Top 10 Courage the Cowardly Dog Villains

This Italian alligator has an ego bigger than Eustace’s chin. Using his magic show, the Great Fusilli lures victims onto the stage with the promise of fame and fortune, then transforms them into enchanted wooden marionettes. While the malicious magician appears to be a clever and confident showman, it didn’t take much for him to become a victim of his own work. When Courage tricks him into thinking he’s become a phantom, a frightened Fusilli jumps off the platform over the stage, landing in front of the spotlight and becoming a marionette himself.

In hindsight, it’s no surprise that Eustace’s mother is just as abusive as her son. (Although, it does explain where he got his resentful behavior from…) When we first met her in the episode “Mother’s Day”, Ma Bagge felt like a nice change of pace for Courage, giving the dog tons of love and attention while dismissing Eustace. However, she quickly became a bully, putting down her son even when he was just trying to make her happy. Thankfully, the two patched things up and come to an understanding of one another, and Ma Bagge went on to become part of the supporting cast in future episodes.

As the Mr. Freeze to Courage’s Batman, the Snowman is yet another one of the pink pup’s rivals who ends up being misunderstood. In “The Snowman Cometh”, he plots to extract an “anti-melting gene” from Eustace and Muriel to prevent his own demise. In his second appearance, the season three episode “Snowman’s Revenge,” he manages to block out the sun, but still laments being the last of his kind. It’s difficult not to feel for him at least a little, and the fact he kinda sounds like Sean Connery adds charm. Rather than try to get rid of him, Courage finds a way to bring back the snow people, creating a happy ending for everybody.

Next to another villain on this list, the Spirit of the Harvest Moon is one of Courage’s most visually jarring foes. Looking like a face cut-out of an old horror movie from the 1920’s, the Spirit of the Harvest Moon haunts Eustace, Muriel, and Courage, angry that they haven’t made use of the land. While his frightening appearance made him a memorable villain of the show, what makes the Spirit stand out more is the fact that he’s one of the few foes to have taught Eustace a lesson. Well...more or less.

Now, this is going all the way back to Courage’s “What a Cartoon” days! This extraterrestrial chicken is just as witty and cunning as every other villain we’ve seen so far. In his first appearance, the Chicken from Outer Space manages to not only kill off every one of the Bagge’s chickens, but also hide the evidence. Courage is onto him though, and each time the Chicken visits the farm, we’re treated to various fight scenes, from fencing to arm wrestling to checkers. The Chicken may lose most of these battles, but you gotta admire the perseverance on display.

While the theme song tells us that Courage was abandoned, he was actually separated from his parents by this guy right here. The Cruel Veterinarian might seem like a nice old man at first glance, but he’s really a sinister schemer who believes that sending dogs into space will somehow transform them into “super-dogs”. The maniacal doctor even went so far as to send Courage’s parents into space for the sake of his hare-brained experiment! Whereas most of Courage’s enemies are con artists relying on tactful deception, the Cruel Veterinarian is basically a mad scientist.

What is it with Courage and evil poultry? Whatever the reason, it’s helped create memorable menaces such as the Chicken from Outer Space and of course the French duck Le Quack. With his stylish blue hair and smooth voice, Le Quack is a slick conman . . . or con-duck . . . who’s always after other people’s valuables. Cunning and manipulative, Le Quack has proven countless times that he is not to be trifled with. He also holds a grudge - having escaped authorities in the past in order to seek revenge on poor Courage.

It’s hard to believe that this guy is related to someone as kind-hearted as Muriel. Though appearing polite and intelligent, Fred is as freaky inside as his unnerving smile. Due to his obsession with cutting hair, those who dare visit his barbershop will walk out with a shiny, bald head. As if things couldn’t get anymore unsettling, Fred has a tendency to speak in rhyme like a psychotic Dr. Seuss and often creepily emphasizes the word “naughty”. Granted, these are also the traits that have made him such a favorite among fans.

This dead Egyptian pharaoh has the proud reputation of being one of the scariest villains to appear in a cartoon for kids. When a couple of grave robbers leave an ancient slab by the Bagges’ water pump, Eustace realizes the artifact could be worth a fortune. However, Ramses begins terrorizing the Bagges, demanding they return the slab. Like the Spirit of the Harvest Moon, King Ramses is terrifying because of how unnatural he looks compared the show’s typical visual style. With his stiff movements and eerie voice, many kids went to bed with nightmares thanks to this guy. In fact, we might have put him at the top of the list had he appeared in more episodes.

Before we reveal our most deviously sinister top pick, here are a few Honorable Mentions…

Di Lung

Benton Tarantella

Cajun Fox

Dr. Zalost

The Queen of the Black Puddle

Since “Courage” became an official part of Cartoon Network’s lineup, Katz has been the pup’s archnemesis. In the show’s first episode, he tricked the Bagges into renting a motel room inhabited by carnivorous spiders. Over the next few years, the shady, slender feline ran a resort that turned humans into cyborgs, created a jam monster to steal a secret recipe from Muriel, and tricked them into joining a submarine cruise in order to blow them up. Needless to say, Katz is a thoroughly evil being, solidifying his place as the main antagonist of the show. Besides, he gets his own slick music whenever he’s on screen!