You may or may not have enjoyed Dexter’s Laboratory as a child, or you may have had better cartoon options. However, there is no disputing that Cartoon Network used to have some of the best-animated shows on the air. Some of them, such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Adventure Time, and Dexter’s Laboratory, become cultural icons with millions of fans around the world. Dexter’s Laboratory has been on the air for almost 25 years, and it debuted during a time when Cartoon Network’s survival was in jeopardy. They pushed forward with the show, and it immediately gained a loyal fan base thanks to its clever writing and famous characters. It had the appearance of a television comic strip, and the show’s simplicity was one of the reasons for its appeal.
It was a lovely tribute to the good old 1950s cartoons, but the humour was still relevant today. The love-hate relationship between Dexter and Dee Dee, as well as their sibling rivalry, was as entertaining as their exploits. In this video, we have compiled a list of some of the show’s most memorable villains, who helped to keep the story moving forward. If you enjoy this amusing cartoon series, buckle up for a thrilling journey!
Mandark
This evil genius has been one of the main villains of Dexter’s Laboratory, and Mandark was easily one of the toughest rivals that Dexter had to face. He not only wished to destroy Dexter’s laboratory, but also Dexter himself. Mandark’s appearance hid his villainous ways quite easily. He hardly looked intimidating with his funky bowl-cut hairstyle, and this tall, lanky boy also had a funny-looking head. His nerdy glasses were similar to Dexter’s, and he wore some crazy outfits throughout the show. His origin story was an interesting one- it was said that as a child he was struck by a bolt of lightning that tainted him with his dark and evil side.
While conducting his experiments and research, he encountered an inter-dimensional being called JoJo, and this entity helped him understand the dark forces better. His first appearance on the show was a memorable one, as he was the new kid in school who turned out to be smarter than Dexter. Later, when Dexter showed him his laboratory, Mandark was not too impressed and showed him his own.
Dexter was overwhelmed by the larger and better laboratory, and he was demoralized to the point where he thought of discontinuing his own experiments. Mandark soon takes over Dexter’s position in school as the smart kid, and is also smitten by Dee Dee. Dexter plans to have Dee Dee destroy Mandark’s laboratory, and he watches with joy as she clumsily destroys the lab while dancing gracelessly.
Mandark was extremely intelligent and had his eyes on world domination. When he was introduced initially, he was shown to be way ahead of Dexter in terms of knowledge and accomplishments. However, his lab and his heart were destroyed by Dexter and Dee Dee. This dented his scientific prowess significantly, and it was also a terrible mental trauma for him to process. Since then, he has tried to be a bitter rival to Dexter, but more often than not, he was always a step behind. Mandark’s new laboratory had an evil look to it, and the dark and gothic build was perfect for an antagonist of his stature. The more he failed to get the better of Dexter, the more his frustration grew.
It fuelled his evil side, which deteriorated consistently. By the time he was an adult, he was a proper supervillain who wanted to take control of the entire planet. Like every classic baddie, Mandark was a loner who was always engrossed in his experiments to fulfil his mission. He did have one friend, but Season 3 and 4 turned his character considerably darker. However, Mandark did have a serious thing for Dee Dee, and he was almost obsessed with her. Dee dee, of course, never reciprocated his twisted feelings, but his love for her did not change. Nevertheless, Mandark still scores big in terms of being a daunting supervillain in the show.
Rasslor
He was one of the strongest warriors in the universe, and as you can imagine, he posed quite a challenge for Dexter. Rasslor was an intergalactic wrestler, and simply traveled from one planet to another, trying to seek out their most powerful fighters so that he could defeat them. He looked quite the fighter with his towering height and Herculean physique. His skin had a strange bright teal colour and this was another indication of him being an alien. He was dressed in bright purple tights and a golden champion’s belt, that stood testimony of his multiple victories. He was seen in the first season of the show when he came to Earth looking for a worthy opponent. He challenged all of Earth’s superheroes to fight him, and if none could defeat him Rasslor would destroy the planet.
Rasslor was shown to be fiercely competitive, and it was his urge to win new battles that made him seek out enemies across the universe. He wanted his opponents to go all out against him so that he could be challenged. He was more of an honourable warrior, who not only sought strength in his opponents but also a strong resolve to continue fighting against all odds. To give you a small example of his true powers, Rasslor defeated the legendary Justice Friends, and even crushed the mighty Monkey; one of the strongest superheroes that the world had.
A monkey could not even make him budge, and Rasslor crushed him every time he tried to put up a fight. Rasslor was spawned from the very essence of the cosmos, and this is what made him an embodiment of victory. His insatiable thirst for thrill and challenge took him places, and he continued his battle for aeons, never finding a worthy opponent. Although he defeated Monkey, the latter kept coming back at him. This made him respect Monkey’s never-say-die spirit, and he agreed to spare the Earth. His raw strength and invincible nature made him a charming villain, who had a code of honor despite his evil ways.
Inter-Dimensional Monster
Do you remember the giant gelatinous pink monster in the show, with grotesque tentacles and yellow eyes? Well, that was none other than the inter-dimensional monster summoned by Dexter when he was using his untested Inter-Dimensional Doorway. This monstrous creature had sharp teeth and unnaturally large red lips. It all started with the usual rivalry between Dexter and Dee Dee. Dexter was tired of Dee Dee’s idiotic antics, and he wanted to send her to another dimension using the inter-dimensional doorway.
However, the experiment did not work out as planned. Instead of sending her elsewhere, it brought back a dreadful monster from the other side of the doorway. It immediately destroyed Dexter’s laboratory, and Dexter was no match for this beast. He tried his best to stop the monstrous entity, but it swallowed him whole. Just before being swallowed, he barely managed to write a note to Dee Dee. This note instructed her to use the time machine and go back to the past to stop him from opening the passage.
This plan did not work as easily as he had expected either, and the same thing repeated itself once again. It required a special effort from Dexter who had to go back in time to fix a few mistakes, at least that is what has been implied in the show! Later, Dexter had to fight this monster once again, but this time he was better prepared. He was armed with the new sports equipment given to him by his father, and he also had a laser gun. When the monster attacked him in the front yard, Dexter fought back with equal ferocity. It was more of a fun villain, but its brief appearances made for some nail-biting moments in the show.
Overlord Mandark
As if Mandark was not evil enough, the show brought in his middle-aged self, in one of the episodes. It was Mandark’s future self-called ‘Overlord Mandark’ who was shown as a tyrannical self-obsessed ruler of the world. He was absolutely merciless, and his rule was all about spreading fear and tormenting his subjects. The use of any technology was banned for all inhabitants, and only ‘Overlord Mandark’ had access to it. Even his appearance had undergone a lot of change by this time. Overlord Mandark was shown to be morbidly obese, and he was so overweight that he couldn’t even walk around anymore. He used a grappling hook to move around, and his bald and bearded face looked very different from the Mandark we had gotten used to.
Dexter’s Laboratory involved quite a bit of time travel, and this was one of those instances. Overlord Mandark started off as the head of an organization that treated its employees like slaves. Number 12, which was the adult self of Dexter, was meted an especially horrible treatment because of the grudge that he held against Dexter. However, Dexter from the past appeared to boost his confidence, and he even took him ahead in time to meet old Dexter and learn how the future was saved.
In the meantime, Overlord Mandark got his hands on the power of the Protocol, and it twisted his already crooked mind. He took complete control of all the world’s technologies, and his greed and evil nature increased manifold. He used these newfound powers to become the evil ruler of the planet, and his lifestyle led to his obesity. All he did was try to stop Action Dexter from helping the oppressed. There was an epic clash between the two, and eventually, Action Dexter managed to loosen his grappling hook, which made him fall flat on his face. Dee Dee was brought in, and Mandark’s love for her became the cause of his downfall one more time! Overlord Mandark appeared in the one-hour special called ‘Dexter’s Laboratory: Ego Trip’, which even won the Annie Award.
Badaxtra
This was one villain that strongly reminded us of the legendary Godzilla. Just like Godzilla, Badaxtra was birthed from the nuclear fires of a few atomic experiments that went wrong. This powerful and mutated kaiju was from Japan, and ever since its accidental creation, it was a great threat to mankind. It had an ace-bladed foot, tail, and head, and this mighty monster could rip apart its opponent in seconds or simply trample it. A group of brilliant scientists managed to capture this threat, and they sealed Badaxtra inside Mt. Fujiyashiyame, where it remained imprisoned for decades.
However, Dexter accidentally released it once again. He could not control his PEZ Missiles which were launched by his Robo-Dexo 2000, and Badaxtra was once again free to cause widespread destruction, in the heart of Japan. The Robo-Dexo was eliminated and so were the Justice friends and the EDF. Dexter was at his wit’s end while dealing with this invincible force, but Toshi, a student in Japan, came up with some useful advice that came in handy. The monster could only be defeated with the power of love. He was also helped by the mighty Monkey and his family. He used his Multi-forming Megabot, and Badaxtra was rendered extinct using this.
But before going down, it did give Dexter a hard time and the initial technical difficulties made the fight quite even. This kaiju was so powerful that even Monkey could not get past it. This was one of those rare moments when even Mandark stepped in to fight the threat, but it only made Badaxtra stronger. Being one very memorable episode in Season 2 titled ‘Last But Not Beast’, we were kept at the edge of our seats for much of the time! The legendary American voice actor, Frank Welker, did a brilliant job lending his voice to this monster.
Semitaur
It is almost amusing how many of the so-called villains were either built by Dexter, or escaped because of his mistakes. Semitaur would fall in the former category. It was the intimidating slave beast of Soraz, the Master of Doom. He was an evil magician who ruled over a land of mazes and monsters. Soraz and Semitaur were both made by Dexter for his Monster and Mazes board game, but in one of the episodes, things get a little out of hand! It was the first part of the third episode of Season Two, and was titled ‘D & DD’. The episode begins with Dexter and his friends enjoying an RPG game. They soon get tired of Dexter’s cheating ways, and then, Dee Dee joins in on the fun. She becomes the Game Master, and the course of the game turns over a new leaf.
Coming back to the Semitaur, it looked like a large yellow bull that had a humanoid upper body and sharp claws. This mighty monster also had scary red eyes and two curved horns that looked like swords. Dexter always portrayed Semitaur as a savage beast and claimed that it was extremely loyal to Soraz. The Semitaur was almost unstoppable and it could take down just about anything in its way. While Dexter’s friends were a part of a session of Monsters and Mazes, they found the Semitaur to be a troublesome opponent. It was immune to most of their attacks, and it was by sheer luck that they made the creature drop into a pitfall. Frank Welker was once again the voice-actor behind the monster, and his skills added a lot more fun to this crazy beast.
Simion
Simion was yet another mighty villain in the show, and despite his evil ways, he had quite a tragic backstory. This powerful galactic warlord was a mutated chimpanzee, but once upon a time, he was just another regular chimpanzee. He was selected to be the pilot of an experimental NASA project and was sent into space to be the first monkey out there. However, there was a crack in the ship’s hull that brought about a fatal explosion, which hurled the chimpanzee towards a radioactive energy imbalance. It was way too much gamma radiation, and everything from his appearance to his mind was altered. He became extremely powerful with an enhanced physique, and his intelligence grew considerably. Soon, Simion learned to train his mind and body, and his knowledge continued to grow.
The mutation was the source of all his powers, and he gained super intelligence and strength. With time, he became a technological and biological genius as well. His evolution developed to the point where he could create matter simply by thinking about it, and this new ability allowed him to create his own new world. He established an empire and became the overlord, with a gigantic warship. Simion even commanded an army, and his goal was to destroy the world and the humans, whom he blamed for his condition.
He was portrayed to be absolutely ruthless without a shred of mercy in him. He held a grudge against the humans because he felt that they had abandoned him in times of crisis. Such a mighty villain had a rather uncharacteristic end to his journey. He thought that Monkey was a slave of the humans just like he once was. He tried to recruit him but was shocked to discover that Monkey was no slave. One of Monkey’s acts of kindness deeply moved him, and he decided to destroy the army that he had built. Eventually, he went off to live his carefree life in the forests. It turns out that Simion was a lonely and anguished primate deep down. He was only temporarily blinded by rage after the mutation affected his mind and body. This was one of the rare cases where we loved a villain, and Simion was adorable because of his real nature.
Comrade Red
Major Glory was a very important character in Dexter’s Laboratory, and he was Dexter’s favourite superhero. Major Glory represented the United States in many ways, and he was the leader of the Justice Friends. Comrade Red, as the name gives away, represented communist Russia and was the arch-rival of Major Glory. He led the Injustice Friends, and their conflict could be simply explained as a comical version of the Cold War. Major Glory was shown to represent the general aspects of the Western world such as democracy, and the free world. It hailed the concept of heroism and worked against oppression. On the other hand, Comrade Red was all that they stood against. He represented oppression, communism, and in short, the ideals of the Soviet Union.
He even dressed up in Russian attire, and his costume had the designs of the Soviet Union flag. Comrade Red used the hammer and sickle as his trusted weapons! Could the symbolism be any better! One of his main goals was to destroy the Justice Friends, and he also wanted to be the lord of the entire world. However, he did not see himself as evil and probably thought that his intentions would actually be fruitful for the greater good.
However, it almost always ended up being oppressive and troublesome. Comrade Red had superhuman strength, and he could be quite a handful in a fight. He was also surprisingly durable and could take some powerful hits before you could put him down. His proficiency with his weapons was commendable. It is amusing how the makers came up with the concepts of Major Glory and Comrade Red, but if the former was a parody of Captain America, the latter could very well be a parody of Winter Soldier! He first appeared in an episode titled ‘Krunk’s Date’; the second part of the ninth episode in season one.
Lalavava
If Mandark was an arch-nemesis to Dexter, Lalavava was the same for Dee Dee. Her real name was Olga Astronomonov, and she was Mandark’s little sister. Her appearance bore an uncanny resemblance to that of Mandark, except for her ponytail. She was shown to wear a pink dress, and her white knee socks and pink slippers were just like Dee-Dee’s. Lalavava was completely different from other girls. She did not enjoy the usual childish and happy stuff that others liked, and there was always a rude and evil side to her that was quite apparent. She enjoyed making the lives of others miserable and even treated her own brother as a slave. She was much younger but much stronger than him.
She was rude to pretty much everyone and enjoyed it when she could make someone unhappy. The only thing she liked apart from hating others was ballet, and Lalavava enjoyed flaunting her skills in front of the others, at the dance school. However, it could also be that Dee Dee being the best dancer at the school bothered her, and she simply wanted to make her unhappy! She did have a solitary appearance in the episode titled ‘Dee Dee’s Rival’, where it was amusing to see her intimidate the mighty Mandark.
She competed with Dee Dee for the ultimate ballerina title, but after the contest, they called it a truce and became friends. They both seemed to agree that everything related to science was lame, and surprisingly after this one episode, she was never heard of again. Lalavava could have been a constant presence in the show, and if her short appearance was any indication, she would have been a great companion to Dee Dee. It was adorable how they became friends at the end of the episode after competing for most of it!
Rude Dexter
This was an evil clone of Dexter, that was created by using Dexter’s Rude removing machine. Being a clone, he was exactly a spitting image of Dexter. However, his nature varied by quite a lot and he was exceedingly rude. His hair was a bit darker than Dexter’s, and it was pointy instead of curly. He was portrayed as a terribly rude fellow, who always cussed at people. It was a dig at stereotypical New Yorkers, and he was also given a thick New York accent. This aggressive version of Dexter was quite annoying, but we cannot deny that it was hilarious to watch his antics on screen!
He appeared in the episode titled ‘Rude Removal’. As we mentioned earlier, it all started when Dexter invented the rude-removal machine. It could separate his and Dee Dee’s rude sides, and they could be nicer to each other. However, like many of the inventions, things did not go according to plan.
Their rude clones emerged and these vicious, foul-mouthed creatures started swearing at each other immediately. When their mother called them for lunch, they smashed their way to reach the dining room and continued fighting. During their meal, the nonstop swearing caused their mother to faint. After much trouble, Dexter and Dee Dee managed to destroy their rude clones. However, their problems are far from over because their mother now wanted an explanation for their behaviour! It was a thoroughly enjoyable episode, and the comedy of errors made it absolutely hilarious.
Quackor
Just like the Monkey was Dexter’s pet in a way, Quackor was Mandark’s pet duck. It was one of Monkey’s formidable opponents, and ‘Quackor the Fowl’ or ‘Ducky’ had a memorable showdown with Monkey in one of the episodes. Quacker was a yellow duck, but in supervillain form, she wore a black suit that covered all of her body except her beak and eyes. It all started when Mandark performed the very same experiments that Dexter performed on Monkey. He found nothing strikingly unusual and planned to bring the duck to the show. However, that very night, Ducky hears about Mandark’s desire to destroy Dexter’s laboratory. It turned into Quackor and started destroying the lab, thus awakening Monkey.
They are engaged in an intense fight, but it is soon revealed that the Monkey has met his match. The fight continued through the night, and it was only at sunrise that Quackor turned back into Ducky and flew back to Mandark’s house. Later, when both Dexter and Mandark try to show off their pets, they were too tired from all the fighting and couldn’t do anything! There is another funny episode, where Quackor and Monkey fight as usual.
During the fight, one of Monkey’s powerful punches causes Quackor to lay an egg, and Monkey realizes that she is a female. He falls in love with her, and at the end of the episode, they go on a date together. When these two falls in love, Dexter and Mandark are shocked at the outcome! Quackor was first seen in the episode titled ‘Quackor the Fowl’ in Season 2, and in later episodes, there were a few more appearances.