James Bond: Top 10 SPECTRE Members, Ranked By Intelligence
In the real world, the MI6 probably has to deal with a variety of threats daily but, in the James Bond universe, one particular criminal enterprise remains a constant threat to the agency. Though free to run their own organizations, a decent number of James Bond baddies report to SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion).
Numerous SPECTRE members have had appearances throughout the films. More than a hundred members can be seen at the organization's Rome meeting in the 2015 movie Spectre. While some members (such as Mr. Hinx) rely on brute force to conduct their operations, others rely more on their brains.
10 Emilio Largo
An admirable feat, Largo is the first of Bond villains to blackmail NATO. In Thunderball, SPECTRE's second-in-command steals NATO warheads then asks the organization to pay SPECTRE £100 million within seven days, or else he would use the weapons to destroy a major American or British city.
He might have a yacht with a cool name—the Disco Volante—but Largo is a bit careless. Bond manages to enter his bases very easily. Largo also kills the brother of Domino, his mistress, and fails to keep this detail a secret. Bond learns about Largo's actions and gets Domino to switch sides by telling her all about it. In the end, it's Domino who kills Largo.
9 Red Grant
The assassin in From Russia With Love approaches Bond with a lot of love at first. His mission is to kill the star MI6 agent to avenge the death of Dr. No. At first, he just shadows Bond, refraining from killing him to ensure he delivers an encoding device that SPECTRE is actually interested in.
He goes on to kill four men who attempt to derail Bond. Instead of simply taking out Bond, he goes on to impersonate a British agent, so as to gain 007's trust. He has a well-calculated plan which only fails because it's Bond he is dealing with.
8 Max Denbigh aka C
C is the Director-General of the Joint Security Service (JSS)—the new organization that's created to merge both the MI5 and the MI6— but he is up to no good. He pushes for the establishment of a global surveillance program known as the "Nine Eyes" and the dissolution of the Double-0 program. This way, agents like Bond would lose their jobs to computers.
It turns out that C is pushing this agenda for SPECTRE. He is a mole but as a high-ranking government official, no one suspects him at first. Luckily, Bond finds out about C's intentions while being held at Blofeld's base in Africa.
7 Kronsteen
In From Russia With Love, Kronsteen is credited with coming up with most of SPECTRE's master plans, thanks to his unrivaled IQ. When he is not needed by Blofeld, he spends his days in Venice, participating in chess tournaments which he always wins. Just as he can calculate every move in chess, he is able to figure out what enemies will do.
His reliability has enabled him to rise to the position of Number 5 in the organization. When his plan fails for the first time, thanks to Bond's intervention, Blofeld shows zero appreciation for his past work and kills him using poison.
6 Dominic Greene
Quantum Of Solace may be considered one of the worst Bond movies but its villain is pretty smart. Dominic disguises himself as the billionaire owner of Green Planet but he is actually an employee of Quantum and SPECTRE.
His plan? To help a Bolivian war general get to power. In return, the general will allocate him a large piece of desert land. Greene makes top agencies like the CIA and MI6 think he wants oil but he actually wants to control their water supply. All the other water supplies will be polluted, making Green the sole supplier.
5 Dr. Julius No
The first-ever villain in the Bond franchise is as smart as they come. An unwanted child of a German missionary, Dr. No grows to become the treasurer of China's most powerful criminal organization. He then steals $10 million Tong gold bullion and flees the country, setting up an operational base at Crab Key, Jamaica, where he experiments with nuclear energy.
When world governments reject his services, he joins SPECTRE. He is also never killed by Bond. He only dies after falling in his own nuclear reactor.
4 Le Chiffre
Le Chiffre is described as a Mathem genius and chess prodigy. He also one of the world's best poker players as he can read games by analyzing chance and probability. He manages to bankrupt Bond during a high-stakes game at the Casino Royale in Montenegro. These traits alone place him high up in this list.
Since Le Chiffre is considered to be one of the more intelligent members, he has become the go-to banker for the world's top terrorist organizations. However, he eventually dies at the hands of his colleague Mr. White.
3 Raoul Silva
Silva accomplishes a lot of things in the Bond franchise. Before the events of Skyfall, he is said to have rigged plenty of elections at a fee, destroyed numerous economies, and stolen plenty of money by hacking several bank accounts. He also stays away from the MI6's radar by adopting a new identity.
When he does re-emerge on the scene, Silva is seen to cause a lot of chaos. He manages to get his hands on a drive containing the names of secret agents and exposes their identities to the world, which causes some of them to be killed. After escaping from MI6 custody, something only a few people have pulled off, he then impersonates a police officer and tries to kill M. While he does succeed in this mission, he also dies executing it too.
2 Mr. White
Apart from being a SPECTRE member, Mr. White has his own subsidiary organization known as Quantum. The organization has infiltrated key government agencies such as MI6. When Bond captures Mr. White, he is saved by an MI6 agent, who happens to be working for Quantum.
Through one of his men, Mr. White also corrupts HM Treasury liaison, Vesper Lynd, by threatening the life of her partner. He appears in three different Bond movies but avoids getting killed by either MI6 or Blofeld, with who he has fallen out of favor. Mr. White eventually takes his own life after making a deal with Bond.
1 Blofeld
Convincing the world's best criminals to work for you and remain loyal is no easy feat. That's part of the reason why the franchise's overarching villain sits as the head of the organization. One incident proves that Blofeld is smarter and more aware than his fellow criminals. During the general meeting in Rome, he is the first to notice that Bond is present.
The rest of the world's crime bosses who were present at the meeting had no idea an MI6 agent was among them. In the various films he has appeared in, Blofeld manages to get the better of Bond on several occasions. He also succeeds in killing two people Bond values the most—his wife and M.
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