For the most part, James Bond is a lone wolf who singlehandedly takes down megalomaniacs and foils diabolical schemes across the world. But he couldn’t do it all by himself; he has plenty of friends to help him out along the way.
M gives him his missions, Q gives him his gadgets, Felix Leiter provides him with additional intel in the field, and a bunch of love interests have made for reliable sidekicks. From his friend Quarrel in No Time to Die, 007 has worked with some very helpful allies over the past 60 years.
Quarrel
When 007 goes to Jamaica to investigate the titular megalomaniac in Dr. No, the first ever Bond film, he ends up falling for shell diver Honey Ryder. He also makes a friend in Quarrel, a Cayman Islander who was sent to secretly collect rock samples.
Before working with Bond, Quarrel worked with both Felix Leiter and MI6 station chief John Strangeways (the one who hired him to collect the rock samples in the first place). Sadly, Quarrel doesn’t make it to the end credits; he’s killed horrifically by a flamethrowing tank.
Miss Moneypenny
Traditionally, Miss Moneypenny is M’s secretary who flirts with Bond while he’s waiting to meet with his boss. But, as the years went by, this trope was recognized as problematic and Moneypenny’s character was revamped in the Daniel Craig era.
Naomie Harris was cast to play Moneypenny opposite Craig’s 007 starting with Skyfall, and this version of the character isn’t a secretary; she’s a gun-toting field agent.
Anya Amasova
Arguably the peak of the Roger Moore era, The Spy Who Loved Me has one of the most compelling romantic subplots in the Bond franchise (although that’s not a particularly high bar to clear, since the series’ love stories tend to be formulaic and one-dimensional). 007 falls for Anya Amasova, a KGB operative also known as “Agent XXX.”
There’s a pretty big hurdle to overcome in their relationship as it turns out that Bond’s last assassination target was the love of Amasova’s life. But they manage to get over that and team up to take down Karl Stromberg’s diabolical organization.
Q
The head of Q Branch provides Bond with all the far-fetched futuristic gadgets he uses during his missions. Q’s gadgets are one of the defining hallmarks of the series.
Q Branch’s gadgets made the Bond franchise a refreshingly fun change of pace from the grounded, self-serious spy thrillers of the early 1960s. These gadgets include a spiked umbrella, a bagpipe flamethrower, and a submersible Lotus Esprit.
Vesper Lynd
In madly in love with Vesper Lynd that he quits MI6 just to spend more time with her. As the movie goes on, he finds out that she betrayed him, but later learns that she only betrayed him to save his life (it’s complicated).
Vesper dies tragically in the finale as Bond fails to save her from drowning in a sinking building. Her ing has such a profound effect on 007 that he’s still processing it four movies later in the opening of No Time to Die.
Wai Lin
Michelle Yeoh’s turn as Wai Lin opposite Pierce Brosnan’s Bond in the media-satirizing Tomorrow Never Dies avoids all the usual trappings of the “Bond girl” archetype.
Wai Lin isn’t a one-note love interest or a damsel in distress like the average “Bond girl.” She’s a proficient secret agent in her own right – every bit the badass that Bond himself is.
Nomi
In Bond’s latest adventure, No Time to Die, Lashana Lynch appeared alongside Craig’s 007 as fellow MI6 badass Nomi. After Bond retires from active duty, Nomi takes over his 007 callsign. As a suave, wisecracking, hypercompetent spy in her own right, Nomi manages to live up to the iconic legacy of the 007 moniker.
Bond and Nomi partner up to destroy Safin’s lair in the final battle and develop a fun kind of “buddy cop” dynamic. They have each other’s backs but there’s also plenty of biting banter between the two.
Felix Leiter
Felix Leiter is Bond’s CIA . Leiter often accompanies Bond in the field, fighting alongside him and providing key details in his ongoing investigations. Usually, Leiter is burdened with delivering crucial exposition.
But the most recent version of Leiter, played by Jeffrey Wright, wasn’t just an expository ing character. He had a real arc building to a heartbreaking death scene in No Time to Die.
Tracy Bond
In George Lazenby’s one and only Bond outing, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, 007 falls in love. Diana Rigg played Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, the first woman to marry Bond on-screen.
Tragically, after their wedding at the end of the movie, Tracy is gunned down by the bad guys in a drive-by shooting. The movie ends with a heartbroken 007 cradling his bride’s corpse.
M
Easily Bond’s closest ally is Austin Powers character Basil Exposition, M is usually relegated to expository roles. 007’s boss gives him mission briefings at the beginning of the movie and provides him with whatever aid he needs along the way.
But some versions of M have shared an emotional connection with Bond on top of their professional one. Skyfall puts their personal relationship in the spotlight as 007 tries (and, unfortunately, fails) to protect Judi Dench’s M from a terrorist with a vendetta.
