6 Things Superhero and James Bond Movies Have in Common
6 Things Superhero and James Bond Movies Have in Common
You wouldn’t immediately think that James Bond movies and superhero movies are similar.
However, they have some very similar elements.
Here’s a look at 6 things that you’ll find in both superhero movies and James Bond movies.
1 - Different Takes on the Same Character
Get into a conversation about who was the best James Bond, and you quickly find it becomes all about which actors captured certain traits (the sexual charisma, the humor, the masculinity) the best and how different actors captured different sides of the character.
Get into a conversation about the newest Spider-Man, Superman or Batman films, and you find you’re having a very similar conversation.
Who captured Peter Parker’s geekiness?
Who played Bruce Wayne’s playboy side the best?
Who managed to pull off both Clark Kent’s awkwardness and Superman’s confidence?
With plenty of remakes probably coming out in the future, this conversation will extend to other characters.
2 - Crazy Adventures
Bond’s average adventure has him face problems that realistically no one person can handle.
Sometimes it’s accidental (spying on someone only to discover that person’s planning to cause World War III) and sometimes his boss just expects him to do something incredible (take out a crime lord singlehandedly).
Superheroes are a bit more qualified but ultimately tend to find themselves in the same situations. Even Spider-Man shouldn’t be able to take down Doctor Doom’s fortress or save a building from armed terrorists by himself, but that’s often what happens.
3 - Larger-Than-Life Villains
Bond villains are never regular crooks.
They have interesting names like Goldfinger or Dr. No. They have personalities somewhere between narcissistic and sociopathic.
Occasionally they have unusual powers (robotic hands, high pain tolerance).
Their plans are huge, such as bankrupting an entire country or setting off a nuclear war.
The average supervillain isn’t much different.
Their names are often a bit more grandiose (Doctor Doom, Two-Face), but their plans are just as crazy.
The primary difference is supervillains wear louder costumes and usually try to fight the good guys directly instead of watching their minions do the work.
4 - Exotic Gadgets
Bond’s adventures always start with getting the latest hi-tech gadget (anything from an exploding pen to a jetpack) from his technician, Q.
Superheroes usually make their gadgets themselves (Spider-Man makes his own web shooters) or buy it from anonymous suppliers we never meet (whoever helped stock the Batcave and create the Batmobile).
5 - Absurd Powers
Bond may appear to be normal, but he has some almost superhuman traits.
Obviously, he has unusual charisma around women, and he has unusual luck with dangerous situations.
He pits himself against people who are smarter and stronger than him, and somehow always comes out alive.
Superheroes have powers that are more overtly strange, anything from multiple limbs to laser vision.
But they often survive because they have as much luck as Bond does, hitting the right solution at the right time.
6 - Over-Sexualized Women
It’s been noted many times that the Bond girls are usually just there to provide sexual content.
Their names have racy connotations, their personalities rarely have complexity, and they’re always easy to seduce.
Women in superhero comics don’t always have racy names, but they’re often just there to get captured or to move in with the hero.
In the best cases, they have interesting stories and characteristics, but still have costumes that can’t be functional.
Image Credit 1: James Bond illustration created by Themeplus https://www.flickr.com/photos/85217387@N04/8446295874
Image Credit 2: Iron Man illustration created by vborodinova https://pixabay.com/en/iron-man-superhero-marvel-fiction-3185967/