1. Bane - The Dark Knight Rises
Brilliant though all these villains were, it's The Dark Knight Rises' Bane who proved the best of show; though not quite up to the impeccable standards of The Dark Knight's Joker, Bane nevertheless proved a very different, hugely successful brand of villain. More physically imposing than Ledger's character and having far clearer, more understandable motives, as well as his own cleverly inventive plan, Bane has all the hallmarks of a classic comic book villain, brought so well to the screen here after the awful treatment of the character in Joel Schumacher's execrable Batman and Robin. A lot of the credit for its success goes to Tom Hardy, a tremendous physical specimen who makes Bane a fearful, destructive force, and who gives him that trademark, creepy voice that has been parodied so much online. Best of all, Christopher Nolan doesn't make Bane a garden variety baddie; as we learn at the end of the film, he's also got a bit of a heart as well, even if he doesn't stick around for too long after we learn this. Who was your favourite movie villain of 2012? Let us know in the comments below.