SMERSH (James Bond) V (the letter) in "Icebreaker". They return in a larger role in "No Deals, Mr. Bond", renamed Department Eight, Directorate S, a KGB sub-section. In the film series, Bond's archenemy became SPECTRE, which first appeared in Fleming's novel "Thunderball" (1961). SPECTRE is introduced in the first film, "Dr. No" (1962), in which Julius No explains to Bond that it is the acronym for the "SPecial Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion", the four great cornerstones of power. Film versions of novels where SMERSH appears substituted either SPECTRE or independent villains. Although twice referred to, SMERSH never appears in the
SPECTRE by a character who 'might' be Blofeld in film 12, "For Your Eyes Only" (1981) in which said character is finally killed. Partly owing to a copyright dispute between rival Bond producers Cubby Broccoli and Kevin McClory, the character is never referred to by name and is credited as "Wheelchair Villain". The organisation returns in the Daniel Craig series of Bond films, which are set in an entirely separate continuity to the earlier movies. In the 2015 film "Spectre", the eponymous committee is simply referred to by that title with no mention at all of the acronym in this continuity.