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James Bond Jr. is a fictional character and the supposed nephew of Ian Fleming's masterspy James Bond. The name "James Bond Junior" was first used in 1967 for an unsuccessful spinoff novel entitled 003½: The Adventures of James Bond Junior written by Arthur Calder-Marshall under the pseudonym R.D. Mascott. The idea of Bond having a nephew was used again in 1991 as an American animated series for television in which the title character defeats threats to the safety of the free world. The series was mildly successful and spawned six episode novelisations by John Peel writing as John Vincent, a 12 issue comic book series by Marvel Comics published in 1992, as well as a video game developed by Eurocom for the NES and the SNES in 1991.
Although these works are based on a character being the nephew of James Bond, Bond in fact was an only child. Unbeknownst to agent 007; however, he does have a son as told in Ian Fleming's novel You Only Live Twice. The son makes an appearance in a later short story by Raymond Benson titled "Blast from the Past."
The use of "Jr." in the character's name is unusual in that this naming convention is generally reserved for sons as opposed to nephews and other indirect offspring.
003½: The Adventures of James Bond Junior
In 1967, Arthur Calder-Marshall, writing as R.D. Mascott, wrote 003½: The Adventures of James Bond Junior which chronicled the exploits of Bond's supposed nephew. Only one volume of this spinoff was published and surviving copies are considered collectables.
The plot follows James Bond Jr. while he tries to uncover bank robbers in Hazely Hill. He and Sheelagh Smith, his "girlfriend" follow the clues of this mystery, but the information is given to the Commander of the police when James is injured. The Commander gets the credit for solving the case and threatens James if he says anything.
The animated series
The animated series debuted on September 16, 1991 and a total of 65 half-hour episodes were produced. James Bond Jr. was voiced by Corey Burton.
While attending prep school at "Warfield Academy", James Bond Jr. with the help of his friends I.Q. (supposedly the grandson of Q) and Gordo Leiter (supposedly the son of Felix Leiter), fights against the evil terrorist organization SCUM (Saboteurs and Criminals United in Mayhem). Expanding on his uncle's famous line, James Bond Jr.'s catch phrase was "Bond, James Bond. Junior."
Being an animated series, it regularly surpasses even the Bond movies in the matter of implausible gadgets and mad scientists, and, of course, the violence of the adult Bond series is nowhere in evidence. Despite this, the show was fully sanctioned by the rights holders to the James Bond property.
Fans of James Bond generally do not consider James Bond Jr. to be part of official Bond canon, especially as it conflicts with the fact that Bond was an only child and that the series featured characters such as Dr. Julius No who had been previously dealt with in the films and/or novels. Jaws, a recurring villain from the Roger Moore film era, also made occasional appearances; usually partnered with Nick Nack making the two henchmen a comical duo as they tend to bicker a lot, sometimes Oddjob is thrown into the mix for a henchmen interpretation of The Three Stooges. Auric Goldfinger also appears revealing he has a snotty, teenage daughter named "Goldie." Many episode titles parodied the titles of Bond films, i.e. "A View to a Thrill".
Main characters
- James Bond Jr. - the series hero and possibly James Bond's nephew. He graduated from Warfield Academy and made lots of friends there (who later aid him in his missions). He also develops a crush on Tracy Milbanks.
- Horace 'I.Q.' Boothroyd - a scientist at the Academy and one of James' best friends. Very intelligent, quick-witted and highly logical, he is responsible for developing and building the many artifacts and gadgets that help James defeat the many villains in the series (see below) and save the day. The series depicts him as the grandson of Q (James Bond's scientist friend played by Desmond Llewelyn in the James Bond movies), the original scientist of the Academy.
- Tracy Milbanks - daughter of the Academy headmaster Bradford Milbanks and the heroine of the series.She helps James Jr. a lot in his missions to save the world and possibly reciprocates his love for her.
- Gordon 'Gordo' Leiter - he is blonde, big, athletic and the "strong fist" of the group, but also kindly and soft-spoken. Supposedly to be Felix Leiter's son, he never backs down when his comrades need a little muscle to solve their problems.
- Phoebe Farragut - the other heroine of the series, she is like a photographer/journalist. She is blond, short-sized, a little obese and wears thick glasses. Although very smart, she is portrayed as not having I.Q.'s level of intelligence.
- Trevor Noseworthy IV - the "annoying guy" of the Academy. He comes from a wealthy family, and has an inflated sense of self-importance. He is always attempting some outlandish plan to "unmask" Bond Jr. in order to get him expelled from the Academy, which inevitably backfire leaving him with unpleasant consequences.
- Bradford Milbanks - the headmaster of the Academy and father of Tracy. Although serious and rigid at times, he is a gentle understanding man.
- Buddy Mitchell - the sports coach of the Academy. Strong and athletic, he believes in preparing his students for anything.
Villains
There were numerous villains in the series, most of whom worked for SCUM and made recurring appearances throughout the 65-episode run. Many characters looked nothing like how they did in the movies; for example, Dr No resembles a strange long-haired mutant. The major villains included:
- Scumlord - the mysterious leader of SCUM, but until the present time he has never been never seen - or even mentioned - onscreen.
- Jaws - the dim-witted big bandit whose trademark is his steel maxilar and teeth - both upper and lower - that destroy almost anything he chews up. He is depicted wearing a blue suit (whose pants has ankle-short legs) with a red shirt and yellow necktie, clown-like shoes and a flower on his lapel. He is usually a sidekick for the other villains.
- Nick-Nack
- Doctor Derange - a mad scientist with a strong french accent. He wears green clothing with some orange accessories (belt, boots, communication/hearing device and gloves) and has a passion for radioactive materials,especially plutonium. Derange is one of the more common villains in the series.
- Skullcap - a hire assassin, the top of his head has a massive steel lid encasing his upper skull and brain. He usually wears a suit and necktie, and is extremely cold and insidious thought not particularly cunning.
- Goldfinger
- Goldie Finger
- Odd Job - much like Jaws, this guy is mostly seen working for the other villains (especially Goldfinger). He sports odd-looking jumpsuits (hence his name) with a huge gold chained necklace bearing the initials O.J., flying googles and his trademark razor-sharp derby hat (much like the Odd Job from the 007 movies).
- Barbella
- Doctor No - this one differs in some details from the "real-life" Dr. No: in the animated series he has green skin (because he once fell into a toxic waste tank) and robotic hands. He also has visible asian traces such as a japanese accent, moustache and chinese clothing.
- Spoiler
- Captain Walker D. Plank - a stereotypical pirate with a talking parrot (which uses an eye patch like his owner). His dark schemes usually have to do with sea: taking control of the seven seas, nabbing patrol ships, stealing sunken treasure and so goes on. Jaws is often seen working with him.
- Baron von Skarin - an international drug-dealer, and firearms smuggler. Von Skarin is cold and cruel but never loses his elegant pose: wearing high-priced fur coats and a monocle on his right eye. He tends to never ally with the other villains in the series, instead he prefers to work with his own henchmen. Von Skarin is one of the less popular villains in the series.
- Madam Misfortune - a high-society criminal lady obsessed with jewels and wealth. Her plans usually consist of robbing (or doing) something that will bring endless rivers of money into her pockets. She is always accompanied by a dumb and rather incompetent butler-like bandit named Jenkins.
- Snuffer
- The Chameleon - this dangerous criminal has the abiility to be a facial shapeshifter because of small mechanisms implanted under the skin on his face, which control his facial muscles allowing him to change his appearance almost instantly. Cunning and sly, he is a villain to be feared.
- Tiara Hotstones
- Dr. Abaddon - once a lonely bloodthirsty murderer, now he is also a brilliant evil scientist with a dark sense of power. He has some mechatronic implants in his body - like a robotic eye patch on his right eye that crosses along his head and steel claws permanently attached to his hands. He has several different plans to acheive his varied (but always evil) objectives. Abaddon, despite his murderous tendency, is a very intelligent strategist and a good martial fighter. Like Baron Von Skarin, he doesn't like forming alliances with other villains, and his top henchmen are "The Twins" - two thai barefoot kickboxing girls who love him. "Abaddon" is the greek word for "The Destroyer", a name that fits very well with this villain.
- Maximillion Cortex
- The Worm
Episodes
01: The Beginning
02: Earth Cracker
03: The Chameleon
04: Shifting Sands
05: Plunder Down Under
06: A Chilling Affair
07: Nothing to Play With
08: Location Danger
09: The Eiffel Missile
10: A Worm in the Apple
11: Valley of the Hungry Dunes
12: Pompeii and Circumstance
13: Never Give a Villain a Fair Shake
14: City of Gold
15: Never Lose Hope
16: No Such Loch
17: Appointment in Macau
18: Lamp of Darkness
19: Hostile Takeover
20: Cruise to Oblivion
21: A Race Against Disaster
22: The Inhuman Race
23: Live and Let's Dance
24: The Sword of Power
25: It's All in the Timing
26: Dance of the Toreadors
27: Fountain of Terror
28: The Emerald Key
29: Ship of Terror
30: Deadly Recall
31: Hunt For Red Star One
32: Scottish Mist
33: The Art of Evil
34: The Heartbreak Caper
35: Mindfield
36: Leonardo da Vinci's Vault
37: Far Out West
38: Avalanche Run
39: Queen's Ransom
40: Barbella's Big Attraction
41: There for Ms. Fortune
42: Invaders from S.C.U.M.
43: Going for the Gold
44: A DeRanged Mind
45: Catching the Wave
46: Last of the Tooboos
47: S.C.U.M. on the Water
48: Goldie's Gold Scam
49: Canine Caper
50: Weather or Not
51: Ol' Man River
52: Between a Rock and a Hard Place
53: Sherlock IQ
54: Killer Asteroid
55: Danger Train
56: Quantum Diamonds
57: Rubies Aren't Forever
58: Garden of Evil
59: The Thing in the Ice
60: Goldie Finger at the End of the Rainbow
61: Dutch Treat
62: No Time to Lose
63: Monument to S.C.U.M.
64: Northern Lights
65: Thor's Thunder
Novelisations by John Peel
In 1992 Puffin Books published six novelisations of the James Bond Jr. animated television show. The books were written by John Peel under the pseudonym John Vincent.
- A View To A Thrill
- The Eiffel Target
- Live And Let's Dance
- Sandblast
- Sword Of Death
- High Stakes
The video game
James Bond Jr. was also a 1991 video game developed by Eurocom for the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
- "The world's greatest scientists have disappeared and now it's up to you as James Bond Jr. to rescue them! Intelligence reports indicates that your old enemy S.C.U.M Lord has imprisoned them on his island fortress in the Caribbean. You head out on four dangerous missions to save the scientists and thwart S.C.U.M. Lord's plans!" Developer's website