Karl Stromberg

"Observe, Mr. Bond, the instruments of Armageddon."

- Karl Stromberg's most famous line

"(Over PA system) It was you who betrayed me. You had access to all the information. Now, you will pay the penalty."

- Stromberg, to his assistant, before the shark kills her.

Karl Stromberg is the main antagonist of the James Bond film ''The Spy Who Loved Me. ''He was portrayed by the late Curd Jürgens.

Biography
The webbed-fingered 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 futuristic 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-suited soldiers. In Christopher Wood's novelisation of the film, Stromberg is Swedish and his first name is Sigmund.

Scheme
Although Stromberg has a passion for the ocean and its various species, 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 submarines, 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. To investigate the disappearance of their submarines, the Russian and British government send the agents Anya Amasova and James Bond respectively. While Bond and Amasova are briefed about their task, Stromberg meets with Dr. Beckman and Prof. Markovitz, the men who developed his submarine tracking system. He tells them that he has payed 10 million dollars each into their bank accounts. Before dismissing them, he tells them that he regrets to inform them that someone has been attempting to sell the plans for the device and that only someone close to the project could have done so. He tells his assistant to leave the room while he discusses with the men, but as she enters the elevator, Stromberg pushes a button and the bottom of the elevator opens, dropping the girl into a water tank in which a shark swiftly kills her. Over a PA system, Stromberg talks to the woman, letting her know that he knows it was her who betrayed him. The two scientist then leave the room and Stromberg heaves Atlantis, his underwater palace, out of the ocean. He then calls two henchmen, Sandor and Jaws, and tasks them with the recovery of the tracking system, telling them to eliminate everyone who came into contact with the system.

Stromberg then watches the helicopter with the two scientists leaving Atlantis and, with them having outlived their usefulness, blows them up. He then swiftly cancels the transaction and tells a secretary to inform the two mens' families that they have met with an accident and are "buried at sea".

Meeting Bond
Eventually, Bond and Amasova find a microchip leading them to Stromberg's marine research laboratory on Sardinia. Their governments decide that Amasova and Bond will be sent to investigate together. Under the cover of a marine biologist and his assistant, Bond and Amasova are granted "an audience" with Stromberg. Sent by Stromberg, his secretary Naomi picks up Bond and Amasova and she brings them to Atlantis. When they arrive at Atlantis, Stromberg watches them via hidden cameras. While Bond enters the elevator to meet Stromberg, Naomi volunteers to show Amasova around. After exiting the elevator, Bond meets Stromberg, who tests Bond's cover by asking him about the fishes in his aquarium. After Bond has passed the test, Bond and Stromberg briefly talk about Stromberg's obsession with the ocean before Stromberg parts with Bond, claiming to have urgent business.

While Bond and Amasova leave, Stromberg meets with Jaws who tells him that his two guests were the ones he fought on the train. Stromberg then tells Jaws to let them get to shore before killing them. Bond eventually escapes.

Capturing another vessel
When Stromberg's men capture another submarine with the Liparus, Bond and Amasova are inside amidst the crew. When the submarine is inside the Liparus, Stromberg talks to the captain via intercom, telling him that he and his crew will be exterminated via cyanide gas if they do not open the hatch. Without an alternative, the hatch is opened and the men leave the ship. Stromberg then orders the crew to be imprisoned with the crews of the other submarines. However, while the men are walking off, Stromberg recognizes Bond and Amasova and tells his men to bring the two to him. When Bond and Amasova stand before him, Stromberg reveals that his plan is firing nuclear missiles from the stolen submarines 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. He plans to do so in order to create a new civilisation under the water.

His three submarines then set off. After witnessing their departure, Stromberg orders his men to imprison Bond with the rest of the crew while he and Amasova enter a speedboat and return to Atlantis. However, Bond manages to free himself on the way and frees the prisoners. After arming themselves, Bond's crew takes over the Liparus, killing the remainder of Stromberg's men. After gaining entrance to the controll room, Bond is able to order the stolen British and Soviet submarines to fire their nuclear warheads at each other, obliterating both them and their crew. Using the remaining submarine, Bond and the remaining crew members escape while Liparus is destroyed as well.

Death at Atlantis
When the captain of the submarine gets order to destroy Atlantis, Bond manages to convince him to wait one hour to allow Bond to enter Atlantis and save Amasova. Stromberg addresses Bond over the PA system and tells Bond that he will send the elevator down for him. Planning to drop Bond into the shark tank, Stromberg is surprised to see that Bond evaded his trap by not stepping onto the floor. Arriving safely at Stromberg's living quarters, Bond sits down at the table, opposed to Stromberg. Stromberg then tries to shoot Bond with a hidden torpedo gun attached under the table, but Bond evades the missile and returns fire.

Bond exercises his licence to kill by shooting Stromberg four times in the crotch and chest. Atlantis is later torpedoed, sunk and blown up, giving Stromberg a burial at sea.

Trivia

 * His 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 (as opposed to For Your Eyes Only, as was originally billed during the credits of 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.