00 Agent


In Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and the derived films, the 00 Section of MI6 is considered the secret service's elite. A 00 is a field agent that holds a licence to kill in the field, at his or her discretion, to complete any mission. The novel Moonraker establishes that the section routinely has three agents concurrently; the film series, beginning with Thunderball, establishes the number of 00 agents at a minimum of 9.

Inspiration

The origins of the Double O title may date to Fleming's wartime service. According to World War Two historian Damien Lewis in his book Churchill's Secret Warriors, agents of the Special Operations Executive were given a "0" prefix when they became "zero-rated" upon completion of training in how to kill. As part of his role as assistant to the head of naval intelligence, Rear Admiral John Godfrey, Fleming acted as liaison to the SOE.

Description

In the first novel, Casino Royale, and the 2006 film adaptation, the 00 concept is introduced and, in Bond's words, means "that you've had to kill a chap in cold blood in the course of some assignment." Bond's 00 number was awarded to him because he twice killed in fulfilling assignments. In the second novel, Live and Let Die, the 00 number designates a past killing; not until the third novel, Moonraker, does the 00 number designate a licence to kill. Thereafter, the novels are ambiguous about whether a 00 agent's licence to kill is limited, with varying accounts in Dr. No, Goldfinger, and The Man with the Golden Gun.
Per Fleming's Moonraker, 00 agents face mandatory retirement at 45; John Gardner contradicts this in his novels, depicting a fifty-odd-year-old secret agent. Sebastian Faulks's Devil May Care features M giving Bond a choice of when to retire.
Fleming himself only mentions five 00 agents in all. According to Moonraker, James Bond is the most senior of three 00 agents; the two others were 008 and 0011. The three men share an office and a secretary named Loelia Ponsonby. Later novels feature two more 00 agents; 009 is mentioned in Thunderball and 006 is mentioned in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Other authors have elaborated and expanded upon the 00 agents. While they presumably have been sent on dangerous missions as Bond has, little has been revealed about most of them. Several have been named, both by Fleming and other authors, along with passing references to their service records, which suggest that agents are largely recruited from the British military's special forces.
In the films, the 00 section is a discrete area of MI6, whose agents report directly to M, and tend to be sent on special assignments and troubleshooting missions, often involving rogue agents or situations where an "ordinary" intelligence operation uncovers or reveals terrorist or criminal activity too sensitive to be dealt with using ordinary procedural or legal measures, and where the aforementioned discretionary "licence to kill" is deemed necessary or useful in rectifying the situation. The World Is Not Enough introduces a special insignia for the 00 Section. Bond's fellow 00 agents appear receiving briefings in Thunderball and The World Is Not Enough. The latter film shows a woman in one of the 00 chairs. In Thunderball, there are nine chairs for the 00 agents; Moneypenny says every 00 agent in Europe has been recalled, not every 00 agent in the world. Behind the scenes photos of the film reveal that one of the agents in the chairs is female as well. As with the books, other writers have elaborated and expanded upon the 00 agents in the films and in other media. In GoldenEye, 006 is an alias for Alec Trevelyan; as of 2019, Trevelyan is the only 00 agent other than Bond to play a major role in an EON Productions film, with all other appearances either being brief or dialogue references only.

List of 00s

The following lists are of the known 00 agents of the British Secret Service who exist in the Ian Fleming novels & short stories, the officially licensed novels, the EON movies, or in the official video games or comic strips.

00 Agents from Ian Fleming's Bond stories

00-agentNameDescription
006Unnamed006, a Royal Marine commando, is mentioned in the novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
007James BondJames Bond is the only agent 007. In the novel You Only Live Twice, Bond was transferred into another branch and given the number 7777, suggesting there was no active agent 007 in that time; he is later reinstated as 007 in the novel The Man with the Golden Gun.
008BillIn the novel Moonraker, 008 is mentioned as being on recuperative leave after returning from a mission behind the Iron Curtain.
In the novel Goldfinger, Bond thinks to himself that 008 would likely avenge Bond by killing Goldfinger. As Bond thinks this, he ruminates that 008 is "a good man, more careful than Bond."
009UnnamedReferred to in the novel Thunderball. Referred to in the movies Octopussy, The World Is Not Enough and Spectre.
0011UnnamedMentioned in the novel Moonraker as vanishing while on assignment in Singapore.

00 Agents from Bond stories by other authors

00 Agents from the Eon film franchise

00 Agents from computer and video games

00 Agents from other official media

False 00 Agents from ''Casino Royale'' (1967)

The 1967 film adaptation of Fleming's first novel, Casino Royale, spoofed the EON film series. As part of its storyline, Sir James Bond, after having assumed the position of M, mandates that all MI6 agents - male and female - be renamed James Bond 007 in order to confuse enemy agents of SMERSH.
00-agentNameDescription
007Evelyn TrembleBaccarat master. Portrayed by Peter Sellers.
007Vesper LyndBond's former lover. Portrayed by Ursula Andress.
007Miss MoneypennyDaughter of Bond's retired secretary, with the same name as her mother. Portrayed by Barbara Bouchet.
007Mata BondIllegitimate daughter of Bond and Mata Hari. Portrayed by Joanna Pettet.
007The DetainerA female agent who ultimately is the one to defeat the villain, Dr. Noah. Real name unrevealed. Portrayed by Daliah Lavi.
007CooperAn agent who closely resembles the stereotypical image of Bond. Portrayed by Terence Cooper.
007Jimmy BondNephew of Sir James Bond who, tired of being looked down upon, creates the persona of Dr. Noah, head of the evil organization SMERSH. As his duplicity is not known until late in the film, he technically falls under his uncle's naming edict. Portrayed by Woody Allen.
007"James Bond"Prior to renaming all MI6 agents, Sir James mentions that the agency had given "my name and number" to another individual. Two dialogue references are made to this Bond: one has McTerry expressing concern that he may be targeted by assassins; later in the film, it is said that he has left the service and entered the world of television.