Julius No
Dr. Julius No | |
---|---|
James Bond character | |
First appearance | Dr. No (1958 novel) |
Last appearance | GoldenEye 007 (2010 video game) |
Created by | Ian Fleming |
Portrayed by | Joseph Wiseman |
Voiced by | |
In-universe information | |
Gender | Male |
Affiliation | 義卜
|
Nationality | Chinese-American |
Classification | Villain |
Henchmen |
|
Allies | Ernst Stavro Blofeld |
Dr. Julius No is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1958 James Bond novel and its 1962 film adaptation Dr. No, the first of the series, in which he was portrayed by Joseph Wiseman.[1]
Novel biography
The novel explains that Dr. No was born in
In the late 1920s, a mob war broke out in New York, forcing the police to crack down on them. No stole a million dollars in gold from the Tongs and disappeared. But the Tongs tracked him down and tortured him to find the location of the gold. When No refused to tell them, the Tongs cut off his hands, shot him through the left side of the chest and left him for dead. No survived, due to a condition called dextrocardia, in which his heart is on the right side of the body.
No spent a long time in hospital, then enrolled in medical school in
With the million dollars from the Tong, he purchases rare stamps in order to preserve his money against inflation; he later purchases the island of Crab Key, off the coast of
No, with aid from the
Bond does not actually learn of No's plot until he and Quarrel—with
Henchmen in the novel
- Miss Taro
- Miss Chung
- Sister Rose
- May
- Riker
- Other various "Chigroes"
- The Three Blind Mice
Film biography
Dr. No is a brilliant scientist with an implied Napoleon complex, and an example of the mad scientist trope. He is a self-described "unwanted child of a German missionary and a Chinese girl of a good family". He later "became treasurer of the most powerful criminal society in China"; in this case, the Tongs. He then "escaped to America with $10,000,000" of Tong gold bullion. He specialized in radiation, which cost him both of his hands; they were replaced with crude bionic metal ones. No's hands have great strength (he can crush a metal figurine with them) but are lacking in manual dexterity which leads to his demise.
He offered his skills and expertise to the Americans, and then the Soviets, but was rejected by both superpowers. To get revenge, No joined the criminal organization SPECTRE and relocated to his island of Crab Key in Jamaica.
When Bond is sent to investigate the murder of two British agents and any possible connection with recent rocket disasters, No orders several attempts on 007's life. He is particularly displeased with henchman Professor Dent's failures, such as through the chauffeur Jones. He gives Dent a venomous spider, which is released in Bond's room whilst he sleeps; however, Bond wakes up, kills it, and lures Dent to a private house, where Dent is interrogated and then shot twice by Bond.
No fails in his own attempts to kill Bond; first, inadvertently, by locking him in a ventilation shaft, which is variously heated and filled with water; and then, deliberately, by beating him with his metal hands.[2]
No captures Bond and Honey Ryder when they trespass on his island, and they are put through a decontamination shower since No's henchmen detected radiation on them. Inviting them to dinner at his private apartment, he offers Bond a position in his organization, but Bond refuses. Bond escapes through a ventilation shaft (and avoiding the obstacles of heat and flooding), and disguises himself with a radiation suit. Bond enters the control area where No and his assistants are preparing to disrupt the launch of an American rocket. Bond sabotages No's swimming pool reactor, allowing the American missile to launch successfully while No and most of his henchmen do not understand it. When No observes Bond's sabotage, the two men fight while the other personnel flee the imminent explosion. They fall onto a small platform that slowly descends into the boiling coolant of the overheating reactor. Bond manages to climb out, but No cannot get a grip on the metal framework, due to his metal hands, and is poached alive. Bond frees Honey from where she has been chained in a room filling with water, and escapes before the reactor explodes.
SPECTRE learned of the death of Dr. No and they vowed revenge on James Bond, which led to the events in From Russia with Love. This also set up the recurring battles of James Bond with SPECTRE in the future films.
Henchmen in the film
- Miss Taro – arrested
- Professor Dent – shot by Bond
- Annabel Chung
- Mr. Jones – poisoned himself with a cyanide laced cigarette
- The Three Blind Mice – killed in a fiery crash when their hearse plunged off a cliff
- Sister Rose
- Sister Lily
- Jamaican guards
Other appearances
In the Daily Express James Bond comic-strip series by Yaroslav Horak and Jim Lawrence, Dr. No reappears in the story-line Hot-Shot, published between January 16, 1976 - June 1, 1976. In it, Dr. No had survived his previous encounter with James Bond and has remerged as a wealthy Indian businessman named Mr. Huliraya, who serves as the main antagonist of the story.
Dr. No made several appearances in the cartoon series
Julius No also appeared in the video game
Julius No is also a multiplayer character in the video game
The character of Dr. No makes a brief appearance in a 2012 Heineken beer commercial to promote the release of the twenty-third Bond film, Skyfall.[3]
Non-official James Bond media
In Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe (
In the alternate history novel Dracula Cha Cha Cha, Dr. No (along with Mr. Big) is mentioned as being vampire elders killed and drained by the Diogenes Club agent Hamish Bond.
Cultural references
During the 1981 Ontario general election Progressive Conservative Premier Bill Davis mocked the Liberal leader Dr. Stuart Smith and his critical attitude towards the government by calling him "Dr. No". "Dr. No" was also used as the nickname of Northern Irish unionist politician Ian Paisley, due to his long-standing opposition to making concessions to Northern Ireland's Catholic community and to Irish nationalism.[4] Similarly, American Republican politician and physician Tom Coburn was also known as "Dr. No" for his frequent opposition to legislation in the United States Congress, particularly bills which would increase federal spending. This nickname was also given to Representative Ron Paul for voting similarly against many bills, as well as his background as a medical doctor.[5]
Art critic Lawrence Alloway compared the pessimistic and gory writing of British art critic Robert Melville about artist Francis Bacon to the speech patterns of Dr. No in 'DR. NO'S BACON', Art News and Review, 9 April 1960.[6]
Parodies
- In a nod to this character, the master villain of the 1967 Bond spoof Casino Royale is named "Dr. Noah".
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine features a parodic villain named "Dr. Noah" in the episode "Our Man Bashir".
- The television series Get Smart featured part Chinese villains named "Dr. Yes"[7] (with unusually long, sharp fingernails, at least one of which is lethally envenomed) and "The Claw"[8] (with a magnetic claw in place of one hand).
- Doctor Claw appears as the perennial villain in the Inspector Gadget series.
- Dr. No also has made appearances in Auckland University Students' Association election campaigns, as a face for the 'no confidence' vote.
- Lego Agents main villain "Dr. Inferno" is a parody of Dr. No.
- Austin Powers series main antagonist Dr. Evilis a parody of several Bond villains, including Julius No.
- The 1964 Flintstones episode "Dr. Sinister" features a character named "Madam Yes", a parody of Dr. No.
- In an episode of the animated series The Fairly OddParents, Schnozmo must regain his brother Comso's trust by "saving" him from the evil Dr. Maybe.
- The main antagonist of the James Pondfranchise is named Dr. Maybe.
- The main antagonist of the Operation Stealth video game (released as James Bond: The Stealth Affair in the U.S.) is named Dr. Why.
References
- ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
- ^ "007 Fact Files – The Villains". 007.info. Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
- ^ "James Bond Has to 'Crack the Case' for Heineken Ad". nextmovie.com. 2012-09-21. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
- theguardian.com. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- ^ "Was Francis Bacon More Sadistic than a Bond Villain?".
- ^ ""Get Smart" Dr. Yes (TV Episode 1967) – IMDb". imdb.com. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
- ^ ""Get Smart" Diplomat's Daughter (TV Episode 1965) – IMDb". imdb.com. Retrieved 2014-02-16.