicos Ultramarinos Especialistas en Líos Aberrantes).
See also
External links
- from
- -- Information on Kevin McClory's fight for the rights to Thunderball and SPECTRE
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