#spy and counterspy

[coolcomicbookcovers]

[faerieinthehumanworld]

My Thoughts on Revenge of the Sith

why did I think this was a good idea

But in all seriousness, I finished the movie, here are my thoughts:

If I had any editing capacity I would make a video titled "Elevator Wars" about Anakin and Obi Wan's trouble with elevators.

R2D2 does not get enough credit for anything ever.

I loved all their little quips and I wish they'd kept more of them in the movie.

Much like General Grevious, the duel with Count Dooku was shorter than I expected. I was a little disappointed by this.

Dooku deserved better.

The amount of times I told Palpatine to shut the fuck up is unreal.

Made it until Anakin and Padmé's reunion before I teared up.

Obi Wan is adorable no matter what he's doing.

The first third of this felt like an episode of the Clone Wars.

I really wish Ahsoka was in this.

Not saying I would murder children about it but if I was thrust into the middle of these spy-counterspy shenanigans I would also be on the news.

Anakin needs a slap upside the head, a hug, a nap and therapy. Dear god, please someone let this man sleep.

Padmé is slaying with her outfits, as usual.

Kashyyk (no idea if I spelled that right) is seriously the coolest planet we've seen yet. I really wish we got more time there to explore.

Luminara sighting!

The Wookies are awesome. I'd watch an entire three-season series about them.

Spent the entire middle third of the movie alternately going, "Anakin. Anakin, no. No, don't, no-- goddamitt" and "Throw him out the window. Just throw him out the window, it's right there. Stab him in the head." (about Palpatine)

Anakin was three inches from stabbing him and he just had to open his mouth.

The entire fight with General Grevious was wild. The only reason it took so long was because Grevious is a coward and can't use one lightsaber like a normal person.

Side note: Love Obi Wan's lizard friend.

I wish there was more about the clones in this movie, there's no explanation whatsoever. They deserved better.

I can't help but love the Jedi Temple March, even though it's the backing track for atrocities.

Was basically yelling at Mace and Kit to get out of there the entire time.

It was Master Plo's death that finally got me to cry. I was misting up before, but that triggered the tears.

Oh, seeing Aayla was harder than I thought it would be.

I didn't realize until I actually watched it that all the younglings ran to the Council chamber. They were looking for the council members to protect them. I'm going to start crying again just typing this.

One of the saddest things I've ever heard came up again while watching this. The reason that R2D2 never stays put when Luke tells him to in the OT is because on Mustafar, Anakin told him to stay with the ship. And Anakin never came back.

The one action of Darth Vader's I agree with is killing Nute Gunray. That man is infuriating.

I spent a surprising amount of this movie worried for Master Yoda. Like yes, I know he lives, but he's so small, and old, and I wish I could help.

The duel between him and Palpatine was actually wild.

The fact that Duel of the Fates was playing in the background the entire time was just... not okay.

The fight between Obi Wan and Anakin lived up to expectations. I appreciate that there weren't as many cuts as there could have been. On a technical level it's very impressive.

On an emotional level I think I just felt the death of my soul.

The last third or so is kind of a blur. I just remember emotional trauma and alternating between tears and a kind of aching numbness.

Why was it the japor snippet that killed me

I wish they'd gone with the idea that Padmé started the Rebellion. I am glad she got to name the twins before she died.

Didn't expect to care about Bail as much as I suddenly do.

The fact that they ended on that Tattooine sunset somehow hurt worse.

A random thought I had: The cinematography in this movie is absolutely insane. Pretty much every shot is beyond gorgeous.

Final verdict: It was about as bad as I thought it would be. That is, it was horrible, and I cried, but it wasn't too much worse than the other recountings of the story I've watched. Maybe it was because I watched it during the day, but I'll be fine, I think. If nothing else, it's given me far more motivation to finish my fix-it fic.

[darkmaga-returns]

The U.S. Department of Justice has reopened a case against a former top FBI counterspy. Charles McGonigal was Special Agent in Charge of Counterintelligence at the New York field office. He left the FBI in 2018, joined the massive Brookfield asset management fund as a vice president for global security, and was arrested and convicted in 2023. 

But not for espionage. McGonigal quickly pled guilty to corruption-related crimes. He is serving six-and-a-half years in federal prison. 

His prosecution and admission seem suspiciously tidy.

McGonigal was part of the FBI’s discredited CROSSFIRE HURRICANE “counterintelligence” operation led by his boss, Peter Strzok, against Donald Trump and his supporters in 2016.

As the former senior spy-hunter at the Bureau’s largest field office, McGonigal barely defended himself from charges relating to illegally accepting money from Albanian businessmen tied to that tiny country’s intelligence service, and for ties to a sanctioned Russian oligarch.

He received a light sentence and $40,000 fine.

[woodsfae]

B5 S04E10 Racing Mars previous episode - table of contents

Got Mars in the title, so maybe there won't be a break till we see Dr Franklin and Marcus again. Or hear about them or something. 

B5's black market is suffering due to the harsh penalties put in place on smugglers from earth. Ivanova says she'll take care of it and kicks Sheridan out of his office for a few days of R&R -- his first time off in over a year. He permits this light insubordination. As a wise man would. 

Flip to Marcus and Stephen! Playing Eye Spye in a cargo hold full of boxes. Dr Franklin is really tired of playing Eye Spy. And Marcus captures a real spy, spying on them. He's apparently the Captain's brother and smuggles in his ship. And although he hangs out on his brother's ship secretly, he calls himself a Captain. 

Stephen is caught by his lure of insta-hot bag meals.

Ah I forgot about Garibaldi's foolish probably brainwashed interview with ISN. And Sheridan is really upset about it. I really think this is the Shadows' brainwashing. Just a part of their plan to disrupt the alliances that they didn't clean up when they left. 

Fight, fight. They've even got an audience. This is gonna be a public incident. Garibaldi's arguments are all fairly reasonable for someone outside the events that happened, even if the public sowing of discontent isn't. If it isn't a brainwashing thing then that's a really fucking unfortunate turn for Garibaldi to take. It's a really hard pivot on his previous opinion of Sheridan and an indictment on his own past actions. Also, would be really weird that he'd turn like that in opinon after they won. That kind of pivot really isn't consistent for him. 

Back with the Mars mission, Captain Jack is apparently their contact. And he brings them their cover documents! They're newlyweds on their honeymoon! Good for them.

Garibaldi has some folks who are eager to connect over their mutual dislike and distrust of Sheridan. Hmm. This does open the possibility that Garibaldi is on a self-assigned mission to  be a disrupter of the local opposition. But I doubt it. I'm going with the brainwashing theory. Is this where Garibaldi's story goes? In a tragedy of walking down a path to destabilize the causes you just fought for with all your heart with no way to go against it or have the capacity to recognize the alienness of your sudden goals?

Only time will tell.

Captain Jack says he hasn't heard about the war and thinks it's all alien stuff that doesn't pertain to humans much. And he also doesn't really believe the things he has heard. Marcus is upset that now that he's a war hero no one's ever heard of it, and that he also has to be married to Stephen as the cherry on top. Captain Jack loves this new relationship dynamic. I haven't decided what I think is going on with Captain Jack. Right now I feel predisposed to assume everything is a spying or counterspying interaction. 

Imagine complaining in a corporate meeting with the second in command of the military space station and seriously complaining about the illegal drug market being depressed. That's genuinely hilarious. And Ivanova threatens to shoot them if they don't work with her to stimulate the economy. Or turn them into EarthGov. That's the good old Ivanova diplomatic method. 

"Work with me? No? Well rethink because you won't like the results if you don't." Fucking get it girl. And the carrot right after. Which is the silk glove on the iron fist tactic that Sheridan's been trying to mentor her into acquiring. It's a thin glove for her very sturdy iron fist to be sure. 

The Mars team plus Captain Jack have a problem. They've been discovered! But they still need to spread the Word of Sheridan. And Jack was with them? Apparently? Well that's a pickle. 

I think this is the first away from B5 view we've had in a long time. Hmmm this seems shady. They're demanding full biometric IDs to prove they're really with the resistance. But it is so risky and not how these kinds of cells really operate. But maybe they do in the B5 universe. In any case, Frankline and Marcus hand over their id that could fully dox them and be used to hand them over to EarthGov. They didn't prove their own allegiances even slightly. 

Sheridan is feeling badly over his argument with Garibaldi. Bummer thing to do on your first day off in a year, for real. He could be flirting with Delenn right now instead of bemoaning Garibaldi's change of pace. 

Delenn promises John there are not very many more rituals before they can be married. Only fifty! But after Delenn says eloping is a great disgrace, Sheridan immediately folds. And Delenn invites him over for the next ritual, Shan'Fall, which is about exploring one another centers of pleasures with great medication and focus. And John, not a foolish man, heads off to see what that's all about in practice. Man hears "tantric sex" in minbari-speak and is all in.

Hmm, turn of events. Not sure why their IDs apparently didn't match their DNA, but it's forgotten now that Captain Jack tried to assassinate the local cell's leader. He had neural net device on him that may have forced him to do it. 

And now Captain Jack is on the loose with not only his laser pistol but also a thermal grenade. I wonder if this is PsiCorps work or another faction. I don't know who has that type of tech. Seems a bit beyond human tech we've seen. Especially with Captain Jack saying the devices grow back if removed. And he also seems to be correct! There's a tentacle. And he goes for it, blows himself up in a transport in a transport tube train thing. This plotline is a bit all over the place. I still want to know why they don't care about the ID mismatch now. 

A woman is kneeling to Sheridan and asking for a blessing. Garibaldi has a fit about it and ends up knocking Sheridan down with a hit. I'm really sticking with my brainwashing theory because I just don't like this character turn otherwise. The question is if it's shadow work, neural net parasite like the Captain Jack, or if the parasites are Shadow work. 

Delenn's ritual include an audience at a distance meditating and to prevent them from "going too far," and John allows himself to be talked into the semi-exhibitionism. Love this plotline of a red blooded Iowa man being seduced into elaborate fetish play. Also that the Minbari are extremely into kink. What a plot twist, lol. 

Lennier, judgementally: "Woo-hoo?" 

You tell him, Lennier. You shame his o-voice. 

Garibaldi is always destined to have a plotline that makes me want to be my head against the wall. Except for when he learned Narnuan to read their scriptures.  

I miss Bester. Bring back the telepathic baddie!

next episode

[brokehorrorfan]

North by Northwest will be released on 4K Ultra HD + Digital in Steelbook and standard packaging on November 5 via Warner Bros. The classic 1959 thriller is directed by master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock.

Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, and Jessie Royce Landis star. Ernest Lehman (The Sound of Music, West Side Story) penned the script.

The film has been restored in 4K with HDR. Special features are listed below, where you can also see the full Steelbook layout.

Special features:

Audio Commentary by Writer Ernest Lehman

North by Northwest: Cinematography, Score, and the Art of the Edit

Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North by Northwest

The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style

North by Northwest: One for the Ages

A Guided Tour with Alfred Hitchcock

Cary Grant stars as a Manhattan adman plunged into a realm of spy (James Mason) and counterspy (Eva Marie Saint) when is abducted, framed for murder, chased and, in a signature set piece, crop-dusted.

Pre-order North by Northwest.

[spamtoon]

DCRC Week 8. In week 10.

This is normal at this point, but this time I have an excuse for being late! Vacation! But everybody else is taking naps so like come on now's the perfect time to read Dangerous Disguise by Carl Barks, obviously. Oh wait hold on let me get on Club Pengui.n

First thought I like how they phrased it that the only reason he'd send them on a vacation is if he NEEDED them out of duckburg at the moment. alright donald your bad luck is only going to make things worse here lets get you and the boys out on holiday. Here, go ruin the mediteranian

im so mad i just like. looked down a textbox and thats literally what donald confirms help

Okay there we go I'm in now we can REALLY read this story, which I've heard is generally bonkers but I'm unaware of the extent

Lord the humans are uncanny. by now i've gotten used to some of the basically humans with dog noses but these are just. kinda humans. 50s comic style humans yes but they're sitll humans

i love how the triplets' gut reactions to remembering that spies exist is accusing every single person around them of being a spy. shoutout to that guy with a long beard though he's just here to have a good time

needed to include the picture actually. he deserves to stand on the shore and gaze wistfully into the ocean

no don't worry guys donald flirting with real human woman is par for the course right now. for context i just came back from gran fiesta tour featuring the three cabs, a ride where like the movie donald goes after real human women

it might be cliche but madame triple x might just slap as a spy name. i thought about a certain friend's certain duck oc for a split second. you know the one

i like how the spy and the counter spy are complimentary colors. donald just sees a man shaking at the thought of a lady and he's like ok. i get it you don't even wanna deal with this right now

i know this joke has been done to death but the fact they all have the same gun got a good chuckle out of me

what if i started using this as a reaction image. maybe not because of the me but oo la la and that pose is speaking to me right now

chiliburgeria. chiliburgers probably are a thing but i've never exactly thought about one actively before

tied with beard guy this is the best background character

THEY JUST KILLED A GUY OKAY we're not even that many pages in and the triplets have already killed a guy that they don't even know--that guy could have been working for the US government and they would have absolutely no idea because you literally cannot tell

donald just got a power rush after killing the guy he's like HELL YEAH . im a REAL SPY NOW no you're not

this guy's fit slaps. i like to think the nevermind in his declaration speech means that he un-countered at some point. a rogue counterspy that decided to counterspy for a different spy organization.

donald's fucking luck i'm giggling so much in public i'm so. this comic is great i think i needed a dumb fun read today

IM SO MAD great excuse to save him. labor unions saved donald duck everybody

the way the stakes are escalating in these old cartoons i just. taking a concept and running with it

IM SO MAD the way donald is like "my bad luck! when are you gonna kick in!" and the universe was just like "lmao time to spend your vacation fighting a bull"

THE VERY SMALL PANEL everyone is utilizing the very small panel but its. the single best part of the comic they're so little. they're so teeny. carl barks knew it. the secret secret service. i'm so. this comic got my grandparent to ask me what i was laughing at so that's a really big compliemnt. im excited to read more of these random little duck stories in the future

[kuronekonerochan]

I though of a prompt. I don't write. I just need someone to write this exact work and then share it with the rest of the tumblerinas.

Story about a former chinese spy who is bribed into taking one last job that will ensure a very comfortable retirement:

What is the job? Is he to become a traitor selling chinese gov weapons' secrets?

As he is contacted by the prospective handle and liason, also a former foreign spy turned mercenary nothing could have prepared him for this job request...

He is to infiltrate the Censorship Bureau's office and retrieve the original, uncensored version of every unaired danmei drama ever produced on behalf of an underground illegal streaming service for worldwide release. He is about to defect....and to become very, very rich.

But of course it couldn't be that easy. He and his handler must work together to provide counterspying knowledge to ensure that they leave no physical breadcrumbs leading to their employers who will in turn cover both the spies and their own digital trails.

The anarchist anonymous organization who hired him plans to release the content as membership only VIP access for a year so they can fund decades of environmental, animal's rights and political freedom movements activism. It is projected to make trillions in revenue. After a year they will make all of it available online for free, and the spies will receive the second half of their payment and also be free...and millionaires.

(PS: of course the spies are also gay and fall in love).

Behold the prompt of...

The Escapism Spy

HEA with our MCs sharing a daikiri on a far away beach at night 2 years later with a projection screen running the ending of 2ha for everyone to watch and enjoy.

(alternate ending version for the tragedy lovers out there... Camera zooms out as a tsunami hits the beach. It was foretold by the modern oracles that the release of the danmei adaptations would mean the end of the world was coming.

The last shot is a zoom in on the open water...

A floating cellphone with a malfunctioning screen showing a picture of a big red ball being thrown... With the screen finally shutting down.)

[kaapstadmk]

Poly plot/setting idea for the writers here:

We have a classic spy vs spy, with one spy out to kidnap a physicist involved in researching next-level nuclear engineering, and the other spy set to protect him.

However, the story/movie starts in the middle, with the physicist happily engaged in what appears to be a thriving, happy throuple, while his two paramours are playing 3d chess and hiding the fact that they're staring daggers at each other

(bonus points if both paramours are gridlocked spies from rival countries, both trying to kidnap him, and the home country counterspy falls for the guy after years of surveillance, and tries to get themself involved as a third paramour, but the first two are suspicious of their intent and have temporarily allied to rebuff the newcomer. ... Actually, that makes a good idea for the sequel premise)

[opinions-about-tiaras]

The real enraging thing is that Starfleet DID have people who worked in the shadows. Lots of them! They were called Starfleet Intelligence and they did a pretty good job!

Star Trek did lot of espionage and spying episodes prior to the introduction of Section 31. They went behind enemy lines and did spy-and-counterspy all the time. Chief O'Brien goes undercover into the Orion Syndicate and betrays a man to his death! What is that if not operating in the shadows.

But apparently for a lot of people, it only gets interesting if the Federation has a War Crimes department, and that War Crimes department is not presented as a ghoulish criminal conspiracy that the franchise instructs its viewers to find appalling (DS9 was not subtle about this! Julian Bashir gives speeches to the audience multiple times on the subject! They are didactic and direct!) but is presented as "these people are necessary."

It's worth noting, by the way, that Kurtzman has always had a mile-high hardon for for this sort of thing. Guy helmed Alias and Fringe, both of which are pretty disgusting on the point.

Kurtzman wants to live in Omelas. He wants to immigrate there. He doesn't trust places that aren't Omelas and finds them suspicious, and thinks they should be made INTO Omelas.

And I fully agree.

[blogynews]

"Former FBI Counterspy Chief Shockingly Pleads Guilty in Intriguing Payment Scheme"

Charles F. McGonigal, the former top spy hunter for the FBI in New York, is expected to plead guilty on Friday in a separate case involving allegations of hiding secret cash payments while overseeing sensitive investigations. The plea hearing, scheduled for 2 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, follows plea negotiations with federal prosecutors. The specific…

[blogynewz]

"Former FBI Counterspy Chief Shockingly Pleads Guilty in Intriguing Payment Scheme"

Charles F. McGonigal, the former top spy hunter for the FBI in New York, is expected to plead guilty on Friday in a separate case involving allegations of hiding secret cash payments while overseeing sensitive investigations. The plea hearing, scheduled for 2 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, follows plea negotiations with federal prosecutors. The specific…

[blogynewsz]

"Former FBI Counterspy Chief Shockingly Pleads Guilty in Intriguing Payment Scheme"

Charles F. McGonigal, the former top spy hunter for the FBI in New York, is expected to plead guilty on Friday in a separate case involving allegations of hiding secret cash payments while overseeing sensitive investigations. The plea hearing, scheduled for 2 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, follows plea negotiations with federal prosecutors. The specific…

[the-eternal-quest-for-balance]

U. N. C. L. E.

(United Network Command for Law and Enforcement)

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American spy fiction television series[1] produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents Napoleon Solo, played by Robert Vaughn, and Illya Kuryakin, played by David McCallum, who work for a secret international counterespionage and law-enforcement agency called U.N.C.L.E. (United Network Command for Law and Enforcement). The series premiered on September 22, 1964, and completed its run on January 15, 1968. The program was part of the spy-fiction craze on television, and by 1966 there were nearly a dozen imitators. Several episodes were successfully released to theaters as B movies or double features. There was also a spin-off series, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., a series of novels and comic books, and merchandising.

With few recurring characters, the series attracted many high-profile guest stars. Props from the series are exhibited at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum and at the museums of the Central Intelligence Agency and other US intelligence agencies. The series won the Golden Globe Award for Best TV Show in 1966.

Originally, co-creator Sam Rolfe (of Have Gun, Will Travel fame) wanted to leave the meaning of U.N.C.L.E. ambiguous so it could refer to either "Uncle Sam" or the United Nations.[2]: 14  Concerns by the MGM legal department about using "U.N." for commercial purposes caused U.N.C.L.E. to become an acronym for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement.[3] Each episode had a spurious "We wish to thank" acknowledgement to U.N.C.L.E. in the end titles.

Background

The series consists of 105 episodes originally broadcast between 1964 and 1968, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Arena productions. The first season was produced in black-and-white, the remaining in color.

The first episode was broadcast on September 22, 1964, as part of the Tuesday night NBC lineup, but moved to Monday nights, a half hour earlier, the following January.[4]

Ian Fleming contributed to the series after being approached by co-creator Norman Felton.[5] According to the book The James Bond Films, Fleming proposed two characters, Napoleon Solo and April Dancer (later appearing on the spin-off series The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.). The original name for the show was Ian Fleming's Solo.[6] Robert Towne, Sherman Yellen, and Harlan Ellison later wrote scripts for the series. Author Michael Avallone, who wrote the first original novelization based upon the series (see below), is sometimes incorrectly cited as the show's creator.

Originally, Solo was the focus of the series, but David McCallum as Russian agent Illya Kuryakin drew so much enthusiasm from fans, the agents became a team.[7]

Premise

Solo and Kuryakin

The series centered on a two-man troubleshooting team working for multi-national secret intelligence agency U.N.C.L.E. (United Network Command for Law and Enforcement): American Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn), and Russian Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum). Leo G. Carroll played Alexander Waverly, the British chief of the organization. Barbara Moore joined the cast as Lisa Rogers in the final season.

The series, though fictional, achieved such cultural prominence that props, costumes, documents, and a video clip are in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum's exhibit on spies and counterspies. Similar exhibits are held by the museum of the Central Intelligence Agency.[8]

Thrush

U.N.C.L.E.'s primary adversary was Thrush (named WASP in the pilot film). The original series never divulged whom or what Thrush represented, nor was it ever used as an acronym. The novels written by David McDaniel explain that it stands for "Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity",[9] described as having been founded by Colonel Sebastian Moran after the death of Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls in the Sherlock Holmes short story "The Final Problem". But in a second season episode, guest star Jessie Royce Landis plays a character who claims that she founded Thrush. Producer Felton always insisted that Thrush was not an acronym and stood for nothing.

Thrush's aim was to conquer the world. Thrush was considered so dangerous an organization that even governments who were ideologically opposed to each other – such as the United States and the Soviet Union – had cooperated in forming and operating the U.N.C.L.E. organization. Similarly, when Solo and Kuryakin held opposing political views, the friction between them in the story was held to a minimum. Although executive producer Norman Felton and Ian Fleming conceived Napoleon Solo, it was the producer Sam Rolfe who created the global U.N.C.L.E. hierarchy, and he included the Soviet agent, Illya Kuryakin. Unlike the CIA or the British SIS (Secret Intelligence Service), U.N.C.L.E. was a global organization of agents from many countries and cultures.

Innocent character

The creators decided an innocent character would be featured in each episode, giving the audience someone with whom to identify.[5] Despite many changes over four seasons, "innocents" remained a constant – from a suburban housewife in the pilot, "The Vulcan Affair" (film version: To Trap a Spy), to those kidnapped in the final episode, "The Seven Wonders of the World Affair".

[comicbookcovers]

Spy and Counterspy #1, September 1949

[theoldscomics]

Spy and Counterspy Published: August-September 1949, Price: 0.10 USD, Pages: 52, Editing: Richard Hughes [as Richard E. Hughes] Color: Color Dimensions: Standard Silver Age US Paper Stock: Glossy Cover; Newsprint Interior Binding: Saddle-stitched Publishing Format: Was Ongoing Series #arte #illustrator #comicartist #ink #dc#comedy #characterdesign #webcomics #cute #instaart #spiderman #meme #comiccollector #igcomicfamily #comicbookart #cosplay #humor #drawings #marvel #dibujo #superhero #digitaldrawing #igcomics #inktober #graphicnovel #procreate #originalcharacter #painting #digital #superman (en Mexico) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck5xtrJsqnF/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[greatworldwar2]

• Duško Popov

Dušan "Duško" Popov OBE was a Serbian triple agent who served as part of the MI6 and Abwehr during World War II, and passed off disinformation to Germany as part of the Double-Cross System and working also as agent for the Yugoslav government-in-exile in London.

Dušan "Duško" Popov was born to a Serb family in Titel, Austria-Hungary on July 10th, 1912. His parents were Milorad and Zora Popov. He had an older brother named Ivan ("Ivo") and a younger brother named Vladan. The family was exceedingly wealthy and owed its fortune to Popov's paternal grandfather, Omer, a wealthy banker and industrialist who founded a number of factories, mines, and retail businesses. Records from as early as 1773 describe them as the most affluent family there. Popov's father expanded the family's business interests to include real estate dealings. When Popov was an infant, the family left Titel and permanently relocated to their summer residence in Dubrovnik, which was their home for much of the year. They also had a manor in Belgrade, where they spent the winter months. Popov's childhood coincided with a series of monumental political changes in the Balkans. In November 1918, Austria-Hungary disintegrated into a number of smaller states, and its Balkan possessions were incorporated into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed Yugoslavia in 1929). The newly established, Serb-led state was plagued by political infighting among its various constitutive ethnic groups, particularly Serbs and Croats, but also Hungarians and Germans. The young Popov and his family enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle and were far removed from the political turmoil in the country. They boasted a sizeable collection of villas and yachts, and were attended by servants, even on their travels. Popov's father indulged his sons, building a spacious villa by the sea for their exclusive use where they could entertain their friends and host expensive parties. He was also insistent that they receive a quality education. Apart from his native Serbian, Popov was fluent in Italian, German and French by his teenage years. Between the ages of 12 and 16, he attended a lycée in Paris.

In 1929, Popov's father enrolled him into Ewell Castle, a prestigious preparatory school in Surrey. Popov's stint at the school proved to be short lived. After only four months, he was expelled following an altercation with a teacher. He had previously endured a caning at the teacher's hands after being caught smoking a cigarette. Another caning was adjudicated after Popov missed a detention, and so as to evade further corporal punishment, Popov grabbed the teacher's cane and snapped it in two before his classmates. Popov's father subsequently enrolled him at Lycée Hoche, a secondary institution in Versailles, which he attended for the following two years. At the age of 18, Popov enrolled in the University of Belgrade, seeking an undergraduate degree in law. Over the next four years, he became a familiar face in Belgrade's cafes and nightclubs, and had the reputation of a ladies' man. In 1934, Popov enrolled in the University of Freiburg, intent on securing a doctorate in law. Germany had only recently come under the rule of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, but at the time, Popov paid little regard to politics. He had chosen Freiburg because it was relatively close to his native country and he was eager to improve his German-language skills. Germany was already the site of mass book burnings, the first concentration camps had been established and the systematic persecution of Jews had commenced.

Popov began his studies at the University of Freiburg in the autumn of 1935, and in subsequent months, began showing greater interest in politics and voiced his political opinions more vigorously. Around the same time, he befriended a fellow student, Johnny Jebsen, the son of a German shipping magnate. The two grew close, largely due to their raucous lifestyle and a shared interest in sports vehicles. In 1937, Popov began participating in debates at the Ausländer Club, which were held every other Friday evening. He was disappointed that many foreign students appeared to be swayed by the pro-Nazi arguments espoused there. Popov discovered that the German debaters were all hand-picked party members who chose the subject of each debate beforehand and vigorously rehearsed Nazi talking points. He persuaded Jebsen, then the president of the club, to inform him of the debate topics in advance and passed this information along to the British and American debaters. Popov himself delivered two speeches at the club, arguing in favour of democracy. He also wrote several articles for the Belgrade daily Politika, ridiculing the Nazis. In the summer of 1937, Popov completed his doctoral thesis, and decided to celebrate by embarking on a trip to Paris. Before he could leave, he was arrested by the Gestapo, who accused him of being a communist. His movements had been tracked by undercover agents beforehand and his acquaintances questioned. Popov was incarcerated at the Freiburg prison without formal proceedings. When Jebsen received news of his friend's arrest, he called Popov's father and informed him of what had occurred. Popov's father contacted Yugoslav Prime Minister Milan Stojadinović, who raised the issue with Hermann Göring, and after eight days in captivity, Popov was released. He was ordered to leave Germany within 24 hours, and upon collecting his belongings, boarded a train for Switzerland.

He soon arrived in Basel and found Jebsen waiting for him on the station platform. Jebsen informed Popov of the role he played in securing his release. Popov expressed gratitude and told Jebsen that if he was ever in need of any assistance he needed only ask. Upon his return to Dubrovnik in the fall of 1937, Popov began practicing law. In February 1940, he received a message from Jebsen, asking to meet him at the Hotel Serbian King in Belgrade. Popov was shocked to find Jebsen a nervous wreck, chain smoking and drinking exorbitantly. He told Popov that he had joined his family's shipping business after graduating from Freiburg and explained that he needed a Yugoslav shipping license to evade the Allied naval blockade at Trieste. Popov agreed to help Jebsen, and the latter travelled back to Berlin to collect the required documentation. Two weeks later, Jebsen returned to Belgrade, and informed Popov that he had joined the Abwehr, German's military intelligence service. Jebsen's ability to travel across Europe on business trips would remain unimpeded so long as he submitted reports detailing the information he had received from his business contacts. He told Popov he joined the Abwehr to avoid being conscripted into the Wehrmacht. Jebsen said military service was not an option because he suffered from varicose veins. The news came as a surprise to Popov, as his friend had previously expressed anti-Nazi views.

Popov informed Clement Hope, a passport control officer at the British legation in Yugoslavia. Hope enrolled Popov as a double agent with the codename Scoot (he was later known to his handler as Tricycle), and advised him to cooperate with Jebsen. Once accepted as a double agent, Popov moved to London. His international business activities in an import-export business provided cover for visits to neutral Portugal; its capital, Lisbon, was linked to the UK by a weekly civilian air service for most of the war. Popov used his cover position to report periodically to his Abwehr handlers in Portugal. Popov fed enough MI6-approved information to the Germans to keep them happy and unaware of his actions, and was well-paid for his services. The assignments given to him were of great value to the British in assessing enemy plans and thinking. His most important deception was convincing the Germans that the D-Day landings would be in Calais, not Normandy, and was able to report back to MI6 that they fell for this deception, which corroborated Bletchley Park's decryption of Lorenz cipher machine messages. Popov was famous for his playboy lifestyle, while carrying out perilous wartime missions for the British.

In 1944, Popov became a key part of the deception operation codenamed Fortitude. At the time of the operation, he was staying in Portugal. He stayed in Estoril once again, at the Hotel Palácio, between March 31st and April 12th, 1944. When Jebsen was arrested by the Gestapo in Lisbon, the British feared Popov had been compromised and ceased giving him critical information to pass along to the Germans. It was later discovered that the Abwehr still regarded Popov as an asset and he was brought back into use by the British. Jebsen's death at the hands of the Nazis had a profound emotional impact on Popov.

In 1972, John Cecil Masterman published The Double Cross System in the War of 1939 to 1945, an intimate account of wartime British military deception. Before its publication, Popov had no intention of revealing his wartime activities, believing that the MI6 would not allow it. Masterman's book convinced Popov that it was time to make his exploits public. In 1974, Popov published an autobiography titled Spy/Counterspy, "a racy account of his adventures that read like a James Bond novel." Miller describes it as "fundamentally accurate, if occasionally embellished". Several of the events described in the book were either entirely fictional, such as a fistfight Popov claimed to have had with a German agent, exaggerated for dramatic effect, or could not be substantiated through subsequently declassified intelligence records. Popov's wife and children were apparently unaware of his past until the book's publication. By the early 1980s, years of chain smoking and heavy drinking had taken a toll on Popov's health. He died in Opio on August 10th, 1981, aged 69. His family said his death came after a long illness. He was predeceased by his brother Ivo, who died in 1980. Popov was the subject of a one-hour television documentary produced by Starz Inc. and Cinenova, titled True Bond, which aired in June 2007. Two other documentaries recounting Popov's exploits, The Real Life James Bond: Dusko Popov and Double Agent Dusko Popov: Inspiration for James Bond, have also been produced.