Karl Stromberg
Encyclopedia
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, Austria
n actor
Curt Jurgens
. The character Stromberg was created specifically for the film by writer Christopher Wood
. The novel The Spy Who Loved Me, written by Ian Fleming
wasn't told from Bond's perspective, but rather a Bond girl
that is in love with him. The entire plot of the film has actually nothing to do at all with the plot of the novel. This was at Fleming's request; when he sold the rights to his novel to EON Productions
he requested only the title be used.
Karl Stromberg is a successful self-employed businessman as head of his own shipping firm and chain of laboratories. Stromberg's obsession and passion is the ocean
where he lives in his palace, named Atlantis, that could submerge itself underwater so as not to be seen or detected. Located off the coast of Sardinia
, Italy
, Atlantis has everything to support life above and below water for any length of time. In fact, Atlantis is more like a city, able to support dozens if not hundreds of people. Stromberg also owns a huge tanker
, named Liparus, that serves as his headquarters away from Atlantis. Aboard the tanker he has a small army of red soldiers. In Christopher Wood's novelisation of the film, Stromberg is Swedish
and his first name is Sigmund.
, he despises the human race, not unlike Jules Verne
's Captain Nemo
. Stromberg, however, is much more diabolical and has no interest in benefiting the world. He has a congenital condition in which his hands are webbed like those of aquatic birds or mammals. It is his personal mission to start over with a new civilization underwater via complete anarchy against the "surface world". After contracting two scientists to create the technology to track nuclear submarine
s, Stromberg uses this technology to capture a Soviet nuclear submarine and a British
submarine. By tracking the subs, Stromberg's specially adapted tanker, Liparus, sneaks up on the subs, forces them to the surface through methods using some kind of high frequencies to disrupt the sub's electrical system and captures them inside the tanker. His plan calls for the firing of nuclear missiles from these subs at Moscow
and New York City
, thus framing each other's government and starting a nuclear war, which would wipe out every last human being on Earth
. Among Stromberg's many minions were an assistant who betrayed him by trying to sell the plans for the submarine tracking system, and a professor and a doctor who were to help him operate the tracking system after it was complete. He killed his assistant by feeding her to a shark, and killed the professor and the doctor, having outlived their usefulness, by blowing up their helicopter (In a comic relief
after cancelling the payment to the professor and doctor he has his secretary inform the two mens' families that they have met with an accident and are "buried at sea".)
This scheme is actually a recycled plot from a previous film, You Only Live Twice
, which was similar in that by stealing space capsules it would start a war between the Soviets and the Americans. The idea of commandeering two nuclear missiles and attempting to fire them at two major cities likewise recalls the plot of Thunderball
. The scheme in which the villain wishes to destroy mankind to create a new race or new civilization was also used in Moonraker
, the next film after The Spy Who Loved Me. In Moonraker, the villain Hugo Drax
has an obsession with restarting human civilization in outer space, although Drax's plans were to eventually return to Earth, unlike Stromberg. The film Moonraker was also written by Christopher Wood. Both Drax and Stromberg have hired Jaws as a henchman.
, and escaped to his city-ship, Atlantis.
Bond pursues Stromberg, and after two failed attempts by Stromberg to kill him (including the use of an explosive harpoon
which ran the length of a dinner table), Bond exercises his licence to kill by shooting Stromberg multiple times in the groin and chest. Atlantis is later torpedoed and sunk, giving Stromberg a burial at sea.
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 the main antagonist in 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,...
film The Spy Who Loved Me
The Spy Who Loved Me (film)
The Spy Who Loved Me is a spy film, the tenth film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as the fictional secret agent James Bond. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum...
. Stromberg was portrayed by the late 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...
-born, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Curt Jurgens
Curd Jürgens
Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens.-Early life:...
. The character Stromberg was created specifically for the film by writer 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...
. The novel The Spy Who Loved Me, written by 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...
wasn't told from Bond's perspective, but rather a Bond girl
Bond girl
A Bond girl is a character or actress portraying a love interest, of James Bond in a film, novel, or video game. They occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as "Pussy Galore", "Plenty O'Toole", "Xenia Onatopp", or "Holly Goodhead"...
that is in love with him. The entire plot of the film has actually nothing to do at all with the plot of the novel. This was at Fleming's request; when he sold the rights to his novel to EON Productions
EON Productions
Eon Productions is a film production company known for producing the James Bond film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom...
he requested only the title be used.
Bio
The webbed-fingeredSyndactyly
Syndactyly is a condition wherein two or more digits are fused together. It occurs normally in some mammals, such as the siamang and kangaroo, but is an unusual condition in humans.-Classification:...
Karl Stromberg is a successful self-employed businessman as head of his own shipping firm and chain of laboratories. Stromberg's obsession and passion is the ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
where he lives in his palace, named Atlantis, that could submerge itself underwater so as not to be seen or detected. Located off the coast of Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, 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...
, Atlantis has everything to support life above and below water for any length of time. In fact, Atlantis is more like a city, able to support dozens if not hundreds of people. Stromberg also owns a huge tanker
Tanker (ship)
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
, named Liparus, that serves as his headquarters away from Atlantis. Aboard the tanker he has a small army of red soldiers. In Christopher Wood's novelisation of the film, Stromberg is Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and his first name is Sigmund.
Scheme
Although Stromberg has a passion for the ocean and its various speciesSpecies
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, he despises the human race, not unlike Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
's Captain Nemo
Captain Nemo
Captain Nemo, also known as Prince Dakkar, is a fictional character featured in Jules Verne's novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island ....
. Stromberg, however, is much more diabolical and has no interest in benefiting the world. He has a congenital condition in which his hands are webbed like those of aquatic birds or mammals. It is his personal mission to start over with a new civilization underwater via complete anarchy against the "surface world". After contracting two scientists to create the technology to track nuclear submarine
Nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor . The performance advantages of nuclear submarines over "conventional" submarines are considerable: nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for...
s, Stromberg uses this technology to capture a Soviet nuclear submarine and a British
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...
submarine. By tracking the subs, Stromberg's specially adapted tanker, Liparus, sneaks up on the subs, forces them to the surface through methods using some kind of high frequencies to disrupt the sub's electrical system and captures them inside the tanker. His plan calls for the firing of nuclear missiles from these subs at Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, thus framing each other's government and starting a nuclear war, which would wipe out every last human being on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. Among Stromberg's many minions were an assistant who betrayed him by trying to sell the plans for the submarine tracking system, and a professor and a doctor who were to help him operate the tracking system after it was complete. He killed his assistant by feeding her to a shark, and killed the professor and the doctor, having outlived their usefulness, by blowing up their helicopter (In a comic relief
Comic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
after cancelling the payment to the professor and doctor he has his secretary inform the two mens' families that they have met with an accident and are "buried at sea".)
This scheme is actually a recycled plot from a previous film, You Only Live Twice
You Only Live Twice (film)
You Only Live Twice is the fifth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fifth to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's screenplay was written by Roald Dahl, and loosely based on Ian Fleming's 1964 novel of the same name...
, which was similar in that by stealing space capsules it would start a war between the Soviets and the Americans. The idea of commandeering two nuclear missiles and attempting to fire them at two major cities likewise recalls the plot of Thunderball
Thunderball (film)
Thunderball is the fourth spy film in the James Bond series starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham...
. The scheme in which the villain wishes to destroy mankind to create a new race or new civilization was also used in Moonraker
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...
, the next film after The Spy Who Loved Me. In Moonraker, the villain Hugo Drax
Hugo Drax
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...
has an obsession with restarting human civilization in outer space, although Drax's plans were to eventually return to Earth, unlike Stromberg. The film Moonraker was also written by Christopher Wood. Both Drax and Stromberg have hired Jaws as a henchman.
Prevention
Stromberg's scheme is foiled after Bond is taken aboard the Liparus as a prisoner from a recently captured American submarine. With Bond's help, the crews from the submarines escape and overtake the tanker. With the tanker under their control, Bond is able to order the stolen submarines, which were crewed by Stromberg's men, to fire their nuclear warheads at each other. Prior to this, however, Stromberg had abducted Bond's partner, the Russian agent Anya AmasovaAnya Amasova
Major Anya Amasova is a fictional character and the deuteragonist in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, portrayed by Barbara Bach...
, and escaped to his city-ship, Atlantis.
Bond pursues Stromberg, and after two failed attempts by Stromberg to kill him (including the use of an explosive harpoon
Harpoon
A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument used in fishing to catch fish or large marine mammals such as whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal, allowing the fishermen to use a rope or chain attached to the butt of the projectile to catch the animal...
which ran the length of a dinner table), Bond exercises his licence to kill by shooting Stromberg multiple times in the groin and chest. Atlantis is later torpedoed and sunk, giving Stromberg a burial at sea.
Henchmen
- Jaws
- Naomi
- Sandor
- Liparus Captain
- A small army of red soldiers