James Bond - Not a Man, but a Codename

johnstrangways

A rather nutty theory about James Bond not being an actual person but a codename that is passed on from agent to agent (or actor to actor). Rather nutty but a nice little read nonetheless.

http://www.cracked.com/article/18367_6-insane-fan-theories-that-actually-make-great-movies-better/

DaltonCraig007

The great myth - totally false, ridiculous, and dare I say, stupid.

If 'James Bond' was a codename, well, every idiot named James Bond would be a potential target by foreign secret services, who would have cracked this codename decades ago.

DarthDimi

They use this false argument to reason about the character changing somewhat from actor to actor or film to film. This means they seek continuity in a series that hardly values continuity.

Samuel001

This arguement is indeed very stupid and I doubt Harry and Cubby thought of the series that way in the 60's and 70's.

gregdaulton

I agree. It is rather idiotic. Every spy has a name or many names and aliases are often used. For James Bond to be multiple men or a code name, then every James Bond would not live very long as foreign intelligence would be tracking every person with that name.

Utterly disastrous thinking!

Samuel001

But, alas, Lee Tamahori believes this to be true. At least he'll never direct another Bond film - hopefully.

Kerim

Yeah this is complete silliness.

Even if I did have to change my real name to avoid a German gold dealer, a shell of a criminal organization in Vegas, a New York gangsta who also happened to be a Caribbean dictator, a spaceship CEO, a microchip magnate, a Central American drug lord and a banker of a criminal organization, it's still totally ridiculous.

Gerard

I don't have the time right now, but I can (and I already have, on AFJB) give you a lot of reasons why this theory is stupid. I'll get back to you about that after work and my appointment at the dentist. But already, Bond's wedding, mentioned quite a few times in the movies, is already a big fly in this particular ointment (although not the only one).

Gaz1961

Oh god, not this old chestnut again. I first read this "theory" in the Sun in about 1988, and then that prick tamahori came up with it when he was "directing" DUD. It's crap, it's clichéd, and it's totally unoriginal.

gt007

Yes, "James Bond" is a codename given to different agents. It just happens that every one of them prefers his Martini shaken and not stirred. It's a common drink.

Nah, this theory is crap.

Luds

gt007 said:
Nah, this theory is crap.

I agree with gt on this. There's only been one Bond, he's the same person, portrayed differently by different actors according to their strengths and adapted to the time the movie was made. Simple really.

DaltonCraig007

I hate people watching movies like James Bond and trying to find symbols and explanations everywhere. Watching Bond films shouldn't be like a university class - but a fun thrillride with friends, beers and chips/popcorn next to you !! That's why I always hate litterature classes - the teacher seems to find symbols and meaning in every page... I doubt even the author was aware of half the meanings these teachers pull out of thin air. Enjoy the damn books/movies, don't wear your brain over-analyzing then !!

Gerard

All right, here are the clues that prove that theory is hogwash:

According to it, Bond 2 (Lazenby) had replaced Bond 1 in OHMSS. All well and good, except for one thing: when Bond 2 clears his office after presenting his resignation, why does he pick up mementoes from Bond 1's missions, and more importantly, why does he reminisce about them? The answer is because he lived them, that's why. After all, i doubt very much that Bond 1 would have mentioned which song Honey Ryder sung when he met her.

Bond 3 replacing Bond 1 and 2? I could accept it,except for two things: a) Anya Amasova mentions Bond's trragic marriage, and Bond reacts rather bluntly, in TSWLM, a reaction he wouldn't have if that tragedy hadn't happend to him. Furthermore, in FYEO, we see him visiting his wife's grave. So, Bond 3 is Bond 2, who we've established is Bond 1.

As for Bond 4, I could believe he would have replaced Bond 3, except for one little detail: if we admit that Bond is a code name, we have to admit also that Leiter is a codename as well. Then, why would Leiter 5 invite Bond 4 to be his best man in LTK, when the only Bond he would have met is Bond 3? Furthermore, another mention of Bond's wedding is made, in a nice bit of foreshadowing. So, Bond 4 is Bond 2 and 3.

Bond 5? Let's see: when we first meet him, he's in a mission in the Soviet Union. That means a mission that must have taken place when the USSR was still alive, which means when Bond 3 and 4 were active. Furthermore, in DAD, he shows a good knowledge of gadgets used by Bond 1 (the rocket pack, and more importantly the rebreather used in TB). Which is a clue that he is in fact Bond 1, 3 and 4.

Which means that James Bond is the same James Bond during the first 20 movies of the series. QED.

SharkBait

Tamahori should have gotten thru with this idea of his. From Die Another Day onwards it should've been aknowledged that every Bond is actually a different person. The current Bond, slavic looking Bond would've been someone with a russian background they picked up and trained. The Bond before the slav, an irish drunkard who was picked and trained much like the current one. The previous one, with a big bushy beard, was nothing like the suave spy he was when we first met him. With this new man, they had a difficult time to root out all those slavic qualities. But oh well, when they have to re-assing someone with the codename James Bond 007, they can't always get it 100 percent right.

Gaz1961

So according to this "theory", was Bond no1 an American CIA agent called Card Sense Jimmy Bond... and where does the David Niven debacle fit into it?

thelordflasheart

I remember reading about this on the alt.fan.jamesbond newsgroup and being amazed that people gave it credence. But to be fair, when I was 13 it might have seemed like a cool idea to me (bear in mind that we had only had Connery, Lazenby, and Moore at that point). But as soon as you think about it - yeah, makes no sense.

WCPMC

gregdaulton said:
I agree. It is rather idiotic. Every spy has a name or many names and aliases are often used. For James Bond to be multiple men or a code name, then every James Bond would not live very long as foreign intelligence would be tracking every person with that name.

Utterly disastrous thinking!

Well Lynch in the A-team movie seemed to be a codename passed onto CIA agent to CIA agent. So if that works for them in that movie, then James Bond could work as a codename for these movies as well I believe.

echo

Not this old chestnut! There is only one Bond character who married Tracy, who tragically died. Moore goes to her grave. Moore's Leiter mentions it after Dalton leaves the wedding. And Brosnan flinches when Elektra mentions love.

Really, it's the two female Ms that are problematic.

licensetoforum

James Bond is like Hamlet. Same charecter in every rendition, but every actor plays the charecter differently.

TouchMyButtons

I've never heard of this conspiracy before I came into this thread, its an interesting theory but hardly believable.

luds said it the best,

"

Luds said:
Nah, this theory is crap.

I agree with gt on this. There's only been one Bond, he's the same person, portrayed differently by different actors according to their strengths and adapted to the time the movie was made. Simple really.

Volante

licensetoforum said:
James Bond is like Hamlet. Same charecter in every rendition, but every actor plays the charecter differently.

This is perhaps my favourite explanation of Bond being played by different actors.

RogueAgent

Whoever came up with this is obviously clueless! Since the charactor has a code name 007!!!!! :)) Surprise!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =))

thelivingroyale

James Bond is not a codename, this theory is crap. There's solid proof in tons of the films and still people think they're being clever with this "amazing" theory.

007RogerMoore

I have seen a page full of proof that this theory is wrong. I don't remember where it is and everything in it, but I do remember things like in TSWLM, when Bond meets an old friend in Egypt. He knew Bond from Cambridge, and he obviously had the same name at that time. So it can't be a code name he got later. And isn't it strange that most of those 007 guys have the same interest in wines, the same relationship with Q, Moneypenny etc?

Agent007391

I'd hoped this theory had been debunked and forgotten. Do we need the guys from MythBusters to take care of this, so that it can finally go away?

Getafix

No, no, no. By the same theory Sherlock Holmes is a 'code name'.

Bond is afictional character played by many different actors. It's really not very complicated.

TonyEbik

hahahah what a joke!

DaltonCraig007

If 'James Bond' was a codename used for 50+ years, every spy/terrorist agency would have cracked the code long ago, and every idiot named James Bond would be a potential target.

Lancaster007

If (and it isn't) James Bond was a code name, why would he need a code number too?

TonyEbik

Lancaster007 said:
If (and it isn't) James Bond was a code name, why would he need a code number too?

double bluff?!

Matteobin

This theory is pure nonsense and Gerard explained perfectly why.

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