Who is the Real James Bond?

Newsletter 10: Essay 5 of 6

For the purpose of this essay, Bond 25 is excluded.

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Once thoroughly drifting in the Bond universe, one begins to developed a heightened awareness. Perhaps a tiny tin foil hat begins to sprout. How does this man manage? How many times can he be knocked unconscious and not suffer lasting brain damage? I’ve wondered this and much more.

Bond has “died” twice. Once in Skyfall and in You Only Live Twice. Imagine the legendary Bond meeting a tragic end and whole divisions mourning his loss. In the latter, it was part of the mission. In the former, he was presumed dead by everyone, including M, who wrote his obituary.

I had an idea during Tomorrow Never Dies. Bond was posing as a banker in a Carver Media Group launch party. He was investigated by one of Carver’s associates who thought Bond’s employment record to be too squeaky clean and a sure sign he was a plant from the British Secret Service. I found that detail interesting. Imagine an intelligence agency creates a real time persona, with a real life, ready to be assumed by an agent or superimposed on a fall guy. Maybe there’s a phonebook of fake people. What if one of those people is James Bond?

Original artwork by Automatic Llama

A Legend Never Dies

James Bond is unmistakably legendary. A talented agent with an incalculable set of revolving skills and devilish charm, he has quite literally saved the world multiple times as a matter of course. There are other 00 agents who are surely notable, but none as good at the edge-of-the-world balancing act as Bond. Somehow, he makes it out alive. And for the times Bond has “died”, why give up the legend? It is possible the 00 agents are purposefully isolated to protect crown secrets, so worldwide henchmen may not be the only ones who don’t know exactly who Bond is. The man has the odd benefit of sliding through shadows and strutting in daylight just as easily. He even uses his real name. James Bond created his own mystique, so why give it up?

Is 007 a job code?

Before the Craig years, we could have created many theories regarding those infamous three numbers. But as far back as From Russia With Love, the entire 00 section gathers for an important briefing. It’s there we find that each agent has a different designation. We see throughout the Bond canon a few 00 agents die. 007 is lucky enough to outlive most, if not all his cohorts. Craig seems to settle the question in Casino Royale, saying he knows that 00s have a short life. One dies and another takes their place.

Is James Bond one man or a government identity?

We previously explored how one man could possess so many skills, and while improbable is not impossible. But there is a simpler, albeit outlandish possibility: Bond is not one person but a potential fleet of similarly-abled men. They each come with those wide range of skills that include proficiency at playing baccarat, fencing, and horseback riding. Small tweaks here and there with date of birth or eye color and someone new can step into his shoes on another mission.

Bond Chronology

While I don’t think Bond is necessarily a single person, I do believe there are timelines to the canon which do not follow the movie release sequence. I also posit there are parallel or even discontinuous timelines where action occurs at intervals between the story archs. My only adherence to a sequence for the one-off movies relates to historical references within the movies.

Dr. No Timeline/James Bond II
There are a few movies that occur after Dr. No and mention his failure to eliminate Bond. We are introduced to Spectre and Julian No’s rank in the organization in 1962. We can assume this is a unique Bond. Once Madeline Swann tells Bond and Q the name of the criminal enterprise they face, we can see the possible connection back onto the Dr. No timeline. A new 007 can take up the mission to foil Dr. No’s plans as the real Bond retires from the service.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Timeline/ James Bond III
This movie is another branch point in the series and a few movies occur after it. There is mention of Teresa Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) by Agent XXX and as late as The Living Daylights (1987). We also see Bond putting flowers on her grave in For Your Eyes Only (1981). It is possible these movies occur sequentially, with a few wildcards that can go in between in no particular order as standalone adventures of an entirely different Bond. After all, Blofeld does not recognize Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service even after coming face to face in an earlier installment.

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Casino Royale Timeline/ James Bond I
It is described as Bond’s “maiden voyage”, which puts to bed where the story begins. Before the title sequence we witness the two kills required for promotion to the 00 section. Bond creates his signature martini on the fly and is nearly killed by one as well. This is a roughened Bond who is still trying to take all the right steps.

How long can 007 last?

Not long. A physician would be able to estimate the damage done to and by Bond. He undergoes intense psychic, emotional, and physical stress which can cause the bad type of cardiac hypertrophy or heart enlargement. Paired with what is probably functional alcoholism, 007 is poised to meet an early death by wearing his body down, inside and out. It gives more credence to the argument that Bond is not a single man, nor can he be. Then again, how many missile crises could there possibly be? How many elusive billionaires and assassins are planning world domination? Now, these are more soft wars played outside the battlefield, so I’m not sure calling his missions tours is appropriate, but they may have the length and commitment of some.

The Best Portrayal of Bond

Dalton’s Bond is the most serious, followed closely by Craig. He is the most complex and tortured by what he must do. The cheeky, comedic stylings of Moore are all but wiped clean as we revisit Bond as a widower on the cusp of Felix Leiter’s wedding. We see his brash defiance of M and mission to both avenge Felix, but stop another villain. While certainly an admirable performance, Dalton never really convinced me.

My husband posits that Brosnan is a proper Bond, truest to the intent of Ian Fleming’s character. He is just brutal enough. While I think every Bond commits to the athletic and stealth aspects of the role, it’s Brosnan who brings back the charm in just the right amount. There’s a subtlety about him that speaks volumes.

I try not to pick a favorite, as the story and the time demands a different Bond. Each delivered who the world needed when he was needed. I am, however, partial to Daniel Craig whose strength and vulnerability are equally compelling. He is a real person who hurts and gives us a window into what is a lonely and dangerous life.

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But seriously, who’s the real Bond? I imagine the looks of Connery with the heart of Moore who kisses like Craig. In a word: the idea of 007, whomever he may be.

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Catch up on the previous essays:
The Birth of a Spy
Building a Secret Agent
The Trouble with Bond, Pt. 1
The Trouble with Bond, Pt. 2