2. Ernst Stavro Blofeld
The archetypal Bond villain, and the only one to recur for multiple appearances, Blofelds villainous work ethic, his titanic ruthlessness, and his bold inventiveness leave Stromberg, Drax, and all the other pretenders to the megalomaniac throne in the shade. A spookily faceless figure of dread in the early movies, he built up a badass reputation as the man who other villains took their marching orders from, calmly presiding in the background for entire movies while his lieutenants fought and died, often by his own hand as he coldly punished failure. When Blofeld stopped sitting around with his iconic cat and started getting his hands dirty, the role was cycled through a series of talented actors as plastic surgery revamped the seemingly un-killable crime-lord for each new encounter. He left a trail of destruction in his wake, played off both the major Cold War players against each other, repeatedly dodged death at Bonds normally capable hands, pluckily insisted on unleashing some audacious new caper after every defeat, and gave Bond his darkest hour by orchestrating the murder of Bonds newly-wed wife Tracy, killing off one of the only two women the great womaniser ever canonically loved (the other being the equally-doomed Vesper Lynd). For sheer staying power, Blofeld deserves recognition as Bonds most successful opponent. However, he is perhaps not the most resonant, or the most personal