Let's just begin, shall we?

# 1.) The Joker - He's sick, he's twisted, he's a genius, and he's deliciously vicious. Perhaps no villain has ever gotten under a hero's cowl the way that the Joker got under Batman's. You name the crime, the Joker has committed it, and gleefully so.

# 2.) Dr. Doom - The consummate egomaniacal would-be world conqueror. Much like the Joker, he's twisted, fiendish and ruthless, but he has his own code of honor that distinguishes him from other villains. Doom has come closer to his plans of global conquest more often that most any other villain in any universe. Everything that Dr. Doom does, even in the smallest gestures, seems to be done on a grand scale. He was Marvel's Darth Vader before there ever was a Darth Vader.


# 3.) Lex Luthor - Essentially an ordinary human being, he has used essentially nothing but intellect, craft, and Machavellian scheming to cause the world's most powerful superhero fits. Just as the Joker knew how to viscerally get to Batman, Luthor knows how to get to Superman. Perhaps in no other arean in all of comics are two characters so disparate in power somehow so evenly matched. Superman plays by every rule and Luthor delights in breaking them.

# 4.) The Green Goblin - Not exactly a heavyweight in terms of raw power, he broke ground for villains in that he defeated a major hero, Spiderman, deduced his secret identity,and murdered his girlfriend, Gwen Stacy. Further, he genuinely scared Spiderman, something that not many villains were able to do.

# 5.) Loki - Is there a more craven, dastardly villain in all of comics? He was Asgard's version of that snotty little kid that waited until he was a block away before calling you names or challenging you to a fight. He was crafty enough to dupe Odin for the longest time, and was even cruel to his selflessly adoring wife.

# 6.) Magneto - Even though I don't much care for the mutant master of magnetism, he was successfully promoted by Marvel from being pretty much a snivelling schemer early in his career to a true heavyweight among Marvel's villains. If Wolverine is the favorite X-Man, then Magneto has to be a serious contender for their favorite villain.

# 7.) Ultron - The solid adamantium robot with a nuclear power core is among the Avengers' deadliest, most implacable foes. Further consider that Ultron was created by one of the Avengers' charter members, Dr. Henry Pym.

# 8.) Maestro - The most powerful incarnation of the Hulk without any qualms about using that power, and whatever else he needs to. This villain has more tongues wagging about who's stronger than who than any other villain save possibly the Juggernaut.

# 9.) Onslaught - He shook up the world, literally and took the fullest measure of virtually every Marvel hero. Better still, he made the Juggernaut run away like a frightened girly man. How many characters could do that?

# 10.) Thanos - He wants to kill EVERYBODY, and he's thrilled to Death at the prospect. He's devious, he's deliberately cruel and he absolutely delights in torturing his opponents and antagonists.