Chuckonian Top 5 - James Bond Villains

As we enjoy the Thanksgiving Bondathon on TV this weekend, we thought we'd share Chuck's picks for the top 5 best Bond film villains. And the nominees are...
5.) Francisco Scaramanga, a.k.a. The Man with the Golden Gun - Probably the most "human" of all Bond villains, he had a record of being over-worked, under-paid, and under-appreciated by those who utilized his services. First the KGB failed to truly treasure him, then Hi-Phat in China. By the time he went completely independent, he had amassed a fortune and ran his own posh island hideaway with an in-house solar electricity plant and "Tattoo" from Fantasy Island as a butler. Not bad for a guy who made his living killing people. Scaramanga was Bond's equal in many ways, which is always a good dimension. In fact, the film ended, not as most do with Bond stopping a world takeover plot and killing the villain along the way, but with "a duel between titans," focusing more on the pursuit of the kill. The Man With the Golden Gun was unique from most Bond films by virtue of its title character, and Christopher Lee's performance was excellent (now that he has also played a Star Wars villain, it kind of ups the coolness factor for both).
Scaramanga - "Like any great artist, I want to create an indisputable masterpiece once in my lifetime."
4.) Alec Trevelyan, formerly British Agent 006 - This was, again, one of Bond's equals. In fact, Alec was probably the most equal of all of Bond's opponents, though it is not so strongly exhibited in Goldeneye. Alec uses his keen knowledge of Bond's modus operandi to plan ahead and predict most of Bond's moves along the Goldeneye mission. He obviously recruited Xenia Onatopp as the female version of Bond (skilled pilot, never failed a mission, user and abuser of sex for the sake of the job) to counter him. Alec also exhibits a kind of reverse equality, since his purpose for leaving MI6 and stealing the Goldeneye involves his desire to settle a personal score against England. Bond is known for carrying out his personal vendettas (sometimes at the expense of quick resolution of a case) at all costs. With Alec, Bond saw an example of how such personal feelings can destroy an agent and put many others at risk. Killing his old colleague was a personal pain for Bond but a self-inflicted reminder that his devotion to Queen and country comes before all else.
Trevelyan - "For England, James?"
Bond - "No. For me."
3.) Auric Goldfinger - The quintessential villain of the Connery era, Goldfinger was the only non-SPECTRE villain that Connery's Bond ever dealt with. He was obsessive about gold in all forms and winning by any means. Some of the lines that came from Goldfinger's mouth and his nothing-can-stop-me attitude set the precedent for Bond villains on through the years. His cat-and-mouse way of keeping Bond alive in an attempt to put him to use may have kept victory from his grasp but kept him a complex character. Goldfinger exhibited a quality held by many other villains - he got great satisfaction out of bragging about his plans but eliminated those who knew of them to protect his secrets. Some villains suffer their downfall because of this, but Goldfinger's associates suffered theirs first. Delta 9 nerve gas and being crushed in a trash compactor probably hurt pretty bad, and all for the fact that they knew about Operation Grand Slam. After Mr. Solo perished in the trash-compacter, it was ironic that Goldfinger himself was compacted by a tiny window in his own airplane. In many ways, Auric Goldfinger was "the man with the Midas touch." He just couldn't reach the true golden stash - Fort Knox.
Bond - "Do you expect me to talk?"
Goldfinger - "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die."
2.) Ernst Stavro Blofeld - Appearing in 6 Bond films, we never saw Blofeld portrayed by the same person twice (at least, in the 3 films that showed his face). This is an unfortunate blow to the character itself, as the performance and performer can alter some interpretations. Luckily, each man who played Blofeld did it very well. As for the general character, he was brilliant. Just as smart and almost as powerful with or without SPECTRE. He always took advantage of the world's situation at a given time. Threats are more risky when a country needs to keep both eyes aimed elsewhere. Whether for money or power, Blofeld always kept his eyes on the prize. And caused the national eyes of the Cold War to veer off so as to profit his cause. He would stop at nothing and was apparently proud that he emotionally crippled James Bond by killing his wife right after the wedding. He all but gloated about his personal connection with Bond in Diamonds Are Forever. Blofeld and SPECTRE set the stereotypes of Bond villains. Such practices as treating one's enemy to dinner and explaining part of the current takeover plan became trademarks from Blofeld. This, and the fact that Roger Moore's Bond had the honor of sending Blofeld to his grave, extended Blofeld's influence far beyond his final scheme in the Connery/Lazenby era. If drugs keep a DEA agent in business and illegal immigrants keep INS agents in work, Ernst Stavro Blofeld is the man who put a paycheck in James Bond's hand during the Cold War.
Blofeld - "I'm disappointed. I was expecting one head of state at the very least.... Your pitiful little island hasn't even been threatened."
And Chuck's favorite Bond villain...
1.) Elliot Carver - Though I am a firm believer that the Cold War years were the golden age of Bond, the golden achievement of villain creation came in 1997 when Pierce Brosnan's Bond took on the ultimate in refined megalomaniacs. Elliot Carver had an enormous legitimate business empire which he used to illegitimately create business. He admittedly operated by the William Randolph Hearst declaration "You provide the pictures and I'll provide the war," and he showed this with great style and intelligence. Wealth and brains were the raw materials for this evil force, but as he said "Words are the new weapons, satellites the new artillery." While Carver was not one of the equal-to-Bond kind of villains, the fact that he happened to be married to one of Bond's former loves put them on a level plane in some respects and made the Tomorrow Never Dies mission a bit of a personal matter for 007. Bond's methods of antagonizing Carver were quite entertaining. The conversation in which Bond all but admits that he knows Carver is behind the sinking of the H.M.S. Devonshire followed by his cutting off power to Carver's TV network during a major speech were clear exhibitions of Carver's hot buttons - fame, power, the spotlight, and only sharing the information he deems "newsworthy." Carver was another of the very "human" villains. He wanted glory and control. What made him a super villain was the way by which he pursued these things. His lines are among my favorites of the Bond films and Tomorrow Never Dies is easily my favorite film of the Brosnan era.
Bond - "You really are quite insane."
Carver - "The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success."