Top 10 Movie Evil Villain Plans

So maybe selfie sticks are a bit annoying, but hey, at least they don’t inspire violent reactions – well, not yet at least. In Matthew Vaughn’s stylish spy flick, a billionaire philanthropist shocks the public by distributing free cell phone and internet service – but, as you can imagine based on the theme of this list, there’s a twist. Richmond Valentine despises human beings and views humanity as a crippling virus to Earth that needs to be eradicated before the planet suffers irreparable damage. Like a true movie villain, he’s loyal to a few pals, which means they receive protective chips in their domes, but everybody else? Nahhh. Remember – “manners maketh man.”

Back in the swingin’ ‘60s, a bald-headed maniac narrowly escaped a stylish spy known as Austin Powers, and when he returns from his cryogenic freeze to a wealthy lifestyle, well, he’s not quite satisfied. Perhaps suffering from brain damage and certainly not quite hip to modern times, Dr. Evil hopes to acquire a nuclear warhead and hold the world ransom; however the plan has one major flaw: his ransom demand was rather reasonable. In light of this embarrassment,Dr. Evil picks a number out of the sky and manages to out-do himself by making an even more hilarious, yet still undoubtedly evil, demand. Blame it on the thirty-year nap.

You never quite know who you’ll meet in Los Angeles, and it’s not uncommon to learn of secret conspiracies. But as Sarah Connor discovered in James Cameron’s sci-fi classic, sometimes they are speaking the truth. When Kyle Reese arrives from the future, he details the plot of an intelligence defense network called Skynet, which will not only threaten the human race but also Sarah’s future son, the leader of the human resistance. Yes, that IS a lot for one woman to handle, but there’s more. A cyborg assassin. The Terminator. Now that’s evil.

It’s one thing to BE a creepy movie villain, but what would such an evil person be without an equally creepy voice? Seven years after the death of Hans Gruber, a mysterious man by the name of Simon emerged in New York City to thoroughly ruin John McClane’s day. Hoping to rob the Federal Reserve Bank of $140 billion in gold, the prickly villain begins a dirty game of destruction, for no other reason than to mess with his unknowing enemy for a little personal enjoyment. Well, actually there was a legitimate reason, and it has something to do with this guy, a villain with an equally diabolical plan. Isn’t brotherly love sweet?

He’s the Senator from Naboo and one nasty-looking dude. Call him Supreme Chancellor Palpatine or call him Darth Sidious, this is one evil politician. This force to be reckoned with originally appeared in “The Empire Strikes Back,” but it was in the prequel trilogy when his origin story was told in full. When a state of emergency presents itself, Palpatine makes sure that he’s the one granted ultimate power. He plays the political game to perfection, as he manipulated both sides of the Clone Wars, and effectively sets the plan in motion for Anakin Skywalker to embrace the darkness. A most palpable villain.

Well, well, well: look who’s conveniently taking refuge in Antarctica. As a retired “superhero” named Ozymandias, Adrian Veidt always has more than a few tricks up his sleeve, and is constantly ten steps ahead of everyone else. First, the Comedian was bumped off, then Dr. Manhattan exiled himself to Mars. Oh, and Veidt was nearly taken out himself. Unbeknownst to the Watchmen, it was all part of Ozymandias’ plan to unite Americans and Soviets against a common enemy, which could only be accomplished with the destruction of every major city in the world. While the public falls into place out of fear, Ozymandias stands firm in his triumph.

Love and marriage, secrets and betrayal: all make for a great witch hunt. When the subject of a children’s book series goes missing, her husband becomes the prime suspect. However, behind the blatantly obvious is usually a plethora of lies. In this case, Amy Elliott-Dunne isn’t exactly right in the head. In order to get back at her unfaithful partner, she creates a painfully realistic web of domestic abuse, kidnap and sexual deviance. Needless to say it works, and just like sharks, the media rips him to pieces as soon as they get a whiff of blood.

While Clark Kent was saving cats and showing off his aerial skills, another man was developing an ingenious plan – because all evil movie villains are typically, well, geniuses. In this superhero flick, Lex Luthor is the supreme bad guy who hatches together a plot to make himself the leader of a new western world. How? By obliterating California and reaping the benefits of his wise real estate decisions, of course. Despite the well-formed business plan and Superman’s reaction to Kryptonite, Lex Luthor couldn’t have known that the Man of Steel could alter the fate of the world through flight alone.

Like we said, evil movie villains tend to typically geniuses, and this is one of the best. As Detectives Mills and Somerset investigate a series of murders based on the seven deadly sins, the psychotic yet soft spoken John Doe always seems to be one step ahead of them. That proves be a fatal mistake for the detectives, who become an essential piece in the final part of Doe’s plan. Any villain who’s capable of planning the twists and turns of this plan and who’s willing to die to see it all come to fruition is an evil genius through and through.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- Scarecrow: Fear Toxin
“Batman Begins” (2005)
- Syndrome: Omnidroid Dreams
“The Incredibles” (2004)
- Scar: Watch the Throne
“The Lion King” (1994)
- Col. William Stryker: Cerebro, Bro
“X2: X-Men United” (2003)

Believe it or not, Pussy Galore was the least of James Bond’s problems in this 007 film, and not even Oddjob could distract him from pinpointing the truth about Operation Grand Slam. Organized by the literal gold digger named Auric Goldfinger, the plan is to irradiate the gold repository of Fort Knox, thus elevating the evil entrepreneur to become the global leader of gold distribution. Of course, it also means the certain destruction of the American economy; however Bond has something to say about that. Even so, Operation Grand Slam remains the most evil and brilliant of movie villain plans.

Do you agree with our list? What is your favorite movie villain evil plan? For more mind-blowing Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.