Top 10 Brutal Over the Top Deaths in Cartoon Shows

“Superman: The Animated Series” (1996-2000)

Dan Turpin was never the biggest fan of Superman’s. While working in the Special Crimes Unit of the Metropolis PD, Turpin often took issue with the way the hero would insert himself in police business. But he put aside those feelings when Darkseid and his army came knocking on Earth’s front door. Despite being vastly outclassed in tech, Turpin stood his ground and would end up saving Superman, turning the tides. Once Darkseid was defeated, he left Earth, but not before giving Superman one final gift. With barely a thought, his omega beams hit Turpin, instantly turning him to dust. Being killed out of spite after the battle was already won makes it sting even more.

“The Powerpuff Girls” (1998-2005)

The professor accidentally created three adorable superheroes while working in his lab. But when the Powerpuff Girls tried the same experiment, they created a more flawed sister named Bunny. While this new addition to the family had powers, her body was unstable. We all learned this the hard way after she helped save the town from a situation she caused. Unfortunately, the strain of saving the day was way too much. Her body eventually ends up bursting in an explosion of bright light. At least Bunny’s final act was doing good. But it was a brutal ending to her short life.

“Regular Show” (2009-17)

Pops was one of the most adorable and happy-go-lucky characters on“Regular Show.” So we never would’ve expected him to have as epic of a death as he did. Though completely unassuming for the majority of the show, Pops was actually quite powerful. He also also had an intimidating twin brother known as Anti-Pops. This villain tried his best to destroy everything and everyone in his path. During the confrontation in the show’s finale, Pops tackles his brother and flies him into the sun, sacrificing himself. Although the two reconcile before they reach it, dying within the sun has got to be one of the most over-the-top self sacrifices we’ve seen in cartoons.

“Gravity Falls” (2012-16)

Bill ws a chaotic entity who took terrifying delight in bringing misfortune to others. But all it took was one clever trick to bring an end to his reign. Bill strikes up a deal with Ford to enter his mind in exchange for his family’s safety. But this bargain ends up getting the villain trapped inside of his old foe Stan’s mind. The hero also volunteers to get his memory erased while Bill is still trapped inside his rival’s head. To visually represent this erasing process, flames close in on the villain. As the fire grew closer, Bill begged for his life as his body changed into tons of strange shapes. With a final punch from Stan, the villain burst into little pieces.

“Adventure Time” (2010-18)

Although this character isn’t around long enough for us to even learn her true name, she still has one of the gnarliest animated demises. In a Season 3 episode, Finn and Jake explore Joshua’s dungeon and come across several deadly monsters. One room features a dining table covered in fruit and three witches that try to convince Finn to eat. Before he can, his pal Jake knocks away the apple and forces one of the witches to take a bite. The magic fruit then transforms the witch into a giant apple. Immediately after this transformation, the other two begin to rip her to shreds. For added effect, you can even see a skeleton at the core of this gruesome apple.

“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” (2008-20)

“Star Wars” can get surprisingly violent. Especially during a period of extended war. After his father was assassinated, a young prince named Lee-Char, attempted to recapture his planet. During the battle, he finds the vicious Riff Tamson, who happily confesses to the act. One of the villain’s weapons of choice were explosive daggers. So, it’s fitting that Lee-Char sticks one of the dangerous weapons into his enemy. As Tamson charged him, the prince shot the explosive dagger. This great shot instantly causes the villain to explode into bits. In case there’s any doubt as to what just happened, we get a shot of Tamson’s floating head after this satisfying kill.

“Samurai Jack” (2001-17)

Fans had to wait an awfully long time before they got to see this villain defeated. Thankfully, it was a victorious moment that was worth the wait. After spending decades enduring Aku’s torment, the samurai known as Jack finally got a chance to dispatch his foe. Without a second’s hesitation, Jack slices through Aku with extreme prejudice. Seeing Aku brought down in size as he tried to flee was extremely satisfying. Jack finally finishes off the villain by driving his sword through Aku’s head and out his mouth. This also caused the last of the antagonist’s essence to be trapped inside Jack’s magical katana. The hero didn’t hesitate to eliminate the final piece of his foe once and for all in an over-the-top finish.

“Infinity Train” (2019-21)

Passengers of the Infinity Train are meant to work through their traumas by navigating its cars with wildly erratic environments until they find peace and return home. But there are some who believe the true purpose of the train is to stay as long as possible for a secret reward. During the show’s run, Simon committed all manner of heinous acts to keep his place on the moving vehicle. But that led to his untimely death. During a fight with his former friend Grace, Simon is attacked by a mysterious creature known as a Ghom. The mysterious creature pinned him down and sucked out his soul. As a side effect, his body turned to dust. Simon could do nothing but scream in fear.

“Star vs. the Forces of Evil” (2015-)

Despite having the same name as one of the world’s sweetest treats, Toffee was a despicable villain. Although Star may have thought she was rid of him by the end of the first season, only his physical form was destroyed. He eventually made a full return in Season 3. Although the powerful villain was close to victory, Toffee was defeated by Star after she tapped into a new and highly powerful form. She used her power to blast him with a deadly beam. Toffee was quickly reduced into a goopy mess clinging to half a skeleton. Although he still seemed confident he’d won, the villain was quickly crushed by a pillar. We guess the heroes wanted to be extra thorough the second time around.

“The Legend of Korra” (2012-14)

“The Legend of Korra” was a show that wasn’t afraid to show villains facing dark consequences. Fans remember when the sinister P’li literally lost her head at the end of a tense battle. (Xref), However, it’s the demise of the Earth Queen that sticks out most in fans’ minds. Although she was a despicable and petty ruler, we don’t know if anyone deserved to go out the way she did. Her death comes right after a villain named Zaheer infiltrates her throne room. He decides to remove the queen from power by airbending the oxygen right out of her lungs. As the queen’s eyes bulge, she gasps for air in vain. The brutality of this execution literally took our breaths away.