"I like to live dangerously." - Number 2
Number 2 is the secondary antagonist in the Austin Powers franchise. He is one of Dr. Evil's henchmen. He uses the free WiFi network known as Live! Guest.
He wears an eyepatch, which gives him x-ray vision. It is unknown how it works, although it could be a cybernetic component merely disguised as an eyepatch. The eyepatch is inspired by "Emilio Largo" of Thunderball. He has monopolistic views, and sometimes becomes angry with the Doctor for not accepting his evil plans. Played by Robert Wagner in all 3 movies, and in the second movie, his 30-years younger self is played by Rob Lowe. The teenage Number 2 was played by Evan Farmer in Goldmember.
Occupation[]
Number 2 is, as his name should imply, the second-in-command of Dr. Evil's empire. He oversees the finances of the companies that fund Dr. Evil's evil plans, including Virtucon and Starbucks. He also frequently reminds the doctor to stay focused on his plan when Dr. Evil is distracted, usually by Mini-Me or his son Scott Evil. He has worked for Dr. Evil for at least 30 years, as evidenced by his monologue in the first movie. He also takes care to inform Dr. Evil of flaws of his plans, such as the fact that 1 million dollars, in 1997 isn't a lot of money now. He informs him that his plans (implicating Prince Charles in a marital affair, destroying the ozone layer) have already been done in the first film. When Dr. Evil says he wants "frickin' sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their frickin' heads", Number 2 carefully explains that after he was frozen, sharks became an endangered species, and Virtucon could not acquire them.
View of the Doctor[]
In 1969, Number 2 is seen to work for Dr. Evil and is considerably more loyal and respectful than he is in 1999. However, he still retains tendency to have impatience about Dr. Evil's foolish demeanor. When Dr. Evil mocks him and asks him if "he wants to wear the daddy pants", young Number 2 quickly apologizes to him and denies that he wants to lead the company himself.
Young Number 2
Number 2 in the present has very little respect for Dr. Evil, sometimes rolling his eye or muttering insults behind Dr. Evil's back. This stems from the fact that he was been second to Dr. Evil his whole life: Even when the two attended school together, before he worked for Dr. Evil, Dr. Evil was the best student in the school, while Number 2 was only second best.
He also shows a great deal of anger over Dr. Evil's plan to take over/destroy the world. Number 2 has been overseeing Dr. Evil's empire for 30 years while he was frozen, and turned it into a profitable business. When Dr. Evil returns, and pours the company's resources into his plans, Number 2 is understandably concerned. In the first movie's final scenes, Number 2 says this to Dr. Evil's face.
"I spent 30 years of my life turning this two-bit evil empire into a world class multi-national. I was going to have a cover story with Forbes. But you, like an idiot, want to take over the world. And you don't realize there is no world anymore! It's only corporations!"
Judging from his words, Number 2 is rather monopolistic, and possibly a capitalist. He is known for savvy business decisions, such as investing in Starbucks (presumably the main shareholder and thus, the owner of the company), and lowering the agent fee of Hollywood Talent Agency (another front company for Dr. Evil) to 9% rather than 10%, allowing them to sign big stars. He often tries to convince Dr. Evil to devote his time to his front companies rather than world domination, but is ignored. At one point he claims that shifting resources towards Starbucks rather than Dr. Evil's plans will increase Starbucks' profits five-fold. He is promptly instructed to show Dr. Evil more respect and to silence.
After Goldmember[]
Number 2's fate at the end of the trilogy is unknown. He was burned up early in the first movie during the 90s but somehow survived and is still around in the 90s for all three films (with visible burn scars in the second film, but not in the third film as they healed). Since Dr. Evil became good in Goldmember, some speculate that he turned good as well. Others claim that since Dr. Evil's son Scott has replaced his father as head of the evil empire, Number 2 now works under Scott.
Trivia[]
- In deleted scenes from both the second and third films it is shown that Number 2 is in a relationship with his 30-year old self.