In Ian Fleming's novels, SPECTRE is a commercial enterprise led by Blofeld.

The organisation's third appearance is in On Her Majesty's Secret Service where Blofeld, hired by an unnamed country or party ( though the Soviet Union is implied ) is executing a plan to ruin British agriculture.

Its long-term strategy, however, is illustrated by the analogy of the three Siamese fighting fish Blofeld keeps in an aquarium in the film version of From Russia with Love.

Blofeld notes that one fish is refraining from fighting two others until their fight is concluded.

Furthermore, to heighten the impact of the executions, Blofeld often chooses to focus attention on an innocent member, making it appear his death is imminent, only to suddenly strike down the actual target when that person is off guard.

SPECTRE is headed by the supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld who usually appears accompanied by a white Persian cat in the movies, but not in the books.

It is stated in the novel that if something were to happen to Blofeld, Largo would assume command.

At the time of Thunderball, the leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, has been assigned " Number 2 ", while Emilio Largo is assigned " Number 1 ".

In the films the number indicates rank: Blofeld is always referred to as " Number 1 " and Emilio Largo, in Thunderball, is " Number 2 ".

In On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the second chapter of what is known as the " Blofeld Trilogy ", Blofeld has revived SPECTRE, and Blofeld's final appearance, sans SPECTRE, is in the final novel of the trilogy, You Only Live Twice.

The film adaptation of From Russia with Love also features the first on-screen appearance of Blofeld, although he is only identified by name in the closing credits of the film.

In the first book to include SPECTRE, " Thunderball ", it is stated that the numbers of each member changes periodically ( it " advances round a rota by two digits at midnight on the first of every month ") to avoid detection and Blofeld is in fact number 2.

Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional character and a supervillain from the James Bond series of novels and films, who was created by Ian Fleming and Kevin McClory.

Blofeld appears or is heard in three novels: Thunderball, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and You Only Live Twice ; and six James Bond films from Eon Productions: From Russia with Love ( 1963 ), Thunderball ( 1965 ), You Only Live Twice ( 1967 ), On Her Majesty's Secret Service ( 1969 ), Diamonds Are Forever ( 1971 ) and For Your Eyes Only ( 1981 ) ( the pre-title sequence of which marks his final appearance and apparent death ).

Equipped with a shiny bald head and a quiet but intense voice to go with his trademark penetrating gaze, he specialised in portraying insane or evil characters, including the violent alcoholic Doc Tydon in Wake in Fright ( 1971 ), the mad Doctor in the Bud Spencer-Terence Hill film Watch Out, We're Mad ( 1974 ), Heinrich Himmler in The Eagle Has Landed ( 1976 ), and the Bond arch-villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in You Only Live Twice ( 1967 ), the first film in which the villain's face is clearly seen.

Their CEO is Nick Blofeld ( former head of Epsom race course ).

* Max von Sydow as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the head of SPECTRE.

SPECTRE is headed by criminal mastermind Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

For more than a year, James Bond, British Secret Service operative 007, has been involved in " Operation Bedlam ": trailing the private criminal organisation SPECTRE and its leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

Blush and her charge, a United States Air Force pilot named Jack Petachi, are operatives of SPECTRE, a criminal organisation run by Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

Bond teams up with CIA agent Cedar Leiter, daughter of his old friend, Felix Leiter, to investigate one Markus Bismaquer, who is suspected of reviving the criminal organisation SPECTRE, which was believed to have been disbanded years earlier following the death of its leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, at the hands of Bond ( in You Only Live Twice ).

Led by evil genius and supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the organisation first formally appeared in the novel Thunderball ( 1961 ) and in the movie Dr. No ( 1962 ).

As quoted by Blofeld on several occasions: " This organisation does not tolerate failure ".

Blofeld was the chairman and leader because he founded the organisation, and Largo was elected by the cabinet to be second in command.

Blofeld, with a weakened SPECTRE would appear for the final time in You Only Live Twice.

The goal of world domination was only ever stated in You Only Live Twice, and SPECTRE was working not for itself but for an unnamed Asian government whose two representatives Blofeld speaks to during the movie ; perhaps Red China, who earlier backed Goldfinger.

In the novel, SPECTRE, headed by Blofeld, attempts to conduct nuclear blackmail against NATO.

Following Diamonds Are Forever, SPECTRE and Blofeld were retired from the Eon Films series, except for a cameo by Blofeld ( not identified by name, but accompanied by the character's trademark cat ) in For Your Eyes Only.

The film retells the story of Thunderball and reintroduces both SPECTRE and Blofeld.

Although SPECTRE and Blofeld are used in a number of films before and after Thunderball, the issue over the copyright of Thunderball did prevent SPECTRE and Blofeld from becoming the main villains in 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me.

Henchmen working for SPECTRE, one of its members, or directly for Ernst Stavro Blofeld:

* Emilio Largo – " Number 2 ," second in command of SPECTRE and designated by Blofeld to oversee all field operations for Thunderball ; killed by Domino Vitali

While Blofeld considered the possibility that the sexual relationship was consensual, it was more important that SPECTRE was reputed to keep its word.

Blofeld then temporarily moved to South America before founding SPECTRE.

Blofeld is absent from the next book, The Spy Who Loved Me, though its events take place while Bond is battling SPECTRE in North America.

It is commonly believed that the name Blofeld was inspired by the English cricket commentator Henry Blofeld's father, with whom Fleming went to school.

Nena, who has only one breast, quickly wins Bond's heart and his sympathy and Bond is convinced that Bismaquer is the one now being referred to as the new Blofeld.

* Marius Domingue – " Number 7 ," another Unione Corse man ; highly trustworthy, but singled out by Blofeld for a lecture in order to throw Borraud off guard

* " Number 6 " – Kills Lippe at the behest of Blofeld for being unreliable

* Number 1, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, chief of SPECTRE in James Bond novels and films

GoldenEye and Galore leave the Lair aboard Galore's chopper, and Scaramanga and Number One ( Ernst Stavro Blofeld ) later discuss what to do with GoldenEye, and decide to simply see what he does next before proceeding.