The Entire Austin Powers Timeline Explained
Groovy British spy Austin Powers isn't exactly known as the debonair secret agent he considers himself to be. Austin lacks the fourth-wall breaking self-awareness to understand himself as a satire of spy movie protagonists from a bygone era. "Saturday Night Live" veteran Mike Myers embodies the flashy Americanized send-up of a British secret agent pitted against parodies of James Bond's rogues' gallery. Like other films of the '90s led by comedy legends — specifically, Eddie Murphy's "Nutty Professor" endeavors — the "Austin Powers" trilogy places Myers in multiple key roles: the eponymous shagedelic spy, and Austin's villainous opposites Dr. Evil, Fat Bastard, and Goldmember.
There was never any hope of Myers obtaining any recognition from the Academy for these movies, because they are very, very silly. However, the "Austin Powers" franchise gained a hefty mainstream following, making a seismic splash at the box office and collecting multiple MTV Movie Awards. Most of the plot points throughout the overarching story come out of left field, and all three films involve liberal use of time travel, potentially creating messy continuity. However, at one point, both Austin Powers and his handler Basil Exposition (Michael York) break the fourth wall and implore audiences to not overthink things too much and simply have fun. After all, these films practically beg viewers to switch their brains off to get the most out of the experience.
But in order to piece together a clear, definitive timeline of the trilogy's events for your reading pleasure, we're going to do the exact opposite of switching our brains off.
1967: Dr. Evil escapes Austin Powers in a rocket and is cryogenically frozen
Like Batman and the Joker, Dr. Evil and Austin Powers are destined for a seemingly eternal struggle. The first film, 1997's "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery," sets the stage for this hero-villain relationship as Austin Powers attempts to apprehend Dr. Evil in 1967 London. However, the madman escapes via a rocket that enters Earth's orbit where he is cryogenically frozen. Dr. Evil plans to return to Earth and thaw out at some future time when free love is over, and greed and brutality are once again the dominant forces on Earth.
If Dr. Evil freezes himself in order to reappear and terrorize the world again, it's only right that his archnemesis Austin Powers voluntarily freeze himself as well, so he can continue to knock around Evil's evil plans when that time arrives. Of course, that's exactly what Austin does.
Strangely enough, "Austin Powers" shares this plot point with 1993's "Demolition Man" instead of any '60s Bond film we're aware of. In "Demolition Man," enemies played by Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes stay on ice for more than three decades before emerging to battle again.
1969: Dr. Evil steals Austin's mojo and is intimate with Frau Farbissina
Austin foils Dr. Evil's awful agenda in "International Man of Mystery," but technically, that doesn't happen until 1997. The next chronological events in the "Austin Powers" trilogy take place in 1999's "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me," which largely transpires in 1969. It starts when the smooth-skulled megalomaniac Dr. Evil returns to the past following the events of "International Man of Mystery." Once he's back in the '60s, Dr. Evil commissions a turncoat operative inside the Ministry of Defense to steal Austin's mojo. The man, known as Fat Bastard, is a disgruntled Scottish gardener with a feisty temper who weighs a metric ton. While assigned to guard Austin, he incapacitates the other guards with a toxin emitted from his bagpipe. He then drills into Austin's cryogenic freezing chamber and steals his mojo.
In the present, Austin attempts to have intimate relations with Dr. Evil's spy Ivana Humpalot (Kristen Johnston) but realizes he can't rise to the occasion, as his mojo is gone. Intel from the Ministry reveals to Austin that Dr. Evil has used a time machine to travel to the year 1969 and steal Austin's mojo. Basil explains that the Ministry has developed a time travel device of its own — a Volkswagen capable of sending Austin back to the '60s to retrieve his mojo.
Meanwhile, after Dr. Evil obtains Austin's mojo from Fat Bastard, he takes a sip and instantly connects with his henchwoman Frau Farbissina (Mindy Sterling) having apparently gained a hyperactive libido. The two awkwardly get frisky in a moment that marks the conception of their son, Scott Evil (Seth Green).
1969: Austin meets Felicity and pursues Fat Bastard
Upon arriving in 1969, Austin meets Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham), an American CIA agent. Predictably, the British agent and the American spy develop a lustful chemistry. Austin always has sex on the brain, and Felicity shares this disposition. Unfortunately, Austin can't act on their connection due to the large void deep within his soul where his mojo is supposed to be.
Attraction aside, the two form an effective professional partnership. Dr. Evil's henchman Mustafa (Will Ferrell) pursues the pair but is injured horribly when he falls off a cliff. Those of us who recall Mustafa's fate in "International Man of Mystery" know he doesn't have much better luck in the future.
Later, after Austin pushes Felicity away for fear of her finding out about his lost mojo, she accepts an objective from Basil to plant a tracker on Fat Bastard. This is an icky prospect, as she must sleep with the Scottish operative in order to place the tracker... erm... inside his tailpipe, so to speak.
1969: Austin and Felicity thwart Dr. Evil's moon laser scheme
The tracker planted by Felicity leads the Ministry to a supremely disgusting surprise in a remote bathroom toilet. But after analyzing Fat Bastard's stool sample, it's determined that the feces contain remnants of a vegetable only grown on a particular Caribbean Island. Austin and Felicity arrive on the beach of that island — the location of Dr. Evil's volcanic lair — but are captured by the villain's henchman. Felicity flashes her breasts at the only guard watching them in order to trick him and secure escape.
Meanwhile, Dr. Evil, Mini-Me (Verne Troyer), and his minions board a conspicuously phallic-looking rocket ship heading for the moon, where Dr. Evil has a base and a giant laser with which he intends to destroy Washington D.C. from space. Austin and Felicity board Apollo 11, hitching a ride to the moon. Upon their arrival, Mini-Me gives Austin a run for his money, but the snappy spy still manages to find Dr. Evil. That's when the villain gives our hero a choice — save the world or save a recently re-captured Felicity from a gas chamber. Austin attempts to save the world and then Felicity, but she dies. Recognizing Austin's mad enough to kill him, Dr. Evil reminds Austin he can still save Felicity by using the time portal. Austin jumps back 10 minutes, which creates two Austins; one Austin saves the world while the other Austin saves Felicity. Once again, Dr. Evil escapes in his shlong rocket into the cold void of space.
1975: Austin partners with Foxxy Cleopatra against Goldmember
Discovering that his father, Nigel Powers (Michael Caine), has been kidnapped by the scheming Dutchman known as Goldmember in 2002 and taken back to 1975, Austin grabs a new time-traveling vehicle from the Ministry of Defense and heads back to the past to confront Goldmember in 2002's appropriately titled "Austin Powers in Goldmember." The groovy spy infiltrates the Dutchman's roller disco club where he runs into former flame Foxxy Cleopatra (Beyoncé Knowles). Let's keep in mind that Austin missed the '70s — he was frozen in 1967 and unfrozen in 1997 — so when Foxxy mentions that Austin hasn't called her in eight years, that gives us a general idea when they hooked up. As of the beginning of "Goldmember," Foxxy works undercover for the FBI. Once Austin tracks down Goldmember, the villain attempts to kill Austin and Foxxy before taking Nigel back to 2002.
Austin and Foxxy escape the roller disco club and evade Goldmember's henchwomen. After jumping into Austin's time-traveling ride, Foxxy agrees to go into the future with Austin to help nab Goldmember. The course is set for 2002.
1997: Dr. Evil returns and holds the world hostage with nuclear weapons
The proper year for Dr. Evil's return after freezing in 1967 is none other than the actual release year of "International Man of Mystery," 1997. Dr. Evil berates Mustafa for failing to perfect the cryo-freezing process, ultimately causing Dr. Evil's favorite feline Mr. Bigglesworth (Ted Nudegent) to emerge from stasis totally bald. As punishment, Dr. Evil attempts to incinerate Mustafa, who clings to life to the bitter end despite his many very severe burns.
Getting down to business, Dr. Evil introduces his minions to each other. These include an Irish assassin named Patty O'Brien (Paul Dillon); founder of a militant faction of the Salvation Army, Frau Farbissina; and Dr. Evil's right-hand man, business tycoon Number Two (Robert Wagner). Dr. Evil also introduces his enforcer Random Task (Joe Son), a character whose name and persona are an obvious reference to the James Bond villain Oddjob (Harold Sakata).
Dr. Evil then suggests a few possible plots — specifically, manipulating Prince Charles into getting divorced, and putting a hole in the Earth's ozone layer — only to learn those things have already occurred in the 30 years he's been gone. Ultimately, Dr. Evil decides to stick with the same old thing he's always done and hold the world hostage with illicitly obtained nuclear weapons.
1997: Dr. Evil learns he has a son
Still in 1997, Frau tells Dr. Evil that she and the rest of his henchpeople wondered what would become of his legacy after he was frozen. Claiming the team grew impatient, Frau explains that they used Dr. Evil's semen samples to create a progeny for the diabolical mastermind. Frau then introduces Dr. Evil to Scott — a temperamental young man who correctly despises his father.
Of course, due to the chronological arrangement of this timeline, those of us here in the present already know that "The Spy Who Shagged Me" reveals Scott is the lovechild of Frau and Dr. Evil. In "International Man of Mystery," Frau opts to be less than entirely honest with her boss about this matter. Seeing as how he recently ordered a horrifying fiery death for one of his other employees, she's probably making the right call.
Humorously, Dr. Evil quickly becomes dismissive of Scott, unable to tolerate his offspring's petulant behavior. Often, Scott sits in the background of evil meetings, childishly mocking his dad as he works to organize his evil operations.
1997: Austin Powers ends his time in cryostasis
Austin is unfrozen by the British Ministry of Defense in an effort to combat Dr. Evil, who recently reentered the world of the unfrozen. Austin is partnered with Agent Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley), who is assigned to help Austin adapt to the present day but is simultaneously the object of his heart's desire. Quickly, the two get to work and pose as a couple in an effort to meet Number Two in a casino. There, Number Two introduces them to his secretary, Alotta Fagina (Fabiana Udenio) –- a parody of Pussy Galore from 1964's "Goldfinger."
Austin and Alotta get hot and heavy in a hot tub, allowing Austin to discover Dr. Evil's plans of implanting a warhead in the Earth's core that will bring about a fiery apocalypse from the world's active volcanos. Alotta also learns Austin's identity and relays this information back to Dr. Evil, who creates an army of fembots to defeat him. Fembots look like beautiful, seductive women, but they're secretly murder robots.
Austin and Vanessa are captured while attempting to infiltrate Dr. Evil's hideout. During his escape, Austin is cornered by the fembots, but uses his own wily charms in an unconventional striptease dance that causes the robots' heads to explode from his animal magnetism. Austin and Vanessa succeed in deactivating the warhead, but Dr. Evil blows up his own base, forcing the heroic duo to make another quick escape. Of course, Dr. Evil also evades death or capture and launches himself back into orbit.
1997: Austin marries Vanessa, then learns she is a fembot
Three months after Austin's dicey confrontation with Dr. Evil in 1997, Vanessa and Austin settle down and get married. As the newlyweds enjoy their honeymoon, Basil calls to inform Vanessa that she has been instated as a full agent. Shortly thereafter, Random Task arrives and attempts to assassinate Austin with his shoe ... which isn't quite the lethal attack Dr. Evil made it sound like earlier in "International Man of Mystery." Vanessa and Austin easily subdue the assassin and continue enjoying their honeymoon.
At the onset of 1999's "The Spy Who Shagged Me," Vanessa begins exhibiting odd ticks, including repeating phrases and adhering to the commands — rewind, mute, etc. — of a TV remote. At this point, Austin realizes that Vanessa is a fembot.
You might be wondering about how, from what we've seen so far, Vanessa existed long before Dr. Evil even had the idea for fembots. You might also remember how "International Man of Mystery" establishes her as the daughter of Austin's old partner Ms. Kensington (Mimi Rogers), not a robot. Luckily, Basil Exposition clears everything up for viewers when he states that the Ministry of Defense knew Vanessa was a fembot all along. And of course they did. Why wouldn't they know that?
Vanessa self-destructs, leaving Austin to quite literally pick up the pieces of his shattered marriage. Although, his sadness lasts only a few seconds or so. Then he realizes he is once again single and ready to mingle.
1999: Dr. Evil meets Mini-Me and unveils his time-traveling plan
Despite his humiliating defeat in "International Man of Mystery," it's only a matter of time before Dr. Evil returns to Earth. He does so at the beginning of "The Spy Who Shagged Me," publicly appearing on "The Jerry Springer" show to confront his son Scott for not being evil enough for the family business. Back at the lair, Number Two tries to convince Dr. Evil to continue making landmark business deals like Number Two's investment in Starbucks. However, Dr. Evil insists on doing the classic bad guy thing instead. Number Two then explains that Dr. Evil's organization attempted to clone the maniacal villain and essentially succeeded, although the clone is only 1/8th Dr. Evil's actual size. After seeing the little version of himself, Dr. Evil names him Mini-Me.
Dr. Evil unveils his plan to travel back in time to steal Austin's mojo — the very essence of his confident demeanor and overzealous libido. The villain believes that mojo must be the reason Austin always defeats him. The target destination will be the year 1969 — two years after Austin enters cryostasis. Dr. Evil and Mini-Me jump through the time portal to find a younger, spryer Number Two (Rob Lowe) waiting on the other side.
1999: Austin and Felicity return to the '90s, Scott learns the truth
Even though Dr. Evil smashed Austin's mojo, Felicity convinces Austin that he had it all along. After all, he defeated Dr. Evil again, and Felicity informs him that he is definitely going to get the girl at the end of the story. Austin then persuades Felicity to return to the late '90s with him. Fat Bastard follows them into the future in an attempt to kill them, however he is quickly and emphatically dispatched by a kick to the crotch from Felicity.
Austin and Felicity profess their love for one another. A bit later, Austin returns home to find Felicity in bed with another man. However, it turns out to be the Austin from 10 minutes ago created when Austin used time travel to rescue Felicity earlier in "The Spy Who Shagged Me." Neither Austin can be angry, as they're instantly infatuated with each other and agree that Felicity sleeping with a displaced time paradox version of them does not count as cheating.
Meanwhile, Scott Evil returns to "The Jerry Springer Show" and learns a shocking truth — Frau is actually his mother. Scott always thought he was created in a lab using Dr. Evil's DNA, but Frau confesses that was a lie. Scott is the lovechild resulting from Frau and Dr. Evil's mojo-fueled dalliance from 1969.
2002: Dr. Evil partners with Goldmember for world domination
As of 2002's "Austin Powers in Goldmember," Dr. Evil has made himself a cozy new lair right behind the Hollywood sign in Southern California. Dr. Evil reveals that he has a new plan for world domination. Once again, it involves time travel.
Dr. Evil aims to jump back to 1975 and partner with Johann van der Smut, who goes by the alias of Goldmember. He obtained the title after his private parts became an inadvertently gold-plated casualty of a smelting catastrophe. Dr. Evil intends to use a tractor beam that the shiny Dutchman has developed called Preparation H — an ignorantly appointed designation that Scott points out is the name of a hemorrhoid cream. The endgame is to use the beam to yank a meteor out of deep space and pull it to the Earth. As is his custom, Dr. Evil fully intends to exploit the threat for financial gain.
2002: Austin arrests Dr. Evil and finds out that his father has been kidnapped
Before Dr. Evil can enact his Preparation H-related plan, Austin and the British Ministry of Defense arrive and arrest Dr. Evil and Mini-Me. Austin is knighted for his role in Dr. Evil's capture, but disappointed when he notices his dad, Nigel Powers, isn't in the crowd to see the big event. Of course, this is only one in a series of similar father-related disappointments that Austin has experienced throughout his life. However, this time it isn't exactly Nigel's fault. Basil tells Austin that his father has been captured by a mystery assailant from aboard his own yacht. The yacht crew were all left behind with their genitals painted ... gold.
Austin visits Dr. Evil in prison to see if he can provide any insight on the mystery. Of course, Dr. Evil weasels a deal out of Austin, stating that he will help under the condition that he's moved to a traditional prison setting where he can be with Mini-Me. Austin reluctantly agrees, and Dr. Evil reveals that the culprit is Goldmember, who has time travelled to the year 1975 with Austin's captive father.
2002: Dr. Evil escapes prison and bonds with Scott, Mini-Me defects
Meanwhile, Dr. Evil and Mini-Me start a prison riot just after a rousing musical number in order to make their grand escape. Dr. Evil then establishes a new lair in Tokyo. Once Austin learns that Dr. Evil has relocated to Tokyo, he and Foxxy — having recently made the trip from the mid-'70s — head to Tokyo to gain intel from Fat Bastard. The beefy Scottish operative is now working as a professional Sumo wrestler. Foxxy and Austin sneak into the wrestlers' changing room where they interrogate the boisterous villain and learn that Mr. Roboto (Nobu Matsuhisa) now works for Dr. Evil and Goldmember.
The pair find Roboto and attempt to squeeze him for information. However, the businessman divulges nothing and dismisses Austin and Foxxy. When the two spies sneak around Roboto's factory, they find that Roboto is loading a tractor beam operating system into Goldmember's car. He also provides Goldmember with a key to activate the device. Before the pair can apprehend Goldmember, the villain reveals Nigel Powers is trapped and about to be burned to death by liquid gold. Of course, Austin runs to save his father, and Goldmember escapes via Dr. Evil's submarine.
Aboard the sub, Scott makes an attempt to bond with his father and gifts him sharks with lasers on their heads — something the megalomaniac has wanted since "International Man of Mystery." Dr. Evil begins favoring Scott over Mini-Me. Feeling scorned, Mini-Me defects and joins Austin and Foxxy.
2002: Dr. Evil and Austin learn they are brothers
Austin, Nigel, and Foxxy gain entry to Dr. Evil's submarine. After attempting to pose as a crewmember alongside Mini-Me, Austin's cover is blown. The swingin' spy is detained while Mini-Me escapes through a vent. As Dr. Evil prepares to finally kill Austin, Foxxy foils the villain's plans by freeing our hero. Austin then points a gun at Dr. Evil, set on ending the madman once and for all.
However, Nigel steps between the two of them and reveals that Dr. Evil is also his son, Douglas "Dougie" Powers. This means that Austin and Dr. Evil are twin brothers who were separated during an assassination attempt on Nigel when they were infants. Nigel incorrectly presumed Dougie to have been killed by a car bomb meant for him.
Dr. Evil-slash-Dougie, Austin, and Nigel all hug each other as a reunited family while Scott bitterly leaves vowing revenge on all of them. With a new lease on life, Dr. Evil abandons his evil scheme.
2002: Goldmember is thwarted
Goldmember isn't distracted by the family reunion and still plans to carry out his Earth-smashing plot. He unzips his pants and removes a spare key he had attached to his groin and activates the meteor-attracting tractor beam. Austin prods Dr. Evil to use his genius to figure out how to stop the tractor beam. Dr. Evil, aka Dougie, decides to reroute the output capacitor, which causes the tractor beam to overload and forces the meteor to explode instead of striking the Earth.
At the end of "Goldmember," Austin's entire Goldmember-related adventure is revealed to have been adapted into a feature film by director Steven Spielberg. John Travolta plays the role of Goldmember, while Tom Cruise plays the role of Austin. The film is called "Austinpussy," and Foxxy and Austin are seen sitting in the theater enjoying the finale to the film.
Meanwhile, Scott Evil sits in the lair behind the Hollywood sign swearing vengeance upon Austin Powers. Could the zany British spy make a return? Who the heck knows?