Our Favorite Bond Villains

By Jennifer McClelland-Smith

Bond. James Bond. A name that excites film lovers and thriller fanatics alike. Get a true behind-the-scenes look at the world’s most famous film franchise in Nobody Does It Better: The Complete Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of James Bond by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross. As they did in their oral histories of Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek, Altman & Gross offer reflections from over 150 cast, crew, critics and filmmakers telling behind-the-scenes stories of every Bond film. But what’s a good 007 adventure without a great villain? Take a look back at some of our favorites throughout this illustrious film series.

Dr. No

The title villain from the first film in the James Bond series, how could we not put Dr. No at the top of the list? A mad scientist living in a secret lair in the Caribbean with bone-crushing metal prosthetic hands determined to sabotage American missile tests with radio waves, he’s the perfect first film foil for 007. His demise in the boiling coolant of his own nuclear reactor is one of the most satisfying.

May Day

Played by the legendary Grace Jones, May Day is the bodyguard and lover of Max Zorin, Bond’s nemesis in A View to a Kill. After Zorin betrays her and tries to have her killed, she turns on him and becomes Bond’s ally. Stylish, sexy and unforgettable, May Day makes the ultimate sacrifice, perishing while preventing Zorin’s massive bomb from exploding and destroying Silicon Valley.

Auric Goldfinger

Some have said this gold-obsessed title villain is the most famous in the Bondiverse. With the help of Oddjob and Kisch, two legendary henchmen themselves, Goldfinger’s nefarious plot to not steal the gold from Fort Knox, but blow it up with an atomic bomb is one of the more destructive Bond has to defeat. All this plus he utters perhaps the most famous line of any Bond villain, “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.”

Xenia Onatopp

The ultimate femme fatale. The most-over-the-top Bond girl name. Featured in Goldeneye, Onatopp is a former fighter pilot in the Soviet army who finds sexual satisfaction in crushing men to death with her signature thigh-grip. Her thighs are no match for our hero who sends her to a violent end involving a helicopter, a safety harness and a tree.

Ernst Stavro Blofeld

Appearing in eight James Bond films, this bald, grey-suited villain with a cat on his lap may look familiar as the inspiration for Austin Powers’ Evil, Inspector Gadget’s Dr. Claw and Danger Mouse’s Baron Silas Greenback. He’s the head of SPECTRE, the global criminal organization responsible for so many of James Bond’s missions. Portrayed by a number of actors including Donald Pleasance, Max Von Sydow and Christoph Waltz, this archenemy of Her Majesty’s Secret Service is the ultimate Bond villain and the perfect foil for the world’s most famous intelligence officer.