Accessory to Murder

Ever since I wrote my previous post on Best Bond Villains, I have been thinking that a tribute to these masters of villainy is incomplete without a mention of their henchmen (and women) who – more than their bosses – had come very close to finishing Mr. Bond off.

Here’s my Top 5.


1. Jaws
• Film: The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker
• Ferocity: Steel Teeth
• Employer : Dr. Karl Stromberg and Hugo Drax
• Status: Unknown. Turns over a new leaf when he finds love and helps Bond escape
• Actor: Richard Kiel
*only villain to have been repeated in a Bond series apart from Blofeld


2. Odd Job
• Film: Goldfinger
• Ferocity: Steel rimmed bowler hat
• Employer: Goldfinger
• Status: Dead. Electrocuted by Bond
• Actor: Harold Sakata


3. Red Grant
• Film: From Russia With Love
• Ferocity: Watch with razor
• Employer: S.M.E.R.S.H.
• Status: Dead. Strangled by Bond
• Actor: Robert Shaw


4. May Day
• Film: View to a Kill
• Ferocity: Strength and Cunning
• Employer : Max Zorin
• Status: Presumed dead. Gives up her own life to save Bond when betrayed by Zorin
• Actor: Grace Jones


5. Xenia Onatopp
• Film: Golden Eye
• Ferocity: Sadist….derives sexual pleasure by killing
• Employer: Soviet military/Janus
• Status: Dead. Crushed to death while fighting Bond
• Actor: Famke Janssen


Special Mention: Fatima Blush in Never Say Never Again (could not be ranked as it is not a EON production) would perhaps rank right after Jaws in terms of ferocity. Employed by Largo, Barbara Carrera, has essayed the role of this sadist assassin to perfection. Unlike other women villains of the pre 90 Bond films (Pussy Galore, May Day, Octopussy) she remains evil till the very end and is the only woman to have been killed by Bond’s own hands (by a pen that doubles up as a gun) – till Elektra King’s death(Xenatopp was killed indirectly by Bond).

She remains the only Bond woman (villain or otherwise) who demanded a written acknowledgement of being Bond’s best lover……..to which Bond quips “I just remembered. It’s against Service policy to give endorsements.”

N.B.- Xenia Onatopp in Golden Eye was modeled in the same lines as her.

But before I end this post , here’s a list of five henchmen whose roles had a lot of potential but were not exploited well:
• Nick Nack (The Man with the Golden Gun) – lovable dwarf valet of Scaramanga.
• Tee Hee (Live and Let Die) – Hit man of Mr. Big…. with a steel hook for an arm and a menacing smile.
• Mr. Kid and Mr. Wint (Diamonds are Forever) – perhaps the most under-utilized of all henchmen. They do nothing much beyond talking to each other in a dull monotone.
• Necros (The Living Daylights) – KGB assassin with the body of a Greek God and headphone wires as a weapon (modeled after Red Grant)
• Dario (License to Kill) – (young) Benocio Del Toro’s talents completely wasted.