- 17 hours ago
From galactic conquerors to reality-bending monsters, these animated baddies ruled the 2000s with schemes, style, and pure menace. Join us as we count down the most devious, intimidating, and downright entertaining cartoon villains from 2000 to 2009, featuring unforgettable foes from some of animation’s biggest shows. Who was the vilest of the decade? Let us know in the comments below!
Transcript
00:00I am the keeper of the talismans. I am the apocalypse of which legend speaks. And I am, for once
00:10and for all, your executioner.
00:14Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at some of the most devious, intimidating, and downright entertaining animated TV baddies
00:22from 2000 to 2009.
00:24Who are you? Joker.
00:27Number 20. Skeleton King. Super Robot Monkey, Team Hyper Force Go.
00:32No, the proper question is, where are my monkeys?
00:37Once upon a time, a humble alchemist created the robot monkeys to protect Sugar Zoom City.
00:42Tragically, the alchemist became corrupted by evil and transformed into the undead warlord, the Skeleton King.
00:49With his undead army and corrupted minions, he aims to eradicate all life on Sugar Zoom, including his own creations,
00:56the Hyper Force.
00:56Even after he's killed in Season 2, the essence of his corruption still haunts the universe, while his most devoted
01:02servants ensure his return to terrorize the universe all over again.
01:06Above all else, this bag of bones is a grim reminder that even the purest souls can succumb to the
01:12darkness, and evil can never be fully destroyed.
01:14Your chosen one is no more, Monkey Team.
01:19Your destiny lies with me as my slave.
01:24Number 19. Evil Emperor Zurg. Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.
01:28We first meet this cosmic conqueror in Toy Story 2 as Buzz Lightyear's arch-nemesis and a blatant spoof of
01:34Darth Vader.
01:35Surrender Buzz Lightyear. I have won.
01:39I'll never give in. You killed my father.
01:42No Buzz. I am your father.
01:46No!
01:49In the spinoff series, Zurg gets a personality overhaul where he is much more flamboyant and maniacal, made more entertaining
01:56by Wayne Knight's performance.
01:58I'll just have to pick your brains.
02:02Where's my cranial dissectable?
02:04I'll just have to pick up the boss.
02:08Despite his revamped personality, his hatred for Buzz Lightyear burns brighter than ever, and he'll concoct any diabolical scheme imaginable
02:15to conquer the galaxy and destroy Star Command.
02:17Unfortunately for Zurg, Team Lightyear foils his plans every time, leaving the disgraced Emperor to lick his wounds before inevitably
02:25trying again.
02:25You're telling me my plan.
02:28I already know my plan.
02:29I made up the plan.
02:31It's my plan.
02:32What I don't know is how close you are to accomplishing my plan!
02:37Number 18.
02:38Shindu.
02:38Jackie Chan Adventures.
02:39While your Toru impresses Valmont, perhaps he should be aided by the Shadow God.
02:51900 years ago, Shindu, one of several demon sorcerers, was sealed away in a statue, his power stripped into 12
02:58talisman.
02:59This forced him to rely on the help of human pawns to escape his stone prison, and later the Netherworld.
03:04Fortunately for him, he's a cunning strategist who can see all the angles able to manipulate others, even his own
03:10siblings, to fulfill his own need.
03:12That's not to say a silver tongue is his only weapon.
03:28He's still a demonic dragon.
03:30When in his true form and the talismans return to him, he's a formidable beast who could easily lay waste
03:36to the world.
03:36Number 17.
03:37Heather.
03:38Total Drama.
03:38Whoever said, don't hate the player, hate the game, clearly never had to compete with Heather.
03:43The minute the OG queen of mean set foot on Count Wawanaqua, we knew she was going to be trouble,
03:48and we were right.
03:49Despite being the player everyone hated, she manipulated her way to the penultimate episode, managing to avoid elimination every time
03:56and making time to spite anyone who crossed her, especially her own teammates.
04:00Eventually, she got a hilarious taste of karma that cost her the game.
04:04And her hair.
04:05He shaved my head!
04:07True!
04:08But you didn't actually accept the dare.
04:11If you had, you'd still be bald, but at least you'd be in the game.
04:15Other villains took the spotlight in future seasons, but it'd be wise not to disrespect the franchise's first queen bee.
04:22You really are a two-faced, backstabbing, lying little, no-good, selfish, heartless, pushy, bossy, mean bully of a girl!
04:31Number 16.
04:32General Grievous.
04:33Star Wars.
04:34Clone Wars.
04:34Before his big-screen debut in Revenge of the Sith, General Grievous first appeared in the Clone Wars miniseries.
04:40A remorseless Jedi hunter and leader of the Separatist droids, Grievous is a literal one-man army.
04:46His entire body is a living weapon, able to move and wield lightsabers in ways that make our heads spin.
04:56He effortlessly killed several Jedi, brutally might we add.
05:01Honestly, he was primed to become a threat that only the strongest of Sith could contend with, at least until
05:06Mace Windu crushed his chest and turned him into a wheezing waste of space.
05:10It's honestly eerie seeing Grievous so merciless and frightening compared to his more cowardly later appearances later down the line.
05:17It is a valiant effort, but, as you can see, ultimately futile.
05:25Now, Jedi, prepare yourself, for you are about to leave this world.
05:32Number 15, Norman Osborn, a.k.a. the Green Goblin, the spectacular Spider-Man.
05:37Tonight, you're in a particularly unfriendly neighborhood.
05:40Spider-Man!
05:44Behind the mask, Norman Osborn was a ruthless businessman who often neglected his only son, Harry, and never took accountability
05:51for his misdeed.
05:52After exposing himself to experimental chemicals, he became a psychotic and theatrical menace ready to paint New York green.
05:58And you've been working with Chameleon the whole time?
06:01Not at first.
06:03As Goblin, I have headed OzCorp to steal my gobweb inhibitor.
06:06As the Goblin, he pulled multiple strings to earn his crown as the city's true big man of crime, and
06:12he threw his son under the bus to keep Spider-Man guessing.
06:14He even cheated death after the climatic final battle.
06:18Even with a limited appearance, this iteration of the Goblin left a big enough bang that he's still considered one
06:23of the best.
06:24Sorry for the delay, Mr. Roman.
06:26Don't apologize.
06:27You guys, I never do.
06:31Number 14, Joker, The Batman.
06:33Who are you?
06:36My cod.
06:41No!
06:42Every Batman needs a Joker.
06:44In 2004's The Batman gave us one of the most unhinged interpretations of the clown prince of crime.
06:50Like other great interpretations, Joker's most frightening aspect is his unpredictability.
06:54One minute, he's a maniacal, shoelish prankster out to cause chaos for Gotham.
06:59Nothing that won't put a smile on your face.
07:03The next minute, he's a homicidal lunatic out for blood with insane monkey-like fighting moves.
07:07He's convinced that he and Batman are two sides of the same coin, and the fun won't stop until his
07:12favorite sparring partner and everyone around him are as broken as he is.
07:16Number 13, Shirelle, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
07:19In ancient Japan, Oroku Saki was an almighty warrior who merged with a Tengu to grant himself unlimited power and
07:26crown himself the Shredder.
07:27I will finish you first.
07:30In modern days, a new evil has taken the title for himself, a criminal Ultram named Shirelle.
07:35While he stole the real Saki's identity, he made it his own as the Ninja Turtle's most fearsome enemy.
07:41God, none of you will leave here alive!
07:45His speed and strength were unmatched, driven by his need to conquer the entire universe and snuff out the other
07:50Ultrams.
07:51There's nothing he won't stoop to in order to achieve his goals, and even when the original Saki is resurrected,
07:57it's hard to see Shirelle as anything less than the one true Shredder.
08:00You freaks have been a thorn in my side long enough.
08:08No one opposes the Shredder.
08:10Number 12, Megatron, Transformers Animated.
08:13Transformers Animated gave us a new incarnation of the iconic Decepticon leader, and it packed quite the punch.
08:19I pledge my own questioning loyalty to Megatron and the Decepticon cause.
08:24I shall devote my spark to achieving our goal of a Decepticon-controlled Cybertron.
08:30By any means necessary.
08:33In his very first appearance, he gets taken out of action and reduced to a severed head, locked into stasis
08:38for 50 years.
08:39But even at his lowest, he's a manipulative mastermind, able to play the long game until he's fully restored, ready
08:46to claim the awe spark for himself.
08:48He's also less forgiving than previous interpretations.
08:51Most versions allow Starscream to live because watching him fail is entertaining.
08:54But this Megatron has no patience for traitors.
08:57He's a bit on a mission and won't stop until every foe is scrap metal.
09:02Oh, please.
09:08Number 11, Vilgax, Benten.
09:12I will see to this task myself.
09:16Held as one of the most fearsome warlords in the universe, Vilgax has claimed and crushed countless worlds on his
09:21never-ending quest for power.
09:23Only one thing can satiate his appetite, the Omnitrix.
09:26With its power, he can command an army of transforming aliens to lay siege to the rest of the galaxy.
09:31I am Vilgax, and I have come for the Omnitrix.
09:36And, uh, I'm guessing you're not with the good guys.
09:39Unfortunately for him, his attempts are constantly thwarted by a 10-year-old Ben Tennyson.
09:44While his time in the original show was brief, his resilience, intimidation, and immeasurable hatred for Ben ensured that we
09:50wouldn't see the last of him even after he was tossed into the null void.
09:54I am still Vilgax, conqueror of 10 worlds.
09:59Number 10, Father, Codename Kids Next Door.
10:01I am most unsatisfied.
10:07Yes, Father.
10:10At first, those kids next door were a minor nuisance.
10:13That's why I entrusted you with their destruction.
10:17But because of your failures, they constantly interfere with my schemes to have adults rule the world.
10:25For all their crazy, goofy enemies, by far the creepiest and most dangerous bad guys the kids next door ever
10:32dealt with were the delightful children from down the lane.
10:35Do you have what it takes to play with them big boys?
10:40Who could father such soulless villains?
10:43Turns out, there's spawn of a shadowy figure with the ability to manipulate fire like a demon, who simply goes
10:48by the name Father, and is able to summon an obscene amount of flames from his body.
10:53Father is the most dangerous adult the kids next door have ever had to face, and brings a deadly new
10:58meaning to the phrase, time out.
11:00He might be named Father, but don't expect to find him playing catch or teaching his children to ride a
11:05bike.
11:05I said pizza!
11:09Number 9, Mom, Futurama.
11:11From one malicious parent to the next, Mom may wear the guise of a sweet old lady, but in reality,
11:16she's a smack-talking, cantankerous old woman who'll do anything to get her way.
11:24She's the richest person on earth with the mind of a tycoon and is always looking to make more dough
11:29at the expense of others, be they humans or robots.
11:32No one messes with Mom.
11:37Her villainous nature is made all the more hilarious with the addition of her filthy habits, whether it's her constant
11:42smoking or her unsettling on-again, off-again sex life with Professor Farnsworth.
11:47I thought this was a spontaneous whirlwind of hot, dry sex.
11:51Her sons are proof of her poor parenting skills and, somewhat fortunately, are the most frequent targets of her abuse.
11:58Number 8, Dr. Drakken, Kim Possible.
12:00The world's greatest teenage spy deserves an equally menacing nemesis.
12:03However, that's not the case for Kim Possible, who got stuck with Drakken.
12:08You think you're all that, but you're not.
12:13A petty, easily riled-up megalomaniac who is constantly fooled in his plans for domination.
12:19He may have a brilliant mind, but his bumbling attitude always ends up leading to his downfall,
12:24a flaw that may leave him wallowing in defeat, but makes us split our sides in laughter.
12:28My plan will reveal itself in do-core, She-Go.
12:32Who wants to build a robotic?
12:34I do, I do.
12:35She-Go may be the more lethal of the two in terms of combat,
12:39but there's no way we'd leave the Dr. Evil of cartoon characters off this list.
12:44Pretty impressive for a college reject.
12:46Hey, college dropout, She-Go.
12:47They let me in, I let myself out.
12:50Number 7, Vladimir Vlad Masters, aka Vlad Plasmius, Danny Phantom.
12:55You, Danny Phantom, and I, Vlad Plasmius, together we could rule.
13:00If you think you can hold a grudge, wait till you meet Vlad Masters.
13:04Once a friend of Jack Fenton back in his college days, a freak accident robbed him of his social
13:09standing, academic future, and love of his life, all of which he blames on Jack.
13:14Dude, you are one seriously crazed up fruit loop.
13:18That is never going to happen.
13:20Yes, well, once your father is out of the way, we'll see how you feel.
13:24As a result of the accident, he became the villainous ghost known as Vlad Plasmius,
13:28and his deep-seated hatred for the Fentons made him a prime candidate to become the
13:33arch-enemy of Danny Phantom.
13:34While he may be driven by revenge, Vlad is nothing if not a show-off which he makes
13:39painfully clear to Danny with his mastery of his ghostly powers.
13:44Defeating you was just the first act of my little show.
13:47Get ready for act two!
13:49Number 6, Denzel Crocker, The Fairly Oddparents.
13:52How is this possible, you might ask?
13:55Why, with the help of...
13:56Fairy godparents!
13:58And you thought your teachers were bad.
14:00At least they weren't obsessed and completely consumed with capturing fairy godparents.
14:04Timmy Turner's psychotic homeroom teacher only has one goal in life, and that's to prove
14:09to the world that he's not as insane as everyone thinks he is, and that his student does indeed
14:14have magical fairies at his disposal.
14:16Why don't any of the things I wish for ever become reality?
14:19While Vicky might be the most evil babysitter alive with a heart as black as coal, what
14:25sets Crocker apart is that he never comes across as too sympathetic or creepy, just the right
14:30amount of crazy.
14:30His over-the-top gravity-defying freakouts whenever someone even mentions the existence of fairies
14:35are also the highlight of any episode.
14:39There's no child in pain here, but there's going to be!
14:43Number 5, Gorath, Megas XLR.
14:46Resistance from these simpering mammals?
14:49Send in a UMD, and make sure the avatar prototype the Earther stole from us is captured undamaged,
14:56or I'll have your chore blocked.
14:59This alien commander really doesn't like humans.
15:02The master of the Glorth army, Gorath travels back in time to present-day Earth in pursuit
15:07of the ultimate robot known as Megas, which stands for Mechanized Earth Guard Attack System.
15:11Megas and the unlikely slacker hero Coop are the only hope mankind has left to defend itself
15:17from total extinction.
15:19Attention, Eartha Drakes!
15:21Surrender the stolen Warbot, or we vaporize this city!
15:25Unfortunately for Gorath, he's not prepared for the unstoppable radical XLR version of Megas,
15:31complete with an awesome new paint job and a New Jersey attitude to boot.
15:35Despite his various defeats and majority of his forces getting blown to pieces,
15:38Gorath is not one to back down.
15:40This show had plenty of memorable characters, but on any given episode, Gorath would steal the show.
15:46Tread lightly, commander, or you might find yourself at the head of the next assault.
15:51Without a mech!
15:53Number 4. Slade, Teen Titans
15:56It's been a long time, hasn't it, Titans?
15:59A month? A year? A millennium?
16:03Far too long for my tastes, anyway.
16:05From his very first appearance, there was no doubt that this mass mastermind meant business.
16:10Voiced by Ron Perlman, this updated version of the DC Comics character Deathstroke is a force to be reckoned with.
16:16Though he's strong enough to take on the Titans all on his own,
16:19his motivation for most of the series was finding an apprentice to carry on his dark legacy.
16:23But even when that fails, he always seems to have another plan right up his sleeve.
16:28In fact, he's so badass that he manages to haunt Robin from beyond the grave
16:32and even makes a deal with a literal devil in order to come back from the dead,
16:36only to turn on him and actually kick his ass.
16:38That's impressively evil.
16:40I am the thing that keeps you up at night.
16:42The evil that haunts every dark corner of your mind.
16:46I will never rest.
16:48And neither will ye.
16:50Number 3. Akul, Samurai Jack
16:52Once again, I am free to smite the world as I did in days long past.
16:59The amalgamation of all evil in the universe takes shape as a demonic looking being
17:04with a laugh that pierces through time itself.
17:06In the beginning, Akul was nothing but formless darkness floating through space
17:10until three mythical gods destroyed him.
17:13However, a small shard of his essence survived and landed on Earth,
17:16eventually taking on the form we all know and fear.
17:19He made whole dominion over the world, but he's constantly bested by our favorite samurai.
17:24Who dares to summon the Master of Masters, the Deliverer of Darkness, the Shogun of Sorrow, Akul?
17:35He has his goofy moments, but the Shogun of Sorrow is not one to be trifled with,
17:40especially when he can shapeshift into your worst nightmares.
17:43Number 2. The Monarch, The Venture Brothers
17:44Ha! That's where you're wrong, Mr. College.
17:48Honey, what are you going on about?
17:50Shh, don't call me that in front of the henchmen. Keep it professional.
17:53It takes guts to draw your supervillain inspiration from a butterfly,
17:57but kudos to The Venture Brothers' primary antagonist for pulling it off
18:01with varying degrees of success.
18:03With a deep-rooted, obsessive, hatred for Thaddeus Venture,
18:06The Monarch is the supervillain we often find ourselves rooting for
18:09due to just how pathetically incompetent he actually is.
18:13I'm going to go check on those boys.
18:17What?
18:18Nothing.
18:19No, I know that, Si. What?
18:21When we entered this relationship, we both agreed that we were both people who did not want kids.
18:27Still, considering he's a wimp that doesn't exactly know much about butterflies,
18:31he still manages to gain a group of devoted henchmen,
18:34not to mention a smoking-hot, yet rather gravelly-voiced partner
18:38in the form of Dr. Mrs. The Monarch.
18:40Well played.
18:41Because when I used to lay my world-weary brow on your perfect breast
18:45and feel the phlegmy rumble of your chest as you told me,
18:49this is heaven.
18:51I believed you.
18:52You can't do that.
18:55Before we continue, be sure to check out WatchMojo's 24-hour livestream.
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19:02Always on, always live.
19:04Are you not entertained?
19:06Number 1. Fire Lord Ozai, Avatar The Last Embraider
19:09You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher.
19:16While this villain remains shrouded in mystery for the majority of the series,
19:20his influence could be felt in every single episode.
19:22As the ruler of the Fire Nation, he causes extensive suffering,
19:26which can be seen in the impression of the Water Tribe,
19:29as well as on the scarred face of his own son.
19:31And all of that happens before he even takes center stage as the main antagonist.
19:35Of course, things change in the finale,
19:38where he shows viewers the true extent of his ruthlessness
19:40with his plans to set fire to the entire Earth Kingdom,
19:43culminating in a legendary showdown with Avatar Aean.
19:47I do have the power.
19:49I have all the power in the world!
19:55His negative influence even ended up rubbing off on his daughter Azula,
19:59who arguably became even more merciless than he was.
20:02You've beaten me at my own game.
20:05Don't flatter yourself.
20:06You were never even a player.
20:08Who do you think was the vilest of the 2000s?
20:11Let us know in the comments down below.
20:17Gandhi is a total blog in thean.