The SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion (S.P.E.C.T.R.E.) is a fictional terrorist organization led by Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Its first appearance was in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel, Thunderball, and subsequently in a number of James Bond films including the very first Bond film, Dr. No, where it has been the spy's most persistent opponent.

Contents 1 Philosophy and goals 2 Leadership 3 SPECTRE Hierarchy 4 Appearances 4.1 Novels 4.2 Films 5 Copyright issues 6 S.P.E.C.T.R.E. henchmen 6.1 Films 6.2 S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Gadgets 6.2.1 Unofficial 6.3 Novels 7 Parodies and clones 8 See also 9 External links

Philosophy and goalsEdit

The goal of the organization is extortion and world domination. To achieve this, their basic strategy of the organization is illustrated by the analogy of the three Siamese fighting fish Blofeld keeps in an aquarium in the film version of From Russia with Love. Blofeld notes that one fish is refraining from fighting two others until their fight is concluded. Then, that cunning fish attacks the weakened victor and kills it easily. Thus S.P.E.C.T.R.E.'s main strategy is to instigate conflict between two powerful enemies, namely the superpowers, hoping that they will exhaust themselves and be vulnerable when S.P.E.C.T.R.E. finally moves in to seize power.

In both the film and the novel Thunderball, the physical headquarters of the organisation are laid in Paris, operating behind the front of an international organisation aiding refugees.

Organization discipline is notoriously draconian with the penalty for disobedience or failure being death. Furthermore, to heighten the impact of the executions, Blofeld often chooses to focus attention on an innocent member, making it appear his death imminent, only to suddenly strike down the actual target when that person is off guard.

LeadershipEdit

S.P.E.C.T.R.E. is headed up by the supervillain, Ernst Stavro Blofeld who usually appears accompanied by a white Angora cat in the movies, but not in the books. In both the films and the novels, Emilio Largo is the second in command (although not indicated so by number). It is stated in the novel that if something were to happen to Blofeld, Largo would assume command. Largo appears for the first and final time in Thunderball.

In the novels, the numbers of members are deliberately assigned at random and regularly rotated to prevent detection. At the time of Thunderball, the leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, has been assigned 'Number 2', while Emilio Largo is assigned 'Number 1'. In the films the number indicates rank. Blofeld is always referred to as 'Number 1' and Emilio Largo, in Thunderball, is 'Number 2'.

SPECTRE HierarchyEdit

The members of the head board of SPECTRE go by numbers (e.g.: Number 1) as codenames. In the films they also identify how much power they have within the organization while in the novels, the numbers were rotated by 2 each month to avoid detection and made no reference to rank. There are 21 members of SPECTRE's executive board. This list shows all SPECTRE board members mentioned in the films:

• 12) Professor Ladislav Kotze (Fatima Blush- Non EON) - Unknown, presumed living
• 11) Helga Brandt (Formerly Gabriel Riker) - Dead, executed by Blofeld/Dead, executed by Blofeld
• 9) Formerly Pierre Bourard- Dead, executed by Blofeld
• 6) Colonel Jacques Bouvard- Dead, strangled by Bond
• 5) Tov Kronsteen - Dead, stabbed by Morzeny
• 4) Namless Operative in Blofeld's volcano lair.
• 3) Rosa Klebb/Nameless operative in volcano lair - Dead, shot by Tatiana Romanova in film. Novel death unrevealed.
• 2) Emilio Largo - Dead, speared by Domino Derval and boat destroyed with him on board
• 1) Ernst Stavro Blofeld - Dead, in the novels strangled by Bond; in the film dropped down a factory smokestack from Bond's helicopter.

AppearancesEdit

NovelsEdit

In the original Bond novel series, S.P.E.C.T.R.E.'s first and last true appearance was also in the book Thunderball. It appears that after James Bond and Felix Leiter smashed S.P.E.C.T.R.E.'s plot to blackmail NATO with stolen nuclear weapons, S.P.E.C.T.R.E. was disbanded. In On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the second chapter of what is known as the 'Blofeld Trilogy', Blofeld appears to be working on his own with only the help of his henchman Irma Bunt. Although there are references to S.P.E.C.T.R.E. and speculation by Bond that Blofeld was attempting to reform S.P.E.C.T.R.E., the organization as a full entity was never re-established. Blofeld made one final appearance in Fleming's You Only Live Twice.

Later, the John Gardner Bond novel, For Special Services introduced a revived S.P.E.C.T.R.E. led by Blofeld's daughter. Although Bond ultimately prevents S.P.E.C.T.R.E. from reforming, it continued to play a part in Role of Honour and Nobody Lives For Ever. The next Bond novelist, Raymond Benson, reintroduced Irma Bunt in his short story "Blast From the Past."

FilmsEdit

The first mention of S.P.E.C.T.R.E occurred in the first official film, Dr. No. In the novel, Dr. Julius No was working in association with the Soviets. This was changed, however, for the film as well as subsequent adaptations of the novels where either the Soviets or their counter-spy agency, SMERSH are Bond's main nemesis. SMERSH, however, does have a small part in the film From Russia with Love.

Differing from the novel series by Fleming, S.P.E.C.T.R.E. is much more resilient, coming back after each defeat by Bond with increasingly grander schemes. S.P.E.C.T.R.E. is behind the villainous plots in some way in four James Bond films including Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and Diamonds Are Forever where it appears they are ultimately defeated. Blofeld appears one more time in the pre-title sequence of For Your Eyes Only where he supposedly meets his demise.

In [[1983, S.P.E.C.T.R.E. was revived in the unofficial remake of Thunderball, Never Say Never Again.

Copyright issuesEdit

Main article: The controversy over Thunderball S.P.E.C.T.R.E. and its characters have been at the center of a long-standing litigation case starting in 1961 between Kevin McClory and Ian Fleming over the film rights to Thunderball and the ownership of the organization and its characters. In 1963 Ian Fleming settled out of court with McClory, which awarded McClory with the film rights to Thunderball, although the literary rights would stay with Fleming and thus allow continuation author John Gardner to use S.P.E.C.T.R.E. in a number of his novels.

In 1963 the producers of EON Productions, Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman made an agreement with McClory to adapt the novel into the fourth official James Bond film. The agreement also stipulated that McClory would not be allowed to make further adaptations of Thunderball for at least ten years since the release. Although S.P.E.C.T.R.E. and Blofeld are used in a number of films before and after Thunderball, the issue over the copyright of Thunderball, did prevent S.P.E.C.T.R.E. and Blofeld from becoming the main villains in 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me. In 1983, McClory released the unofficial remake of 1965's Thunderball, entitled Never Say Never Again.

Although to this day, McClory retains the film rights to Thunderball, the courts in 2001 awarded MGM with the exclusive film rights to the fictional character James Bond. This technically prevents McClory from creating further adaptations of the novel.

S.P.E.C.T.R.E. henchmenEdit

Henchmen working for S.P.E.C.T.R.E. or directly for Ernst Stavro Blofeld in (order of appearance):

FilmsEdit

• Dr. Julius No (Dr. No)
• Professor R. J. Dent (Dr. No)
• Miss Taro (Dr. No)
• Rosa Klebb (From Russia with Love)
• Donald "Red" Grant (From Russia with Love)
• Kronsteen (From Russia with Love)
• Morzeny (From Russia with Love)
• Emilio Largo (Thunderball)
• Fiona Volpe (Thunderball)
• Colonel Jacques Boiter (Thunderball)
• Count Lippe (Thunderball)
• Angelo Palazzi (Thunderball)
• Vargas (Thunderball)
• Janni (Thunderball)
• Professor Ladislav Kutze (Thunderball)
• Quist (Thunderball)
• Maximilian Germaín (Thunderball)
• Pierre Bourard (Thunderball)
• Gabriel Riker (Thunderball)
• Lawrence Mikael (Thunderball)
• Marius Domingue (Thunderball)
• Takso Chon (Thunderball)
• Helga Brandt (You Only Live Twice)
• Hans (You Only Live Twice)
• Mr. Osato (You Only Live Twice)
• Irma Bunt (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
• Grunther (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
• Bert Saxby (Diamonds are Forever)
• Mr. Wint and Mr Kidd (Diamonds are Forever)
• Several other agents of SPECTRE remain nameless and unimportant

S.P.E.C.T.R.E. GadgetsEdit

• Cyanide-Laced Cigarette (Dr.No)
• Flick-knife Shoes (From Russia with Love)
• Garotte Wire Watch (From Russia with Love)
• Electric Lounge Chair (Thunderball)
• Exploding Lipstick (You Only Live Twice)
• Collapsing Piranha Bridge (You Only Live Twice)
• Hidden Spear Pole (You Only Live Twice)
• Virus Vanity Pack (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
• Voice Changer (Diamonds are Forever)

UnofficialEdit

• Maximillian Largo (No.1, Never Say Never Again)
• Fatima Blush (No.12, Never Say Never Again)

NovelsEdit

All henchmen listed below are from Thunderball

• Emilio Largo; 'Number 1'
• Giuseppe Petacchi; Domino Vitali's brother
• Pierre Borraud; Killed by Blofeld for raping a girl
• Marius Domingue; Accused of Borraud's crime, later killed
• Dr. Kandinsky
• Dr. Kotze
• Number 6
• Count Lippe

Parodies and clonesEdit

S.P.E.C.T.R.E. is often cloned or parodied in films, video games, and novels.

• The most obvious is the Austin Powers series of movies. In this series, a man named Dr. Evil (a parody of Ernst Stavro Blofeld) is the leader of a villainous organization simply called "Dr. Evil's Evil organization." Dr. Evil's second in command, known only as "Number Two", is a parody of Emilio Largo, Blofeld's second in command.
• In the video game series No One Lives Forever a man simply called "The director" leads a similar organization called "H.A.R.M.". A running joke during the series is that no one actually knows what H.A.R.M. stands for.
• In the video game 'Evil Genius', one has to make a criminal organization exactly like S.P.E.C.T.R.E. The character Maximillian is a spoof of Blofeld.
• The James Bond spinoff animated series, James Bond Jr, featured a clone of S.P.E.C.T.R.E. called "S.C.U.M.".
• The animated series Inspector Gadget featured a clone of S.P.E.C.T.R.E. called "M.A.D.". Dr. Claw, the head of M.A.D. is also based on the villain Blofeld.
• The TV series Get Smart featured a S.P.E.C.T.R.E.-like organization called KAOS.
• In the mid 80s, a highly successful James Bond tabletop RPG was released. With the films as inspirations, the stories were adapted for players. Minor changes to plots and villains were made. For example, Kidd & Wint were freelance assassins working for S.P.E.C.T.R.E. They in fact leased out services to other terrorist organizations and various crime syndicates. The most noted change was S.P.E.C.T.R.E.. It was later renamed TAROT and the face cards represented various departments. This was due to the copyright issues referenced above. Victory Games (the game's publisher) worked with Eon productions (the film producers) for the rights to Bond, and were told they were not allowed to negotiate with McClory for the rights to S.P.E.C.T.R.E., hence the hasty renaming.
• In the animated TV series, Darkwing Duck, one of the major antagonists is an evil criminal syndicate with the acronym "F.O.W.L.", punning on all the characters in the universe being birds, the word 'foul' and the suggestive acronym based names for such organizations.
• The Bond films that Daniel Craig star in have an criminal organization called QUANTUM, the supposed protege to S.P.E.C.T.R.E.
• In the sci-fi game Mass Effect, the protagonist joins the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel Counsil. Operatives of the organisation are extremely well-trained fighters from various races and professions, and they are above the law, allowing them to use any means the individual agent deems nessecary in order to maintain galactic stability. These agents are generally referred to as Spectres.
• In the video games and TV series Pokémon, an evil organization called Team Rocket often appears and wants to become rich and powerful, enough for dominate the world, like the S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Their boss is Giovanni, who has a Persian, a cat Pokémon, like Blofeld and his cat.
• In Totally Spies Terence Lewis (the main villain of the show) founded the similar organization named L.A.M.O.S. with same goals and emblem.

See alsoEdit

• List of James Bond villains
• SMERSH

External linksEdit

• Blofeld from The Bond Film Informant
• spectreorganisation.com -- Information on Kevin McClory's fight for the rights to Thunderball and S.P.E.C.T.R.E.