Big villain: Hugo Drax
The plan: To build a new civilisation in space. First though, Earth must be destroyed in a viral holocaust. Why? Because.

Despite his way with words and choice of spacesuits, Drax is a slightly dour villain – certainly by early Bond standards. But what he lacks in piranhas, sharks and Korean henchmen, he pours into the boldest plan yet. Alas, he knows it. Hubristically, he explains the whole eugenics-based plot in a long monologue that just ends up upsetting Jaws. Drax and double drax.

Giveaway speech: “No doubt you have realised the splendour of my conception. First a necklace of death about the Earth: 50 globes, each releasing its nerve gas over a designated area; each capable of killing 100m people. The human race, as you know it, will cease to exist. Then, a rebirth. A new world.”

What he should have done: Shot him with a laser.