Agent of SPECTRE

Graphic Novel — Locations — Equipment — Characters — Timeline

Information
Title	Agent of SPECTRE
Other titles	James Bond: Agent of SPECTRE
Author	Christos Gage
Illustrator	Luca Casalanguida
Country	United States of America
Language	En-US
Series	Dynamite Comics Arc
Genre	Action, Adventure
Publisher	Dynamite Entertainment
Published	3rd March - 21st July 2021
Preceded by	Reflections of Death
Followed by	Himeros

"I intend to bring down all of SPECTRE. Of course, its quite likely they'll kill me first. But a chance like this comes once in a lifetime. One must take it... even if it makes that lifetime a great deal shorter."

― James Bond.

Agent of SPECTRE was the ninth Dynamite James Bond comic arc. It was written by American author Christos Gage and illustrated by Italian comic book artist, Luca Casalanguida. Published by Dynamite Entertainment, the story was released in five issues between 3rd March and 21st July 2021.

Plot

The story begins with James Bond chasing a suspected SPECTRE operative on-board a cross-channel ferry. The desperate man threatens to set fire to the vessel, but is prevented by Bond and ends up accidentally mangled by the ferry's propeller. However, the spy obtains his briefcase and returns to London where it is revealed the man was going to meet the Head of the organisation, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, in Paris that evening. Bond is dispatched to gate-crash the meeting and it is revealed to be a trap. Blofeld subdues him and reveals that his leadership of the organisation is threatened by an internal coup led by the ambitious Number Seven, Titania Jones. The villain offers Bond a proposition - to assassinate Jones in exchange for €15 million and the life of his CIA friend, Felix Leiter. Sensing an ideal opportunity to do damage to the organisation from within, Bond agrees.

After consulting M and Moneypenny he travels to Washington D.C. and breaks into the home of Jones' business partner, Harlan Clark. He obtains her itinerary, kills the man and escapes. Two days later he approaches her at a charity fundraiser, but is confronted at gunpoint by a hostile Felix Leiter; who is investigating Harlan's death and unaware of Jones' true identity. Before Jones can shoot Leiter, Bond takes aim and shoots his friend in the head. After a firefight, Bond unexpectedly offers Titania his help to kill Blofeld first. They spend an amorous evening at her home, after which Bond informs Blofeld of his plan to lure her to Greece, and checks up on Felix - who is revealed to only have been grazed and is recovering in hospital. Bond travels to Greece and meets Blofeld at a restaurant atop Mount Lycabettus in Athens. He shows Blofeld a tracking chip that Titania embedded in his skin during their rough lovemaking and dives for cover as she makes a helicopter raid on the property. Bond helps the wounded Blofeld escape down the mountain in the villain's rocket-firing Alfa Romeo; culminating with 007 using vehicle as a projectile to destroy the pursuing aircraft.

Blofeld takes Bond with him to his stronghold at Meraki; only to discover that Number Seven has bribed his own men into taking up arms against him. She confronts him in a suit of hi-tech armour, and during the resulting firefight Blofeld escapes to trigger the self-destruction of the island. Escaping the subterranean facility, Bond encounters and temporarily blinds Titania using a flare. She accepts his offer to save her in exchange for intel on SPECTRE; but is promptly shot dead by Blofeld, who explains that he was aware of the spy's betrayal and has dispatched assassins to finish Leiter. They brawl whilst, simultaneously in Washington, Moneypenny helps save the bedridden CIA agent from Blofeld's men. Blofeld is ultimately defeated after being coaxed into the path of an explosion and Bond returns to London after pondering retirement. The story ends with a meeting of SPECTRE in Switzerland, where a new Number Seven is chosen and Blofeld - thought dead by the world and badly injured - emerges victorious from the costly civil war, promising to rebuild the organisation stronger than ever.

Characters

James Bond

Ernst Stavro Blofeld

Titania Jones

M

Miss Moneypenny

Felix Leiter

Covers

Front cover from Issue #1.

Front cover from Issue #2.

Front cover from Issue #3.

Front cover from Issue #4.

Front cover from Issue #5.

Trivia

• The events of Eidolon are briefly alluded to in the story.

• The story establishes a "Cold War predecessor" to the current Dynamite 007, as a "fun little aside, not meant to be taken too seriously".

• It is also established that their James Bond wears a "Kevlar codpiece".

• There are scenes reminiscent of sequences in the James Bond film series; including a training montage on Meraki, a SPECTRE island, a self-destructing headquarters, and the facial scarring of Blofeld by explosion (notably, on the right-side of his face).

• According to veteran comic book artist Aaron Lopresti, his cover for issue #3 was censored to prevent portraying 007 as "a sexist character." A homage to artist Jim Steranko, the original's scantily-clad Bond girl was furnished with a cocktail dress for the print edition.

• The story bears a resemblance to John Gardner's 1984 continuation novel Role of Honour; wherein James Bond is "sacked" from MI6 to go undercover and sabotage a SPECTRE plot from within.