Typical antagonists come and go; some are in the form of Super Villains, and others are maybe just annoying animals. But no decent hero can really reach his or her intended moxie without someone or something acting as the nemesis. And as we all know, there is but one archenemy-type that truly stands out as the most diabolical, most over-all aggravating, and all around completely exasperating: The Mad Scientist. Over the course of comic and cartoon history, it seems that nearly every one worth its pulpy salt has usurped some kind of Mad Scientist. From the early days of Fleischer’s animated Superman toons to the dastardly rogues gallery in Batman, Mad’s have played major rolls in the sheer lunacy of ill-conceived plot lines. So, without further ado (and without using any of the more common Comic Book villains) here are eighteen of the greatest animated Mad Scientists from Television
Fritz Huhnmorder (Robot Chicken)
Let’s start off really simply. Fritz is the evil doctor at the beginning who straps the road-killed chicken-come-android to the chair and makes him watch as much Pop Culture as possible… hence: Robot Chicken!
Bighead (The Ambiguously Gay Duo)
As his name so rightly implies, Bighead has an enormous melon with which he concocts many of the ridiculous schemes that are, somehow, intended to not only trap Ace and Gary, but also out their blatantly obvious, yet rug-swept gayness. As smart as he is, he still manages to lose his cool trying his best to get everyone to see Ace and Gary for who they really are. Well, they aren’t. Right?
Dr. Alphonse Mephisto (South Park)
Fully referencing Marlon Brando’s character in the re-make of The Island of Dr. Moreau, Dr. Mephisto spends his days coming up with odd combinations of hybrid animals, as well. Yes, he even once, claiming animals with one buttocks are doomed, created a seven-assed Galapagos tortoise in hope of winning a Nobel Prize.
Professor Nut-Meg (Felix the Cat)
Felix the Cat’s chief antagonist who looks remarkably like any other Mad Scientist. And, since he’s been around since 1958, it’s quite possible he might be the cookie-cutout for every Mad to follow. The Professor’s bungling and inept sidekick was the one and only Rock Bottom – you can see both of them in this classic clip.
Dr. Weird (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
A mad scientist who lives in an abandoned Lunatic Bin on the always-rainy New Jersey Shore. The ATHF movie reveals several possible correlations between Dr. Weird and Frylock. While Dr. Weird is an Aqua Teen original character, the outside shot of his Nut House is actually a re-hashed animated clip of a Nepalese palace from the TV show Jonny Quest. And there’s some more trivia for ya.
Simon Bar Sinister (Underdog)
The height-challenged evil scientist who constantly caused catastrophe all over the place was the chief nemesis of Underdog. According to Wikipedia (and your Trivia nugget of the day): ‘The “Bar Sinister” in his name was a macaronic reference to a mark from heraldry, in English called a bend sinister; on a shield it was denoted by a line (to those facing the shield) from the top right to the bottom left. (The French equivalent is barre, and is pronounced the same way.) His name could be translated as “Simon, the Bastard” Awesome. Despite the fact that the live-action flick was utter shit, Peter Dinklage as Simon was about the best part.
Mojo Jojo (The Powerpuff Girls)
Back in the day when Cartoon Network was first coming into its own as a decent place to watch toons, The Powerpuff Girls were all the rage. Though they tussled with many enemies, the greatest of all had to be Mojo Jojo: the brilliant, yet hopelessly misguided, genius monkey. As it turned out, he used to be the irritating lab assistant to Professor Utonium (the ‘dad’ to the girls) and went on to a life of crime.
Dr. Blight (Captain Planet)
Dr. Blight was the main Mad Scientist on Captain Planet and the Planeteers who, with the use of “uncontrolled technology and unethical scientific experimentation”, would create nasty creatures, situations, and traps to thwart the group of ringed-heroes. Ah, but then came Captain Planet and whooped all up on her. Just kidding. This show had like no violence.
Dr. Otto Scratchansniff (Animaniacs)
Believe it or not, Dr S. is more than just a crazed mental lunatic, he’s also Warner Brothers resident psychiatrist. His primary job, as dictated by studio CEO Thaddeus Plotz, is to attempt to “civilize” the out-of-control Warner Brothers and Sister, often to absolute pointless results. Lucky for him, his giant head of Sigmund Freud serves as a PEZ-like candy dispenser.
Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz (Phineas and Ferb)
Though not as complicated as I’m about to make it sound, this Disney Channel show crams an awful lot into 11-minute segments and pops out a very cool show. Step-brothers Phineas and Ferb spend their summer vacation coming up with elaborate plots for fun and excitement much to the chagrin of their sister. In the backdrop, Ferb’s pet platypus, Perry, is actually a special agent who must, at every turn, stop the ridiculously incompetent Dr. Doofenshmirtz before he uses his pointless and far-too complicated, world-dominating machinery. It is very funny.
Dr. Thaddeus Venture (The Venture Brothers)
Dr. Thaddeus S. “Rusty” Venture runs ‘Venture Industries’. Dr. Venture assumes the occupation of a “super-scientist”, and certainly has the smarts and presumed know-how to back up these claims, but his actual competence and credentials in the field are questionable at best. He is, unfortunately, a diet pill addict, since he’s constantly living in the huge shadow of his famous father, Dr. Jonas Venture, from whom he inherited Venture Industries. There is some question as to his actual degree of ability… about anything.
Sheldon Plankton (Spongebob Squarepants)
Though not a Mad Scientist in the traditional sense, Plankton is an evil genius with undeniable delusions of grandeur who spends every waking moment attempting to steal the precious Krabby Patty formula from Mr. Krabs. He is the regular nemesis in the opposing and far less successful Chum Bucket wanting nothing more than the very fame he’s never tasted. Oh, and despite this video being foreign (no decent American one available), I think you all know the REAL words… SIng along!
The Evil Scientist (Looney Tunes)
Gigantic cranium? Yep. Dark, brooding facial features? Yes sir. Diminutive stature? Oh boy. Voice reminiscent of Dr. Frankenstein? All too true. Though not in more than three total Looney Tunes animated features, the Evil Scientist has come to represent just what it is to be a completely brilliant doctor who’s just not quite brilliant enough to stop the hero. And when Bugs Bunny is your target… let’s face it: you have no chance.
Dexter and Mandark (Dexter’s Laboratory)
In no other cartoon do we get the main character as the chief Mad Scientist himself. Sealed behind a special lab door, which also happens to be his bedroom, Dexter holds himself up in his Lab-or-ah-torrey concocting, repairing, creating, fixing, and plotting. Though he has two major irritants (his sister DeeDee being possibly the worst), Dexter’s actual nemesis is the nearly polar opposite yet equally as evil-minded Mandark. Some of the best shows were the ones where these two butt heads.
The Brain (Pinky and the Brain)
Both genetically ‘enhanced’ mice, though but one is the diabolical and sinister genius who wants nothing more than to ‘Try to take over the world’. However, the very oil to Brain’s water is Pinky: the insipid, moronic, dunder-headed partner who, though always along for the ride, somehow manages to find a way to screw things up. Most often, though, he just spouts stupid and arbitrary words, most famously, ‘Narf’. Brain has tried time and again to fulfill his life’s credo, but, alas, has never seen it through. At least for very long.
Professor Frink (The Simpsons)
Based nearly completely on Jerry Lewis’ ‘Nutty Professor’ character, Professor Frink is Springfield’s resident ‘Mad’ scientist. He is also a teacher at the Springfield Heights University of Technology, and sports the actual full moniker of Professor John I.Q. Nerdelbaum Frink, Jr. According to Wikipedia, here are a few of Frink’s inventions: “automatic tapping shoes for tap dancing, the frog exaggerator, monsterometer, the sarcasm detector, hamburger earmuffs (which are apparently much more complicated than one would think, with problems that include the “pickle matrix”), the 8-month after pill and apparently the cube, which was originally called the ‘Frinkahedron’ as mentioned in the partially 3D episode of The Simpsons. Some of Frink’s inventions, such as the automatic phone dialer, work better than others, such as his radio-controlled plane, which carries babies as passengers under their parents’ control (it crashed), or a secure building that sprouts legs and runs away from potential danger (the legs of which often collapsed causing the house to crash to the ground and catch fire).” Awesome.
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth (Futurama)
Completely bat-shit crazy, a self-professed Mad Scientist, and an utter maniacal genius, Professor Farnsworth is the very lynch-pin on whom rests the structure of Planet Express and its employees. His list of ridiculous credentials include such potential cataclysmic inventions as Doomsday Devices, Dark Matter Conversion, and the Smell-O-Scope. Above and beyond that, he’s put more than one universe in jeopardy and is partially responsible for the creation of Mom-Corp’s robots who have since nearly ‘turned’ on humans. He is aged at 165 and often forgets why he even entered a room. Oh, and he’s Fry’s 30x-great nephew.
