What Bond villains left us shaken, if not stirred?

Ever since Joseph Wiseman’s title menace threatened 007 and the planet in 1962’s Dr. No, every James Bond movie has had at least one demonic villain to challenge our playboy hero. But not every bad guy or femme fatale is worth the audience hisses. Some are downright disappointing, including Christoph Waltz’s forgettable and regrettable character in Spectre, the new Bond film opening Friday. The best Bond baddies combine unique style and diabolical intentions. In no particular order, here are five most excellent 007 adversaries according to Peter Howell:

Auric Goldfinger: Played by German character actor Gert Frobe in Goldfin

ger, he takes his golden obsessions to extremes. He wants to ruin Fort Knox’s reserves with an atomic bomb to drive up the value of his own golden cache. Best known not for what he does to Bond but rather to a former employee — he paints her seminude body gold, suffocating her.

Infamous saying: “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.” Ernst Stavro Blofeld: The ultimate Bond villain, head of the SPECTRE terror group that has dogged 007 for 53 years. This cat-stroking sociopath has been played by many actors, Telly Savalas and Max von Sydow among them, but the most memorable turn is Donald Pleasence’s monocle-sporting menace in You Only Live Twice. Infamous saying: “You only live twice, Mr. Bond.” May Day: Played by disco diva Grace Jones in A View to a Kill, she’s the strongest and most striking of the many women who have gone manoa-mano with James Bond. When first glimpsed, she’s dressed like a red nun. But she’s more devil than angel, with tremendous agility, superhuman strength and a cold stare that looks like it really could kill. Infamous saying: “What’s there to say?” Le Chiffre: Little things mean a lot to this card-playing creep, played by Mads Mikkelsen, who tangles with Bond in the Casino Royale remake that launched Daniel Craig’s 007 career. Le Chiffre is known for the telltale bloody tears he weeps when under stress. He’s the perv behind the most underhanded Bond attack: beating the agent’s crown jewels with a knot. Infamous saying: “The only question remains: Will you yield, in time?” Jaws: Played by the 7-foot-1 actor Richard Kiel, who died just last year, he’s the most physically imposing of Bond’s adversaries, also possessing metal teeth that can snap chains, cable . . . and necks. He’s one of the most popular Bond baddies, having appeared in two of the Roger Moore 007 films: The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. Infamous saying: “Well, here’s to us.”