In early Bond movies, Ernst Stavro Blofeld was 007's deadliest enemy. However, a clever credit trick made his eventual reveal even more effective.
Blofeld is one of the most iconic big-bads in cinema history, but the credits in early James Bond movies make his eventual reveal even better than it otherwise might have been. Before finally appearing fully on-screen in 1967's You Only Live Twice, Blofeld was a malevolently anonymous cat-stroking figure content to hide in the shadows. This depiction not only added to his mystique but has since become a staple of pop culture – parodied and imitated to the point of saturation.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY Blofeld has been a major player in the Bond saga across its different mediums. In Ian Fleming's original novels, for instance, the supervillain features on three occasions – in Thunderball, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and You Only Live Twice. When the time came to bring Bond to the big screen, Blofeld got an even more prominent role, appearing in no less than eight Eon movies, as well as the controversial Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again.
In From Russia, With Love, the original Blofeld actor's name was replaced with a "?" – heightening the intrigue around his identity. Thunderball, meanwhile, raised the stakes again, with the credits not only not listing either Dawson or voice actor Eric Pohlmann, but not mentioning Blofeld's name at all. While Blofeld is only in a handful of scenes in each movie, his overbearing presence is a persistent concern.
Blofeld Was Cinema's Original Thanos While James Bond and the MCU operate in very different cinematic genres, the similarities between Blofeld and Thanos offer a surprising connection. Like the Mad Titan, Blofeld is a continual background presence in early Bond movies – depicted as a powerful figure delicately plotting the pieces of a plan that only he can see.
This parallel demonstrates just how influential Blofeld's depiction in early James Bond films actually was. Instead of having Bond and Blofeld square off from the outset, the franchise made 007's nemesis even more monstrous and terrifying by keeping him out of sight. It's a trick that dozens of successful franchises – including the MCU – have repeated to great effect.
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