Ranking EVERY James Bond Henchman From Worst To Best
21. Jacques Bouvar (Thunderball, 1965)
It must’ve been quite a shock for audiences in 1965 to see James Bond wallop a grieving woman in the face at the beginning of Thunderball, but he has his reasons: Colonel Jacques Bouvar, a personal enemy of 007, is masquerading as his own widow. Bond deduces this from watching the apparent woman open a car door all by herself after Bouvar’s “funeral”.
A dangerous conclusion to come to, especially nowadays, but thankfully correct in this case.
The two proceed to engage in a brutal no holds barred brawl, utilising everything from vases and chairs to bookcases and fire pokers in their attempts to prevail. SPECTRE #6 is a worthy opponent, especially since he’s fighting while hampered by a skirt and tights, but this is the opening scene, and time is limited. The conclusion, then, comes swiftly and brutally as Bond breaks his foe’s neck with the poker.
007 isn’t entirely callous, of course, throwing a bouquet of flowers onto Bouvar’s corpse before he makes his escape. This is a funeral, after all.
Bouvar would receive a tad more respect later on, with the honour of a brief eulogy by Ernst Stavro Blofeld: “His services will be missed.” Given that this is coming from a man who’ll electrocute a subordinate at the drop of a hat, Bouvar must’ve been pretty cherished indeed to warrant such emotional words.