James Bond Supervillains get their way: What Happens?

Didn't Scaramanga have somekind of super solar technology?

IIRC Scaramunga's plan (which he told Bond) was to lease out the Solar technology to any interested party for a huge sum. Bond mentions that OPEC would pay Scaramunga to withhold the technology, Scaramunga mentions that as a possibility.

Of course, once the secret gets out keeping it a secret becomes quite problematical... But if he gets millions up front I somehow doubt he'd care.
 
IIRC Scaramunga's plan (which he told Bond) was to lease out the Solar technology to any interested party for a huge sum. Bond mentions that OPEC would pay Scaramunga to withhold the technology, Scaramunga mentions that as a possibility.

Of course, once the secret gets out keeping it a secret becomes quite problematical... But if he gets millions up front I somehow doubt he'd care.

Right, but again, this is a difficult one to really understand. Perhaps Scaramanga killing Hai Phat is just a cinematic curveball, but it seems contrary to his aims of ransoming off the Solar Technology--hence why I think he was just leveraging high level assassins in his house of fun for kicks. He certainly had fully prepared a funhouse to fight them and beat them.

You could be right. But its still not all that sensible...
 
Goldfinger
The Plan: Auric Goldfinger detonates a nuclear weapon inside of Fort Knox, contaminating much of the USA's stash of hard currency and making a killing on the gold he does have.

What I think would happen if it worked: Goldfinger makes his financial killing, but the damage dealt to the US Gold Reserve is less than expected. The Gold isn't destroyed--but it is in need of cleaning and detoxing. The Effect of a 10 Kiloton Nuclear Attack on Fort Knox outside the confines of the structure is fairly minimal, but Goldfinger has just given the finger to a large number of his own minions (not that this matters to him) and his own network is already hurting. Goldfinger remains a most wanted criminal that must pull a "Bin Laden" to avoid the wrath of the US government.

If the plan is pulled off in 1964 (the year the movie was released) it's not that hard for the US to drop the gold standard in favor of fiat money (which happened in 1971 in OTL anyway). The US economy is much stronger and fiat money makes more sense. In the long run, the US economy is not damaged in the least and the expansion of the modern credit system happens about 15 years earlier. Goldfinger actually helps build the US economy as a result (although he's at the top of the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List until the end of time or his mortal remains have been positively identified, whichever comes first).
 
If the plan is pulled off in 1964 (the year the movie was released) it's not that hard for the US to drop the gold standard in favor of fiat money (which happened in 1971 in OTL anyway). The US economy is much stronger and fiat money makes more sense. In the long run, the US economy is not damaged in the least and the expansion of the modern credit system happens about 15 years earlier. Goldfinger actually helps build the US economy as a result (although he's at the top of the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List until the end of time or his mortal remains have been positively identified, whichever comes first).

All possible. I'd point out, though, that Goldfinger is most likely to sell before Congress or the Fed implement those policies, which would still help him cash out well, so this doesn't thwart his plan.

Furthermore, its entirely possible that the world is able to simply recover the gold through basic refinement--Gold is not that hard to purify or clean; the cleanup would be very expensive, but not prohibitively so. So Goldfinger's plan is short to mid term. And yeah, the FBI is gunning for him--heck, at this point its probably the Navy SEALs.
 
The film, of course, makes no reference to a US Nuclear Response--the USA actually sends marines. Of course, since it's impossible to stealth things in space, the USA could very well send the marines in anyway. Ah, heck with it--I suggested using an ICBM because it made more sense than sending in the Marines anyhow. And there's also the weakness where the poisonous non-stealthed orbs are going to reveal the location of the station. (You Know, at this rate the USA could very well turn the Hubble Space Telescope to find Drax's station)

Better still, use something like a liquid-fueled cruise missile, launched from a modified Space Shuttle. Deploy the missile in a higher orbit, then ignite the engine remotely as the orbit decays and the missile comes closer to the station. No infrared trace and a minimal radar signature even with 1970's technology. By the time the engine cuts in, countermeasures are useless. Drax's station is history...with no more risk to the Shuttle crew than delivering the boarding party we saw in the movie. Bond can stay on the ground for this one.
 
Octopussy
The Plan: Soviet General Orlov has a great idea to create a nuclear incident in West Germany, the idea is to force the West German government to either withdraw or scale back its involvement with NATO. A miniature nuclear weapon is smuggled into a circus cannon to give a surprised audience a far larger bang than bargained for.

What would have happened: It's important to recognize the power of the Bomb is going to be much less than Orlov would have expected--We are talking about a man-portable nuclear device here, it could be a kiloton explosion or less. While the soldiers at the circus tent itself are goners (either by third degree burns or a lethal dose of radiation), the opaque tent itself will shield the people outside from much of the blast effect, even though it will be sheared away in the burst. That said, due to the nuclear blast dealing far less damage than expected, the attack does not deceive the West German Government or NATO. Instead, there is a general War Warning issued to Western Europe caused by a act of nuclear terrorism. West Germany and the United States are outraged by the Soviet's Nuclear Terrorist act and Gorbachev's peace overtures to the west are seen as two-faced lies. With the threat of a third world war mounting, Gorbachev makes a concession--The Soviets pull out of East Germany--and gambles that this move will contain the damage and prevent a shooting war from starting. Although this gamble works internationally, Gorbachev has humiliated himself at home and is swiftly replaced with Gennedy Yanev, who is determined that the Eastern Bloc will start on the Oder River. With the concession of East Germany fresh in their minds, Yanev reverses many of Gorbachev's reforms and the Cold War goes into another deep freeze.

Wow, that would be an awesome timeline.
 
[I had thought about posting this one in the ASB forum, but decided that many of the James Bond movies were realistic enough that it could be discussed here]

ASB:

Thunderball

Stolen nukes would be useless without the codes to arm them, which would not be on the plane (altho with enough time, maybe SPECTRE could take them apart and use the fissile material to build new bombs from scratch).

You only Live Twice

So many people would have to be involved in the construction and staffing of Blofeld's volcano lair, would be impossible to keep its existence secret from the authorities.

The Spy Who Loved Me

1) Practically, how does Stromberg go about recruiting a small army of henchmen willing to help kill billions of innocent people?

2) Not sure if codes needed to launch nukes from a captured sub, would be located on board.

Moonraker

1) Circa 1980, a private individual (Drax) is able to construct a space station larger than any in existence by 2008 in OTL. Such a project would cost hundreds of billions, unless he is somehow able to launch materials into orbit for only a tiny percentage of the cost per pound in OTL, despite the fact that he appears to be using ordinary 1970's-tech space shuttles with throwaway boosters.

2) Stealth technology doesn't work in space, so the space station would have been noticed.

3) It's impossible for a chemical agent to be lethal for only a single species (humans) but no others.

4) Drax's globes might have contained enough of the gas to kill millions, but not everyone on Earth.

Also, maybe not actually ASB (since Drax is craxy), but it makes no sense for Drax to locate his "ark" in space, when it could just be built underground for less than 1% of the cost.
 
2) Stealth technology doesn't work in space, so the space station would have been noticed.

The minute Drax broadcasted his demands, the station's position would have been revealed regardless of whatever 'stealthing' technology he used. All the ground has to do is triangulate the signal and from there they can calculate not only the current position but a complete set of ephemerides for the station.
 
ASB:

Thunderball

Stolen nukes would be useless without the codes to arm them, which would not be on the plane (altho with enough time, maybe SPECTRE could take them apart and use the fissile material to build new bombs from scratch).

You only Live Twice

So many people would have to be involved in the construction and staffing of Blofeld's volcano lair, would be impossible to keep its existence secret from the authorities.

The Spy Who Loved Me

1) Practically, how does Stromberg go about recruiting a small army of henchmen willing to help kill billions of innocent people?

2) Not sure if codes needed to launch nukes from a captured sub, would be located on board.

Moonraker

1) Circa 1980, a private individual (Drax) is able to construct a space station larger than any in existence by 2008 in OTL. Such a project would cost hundreds of billions, unless he is somehow able to launch materials into orbit for only a tiny percentage of the cost per pound in OTL, despite the fact that he appears to be using ordinary 1970's-tech space shuttles with throwaway boosters.

2) Stealth technology doesn't work in space, so the space station would have been noticed.

3) It's impossible for a chemical agent to be lethal for only a single species (humans) but no others.

4) Drax's globes might have contained enough of the gas to kill millions, but not everyone on Earth.

Also, maybe not actually ASB (since Drax is craxy), but it makes no sense for Drax to locate his "ark" in space, when it could just be built underground for less than 1% of the cost.

My Proposed Answers:

Thunderball: Spectre merely threatened the use of the nuclear weapons against the UK and the USA. This could be a bluff, or, its very possible that Spectre can indeed covertly rebuild the weapons. Scary, but nuclear proliferation is very NON-ASB. That said, the possibility of a bluff is not considered, and no mention is made of the industrial rebuild that would be required. This suggests that the actual Thunderball story is larger than explained on film, but doesn't need to be ASB.

You Only Live Twice: I can only imagine that Spectre has at least a decent answer to this challenge--the Japanese Government is heavily influenced by Business Interests, and Blofeld might have part of them in his pocket. Still, the only answer I can offer is that Spectre is simply moving too quickly for the Japanese to intervene.

I will grant that the US and Soviet Response of not immediately freezing their space programs is ASB, and I suspect that unless Spectre has deep ties to the Japanese government that is indeed ASB.

The Spy Who Loved Me: For that matter, how did Charles Manson acquire a band of followers, or how did Adolf Hitler become Kanzler of Germany? There are some very evil, very dangerous people out there. James Bond films generally do not address it, but there is a dark answer to that challenge--yes, some people really rather rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven.

Nuclear Protocols are "hackable", particularly Soviet Ones. Rest assured that Stromburg would be able to launch the nukes--and I'm not sure that they even need launch codes.

Moonraker: ASB. I concede.
 
Diamonds Are Forever

Plot: Blofeld uses a smuggling operation to get diamonds for a laser satellite which he has had built with reclusive industrialist Willard Whyte's fortune by impersonating Whyte. Blofeld manages to destroy a submarine and missile sites in China and the United States before Bond stops him by destroying the oil rig and rendering the satellite inactive.

What might have happened: The attacks continue with the laser firing at Washington, D.C. However, since it is a beam of light and not a kinetic weapon it can only destroy what it cuts through. Thus, while the White House and the Capitol Building might have been heavily damaged if not destroyed, the rest of the city is relatively untouched. The President is in fact safely underground in the Situation Room. The United States and China launch interceptors to take out the satellite and the oil rig is taken in the air assault. Blofeld tries to escape but doesn't get far-the U.S. Navy is actively searching for his mini-sub, and with no other apparent escape venues Blofeld is trapped. After the smuggling operation is exposed, diamond prices stabilize and Whyte's stock goes up considerably. Ironically, this spurs the development of space-based weapons and jump-starts the "Star Wars" program by several years.
 
Diamonds Are Forever

Plot: Blofeld uses a smuggling operation to get diamonds for a laser satellite which he has had built with reclusive industrialist Willard Whyte's fortune by impersonating Whyte. Blofeld manages to destroy a submarine and missile sites in China and the United States before Bond stops him by destroying the oil rig and rendering the satellite inactive.

What might have happened: The attacks continue with the laser firing at Washington, D.C. However, since it is a beam of light and not a kinetic weapon it can only destroy what it cuts through. Thus, while the White House and the Capitol Building might have been heavily damaged if not destroyed, the rest of the city is relatively untouched. The President is in fact safely underground in the Situation Room. The United States and China launch interceptors to take out the satellite and the oil rig is taken in the air assault. Blofeld tries to escape but doesn't get far-the U.S. Navy is actively searching for his mini-sub, and with no other apparent escape venues Blofeld is trapped. After the smuggling operation is exposed, diamond prices stabilize and Whyte's stock goes up considerably. Ironically, this spurs the development of space-based weapons and jump-starts the "Star Wars" program by several years.

Interesting Idea. The Movie does not follow that path (it just causes everything to turn red and makes a generic explosion, although that would be more realistic) Also, the Soviets are almost certainly going to be a part of the counterattack--indeed, this would call for a triple team against the Satellite...

If the Satellite can be controlled instead of destroyed, someone just got a free SDI unit!:D
 
The Spy Who Loved Me: For that matter, how did Charles Manson acquire a band of followers, or how did Adolf Hitler become Kanzler of Germany? There are some very evil, very dangerous people out there. James Bond films generally do not address it, but there is a dark answer to that challenge--yes, some people really rather rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven.

The problem isn't a lack of people willing to assist Stromberg in his plot- the problem is, practically, how does Stromberg go about identifying and recruiting a small army of them? He can't just put an ad in the paper- Wanted: Henchmen to Help Me Blow Up World.

If Stromberg were the head of a terrorist organization, then his henchmen would be self-selecting. But he was just a shipping magnate, there's no reason why people working for him would want to destroy civilization.
 

MrP

Banned
The problem isn't a lack of people willing to assist Stromberg in his plot- the problem is, practically, how does Stromberg go about identifying and recruiting a small army of them? He can't just put an ad in the paper- Wanted: Henchmen to Help Me Blow Up World.

If Stromberg were the head of a terrorist organization, then his henchmen would be self-selecting. But he was just a shipping magnate, there's no reason why people working for him would want to destroy civilization.

Philanthropic works is one way. If he makes contacts with psychiatric organisations, he can abuse his proximity to access their records to select likely candidates. Or close ties to law enforcement. He can recruit recently released criminals to positions in his organisation when other employers might reject 'em for their criminal record. Once recruited, he can vet them to see whether they're sufficiently murderous to help out.
 
Philanthropic works is one way. If he makes contacts with psychiatric organisations, he can abuse his proximity to access their records to select likely candidates. Or close ties to law enforcement. He can recruit recently released criminals to positions in his organisation when other employers might reject 'em for their criminal record. Once recruited, he can vet them to see whether they're sufficiently murderous to help out.

Not everyone who has killed one or two people is capable of killing a billion people. So even among ex-cons, would be hard to reliably screen for "sufficiently murderous". Not to mention that even if a potential recruit is a complete sociopath, with no moral qualms about mass murder, they might still decide they prefer the world the way it is, or that Stromberg's plan is too crazy to work and they'd get a better deal turning him in to the authorities.
 

MrP

Banned
Not everyone who has killed one or two people is capable of killing a billion people. So even among ex-cons, would be hard to reliably screen for "sufficiently murderous". Not to mention that even if a potential recruit is a complete sociopath, with no moral qualms about mass murder, they might still decide they prefer the world the way it is, or that Stromberg's plan is too crazy to work and they'd get a better deal turning him in to the authorities.

Absolutely. I'm not positing an infallible explanation, just offering an off-the-cuff suggestion. :)
 
Absolutely. I'm not positing an infallible explanation, just offering an off-the-cuff suggestion. :)

OK. :) I'll even elaborate on it a little- maybe Stromberg gives his potential recruits a lie detector test to see if their willingness to sign on is genuine, and if they fail he kills them, along with everyone who outright refused. Then all recruits are required to remain on his Atlantis base until the mission is complete, with no opportunity to contact the outside world, so that none of them can rat him out.

Although, he might have to kill thousands of potential recruits before he has the hundreds he needs. And since lie detectors aren't infallible, a significant percentage of his army is still going to be unreliable, ready to escape or rebel at the first opportunity.
 
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