Just like Cartoon Network and Disney Channel, Nickelodeon has been around for most of our childhood. Whether you were around for the 90s Nicktoons or got into the 2000s era, Nickelodeon had something for everyone. It was the channel that wasn’t afraid to experiment a bit when it came to its animated shows. Some experiments paid off, while other went down in infamous history. Either way, Nickelodeon is still going and won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
My favorite Nickelodeon series is definitely Avatar: The Last Airbender. They were definitely ambitious with that series, but the payoff is so satisfying. Everything about that show is amazing: the plot, the characters, the animation, the music, the themes, I could go on. This is a show that I think everyone should watch, whether you’re young, old, or somewhere in between.
What often made Nickelodeon shows so memorable was the wide variety of characters. Because this channel had so many unique shows, it had its fair share of unique characters. Some were hilarious, some were dark, some were strange, some were nice, and some were pretty mean. If you want some variety in your characters, Nickelodeon is the way to go. But what happens if these characters go a more villainous route? What would some of our favorite Nickelodeon heroes look like as the bad guys? Well, that’s what these artists decided to find out.
So here are 20 Nickelodeon characters that have been reimagined as villains. Think we missed some good characters? Make sure to let us know in the comments section below?
20 Don’t Do This To Your Brothers, Leo
As always, Leonardo is the leader of our favorite group of mutant ninja turtles. And there’s a reason why he’s the leader: he’s responsible, mature, dedicated, and aware of his brothers’ strengths and weaknesses. When the turtles are in trouble, they usually look to Leo for help. I like that Nickelodeon’s version of Leo is a bit less confident in himself and is still growing into the leadership role. He makes mistakes and he’s not perfect, but we get to see him improve and grow more confident.
Leo has gone to the Dark Side a couple of times throughout the ages of TMNT. In the 2003 series, the Shredder almost convinces Leo to join him before Leo realizes who he is. And there have been a few instances of mind control, doing the right thing with the wrong methods, etc. (And let’s not forget that time Leo legitimately had PTSD and attacked Master Splinter.) Leo means well, and for the most part, he has a very strong sense of justice, but that judgment can get clouded sometimes. This artist imagined what Leo would be like if he were a foot soldier, and he does look pretty cool and intimidating. You do not want to get on the wrong side of this ninja.
Art by NeonSpider.
19 Here Comes The Reaper
Danny Phantom, in general, is a pretty dark show, considering it’s a kids’ show. After all, the whole premise revolves around a 14-year-old kid essentially perishing by an experimental portal and becoming half ghost. Yeah, Danny is basically half-deceased. But that hasn’t stopped him from trying to live his life and stop other ghosts from terrorizing Amity Park. For the most part, Danny is dedicated to fighting for the side of good. But there have been a couple of times when he’s gone a bit rogue.
It’s kind of surprising Danny hasn’t gone all dark on us permanently.
There’s the alternate future where Danny becomes Dark Dan Phantom and basically takes over Amity Park, ending his human half and merging with Vlad’s ghost half. (It was a crazy day). Then there’s the time where Danny was being mind-controlled by Freakshow and dons a Grim Reaper costume at his crazy Gothica Circus. Honestly, it’s kind of surprising Danny hasn’t gone all dark on us permanently. With everything this kid goes through, he should be super messed up, and I wouldn’t blame him if he decided to just become some crazy villain. Other villains have done more and gone through a lot less. It’s a pretty big testament to Danny’s inner strength. Nothing will stop him from protecting the people he loves.
Art by Dracogueure.
18 No Wishes Can Help Him Now
Timmy would be another character that I could see going evil one day. This kid has been through a fair amount of trouble. He has pretty neglectful parents, a rather abusive babysitter, not many friends, and a teacher who seems a little too interested in him. And he doesn’t seem to really have any talents or special skills (except maybe his imagination, but even that is pretty meh). Even with his fairy godparents, Timmy can’t seem to catch a break. I could see this kid reaching his breaking point one day and just snapping.
And there is an episode where Timmy goes evil (I’m sensing a pattern in these cartoons.) Now, he didn’t do it on purpose; it was just the result of a wish gone wrong. Timmy wishes that he would do the opposite of everything his dad tells him to do. But when his dad tells him to be good, well, you can imagine how things worked out. Timmy then became Nega-Timmy. Thankfully it isn’t permanent, but evil Timmy is a pretty interesting idea. I mean, if this kid truly did go evil, he could probably take over the world since there doesn’t seem to be any limits to his fairy godparents’ power. So, let’s hope this kid stays good, for all of our sakes.
Art by Dinkelion.
17 She Means Business
It’s hard to imagine Katara as anything evil since she really is a good person. She’s compassionate, loyal, and kind, but also determined, fiery, and tough. This is a girl who could both comfort you when you’re hurting, but also take you down if you’re being stupid. While some fans didn’t like her as much as other characters, Katara was a big part of the series, and I think it’s thanks to her that Aang grows into his role as the Avatar. But that doesn’t mean that Katara wouldn’t have a dark side.
A dark blood-bending Katara is definitely a chilling one that we could see happening.
There are a few moments where Katara gets a little dark. One notable one is when she bloodbends a fire nation soldier. Despite that she was horrified to learn bloodbending, she later uses this skill in a moment of anger. An angry Katara is a very dangerous Katara, and she has the power to mess you up. I like both of these pictures since they portray a dark Katara in two very different scenarios. A dark blood-bending Katara is definitely a chilling one that we could see happening. On the other hand, a creepy swamp monster Katara would be seriously frightening. Maybe she ended up getting lost in the swamps and went crazy. Either way, let’s just be glad that Katara is on our side.
Art by Acaciathorn.
16 What A Change For This Sponge
When you think of SpongeBob, you probably don’t think of him being this evil creature. For the most part, SpongeBob is a fairly harmless character. Annoying and relentlessly optimistic, but generally harmless (unless you’re Squidward or Plankton.) And as we follow his adventures in Bikini Bottom, you can tell that SpongeBob usually means well. And while the things he does can often backfire rather spectacularly, and he generally becomes a nuisance to some of his friends, you can tell that his heart’s in the right place. But what if this cheerful sponge went bad?
Initially, I didn’t think an evil SpongeBob would be creepy or threatening. But these two artists certainly make him look creepy enough. SpongeBob turning into some type of monster is definitely creepy (and he looks a lot like those creepy Anglerfish). And I don’t even know what’s going on with SpongeBob, really. It’s like he’s staring into your soul and thinking of the best way to end you. Who would’ve thought that a smiling sponge could end up being pretty unnerving? Though I’m not sure what an evil SpongeBob would do. Take over Mr. Krabs' restaurant? Help Plankton rule the world? It’s hard to say with this guy.
Art by MrHeli.
15 There’s No Limit For This Evil Boy Genius
It’s kind of insane just how smart Jimmy Neutron is. This kid is building some pretty amazing futuristic technology and no one is really commenting on it? You’d think companies and schools would be all over this kid, trying to recruit him. But I guess that’s not the point of the cartoon. It’s pretty cool though that Jimmy isn’t particularly stuck up when it comes to his genius. Yeah, he knows he’s smart, but he’s still compassionate and friendly. He just likes to push the limits of science and have fun with it. But what if Jimmy had darker plans in mind?
There was an episode where Jimmy had an evil clone (boy, that was a crazy day) so the concept of evil Jimmy isn’t too far-fetched. And Jimmy’s evil clone is pretty entertaining to watch. But can you imagine if Jimmy himself went rogue? Considering how smart this kid is and what he can build, imagine if he used those talents for more nefarious purposes. He could probably take over the world if he really wanted to. Hopefully, Jimmy will stay the kind, lovable person that he is, because if he does go evil, I’m pretty sure we’re all doomed.
Art by Shinjumarkez and Neweraoutlaw.
14 He's Both Adorable And Strange
I think we can all agree that one of the best things about Invader Zim was Gir, hands down. This slightly defective robot was a great source of hilarity in this surprisingly dark cartoon. Gir’s interactions with the world and with Zim reminded us to just enjoy life as it happens and to not sweat the small stuff (plus, who doesn’t love the doom song?). While Zim was often exasperated by Gir, I think the two did become pretty close. After all, Gir is all Zim has to remind him of his homeworld. But what if Gir’s craziness wasn’t so harmless?
There is an episode where Gir does go evil, sort of. More like Zim forces him to be in “Duty Mode” all the time, which causes Gir to go a bit haywire, question Zim’s authority, and basically goes rogue and starts draining human brains. It’s really only thanks to a bit of luck and the help from a squid man (don’t ask) that Zim manages to get Gir back to normal. If you think about it, Gir is a pretty powerful robot and he could do some major damage if he put his mind to it. It’s probably a good thing that Gir doesn’t care about things like world domination because he could totally enslave humanity if he wanted to.
Art by Nephylin.
13 He’s A Villain Genius
What I really like about Nickelodeon’s 2012 Donatello is that while he’s still very much the nerdy tech genius his character usually is, he’s got quite a bit more personality than his previous versions. This Don is actually pretty sarcastic and high strung. It doesn’t take much to get him worked up over something, and we’ve seen him lose his temper at his brothers quite a few times, which is actually pretty funny. But besides being snarky, Don is also a very compassionate guy, willing to go out of his way to help and taking unnecessary risks to save someone. But what if this guy was a little less compassionate?
He would totally be that evil genius that would take over the world.
It’s pretty hard to imagine Donnie going all evil. But if he did, he would totally be that evil genius that would probably take over the world. I could see him just snapping one day and using his technology to destroy everything. It would actually be pretty terrifying since Donnie seems like the last person to do something like that. I like this picture since it shows Donnie in a much more sinister light, but in a subtle way. The red in his eyes and the slight fangs to his teeth give an indication that something went very wrong. Maybe one of his experiments backfired.
Art by Furen-8.
12 Don’t Touch Her Plants, Man
She may be human, but that doesn’t stop Sam from kicking ghost behind and fighting social injustice in Danny Phantom. Sam is that person that’s all about activism and fighting for the rights of animals, humans, and probably even ghosts. This is a girl who isn’t afraid of anything, even though she probably should have at least a little fear. But she’s that solid rock that Danny needs to stay sane. She’s one of the few people who knew about Danny’s powers from the very beginning and she’s been by his side ever since. I love that she and Danny got together because they’re just so perfect together.
But Sam has also turned evil, thanks to some ghosts. There’s that episode where she gets possessed by a giant plant ghost and reigns as a type of plant queen ghost. It was pretty crazy, and it reminded us why we shouldn’t mess with Sam. Though if Sam were to go rogue, I could see it being over something like this. Sam cares a lot about the environment and nature, and nothing makes her angrier than when people refuse to listen to her. Plus, Queen Sam’s design is pretty awesome. I love these two interpretations of her because it shows off her power and strength. Sam shows that evil isn’t just for the boys.
Art by Hopeandnewbeginnings and Zillenoise.
11 This Little Girl Has Some Issues
Wait, are we saying Angelica from Rugrats wasn’t evil already? That voice could’ve fooled me. Okay, while Angelica was incredibly annoying and did serve as a type of antagonist to the other babies, I wouldn’t call her evil. She was just a bratty little girl that wanted more attention. For the most part, she’s harmless. But some fans have decided to take a look at her (and the show in general) in a much more sinister light.
This Angelica is way freakier than she has any right to be.
There’s a popular fan theory that’s been circling on Creepypasta that all of the babies in Rugrats are gone and Angelica is just imagining them because she’s lonely and possibly schizophrenic. There’s also the theory that she progressively gets worse as she gets older and acts out violently, particularly toward Dil, who is apparently the only real baby. And the fans have dedicated quite a bit of fanfiction and fan art toward this concept. It’s an interesting idea to take this little girl an add some mental instability to her, especially because it would be plausible for Angelica to have some issues. It’s a pretty interesting idea that makes this girl a lot scarier than she has any right to be.
Art by Maneodra and Akira-Nami.
10 It’s Always The Nice Ones
Out of all the characters in Avatar: Legend of Korra, Bolin is probably the nicest and the most approachable. This guy is the definition of a genuinely nice guy. Even when he is rejected romantically by Korra, he stays her friend, and not in hopes that she’ll change her mind. Yes, he was very sad about it, but he moves on and remains Korra’s friend because he’s just that awesome. In general, Bolin is a very sweet and light-hearted guy who likes to have fun. But what if he was a bit more dangerous?
An evil Bolin is a strange and almost terrifying concept. I always think it’s scarier when the nice ones go bad because you know they likely had a legitimate reason. In this case, I believe the artist has drawn Bolin as possessed by some evil spirit and has become an unstoppable force. It just feels so wrong to see someone who’s normally very nice become all twisted and dark. It’s that much more jarring. And imagine what that would do to poor Mako. This guy has been looking out for his little brother since the demise of their parents. Seeing Bolin like this would probably tear Mako apart.
Art by Bolin01.
9 You Won’t Like Him Angry
Raphael is the turtle who’s probably gone through the most personality changes over the years in TMNT. Depending on the version, he could be a hotheaded fighter who’s not afraid to get brutal, or he could be the wise-cracking sarcastic brother who always has something to say about the situation. (And sometimes he’s both.) Nickelodeon’s 2012 version combines a bit of the two, keeping Raph’s hot-tempered personality, but also making him pretty sarcastic and mouthy. This Raph fights with both his fists and his words (though he prefers his fists).
Out of all the turtle brothers in TMNT, many people would think that Raph would be the one most likely to turn bad. And I could see why: Raph is infamous for his temper; it’s canon that he nearly ended Mikey and Leo in one of his rages. He’s also impulsive, stubborn, hot-headed, and has no problem with violence. Combine that with his self-loathing and insecurities, and you’ve got a villain just waiting to be let out. So, an evil Raph would definitely be chilling, but not super surprising. But despite his faults, he loves his brothers fiercely, and it would take a lot for him to betray them. I like this artist’s interpretation because it shows Raph both going rogue intentionally and also through mind control. Either way, you wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of an evil Raph.
Art by Hot-Head-Turtle.
8 I’d Watch This Over Vampire Diaries Any Day
Probably one of the biggest strengths of Hey Arnold! was its characters. The show had quite a wide variety of characters that were pretty well rounded and developed. Every character was shown to be going through something, and the series showed that no one was perfect. These were just kids living in the inner city, trying to get through life with their sanity intact. (Hey, middle school can be rough.) And at the end, you realize that all that matters are the people who care about you. But what if this show had a horror element to it?
Imagine having to deal with vampire issues as well as the woes of middle school.
This artist decided to portray several Hey Arnold! characters as vampires, and I have to say they look pretty awesome. I love the rougher art style that reminds me of those darker comics from the 80s and 90s. It would be a very interesting alternate universe where the characters were vampires. Imagine having to deal with vampire issues as well as the woes of middle school. I don’t know if being vampires strictly makes them evil (depends on who you talk to), but it does make them pretty creepy at least. It would explain Helga’s slightly creepy fixation on Arnold, though maybe Helga’s just a stalker.
Art by Ri-Perils.
7 Sorry, What?
We know that Nickelodeon has done a lot of weird cartoons (the 90s was a seriously wild time). Pretty much nothing was considered too crazy, too weird, or too much for these guys. That’s probably how a show like CatDog came about. Seriously, who came up with the idea of a cat and a dog being conjoined? That sounds like some crazy dream (well, maybe that’s what happened. It would explain a few things). Besides the crazy concept, the show itself was full of strange imagery, strange characters, and strange situations.
It wouldn’t be too hard to imagine CatDog as evil since, well, they aren’t very good people, to begin with (Good cats? Good dogs? Good catdogs? I don’t know). They’re constantly bullying each other and other people, they rarely do anything unless it helps them, and they’ve pulled some pretty messed up stuff. They’re obviously not evil, but they’re not really good either. This artist decided to show CatDog committing an unpardonable sin: eating their own adopted father Winslow. Considering Cat and Winslow don’t get along, this sounds about right for him, but Dog going along with it is a bit surprising. Let’s hope they don’t actually do this to the poor guy.
Art by HeinousFlame.
6 This Avatar Could Doom The World
Aang is the type of character that’s incredibly hard to write well, but he was seriously well done. It’s hard to write a kid character and keep the balance between making them too annoying and making them too mature. And Aang is a great balance between the two. He’s wise beyond his years due to the responsibilities on his shoulders (plus he’s technically over 100 years old), but he’s still very childlike in some of his antics and responses. He’s this powerful kid who has the wisdom of knowing when to fight and when to avoid violence, and yet, he gets super excited about penguin sledding. And watching him grow throughout this series from the slightly silly kid into a very mature and wise one is both believable and amazing.
And that’s why it’s really hard to imagine Aang as evil. It’s just completely against his nature to hurt others and to do terrible things. But this artist decided to combine Aang with a Hollow from the anime series Bleach, and it’s pretty creepy. I like that this evil version of Aang is still pretty childish and silly. I can imagine that he would be the type of villain that would make you laugh with his immature antics, but he would also be seriously terrifying when he got serious. Let’s hope Aang never goes rogue.
Art by Sractheninja.
5 This Looks Pretty Good On This Guy
We could argue that Dib is the only good guy in the series Invader Zim, since he’s the one who recognizes Zim as an alien and is constantly trying to stop Zim from taking over the world. But he’s not very good at it; it’s a good thing that Zim is worse at taking over the world. But you can’t help but feel bad for Dib. He goes through a lot in his attempts to stop Zim, and no one ever believes him when he insists Zim is an alien. That would be incredibly frustrating.
I could see Dib going evil in a few ways. Maybe he’d finally snap and just decide to end everyone (stress will do that to you). Maybe Zim convinces him to join his side and help him take over the world (that would be interesting). Or maybe Dib somehow gets transformed into a vampire and starts feeding off people and aliens. (Hey, weirder things have happened in this show). Though if I were to pick one, I could see Dib just snapping and going crazy. There’s only so much you can take before you reach your breaking point and I think Dib is close to his.
Art by Toxiczodiac and Zimplusdib.
4 He Is A Very Classy Villain
Out of all the characters in Fairly OddParents, Cosmo is probably the most harmless and the most light-hearted. The guy may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but he makes up for it in enthusiasm. His relationship with Wanda is pretty interesting, since the two clearly love each other, even though they do bicker a fair amount. They’re the classic odd couple that work surprisingly well together.
You can be bad, but you can still look so good.
But there actually is an evil version of Cosmo. Well, more like an Anti-Cosmo. This version of Cosmo is part of the Anti-Fairies who don’t get along with the other fairies. And in this version, Anti-Cosmo is an evil criminal mastermind who’s incredibly smart and cunning. He’s always plotting to gain more power and bring bad luck to humans (and he has a British accent because of course he does.) And this guy actually is a legitimate threat to the other fairies and to Timmy, though it’s usually thanks to Anti-Wanda that his plans fail. I have to admit that Cosmo looks pretty good as a villain. And I love these two artist’s renditions of him, showing that you can be bad, but you can still look so good. But let’s hope Anti-Cosmo doesn’t succeed in his plans anytime soon.
3 Really Don’t Want To Mess With This Turtle
Out of all ninja turtle brothers, Michelangelo is probably the fan favorite. And who could blame them? Mikey is definitely the most light-hearted out of the turtles, always ready for a prank, a joke, or just some silly antics. He’s very much the baby of the group and while he annoys his brothers a lot, they’re all incredibly protective of him. Nickelodeon’s 2012 Mikey, in particular, is often lost in his own world and it’s a pain to get him to pay attention (I strongly suspect he has ADHD). But that doesn’t make him any less competent in battle; Mikey’s got some serious nunchaku skills.
I could see evil Mikey just being that chaotic type of villain.
It’s really weird to see an evil Mikey because he’s one of those characters that’s practically the living embodiment of sunshine and happiness. But that’s what makes dark Mikey so creepy. This artist actually took the Dark Mikey from the 2003 TMNT series and combined him with the 2012 Mikey, making a really freaky but interesting mutant. I could see evil Mikey just being that chaotic type of villain. There wouldn’t be much rhyme or reason to the things he did; he’d probably do it just because he thought it was funny. Let’s hope Mikey doesn’t go evil on us anytime soon. I don’t think the world could handle it.
Art by Elileo.
2 These Three Should Never Team Up
Throughout the Danny Phantom series, the main three characters were Danny, Sam, and Tucker. You rarely saw these three without each other and Sam and Tucker proved to be invaluable in helping Danny fight ghosts. While they may occasionally have their disagreements, you can tell these three care about each other a lot and are willing to do what it takes to keep each other safe. They’ve all gone through a lot together and that’s brought them even closer together. So, what if that friendship was a bit on the darker side?
We’ve seen all three of these characters get turned evil at various points in the show, whether it was through possession, corruption, or just an experiment gone wrong. But what would happen if they all went evil at the same time? Chaos most likely. These three would totally wreak havoc on Amity Park, the world, and even the Ghost Zone. No one would be safe from them. It would be interesting to see how these evil versions of the trio would interact with each other. Would they still be good friends, or would they start fighting? (That many high-powered baddies in one room is probably a bad idea.) Hopefully, we’ll never have to find out.
Art by Ariieyaismyname.
1 This Man Isn’t Quite So Jolly
I think every Avatar: The Last Airbender fan can agree on at least one thing: Uncle Iroh is the best. There’s no question about it; we love Uncle Iroh. He does so much for Zuko in his own eccentric way, and when Zuko does betray him and then comes back seeking forgiveness, he doesn’t even hesitate to forgive him, hugging him joyfully. This guy was a better father to Zuko than Zuko’s own father. The man is kind, wise, funny, and surprisingly powerful. He may be an old man, but he can still kick your behind with ease. But what if Uncle Iroh wasn't such a wise and kind old man?
While we don’t know exactly what kind of person Iroh was when he was younger, we can guess that he was a bit more like a typical fire nation prince. He was powerful, confident, and maybe a bit on the arrogant side. But then he lost his son, and everything changed for him, he eventually fights against the Fire Nation. But it would’ve been interesting if Iroh hadn’t had that change of heart. And that’s what these two artists decide to portray. An Iroh who was more like Ozai and Azulon would be pretty creepy, especially since we’ve seen how powerful Iroh can be. If he had stayed loyal to the Fire Lord, who knows what would’ve become of the world?