Sir Hugo Drax

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James Bond character
Sir Hugo Drax
Gender	Male
Role	Villain
Affiliation	Self-employed
Current status	Deceased
Portrayed by	Michael Lonsdale

Sir Hugo Drax is a fictional character created by author Ian Fleming for the James Bond novel Moonraker. For the film and novelization, Drax was largely transformed by screenwriter Christopher Wood. In the film, Drax is portrayed by actor Michael Lonsdale.

Contents 1 Novel bio 1.1 Scheme 1.2 Prevention 1.3 Henchmen 2 Film bio 2.1 Scheme 2.2 Henchmen 2.3 Trivia 2.4 Quotes 3 See also

[edit] Novel bio

In the novel, Sir Hugo Drax is a famous English World War II hero and post-war millionaire. He has red hair and half of his face is badly scarred from an accident during the War. The same accident left him with amnesia. Still, Drax was able to start up his company, "Drax Metals Ltd", which specializes and has a monopoly in the production of a metal called columbite. Drax is also the backer of the 'Moonraker' missile project being built to defend the UK against its Cold War enemies. Using the metal, columbite, it gives the missile's engine an extra layer of protection so it can burn hotter fuels which will expand its range of fire.

[edit] Scheme

As it turns out, Sir Hugo Drax is not who he seems; he was born Graf Hugo von der Drache. Because his mother was English he was educated in England until the age of 12. Afterwards he moved to Berlin and later Leipzig, where he continued and finished his education. After graduating, he joined the Nazi party and entered World War II as a soldier in the 150th Panzer Brigade. During a mission, he dressed as a British soldier so that he could sabotage and destroy a farmhouse that was holding a mixed liaison group of American and British servicemen, but something went wrong and he was nearly killed. He was then rescued by the British and nursed back to health under the guise that he was a "missing soldier" by the name of Hugo Drax.

Because Drax was a Nazi and had an insurmountable hatred for England, he started the 'Moonraker' missile project under the pretense that he would test fire the missile into the North Sea. Instead of doing so, however, he set his target for London and armed the missile with an atomic bomb he received through support by the Soviets.

[edit] Prevention

James Bond, with the help of female Special Branch agent Gala Brand, sabotaged Drax's 'Moonraker' missile launch and changed the coordinates of the target back to the North Sea, where after the missile was launched Drax and his men had escaped so they could watch as London was destroyed. Instead, the Russian submarine Drax was on was blown entirely out of the water by the blast of the nuclear warhead.

[edit] Henchmen

• Willy Krebs - Drax's friend and later loyal servant, Krebs was also a Nazi in the same 150th Panzer Brigade.
• Dr. Walter - A Soviet scientist sent to aid Drax with the missile project as well as the atomic bomb.

[edit] Film bio

In the film adaptation, Hugo Drax is a billionaire living in California in a château that was imported from France. He owns Drax Industries, which constructs space shuttles. In addition, Drax supposedly owns the Eiffel Tower, but apparently couldn't export it from France because they wouldn't issue him an export licence.

[edit] Scheme

Bond follows a trail around the world to investigate the theft of a NASA space shuttle (its engines were fired while it was riding on a 747), starting in California at Drax Industries, and following it to Italy, then to Brazil, then into space.

In a scheme similar to that of Karl Stromberg's plan, Drax sought to destroy the entire human race except for a small group of carefully selected humans, both male and female, that would leave Earth on six shuttles (the one just stolen from NASA to replace one that had faults) and have sanctuary on a space station in orbit over Earth. Using chemical weapons created by Drax's scientists, derived from the toxin of a rare South American plant, the Black Orchid, at an installation in Italy, he would wipe out the remainder of humanity. The biological agents were to be dispersed around the earth from a series of 50 strategically placed globes, each containing enough toxin to kill 100 million people. Only three globes had been launched when the station was destroyed, taking with it the threat from the other 47 globes. Bond and Goodhead escape the destruction of the space station in Drax's own shuttle, and Bond uses laser guns mounted on the shuttle to destroy the remaining three globes.

After a period of time when the chemical agents no longer had any effect, Drax and his master race would return to Earth to reinhabit the planet. These humans would supposedly live in harmony with one another under his command.

Bond obtained a sample of the chemical agent at the location in Italy, and analysis of it led him to a remote part of Brazil where he found Drax's shuttle-launch facility in an ancient civilization's shrine.

Bond and his companion, CIA agent Dr. Holly Goodhead, commandeer one of Drax's space shuttles and blast off to his orbiting space station. There with the help of Goodhead, Jaws, and a group of American space soldiers launched on a military-owned shuttle, Bond foils Drax's plan by destroying the space station. Bond shoots Drax with his wrist dart and throws him out into space.

[edit] Henchmen

• Jaws
• Chang

[edit] Trivia

The film version of Drax is modeled after Adolf Hitler.

In his novelization of the movie, screenwriter Christopher Wood describes Drax's face as being scarred and botched by poor plastic surgery, much as originally envisioned by Fleming.

[edit] Quotes

• "Look after Mr Bond, Chang: see that some harm comes to him."
• "Once again, Mr Bond, you persist in defying my attempts to devise an amusing death for you."
• "First there was a dream; now there is reality. Here, in the untainted cradle of the heavens shall be created a new super-race. A race of perfect physical specimens; you have been chosen as its progenitors. Like gods, your offspring shall return and from their first days on Earth thay shall be able to look up and know that there is law and order in the heavens... !"
• "James Bond. You reappear with the tedious inevitability of an unloved season."
• "The treacherous Doctor Goodhead – your desire to become America's first woman in space shall shortly be fulfilled. Allow me to introduce you to the airlock chamber: your route from this world to the next."
• "At least I shall have the pleasure of putting you out of my misery – desolated Mr Bond."

[edit] See also

• List of James Bond villains
• Karl Stromberg
• Ming the Merciless