Francisco Scaramanga is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond novel and film version of The Man with the Golden Gun.

[1] In the film, the character was played by Christopher Lee (the real-life step-cousin of James Bond creator Ian Fleming).

[2] As with another of James Bond's nemeses, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, in 2007 the Daily Mail reported that the inspiration for this fictional character was a classmate of Fleming's, at Eton College in the 1920s, George Ambrosios (Ambrose) Scaramanga.

[3] Francisco Scaramanga, of Spanish (Catalonia) origin, became a trick shot while a youngster, and he performed in a circus owned by his father Enrico.

He posed as a pitboy at the casino of Tiara Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, while in fact he was executioner of cheats and other transgressors within and outside the gang.

He spent some time travelling the Caribbean as a representative of Las Vegas interests in real estate and plantation dealing, later switching to Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic and Fulgencio Batista of Cuba where he settled in 1959, in Havana.

While remaining a Batista supporter, he started an undercover work for Fidel Castro's party, becoming an "enforcer" for DSS after the Cuban Revolution.

In the novel, British intelligence also has an in-depth psychological profile of Scaramanga, which is printed in the book before the mission begins.

In the feature film The Man with the Golden Gun, Scaramanga is a high-priced assassin, supposedly the best in the world, charging US$1 million per kill.

His specialized ammunition is made by a custom gunsmith in Macau, who provides for its delivery to Scaramanga's lover, Andrea Anders, at a casino in Hong Kong.

Despite his assertion that "science was never [his] strong point," the island utilizes many aspects of modern technology, including its own self-sufficient solar power plant.

Scaramanga is well aware of and approves of Nick Nack's efforts, and wishes him better luck next time when his hired guns fail.

Bond shoots Scaramanga in the heart, killing him, while Goodnight inadvertently sabotages the solar power plant which causes the destruction of the island.

In Ian Fleming's novel, the Golden Gun was a long-barrelled, gold-plated, single-action Colt Peacemaker .45 calibre revolver that fired silver-jacketed bullets with a solid gold core and a cross-cut tip for additional wounding due to the dum-dum effect.

However, in the film, it was a single-shot weapon that fired a custom-made 4.2-millimetre (0.17 in) dum-dum bullet made of 23-carat gold with traces of nickel, which Scaramanga carried on his belt buckle.

Scaramanga used the Golden Gun in numerous assassinations of officials, political enemies, gangsters, and a 00-agent, Bill Fairbanks (002).

[citation needed] Perfect Dark, made by GoldenEye developer Rareware, also featured a Golden Gun which would count for an instant kill, this time a customized Colt Python revolver belonging to NSA boss Trent Easton.

[11] The game also features a Multiplayer "Funhouse" level, including the traps that caused Bond to lose most of his bullets such as Al Capone and Cowboy mannequins and an image of Scaramanga.

[14] Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly argues that Scaramanga is the best villain of the Roger Moore James Bond films.