There are numerous animated characters who can only be described as iconic. These fictional figures are not only memorable due to their well-balanced character arcs, but also because of how they interact with other people. As a result, the best characters remain relevant years after they are introduced.

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Sadly, some characters start great but damage their likability later. This usually stems from an offensive decision that seems out of place, awkward, or even cruel. A single slip-up can be enough to ruin a character for fans permanently. While fans don't enjoy downright unlikable characters, fans hate it even more when their favorite characters ruin themselves.

Updated on February 28th, 2023 by Ajay Aravind: Anyone who loves television started their journey with cartoons. Countless cartoon programs have been immortalized in pop culture. That said, a few otherwise beloved characters have been occasionally unsympathetic. We've revamped this list with some more information about these self-sabotaging cartoon individuals.

10 The Powerpuff Girls Beat Up A Clown

The Powerpuff Girls

Blossom, Bubbles, And Buttercup In The Powerpuff Girls

The Powerpuff Girls have always been Townsville's saviors. Unfortunately, despite being kind and compassionate most of the time, they didn't extend these same feelings of goodwill to Rainbow the Clown. When Rainbow lost all of his colors and turned into Mr. Mime, the loving and chipper clown became a villain who drained Townsville of its color and sound.

Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup brought back the color through music, restoring Townsville and Rainbow to their former glory. Rainbow cheerily thanked the girls, but they proceeded to beat the living daylights out of him and toss him in jail. Many fans think that this episode is unnecessarily mean-spirited and damaged the Powerpuff brand.

9 Lisa Is Jealous Of Meg

The Simpsons

Meg Griffin And Lisa Simpson In The Simpsons Guy

When Lisa first met Meg Griffin, the latter shared her insecurities over her supposed lack of talent. Lisa tried to build her up, displaying a level of maturity and kindness that Meg wasn't used to. She spent the day helping Meg find a worthwhile hobby, pressing on in spite of multiple failures.

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However, Lisa immediately became jealous after Meg proves that she was just as good on the saxophone, which is supposed to be Lisa's thing. Although she eventually came around and gave Meg her saxophone, Lisa delivered the frequently used Family Guy catchphrase "Shut up, Meg." This kind of insecurity sounded completely unnatural coming from Lisa's lips.

8 Gerald Becomes An Internet Troll

South Park

Gerald Broflovski In South Park

Gerald Broflovski is Kyle's father in South Park. He's known for giving his son misguided advice but he's generally kind and friendly. However, his superiority complex has gotten him into many hilariously odd situations, and his transformation into an Internet troll demonstrated just how easily he could be swayed by power.

Gerald pretended he was better than other internet trolls, but took pleasure in anonymously insulting and harassing women on the Internet. Even worse was when Gerald forced his sons to make troll comments on his behalf when he was away from home. Rather than acknowledge his mistakes, he then made his sons take the fall for him.

7 Timmy Turns Into His Parents

The Fairly OddParents

Timmy Turner In The Fairly OddParents

When adult Timmy was first introduced in Channel Chasers, he was from a dark timeline in which Vicky achieved world domination with a TV remote. He disguised himself as one of Vicky's followers to gain her trust, which is why he was sent to the past and given a chance to fix the timeline.

When younger Timmy managed to defeat Vicky, the dark future was replaced with a lighter one. Although adult Timmy has two children, he seems to have taken after his parents. Timmy clearly loves his kids, but he seems utterly unaware of their plight at the hands of a robotic Vicky.

6 Jayce's Relationship With Mel

Arcane

Jayce Talis In Arcane

Inspired by the magic that saved him and his mother's lives, Arcane's Jayce committed himself to combining science with magic. He ultimately succeeded with Victor's help, creating the Hexgates and revolutionizing trading.

After Jayce joined the Council, he was heavily influenced by Mel Medarda, focusing more on politics than the science he had once been so passionate about. Jayce didn't realize Mel was using him as a political tool. He was so wrapped up in the politics and Mel that he didn't notice that Viktor was dying until his close friend ended up in the hospital.

5 Morty's Real Family Is Dead

Rick And Morty

Morty Smith And Jerry Smith In Rick And Morty

In Rick & Morty, Morty's original family was left in a Cronenberged dimension. Although Morty did go back to see them, they had become feral and were powerful enough to defend themselves from the Cronenbergs. Morty and Summer were saved when the Council of Ricks appeared and froze the family, and their fate wasn't revealed until season 6.

Summer perished because she didn't thaw right, and Beth got sick and died. These were some very disappointing fates for characters who proved themselves capable of thriving in a post-apocalyptic world. Fans would have liked for them to be rescued rather than suffer such a miserable fate.

4 Queen Dagmar Became Repetitive

Disenchantment

Beanie And Dagmar In Disenchantment

Disenchantment's Queen Dagmar started off as an enigma, a petrified statue in the royal bedroom. However, when her daughter revived her, it was obvious she was a villain who fell prey to her own dastardly scheme. She would be a constant presence in Princess Bean's life afterward, trying to manipulate her daughter for her own gain.

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Dagmar's main intent was to take Dreamland for herself and repay Maru's debt to Hell with Bean's marriage to the Devil. However, Dagmar's decision to throw her daughter into the ocean deviated from her otherwise rigorous planning. This choice essentially painted her as a reckless villain rather than a criminal mastermind.

3 Mr. Krabs Cruelly Torments Plankton

SpongeBob SquarePants

Mr. Krabs In SpongeBob SquarePants

"One Coarse Meal" is arguably one of SpongeBob Squarepants' worst episodes. Mr. Krabs and Plankton have always had a rivalry, but this episode highlights Krusty's malicious side. Mr. Krabs is usually funny because of his over-the-top miserly personality, but he is also the voice of wisdom in SpongeBob's life.

In this episode, it felt like he was replaced by an entirely different character. Once Mr. Krabs learned about Plankton's phobia of whales, he exploited it until his so-called nemesis was too scared to go outside. If that's not bad enough, he even laughed when Plankton gives up on life. Mr. Krabs isn't supposed to be so overtly cruel.

2 Marinette Makes Adrien Uncomfortable

Miraculous Ladybug

Marinette Dupain-Cheng And Adrian Agreste In Miraculous Ladybug

In Miraculous Ladybug, Marinette's crush on Adrien was originally cute and relatable. She would get flustered and tongue-tied, but she was still extremely sweet and considerate towards him and her friends. Her crush quickly got creepy when Marinette saw a supposed statue of Adrien.

Adrien was only pretending to be a statue to pull a harmless prank on Marinette, but the situation quickly got awkward when she got close to him. She started sniffing him, and even tried to kiss him. Adrien obviously couldn't keep up the facade, and he was clearly as uncomfortable as his audience.

1 Amber Is Too Hard On Mark

Invincible

Amber Bennett In Invincible

Amber was Mark Grayson's girlfriend throughout the first season of Invincible. Mark didn't feel safe revealing his secret identity so he constantly stood her up in order to do hero work. Amber was as patient as anyone possibly could be in that scenario, and the two had great chemistry when Mark spent time with her.

When a cyborg attacked Mark and his friends at the University, he left and returned as Invincible to save their lives. Amber was furious at his disappearance until Mark finally revealed his identity. However, Amber claimed she'd known why he was vanishing the whole time, making her anger feel pointless. It's hard to be mad at someone for being late for dinner when they're literally saving people's lives.

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