This post was originally published on Audible.com.
What fun is 007 without the dynamic, dangerous, sometimes sexy, sometimes campy villains? Over the course of 40 officially licensed James Bond novels and 26 James Bond films, there have been more than 100 villains who have taken a crack at destroying the superspy. Each Bond villain has been memorable in their own right, so narrowing it down to the best 25 is no easy task—but these particular villains deserve to be celebrated for their evil plots and the brilliant storylines we couldn’t have without them.
If you’re a James Bond fan, you have to love a Bond villain. So let’s take a moment to honor the top 25 villains across all the James Bond franchise. Here are the 25 best James Bond villains, ranked.
Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the James Bond series.
25. Sluggsy and Horror — The Spy Who Loved Me (1962 novel)
“Sluggsy” Morant and Sol “Horror” Horowitz are two mobsters who are hired by Italian-American motel owner Mr. Sanguinetti (don’t worry, he’ll appear later on this list). In the novel The Spy Who Loved Me, their mission is to burn down Sanguinetti’s motel for insurance money. When they arrive, they tell Vivienne Michel, who is managing the motel, that they’re there to look over the motel for insurance purposes. Thankfully for Vivienne, British secret service agent James Bond comes in looking for a room just in time to save her. He immediately recognizes the two men as mobsters. When Sluggsy and Horror attempt to set fire to the motel, a gun fight ensues.
While Sluggsy and Horror aren’t the craftiest or most dangerous villains on this list, they squeak in at 25 because these two Bond bad guys from the Ian Fleming novel influence two important Bond villains in the films: Jaws and Sandor. Jaws and Sandor both appear in the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, and they share physical features and character traits with their literary counterparts.
24. Jack and Serrafimo Spang — Diamonds Are Forever (1957 novel)
The Spang brothers are the main villains in Fleming’s 1957 novel, Diamonds Are Forever. The brothers run a crime organization that focuses on smuggling diamonds. They’re called, appropriately enough, The Spangled Mob. In the novel, they’re looking to smuggle diamonds from Africa to North America. But Bond is able to stop them by assassinating their operatives.
If you’re looking to meet the Spang brothers, you’ll only find them in the novel version of Diamonds Are Forever. In the film, the brothers are replaced with the Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who you’ll be seeing much later on this list. Still, the brothers are worthy opponents for Bond, so they make the list.
23. Trigger — Octopussy and the Living Daylights (1966 short story)
Trigger is the alias of the top KGB assassin whom James Bond just can’t bring himself to kill. She appears in the short story “The Living Daylights,” which was published in the short story collection Octopussy and the Living Daylights after Fleming's death. When James Bond is assigned sniper duty, he is told that he must prevent Trigger from killing a defector known as “272.” But when Bond discovers Trigger is a beautiful, blonde female cellist, he realizes that he cannot bring himself to kill her. Instead, he shoots the butt of her rifle, preventing her from killing the defector.
Even though she only appears in one short story, Trigger makes this list because she is nonetheless unforgettable. She is talented in both music and as a sniper. She’s alluring. She nearly gets Bond fired. And she becomes the key inspiration for Bond girl Kara Milovv in the 1987 film, The Living Daylights.
22. Mr. Hinx — Spectre (2015 film)
There really is something to be said for a good henchman character, and Mr. Hinx is one of the best Bond henchmen. The villain of the 2015 film Spectre, Mr. Hinx is an assassin working for the terrorist organization Spectre. He is incredibly strong and also capable of enduring considerable pain. (Fittingly, he is portrayed by former WWE wrestler, Dave Bautista.) His signature weapon is a double-barrelled AF2011A1 Dueller Prismatic.
What truly sets Mr. Hinx apart from lesser henchmen is that he not only possesses super strength—he's also highly intelligent and has a personality. Mr. Hinx is also featured in the movie's most memorable action sequence: the fight against 007 across a train. And while it is assumed that Mr. Hinx dies at the end of this train battle, he certainly puts up a good fight, nearly killing Bond in the process.
21. Franz Sanchez — License to Kill (1989 film)
Franz Sanchez is a drug baron who heads the powerful Sanchez Cartel. He is played by Robert Davi in the 1989 James Bond film, License to Kill. Sanchez is a ruthless villain who is also an intelligent and cultured man of the world. His goal in License to Kill? To smuggle a large shipment of cocaine into Asia by using a new method developed by his scientists in which they dissolve the drug into petrol.
Sanchez is considered by many to be the best villain of the Timothy Dalton James Bond era. The character is a perfect counterpart to Dalton’s more grounded Bond character. On top of that, his personality and backstory make him so much more than your typical cardboard cut-out villain, and that’s why he makes this list.
20. Elliot Carver —Tomorrow Never Dies (1997 film)
Pierce Brosnan’s Bond was the deadliest James Bond ever. Brosnan’s 007 killed 135 people over the course of four films. That’s an average of 33.8 kills from Bond alone per movie. And if you’re still not sure if that’s a lot, consider this: over the course of 26 James Bond films, Bond has killed 354 people total. That means Pierce Brosnan is responsible for more than a third of Bond’s total kills in four movies alone.
With that said, it makes sense that the deadliest Bond would also have his share of deadly villains to fight. One of Brosnan’s Bond’s most formidable foes? Elliot Carver, who appeared in the 1997 film Tomorrow Never Dies, played by Jonathan Pryce. Pryce is a media mogul who hopes to rule the world through news media. His plan is to fire a cruise missile towards Beijing and use this to leverage a broadcasting deal. Thankfully, Bond is able to destroy the missile before it can launch.
What makes Elliot Carver special is that he’s a different kind of villain from your typical mobster or KGB spy. He’s the kind of villain that is the perfect representation of an age where media is power. (And Pryce’s excellent portrayal of the Bond bad guy is a definite plus!)
19. Mr. White — Casino Royale (2006 film), Quantum of Solace (2008 film), Spectre (2015 film)
Our first villain on this list to make it into multiple Bond films, Mr. White is the leader of a secret organization called Quantum and a high-ranking member of the Spectre organization. Mr. White has appeared in three of the Daniel Craig Bond films, and he’s played by Jesper Christensen. Mr. White is the man behind some of the flashier Bond villains we see in these films.
In Spectre, we also get a lot of backstory on Mr. White that makes him a more sympathetic character. Yes, he has done evil things, but we learn the reason behind them: he had a daughter (Madeline Swann, played by Lea Seydoux) who he was trying to protect. All of these details, plus an extended character arc across several films, makes Mr. White a worthwhile antagonist for Mr. Bond.
18. Elektra King — The World Is Not Enough (1999 film)
Played by Sophie Marceau in the 1999 Bond film The World Is Not Enough, Elektra King is a cunning criminal mastermind. She is the daughter of a wealthy oil tycoon, and she is associated with Renard, an international terrorist (played by Robert Carlyle).
Elektra King is unique in that she is the first and, so far, only woman cast as the main villain in a Bond movie. Because Bond is traditionally sympathetic towards women, Elektra is able to use this to her advantage and play the victim. However, in the final act of the film, she reveals herself as the true villain behind terrorist Renard. Elektra’s intelligence and powers of deception make her one of the strongest woman characters in the James Bond franchise.
17. Max Zorin — A View to a Kill (1985 film)
Max Zorin is a former German KGB intelligence operative. He moves to France to become a businessman, eventually finding his niche in the microchip market. Zorin hopes to edge out the competition in Silicon Valley by triggering an earthquake along the San Andreas fault. By eliminating the competition entirely, Zorin hopes to start a microchip monopoly.
In the film A View to a Kill, Max Zorin is played by Christopher Walken. The actor embodies the character so well that it’s almost impossible to believe that the role was originally intended for someone else: David Bowie. After Bowie turned down the part, it went to Walken. It’s now hard to imagine anyone else playing the unhinged supervillain, and Zorin makes this list largely because of Walken’s portrayal of the character.
16. Karl Stromberg — The Spy Who Loved Me (1977 film)
We’ve already discussed the henchmen in the film version of The Spy Who Loved Me. Now let’s get to the big Bond bad guy: Karl Stromberg. Stromberg is a Swedish entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Stromberg Shipping. The villain is played by Curd Jürgens. His dastardly plot? To lure Britain and the Soviet Union into a nuclear war, and then to create a new civilization under the ocean. Fortunately, Bond is able to redirect Stromberg’s missiles, thus foiling his plan.
Stromberg is memorable for his strange “repopulate the world underwater” plan, which just screams unhinged supervillain. But his henchmen also play a huge role in what makes this character so successful. After all, who could forget Jaws and his giant metal teeth?
15. Emilio Largo — Thunderball (1961 novel & 1965 film)
Emilio Largo is one of the most iconic Bond villains of all time, and you can find him in both the novel and the film adaptation of Thunderball. In the movie, Largo is played by Italian actor Adolfo Celi. Largo has stolen two atomic bombs, and he plans to blackmail the western world into giving him 100 million dollars before he destroys a major city. Of course, Bond discovers the location of the bombs and puts an end to Largo’s scheme.
Largo is so iconic that there are probably many things you recognize about this character, even if you’ve never seen or listened to Thunderball. For one, there’s his eyepatch, which has been parodied and copied in many films since. Similarly, his plot to use bombs to destroy a major city unless world leaders hand over money has been copied in many movies that followed. (Perhaps most recognizably, it was parodied in Austin Powers.) While Largo might not be the most innovative villain out there, he’s definitely one that set the standard for what Bond villains are supposed to be.
14. Baron Samedi — Live and Let Die (1954 novel & 1973 film)
In the novel Live and Let Die, Baron Samedi and Mr. Big are one and the same (actually, Mr. Big is a manifestation of Samedi). But in the film, Baron Samedi is a villain in his own right, played by Geoffrey Holder. In the novel, Samedi is described as the voodoo spirit of darkness and death. In the movie, Samedi is first introduced as an entertainer who does a voodoo dance for tourists. The announcer describes him as “immortal,” and it’s unclear whether Samedi is truly the powerful voodoo deity or a mortal pretending to be him.
The enigmatic quality to Baron Samedi’s character is what makes him such a necessary addition to this list. There is no other Bond villain quite like him. And while his counterpart Mr. Big will show up again later on this list, Samedi definitely deserves his own place.
13. Red Grant — From Russia with Love (1957 novel & 1963 film)
Red Grant is a villain in both the novel and the film versions of From Russia with Love, and in the movie, he’s played by Robert Shaw. Grant is a ruthless killer who does not hesitate to murder everyone in his path on his mission to kill James Bond. He then tricks Bond by impersonating a slain MI6 agent and getting 007 to lower his guard. All of this leads up to a truly brutal fight between the two men. And while Bond wins out in the end, it looks a little dicey for the secret agent for a while there.
Grant is an extremely dangerous and deadly opponent for 007. In the novel, his murderous motives are made even more creepy by his backstory. Apparently, Red Grant is driven to kill by the full moon. If this Bond villain doesn’t frighten you, none of them will.
12. Rosa Klebb — From Russia with Love (1957 novel & 1963 film)
Rosa Klebb is a formidable antagonist in both the novel and the film version of From Russia with Love. In the film, she’s played by Lotte Lenya. Klebb is a Soviet counter-intelligence operative. In the novel, she’s affiliated with SMERSH. In the movie, she’s the former head of SMERSH who has defected to become a member of the terrorist organization SPECTRE. Klebb’s signature weapon is her poison-tipped shoe. In both the novel and the film, Klebb attempts to kill Bond with the shoe, but Bond blocks her attack with a chair.
Klebb is on this list for a few reasons: for one, there’s her iconic weapon, which leaves a lasting impression in both the novel and the movie. She’s also a lesbian, making her one of the only woman villains who isn’t drawn in by James Bond’s charms. Most importantly, Rosa Klebb is incredibly smart, and for most of the story, she’s the one behind the scenes pulling the strings. She represents an independent, free-thinking kind of woman who lives outside the laws of men.
11. Oddjob — Goldfinger (1959 novel & 1964 film)
Oddjob is the henchman to Bond supervillain Auric Goldfinger in both the novel and the film Goldfinger. He’s played by Harold Sakata in the movie. Oddjob serves as Goldfinger’s personal guard, chauffeur, and manservant.
Oddjob has become one of the most popular villains in the Bond franchise, appearing in the animated series, as well as many video game and comic book adaptations, following his debut in Goldfinger. One thing that makes Oddjob so memorable is his weapon: a razor-edged bowler hat that he wears at all times and can throw with deadly accuracy. He’s also noteworthy for his calm demeanor. Even when he fights, Oddjob has a constant smile on his face.
10. Xenia Onatopp — GoldenEye (1995 film)
Xenia Onatopp, played by Famke Janssen in the 1995 film GoldenEye, is known as the Venus Flytrap. She’s a fighter pilot and a hitwoman whose preferred method of murder is strangulation—using her thighs. This really pays off during a fight scene with James Bond in which Bond (played by Pierce Brosnan) has to ram Onatopp into a wall to try to escape the dangerous clutches of her powerful thighs. In fact, both Brosnan and Janssen were so committed to this fight scene that Janssen actually ended up breaking a rib.
Onatopp is the best femme fatale James Bond has ever faced, which is why she’s made it into the top 10 of this list. GoldenEye was the first Pierce Brosnan Bond film. With its critical and box office success, this movie reinvigorated the Bond franchise. Xenia Onatopp’s wild villainy was a huge part of what made this movie a smash hit!
9. Hugo Drax — Moonraker (1955 novel & 1979 film)
Sir Hugo Drax is the main antagonist in both the novel and the film Moonraker, and in the movie, he is played by Michael Lonsdale. Drax was significantly changed for the film adaptation. In the audiobook, Drax is an English World War II soldier who becomes a millionaire after the war. The film wanted to introduce the idea of space travel, and so they made Drax a billionaire who owns Drax industries, a private company that constructs space shuttles for NASA.
One of the best things about Hugo Drax in the film version of Moonraker? It gives James Bond an excuse to battle in space. Hugo Drax is one of those villains who leans towards the campier side of the James Bond bad guys—but with Michael Lonsdale in the role, the camp seems purposeful. Lonsdale is having a fun time playing this character, which ultimately makes this movie a blast to watch.
8. Mr. Big/Dr. Kananga — Live and Let Die (1954 novel & 1973 film)
Mr. Big is a formidable Bond villain in both the novel and the movie Live and Let Die. In the film, Mr. Big is played by Yaphet Kotto. While the literary villain and the film villain share the same alias, the characters are very different. In the movie, Mr. Big is the alias of Dr. Kanaga, a Caribbean drug kingpin attempting to gain a monopoly on the drug market by handing out free heroin. In the novel, Mr. Big is attempting to smuggle gold coins from the 1600s.
Mr. Big from the novel Live and Let Die actually inspired multiple James Bond film plots, which is why he’s such an important Bond villain. As for the film villain Mr. Big/Dr. Kananga, this antagonist gave us one entertaining underwater fight (you might even call it… explosive). Additionally, Mr. Big introduced the Bond franchise to the world of the supernatural and the magical for the first time. Of course, he couldn’t have done it without the help of his henchman Baron Samedi and the femme fatale Solitaire.
7. Raoul Silva — Skyfall (2012 film)
Raoul Silva, played by Javier Bardem in the film Skyfall, is one of the most chaotic supervillains of any Bond film ever. Silva’s motives are all revenge-based. He wants to take revenge on M by killing her and staging an attack against MI6.
Silva leaves an impact as a villain because of how unnerving he is. Additionally, this villain does the most to attack James Bond in personal ways that will have a lasting impact on our hero. He burns down Bond’s childhood home. He destroys the classic Aston Martin DB5. He attacks Bond’s place of business in London. And most devastatingly, he succeeds in murdering Bond’s mentor, M.
6. Dr. No — Dr. No (1958 novel & 1962 film)
Dr. No was the very first Bond villain in the film franchise, so this baddie had to be really good. Dr. Julius No is a fictional nuclear scientist and SPECTRE agent, played by Joseph Wiseman in the 1962 movie. Dr. No’s most notable feature: his hands. Following a lab accident, Dr. No replaced his hands with metallic ones. The pros of metallic hands? The ability to crush objects with your bare hands. The cons? Well, they’re not so great for gripping onto things.
You have to love Dr. No for how he set up something that would become a trope of all supervillains that followed in his footsteps. He perfected the art of explaining his entire plot to the hero so that his plot could be easily thwarted later. But Dr. No did it in style.
5. Le Chiffre — Casino Royale (1953 novel & 2006 film)
We’ve made it to the top five. Like Dr. No, Le Chiffre makes it high on this list in part because he is a first. Dr. No was the first Bond villain in film. Le Chiffre is the first Bond villain of the novels. In the 2006 film, Le Chiffre is played by Mads Mikkelsen. This villain owns the baccarat table. And he’s so confident in his abilities that he plans to pay off his debts to SMERSH by winning big. Unfortunately, James Bond swoops in and beats Le Chiffre at baccarat.
Le Chiffre as a villain has a lot of dramatic flair. He’s known for his dark suits. He’s a mathematical genius and a chess prodigy, and his intelligence in these areas usually pays off in gambling. He also suffers from haemolacria, a condition that causes him to weep blood. It doesn’t get much more dramatic than that.
4. Francisco Scaramanga — The Man with the Golden Gun (1965 novel & 1974 film)
It’s hard to hate a Bond villain when he’s played by Christopher Lee. Francisco Scaramanga is the main villain in both the film and novel version of The Man with the Golden Gun. Scaramanga is a hitman so deadly that he only ever needs one bullet to complete a job. And yes, he really does have a golden gun.
There’s plenty that makes Scaramanga memorable. Of course, there’s the golden gun, and the stellar performance from Christopher Lee. But there’s also the final showdown between Bond and Scaramanga. This is a gun fight so intense it deserves to be remembered as one of the best Bond showdowns of all time.
3. Alec Trevelyan — GoldenEye (1995 film)
Alec Trevelyan, portrayed by Sean Bean in the film GoldenEye, is 006 and serves as a foil to our 007. In the beginning of the film, we see Alec and Bond working together on a mission, but during the operation, Alec gets caught. Assuming his partner is dead, Bond completes the mission without him. Later, he confides that he feels responsible for 006’s death. Nine years after Alec was presumed dead, he returns a vengeance. His plan: to use an EMP weapon called “GoldenEye” to destroy London’s economy.
Alec Trevelyan makes for a unique Bond villain in that he’s closer to the superspy than any other villain has ever had to face off against. We also learn later that Alec’s plot to destroy the British government has been building for some time and is based on personal motives. Trevelyan is a compelling and complicated villain with a rich backstory, which is why he’s so high on our list.
2. Auric Goldfinger — Goldfinger (1958 novel & 1964 film)
Auric Goldfinger is one of the most notorious Bond villains of all time, and a close second to the biggest and baddest of them all (we'll get to him next). As his name implies, Goldfinger is a gold smuggler with connections to SMERSH. The villain captures Bond and reveals his evil plot: to steal the United States’ entire reserves of gold from Fort Knox. In the film version, Goldfinger, who is played by Gert Fröbe, also wants to make the gold radioactive.
Goldfinger is one of the greatest Bond villains because of his intelligence and creativity. Unlike other villains, his plot is not based on political gain or revenge. Rather, as the song suggests, he simply loves gold. His greed makes him an especially unpredictable opponent. There are points in this story where it truly seems like Bond might have finally met his match—but, of course, 007 wins out in the end.
1. Ernst Stavro Blofeld — Thunderball, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia with Love, Spectre, No Time to Die
If you’re a fan of James Bond, you probably knew Ernst Stavro Blofeld had to be number one on our list. This villain has made multiple appearances in both the films and the novels, and he’s been played by many actors—most recently, in the Daniel Craig Bond films, by Cristoph Waltz. The evil Blofeld has been at the center of multiple plots, with a focus on world domination and terrorism.
Blofeld has become such an iconic supervillain that many of his characteristics have now become tropes in popular fiction. For instance, the stroking of his pet cat has been used in numerous novels and films to represent a villainous character. Blofeld has faced off against Bond many times. And while Bond is always able to foil his plots, the villain remains ever-elusive. Waltz is returning to play Blofeld in the 2021 James Bond film, No Time to Die. Will this be the time Bond finally stops Blofeld for good?
