The mystery and menace of the word specter adds to the strength of this fictional name. Its name derives from the Russian abbreviation of smert′ shpionam meaning “death to spies.” From there, he invented the ominous SPECTRE (an acronym for “Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion”) as an independent and multinational crime syndicate, introduced in the novel Thunderball (the title is itself the codename of a spy operation). Ian Fleming often included the real-life Soviet counterintelligence agency known as SMERSH in his novels. These seem to evoke terms like GESTAPO, (a German acronym from Geheime Staats polizei, meaning “secret state police”) or the East German secret police known as the STASI, an acronym for Staats sicherheitsdienst, meaning “state security service.” Other acronyms seem to bring the kind of intimidating bureaucratic danger that was an essential element of the plots of the Bond series. The official name of the Soviet Union was an initialism, U.S.S.R. Perhaps the most memorable henchmen are Oddjob, who deployed a decapitating top hat and Jaws, who had very scary metal teeth, among other unpleasant traits.Īcronyms and code names (like “007”) were all the rage during the height of the Cold War, starting with the name of the organization charged with maintaining a balance of power between the western allies and the Soviet bloc, NATO. These characters are by no means always men, however prominent enforcers working for Bond villains include Pussy Galore in Goldfinger, Fiona Volpe in Thunderball, and Xenia Onotopp in Goldeneye. ![]() This term came to mean “manservant,” a meaning that is now obsolete, and later came to mean “a trusted follower,” “a member of a gang,” or “a right-hand man.” Henchman ultimately derives from the Old English word for “stallion,” hengest, plus man, designating a “horse man” or a groom (a person who takes care of horses). This tends to end badly for the villains. These henchmen also usually have a showdown with Bond toward the end of each film, which may be part of the reason that the Bond villains themselves make long and detailed explanations to Bond when he is captured, showing that their priority is to explain their evil plans as plot exposition rather then eliminating the immediate threat of the British secret agent. No, this was partly due to the fact that he had no hands.) They always represent the head of a large and devious organization, and they are accompanied and protected by characters with specialized and visually entertaining violent skills. Part of the menace of typical Bond villains is that they never get their hands dirty. With the more grounded and gritty take on the character as played by Daniel Craig in recent years, the equipment has been more plausible and minimal, to the point where the filmmakers gently mock the excesses of the earlier Bond gadgets. ![]() The Oxford English Dictionary posits that a possible connection can be made with the French term gâchette, meaning part of a locking mechanism or the trigger mechanism of a gun, but for now there is no convincing proof of this etymology. Its precise origin-perhaps appropriate for the name of a spy’s tool-is unknown. The word gadget is relatively new to English, first attested in the late 1800s. As the films placed the character in increasingly impossible situations, he was issued with increasingly improbable gadgets, from small underwater breathing devices, ultramagnetic watches, exploding pens, and jetpacks, to cars with the firepower of an army tank that can eject passengers or function underwater like a submarine. It also contained a device that released tear gas, something used later in the film to save Bond from a seemingly impossible situation. The first gadget issued to Bond is a very sensible attaché case containing spare bullets and gold coins to help get a stranded agent home from a mission. The formula for most Bond films, along with the gun barrel introduction, the pre-title action sequence, the elaborate schemes of an evil villain, and, at least until recently, sexist and misogynist depictions of women, includes the presentation of esoteric and complicated tools and weapons to be used on his mission. ![]() The mystique of James Bond is partly personal, from the suave charm and physical daring of the character, and partly technological, from the (very often fanciful) tools of his trade.
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