The prospect of Christoph Waltz portraying a James Bond villain in Spectre sounds like an exciting one. Let’s understand these various accomplishments better by ranking this era of James Bond antagonists from worst to best, starting with the nadir of these foes… By contrast, the greatest of these adversaries reminded moviegoers across the globe why these types of villains are such an enduring staple of the franchise. The weakest instances show what happens when a long-running film series fails to take chances and embrace something different.

Looking across the five main villains that Craig’s Bond fought in his time on the big screen, one can appreciate the finer details as well as the highs and lows of this era. However, there are stark differences across these antagonists as well, including what real-life and fictional figures influenced their varying personalities. These villains have had common traits in many respects, including the recurring tendency to have them serve as evil parallel versions of Bond (and all of them being dudes). Though Daniel Craig’s era of James Bond motion pictures, which began with Casino Royale in 2006, adjusted certain hallmarks of this franchise, it embraced the concept of each movie featuring a new over-the-top baddie.