Poll: Best (Fictional) Spies
- Thread starter sean877
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That's kind of tough tbh, rarely are spies depicted accurately. I'm not a realism buff but when James Bond picks up the Rocket Launcher or engages in the highly conspicuous gun fuelled car chase or kills the 100th nameless grunt with an automatic weapon, he has thrown his spy hat to the winds and then blown it up with never-before-mentioned explosives.
He's an assassin anyway first and foremost, the closest he gets to being a spy is the saboteur work he unwittingly takes part in.
That was kind of off topic, spy games/movies in general tend to actually be assassin or saboteur movies so if we are keeping that in mind then Jason Bourne. I know he never really pretends to be a spy but he does a lot more reconnaissance work than most spies and he's pretty badass.
He's an assassin anyway first and foremost, the closest he gets to being a spy is the saboteur work he unwittingly takes part in.
That was kind of off topic, spy games/movies in general tend to actually be assassin or saboteur movies so if we are keeping that in mind then Jason Bourne. I know he never really pretends to be a spy but he does a lot more reconnaissance work than most spies and he's pretty badass.
There's also Jack Bauer and Jason Bourne. I will go with Jack Bauer because 24 is a great show and Jack Bauer is awesome.
Your Mum.
Harry Palmer is the greatest fictional spy, followed closely by George Smiley.
Expect a lot of suggestions outside of your "Poll"
Lets look at your poll.
You have one assasin. Bond. Licensed to Kill doesn't mean go and gather intelligence.
One Macguyver. Weston. By the end of the new season I predict he will make a hang-glider out of garbage bags and bamboo.
And one character from a game that every instinct told me to run a mile from (every reviewer too). Yeesh.
Hardly a comprehensive list.
Harry Palmer is the greatest fictional spy, followed closely by George Smiley.
Expect a lot of suggestions outside of your "Poll"
Lets look at your poll.
You have one assasin. Bond. Licensed to Kill doesn't mean go and gather intelligence.
One Macguyver. Weston. By the end of the new season I predict he will make a hang-glider out of garbage bags and bamboo.
And one character from a game that every instinct told me to run a mile from (every reviewer too). Yeesh.
Hardly a comprehensive list.
Michael Weston is the premier spy. Even if he is burned. That just means he's better than anyone, because he can survive being in the cold, when anyone else would be dead. Please don't forget Jason Bourne was black ops, and those don't involve much spywork if you see what I'm getting at.
No entry in the list would qualify as a spy. Hell, most of them wouldn't even qualify as a covert operative. Lets just run down the list:
James Bond: Regularly tells people who he is. Most major villains know exactly who he works for and can ascertain his plans after their initial meeting. He only has two known methods of problem resolution: direct kinetic action and seduction. He rarely has any sources of note and is not in the business of collecting information. He is thus best described not as a spy but a direct action operator.
Michael Thornton: Thornton is a tricker character to judge given that his activity as a spy will vary depending upon the player. Of course, while Thornton does at time demonstrate some potential as a collection manager as he can potentially successfully run a number of sources even if said sources may be playing for the other side. He does, from time to time, actually engage in direct information retrieval which means he at least occasionally acts as a spy but the fact of the matter is he spends most of his time entering secure sites. Most people would play him as a direct action operator but the potential is there for his activity to fall under the less kinetic (i.e. lethal) umbrella of covert operations.
THE Spy: In spite of his name, the Spy actually serves to eliminate high value targets at opportune moments in order to achieve any number of goals. His primary duty is wetwork, and thus he is best classified as an assassin.
Michael Weston: Like the rest, Weston favors direct kinetic action and is rarely engaged in simple intelligence data collection. Like James Bond, he is little more than a direct action operator.
For the record incidentally, a direct action operator is simply an individual tasked with taking a direct, kinetic (i.e. using force) course in problem resolution. This generally describes any individual employed in a position where the destruction, capture or simple denial of a highly valuable mcguffin is their primary preoccupation. In the military, this term can generally be applied to any of the combat arms but is best reserved for the various special operations endeavors. A collection manager is simply a person who runs sources - the guy who spies report to.
A spy is an individual who is wiling (for whatever reason) to report information of interest to a collection manager. In general, a spy never acts as anything other than an ordinary citizen engaged in their normal duties. Most often, a spy is a national of an enemy state or organization and they are recruited because of their placement or access. Placement simply implies that the individual spends a fair amount of time in the proximity of something of intelligence interest. Access simply means that the person is able to get valuable information. The difference may seem slight at best but an example will probably clear things up. A janitor at a key facility may have excellent placement, but their job duties probably don't give them good access to much of the information. By contrast, an executive in a powerful corporate entity may have excellent access to information even if his normal routine doesn't place him near any information of interest. The holy grail of course is to find sources with both placement and access but such individuals are difficult to recruit as any organization will go to great lengths to determine loyalty and sound judgement before granting anyone both placement and access.
James Bond: Regularly tells people who he is. Most major villains know exactly who he works for and can ascertain his plans after their initial meeting. He only has two known methods of problem resolution: direct kinetic action and seduction. He rarely has any sources of note and is not in the business of collecting information. He is thus best described not as a spy but a direct action operator.
Michael Thornton: Thornton is a tricker character to judge given that his activity as a spy will vary depending upon the player. Of course, while Thornton does at time demonstrate some potential as a collection manager as he can potentially successfully run a number of sources even if said sources may be playing for the other side. He does, from time to time, actually engage in direct information retrieval which means he at least occasionally acts as a spy but the fact of the matter is he spends most of his time entering secure sites. Most people would play him as a direct action operator but the potential is there for his activity to fall under the less kinetic (i.e. lethal) umbrella of covert operations.
THE Spy: In spite of his name, the Spy actually serves to eliminate high value targets at opportune moments in order to achieve any number of goals. His primary duty is wetwork, and thus he is best classified as an assassin.
Michael Weston: Like the rest, Weston favors direct kinetic action and is rarely engaged in simple intelligence data collection. Like James Bond, he is little more than a direct action operator.
For the record incidentally, a direct action operator is simply an individual tasked with taking a direct, kinetic (i.e. using force) course in problem resolution. This generally describes any individual employed in a position where the destruction, capture or simple denial of a highly valuable mcguffin is their primary preoccupation. In the military, this term can generally be applied to any of the combat arms but is best reserved for the various special operations endeavors. A collection manager is simply a person who runs sources - the guy who spies report to.
A spy is an individual who is wiling (for whatever reason) to report information of interest to a collection manager. In general, a spy never acts as anything other than an ordinary citizen engaged in their normal duties. Most often, a spy is a national of an enemy state or organization and they are recruited because of their placement or access. Placement simply implies that the individual spends a fair amount of time in the proximity of something of intelligence interest. Access simply means that the person is able to get valuable information. The difference may seem slight at best but an example will probably clear things up. A janitor at a key facility may have excellent placement, but their job duties probably don't give them good access to much of the information. By contrast, an executive in a powerful corporate entity may have excellent access to information even if his normal routine doesn't place him near any information of interest. The holy grail of course is to find sources with both placement and access but such individuals are difficult to recruit as any organization will go to great lengths to determine loyalty and sound judgement before granting anyone both placement and access.