Colonel Tan-Sun Moon, later known as Sir Gustav Graves, was a fictional North Korean military colonel who attempted to unite the Korean peninsula under his county's flag. After his presumed death at the hands of James Bond, he changed his appearance to infiltrate the society he intended to destroy, becoming a charismatic diamond magnate.
Portrayed jointly by Korean-American actor, Will Yun Lee, (as Moon) and British actor, Toby Stephens, (as Graves) the character served as the main antagonist of the 2002 James Bond film, Die Another Day. He was also featured in Raymond Benson's accompanying novelisation and was re-imagined for Activision's 2012 James Bond video game, 007 Legends.
Characterization[]
Moon/Graves is a conceited, violent, ill-tempered and an manipulative figure who, as Gustav Graves, puts on an façade of philanthropic affability.
Through-out the story, Graves displays violent and short-tempered tendencies, with him being introduced by vigorously punching and kicking a punching bag that has his anger management therapist inside, whom he put in there for "lecturing" at Moon. He also becomes quickly upset when Bond starts winning at their fencing duel at the Blades Club, which leads him to change to more dangerous weapons to try grievously harm Bond.
He is also a quite a duplicitous, quipping that he majored in "Western Hypocrisy" in University. This implies that he considers westerners beneath him despite his success in the West, and may have been a throwback to the hypocrisy of many "People's Republic" leaders who denounced the decadence of the free world and purported neglect of the poor, while they themselves lived lifestyles akin to those of the wealthiest Westerners.
Indeed, even before taking guise of Gustav Graves, he exhibits luxuriant tastes, as he owns many premium and rare sport cars in his compound.
Additional sign of his sanctimonious nature is him stating that he modeled public Gustav Graves alter ego after James Bond, accusing Bond having detestable personality traits that he assumed, despite these likely being his own deductions and/or projecting than actually understanding why Bond is how he is.
Biography[]
Colonel Tan-Sun Moon[]
Born the son General Moon, Tan-Sun Moon was a Colonel (Sangchwa) in the North Korean People's Army. In the hope that a Western education would help bridge the gap between East and West, General Moon sent his son to study at Oxford and Harvard. It was an experience which would prove formative on the young Moon, providing him with the contacts which he would later use, including Miranda Frost, who was on also on the Harvard fencing team. He was able to bring Frost to his side by arranging her to win the Olympic Gold Medal in fencing by implicating her competitor for using steroids. General Moon would later regret the decision, coming to believe that his son had become corrupted by the ideas and greed of the West.
A radical and a dealer in hi-tech weaponry, Moon conducted various illicit operations in diamond smuggling to fund his private army and ambitions to forcibly unite the two Koreas. He had his base set up in the middle of the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. He also had assistance from a fellow Korean officer named Tang Lin Zao. MI6 becomes aware of his activities, however, and dispatches three agents, including James Bond, to assassinate Moon by intercepting and replacing a diamond smuggler named Van Bierk.
Moon shoots at Bond with his Tankbuster.
When Zao finds out that Bond is in truth a British spy sent to kill him, Moon destroys the helicopter Bond arrived in with one of his high-tech weapons, called Tankbuster, killing the two remaining agents. Before he can kill Bond too, Moon is told that General Moon is about to arrive at the base. The Colonel and his men then quickly leave the base with the hovercrafts and weapons, so that his father doesn't find out about his weapon dealing. He leaves Bond to be shot by his men but the agent escapes by blowing up the diamond suitcase, having implanted a bomb earlier, and fleeing with the last remaining hovercraft. Pursuing Moon, Bond has to fight off many Korean soldiers while being shot at by Moon with his Tankbuster and a flamethrower.
Eventually jumping onto Moon's hovercraft, Bond attacks the young military and the two fight long enough for the hovercraft to reach a cliff. Without a pilot to steer it, the hovercraft drives right over the cliff into the river far below. Bond is able to jump off in time, but Moon is dragged over the cliff and presumed deceased. Right after, Bond is arrested by General Moon and his soldiers, and brought to a North Korean torture camp where he is brutally interrogated for 14 months before being exchanged for Zao, who had been arrested by the British.
Sir Gustav Graves[]
Bond reading an article about Gustav Graves in the High Life magazine.
Unknown to the rest of the world - including his own father - Moon survives the incident and flees to Cuba, where he undergoes DNA replacement therapy (provided by Dr. Alvarez) to alter his appearance to make him appear to be of European descent. Emerging from the therapy, he completed his transformation and adopted the name Gustav Graves.
Gustav Graves was seen as a sophisticated, sarcastic, rude and arrogant business man. This seems to be an askew view of how Bond was often viewed by his enemies. In fact, when later confronted by Bond, Moon admits that Bond himself was the inspiration behind his new persona of Graves. He portrays himself to the world as an ecologist, fencing champion and adrenaline junkie. Of particular interest to Graves is his addiction to driving fast cars. He has gained great skill and devoted much time to these activities, given his body's inability to sleep as a result of Dr. Alvarez's surgery.
- "We only met briefly, but you left a lasting impression. You see, when your intervention forced me to present the world with a new face, I chose to model the disgusting Gustav Graves on you. Oh, just in the details. That unjustifiable swagger, the crass quips, the self-defense mechanism concealing such inadequacy..."
- ― Graves taunts Bond.
His official story was that he was an orphan who worked in diamond mines in Argentina; from there, he learned engineering and founded the Graves Corporation. He discovered a great mine of diamonds in Iceland and made a huge fortune. With that fortune, Graves developed Icarus - a satellite which harnesses solar energy and focuses it, "gently", over the Earth, supposedly putting an end to famine and poverty by using the solar energy to improve the agricultural standing of Third World nations. In reality, his fortune was made using a fake diamond mine as a front for laundering African conflict diamonds and his Icarus satellite is a super-weapon. The main purpose of Icarus was to blast its way through the heavily-fortified demilitarized zone, providing a pathway for the invading North Korean forces and bringing about Korean unification.
Fighting Bond at the club[]
Bond and Graves are introduced to each other at Blades fencing club.
Brought on Graves' trace through blood diamonds he found with Zao, Bond - unaware of Graves' true identity - travels to London, where he witnesses Graves arriving at the Buckingham Palace by parachute before he is knighted by the Queen. Later that day, Bond visits the fencing academy where Graves is training and manages to persuade the fight trainer Verity to arrange a match with Graves. When being introduced to Graves, the villain asks whether they have met before, to which Bond responds by stating he would remember. Graves admits that he is mistaking. Driven by their arrogance, both men then engage in their training match, betting money on the outcome. When Graves asks Bond if he still wants to continue, Bond proposes to up the wager, showing him one of the blood diamonds he got from Zao.
When continuing their fight, Bond cuts Graves at the hand, pausing their fight to continue. When Bond mockingly-affably asks Graves whether he wants to continue, Graves responds that of course he wants to "bloody continue", but proposes that they use real swords and fight till first blood drawn from the torso. They engage in a furious duel, where both men are cut multiple times. Fighting their way through the club, changing their weapons multiple times. Eventually hammering at each others with medieval claymores, they continue their fight in the outer parts of the club, with Bond finally cutting Graves at the stomach, thereby throwing him into a fountain. Graves emerges furiously, but before he can continue the fight, Miranda Frost stops them. Graves laughs and admits that Bond beat him and the men shake hands. Before they leave, Graves, as a token of good sportsmanship, invites Bond to his Icarus demonstration in Iceland at the next weekend.
Icarus at Iceland[]
Graves about to activate Icarus for the first time.
- "Let there be light..."
- ― Graves activates Icarus for the first time.
When Bond arrives at Graves' Ice Palace at Iceland, a palace made from pure ice only built for the demonstration of Icarus, he is greeted by Graves and his security head Mr. Kil. While the guests entertain themselves inside, Graves is using his Dream Machine. He is interrupted by a man who is revealed to be Zao. Seeing his old friend for the first time after Zao's departure, Graves looks at his unfinished face and asks him who did that. Zao responds that it is Bond's work and Graves gleefully tells him that he has met Bond and Bond did not recognize him at all. Graves then asks Zao of news of his father and Zao tells him that General Moon still mourns his death.
The guests are then called for the presentation. Graves then presents Icarus, telling them that it will be used to bring light to the darkest places on earth and is able to warm even the coldest places to grow crops, therefor being a mean to end world hunger. He then uses Icarus to illuminate the entire palace, causing giant applause from the guests.
When NSA agent Jinx, who has also reached Island, breaks into the complex where Graves' chambers are located to kill Graves, she expects to find him under the dream machine's mask. However, when she takes the mask off, Zao looks at her and Graves attacks her from behind, wearing the prototype of his Icarus suit.
Unleashing Icarus[]
After saving Jinx from Zao, Bond heads to Graves' office where he waits for his old enemy. When Graves arrives, Bond tells him that he knows his true identity, based on Zao's presence and the lack of alternative explanations for the dream machine's presence. Graves mocks him, telling him he thought that Bond would never get it. He then reveals to Bond that while they only met briefly, Bond had made a lasting impression on him, causing him to model his new identity Gustav Graves after the MI6 agent. Miranda then arrives, holding her weapon at Graves. Graves remarks seemingly defeated that Miranda seems to be not the one she claims to be. Bond agrees, but then Graves asks whether he has found out who betrayed him in North Korea and if it never occurred to him to look inside MI6. Miranda then aims her gun at Bond, revealing herself as the traitor. Graves also reveals that he knows of Jinx and says that a tragedy will befall her soon.
Graves shows the assembled North Korean hardliner generals the true power of Icarus.
When Bond is about to be killed, Bond goads Zao into hitting him into stomach in order to allow him to fall to the ground. Using a special ring he got from MI6's quartermaster, he breaks the glass panel that covers the entire floor in order to fall into the lower floor. As Bond runs off, Graves orders Zao to follow and kill him but Bond escapes with Graves' speeder, driving off into the ice plains at insane speed. When Zao returns and tells Graves that Bond escaped, Graves decides to unleash Icarus.
He orders Zao to bring the three North Korean generals (Dong, Li & Han) that were underneath the guests and tells them that he will demonstrate them the full power of Icarus. Using the Icarus Controller, Graves then has Icarus produce a gargantuan heat beam, which Bond can only escape because of his vehicle's enormous speed. When Bond drives off a cliff, hanging there only on the breaking hook of the speeder, Graves has Icarus cut off the entire cliff. Though Bond survives, Graves believes him to be dead.
Preparing to return to North Korea, Graves leaves Zao at the palace to oversee the final preparations. He, Miranda and most of his men then leave the palace, leaving Zao only with a minimal force. Returning to the palace for Jinx, Bond sees their escape plane arrive. On the plane, Graves uses Icarus to destroy his ice palace, destroying any evidence left. After this, he tells his engineer Vlad to complete the Icarus ExoSkeleton.
Return to North Korea[]
Having fled to a North Korean airbase, Graves plans to use Icarus to destroy the minefield in the demilitarized zone, allowing North Korean forces to attack the South. As General Moon wouldn't allow this war, the hardliners staged a coup and put the general under arrest. Bond and Jinx are sent to stop Graves. When the United States deploys a missile to destroy Icarus, Graves uses the satellite's power to disintegrate it mid-air.
Graves, exposed as General Moon's son, disarming and subduing his father.
Unable to assassinate Graves at the airbase, Jinx and Bond are forced to board Graves' plane. On-board the plane, Graves and the generals are inside a planning room, where Graves admires the finished ExoSkeleton. He tells his men to have his father brought down. When General Moon arrives, Graves addresses him, but as his face is changed General Moon does not recognize him. When Moon tells him that he does not know him, Graves says that Moon always found it difficult to accept him, which made his exile easier to bear. He then quotes his father, which makes Moon realise that the man next to him is his son. However, he is deeply shocked, asking what his son did to himself. Graves then tells his father to watch the rising of his "son" and uses the Icarus Controller to activate Icarus and destroy the minefield. However, opposed to Graves, Moon is disgusted by the heat beam as he knows this would mean war, with the Americans presumably sending nuclear warheads.
Finally realizing what his son has become, Moon grabs a gun from General Han and points it at his son's head. Graves asks his father whether he would kill his own son. When Moon claims that his son died long ago, Graves disarms him with the electricity glove of his ExoSkeleton and shoots him, while telling his father that he disappointed him. He then sees Bond walking towards him and about to shoot him, but a henchman intervenes and the bullet hits the plane's window instead, causing it to break, sucking out everyone except Bond and Graves.
Final showdown and Death[]
- Graves: "You see, Mr. Bond, you can't kill my dreams. But my dreams can kill you. Time to face destiny."
- Bond: "[007 pulls Graves' parachute cord] Time to face gravity."
- ―Graves' final confrontation.[src]
Graves and Bond then fight in the remains of the room, with Graves eventually overpowering Bond with his ExoSkeleton. Graves then takes the plane's two parachutes and throws one out of the window. Intending to leave Bond to die in the plane crash, Graves kneels down next to Bond for one last gloat.
Graves is electrocuted and loses his grip.
As he leans over the fallen spy to gloat, 007 reaches out and yanks the parachute's release cord, causing Graves to be pulled through a hole in the fuselage. As Moon desperately clings onto the edge of the chassis, Bond reaches out and activates the ExoSkeleton's electric defenses, causing Moon to shock himself. He loses his grip and is sucked - along with the Icarus Controller - into the Autonov's jet engine. With the destruction of his ExoSkeleton, Icarus is rendered harmless.
Henchmen & Associates[]
Awards & decorations[]
- Order of Kim Il-Sung
- Order of the National Flag (First Class)
- Order of Freedom and Independence (First Class)
- Commemorative Order "5th March"
- Order of the National Flag (Second Class)
- Order of Korean Labour
- Soldier's Medal of Honour (First Class)
- Soldier's Medal of Honour (Second Class)
- Order of the National Flag (Third Class)
- Medal of Labour Merit
- Order of Freedom and Independence (Second Class)
Alternate Continuities[]
Gustav Graves also appears in 007 Legends in the Die Another Day mission. He has the likeness of is and voiced by Toby Stephens, but no reference is made to his past as Colonel Moon, implying that he was born Gustav Graves. The only exception to this theory is that a bust of Colonel Moon's head can be seen on Graves's cargo plane. Although he is shown wearing his North Korean uniform underneath his armor, his collar cuffs are absent.
Behind the Scenes[]
Writing[]
While an original character, the character of Gustav Graves incorporates a number of elements from Ian Fleming's original novel Moonraker. In that novel, a Nazi adopts a new identity and becomes a popular British multi-millionaire. He then donates millions to create a "Moonraker" missile which is supposed to be for Britain's protection but is actually meant to destroy London. In addition, the club called Blades, a fencing club in this film, was featured as a gentleman's club in Moonraker. The name Colonel Tan-Sun Moon is a homage to the first official James Bond novel written after Ian Fleming's death, Colonel Sun by Robert Markham (Kingsley Amis).
Tributes[]
Gustav Graves' character has many nods to previous villains from EON-Bond films. These include;
- An unusual feature of this villain is that Graves appears to be younger than James Bond. In general, Bond villains are roughly the same age or considerably older than Bond (with Max Zorin in A View to a Kill and Elektra King in The World Is Not Enough notable exceptions).
- Graves was similar to Kananga, who also used a dual identity 30 years earlier. The main difference was that Kananga's persona as Mr. Big was to aid in his heroin smuggling as well as throw Bond and his allies off the track.
- Graves was similar to Max Zorin as having been born in a communist country, later fleeing. Like Graves, Zorin reinvented himself as a successful industrialist. The relationship between Graves and Dr. Alvarez had some parallel to that of Zorin and Dr. Mortner.
- Graves is one of the few Bond villains to have superhuman abilities in the sense they have no need for refreshment and sleep. This was similar to Renard, who was unable to experience pain. Both cases were caused by a side effect; in Renard's case, he had been enervated by 009's shooting, which had failed to kill him.
Trivia[]
- He is the second Bond villain (after Jacques Bouvar) to be portrayed by two different actors in the same film.
- Korean Colonel Moon becoming the Caucasian Gustav Graves might be a inside joke based on the Unmade 17th Bond film, as in the two major scripts originally meant for the movie, the ethnicity of the main villain "Sir Henry" changes between them. First the character being Chinese "Sir Henry Lee-Ching" and then Caucasian "Sir Henry Ferguson".
- Both Graves' deaths were caused by being sucked into fans; his first involving a hovercraft's thrust fan and the second being pulled into a jet engine's fan blades.
- He is one of the few Bond villains to have committed patricide.
Gallery[]
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ (2002). Die Another Day (Blu Ray). Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Event occurs at 00:40:47. "On his admission papers 1st March 2002, 8:00 a.m. is the time and date Mr J Krug was to be admitted to Clinica Alvarez."
- ↑ (2002). Die Another Day (Blu Ray). Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Event occurs at 00:46:40. "Jinx's clinic file has a date of 03.03.2002, presumably related to her therapy."
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