Elektra King
Encyclopedia
Elektra Vavra King is a fictional character
, and primary antagonist in the 1999 James Bond
film The World Is Not Enough
. She is played by Sophie Marceau
.
descent and fled the country immediately after the Soviet Union
was established. As Elektra's maternal grandfather had no sons, Sir Robert became the de facto
male heir when he married into the family. It is for this reason that Elektra believes her father "stole" the oil reserves that rightfully belonged to her mother.
Elektra was kidnapped by the terrorist
Renard
and held for ransom
, which her father refused to pay on the advice of family friend (and head of MI6) M
. Embittered by what she saw as her father's betrayal, Elektra participated in Renard's scheme to milk money from her father, going so far as to mutilate her ear so Renard could send it to Sir Robert as a warning.
After surviving her "kidnapping", Elektra secretly collaborates with Renard to blow up her family's oil pipeline. She intends to kill her father and seize his oil business, which she believes is rightfully hers. She also holds a personal grudge toward M for influencing Sir Robert's decision not to pay the ransom demands. Elektra and Renard arrange an attack on MI6's London
office hoping to kill her father and M. The attack is only partly successful, as M survives. Bond decides to offer his services to protect Elektra, believing that Renard will target her next. To throw off suspicion, Elektra accepts Bond's offer and even becomes his lover. When Renard publicly threatens to destroy the pipeline in an attempt that apparently culminates in the deaths of Bond and new ally Dr. Christmas Jones
, however, she shows her true colours and kidnaps M. The pipeline destruction proves to be a diversion to further throw off suspicion to her real plan: contaminating the Bosporus
with a nuclear meltdown
, forcing oil traders to use her family's pipeline to transport fossil fuel as any other route would require tanker transport across the Bosporus. With her plan minutes away from completion, Elektra places Bond in a torture device designed to break his neck by forcing a metal rod against his spine. She straps his hands, feet, and neck down, but Bond frees himself with the help of Valentin Zukovsky, who sacrifices his own life in order to save Bond.
Bond then chases after Elektra, and corners her in her bedroom. He angrily demands she call Renard off, threatening to kill her if she does not cooperate, but Elektra arrogantly and seductively insists Bond loves her too much to ever harm her ("You'd miss me") – and orders Renard to carry on. Without hesitation, Bond shoots her dead, saying, "I never miss". Seconds later, however, he cradles her body, implying that her death has deeply affected him.
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...
, and primary antagonist in the 1999 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,...
film The World Is Not Enough
The World Is Not Enough
The World Is Not Enough is the nineteenth spy film in the James Bond film series, and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Michael Apted, with the original story and screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein. It...
. She is played by Sophie Marceau
Sophie Marceau
Sophie Marceau is a French actress director, screenwriter, and author. She has appeared in 38 films. As a teenager, Marceau achieved popularity with her debut films La boum and La boum 2 , receiving a César Award for Most Promising Actress...
.
Fictional character history
Elektra King is the daughter of oil tycoon Sir Robert King, whose mother's side of the family is of AzeriAzerbaijani people
The Azerbaijanis are a Turkic-speaking people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as in the neighbourhood states, Georgia, Russia and formerly Armenia. Commonly referred to as Azeris or Azerbaijani Turks , they also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to...
descent and fled the country immediately after the Soviet Union
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....
was established. As Elektra's maternal grandfather had no sons, Sir Robert became the de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
male heir when he married into the family. It is for this reason that Elektra believes her father "stole" the oil reserves that rightfully belonged to her mother.
Elektra was kidnapped by the terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
Renard
Renard (James Bond)
Viktor Lavrentievich Zokas, better known by his alias of Renard, the Anarchist, is a fictional character and a main antagonist in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. He was portrayed by Scottish actor Robert Carlyle.-Biography:...
and held for ransom
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
, which her father refused to pay on the advice of family friend (and head of MI6) M
M (James Bond)
M is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. The head of MI6 and Bond's superior, M has been portrayed by three actors in the official Bond film series: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and since 1995 by Judi Dench. Background =Ian Fleming...
. Embittered by what she saw as her father's betrayal, Elektra participated in Renard's scheme to milk money from her father, going so far as to mutilate her ear so Renard could send it to Sir Robert as a warning.
After surviving her "kidnapping", Elektra secretly collaborates with Renard to blow up her family's oil pipeline. She intends to kill her father and seize his oil business, which she believes is rightfully hers. She also holds a personal grudge toward M for influencing Sir Robert's decision not to pay the ransom demands. Elektra and Renard arrange an attack on MI6's 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...
office hoping to kill her father and M. The attack is only partly successful, as M survives. Bond decides to offer his services to protect Elektra, believing that Renard will target her next. To throw off suspicion, Elektra accepts Bond's offer and even becomes his lover. When Renard publicly threatens to destroy the pipeline in an attempt that apparently culminates in the deaths of Bond and new ally Dr. Christmas Jones
Christmas Jones
Dr. Christmas Jones is a fictional character from the James Bond movie The World Is Not Enough. She was portrayed by Denise Richards. The character also appears in the novel The World Is Not Enough and the video game The World Is Not Enough....
, however, she shows her true colours and kidnaps M. The pipeline destruction proves to be a diversion to further throw off suspicion to her real plan: contaminating the Bosporus
Bosporus
The Bosphorus or Bosporus , also known as the Istanbul Strait , is a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with the Dardanelles...
with a nuclear meltdown
Nuclear meltdown
Nuclear meltdown is an informal term for a severe nuclear reactor accident that results in core damage from overheating. The term is not officially defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency or by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission...
, forcing oil traders to use her family's pipeline to transport fossil fuel as any other route would require tanker transport across the Bosporus. With her plan minutes away from completion, Elektra places Bond in a torture device designed to break his neck by forcing a metal rod against his spine. She straps his hands, feet, and neck down, but Bond frees himself with the help of Valentin Zukovsky, who sacrifices his own life in order to save Bond.
Bond then chases after Elektra, and corners her in her bedroom. He angrily demands she call Renard off, threatening to kill her if she does not cooperate, but Elektra arrogantly and seductively insists Bond loves her too much to ever harm her ("You'd miss me") – and orders Renard to carry on. Without hesitation, Bond shoots her dead, saying, "I never miss". Seconds later, however, he cradles her body, implying that her death has deeply affected him.
Henchmen
- Gabor
- Davidov