Out of all the diabolical villains across 25 every Bond movie follows that template to a predictable ending.
But they haven’t all followed that formula. In License to Kill, one of the best Bond movies of the 1980s, 007 abandons his official MI6 assignment to pursue a personal vendetta against a ruthless drug lord. Halfway through Casino Royale, Bond retires from active service so he can go on vacation with his new girlfriend. And in Skyfall, the villain doesn’t want to take over the world; he has a more personal mission — and unlike every other villain in the Bond franchise, he actually succeeds.
Raoul Silva Is The Only James Bond Villain Whose Plan Actually Succeeded
Silva Successfully Disgraced & Killed M
Raoul Silva, the main villain of Skyfall played by Javier Bardem, is the only Bond villain in the history of the franchise whose evil plan wasn’t foiled by 007. He actually achieves his goal in time for the end credits, and Bond has to live with his own failure. Silva was a former MI6 agent who used to work under M as a field operative. When he was captured, M left him for dead, and upon his escape, he vowed to exact revenge against M and make her pay. And despite Bond’s best efforts, he succeeds in doing so.
Skyfall is the highest-grossing Bond movie ever made, with a worldwide total of $1.109 billion.
After breaking out, Silva resorted to cyberterrorism to discredit M. He revealed the identities of all of M’s undercover agents to the world, and also revealed all of her professional failures. Then, he came to London to assassinate her. Getting caught was all a part of his plan (a trope that got way overused after The Dark Knight), as it got him close to M. Bond took the disgraced M to his childhood home in rural Scotland to protect her, but Silva found them, attacked the house, and killed M before Bond could stop him.
Skyfall's Raoul Silva Was Willing To Die To Accomplish His Goal
Silva Wasn't Afraid Of Death
Every Bond villain has been committed to their plan, but Silva is one of the only ones who was willing to die for his cause. A lot of them would die anyway, whether they were ready or not — usually at Bond’s hands — like Dr. No or Franz Sanchez, but they weren’t prepared to die. In the face of death, they often showed uncharacteristic fear. Megalomaniacs like Auric Goldfinger wanted to seize power, so they wanted to be alive to enjoy that power. But Silva is a soldier, and he was ready to die in his pursuit of vengeance.
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Part of Silva’s fearlessness in the face of death is that, in a way, he’d already died. As far as Silva is concerned, he died the moment he bit into a cyanide capsule to take his own life in captivity. He survived the poisoning, which left him disfigured, and began plotting his revenge. From that moment on, Silva knew he was living on borrowed time. He’d already faced death, so he didn’t mind facing it again, just as long as he got to take out his mortal enemy first.
No Time To Die's Villain Killed Bond, But That Wasn't His True Goal
Safin Wanted To Wipe Out Millions With The Heracles Project
There was one Bond villain after Silva who would succeed at something that no other previous Bond villain had: killing 007. At the end of No Time to Die, Bond is wiped out by a missile strike on the island lair of Rami Malek’s baddie Lyutsifer Safin. But that wasn’t Safin’s plan; Bond died to make sure Safin’s plan wouldn’t succeed. Safin didn’t want to kill 007; he wanted to release the Heracles Project, a nanobot-based virus he created that was coded to specific DNA, so that he could kill millions of people.
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Bond ordered the missile strike to destroy any trace of the Heracles Project. But since Safin closed the blast doors, which would prevent the missiles from getting to the virus, Bond had to go back and open them again. He didn’t have time to get off the island before the missiles hit, so he was killed in the strike. But that wasn’t Safin’s plan; Safin’s plan to release Heracles failed because of Bond’s sacrifice. As it stands, Silva is still the only James Bond villain whose plan was a genuine success.
- Created by
- Ian Fleming, Albert R. Broccoli
- First Film
- Dr. No
- Latest Film
- No Time to Die
- Films
- James Bond 26
- Cast
- Daniel Craig
- Genres
- Action
The James Bond franchise follows the adventures of British secret agent 007 as he combats global threats. With a license to kill, Bond faces off against various villains and criminal organizations, employing high-tech gadgets, espionage, and charm. The series spans multiple films, featuring exotic locations, thrilling action sequences, and memorable characters. Bond's mission to protect the world and uphold justice remains central, making the franchise an enduring icon in the spy genre.
