The 1980s were a golden age forcartoons, which often featured some creatively creepy villains that linger in memory even all these decades later. The mostfamous and iconic cartoons of the 1980susually had some sort of overarching villain or antagonists driving the plot forward, creating new dastardly plans for the heroes to have to foil every Saturday. Some of these evildoers could be surprisingly creepy or even traumatic, leaving lasting impressions that carry over well into the modern day.
Compared to other eras,the 80s were somewhat looser with what television aimed at children could get away with. Far from the harmless hi-jinks ofScooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang, toy-focused 80s cartoons needed a fearsome repertoire of bad guys to drive merchandise sales. While plenty of modern cartoon villains can be just as terrifying, it remains to be seen whether they’ll stand the test of time quite like some of the spookier bad guys of 80s animation.
10Cobra Commander
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
G.I. Joe: A Real American Herowalked an awkward line as an 80s cartoon that needed to be kept relatively child-friendly that nevertheless was themed around war.Rather than try to map out any real-world conflict between actual countries, the series was sure to use the fictional terrorist organization COBRA as its over-the-top villain, giving the whole story more of the feel of a superhero show than anything else. The leader of COBRA was none other than Cobra Commander, a tyrannical mastermind known for his blank reflective face mask.
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Cobra Commander might not be creepy in the traditional sense,but there’s something to be said about a literal terrorist leader as the primary antagonist of a kid’s show. Christopher Collins' screeching raspy voice brought iconic life to the emotionless mask of the character, constantly berating his own minions for their incompetence in a frightening manner. Even if he was sometimes the butt of a joke, Cobra Commander’s fist-shaking rage and vitriolic need for world domination made him a wonderfully evil force of nature.
9Mumm-Ra
ThunderCats
One of the more bizarre Saturday morning cartoons from an era in which producers were willing to throw anything at the screen and see what sticks,ThunderCatsis a unique premise with a uniquely creepy bad guy.The sword-and-sorcery series centered on a race of feline humanoid barbarians who end up stranded on Earth.Enraged by their existence, the ThunderCats were constantly harassed by the desiccated Mumm-Ra, an ancient sorcerer in the style of an undead Egyptian mummy.
Mumm-Ra was a powerful villain, able to conjure all sorts of magical spells that spied on the ThunderCats and harried them with animated minions.In particular, Mumm-Ra’s mutant army was particularly fearsome, giving the ThunderCats no end of trouble. While the variousincarnations of theThunderCatsshow may have presented some varitations of Mumm-Ra, his frightening gaunt frame is still the most haunting in the original 80s cartoon.
8Doctor Claw
Inspector Gadget
Inspector Gadgetwas perfect proof that a hero and villain can work best when they’re diametrically opposed, as was the case for the titular cybernetic cop and his archnemesis.Inspector Gadgetintroduced new cases every week as the robotically-enhanced goofball Inspector did his best to solve international crimes alongside his niece, Penny. His most common enemy was the evil Doctor Claw, a mysterious figure who could instill terror with the wave of a hand.
It’s too bad the live-actionInspector Gadgetmovies failed to understand this part of the character’s appeal.
What made Doctor Claw so compelling as a villain was the fact that his face was never shown, always turned away from the camera sitting in his chair so that the only part of him visible was his intimidating spiked gauntlet.Between his dastardly schemes and his almost demonic frightening voice, Doctor Claw allowed viewers' imaginations to run wild with fear imagining what he might look like. It’s too bad the live-actionInspector Gadgetmovies failed to understand this part of the character’s appeal.
7Skeletor
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
One of the most famous villains from an 80s cartoon ever, Skeletor is also among the few to possibly surpass the hero of his series in popularity.He-Man and the Masters of the Universewas an odd fantasy series that has since inspired manyHe-Man spin-off showsand even a live-action film starring Dolph Lundgren as the titular warrior prince. Constantly harassing He-Man and company was the insidious villain Skeletor, named after his skull-like visage.
Skeletor aimed to conquer the mystical Castle Grayskull which gave He-Man his powers, hoping to use its magical powers to conquer all of Eternia.Like Cobra Commander, Skeletor might be seen as an almost endearingly evil rapscallion today, but he could be quite frightening at times despite his goofy high-pitched voice. Between his empty glaring eye sockets, demonic body, and terrifying monster-filled home of Snake Mountain, Skeletor has persisted into pop culture for so long for a good reason.
6Krang
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Perhaps the most successful kid’s cartoon to come out of the 80s,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtleshas continued to capture the hearts and minds of child viewers with each successive new generation of turtle power.The bizarre name of the show evokes the premise, in which a quartet of turtles mutated by a mysterious ooze learn the art of ninjutsu while living in the sewers to protect the world from all sorts of heinous villains. Shredder may have been the primary antagonist of the series, but he’s far outdone by Krang when it comes to creep factor.
Rather than a simple human ninja, Krang’s origins are far more esoteric, an extra-dimensional alien conqueror with his sights set on the Earth.
His gross chewed gum appearance and disturbing appendages were supplemented by his eerie android body, whose stomach he hid in while going about his evil plots. From his menacing technology like the Technodrome to his slimy exterior, Krang was a noticeably creepy villain in a show filled with weird creatures.
5Unicron
Transformers: The Movie
The only 80s cartoon to rivalTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesin terms of its pop culture influence was easilyThe Transformers, which has since evolved into a multi-decade long media franchise. Beginning with the humble original animated series,The Transformerschronicled the war between Autobots and Decepticons, two factions of the same cybernetic race capable of transforming into all sorts of vehicles.The first few seasons culminated inTransformers: The Movie, a feature-length film that even got a theatrical release.
Transformers: The Movieintroduced a terrifying villain that would become a series staple in later years, the planet-smashing Unicron. Unlike the long-standing villain Megatron, Unicron was an existential threat that existed outside the dynamic of the petty Autobot-Decepticon war, a planet-sized Transformer capable of devouring entire worlds.Surprisinglyvoiced by a near-death Orson Welles, Unicron’s chilling presence and esoteric terror were enough to strike fear in the hearts of all Transformers fans.
4Tex Hex
BraveStarr
Compared to the likes ofTeenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesorThe Transformers,BraveStarrwas a far more forgotten gem of 80s animation.The strange neo-Western science fiction saga took place in a cowboy-themed future on the planet of New Texas, in which the lone lawman Marshal Bravestarr called upon the power of various spirit animals to help him do battle with various alien criminals. The most villainous of the mall was Tex Hex, the series' overarching bad guy, a decrepit zombie-like outlaw with a deadly affinity for magic.
Tex’s suite of magical abilities and jarringly creepy appearance has made him continue to stick in the memories of 80s kids even as the legacy ofBraveStarritself fades.
Tex Hex’s cackling Southern accent and frightening rotten purple skin made him a standout cartoon villain in terms of spookiness. His magical powers made him even scarier, able to harass his enemies by teleporting around or even transform himself into massive dinosaur-like demons with raspy roars. Tex’s suite of magical abilities and jarringly creepy appearance has made him continue to stick in the memories of 80s kids even as the legacy ofBraveStarritself fades.
3The Grundel
The Real Ghostbusters
While most 80s cartoons went on to get a movie after a few seasons of syndication and popularity,The Real Ghostbustersdid the reverse. A loose cartoon adaptation capitalizing on the popularity of theGhostbustersfilms, the series took an animated look at new versions of Ray, Egon, Peter and Winston as they battled new ghosts throughout New York City. Unlike most 80s cartoons, which mostly stuck to one overarching bad guy,The Real Ghostbusterswas more of a monster-of-the-week show.
Of the creepy ghouls andghosts ofThe Real Ghostbusters, the terrifying Grundel easily stands out as the creepiest of an already creepy bunch.The hat-wearing apparition’s M.O. was to slowly corrupt young children by pushing them to bad behavior, gradually morphing them into literal monsters.Between his manipulation, wheezing raspy voice, and unsettling face, The Grundel represetned something far more sinister than any other 80s cartoon villain.
2Hordak
She-Ra: Princess of Power
It says a lot thatHe-Man and the Masters of the Universewas popular enough to get its own spin-off series contemporaneously, withShe-Ra: Princess of Poweralso releasing in the late 80s.The show centered on Adam’s twin sister Adora, who was kidnapped at birth and raised on the home planet of the vicious villain Hordak, groomed to become the next head of his villainous Horde. Breaking free of her upbringing, Adora became the heroine She-Ra, breaking away from Hordak and leading the rebellion against him personally.
In some ways, Hordak was even more of a compelling villain than even Skeletor.His gaunt, vampiric face, intimidating heft, and sleek black armor capable of transforming into various forms of weaponry made him a far more competent villain.Even if he never rose to the same heights as Skeletor, those in the know will recognize Hordak as the far more terrifying of the two.
1Venger
Dungeons & Dragons
Before the world’s most famous role-playing game was adapted into a brilliant live-action movie that flopped at the box office, it was a seldom-known but beloved 80s cartoon.Dungeons & Dragonsfollowed six kids and teenagers as they were teleported into the fantastical world of the game, aided in their various quests by the mysterious Dungeon Master. While series staple villains like Tiamat were a menacing presence, the series put forth an original creation with Venger.
A one-horned sorcerer with black wings and sharp fangs, Venger was an intimidating sight indeed for the normally happy-go-lucky antics of the show’s adventuring party. Venger was a sorcerer over 1000 years of age who could conjure unbelievably frightening acts of magic, reciting incantions with the vocal talents of the one and only Peter Cullen. Of all theDungeons & Dragonsvillainsthecartooncould have used, Venger is somehow one of the creepiest villains of the decade he debuted in.
