Throughout the years movies have portrayed many villains, some were over the top and some were under the table. The following list describes ten of the better villains which were attached to excellent films.  Make your own judgement, but you can’t deny the impact the following list makes on some great films.

10. Gordon Gekko: Michael Douglas–Wall Street. Coining the phrase “Greed….is good.” Gordon is what made up the yuppie life-style of the 80’s and was the first businessman to show his true colors. If a remake of “Wall Street” was to be made today, the phrase “In This Economy” would replace Greed is Good. Gekko is number 10 because he hits too close to being a real-life villain.

9. Howard Saint: John Travolta—The Punisher. Influenced by his wife to order a mass murder of Frank Castle’s entire family in revenge for his son being killed, this mobster is then put through a complicated plot of lies and artificial happenings by the Punisher plotting his own revenge.  This act causes the end of Saints whole criminal empire. Howard Saint is a cold leader who’s willing to kill his wife and a close friend without all the facts, on top of that he lets his son die so he could escape with his life if only temporarily. Saint is no saint and gets his in the end. For the revenge story gone wrong, Howard Saint is number nine.

8. Terry Silver: Thomas Ian Griffith–Karate Kid Part III. Terry is a nasty, back-stabbing, bigot whose business savvy is on par with a corrupt politician. Putting on a friendly act to lead Daniel into a championship fight that he doesn’t want to take part in, Cobra Kai’s new fighter wants to take his title and advertise the dojo for the sole purpose of making money. Terry or Mr. Silver as he’s called, tortures Daniel, mind and body to inflict revenge for his friend John Kreese. Terry is number 8 for being the Karate Kids’ most memorable nemesis.

7. Stansfield: Gary Oldman–Leon: The Professional. He’s the pill popping, Mozart loving, crooked “cop” whose insane outbursts put him on the map of being one of the most calculating villains in film. Using his power as a government agent to run drugs and control the mob, Stansfield uses “EVERYONE!” to try and catch the anti-hero, Leon the “Cleaner.” Gary Oldman has played an endless array of memorable villains; however his actions stand out in “Leon” giving him the number 7 spot.

6. Lex Luthor: Gene Hackman—Superman 1-4. Portraying a highly intelligent and over confidant Lex, Hackman is the creator of Superman’s greatest villain in the movies. Others will try to copy, but none will ever be the plotting genius Lex Luthor–this makes him number six.

5.The Joker: Heath Ledger—Batman-Dark Knight. His bright views of death and destruction—chaos if you will; followed by the comedy of performing magic tricks and dress up which end in death, make The Joker in Dark Knight the fifth greatest villain.

4. Zavulon: Viktor Verzhbitskiy—Nightwatch/Daywatch. With more charisma than a politician and more dark powers than Merlin’s are light; Zavulon-Leader of the Daywatch is always in the front lines ready to take on the Nightwatch’s Anton and Geser. With wild outbursts and calm replies to his minions, this control-freak gets number four.

3 Bill the Butcher: Daniel Day Lewis—Gangs of New York. William Cutting was played by one of the greatest actors to live in our time. A leader of honor and a terrible racist; The Butcher’s views of others not part of the “Native’s” was nasty, but, in his eyes were proper to society. The antagonist to Amsterdam through killing his father, Bill The Butcher stands at number three for being one of the best villains of all time.

2. The Deacon of the Deeze: Dennis Hopper—Waterworld. Dennis Hopper portrays the almost comical, scummy, evangelist-like leader of the “Smokers” who live upon the Exxon Valdez in the futuristic Waterworld. Full of confidence and a sometimes nasty attitude, The Deacon is my personal pick as the second best villain.

1. The Wicked Witch of the West: Margaret Hamilton—The Wizard of OZ. No one can stand up to the perfect portrayal of the villainess of the Wizard of OZ. The Wicked Witch is greedy, evil and scary for the younger viewers. Movie-watchers of all ages  know her evil cackle as she flies away on her broomstick; making the Wicked Witch of the West truly number one

• Tweet