Well, there are a lot of characters that make you wonder if they're good people doing bad things or bad people who do good things. Especially with the amount of times James Bond has been repackaged and rewritten. I remember Roger Moore talking about how violent Quantum of Solace was and how his James Bond would never be as brutal as Daniel Craig's James Bond.
Of course, as a fanficcer, I tend to subtract a lot of authorial intent when I think of characters. James Bond the character should be separate from Ian Fleming the author, especially when it comes to Ian Fleming's prejudices that unfortunately spill over into his work. It's like how everyone knows that Peter Parker would never make a deal with the Devil, throw Mary-Jane under a bus, or cling to Aunt May against her own wishes; but, because of Joe Quesada and his ilk's personal peccadillos, Spider-Man is being written against Spider-Man.
You ever feel like it's possible for a writer to be a bad steward of a character they themselves created? (cough Deathly Hallows, cough cough!)
Interestingly enough, while the Bond in the movies shows no qualms about killing (and, obviously, doesn't share his counterpart's feelings on women and minorities), the literary Bond is set against it. In Goldfinger, he's taking a sabbatical to deal with his disgust over being forced to kill in self-defense and in Living Daylights, he deliberately spares the life of a sniper he's been ordered to kill.
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Warning: Teal deer crossing
Date: 2009-02-02 05:26 am (UTC)Of course, as a fanficcer, I tend to subtract a lot of authorial intent when I think of characters. James Bond the character should be separate from Ian Fleming the author, especially when it comes to Ian Fleming's prejudices that unfortunately spill over into his work. It's like how everyone knows that Peter Parker would never make a deal with the Devil, throw Mary-Jane under a bus, or cling to Aunt May against her own wishes; but, because of Joe Quesada and his ilk's personal peccadillos, Spider-Man is being written against Spider-Man.
You ever feel like it's possible for a writer to be a bad steward of a character they themselves created? (cough Deathly Hallows, cough cough!)
Interestingly enough, while the Bond in the movies shows no qualms about killing (and, obviously, doesn't share his counterpart's feelings on women and minorities), the literary Bond is set against it. In Goldfinger, he's taking a sabbatical to deal with his disgust over being forced to kill in self-defense and in Living Daylights, he deliberately spares the life of a sniper he's been ordered to kill.