5 Best Bond Villains

Villains come in all shapes and sizes - traffic cops, fathers-in-law, Chris Hansen - but the 5 best Bond villains are the greatest and most interesting villains because they choose the most badass man to tangle with: James Bond.

1. Auric Goldfinger - "Goldfinger" This portly fellow may look innocent on the outside - he's German, for goodness' sake - but beneath the jolly exterior lies the heart of an evil madman, bent on irradiating the United States' supply of gold in order to increase the value of his own. And like many of the best Bond villains, Goldfinger has a couple great henchmen, most notably the lethal hat-throwing Oddjob and the double-agent-and-entendre Pussy Galore.
2. Ernst Stavro Blofeld - Various Unlike the other Bond villains, Blofeld has been played by many different actors over the course of his campaign against James Bond. He's a great character, so he belongs in any list of Bond villains by default, but the best actor to have played him is undoubtedly Donald Pleasence. Pleasence has this perverse niceness that makes his villainous roles inordinately haunting and creepy. Another note on Blofeld: He was menacingly stroking a cat before Don Corleone did it in "The Godfather."
3. Alec Trevelyan 006 - "Goldeneye" As you can see from this chap's name, he was once one number below James Bond in the helpful, easy to understand sequential numbering system of MI-6 special agents. An apparent unfortunate turn of events in the line of duty results in 006 being executed by a less-interesting bad guy right before a giant chemical explosion triggered by Bond. To find out the truth, you gotta watch the movie - but all is not as it seems.  The exquisite paradigm shift that comes with having the guy who was once Bond's friend become Bond's enemy is more than enough to ensure his place among the best Bond villains.
4. Francisco Scaramanga - "The Man With The Golden Gun" Scaramanga is the world's most gifted (and expensive) assassin. As you can imagine, it was only a matter of time before he was going head-to-head with the "Nobody Does It Better" guy to determine who really does do it better. Like many of the best Bond villains, Scaramanga is the one with his name in the title, and his titular Golden Gun can hold its own against almost any of Bond's gadgets.
5. Dr. No - "Dr. No" This guy isn't mentioned much when the best Bond villains are being discussed. This might be because "Dr. No" is the first Bond movie and as a result doesn't hit all the "Bond formula" notes that later, more popular Bond movies do and the villain - no matter how awesome - gets the short end of the Walther PPK. If you're one of the people who's been ignoring Dr. No because of this, take another look: The guy has METAL CLAWS. Also, just look at his name - "Julius No." Don't you wish you had a name like that? Does Dr. No deserve to stand among the best Bond villains? Dr. Yes!

Before you angrily aim a nuclear warhead at our Tropical Island Headquarters, remember that this list was of the best Bond villains, as opposed to the best Bond henchmen. So no, we did not forget Jaws.