Top 10 Best Call of Duty Villains

The Top Ten
1 Vladimir Makarov

Vladimir Makarov. A single man who brought the world to the brink of WW3. He killed millions of innocents and was never afraid to get a gallon of fresh blood on his clothes. He's a perfect example of a cold-hearted killer with forever loyal men and a pack of combat experience.

He managed to kill Soap and Yuri. Hell, he was even seconds away from pulling the trigger on Price. Along with this feat, he traumatized General Shepard by nuking every single one of his soldiers. Makarov shows how easily one man could bring living hell upon the world. Anything that has a heart is in Makarov's objective to kill. Ultimately, he is the best example of a villain in general.

2 Raul Menendez

It was either Makarov or Menendez. But if people could sympathize with Menendez, then that doesn't make him the most evil. Plus, when we control that Arab undercover guy who was with Menendez, you could get your hands dirty, kill the Navy SEAL main character, and live.

If it was Makarov, you're dead either way, and so is the Navy SEAL. With Makarov, no matter who you are, you have a feeling he's gonna kill you. You can't sympathize with him. Menendez may have followers. If Makarov had followers, he'd kill them all. He'd kill every innocent person. He would destroy the world if he had the opportunity.

It took three Modern Warfare series (and many years in the story) to finally stop him using Price (the Chuck Norris of MW who never dies when he's supposed to). Menendez is just more interesting, but not the most evil.

3 Nikita Dragovich

The main antagonist of Black Ops, and for good reason. His first crime was not sending reinforcements for Reznov at Red Square in WWII. Reznov's men were massacred, but he and Dimitri Petrenko survived. Years later, Dragovich once again screwed Reznov and Dimitri Petrenko by testing Project Nova on Reznov's men. Dimitri was one of many who died from this betrayal, even after surviving WWII.

Then years after that, he brainwashed Alex Mason to kill JFK. Maybe he succeeded?

He's a smug jerk. I wanted to choke him in the water longer.

4 General Shepherd

Now, I'm not a huge fan of how he was used in MW2. MW2 needed a little more if they were going to make Shepherd a bad guy, and his reasons for betrayal just weren't good enough. That aside, he was still a pretty good villain. His betrayal of Task Force 141 on Estate Takedown is one of my favorite video game moments, period. Price told Ghost and Roach not to trust Shepherd, even if it was already too late.

He's one of the worst villains because he betrayed Task Force 141 and killed Ghost and Roach. But he didn't do enough bad stuff to be at number three. All he did was betray Task Force 141 and kill some of the most important people in MW2, but he didn't try to destroy the world or anything.

5 Imran Zakhaev

Makarov took a few notes from this man. Zakhaev's ideals of a return to Soviet ways eventually led to WWIII even after he had died. He even launched two ballistic missiles at the east coast of the US. The casualties would have been over 41 million. Not to mention he survived an assassination attempt that cost him his left arm.

This guy rocks. Plus, Makarov never would have become leader of the ultranationalists if he had not been shot on the bridge. He would shoot Rorke with a rifle before Rorke even knew what happened.

6 Lev Kravchenko

Sure, he was Dragovich's lackey, but he still played a big part in all of the bad acts that Dragovich carried out.

Extremely clever and helps Dragovich. He faked his death to get off the list of wanted criminals.

7 DeFalco

Come on, this guy's the best. From the start, we see him meet with Menendez, so we all thought this guy was pretty mysterious and cool. Then, just a little later, we see him barge into a party, shoot a hostage in the head, take Chloe, shoot a guy in the face over the security feed, and if you aren't fast enough to catch him, you watch him fly away into the sunset.

If this wasn't bad enough, when you find out that Salazar is a traitor, he cuts Chloe's throat with a smile on his face. This guy is more evil than Makarov. He just didn't have the same resources. In the end, he's a machine who will do anything to get his missions done.

8 Tian Zhao

He was America's primary strategic rival in the year 2025.

9 Gabriel Rorke

Rorke survived falling into the flood with a helicopter falling on top of him when the terrorists shot the dam. He survived the initial impact from the LOKI strike, survived the crashing of the train, survived getting shot through the chest, and was left for dead 100 meters underwater. He still came out on top, brainwashing Logan, plus he killed two Ghosts and really screwed up the other two.

He was the first to brainwash anyone in the series, survived several events that should have been lethal, and killed or incapacitated your team. I think he is the first villain that hasn't been beaten by the series end.

10 Friedrich Steiner

This man was a Nazi scientist who created Nova-6. Enough said.

He's actually a savage. He should be higher up on the list.

The Contenders
11 Edward Richtofen

He's one of the main reasons zombies exist in the first place (as in the BO zombies mode) and even managed to become a god temporarily by manipulating, brainwashing, and charming those around him to do his bidding.

Those who were experimented on by him referred to him as "The Butcher," which should already give some explanation of his cruelty towards those unfortunate enough to end up as one of his test subjects. His former allies, who helped him become a god without knowing due to his manipulation, became desperate enough that they blew up the Earth to stop him from making humanity his personal playground. It did not. Everything got worse from then on.

12 Jonathan Irons

Kevin Spacey nailed it! After losing his son in the North Korean conflict, he goes totally insane without showing it. Head of a PMC company that dominates the planet, he swears no loyalty to anyone but Atlas, and the world kneels before him!

To be honest, Kevin Spacey's portrayal of Irons is stunning. Coupled with the amazing new motion capture and exo-features, it makes the Advanced Warfare campaign an intense and thought-provoking experience.

He is like a philosopher with a knack for the destruction of any democracy. I agree and disagree with what he says.

13 Khaled Al-Asad

He executed a president on national TV with a Deagle. He was the leader of Saudi Arabia after seizing power along with OpFor. His actions were very believable, and he's one of the more realistic villains in Call of Duty. Who keeps a nuke in their own palace?

I love how Captain Price beats the living crap out of him and then shoots him dead! That is my all-time favorite Call of Duty moment!

He's definitely the most realistic villain in the entire Call of Duty franchise.

14 General Amsel

He might have only been seen for a minute just so he could be assassinated, but what he was responsible for is what mattered. He orchestrated the massacre of Russian soldiers and civilians across Stalingrad. A typical Nazi bad guy.

15 Daniel Clarke

Although we don't see him much in Black Ops, he is a big reason why Steiner, Dragovich, and Kravchenko recreated Nova 6. Without him, it may not have happened.

16 Corvus

Corvus destroyed the whole packed DNI group, for which Taylor, Diaz, Hall, Hendriks, Merrati, Kane, and the protagonist died due to their anomalous behavior. But it was the actual thrill of the game!

17 Victor Zakhaev

He's a cliché. An irresponsible son of the big bad guy.

18 Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 - April 30, 1945) was a German politician of Austrian descent who served as the leader of the Nazi Party since 1921, Chancellor of Germany since 1933, and Führer of Nazi Germany since 1934. As dictator of Nazi Germany, he reversed the Treaty of Versailles, initiated World... read more

This guy was real, so he should be number one because he was real. He had gas showers to kill people with. He cooked people in ovens. He also burned people's skin off.

Dude, it's Hitler. What else do I have to say?

He was the best villain during the classic Call of Duty eras and the W@W era.

19 Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, known as Fidel Castro (August 13, 1926 – November 25, 2016), was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who governed the Republic of Cuba as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976 and then as President from 1976 to 2008. Politically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist, he... read more

We all know who he is in real life. He doesn't have a major role in Black Ops, but he's still a villain and cracks this list.

20 Javier Salazar

He betrays his own SEALs and is on Menendez's side. If you shot Menendez on the mission Odysseus, he will kill Chloe. If you killed DeFalco, he will injure Admiral Briggs if you don't shoot him in the head, leg, or arm. I don't understand why he is not higher on the list, as betrayal is quite a heavy price to pay.

21 Metz
22 Joseph "Hades" Chkheidze

Badass leader of the KVA who destroys Seattle and wins a match of hand-to-hand combat against an exo suit. Also, the reason Mitchell finds out about Irons.

23 Salen Kotch

This guy launched an attack on Geneva and waged war on Earth. Not even Makarov did something that crazy.

24 Alexei Borodin
25 Manuel Noriega
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