Black Box

Graphic Novel — Locations — Equipment — Characters — Timeline

"A black box on an airplane records the final moments of pain and panic before the flight goes down. I'm about to release information to Taiwan about a Chinese colonel who sleeps with male prostitutes ... Can you hear the passengers screaming? The whole world is about to destabilize, crash."

― Saga Genji.^[src]

Black Box, also known as James Bond Vol. 2, was the fourth Dynamite James Bond comic arc. It was written by American author Benjamin Percy and illustrated by Brazilian comic book artist, Rapha Lobosco. Published by Dynamite Entertainment, the story was released in six issues between 1st March and 2nd August 2017. A hardcover collection of Black Box was later published on the 31st October.^[1]

Plot[]

The story begins in the French Alps, where James Bond has been dispatched to kill a Corsican assassin. Before he can do so, the man is shot by a masked assailant and 007 gives chase on skis, eventually overwhelming and unmasking... her. Seizing upon his surprise, the girl bludgeons him with her helmet and escapes. He returns to London and is promptly sent to Tokyo to track down and destroy a black box full of compromising British information stolen by hackers. On arriving in Japan he is met by Major Boothroyd in a mobile intelligence station disguised as a coach. He outfits the spy with a hard-drive cloning smartphone, hearing-enhancing earbuds, EMP wristwatch and an Aston Martin DB10. Bond asks him to identify the female assassin from footage he recorded in the Alps and heads to an underground Yakuza casino to investigate his prime suspect in the data breach - technology mogul, Saga Genji. Unbeknownst to 007, he is being followed by the girl.

Bond gambles and attracts Genji's attention. He is taken to a secluded part of the building and beaten. Genji reveals that, thanks to his cybernetic enhancements, he is aware of 007's identity and mission. As he prepares to throw him into a Shark Tank, they are interrupted by the arrival of the female assassin. She rescues Bond from the tank and, as they flee, Boothroyd contacts him with news of her identity - Selah Sax, a former asset of British government black ops unit, Group 13. And she is supposed to be dead. She takes him to a love hotel and, attempting to prevent him from interfering with her mission, trusses him up. Meanwhile, Genji enlists the assistance of a death-mask wearing assassin (No Name) to kill Bond. After a chat with Boothroyd, Bond attends a sumo tournament to eavesdrop on Genji and acquires a trackable signal emitted from the villain's visor. He also meets a strangely competitive Felix Leiter, fends off No Name, and is subsequently pursued by a motorcycle hit-squad; which he fends off using the DB10's gadgetry. Sax intervenes and 007 is shot by a thug. Driving the wounded spy to safety, she patches him up and, after he regains consciousness in her suite, the pair make love in the shower and form an alliance to pursue Genji.

Several days later, Bond is ordered by M to acquire the black box - which is revealed to actually contain data from all over the world. The UK is now in a race with the other world powers to acquire it for themselves. Bond and Sax follow the signal emanating from Genji's headset to Aokigahara and are ambushed by No Name, who is shot by Sax - seemingly fatally. From there they board a train and Sax opens up to Bond about her past; explaining that she now hunts other assassins to atone for her illicit activity in Group 13. Just then Felix arrives with an offer to work together. Bond neutralizes him using a sedative and, as he attempts to leave with Sax, is caught in a firefight involving Genji's operatives and the CIA. Realizing that Bond doesn't intend to destroy the black box, Sax dissolves their alliance and blows apart the couplings connecting their carriages — inadvertently stranding her with No Name. Bond subsequently locates Genji's HQ beneath the Fukushima nuclear reactor and infiltrates the facility. It is revealed that the villain intends to elevate Japan by giving the data to rival powers and ultimately destabilizing the world. 007 rescues Sax and the pair fight Genji in the dark; during which Bond uses the light from his smartphone to locate the villain and hurls a knife into his forehead. Upon returning to the surface with the box they they are ambushed by Leiter. Moved by Sax's pleas, Bond quietly wipes the box's memory using his wristwatch's EMP feature. The story concludes with Sax and Bond spending intimate time together where it had all started, at a cabin in the French Alps.

Characters[]

Covers[]

Trivia[]

References[]

↑ James Bond BLACK BOX collected hardcover released. The Book Bond (October 30, 2017). Retrieved on April 26, 2021.

[1] James Bond BLACK BOX collected hardcover released. The Book Bond (October 30, 2017). Retrieved on April 26, 2021.

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