21. Ozymandias

"I did it 35 minutes ago." With that simple line, Ozymandias cemented his place as a comic book villain to remember. The fact that he himself, and perhaps many reading this, would argue he's not even a villain in the first place makes him all the more fascinating. The Smartest Man in the World, Adrian Veidt felt that the normal kind of physical super heroics he'd engaged in for years were not enough to truly change the world. No, he plotted to do something much grander.

The fact that this grand plan involved killing millions of people is of course what makes him such a chilling character. From his perspective, what he did - faking an alien attack in New York that killed all in the path of its psychic shockwave - was the ultimate example of doing something for the greater good. Veidt felt that this kind of horrific attack from a perceived outside threat was the only thing that could unite a world on the brink of nuclear war. And notably, Veidt appeared to be correct, and would argue that this act of forced sacrifice stopped billions more from dying in the long run.

Brilliant and able to deal with almost every curve ball thrown his way, Veidt succeeds in his plan at the end of Watchmen, only explaining the details to Rorschach and Nite-Owl after he's sure it's gone off without a hitch. But as noble as Veidt may say he is, the fact is that he has the blood of millions on his hands…