But the scriptwriters' attempts to tone down the comedy, made Dalton's Bond in The Living Daylights and A Licence To Kill, a dark, vulnerable, humourless man.
Yet, with Daniel Craig becoming the latest actor to don the 007 tuxedo in "Casino Royale, " Bond appears to be in no danger of having his licence to kill revoked any time soon.
Ultimately, a mechanism for licence-holders to trade their rights on a secondary market, similar to a bond or commodity market, could lead to more efficient allocation.