Back in the day, my wife was utterly entranced by the adventures of super secret Agent Jack Bauer, grizzled veteran counter-terrorist agent born of the post-9/11 paranoia. His particular skillset and bearing makes me wonder how Ol’ Jack might fare against the legendary British spy known only (and quite against his will) as Number Six, who seems his equal in intellect and in refusal to compromise his personal ethics. I’m always fascinated to consider whether James Bond could outmaneuver Nick Fury, whether Slade Wilson’s physicality trumps the endless gambits of Elim Garak. The possibilities are endless, especially when you consider that you could pit Vin Diesel’s Xander Cage against Sterling Archer, then sit back and survey the ensuing chaos, which leads us to today’s shaken, but not stirred query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) reminds you that this page will self-destruct in five seconds, asking: What fictional super secret agent would you choose for the most important, high-stakes spycraft?
5 Comments
Well, you had to go and mention Garak, which threw all my other choices out the window. Never has there been a character that I can know for a fact is lying through his teeth and still I find him charming and believable.
A guy like that can do some real damage.
Christopher Chance, the Human Target. He can go unnoticed anywhere, getting the mission done without the target knowing that they’ve been compromised.
Inspector Gadget. He will 100% pull through. Somehow.
John Drake, Danger Man! Amazing cold war espionage and fun action and fights. And Patrick McGoohan is… sublime. Small stories with big stakes!
My answer is boring and a bit obvious: Bond, James Bond! I grew up on the books and movies so it’s my spy go to. I really enjoyed the books more. The movies all kind of blend together for me. Go over here and kill that guy! Now go to that other continent and sleep with that random woman! Eh. But the books bring him to life. Boring? Maybe, but I like him.