User blog:Facetheslayer/Top Ten: 007 Villians

Okay, well, this is my first initial shot at a top ten listing, and being the local 007 expert (self-appointed, of course :P) that I am, here's my first run, enjoy...

Number 10
The number ten spot goes to Karl Stromberg from 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me (Side note: this is my favorite film in the franchise.)

Karl Stromberg was played by the late Curt Jergens, and this chararcter was created solely for the movie. In fact, the entire film is completely different from the novel it was taken from. (Ian Fleming only allowed the name, since the book was based on a Bond Girl, who had fallen in love with James' perspective.)

He was a successful, and webbed-fingered, businessman, who was passionate, and obsessed with the ocean, and created an underground base for himself. His plot was to create a new world, by drowning out the surfaces. Granted, he was stopped by joint forces from MI6 and the KGB.

Number 9
The Number nine spot goes to Baron Samedi from 1973's Live and Let Die

He was portrayed by Geoffrey Holder, and the character was inspired by the Loa, which is part of the Voodoo religion, and Baron Samedi is the representative figure of death.

He is also the most enigmatic of Bond's enemies, since he used occultic acts to kill his enemies. Also, the audience would be trying to figure out if it was the real Baron Samedi, or a mortal man, who assumed his identity. He avoided certain death three times in the movie, and towards the end, he was riding on top of James' escape train, letting out his signature sinister laugh, suggesting that he either survived, or that he really was "the man who cannot die".

Number 8
The number eight spot goes to Xenia Onatopp from 1995's Goldeneye

She was portrayed by Famke Janssen, and the character was a beautiful, seductive woman, who also gets sexual satisfaction from killing. A real femme fatale, this Bond Girl helped shatter the mold for the female counterparts in the series, along with Anya Amasova (who we'll talk about some other time....)

After the collapse of the USSR, she joined the Janus Syndicate, which was lead by Alec Trevelyan, and getting a rather staggering body count for a henchman, she earned this spot fairly easily.

Number 7
The Number seven spot goes to Jaws, from 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me and to a lesser extent, 1979's Moonraker

Portrayed by the massive Richard Kiel, there was no more menacing of an enemy for James, than Jaws. He has the brutish strength, along with a great deal of luck at his side to survive nearly any situation, as he survived many near-falls, like falling out of a plane without a parachute, or being dropped into a tank of sharks and surviving.

As one of the most easily recognized henchmen of Bond's history, number seven may be an insult to some... but then again, it could also be the perfect number for his lucky streak.

Number 6
The number six spot goes to Alec Trevelyan from 1995's Goldeneye

While the newest name in this listing, Alec made quite a name for himself, as Goldeneye was the Bond movie, which helped bring the franchise back to it's vigor and prime. Portrayed by the talented Sean Bean, Alec is memorable for quite a few reasons.

The very start of the movie is seven years ago, when Bond and 006, Alec Trevelyan worked together to damage USSR forces, but he was seemingly killed off. However, later into the film, the audience sees him coming back with a revenge ploy against the UK, for the betrayal of the Lienz-Cossacks back in WWII. (Be sure to look for him in my DW Parodies coming up.) While he doesn't have the rich history that past villians have, he delivers with raw emotion, and deserves a top ten spot.

Number 5
The number five spot goes to Dr. Julius No from 1962's Dr. No

There wouldn't even be a list, if it weren't for Dr. No. The very first villian for Mr. Bond has to be up here out of respect, and his own unique characteristics. Portrayed by Joseph Wiseman, he delivers on a mad scientist with a Napoleon complex, who is as stated by character "the unwanted child of a German missionary, and a Chinese girl of a good family." Later, he became treasurer of the Tongs, which is a powerful Chinese crime syndicate, and escaped with $10,000,000.

He specialized in radiation, but it cost him his hands. However, bionic hands were created for him, which are very strong (strong enough to crush a metal figurine), but lack dexterity, which caused his demise in the end of the film.

Number 4
The number four spot goes to Oddjob from 1964's Goldfinger

Portrayed by late Japanese-American wrestler, Harold Sakata, Oddjob is easily the most recognized henchman in all of 007's history. While he never spoke, he was stronger, and a more skilled hand-to-hand combatant than James Bond. In which elaborate ways to kill him was required, which involved him being sucked out of a plane in the novel, or being electrocuted in the film.

Not to mention, his derby chakram, being the most sinister tool in his arsenal. (which inspired Kung Lao from Mortal Kombat, btw), which was used to break the neck of Tilly Masterson, and also decapitate a stone statue, further showing his dexterity with it. Towards the end, as his employer, Goldfinger left him to certain death, he loyally fought for him against James, to a losing effort.

Number 3
The Number three spot goes to Francisco Scaramanga from 1974's The Man With the Golden Gun (My personal favorite villian, btw)

Portrayed by the incredible Christopher Lee, Scaramanga was the greatest assassin in the world, but at a very high price.... $1 million dollars a shot. However, he never missed, and always pulled off these incredibly elaborate trick shots when dispatching his enemies.

His trademark weapon, The Golden Gun, was his signature sidearm, that was one shot, and as the film stated fired a (Fictional) 4.2mm solid gold round, for guaranteed stopping power.

He arranged for a clash of titans at his own funhose, where he challenges other assassins to duels. He respected James' abilty, so he did not coldly assassinate him. James prevailed out of deception, posing as a mannequin of himself, and shooting Scaramanga through the heart. If it were any other way, there would be no doubt that Scaramanga would've lived.

Number 2
The number two spot goes to Auric Goldfinger from 1964's Goldfinger.

Everything this man touched turned to excitement, as the late Gert Frobe's character of Auric Goldfinger, is easily recognized by most as the most sinister, and recognized of all Bond villians.

As a character obsessed with gold (to the point where he paints his women the color and makes love to them), his main goal is to raid Fort Knox to increase his gold supply tenfold.

He also gets this spot for two of the most memorable lines between Bond and a villian, which are...

Bond: Do you expect me to talk?

Goldfinger: Oh no Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.

As well as...

Bond: I think you've made your point. Thank you for the demonstration.

Goldfinger: Choose your next witticism very carefully, Mr. Bond. It may very well be your last.

Number 1
The Top pick for best Bond Villian goes to Ernst Stavro Blofeld who has appeared in six of the twenty-three canonical 007 Movies.

The picture chosen is from You Only Live Twice, however, most of the time, his face was not seen, as it was just him stroking a white persian cat. However, he served as the primary antagonist for James many times, because he was the head of SPECTRE.

He is cold and ruthless, and often dealt death to other members of his organization, for their failure, such as Kronsteen or Helga Brandt. However, he is one of the people responsible for killing James' wife Tracy, in ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service. ''Which sets James into his more aggressive styling we know of today. Ernst also holds the core ideals of a supervillian, and is often parodied or referenced to in other forms of media. And that is why he sits pretty as the top spot.