Rank the Raymond Benson main henchmen

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This week’s ranking involves the Raymond Benson main henchmen. Again, characters from the novelizations are acceptable.

So how do you rank the Benson henchmen? My ranking is:

  1. The 3 Chang Brothers aka Tom Chang & Dick Chang & Harry Chang – ZERO MINUS TEN – Very unique. Three Chinese albino henchmen each of different sizes who go about their business together being lethal and enjoying what they do. What’s not to like?

  2. Margareta Piel / Peredur Glyn – DOUBLESHOT – This story has two sets of villains who initially seem to be teamed up, but ultimately have different, competing agendas. As a result, I have two separate henchmen. One, a classic femme fatale, and the other a bit of a crazy thug with delusions of grandeur on becoming James Bond. Both are really good, but the bigger star is Margareta who is one of the very best–if not THE best–femmes fatale in the literary series. Terrific character.

  3. Hera Volopoulos – THE FACTS OF DEATH – Another great femme fatale who is even more mad and ruthless than Margareta. She is arguably the most dangerous femme fatale of the series. She is also the best character in TFOD and the novel is at its most fun whenever she is around.

  4. Richard Stamper – TOMORROW NEVER DIES – This version has a little more backstory than the film counterpart, and his physical oddity is more prominently on display here–where his pain and pleasure receptors are reversed, making for interesting scenarios. As a result, he gets a little better ranking here than he does in the film version, which, while still good, lags behind in comparison to the novelization.

  5. Junji Kon aka The Kappa – THE MAN WITH THE RED TATTOO – Another unique henchman, this one a physical freak of the dwarf variety. But this dwarf is super fast and agile and a real match for Bond. Their clashes are highlights of the novel–especially in the train tunnel. Kon is the best character on the villain side in TMWTRT and, like Hera above, a joy whenever he is on the page. One of my favorite Benson characters. I just happen to like the other henchmen above him more.

  6. Viktor Zokas aka Renard – THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH – Like Stamper above, Zokas gets a little more of a backstory here and it serves him well as it makes him seem more dangerous. Benson also plays up the bullet in the brain which makes him stronger while slowly killing him at the same time angle a little more in the finale than is done in the film which helps build up the danger/suspense better. I think more still could have been done, but Benson was very likely limited to following the script. Had it been up to him, I think he would have played up that angle even more and to better effect. Still, he improves on the film’s finale, which is a credit to him.

  7. Tan Ling Zao – DIE ANOTHER DAY – The character here is much like the film version. A solid, if unspectacular henchman (other than of course the diamonds in the face).

  8. Julius Wilcox – NEVER DREAM OF DYING – This one is a mean and tough S.O.B. and an unlikeable sort (in a good way). Still, he’s similar to Zao in that he’s solid, but not spectacular. I like him, but don’t love him. He does what needs to be done while the villain and the rest of his colorful henchmen go about their business.

  9. Otto Schrenk / Carl Glass – HIGH TIME TO KILL – Much like Doubleshot, HTTK features two villain teams not only in competition with 007 but with each other as well, and as a result, get two mentions here. Unlike the previous entries above, these two don’t have much to do until nearly the very end of the novel–and what they do do, is not as entertaining as the aforementioned henchmen. However, the overall story more than makes up for them. Overall, I think they’re ok, but they’re clearly at the bottom of this bunch.

So, how do you rank the Benson main henchmen?

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