4. Catwoman
FIRST APPEARANCE: BATMAN #1 (1940) One of the most iconic characters in comic book history, Catwoman aka Selina Kyle, a constant foil of Batman's, though also someone with whom he does share a certain affinity. Perennially played as an extremely skilled, slippery thief with a seductive allure, she wears a skin-tight PVC cat-suit, often adorned by a cat-like whip, razor-sharp claws and toes, and in The Dark Knight Rises, even a razor-tipped stiletto heel (used to clever effect). Introduced in an effort to bring more female readers to the comic book, she nevertheless transcended mere tokenism as an enduring anti-hero-cum-villain, and in many ways a completionist component to Bruce Wayne's persona. On television, she has been played by Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether and Eartha Kitt, whereas Michelle Pfeiffer brought her to the big screen in 1992's Batman Returns. Halle Berry damn-near ruined the character in the standalone spin-off Catwoman, before Anne Hathaway brought her surging back to life in The Dark Knight Rises.
3. Magneto
FIRST APPEARANCE: X-MEN VOLUME 1, #1 (1963) Magneto personifies the idea of a comic book villain, with his ridiculous outfit - including phallic head gear - and his passionate contempt for us mere mortals. But the leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants just misses out on the number one spot on our list, making him the second greatest comic book villain of all time. Born Max Eisenhardt, Magneto's history was always presented as rather harrowing, as he survived persecution and imprisonment at the hands of the Nazis during World War 2 - using his inherited Mutant abilities to survive. As a young man, he befriended fellow Mutant Charles Xavier, and the two struck up a strong friendship, only to become mortal enemies years later with their contrasting views on the co-existence of Mutants and Humans. Thus, the mega powerful, magnetism-manipulating mad man Magneto was born. In Magneto's eyes, homo-sapiens are an endangered species, while homo-superior (Mutants) are the new dominant species on Earth. Unfortunately, Magneto's views are reflected upon all Mutants, causing a fear and hatred of all people carrying the Mutant gene, including The X Men and Charles Xavier. With his band of brainwashed thugs aka the Brotherhood of Mutants by his side, Magneto strives for world domination but falls flat thanks to Xavier's outcast hero faction. Perhaps one of Magneto's strongest characteristics is his ability to make an audience think about him even when he isn't present in a story arc. He is such an important and dominant presence in the X-Men Universe that you almost feel like every plot line where he doesn't appear is still somehow orchestrated by him, perhaps from afar. But despite his magnetic personality (did you see what we did there?), Magneto misses out on the top spot. You see, the greatest comic book super villain of all time isn't even super.
2. Lex Luthor
FIRST APPEARANCE: ACTION COMICS #23 (1940) Lex Luthor essentially defines the phrase "evil genius"; a wealthy, extremely intelligent, power-hungry maniac, Luthor typically wants to kill Superman, so that his various schemes for world domination can go ahead unimpeded. Revisions to the character over the years have fleshed out his back story, namely that he was childhood friends with Clark Kent, while the constant has remained that he is arguably the most intelligent human character in comic book history, and frequently uses Kryptonite to try and take down the Man of Steel once and for all. His live action history is long and varied; Gene Hackman plays easily the most iconic iteration in three Superman movies, while John Shea played him in the TV series Lois & Clark, Michael Rosenbaum took the role of a young Luthor in Smallville (and was easily the best thing in it), while Kevin Spacey most recently took up the reigns, hamming it up for the rafters in Superman Returns ("WRONG!"). There is no other like him, and there never will be.