The 1980s were a golden age for , which often featured some creatively creepy villains that linger in memory even all these decades later. The most famous and iconic cartoons of the 1980s usually had some sort of overarching villain or antagonists driving the plot forward, creating new dastardly plans for the heroes to have to foil every Saturday. Some of these evildoers could be surprisingly creepy or even traumatic, leaving lasting impressions that carry over well into the modern day.

Compared to other eras, . Far from the harmless hi-jinks of Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang, toy-focused 80s cartoons needed a fearsome repertoire of bad guys to drive merchandise sales. While plenty of modern cartoon villains can be just as terrifying, it remains to be seen whether they'll stand the test of time quite like some of the spookier bad guys of 80s animation.

Rather than try to map out any real-world conflict between actual countries, the series was sure to use the fictional terrorist organization COBRA as its over-the-top villain, giving the whole story more of the feel of a superhero show than anything else. The leader of COBRA was none other than Cobra Commander, a tyrannical mastermind known for his blank reflective face mask.

but there's something to be said about a literal terrorist leader as the primary antagonist of a kid's show. Christopher Collins' screeching raspy voice brought iconic life to the emotionless mask of the character, constantly berating his own minions for their incompetence in a frightening manner. Even if he was sometimes the butt of a joke, Cobra Commander's fist-shaking rage and vitriolic need for world domination made him a wonderfully evil force of nature.

One of the more bizarre Saturday morning cartoons from an era in which producers were willing to throw anything at the screen and see what sticks, ThunderCats is a unique premise with a uniquely creepy bad guy. Enraged by their existence, the ThunderCats were constantly harassed by the desiccated Mumm-Ra, an ancient sorcerer in the style of an undead Egyptian mummy.

In particular, Mumm-Ra's mutant army was particularly fearsome, giving the ThunderCats no end of trouble. While the various incarnations of the ThunderCats show may have presented some varitations of Mumm-Ra, his frightening gaunt frame is still the most haunting in the original 80s cartoon.

Inspector Gadget introduced new cases every week as the robotically-enhanced goofball Inspector did his best to solve international crimes alongside his niece, Penny. His most common enemy was the evil Doctor Claw, a mysterious figure who could instill terror with the wave of a hand.

What made Doctor Claw so compelling as a villain was the fact that his face was never shown, always turned away from the camera sitting in his chair so that the only part of him visible was his intimidating spiked gauntlet.. It's too bad the live-action Inspector Gadget movies failed to understand this part of the character's appeal.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was an odd fantasy series that has since inspired many He-Man spin-off shows and even a live-action film starring Dolph Lundgren as the titular warrior prince. Constantly harassing He-Man and company was the insidious villain Skeletor, named after his skull-like visage.

Like Cobra Commander, Skeletor might be seen as an almost endearingly evil rapscallion today, but he could be quite frightening at times despite his goofy high-pitched voice. Between his empty glaring eye sockets, demonic body, and terrifying monster-filled home of Snake Mountain, Skeletor has persisted into pop culture for so long for a good reason.

Perhaps the most successful kid's cartoon to come out of the 80s, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has continued to capture the hearts and minds of child viewers with each successive new generation of turtle power. . Shredder may have been the primary antagonist of the series, but he's far outdone by Krang when it comes to creep factor.

. From his menacing technology like the Technodrome to his slimy exterior, Krang was a noticeably creepy villain in a show filled with weird creatures.

The only 80s cartoon to rival Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in terms of its pop culture influence was easily The Transformers, which has since evolved into a multi-decade long media franchise. Beginning with the humble original animated series, The Transformers chronicled the war between Autobots and Decepticons, two factions of the same cybernetic race capable of transforming into all sorts of vehicles.

Transformers: The Movie introduced a terrifying villain that would become a series staple in later years, the planet-smashing Unicron. Unlike the long-standing villain Megatron, Unicron was an existential threat that existed outside the dynamic of the petty Autobot-Decepticon war, a planet-sized Transformer capable of devouring entire worlds.

The strange neo-Western science fiction saga took place in a cowboy-themed future on the planet of New Texas, in which the lone lawman Marshal Bravestarr called upon the power of various spirit animals in order to help him do battle with various alien criminals. The most villainous of the mall was Tex Hex, the series' overarching bad guy, a decrepit zombie-like outlaw with a deadly affinity for magic.

. His magical powers made him even scarier, able to harass his enemies by teleporting around or even transform himself into massive dinosaur-like demons with raspy roars. Tex's suite of magical abilities and jarringly creepy appearance has made him continue to stick in the memories of 80s kids even as the legacy of BraveStarr itself fades.

. A loose cartoon adaptation capitalizing on the popularity of the Ghostbusters films, the series took an animated look at new versions of Ray, Egon, Peter and Winston as they battled new ghosts throughout New York City. Unlike most 80s cartoons, which mostly stuck to one overarching bad guy, The Real Ghostbusters was more of a monster-of-the-week show.

Of the creepy ghouls and ghosts of The Real Ghostbusters, the terrifying Grundel easily stands out as the creepiest of an already creepy bunch. Between his manipulation, wheezing raspy voice, and unsettling face, The Grundel represetned something far more sinister than any other 80s cartoon villain.

The show centered on Adam's twin sister Adora, who was kidnapped at birth and raised on the home planet of the vicious villain Hordak, groomed to become the next head of his villainous Horde. Breaking free of her upbringing, Adora became the heroine She-Ra, breaking away from Hordak and leading the rebellion against him personally.

In some ways, Hordak was even more of a compelling villain than even Skeletor. Even if he never rose to the same heights as Skeletor, those in the know will recognize Hordak as the far more terrifying of the two.

Before the world's most famous role-playing game was adapted into a brilliant live-action movie that flopped at the box office, it was a seldom-known but beloved 80s cartoon. Dungeons & Dragons followed six kids and teenagers as they were teleported into the fantastical world of the game, aided in their various quests by the mysterious Dungeon Master. While series staple villains like Tiamat were a menacing presence, the series put forth an original creation with Venger.

A one-horned sorcerer with black wings and sharp fangs, Venger was an intimidating sight indeed for the normally happy-go-lucky antics of the show's adventuring party. Venger was a sorcerer over 1000 years of age who could conjure unbelievably frightening acts of magic, reciting incantions with the vocal talents of the one and only Peter Cullen. Of all the Dungeons & Dragons villains the could have used, Venger is somehow one of the creepiest villains of the decade he debuted in.