5. General Zod (Superman II)
It's not even that this particular villain death was anything special in terms of execution, but the set-up for it made this one of the most crowd pleasing villain deaths in cinema history for my money - and yes, while some out there believe Zod didn't get killed here, I respectfully disagree. When Superman gets forced into the Fortress of Solitude chamber to render his super powers inert, it's the surprise that follows which makes the hand crushing and death of Zod so unbelievably satisfying. That, along with the John Williams theme playing over this sequence as Zod gets picked up in the air and thrown into oblivion make this a home run as far as satisfying villain deaths go. Let's continue to make our way down this list by moving into darker territory...