Legendary Iconic Villains of Pop Culture, Part 1 · 1:33pm May 24th, 2022

Megatron is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Transformers media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. Megatron is the cruel and tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, a faction of sentient, war-mongering robotic lifeforms that seeks to conquer their home planet of Cybertron and the rest of the known universe. He serves as the archenemy of Optimus Prime, the leader of the rival Autobot faction. As with all Cybertronians, Megatron has the ability to transform between his robot form and various vehicles or weapons. His alternate modes have ranged from a Walther P38 handgun, a particle-beam weapon, a telescopic laser cannon, and a Cybertronian jet, depending on which continuity he is depicted in.

Megatron's most consistent origin portrays him as having risen up from being an oppressed worker to a gladiatorial champion who took the legendary name of one of the original Thirteen Primes—Megatronus—as his own. He shortened his name when he became a political revolutionary who attempted to reform Cybertron's corrupt governing body and called for an end to its decrepit caste system. As the mentor of the young Orion Pax, Megatron preached that freedom of self-determination was the right of all sentient beings. When Megatron grew corrupted by his power, Orion would utilize his teachings against him as Optimus Prime. In most incarnations, after meeting his demise at Optimus' hands, Megatron is resurrected as Galvatron.

The Shredder also known as Oroku Saki is a supervillain and the main antagonist of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. Created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, he first appeared in the comic book Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 in May 1984. The Shredder is depicted as the ruthless leader of a criminal organization known as the Foot Clan, and serves as the archenemy of the Turtles and Splinter.

In the 1987 animated series, Oroku Saki and Hamato Yoshi were both members of the Foot Clan in Japan. After Saki framed him for the attempted murder of a visiting sensei, Yoshi was forced to exile himself to New York City, where he lived in the sewers with four pet turtles that were accidentally dropped down a storm drain.

In the following years, Saki took leadership of the Foot Clan and took on his Shredder persona. He also met a trans-dimensional alien called Krang and used the advanced technology at his disposal to replace the Foot Ninja with robots called the Foot Soldiers. He secretly moved to New York, where he found Yoshi still alive. In an attempt to kill his old foe, Shredder dumped mutagen in the sewers. This mutates Yoshi into Splinter, and he starts training the also mutated Turtles in ninjutsu. After the Turtles discovered their operation in New York City, Shredder became their enemy and would stop at nothing until they were defeated, often holding the Turtles' human ally April O'Neil captive as bait.

Cobra Commander is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero franchise. He is the supreme leader of the terrorist organization Cobra and the archenemy of the G.I. Joe Team.

Cobra Commander is a fanatical leader who rules with an iron fist and demands total loyalty or allegiance. His objective is total control of the world's governments, people, wealth, and resources, brought about by revolution and chaos. He is believed to have personally led uprisings in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and other trouble spots, while being held responsible for kidnapping scientists, businessmen, and military leaders, forcing them to reveal their top level secrets.

Over the years, Cobra Commander has suffered assassination attempts, and even an imposter posing as him for a time. However, he always manages to find a way out of every situation, having become a constant foil for the G.I. Joe Team, who have ended up fighting Cobra almost exclusively. No matter how dire or unscathed, Cobra Commander's hatred and drive have only grown ruthless and more focused.

Dangerously destabilized, Cobra Commander's persona runs the gamut from friendly and charismatic, to terrifyingly brutal and psychopathic. His charm can twist intentions and morals, so that his rhetoric actually reads as plausible and relatable to his minions. Psychoanalysts who have studied his case files, have described him as an ingenious hustler with visions of grandeur, which makes him all the more dangerous. Most dictators are hampered by pretending to pursue a noble cause, but Cobra Commander does not have that problem. He hopes to fray the fabric of society, using terrorism, tyranny, and economic slavery, to uproot the existing power structures around the world.

Mumm-Ra is a fictional supervillain and the main antagonist of the ThunderCats franchise. He is an undead evil sorcerer bound to the servitude of four malevolent, godlike entities known as the Ancient Spirits of Evil. Native to the planet of Third Earth, Mumm-Ra's goal is to destroy the ThunderCats and ensure his world remains under his control.

The demon sorcerer Mumm-Ra is the self-proclaimed "ever-living source of evil" on Third Earth, possessed of powers of sorcery and an ageless lifespan. He is, in fact, a bound servant to the Ancient Spirits of Evil (represented by four anthropomorphic statues of a boar, crocodile, vulture, and ox) who provide him with power and virtual immortality to further his pursuit of spreading their dark influence throughout Third Earth.

Residing within the Black Pyramid amid the ruins of what appears to be an ancient Egyptian civilization, Mumm-Ra exists in a decayed, weakened form that must return to a stone sarcophagus to replenish his energy. He can summon the power to transform himself into a more vigorous, muscular form - Mumm-Ra, the Ever-Living - by reciting the incantation: "Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form to Mumm-Ra, the Ever-Living!" While in this form, Mumm-Ra possesses fortification of his mystical might — casting spells, throwing energy bolts, etc. — to battle his foes. He can also alter his physical form into a variety of alter-egos to deceive his enemies.

Seemingly invincible in whatever form he chooses, Mumm-Ra appears to have a singular weakness: seeing his own hideous reflection neutralizes his ability to remain outside the Black Pyramid and forces him to withdraw there in his emaciated mummy form. However, at the beginning of the second season, the Ancient Spirits of Evil overcome this shortcoming. Mumm-Ra is a master of deception, and will use whatever means necessary to fight against the forces of good. In later episodes, while endowing Mumm-Ra with his powers, the statues of the Ancient Spirits of Evil come down from their perches, and extend their arms over him.

He uses his magic to create disguises and deceive the ThunderCats on various occasions. Among these are: Diamondfly (in the episode "Queen of Eight Legs"), Gregory Gregion ("All That Glitters"), Silky ("The Garden of Delights"), The Netherwitch ("The Astral Prison"), and Pumm-Ra (in the episode "Pumm-Ra"). He once took the form of King Arthur to acquire the legendary magic sword Excalibur, using it against the Sword of Omens.

In a few episodes, Mumm-Ra has an even more powerful form beyond "Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living" called "Mumm-Ra the All-Powerful": in this manifestation, he absorbs the entire power of the Ancient Spirits of Evil to become grander in size and strength, and the design pattern on his loin cloth changes, as does his voice. This form is only presented in the series three times. In another incarnation, calling himself "Mumm-Ra the Dream Master", he enters the Thundercats' dreams to subliminally influence them.

Mumm-Ra is regarded as immortal, and when defeated, he simply returns to his sarcophagus. Mumm-Ra cannot be truly killed; even in cases where his body is destroyed, he will eventually be restored, as he often states: "Wherever evil exists, Mumm-Ra lives!"

Later, Mumm-Ra is shown to have a blue undead, bulldog-like companion named Ma-Mutt, capable of flight and supernatural feats of strength and speed. He is generally evil, though some episodes depict him as having sympathetic qualities. Ma-Mutt is the only living creature Mumm-Ra shows any compassion and love for - in one episode, after the machine in his evil plan is destroyed, he frantically searches for Ma-Mutt, and upon finding him, apologizes for being horrible to him.

Fed up with Mumm-Ra's repeated failures, the Ancient Sprirts of Evil demand he destroy the ThunderCats or be exiled from Third Earth. When he misses the deadline, they trap him in a crystal with a miniature pyramid and cast him to the furthest reaches of the universe. When the ThunderCats rebuild and colonize New Thundera, the Spirits free Mumm-Ra and rebuild his cauldron on Third Earth.

Skeletor is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Masters of the Universe franchise created by Mattel, serving as the archenemy of He-Man. He is typically depicted as a blue-skinned humanoid who wears a purple hood over his bare-bone skull. Skeletor is determined to gain the powers of Castle Grayskull and rule the universe; however, the incompetence of his henchmen is always an impediment to achieving his ambitions.

In the 1980s cartoon series, Skeletor is a former pupil of Hordak, a high-ranking commander of the Evil Horde. When Hordak invaded Eternia and kidnapped one of the King and Queen's twin babies from the palace, Man-At-Arms and the Royal Guard captured his apprentice, Skeletor, and forced him to divulge the whereabouts of his master, who had retreated to his base of operations, Snake Mountain. When cornered, Hordak opened a random dimensional portal (later revealed to have led to Etheria) and leaped through with the baby Princess Adora in his possession. Skeletor remained on Eternia, raised an army of powerful minions of his own and took over as ruler of Snake Mountain. Skeletor's main goal is to conquer the mysterious fortress of Castle Grayskull, from which He-Man draws his powers. If he succeeds, Skeletor would be able to conquer not only Eternia, but the whole universe. At the same time, his other goal is to take revenge on Hordak and overthrow Horde Prime in his bid to conquer the universe.

Side Note: Skeletor was also the inspiration for the 2019 self-help book What Would Skeletor Do? Diabolical Ways to Master the Universe by Robb Pearlman.

Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. The character is the primary antagonist in the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the primary protagonists throughout the prequel trilogy. Star Wars creator George Lucas has collectively referred to the first six episodic films of the franchise as "the tragedy of Darth Vader". He has become one of the most iconic villains in popular culture, and has been listed among the greatest villains and fictional characters ever.

Originally a slave on Tatooine, Anakin Skywalker is a Jedi prophesied to bring balance to the Force. He is lured to the dark side of the Force by Chancellor Sheev Palpatine / Darth Sidious and becomes a Sith Lord, assuming the title of Darth Vader. After a lightsaber battle with his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar, in which he is severely injured, Vader is transformed into a cyborg. He then serves the Galactic Empire for over two decades as its chief enforcer. Vader ultimately redeems himself by saving his son, Luke Skywalker, and killing Palpatine, sacrificing his own life in the process. He is also the secret husband of Padmé Amidala, the biological father of Princess Leia. In the non-canonical Star Wars Legends continuity, he is also the grandfather of Ben Skywalker, his eponym Anakin Solo, Jaina Solo and Darth Caedus (Jacen Solo), and the great-grandfather of Allana Solo.

In addition to the first six Star Wars films, the character appears in the anthology film Rogue One. He also appears in television series (most substantially The Clone Wars) and numerous iterations of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, including video games, novels, and comic books. Due to Vader's popularity, various merchandise of the character, such as action figures and replicas of his lightsaber, has been produced.