About This Quiz
Plenty of kids covered their eyes when Skeletor appeared on screen, but do you remember which animated hero was responsible for keeping the terrifying villain away from Castle Grayskull and preventing him from ruling Eternia? Or which Renaissance reptiles kept a bad guy named Shredder from taking control of New York City -- and eating all their pizza? Since the very earliest cartoon series were introduced during the dawn of television in the '50s, the shows' creators have been trying to top one another by coming up with meaner, spookier and more dastardly villains for your favorite cartoon stars to defeat. After all, it would get pretty boring to watch a group of Smurfs or My Little Ponies dance and sing all day, or watch a cartoon house cat nap without a bird or mouse to catch. How would Batman spend his time if there was no one threatening the peace in Gotham City? The Joker and Penguin MAKE that show! And would anyone bother watching Bugs Bunny if he didn't always seem to have a man with a gun (or an evil black duck) chasing him? Take our quiz to see if you can name the antagonists that kept these animated heroes on their toes, and kept viewers tuning in week after week!
It's humiliating for any bad guy to find himself getting constantly beaten by a pretty pink pony named Twilight Sparkle, but that's exactly what happens on many episodes of "My Little Pony." Along with the rest of the Mane Six, Twilight Sparkle works to control an evil villain named Tirek -- a demonic centaur determined to steal the pony's magic and rule Equestria.
The Smurfs would be content to laugh and play the day away, but keeping Gargamel off their backs seriously cuts into the down time. This evil wizard and his cat Azrael are always causing trouble for Papa Smurf and his crew. His intentions can vary, but generally include things like capturing the Smurfs, eating them or even turning them into gold.
Like many cartoon villains, Professor Norton Nimnul from "Chip 'n Dale:Rescue Rangers" wants nothing more than to become rich and powerful. Fortunately, Chip and Dale and their buddies Gadget, Monty, Jack and Zipper are around to keep Nimnul in check.
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On the '80s cartoon show "Teddy Ruxpin," a villain named Quellor serves as the Supreme Oppressor of the Monsters and Villains Organization, or MOVO. To his supreme shame, however, Quellor and his band of bad guys keep finding themselves defeated ... by a Teddy Bear, and his BFF Grubby.
Duke Sigmond Igthorn was an exiled knight living in an abandoned castle on the '80s series "Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears." It was up to Gruffi Gummi and his fellow bears to keep Igthorn under control and maintain peace in Gummi-Glen.
The Care Bears were a lovable group of critters who spread sunshine and sheer joy whether they went on the '80s cartoon series. They were often forced to join forces to keep No Heart -- an evil sorcerer who lived in a rain cloud -- from spoiling their good times.
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Inspector Gadget may not have been much of a hero, but thanks to his niece Penny and dog Brain, he always managed to outwit the evil Dr. Claw -- who appeared on screen as nothing more than a sinister metallic hand.
Bluto has been causing grief for Popeye since way back in the 1930s. Not only dies the buff bad guy -- who has also gone by the name of Brutus in some Popeye series -- keep trying to cause trouble, but he's also on the prowl for Popeye's favorite girl, Olive Oyl.
Kids in the '80s had to be brave to tune in to the "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" cartoons, which featured a seriously spooky bad guy named Skeletor. Luckily, the muscle-bound He-Man was able to thwart Skeletor's plans and protect Castle Grayskull and the land of Eternia.
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All Road Runner wants to do is speed through the desert and say, "Beep, beep," but Wile E Coyote just can't seem to leave the poor bird alone. The clever coyote relies on gadgets from Acme to help him catch the Road Runner, but he is outsmarted every time the pair meet on "Looney Tunes."
On the '80s series "Transformers, " two groups of robots in disguise crash land on Earth. The evil Megatron wants to mine the planet for resources for the Decepticons, leaving it up to our hero Optimus Prime and his group of Autobots to protect humans from destruction.
You can tell you've started to grow up when you start to feel conflicted about who the hero was on "Tom and Jerry." Sure, Tom the cat was always chasing poor Jerry -- but isn't that a cat's job if he wants to keep his spot in the family.
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In the '80s cartoon "Thundercats," Lion-O leads a group of cat-like humans who have landed on a planet called Third Earth. A mummified wizard named Mumm-Ra keeps the cats on their toes, and spends many an episode trying to steal the Eye of Thundera.
On the '80s cartoon "Dungeons and Dragons," a group of six teens -- led by a Hank -- are transported to the D&D realm, and must rely on the Dungeon Master to help them get back home. Unfortunately, the Dungeon Master's son Venger keeps getting in their way.
In the early '90s, kids tuned in to watch Darkwing Duck protect the town of St. Canard from evil. The feathered hero often found himself fighting a group of villains known as the Fearsome Five, including Megavolt -- an insane rat-like creature with the power to harness electricity.
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Magica de Spell has been bothering Scrooge McDuck since the 1960s, when both appeared in comic books drawn by Carl Barks and other legends. By the '80s, Magica was trying to steal Scrooge's dime onscreen in the classic cartoon series "Ducktales."
On the '80s series "G.I. Joe," Cobra Commander and his group of evil-do'ers did what they could to defeat the government and take over the world. Fortunately, U.S. military field commander Duke was able to keep Cobra under control.
Sorry kids, Yogi Bear was the bad guy. It was Ranger Smith who was the hero of this classic series, protecting visitors to Jellystone Park from picnic basket-snatching bears like Yogi and Boo Boo.
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As leader of the criminal group Foot Clan, Shredder wore samurai-like spiked armor to take on a wise ninja rat named Splinter. Luckily, Splinter had help in the four of four pizza-loving turtles.
Elmer Fudd from "Looney Tunes" wouldn't really be such a bad guy if he wasn't always trying to shoot Bugs Bunny while out hunting "wabbits." Fudd has been trying hard to have a successful hunting trip since the 1930s, but a certain carrot-eating cartoon hero always manages to outwit him.
On"The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle," a pair of Russian spies are constantly causing problems in the small town of Frostbite Falls, Minnesota. A flying squirrel named Rocky and his moose buddy Bullwinkle spend their days keeping the spies from doing too much damage.
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On the '90s series "Captain Planet," a group of pollution-fighting kids fought bad guys who wanted to destroy the Earth. They were often forced to unite as one and call superhero Captain Planet in to help defend the world against the Skumm Lord, aka Verminous Skumm.
The Joker has been causing big trouble for Gotham City since Batman comics #1 was released way back in 1940. The caped crusader has been working to protect citizens from the deranged clown on cartoons, in comics and in major movies for more than seven decades.
With his spindly mustache and drab black garb, Dishonest John from "Beany and Cecil" looks every bit the villain that he is. Fortunately, Beany Boy keeps the villain from causing too much trouble with the help of a sea serpent named Cecil.
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Bad guy Snidely Whiplash appeared on "Rocky and Bullwinkle" before landing a bigger part on "The Dudley Do-Right Show" in the '60s. The dastardly villain was always trying to kidnap damsel in distress Nell Fenwick, leaving our hero Dudley Do-Right to save the day the Mountie way.
The claymation Gumby cartoons emerged in the '50s, featuring the flexible green hero Gumby and his loyal sidekick Pokey -- an orange clay horse. A pair of red cube-headed creatures known as the Blockheads -- inspired by the Katzenjammer Kids comics of the 1920s -- were always making mischief for Gumby and his pals.
"Talespin" was one of many beloved Disney cartoons of the '90s, and told the story of pilot named Baloo and his navigator Kit Cloudkicker. Using his ace flying skills, Baloo keeps Cape Suzette safe from air pilot Don Karnage and his airship, the Iron Vulture.
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Jonny Quest has been taking kids on adventures since the 1960s. The young Jonny accompanies his father, a government scientist, on missions around the globe . Many of these trips leave the Quest family feuding with archenemy Dr, Zin.
In the 1950s, kids tuned in to watch cartoon hero Tom Terrific, who wore a funnel-shaped thinking cap that took him on incredible adventures. The show's villain was Crabby Appleton, who proudly proclaimed himself "rotten to the core."
What happens when Superman comes in contact with a cosmic duplication ray? Bizarro Superman is born! Introduced in the '50s, and shown on the "Super Friends" cartoon series, Bizarro was a physical copy of Superman, but preferred dirty deeds over saving Metropolis.
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On "The Powerpuff Girls," the villain HIM is so evil that Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup won't even utter his name. HIM manages to pull off his evil rep despite his devil-in-drag appearance.
On the '60s cartoon series "Underdog," the meek Shoeshine Boy transformed into caped hero Underdog to save the world from evil. Simon Bar Sinister and his assistant Cad Lackey were our hero's primary foes on the show.
Courageous Cat and his sidekick Minute Mouse were an obvious parody of Batman. They protected Empire City , lived in the Cat Cave, and used to Cat Signal to sniff out trouble. One of the biggest villains on the '60s cartoon was Chauncey Flat-Face Frog -- a cigar-smoking, derby-wearing frog with a henchman known as Harry Gorilla.
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On the '60s TV series "Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales," a penguin named Tennessee and his walrus buddy Chumley lived at the Megapolis Zoo. They were always trying to find a way to escape, but zoo director Stanley Livingstone and his assistant Flunky were always foiling their plans for freedom.
You'd think Plankton would be happy running his successful business, The Chum Bucket, but instead, he spends almost every episode of "SpongeBob SquarePants" coveting the one thing he can't get his hands on -- the Krabby Patty secret formula! Fortunately for Mr. Krabs, fry cook SpongeBob is there to foil Plankton's evil schemes.
On the '60s cartoon series "Roger Ramjet," the title character was a government agent who took PEP pills -- yes, seriously -- to boost his energy and beat the bad guys. His archenemy Noodles Romanoff was a gangster and the leader of NASTY, or the National Association of Spies, Traitors and Yahoos.
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On '60s series "Space Ghost," the title character fought space villains with the help of Jan, Jace and Blip the monkey. The group frequently found themselves at odds with Zorak -- a super tall mantis-like villain.
Batfink and his sidekick Karate kept the world safe from evil in the '60s, including bad guy Hugo A-Go-Go, whose only mission was to defeat Batfink and take over the world.
Doctor Dolittle was a vet who could talk to his animal patients. Together with his sidekick Timmy, he traveled the world to help injured or sick pets and wildlife. Unfortunately, the good doctor often found himself tailed by a Pirate named Sam Scurvy, who disguised his submarine lair as a traveling island.
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Believe it or not, villain Big Pete was introduced before Mickey Mouse. The pair have been at odds with one another since the 1920s, though Pete has started to shape up a bit in '00s series "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse."
Tommy Pickles and the other babies on the Nickelodeon series "Rugrats" were so adorable, it's hard to imagine they had any enemies. Yet Tommy's older cousin Angelica was not a fan of her younger relative and his pals Chuckie, Phil and Lil.
Goliath was the leader of the animated stone creatures on cartoon series "Gargoyles." Together with the rest of the living statues, Goliath worked to defeat billionaire David Xanatos and protect the city from evil.
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All poor Tweety Bird wanted to do was live a simple life with Granny on "Looney Tunes." Unfortunately, the canary wasn't Granny's only pet; her cat Sylvester saw Tweety as a delicious snack, and did what he could to get his claws into the bird.
Nickelodeon series "Doug" had plenty of fans in the '90s. Many viewers could relate to Doug's troubles with bully Roger Klotz, who did his best to make Doug's life difficult or make him look bad in front of his crush, Patty.
Jerrica Benton owned a music company by day, but rocked out at night with her band on the cartoon series "Jem." Her band, The Holograms, constantly found themselves at odds with Pizzazz and her band, The Misfits.
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The colorful Rainbow Brite was tasked with replacing darkness with color and light in an '80s cartoon series and movie. She and the rest of the Color Kids often found themselves going head-to-head with the color-hating Murky Dismal and her sidekick Lurky.
On '90s cartoon series "Freakazoid," smart teen Dexter Douglas becomes an unwitting superhero. One of his biggest sources of conflict is The Lobe -- a mad scientist whose entire head is just a giant brain with glasses.
Talk about a loose cannon. Yosemite Sam from "Looney Tunes" was known for his terrible temper, but the mustached villain always seemed to have access to plenty of firearms. Luckily, our hero Bugs Bunny managed to keep Yosemite in check by outwitting him at every turn.
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In the '80s, cartoon hero Danger Mouse defeated enemies with the help of his hamster assistant Penfold. The pair often found themselves at odds with Baron Silas Greenback, and evil toad inspired by the classic gangster persona.