Even though viewers are supposed to loathe them, a good villain is sometimes the only necessary ingredient for making a good story. When it comes to cartoons, fans can't keep themselves from falling in love with some famous villains. Pair the character in questions with a great soundtrack, stylish appearance, or hilarious quips, and fans have a treasure on their hands.
The 1980s were loaded with sweet, saccharine cartoons with dark, imposing villains. These iconic foes often redeemed a cartoon's storyline by raising the stakes and infusing more serious themes. As trends shifted, darker heroes emerged. As some heroes became less ethical and likable, it became surprisingly easy to overlook the villains' faults and root for bad guys.
8 Jem: Many Viewers Thought The Misfits' Songs Were Better
The Misfits are the rival band to the Holograms in the series Jem. While the show seemingly steers viewers to support the Holograms over the Misfits, but many viewers prefer latter's style of music over Jem and her friends.' As viewers point out, Jerrica starts the whole rivalry by refusing to let her father's company showcase the Misfits' music, without giving them a chance.
Misfits band member Stormer — who's repeatedly depicted as a sweet, kindhearted person — was a fan-favorite character, even among those who dislike the Misfits. That said, it's likely the showrunners expected kids to like the Misfits. One commercial for the Jem dolls had a kid boast that the Misfits' songs were better, as did the show's theme song.
7 Family Guy: Many Believed Joyce Kinney Deserved The Last Laugh Over Lois
In Family Guy, Lois befriends a local news anchor, Joyce Kinney, and eventually confides in her that she once appeared in a pornographic film. Joyce betrays Lois' trust by revealing this on television. When Lois confronts her, Joyce reveals she was the target of Lois' bullying back when they were in school together and Lois was a popular cheerleader.
Viewers were likely expected to feel sorry for Lois, but the bullying she put Joyce through left some people rooting for the news anchor. Some fans even compared Lois to Chris Hargensen from Carrie.
6 American Dad: Love Him Or Hate Him, Stelio Kontos Has An Epic Theme Song
Stelio Kontos was Stan's old childhood bully on American Dad. Left emotionally scarred from Stelio's bullying, Stan disguised himself as a bully and picked on his own son to toughen him up. A later episode showed Stelio hadn't even grown out of his bullying ways. One time, Steve arranged for Stelio to defend him against another bully, but the two ganged up on Steve instead.
The closest Stelio's ever comes to reaping consequences is working at a copy store while the kid he used to pick on grows up to get a government job. However, there's one thing fans can't deny: Stelio's theme song is a bop.
5 Winx Club: The Trix Are Bad Girls After Viewers' Dark Hearts
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In the first season of Winx Club, the fairies find themselves targeted by three witches known as the Trix: Icy, Darcy, and Stormy. Inspired by the Ancestral Witches, they seek to steal Bloom's powers, the source of magic itself. However, viewers who find Bloom and her fairy friends to be too cutesy for their taste end up often see Trix as a saving grace.
Beatrix, their analogue in the live-action series, was also popular for similar reasons. Even 4kids seemed to realize kids would like the Trix. One early commercial boasted the show had "witches" and "warriors," rather than promoting the fairy protagonists.
4 Masters Of The Universe: Even The Writers Had To Give Skeletor A Few Wins
In the Masters of The Universe franchise, the evil Skeletor lost several battles to the heroic He-Man. However, Skeletor's humiliating defeats led some viewers to feel sorry for him. The writers picked up on the viewers' feelings and wrote episodes where Skeletor teamed up with He-Man, giving the villain some wins.
In the Christmas special, Skeletor befriends two kids from Earth and a dog-like creature. He even gets to defend his world-view, like how he thinks fighting is fun and hopes Christmas involves a lot of it. Alan Oppenheimer's performance makes Skeletor even more iconic.
3 Danny Phantom: Many Fans Thought Valerie Should've Been Danny's True Love
In Danny Phantom, Valerie started as a generic mean girl until she blamed the ghost boy for her and her father's fall from grace. Valerie's belief led her to become a ghost-hunting vigilante, however, the series added a twist to her story.
While Valerie pursued the ghost boy for vengeance, she started to like Danny's human alter-ego. This plot proved very popular with fans, to the point they felt she had better chemistry with Danny than his canon love-interest Sam. Series creator Butch Hartman even suggested Valerie would've made a good lead for a spin-off.
2 Batman: The Animated Series: There's A Reason Harley Quinn Got Her Own Series
Batman: The Animated Series is credited with popularizing a variety of characters from the Batman comics and making them more well-rounded. One of the most iconic villains from the show is a character specifically created for the series: Harley Quinn. She may be Joker's right-hand henchwoman, but viewers can't help but sympathize with her.
Batman: TAS's showrunners clearly had a soft spot for Harley as well. She was originally meant to die in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, but they decided to reveal Harley was alive and the grandmother of the Dee Dee Twins. They even implied she reformed off-screen. Over the years, DC welcomed Harley in a variety of projects, from Suicide Squad to her own animated series.
1 SpongeBob SquarePants: People Found Plankton Relatable
On SpongeBob SquarePants, Plankton was Mr. Krabs' business rival. Initially, Plankton went to extreme lengths to steal the krabby patty formula, like putting SpongeBob's brain into a robot. As years passed by, the tables flipped. Episodes ended with Plankton getting punished even when he did nothing wrong.
Additionally, Mr. Krabs became more unethical and ruthless, especially when it came to his employees' treatment. The more Plankton was denied justice, the more fans hoped he and other characters like Squidward would receive an occasional win.