Didn't Hobgoblin turn out to be a clothes designer or something? He was one of my favorite Spidey villains but I remember his identity was a mystery for a long time.

The best villain is Grendel he’s the classic monster in all of literature. He has motive of killing peoples but he enjoy the meal of thirty people at once.

For me it's Dr. Doom, I love villians in general in any story line but just cant find anyone to outpass him in my eyes.

Apocalypse he was the first mutant has been a driving force in shaping cultures and doing evil things for 5,000 years.

Victor Von Doom and Red Skull

There are so many factors that go into decisions like this it makes my head hurt. A lot of good points and Doom seems to be the popular choice. Also, aren't Heroes considered a Villain by Villains?

If Franklin Richards or Hulk were a villain, they'd be the hands down choices for me. Who knows, maybe Franklin Richards is Dr. Doom or somehow created him and his Doombots. Anything is possible in the MU with a retcon or some sliding time scale alternate universe stuff. At one point Doom and Kang were meant to be related instead of Nathaniel Richards.

I'd pick Apocalypse, Doom, Kang & Ultron for different reasons.

Mr. Sinister, Red Skull and Shadow King are characters I'd like to think could have a shot depending on how they are used.

My Marvel knowledge doesn't extend far past the mid 90's. I'm currently reading Avengers Essential Volume 4. This covers issues from '69-'72.

It's gotta be Stilts Man.

Seriously though, Magneto. He's like the Malcolm X to Xavier's MLK and I enjoy his (angry, vengeful, superiority complex) stance on being discriminated against. He does evil things, but only because of the cards he has been dealt. He has often joined forces with the X Men displaying a willingness to do what is right for mutant kind, so he isn't a complete ***hole, just doesn't care about regular humans and isnt interested in coexisting.

I think anybody who has ever been discriminated against and was angry about it can identify with him and that's a great villan. I dont identify with Doctor Doom, Apocolypse or Thanos because they couldn't possibly exist in the real world.

Dr Doom, Magneto & Galactus are IMHO the greatest villains ever created in the Marvel Universe, but adolf hitler is the ultimate villain in any universe ...including ours.

As for best there will never be one answer because everyone has their own opinion on that but personally my top 5 picks would be:
Dr. Doom
Mephisto
Norman Osborn/Green Goblin
Ultron
Apocalypse
I mean they're some of the top seeds of the Marvel villain tree.

Don't get me wrong I love Magneto but I've never really seen him a true villain. He wants whats best for his people but goes to the extreme to get it. Because of his methods he can be considered a villain but I can't say in his position I'd do any different. Most people are a-holes. Especially when you're considered "different" from others. If the world of X-Men were real there's no way in today's world that mankind would accept mutants. Most can't even accept other human people.

Personally I have a few:
Apocalypse- there's something truly tragic about what made En Sabah Nur into Apocalypse, his people and adoptive father were all killed because of what he would become and in doing so created him anyway. He is a product of the fear and violence that tormented his youth, humanity has only itself to blame for one of the Marvel universe's greatest threats. I like Apocalypse so much that my user-name here is a play on his real name.
Kang- the unrivaled master of time travel. Kang is neat because he started as a hero and was turned into Kang from tragedy (Iron Lad with the Young Avengers, and then the Children's Crusade wrecks him emotionally). He becomes cruel, cold, and calculating. Nobody is sacred to Kang, save himself, and he'll kill his own son without much hesitation to secure his own power. His schemes are the most thought out and often the most cunning. His only weakness is his sense of honor, otherwise he'd kill all who oppose him while they're still in diapers, but his honor keeps him in line.
Thanos- much more the typical "I'm evil and hate everyone, kill everything, grarr!" However very few reach the pizaz and level of Thanos. The execution of Thanos, especially from Jim Starlin, is always entertaining and universally dangerous. Plus Starlin plays him so well off of Warlock and their relationship.
Dr Doom- if A for effort goes to anybody, it's Victor Von Doom. This guy like never wins, his plans don't usually even play out for his own benefit. He's definitely dangerous, but even more so he's proud and obnoxious. He does have a sad back-story with his mother, but then again most of Doom's suffering is his own fault.
Green Goblin- arguably the most successful villain in regards to his specific hero. Even more than the Joker is to Batman. He killed Spider-Man's love, ruined his friendship with Harry, and constantly plagues Peter's life. Nobody brings grief to their hero quite like Norman Osborn. Then there was that whole HAMMER take-over deal too.
Honorable mention: Magneto- not always the villain, but when he is he's the easiest to understand why he jumps to violence before reason.

I'm surprised you didn't mention Nate Richards' other persona besides Iron Lad and Kang: Immortus.

Great list, btw.

Thank ya kindly.
I've found Immortus to be kind of helpful though recently (what with Uncanny Avengers), like not totally a bad guy, Rama-Tut on the other hand is always being mean spirited. I imagine a super psychologist would have a field day with Kang's various persona and need to redefine himself as the ultimate conqueror, before of course Kang inevitably kills the psychologist for attempting to understand him.

Lol, after reading that, I suddenly had a vision of Dr. Doom being Kang's therapist.

Clearly Dr Bong is therapist for both of these super-villains, he helped Deadpool out and Wade's certifiably insane. I can see it now, Dr Doom holds Bong down while Kang clobbers his head in with his own hand, but then of course Bong reveals that getting them to work together to beat him up was part of his plan all along.

Best villains are those you can't decide whether to hate them or not. For example: Mystique, or even better - Loki.

Green Goblin for only the fact that it is entertaining watching them kill each other for the title.