5 Great James Bond Villains (That Have Never Been Seen On Film)
4. Markus & Nena Bismaquer
The on-screen
return of SPECTRE has been fairly lacklustre. The revelation that Christoph
Waltz’s Franz Oberhauser was actually Ernst Stavro Blofeld could be seen coming
from a mile away, whilst the decision to make him James’ half-brother was a
baffling one.
SPECTRE were revived in the literary series more than three decades prior to this, as the lawsuit that prevented the filmmakers from using the organisation on screen didn’t apply to John Gardner’s set of novels.
His approach was more effective than the films, chiefly through his use of original characters to lead the reformed group. With the creation of Nena Bismaquer in For Special Services, he was able to create a shocking twist given that she initially appears to be a prototypical Bond girl in need of rescue from her villainous husband. In actuality, he ends up being a red herring whilst she is revealed to be Blofeld’s daughter and the leader of the new operation.
Markus is similarly interesting as a rare example of a male villain that Bond is able to reform, though the allusion that his motivations are the result of homosexual attraction to him would certainly have to be reworked in a contemporary setting.