The groovy protagonist of the Austin Powers movies had a wild timeline that saw him travel from the 1960s to the 1990s and back again on several occasions. Renowned for his incredible mojo and his shagadelic attitude, Austin Powers was the perfect parody of James Bond, and his trilogy of hilarious spy movies breathed new life into the spoof genre. Brought to life by the incomparable Mike Myers, Austin "Danger" Powers was no average spy, and though he could be quite goofy at times, he never failed to save the world whenever he was called upon.
First appearing in 1997's Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Powers made an instant impression and became a pop culture phenomenon in the late 1990s and early 2000s. All the Austin Powers characters played by Myers in the movies constituted a veritable highlight reel of the actor's best work, and the films were handsomely rewarded with massive box office returns including over $200 million for 1999's The Spy Who Shagged Me (via Box Office Mojo). While they were never going to be Oscar winners, the films in the Austin Powers trilogy represented a landmark moment in the history of comedy cinema.
Austin Powers' Early Life (? - 1960s)
Austin Powers was born the son of spy Nigel Powers and his wife Joan in an undisclosed year, but presumably sometime in the 1930s. As seen in 2002's Goldmember, Austin had a brother named Doug who would go on to be the spot-on Bond villain parody, Dr. Evil. Sometime during his infancy, Austin was traveling in Belgium with his parents and brother, when the family car suddenly exploded. Nigel became a widower with the loss of his wife, and he assumed that his other son had perished in the blast with only himself and Austin surviving.
The loss of his wife and son was hard on Nigel. He responded by becoming very distant from Austin, and he wasn't much of a figure in his life going forward. However, following in his father's footsteps, Austin attended the British Intelligence Academy as a young man where he was chosen as his class' International Man of Mystery. His roommate, Doug Evil, actually had higher grades than Austin but was ed over for the honor. At his graduation, Austin discovered that his father wasn't in attendance, and that caused the student body to laugh at him.
International Man Of Mystery (1967)
Often considered the best Austin Powers movie, the events of 1997's International Man of Mystery saw that Austin had made a name for himself as a 1960s superspy. By 1967, Austin had achieved a strong cover as a fashion photographer at the height of the Mod movement, and his sexual exploits were well-known. At some point during the 1960s, Austin had a one-night stand with Foxxy Cleopatra, an agent he would later team up with again in the future. In 1967, Austin and his partner Mrs. Marie Kensington were on the trail of Dr. Evil but were unable to stop him from shooting himself into space in a cryogenic pod.
Austin Powers' Mission To The Future (1997)
In order to pursue Dr. Evil, Austin had himself cryogenically frozen so that he could be thawed out in the future whenever Evil returned. That day came in 1997 when he was thawed in response to Evil's arrival back on Earth. Austin then met one of International Man of Mystery's most likable characters in the form of Vanessa Kensington, who was immediately swayed by his charms, unlike her mother. Despite having Kensington as his modern partner, Austin still struggled to fit into the culture of the 1990s and found himself confused by many of the things he encountered.
Austin jeopardized his relationship with Vanessa when he slept with Dr. Evil's henchwoman, Alotta Fagina, in order to gain information from her. Fortunately, Vanessa forgave Austin for his infidelity and the pair then set off to stop Dr. Evil from enacting his plan of launching deadly subterranean missiles at major population centers. While Dr. Evil escapes, Austin and Vanessa have a happy ending and get married.
Austin Loses His Mojo (1999)
Reprising her role from one of her best movies, Elizabeth Hurley returned as Vanessa Kensington in 1999's The Spy Who Shagged Me, and it began with her and Austin enjoying their honeymoon. Suddenly, Austin discovered that his new bride was actually a fembot sent by Dr. Evil to kill him, and Powers was back on the dating scene in the year 1999. Austin rebounded quickly, and while sleeping with one of Dr. Evil's assassins, Ivana Humpalot, Powers learned to his dismay that he had lost his mojo which caused him to lose his libido.
Austin's Mission To The Past (1969)
Austin deduced that Dr. Evil had somehow managed to steal his mojo in the past, and he traveled back to the year 1969 in order to stop Evil again. The James Bond parody character was then partnered up with American CIA agent Felicity Shagwell, who immediately took a liking to Powers despite his missing mojo. In order to gain information about Dr. Evil's dastardly plot, Felicity went undercover and slept with Evil's henchman, Fat Bastard. That fact made Austin unhappy, but they were able to reconcile over the fact that it was only business.
Traveling to space, Felicity and Austin managed to prevent Dr. Evil from deploying his laser that was aimed at Earth, but the two were unable to stop him from escaping once again. Before he ran away, Dr. Evil tossed away the vial containing Austin's mojo, and it was destroyed before it could be saved. Thinking his libido would be gone forever, Austin returned to the year 1999 with Felicity in tow. In one of the more underrated jokes in the Austin Powers movies, Felicity told Austin that she loved him no matter what, and his mojo suddenly returned to him.
Nigel Powers' Kidnapping (2002)
Though it was never explained, at some point between 1999 and 2002, Felicity Shagwell went out of Austin's life and didn't return. During the events of 2002's Goldmember, Austin finally caught up with his arch-nemesis Dr. Evil, and he put the notorious villain behind bars in a maximum security prison. Austin was then knighted for his heroic service, but he was dismayed by the fact that his father was not present at his proudest moment. Austin then learned that his father had been kidnapped, and he consulted Dr. Evil in prison who revealed that Nigel had been taken back to 1975 by a criminal named Goldmember.
Meeting Foxxy Cleopatra In The Past (1975)
In order to rescue his father, Austin then time traveled back to the year 1975 where he met agent Foxxy Cleopatra who was also on Goldmember's tail. Beyoncé's acting role in the film saw her play the headstrong agent, and Austin soon learned that she was in possession of Dr. Evil's secret plans to use a tractor beam in the future. Austin was unable to save his father, whom Goldmember kidnaps to 2002 via Dr. Evil's time machine. However, Austin gained Cleopatra as a partner, who insisted that he bring her back to the future with him in order to stop Dr. Evil and Goldmember.
Austin And Foxxy Go Back To The Future (2002)
With Foxxy as his partner, Austin returned to the year 2002 where he learned that Dr. Evil and Goldmember had moved to a submarine lair off the coast of Japan. The duo managed to rescue Nigel from captivity, but they didn't prevent Dr. Evil from securing the fusion core he needed to power his tractor beam. Austin and his father immediately began to fight, and the pair went their separate ways on bad . Aside from all the cameos in Goldmember, the film also saw the return of Mini-Me who had switched sides and ed Austin and Foxxy on their mission.
The group infiltrated Evil's submarine lair and confronted the villain, but Austin was prevented from shooting him by the sudden arrival of Nigel. He then revealed that Dr. Evil was actually Austin's brother, and the father and sons bonded. Newly reformed, Dr. Evil helped his brother stop Goldmember from going ahead with the plan, and the world was once again saved by the Powers family. It was then revealed that the events of Goldmember had been made into a Hollywood film, and the Austin Powers trilogy concluded with many of the characters reuniting at the film premiere.
