Going back to the well can be an invigorating thing. Struggling to make James Bond relevant in the 21st century - partly, in the words of Daniel Craig, because Mike Myers fucked us - EON Productions decided to start from scratch. They tossed out nearly a half century of 007 films, and all the expectations and tropes that went along with that, in favour of bringing a leaner, meaner agent more in line with the character from Ian Fleming's books. Choosing to adapt the first novel, Casino Royale, was a statement of intent: they were throwing out all that continuity (at least, the loose continuity that existed between the Bond films as it was), and beginning again. And for a while, it was good. Going back to the well can hamper things, though. When it came to follow up Casino Royale, they leant a little too heavily on the former film's nosedive into Bourne territory, and brought up the messy and hard-to-read (let alone pronounce) Quantum Of Solace. Again, Craig pointed out that Austin Powers had made it impossible to do the gags. All the more impressive that Skyfall brought that lightness of touch back, then, as well as serving as a celebration of the film series' 50th anniversary, and resurrecting a lot of other classic parts of old Bond that had seemingly been lost in the reboot. Q returned in the form of Ben Wishaw, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, the Aston Martin DB5, and Ralph Fiennes returned the status quo of a male head of MI6. One element was conspicuous in its absence, however. The dread presence that hung over the first seven Bond films - plus a cameo in For Your Eyes Only - that orchestrated every plot 007 foiled. Now, it looks like SPECTRE is due for a return. What with that being the name of 24th Bond film and all, due out in 2015. They've been away for a while, though, and perhaps you've forgotten who this international crime syndicate are and what they can do. For a refresher on what exactly this octopus-obsessed group of antagonists will be bringing against Daniel Craig, here are ten things you need to know about SPECTRE.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
