- "When you get a virus, you get a fever. That's the human body raising its core temperature to kill the virus. Planet Earth works the same way: Global warming is the fever, mankind is the virus. We're making our planet sick. A cull is our only hope. If we don't reduce our population ourselves, there's only one of two ways this can go: The host kills the virus, or the virus kills the host. Either way..."
- ― Richmond Valentine explaining his plan
Richmond Valentine was a well-known philanthropist and billionaire. Concerned with the environmental problems that the World faces, he decided to take matters in his own hands by concocting a plan to kill the majority of the World’s population. He is the main antagonist in the 2015 film, Kingsman: The Secret Service, and a flashback antagonist in its sequel, the 2017 film Kingsman: The Golden Circle. He is portrayed by famous American actor and producer Samuel L. Jackson.
Biography[]
Background[]
Richmond Valentine was an extremely wealthy technology tycoon and a computer genius who wanted to change the world by giving away SIM cards to everyone claiming they would offer free calls and unlimited internet access. Unknown to everyone else, he was actually trying to change the majority of the people in the world into extremely violent, barbaric, vicious animals that could destroy everything in their way and possibly even kill themselves. This was because he thought that the mass murder of almost everyone on the planet would deal with the over-population problem that was supposedly causing all of the natural disasters (i.e. Global Warming) on Earth. He even recruited people to join him in his "new world" that supported his ideas, including Professor James Arnold, the Swedish Prime Minister Morten Lindström and Chester King A.K.A. Arthur, the treacherous leader of the independent spy organisation Kingsman, inserting a small chip into their necks to offer some protection to his signals. What he didn't tell them was that he could remotely activate the chips and kill anyone who might betray him. He also kidnapped important people that didn't agree with him (including Scandinavian Princess Tilde) and had a gigantic army of soldiers and workers that worked for him.
Revealing his Plot[]
- "This ain't that kinda movie."
- ― Valentine to Harry before shooting him in the head.
Valentine conducted a test of the SIM cards on the South Glade Mission Church, his hidden place broadcasting a signal to phones containing his SIM card which caused the humans in the church to become uncontrollably violent. Harry Hart, one of the agents of Kingsman, was sent to investigate and follow after Valentine's plan. After a lengthy massacre, in which only Harry survived, he was confronted by Valentine who revealed his plot and likened it to that of an “old spy movie” the two both shared a liking of, before stating it wouldn't have the same ending where he was foiled. Valentine then shot and supposedly killed Harry which disgusted him. This display was witnessed by Eggsy, Merlin and Arthur who all watched via video link.
Final Battle and Death[]
- Valentine: "Sup man? Is this the part where you say some... really bad pun?"
- Eggsy: "It's like you said to Harry, this ain't that kind of movie, bruv."
- Valentine:: "Perfect"
- ―Valentine and Eggsy after the latter managed to spear the former on the back
After managing to kill Chester King, Eggsy, along with agents Roxy Morton and Merlin, headed to Valentine’s secret base in the mountains to stop him from executing his plan; with Roxy destroying Valentine's satellite while Eggsy stopped Valentine himself. Valentine sped up the plan upon noticing Eggsy when former Kingsman trainee, Charlie Hesketh, exposed him. After silencing Charlie with one of his devices, Eggsy fled to safety as Valentine started the final phase of his plan.
During the raid on Valentine's base, Merlin triggered the implanted devices, causing them to explode and kill off Valentine's personal army and all of the VIPs who were part of Valentine’s plan. After a battle which ended with Eggsy killing Valentine’s assistant and right-hand woman, Gazelle, Eggsy hurled one of Gazelle's bladed prosthetic legs into Valentine's chest, killing him as well as causing him to vomit at the sight of his own blood before collapsing onto the floor. With his last breath towards an amused Eggsy, Valentine died of his injury.
Personality[]
As a self-made millionaire, Valentine was outwardly influential and personable. Despite his wealth he wore informal clothing and even bought fast food such as McDonald's for himself and his wealthy dignitaries. His influence was incredibly deep, from celebrities to politicians to even the President of the United States were all in Valentine's pockets. This was a testament to the fact that Valentine was an extremely charismatic and highly intelligent man, a skilled technician and an ingenious planner. Even Eggsy, who soon became his nemesis, considered him a genius.
Valentine also dedicated his fortune to save the world from pandemics like overpopulation and global warming. Though originally going by acts of charity, Valentine grew disgusted by the politicians acceptance of the status quo as long as their pockets were lined. Therefore, Valentine equated humanity as a virus poisoning the world and mass a culling was the only logical solution to save it; those who survived were picked by Valentine's own hand whom he deemed worthy enough to rebuild it correctly. Ironically, despite Valentine's previous negative opinion on politicians many of those he saved to build his new world order were either celebrities or had deep political sway (i.e. Morten Lindström, president of Sweden). When Eggsy and Merlin murdered his VIP's, he was disgusted about the murder of "innocent people" despite continuing with his plans of mass murder around the globe, showing he would have a social preference in his new hierarchy did it ever come to pass.
Despite his plans of a cull, Valentine was uncomfortable with violence to the point where seeing a drop of blood would cause him to vomit. The first time he ever murdered someone personally (presumably, this being Harry Hart), he looked away and considered the feeling "terrible". However, he was willing to overlook the violence of his own plans because from his perspective they were all killing themselves.
Valentine also seemed to treat his minions kindly, as he spoke to Gazelle like an equal rather than a simple servant and she was the only one of his VIP's who didn't have an explosive device implanted inside her, showing his fondness of her. Once, the two even went dress shopping together and made close personal contact though it's unknown if they ever became romantically involved. Valentine was also disturbed by the death of Professor Arnold and his VIP's, claiming that they were his friends.
Relationships[]
Affiliations[]
- Gazelle - Colleague, Friend, Associate and Sort of Lover
- Chester King - Enemy turned Ally
- Morten Lindström - Ally
- James Arnold - Hostage
- Charles "Charlie" Hesketh - Ally
Enemies[]
- Kingsman
- James Spencer / Lancelot - Enemy
- Harry Hart/Galahad - Enemy and Victim
- Gary "Eggsy" Unwin - Enemy and Killer
- Merlin - Enemy
- Roxy Morton / Lancelot - Enemy
- Princess Tilde - Enemy
Trivia[]
- He speaks with a lisp. Ironically Samuel L. Jackson originally had a serious lisp which he had to overcome at the beginning of his acting career.
- Valentine appeared in flashbacks in Kingsman: The Golden Circle when he shot Harry in the eye, however, Samuel L. Jackson was not actually filmed in any scenes for The Golden Circle.
- In the comic, James Arnold was the villain, and Mark Hamill was one of the celebrities he abducted. The movie changed James Arnold to Richmond Valentine and Mark Hamill to James Arnold.
- Valentine's plan of culling a large portion of the world's population for the belief that he would save it were similar to that of the Marvel Cinematic Universe villain, Thanos.
- Valentine uses a Heckler & Koch P30 pistol to shoot Galahad.
Gallery[]
