by Jared Garrett

Created on: April 16, 2008

If you go back and peruse the annals of cinema, you will quickly find that the highest-grossing movies each year are consistently fantasy films. The reason for this could be the magic and other mysterious powers in use, good characters who engage our hearts or even the often imaginative creatures and sets.

But this writer believes that one of the most important elements to a successful fantasy flick is a memorable villain who grabs the viewers' imagination and becomes an icon in our culture. For this reason, the list of truly memorable fantasy villains must be limited to eleven. Here are the fantasy villains that have become cultural icons for our cinematic consciousness and have influenced fantasy villains the world over.

#1: Khan in "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan", played by Ricardo Montalban.

Montalban, of Fantasy Island fame, was at his best in this movie, playing a confident villain opposite the overplayed Kirk. These two had a history and Khan was vengeance incarnate. He was a genetically altered superman who had no mercy and would not stray from his path of domination and chaos.

The bugs in the ear iced his reputation as a totally memorable villain. Khan was about the most enjoyable element in a series of rather lame films.

#2: The Queen/Witch from Disney's Snow White, voiced by Lucille La Verne.
Yes, this was Walt Disney's first full-length feature, but it is also arguably Disney's best. It won an honorary Oscar for film innovation, and for good reason. The Queen who became an old crone and was a witch was marvelously done. Her query of the mirror has been taken and used in countless other films. Her transformations were marvelous and her evil was positively scary. She had no mercy but had greater depth than any other character in this flick. She is an iconic fantasy villain!

#3. Lex Luthor in the Superman franchise, originally played by Gene Hackman.
Luthor was a genius. He was peeved about being bald and angry at a world that simply did not seem willing to give him his due. What's more, he had an idiot sidekick and he was too often forced to live on the outskirts of society.

We love to hate him. We laugh at his jokes and are appalled at his totally heartless quest for power, fame and money. His evil was complete when he allied with the three villains from Krypton in order to gain power. If you don't think that Dr. Evil from Austin Powers wasn't partially modeled after Lex Luthor, think again.

#4. The Wicked Witch of the West in "The Wizard of Oz", played by

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