|
| “ | There's no point in living if you can't feel alive. | „ |
| ~ Elektra King |
| “ | James! You can't kill me! Not in cold blood! | „ |
| ~ Elektra King to James Bond. |
Elektra Vavra King is one of the two main antagonists (alongside Renard) in the 1999 James Bond film The World is Not Enough. She was a wealthy oil heiress who was kidnapped by Renard, but eventually became his cohort due to a perceived betrayal by her father.
She was portrayed by Sophie Marceau.
Biography
Beginnings
Elektra King is the daughter of oil tycoon Sir Robert King, whose mother's side of the family is of Azeri 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.
Conspiring with Renard
Eventually, Elektra was kidnapped by the terrorist Renard and held for ransom, which her father refused to pay on the advice of family friend M (the chief of MI6). Embittered by what she saw as her father's betrayal, Elektra develops Stockholm Syndrome and participated in Renard's scheme to milk money from her father, going so far as to mutilate her ear (despite Renard's refusal) 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 murder 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.
True Plot
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.
Death
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 gives Renard the order to dive. Without hesitation, he shoots her dead, saying, "I never miss". Seconds later, however, he cradles her body, implying that her death has deeply affected him.
Trivia
- Elektra King is the only true female main villain in the series. As while Rosa Klebb is the main antagonist that drives the plot of From Russia with Love, she still answers to Blofeld.
- It is often debated as to whether Elektra or Renard is the main villain of the film, with Elektra being Renard's puppet or him being her henchman. It seems as though Elektra orchestrated some of the plots, while Renard did most of the work, thus placing them at equal ranking.
- Elektra is the first Bond villain who sought revenge upon M. The second who actually succeeded in gaining his revenge upon her was Raoul Silva.
- Elektra is similar to Caroline from the film, From Paris With Love:
- Both are in love with the protagonists who are government agents
- Both are sleeper agents of the antagonists
- Both are killed by the protagonists via shooting at the end of the films.
- She is the first Bond villain since Karl Stromberg in The Spy who Loved Me to die by gunshot wound.
- The film's original ending showed had Elektra survive her gunshot wound and was recovering in hospital, where she was visited by Bond. The ending was changed because it was considered too downbeat.
- Elektra is similar to Elektra Natchios from Marvel:
- Both are named Elektra
- Both are in love with the protagonists
- The difference is that the character from The World Is Not Enough is a villainess while another one is overall a heroine (see her villainous role)
