The Double 0 agents are the ficticious invention of Ian Fleming for his series of James Bond novels. They are the covert British secret agents who are licenced to kill and live an extravagant lifestyle on their high danger pay. In the novels Fleming tells us there are only 3 at any time, bit the films amke the assumption that there are 9 001 - 009. The most famous of the Double O's is of course 007 Commander James Bond, an Oxford Graduate with a Double First in Languages. 007 of course has never been killed in the line of duty¹ but in a kill or be killed world whatever happened to the other Double 0 agents.

001 if we follow the premise from the films is conspicuous by his absence in the first 19 films and all the novels. If he does exist who is he, M or Q perhaps, never dead, never retired? As Q is still on occassion a field operative maybe just maybe we have our man, but his skills of invention may have saved him from tthe fate of the other double-0s but that is purely speculation. Maybe we will never know.

002 In The Man With the Golden Gun he is Bill Fairbanks, assasinated by a bullet through the neck from Scaramanga, in Beirut. Later another 002 parachutes unto Gibralta at the start of The Living Daylights he is captured as soon as he lands.

003At the start of A View to a Kill Bond is in the ice fields of Siberia, he discovers a body in the snow, and takes a micro chip from inside a pendant around the very frozen and dead 003 who had failed to complete his mission.

004 In the opening of The Living Daylights 3 agents parachute unto Gibralta for a training exercise, 004 uses a grappling hook to climb a rock face but rebel agent 002 sends a message down before cutting the rope and watching 004 fall to his death. In the book The Facts of Death following the murder of M's lover Bill Tanner, M's chief of staff is about to call in 004, M prefers Bond, he''d be more understanding.

005Never appeared in the films yet made two appearances in books. In Colonel Sun he is Stuart Thomas, head of G section, had served as 005 until an eye defect has forced retirement. He ran a boolshop as a cover, this was burnt down by the opposition, 005 disappeared. M later says he is presumed dead. However in The Facts of Death a scaled down G section is being run by Stuart Thomas, like Mark Twain, "reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated".

006 In the opening sequence of Goldeneye 008 Alec Trevelyan² meets Bond in a Chemical Weapons Facility he is believed shot in the head in the following mellee from which Bond escapes. Nine years leter it is revealed that 006 has defected and is the mastermind behind the theft of Goldeneye. He falls from the antenna of a satilite dish in Cuba but dies only after the antenna falls on him following the explosive destruction of the control centre. Previously in the book On Her Majesty's Secret Service when Mary Goodnight became the double-0 section secretary there is a bet in the section as to who will seduce her first. The joint favourites are 007 and 006 an ex-Royal Marine Commando.

008 in Goldfinger M being unhappy with the way Bond is doing things suggests replacing him with the more conservative 008. Later in the movie Bond tells Auric Golfinger that if he fails to report it is likely 008 will replace him to complete the mission, not impressed the response is "I trust he will be more successful". 008 is also almost recalled from Hong Kong to relieve 007 in The Living Daylights as he is more inclined to follow orders than Bond. The book for Goldfinger has a similar scenario to the film only Bond is not merely failing to report but facing certain death, the novel for Moonraker however has 008, here called Bill, resting in Berlin following a mission, Bond says he must be badly injured then.

009The opening of Octopussy sees 009, dressed as a clown, steal a faberge egg from East Berlin he is killed in the flight to the west, but the egg gets into British hands. Bond later avenges his death also as a clown in the circus scene climax. The World is not Enough sees 009 dispatched to eliminate Renard, he puts a bullet in his head, but fails to kill the target. When Bond is sent to a health clinic in the novel of Thunderball M places 009 in charge of the double-0 section.

0011 appears or rather dissapears the the novel Moonraker whilst on assignment in Singapore, he has been missing for two months when Bond is called in to HQ.