Forget the good guys: We rank the most imposing evil-doers in comic book movies

By Don Kaye
Special to MSN Movies

The world needs superheroes, but who do superheroes need? They need their supervillains. When comic book characters such as Batman, Superman and Spider-Man first came on the scene with their amazing powers and crime-fighting skills, it quickly became clear they were worthy of doing more than stopping a break-in at the local liquor store. So, the writers and artists at Marvel and DC Comics came up with a literal universe of enemies brimming with immense superpowers, deep psychoses and nefarious plans, ranging from Batman's sociopathic (but still earthbound Joker), all the way up to the Fantastic Four's planet-destroying Galactus.

When Hollywood turned to the comics for big-screen blockbuster material, the filmmakers mined the comics for villains who could fill the screen -- and actors who could fill the roles. Gene Hackman was cast as Lex Luthor primarily to bolster the star power of the original 1978 "Superman," because the studio was worried about an unknown Christopher Reeve carrying the entire film himself. Eleven years later, the star factor was driven home even more forcefully when Jack Nicholson's Joker was billed over Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne in the first of the modern "Batman" films. During the course of the series, it seemed as if the brooding (and perpetually recast) Batman was the supporting character in his own movies to the more outrageous and colorful villains, a trend not righted until 2005's "Batman Begins."

Over the last few years we have seen a new onslaught of comic-book criminals come to the screen -- mostly from the previously untapped Marvel universe -- in movies such as "X-Men," "Spider-Man" and "Fantastic Four." Some have stayed true to their comic-book roots, whereas others have enraged fanboys everywhere by veering indiscriminately from their origins. But the stakes are being raised this summer with "Spider-Man 3" and "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer." The former will pit the webslinger (Tobey Maguire) against one of his oldest villains, Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), while also using the classic "black costume" story line to introduce the popular modern nemesis Venom (Topher Grace). Meanwhile, the second "Fantastic Four" will feature the long-awaited screen debut of the alien antihero Silver Surfer (Doug Jones), who heralds the apocalyptic coming of Galactus. While nerds around the world prepare to render their verdicts on these latest adversaries, here's a rogues gallery of the ones we've seen so far, ranking from the most militant, to the most sheepish, in threat level:

Magneto (Ian McKellen) -- The "X-Men" Trilogy (2000-2006)

The best villains are either an all-out embodiment of evil, or deeply flawed characters acting out of some misguided notion that brings a dimension of tragedy to their stories. Eric "Magneto" Lensherr, the arch-enemy of the "X-Men," is the latter. A survivor of Nazi concentration camps, Magneto vowed that he would never let the mutants of the world be led down the same path toward annihilation. But Magneto's devotion to his cause sends him down an equally dark road, with the destruction of the "normal" human race his ultimate objective. Not evil per se, Magneto is nevertheless ruthless, cruel and wrong-headed. Although some fans initially balked that Ian McKellen was too old and not physical enough for the role, the actor brought a dignity and stature to the part that permeated the entire "X-Men" franchise and helped revive the interest in comic-book movies.

Doc Ock (Alfred Molina) -- "Spider-Man 2" (2004)

That's Doctor Octopus to you. Spider-Man's jokey nickname for one of his greatest foes doesn't capture the depth of fury, arrogance and evil intelligence embodied by Dr. Otto Octavius in the comics, where he started his career all the way back in the third issue of "The Amazing Spider-Man." The movie version keeps his scientific background but loses his abnormal psychology, making him a kind, married man driven into insanity by the death of his wife and the failure of the nuclear fusion experiment that welds his signature metallic arms to his body. From that point on, however, Doc Ock is the enemy we know and love, and Alfred Molina is an almost perfect visualization of the role. Along with Magneto, the (many) armed and dangerous Ock is probably the best supervillain ever realized on film.

Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) and Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) -- "Batman Begins" (2005)

Director Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" reactivated the film franchise with a darker, grittier, more "realistic" take on the Caped Crusader, and the movie's villains followed suit. The mysterious Henri Ducard and insane Jonathan Crane, aka the Scarecrow, are two of the Bat's most powerful and long-lived opponents in the comics, and both Neeson and Murphy embodied them with restraint. Neeson brought a deadly elegance to his role as the leader of an ancient, shadowy conspiracy against all mankind, while Murphy's Crane was imbued with an oily creepiness. A drastic step away from the flamboyant Nicholson/DeVito/Carrey villains of the series' first four films (Murphy doesn't fully don his Scarecrow costume until the final scenes), this devilish duo bodes well for the sequel's reboot of the Joker (Heath Ledger) and Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart).

Next: More Silver-Screen Supervillians