Every great hero needs a great villain, or several of them, and over the years super spy James Bond's franchise has given the world some of cinema's best would-be dictators, terrorists, drug smugglers, and evil geniuses. Ever since Dr. Julius No (Joseph Wiseman) created the blueprint for the typical Bond foe in 007’s debut silver screen adventure, Dr. No, his nefarious villains have grown bigger, bolder, and, sometimes, more ridiculous as the franchise has evolved over the past five decades.
Whether they’re involved in intricate geo-political crimes, or pointing a giant space laser at Earth, all of these villains have a memorable scheme that 007 is forced to stop. Armed with countless henchmen, thick accents, and plenty of physical deformities, Bond’s rogue’s gallery is the most robust and diverse in cinema history—but it’s always a guarantee that they’ll meet a grisly fate before the closing credits.
With the U.S. release of Skyfall, Daniel Craig's third Bond movie, this week, Javier Bardem will join the ranks as one of the best Bond baddies to ever hit the screen. But before he can officially make that claim, Complex takes a look back at all of the franchise's evildoers in The Complete History of James Bond Villains.
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Written by Jason Serafino (@serafinoj1)