Comics Rainbow - Nick Fury

So, this Friday marks the return of James Bond to cinemas everywhere.  It’s probably going to be a big deal as director Sam Mendes, the man who brought back widespread audience interest in the Bond franchise.  Additionally it’s starting to look more and more likely that Daniel Craig won’t be sticking with the franchise for much longer so this will probably be the last chances audiences get to see a Bond who can actually do his own stunts.  

Add on top of all that the increasing return to golden age Bond formula with the reemergence of Spectre as villains and Christoph Waltz playing some kind of Bloefeld esc villain and it’s promising to be a memorable blockbuster, especially after Skyfall gripped the world in Bond-mania and made more than double the box office take as its predecessor.  With all that considered I was going to do a Comics Rainbow about James Bond but James Bond doesn’t really have a comic book presence. 

For most of his career the adaptation rights have flittered from one limbo to another while his more adult nature as a character has kept his adventures out of the standard comic book audience.  Remember, for most of the medium’s history comics were made for kids.  However, I’m still getting in on the Bond fun with the next best character: Nick Fury.  Though he debuted in a brief lived Marvel war comic in 1963, Nick Fury didn’t find a mainstream audience till 1965, when he was resurrected as a James Bond/Man from U.N.C.L.E. esc cold war spy.  This was right around the time spies were catching on as a major popular trend so it makes sense Marvel would want to ride that cultural phenomenon.  Since then the Marvel universe super spy has been through a plethora of reimaginings and revitalizations and this is your full spectrum look at all of them; shades, shames, successes and all. 

James Bond 'Spectre' Full Trailer

All things considered it’s not really that surprising it took the James Bond franchise all of the 2000s till it became relevant again.  James Bond entered the 2000s with the deplorably bloated and embarrassingly outdated Die Another Day before failing to find a substantial audience outside dedicated fans and upper level critics with the stripped down, gritty reworking under Daniel Craig.  Then came the geek awakening of 2008, which is what really set the stage for 007’s return to prominence 4 years later.  On the one hand 2008 helped re-solidify Batman as one of the most popular heroes on the planet, which goes a long way in James Bond’s favor given both characters are globe-trotting adventurers fighting colorful megalomaniacs with a pile of gadgets. 

On the flip side Marvel’s cinematic universe took over the box office and suddenly sprawling inter-film continuity and classic era fidelity were cool again.  That’s why Skyfall ended up like it did, full of recreations of classic Bond elements rather than the stymied realism of previous installments and even redefining James as a more Bruce Wayne like character with dead parents and a mansion.  Now, as we prep for Bond’s next installment director Sam Mendes seems to be doubling down on the classic series revival elements for Spectre in its new full trailer.