James Bond Jr.
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Image:JamesBondJr.jpg 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.
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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 voice 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.
- Horace 'I.Q.' Boothroyd
- Tracy Milbanks
- Gordon 'Gordo' Leiter
- Phoebe Farragut
- Trevor Noseworthy IV
- Headmaster Bradford Milbanks
- Coach Buddy Mitchell
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
- Jaws
- Nick-Nack
- Doctor Derange
- Skullcap
- Goldfinger
- Goldie Finger
- Odd Job
- Barbella
- Doctor No
- Spoiler
- Captain Walker D. Plank
- Baron von Skarin
- Ms. Fortune
- Snuffer
- The Chameleon
- Tiara Hotstones
- 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!" Developers website