Hugo Drax
Encyclopedia
Sir Hugo Drax is a fictional character
created by author Ian Fleming
for the James Bond
novel Moonraker. Fleming named him after his friend, Sir Reginald Drax
. For the later film
and its novelization, Drax was largely transformed by screenwriter
Christopher Wood
. In the film, Drax is portrayed by French actor Michael Lonsdale
. In both versions of Moonraker, Drax is the main antagonist
.
Second World War
hero, believed to have been working in Liverpool
harbour before the war, who became a post-war millionaire. He has red hair, and half of his face is badly scarred from a German attack during the War. The same incident left him with amnesia
. After the war, Drax made a fortune from trading metals in Tangier
and was able to start up his company, "Drax Metals Ltd", which specializes and has a monopoly in the production of a metal called columbite
. Drax is also the backer of the 'Moonraker' missile
project being built to defend the United Kingdom
against its Cold War
enemies. The metal columbite gives a missile's engine an extra layer of protection so that it can burn hotter fuels, thus greatly expanding its range of fire.
Hugo von der Drache. Because his mother was English, Drache was educated in England until the age of twelve. Afterwards he moved to Berlin
and later Leipzig
, where he continued and finished his education. After graduating, he joined the Nazi Party and entered the Wehrmacht
as a soldier in the Panzer Brigade 150
. At the outset of the Second World War he took part in the Blitzkrieg
campaigns in Belgium
and France
, before becoming a Skorzeny
Werwolf
commando
. After the Ardennes offensive he stayed behind Allied lines when their forces crossed the Rhine and started operating in the Low Countries
with his commando group. During a mission, he dressed as a British soldier so that he could sabotage
and destroy a farmhouse holding a mixed liaison group of American
and British servicemen, but he ended up at the same farm after being attacked by his own German
fighter
because he was wearing the British uniform which he used to get close to the British Despatch rider
. While he was still conscious, he managed to destroy his motorbike and documents. Later he was found and brought to the farm, so he was caught in the explosion and nearly killed. He was then rescued by the British and nursed back to health, claiming to be a "missing soldier" by the name of Hugo Drax. After being discharged from nursing care, he killed a Jewish businessman in London
and escaped to Tangier with £15,000 he stole from him.
Because Drax was a Nazi and had an insurmountable hatred for Britain, he started the 'Moonraker' missile project under the pretence that he would test fire the missile into the North Sea
(missiles were the cutting-edge of technology in the 1950s). Instead of doing so, however, he targetted his missile on London
and armed it with an atomic bomb he received through support by the Soviets and later learned SMERSH
. Drax uses his knowledge of the impending disaster to play the stock market, planning to make a huge profit from his own terrorist act.
agent Gala Brand, sabotaged Drax's 'Moonraker' missile launch and changed the coordinates of the target back to the North Sea, where after the missile was launched Drax and his men had escaped so that they could watch as London was destroyed. In the event, the Soviet
submarine carrying Drax was destroyed by the blast of the nuclear warhead.
living in California
in a château
that was imported from France
. He owns Drax Industries, which constructs space shuttle
s. In addition, Drax supposedly owns the Eiffel Tower
, but apparently couldn't export it from France
because they wouldn't issue him an export permit. Drax is an accomplished pianist, as evidenced by his recital of Chopin's "Raindrop" Prelude in D flat major (op. 28) on his grand piano (which he plays in the key of D).
An example of the Drax character's ruthlessness as portrayed in the film is given by the manner in which he disposes of enemies. In one case, after discovering that his personal pilot Corinne Dufour
had assisted Bond in discovering his plans, Drax fires her, but then proceeds to set his trained Doberman
dogs on her; they chase her into a forest and finally kill her.
Bond follows a trail around the world to investigate the theft of a space shuttle on loan to the UK by Hugo Drax (its engines were fired while it was riding on a 747), starting in California at Drax Industries, and following it to Italy
, then to Brazil
, then into space.
In a scheme similar to that of Karl Stromberg
's plan, Drax sought to destroy the entire human race except for a small group of carefully selected humans, both male and female, that would leave Earth on six shuttles (the one just stolen from NASA to replace one that had faults) and have sanctuary on a space station in orbit over Earth. Using chemical weapons created by Drax's scientists, derived from the toxin
of a rare South American plant, the Black Orchid, at an installation in Italy, he would wipe out the remainder of humanity. The biological agents were to be dispersed around the earth from a series of 50 strategically placed globes, each containing enough toxin to kill 100 million people while the toxin itself would have no effect on animals. Only three globes had been launched when the station was destroyed, taking with it the threat from the other 47 globes.
After a period of time, when the chemical agents
had become harmless, Drax and his master race
would return to Earth to reinhabit the planet. These humans would supposedly live in harmony with one another under his command.
Bond obtained a sample of the chemical agent at the location in Italy, and analysis of it led him to a remote part of Brazil where he found Drax's shuttle-launch facility in an ancient civilization's shrine.
Bond and his companion, CIA
agent Dr. Holly Goodhead
, commandeer one of Drax's space shuttles and blast off to his orbiting space station. There with the help of Goodhead, Jaws- who defected to help Bond when Bond subtly tricked Drax into admitting that Jaws and his new girlfriend didn't fit Drax's 'standards'-, and a group of American
space soldiers launched on a military-owned shuttle, Drax runs for the airlock and when he sees Bond run after him, he tries to barricade himself in but ends up running away. When Bond gets in, Drax faces Bond, drawing a laser gun as he walked backwards to the airlock door, grimly noting that he would at least "have the pleasure of putting [Bond] out of [his (Drax's)] misery".
Bond slowly puts his hand up with the poison dart wrist watch, fatally wounding Drax before 'escorting' him into an airlock so that he can be ejected to die in space, Bond commenting that Drax should 'take a giant step for mankind'.
Quote: "First there was the dream, now there is reality. Here in the untainted cradle of the heavens will be created a new super race, a race of perfect physical specimens. You have been selected as its progenitors, like gods your offspring will return to Earth and shape it in their image. You have all served in public capacities in my terrestrial empire. Your seed like yourselves will pay deference to the ultimate dynasty which I alone have created. From their first day on Earth they will be able top look up and know that there is law and order in the heavens."
describes Drax as red-haired and with a face scarred and botched by poor plastic surgery (from a time "before he could afford the best in the world"), much as originally envisioned by Fleming. Although Drax's nationality is not specified, Bond idly wonders to himself which side he fought on during World War II.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
created by author Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
for the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
novel Moonraker. Fleming named him after his friend, Sir Reginald Drax
Reginald Drax
Admiral The Hon. Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, KCB, DSO, JP, DL was a British admiral...
. For the later film
Moonraker (film)
Moonraker is the eleventh spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The third and final film in the series to be directed by Lewis Gilbert, it co-stars Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Corinne Clery, and Richard Kiel...
and its novelization, Drax was largely transformed by screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood (writer)
Christopher Wood is an English screenwriter and novelist best known under the pseudonym 'Timothy Lea' for the Confessions series of novels and films. Under his own name, he adapted two James Bond novels for the screen: The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker .Wood has written many novels...
. In the film, Drax is portrayed by French actor Michael Lonsdale
Michael Lonsdale
Michael Lonsdale , sometimes billed as Michel Lonsdale, is a French actor who has appeared in over 180 films and television shows....
. In both versions of Moonraker, Drax is the main antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
.
Novel biography
In the novel, Sir Hugo Drax is a famous EnglishEnglish people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
hero, believed to have been working in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
harbour before the war, who became a post-war millionaire. He has red hair, and half of his face is badly scarred from a German attack during the War. The same incident left him with amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
. After the war, Drax made a fortune from trading metals in Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
and was able to start up his company, "Drax Metals Ltd", which specializes and has a monopoly in the production of a metal called columbite
Columbite
Columbite, also called niobite, niobite-tantalite and columbate [2O6], is a black mineral group that is an ore of niobium and tantalum. It has a submetallic luster and a high density and is a niobate of iron and manganese, containing tantalate of iron. This mineral group was first found in Haddam,...
. Drax is also the backer of the 'Moonraker' missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
project being built to defend the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
against its Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
enemies. The metal columbite gives a missile's engine an extra layer of protection so that it can burn hotter fuels, thus greatly expanding its range of fire.
Scheme
As it turns out, Sir Hugo Drax is not who he seems; he was born in Germany as GrafGraf
Graf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...
Hugo von der Drache. Because his mother was English, Drache was educated in England until the age of twelve. Afterwards he moved to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and later Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, where he continued and finished his education. After graduating, he joined the Nazi Party and entered the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
as a soldier in the Panzer Brigade 150
Panzer Brigade 150
Panzer Brigade 150 or SS Panzer Brigade 150 was a formation of the German Army during World War II that was formed to take part in the Ardennes offensive, it was unusual in that it was formed from all parts of the German Armed Forces, the 2.500 men in the brigade were formed from; 1.000 from the...
. At the outset of the Second World War he took part in the Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg
For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
campaigns in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, before becoming a Skorzeny
Otto Skorzeny
Otto Skorzeny was an SS-Obersturmbannführer in the German Waffen-SS during World War II. After fighting on the Eastern Front, he was chosen as the field commander to carry out the rescue mission that freed the deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from captivity...
Werwolf
Werwolf
Werwolf was the name given to a Nazi plan, which began development in 1944, to create a commando force which would operate behind enemy lines as the Allies advanced through Germany itself. Werwolf remained entirely ineffectual as a combat force, however, and in practical terms, its value as...
commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
. After the Ardennes offensive he stayed behind Allied lines when their forces crossed the Rhine and started operating in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
with his commando group. During a mission, he dressed as a British soldier so that he could sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
and destroy a farmhouse holding a mixed liaison group of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and British servicemen, but he ended up at the same farm after being attacked by his own German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
because he was wearing the British uniform which he used to get close to the British Despatch rider
Despatch rider
A despatch rider is a military messenger, mounted on horse or motorcycle.Despatch riders were used by armed forces to deliver urgent orders and messages between headquarters and military units...
. While he was still conscious, he managed to destroy his motorbike and documents. Later he was found and brought to the farm, so he was caught in the explosion and nearly killed. He was then rescued by the British and nursed back to health, claiming to be a "missing soldier" by the name of Hugo Drax. After being discharged from nursing care, he killed a Jewish businessman in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and escaped to Tangier with £15,000 he stole from him.
Because Drax was a Nazi and had an insurmountable hatred for Britain, he started the 'Moonraker' missile project under the pretence that he would test fire the missile into the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
(missiles were the cutting-edge of technology in the 1950s). Instead of doing so, however, he targetted his missile on London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and armed it with an atomic bomb he received through support by the Soviets and later learned SMERSH
SMERSH
SMERSH was the counter-intelligence agency in the Red Army formed in late 1942 or even earlier, but officially founded on April 14, 1943. The name SMERSH was coined by Joseph Stalin...
. Drax uses his knowledge of the impending disaster to play the stock market, planning to make a huge profit from his own terrorist act.
Prevention
James Bond, with the help of female Special BranchSpecial Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
agent Gala Brand, sabotaged Drax's 'Moonraker' missile launch and changed the coordinates of the target back to the North Sea, where after the missile was launched Drax and his men had escaped so that they could watch as London was destroyed. In the event, the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
submarine carrying Drax was destroyed by the blast of the nuclear warhead.
Henchmen
- Willy Krebs - Drax's friend and later loyal servant, Krebs was the youngest Werwolf in Drax's unit and a specialist in tortureTortureTorture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
. - Dr Walter - A German rocket scientist employed by the Soviets, Walter was sent to deliver the Soviet atomic bomb to Drax and to assist him with his missile project.
Film biography
In the film adaptation, Hugo Drax is a billionaireBillionaire
A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...
living in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in a château
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
that was imported from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He owns Drax Industries, which constructs space shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
s. In addition, Drax supposedly owns the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
, but apparently couldn't export it from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
because they wouldn't issue him an export permit. Drax is an accomplished pianist, as evidenced by his recital of Chopin's "Raindrop" Prelude in D flat major (op. 28) on his grand piano (which he plays in the key of D).
An example of the Drax character's ruthlessness as portrayed in the film is given by the manner in which he disposes of enemies. In one case, after discovering that his personal pilot Corinne Dufour
Corinne Dufour
Corinne Dufour is a fictional character in the James Bond film Moonraker.Corinne Dufour is Sir Hugo Drax's personal pilot and assistant. She first appears when Bond arrives in Los Angeles to investigate Drax: she pilots the helicopter that collects Bond from Los Angeles International airport,...
had assisted Bond in discovering his plans, Drax fires her, but then proceeds to set his trained Doberman
Doberman
Doberman or Dobermann most commonly refers to Doberman Pinscher, a breed of dog, or to its creator, Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann.It may also refer to:*Doberman , a 2003 album by Tomoyasu Hotei*Doberman , a Japanese ska/punk band...
dogs on her; they chase her into a forest and finally kill her.
Bond follows a trail around the world to investigate the theft of a space shuttle on loan to the UK by Hugo Drax (its engines were fired while it was riding on a 747), starting in California at Drax Industries, and following it to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, then to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, then into space.
In a scheme similar to that of Karl Stromberg
Karl Stromberg
Karl Sigmund Stromberg is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. Stromberg was portrayed by the late German-born, Austrian actor Curt Jurgens. The character Stromberg was created specifically for the film by writer Christopher Wood...
's plan, Drax sought to destroy the entire human race except for a small group of carefully selected humans, both male and female, that would leave Earth on six shuttles (the one just stolen from NASA to replace one that had faults) and have sanctuary on a space station in orbit over Earth. Using chemical weapons created by Drax's scientists, derived from the toxin
Toxin
A toxin is a poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms; man-made substances created by artificial processes are thus excluded...
of a rare South American plant, the Black Orchid, at an installation in Italy, he would wipe out the remainder of humanity. The biological agents were to be dispersed around the earth from a series of 50 strategically placed globes, each containing enough toxin to kill 100 million people while the toxin itself would have no effect on animals. Only three globes had been launched when the station was destroyed, taking with it the threat from the other 47 globes.
After a period of time, when the chemical agents
Bioterrorism
Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form. For the use of this method in warfare, see biological warfare.-Definition:According to the...
had become harmless, Drax and his master race
Master race
Master race was a phrase and concept originating in the slave-holding Southern US. The later phrase Herrenvolk , interpreted as 'master race', was a concept in Nazi ideology in which the Nordic peoples, one of the branches of what in the late-19th and early-20th century was called the Aryan race,...
would return to Earth to reinhabit the planet. These humans would supposedly live in harmony with one another under his command.
Bond obtained a sample of the chemical agent at the location in Italy, and analysis of it led him to a remote part of Brazil where he found Drax's shuttle-launch facility in an ancient civilization's shrine.
Bond and his companion, CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
agent Dr. Holly Goodhead
Holly Goodhead
Dr. Holly Goodhead is a fictional character from the James Bond franchise, portrayed by Lois Chiles. She does not appear in any of the novels, solely appearing in the film version of Moonraker. However, her character is somewhat similar to Gala Brand, who is the female lead character in the...
, commandeer one of Drax's space shuttles and blast off to his orbiting space station. There with the help of Goodhead, Jaws- who defected to help Bond when Bond subtly tricked Drax into admitting that Jaws and his new girlfriend didn't fit Drax's 'standards'-, and a group of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
space soldiers launched on a military-owned shuttle, Drax runs for the airlock and when he sees Bond run after him, he tries to barricade himself in but ends up running away. When Bond gets in, Drax faces Bond, drawing a laser gun as he walked backwards to the airlock door, grimly noting that he would at least "have the pleasure of putting [Bond] out of [his (Drax's)] misery".
Bond slowly puts his hand up with the poison dart wrist watch, fatally wounding Drax before 'escorting' him into an airlock so that he can be ejected to die in space, Bond commenting that Drax should 'take a giant step for mankind'.
Quote: "First there was the dream, now there is reality. Here in the untainted cradle of the heavens will be created a new super race, a race of perfect physical specimens. You have been selected as its progenitors, like gods your offspring will return to Earth and shape it in their image. You have all served in public capacities in my terrestrial empire. Your seed like yourselves will pay deference to the ultimate dynasty which I alone have created. From their first day on Earth they will be able top look up and know that there is law and order in the heavens."
Henchmen
- Jaws
- Chang
- Tree Sniper
- Innumerable footsoldiers in lemon yellow spacesuits with black stripes
- Italian gangsters in Venice
Novelisation
In his novelization of the movie, screenwriter Christopher WoodChristopher Wood (writer)
Christopher Wood is an English screenwriter and novelist best known under the pseudonym 'Timothy Lea' for the Confessions series of novels and films. Under his own name, he adapted two James Bond novels for the screen: The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker .Wood has written many novels...
describes Drax as red-haired and with a face scarred and botched by poor plastic surgery (from a time "before he could afford the best in the world"), much as originally envisioned by Fleming. Although Drax's nationality is not specified, Bond idly wonders to himself which side he fought on during World War II.