Top 16 80s Kids’ Cartoon Villains
Then buzz it up
August 4th, 2008 at 15:00 by David Schwartz
Did you know that the voice of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles baddie Shredder was actually voiced by Uncle Phil from The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air?
No? Neither did we - and we’re still recovering! Unless someone is playing a joke on us. Damn them! But it got us thinking: Why do we care so much about these characters? What is it about the cartoon baddies that we love so much?
Aren’t we supposed to hate them? Boo them when they come on the screen like some kind of pantomime villain? No, and the reason why is because they are usually the most interesting characters in the cartoon.
So we have decided to come up with 16 of the best 80s cartoon villains. They reason we went for the 80s is because, well, that was when we were all kids. Plus it was a golden era. Or is that what everyone says?
Enjoy, and feel free to tell us which ones we’ve missed…
16. Lotor- Prince of Doom from Voltron
Would have been higher, but how can you take a villain dressed in tights seriously.
15. Miles Mayhem from M.A.S.K
The leader of Venom was the best character in the show. Which, admittedly, isn’t saying all that much.
14. Baron von Greenback from Dangermouse
Dangermouse’s slimy arch-enemy was essentially what Bond nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld would look like if he was a toad. It isn’t easy being green.
13. Darkstorm from Visionaries
Never quite understood why he turned into a giant snail. You really would not be happy with that would you? Your opposite number turns into a lion and you turn in a slimy mollusc. Not exactly a fair fight.
12. Hugo A-Go-Go from Batfink
Gets in purely because of his name.
11. Starscream from Transformers
Megatron’s power-hungry right-hand man was possibly the most realistic characters in the show. He moaned a lot with that annoying high-pitched voice of his, always thought he would do a better job if he was in charge, and wimped out when things turned tough. Sounds like someone you know at work? Plus he transformed into a cool plane. Bonus!
10. Venger from Dungeons and Dragons
Never quite understood why he only had one horn. Where was the other one? Plus, there was one episode where Dungeon Master called him his son. Nooooooooo!
9. Doctor Claw from Inspector Gadget
With such a cool voice and the fact you never saw his face, just a claw, he really should have been higher up the list. But how could any self-respecting villain been beaten by a dog and a little girl in every episode? If we had had our way, he would have sold Gadget for scrap, boiled Brain down into glue and sold Penny into slavery. That really would have been mean.
8. Zoltar from Battle of the Planets
There is something really quite sinister about this guy. We think it’s because he is wearing lipstick and dresses like a dog.
7. Mumm-ra from Thundercats
Who knew Mummies could be so cool?
6. Gargamel from The Smurfs
We can never remember: Did he want to catch the Smurfs to turn them into gold or because he wanted to eat them? They don’t look very tasty, to be honest.
5. Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Uncle Phil??!!!! Really. We are so disappointed.
4. Cobra Commander from GI Joe
We think he had some anger issues. Not sure about the hood either.
3. Serpentor from GI Joe
Just beats Cobra Commander to the coolest character in GI Joe.
2. Megatron from Transformers
Only just pipped to the top spot by Skeletor, Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons, was a worthy adversary for Optimus Prime. Plus he turned into a cool gun.
1. Skeletor
OK, we’ll admit it: we were scared of him too. Looking back now, he’s actually quite funny.
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August 5th, 2008 at 1:42 am
What about Dr. Terror from the Centurions??? He was way scarier than any of the others.
August 5th, 2008 at 3:18 am
No one from tranzor Z. The fix is in man!
August 5th, 2008 at 3:30 am
[...] Ninja Turtles baddie Shredder was actually voiced by Uncle Phil from The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air?read more | digg [...]
August 5th, 2008 at 5:26 am
[...] villian? I know with me and my job, it hasn’t been pretty. Well, now the debate is over, this website has answered that question for us. Of course, i disagree whole heartedly with their number one. I [...]
August 5th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
!?!?!?!
MUMM-RA from THUNDERCATS was the TITS
and what about BEBOP and ROCKSTEADY!
COME ON
August 5th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Megatron should be number 1 by a landslide. Only one to my knowledge that successfully killed his enemy. A part of my soul died that day in the movie theater.
(The cartoon version)
August 5th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
It’s rare for their to be an 80s cartoon I’ve not seen, and I have never even heard of Voltron. Ever. Am I missing out on something?
As regards Zoltar, I believe that depending on whether you were a BOTP, G-Force, Science Ninja Team Gatchaman or Eagle Riders fan, he is actually sometimes also a she, or always an it. It’s a bit confusing.
August 5th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
[...] “I Love the 80’s” on VH1 so that has got to say something. First up we have the Top 16 80’s Cartoon Villains, and I’m not feeling their list. Come On! Gargamel over Starscream, Mumm-ra & Dr. Claw [...]
August 5th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
I always wanted Gargamel to catch the Smurfs and bite their f*cking head off Ozzy-Osbourne-Style. Come on, they had it coming!
August 6th, 2008 at 5:07 am
Did Man-At-Arms and Skeletor promise you a threesome in exchange for that #1 position?
ZOLTAR is #1!! He’s the man- mainly because he was a woman! Awesome!! (or off-putting!!)
#1. Zoltar (Intergalactic Bad-ass/Supermodel of the World)
#2. MantaRay of the Legion Of Doom - Everytime he called Superman “Superfool” I wanted to pee myself.
August 7th, 2008 at 6:54 am
Great list. Don’t think I could’ve come up with anything better. Maybe Eric Raymond from Jem. Oh, and Mon-Starr from Silverhawks.
August 8th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
[...] like to ask a few questions on her current well-being. It’s not exactly what we’d call peachy. Skeletor-like figures and the inability to walk straight isn’t exactly the look we want to see in an agony [...]
August 9th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
MEGATRON IS THE BEST DAMN IT!
August 11th, 2008 at 3:36 am
[...] See the list… [...]
August 11th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
[...] 16 Scariest 80’s cartoon villains [...]
August 12th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
[...] Top 16 80’s Kids Cartoon Villains [...]
August 13th, 2008 at 5:09 am
Atlas from Astroboy wasn’t on there, and no body mentioned him. Motherfucker had a diamond castle in space! That is about a billion times more pimpin’ than Gargamel. And what about Ming the Merciless from Defenders of the Earth? WEAK LIST
August 14th, 2008 at 2:02 am
This list was pretty crappy in my opinion.
August 15th, 2008 at 2:47 am
Shredder?
August 17th, 2008 at 12:48 am
Wait. Where’s the Purple Pie Man from Strawberry Shortcake. That guy gave me nightmares. I kind of had a crush on Skeletor, though.