We’ve already broken down the evil-doers
of the Disney Universe when it comes to morality in our Disney Villains: Evil to
Most Evil… But when the dust settles… WHo’s the most powerful? Which one of Disney’s iconic
villains is truly at the top of the food chain? That’s what we want to tackle today. I’m Brad with WickedBinge and this
is Disney Villains: Weak to Powerful. So, before we begin… Let’s iron out the rules.
For this list, we’re looking at both physical and magical strength. Brains will also be a
factor. And on top of that, those who have loyal followers or influence will also rank higher…
Because, let’s be real, influence is power too. Now, we’ll be focusing on mainline Disney
Villains from feature animated films. We won’t be including Disney exclusive
sequel villains… but… If a mainline villain reappears in a sequel, we will include
what happens in the sequel. That said, if you want to see a Disney Sequel
Exclusive Villains: Weak to Powerful… Let us know. We also won’t be including Pixar
villains because we consider Pixar it’s own studio and we’ve already did a Pixar Villains:
Weak to Powerful. So check that out. With all that said, let’s dig into it… First up, no disrespect to Pete, but we’re ranking
him as the least powerful. He was a trouble-causer in many of the shorts and films… and appeared
in many forms and themes… but he isn’t much of a threat by himself. Heck, in the Kingdom
Hearts games he was nothing more than a lackey and for a majority of the other times he’s
pretty inefficient or he’s just a loud and obnoxious guy. In the Goofy Movie for example,
he was just a stern single father who picked on his son to make himself feel bigger. To
be honest, Pete’s just kind of a loser. Hook is the commander of the Jolly Roger, but
was losing more and more of his crew’s loyalty the longer they stayed in Neverland hunting
Peter and the Lost Boys. The only thing that kept his crew in line was fear... Always seen
scattering at Hook’s demands and threats. Had he not been driven by his long lasting
grudge with Peter, he could have been able to use his charisma to gain more allies
and power. But it didn’t work out for him. He’s also quite emotionally vulnerable and has
subsequently made a fool of himself quite a bit. Medusa had been a force to be reckoned with.
A successful kidnapper, a trainer of giant crocodiles-nature’s perfect predator- and
a manipulator of everyone she comes into contact with. She was driven to make the
biggest buck in the easiest way possible. To be honest, she could have gone
far with her cutthroat methods, but she was more invested in just getting
the Devil’s Eye and living a cushy life… and she has a bit of a bumbling personality,
making it difficult to take her too seriously. Edgar was much like Medusa in the way that he was
determined to finally have his comfortable life. But unlike Medusa, Edgar was much better in
keeping up the facade about his true intentions. He was actually very close to achieving his
goal since the cats didn’t even realize he was trying to kill him, assuming they were
separated from their owner by mistake. But all that said, the scope of
his power isn’t all that wide… Cruella DeVil is a horrible woman without
a doubt. Connections to the crime world, a horrible driving record and the ultimate
goal to have a puppy fur coat, she comes off as nothing short of insane. But she loses a lot of
points because though she can be intimidating and has run trucks straight off the road, she would
gladly hire anyone to do her dirty work for her. Onto our second pirate. John Silver was captain
of his pirate crew and much more sensible than the people he hired. He had to put Scroop back in
line a number of times, using his cyborg strength and ruthless reputation. Like Edgar, he was
good at playing the role of an obedient worker, even giving compliments to the current captain
and training Jim on how to live aboard the ship. The man is able to use his limbs as
torches, knives and other such tools which makes him unpredictable and
dangerous when he chooses to be. Moving onto Oogie Boogie. Though
happy to torment Santa and Sally, he didn’t do much as far as damage to a
high degree. He had a unique ability of manifesting games of chance from nowhere
and had been known as a vile creature by the people of Halloween town… But all and
all, he’s not really all that powerful. I mean, his influence spanned over three
children and it didn’t take all that much effort to rip him open and drain his insides…
As we mentioned in our Disney Villains: Evil-to-Most Most, he’s definitely
one of the most morally reprehensible, but his power level doesn’t go too far
past having an incredible singing voice. Now, Hans was the ultimate two-faced creep. He
was the bottom rung of his family and tried to marry into the throne no matter who it
was with or what methods he had to use. He used his standing with Anna to have authority
over Arendale and then used the trust he’d earned as a leader to kill Elsa. Had Anna not
interfered, she would have frozen to death, Elsa would have fallen to his blade, and
he would have gained a kingdom all his own. Lady Tremaine became more ambitious the more time
she had on screen. In the sequels she goes from trying to have her daughters marry into nobility
to twisting time with the Fairy Godmother’s wand to ruin Cinderella’s life. She was able to use
magic to twist the Prince’s memories of the ball and had the authority with the guards to order
banishment for Cinderella. Luckily she wasn’t in power long, but she knew how to use her
air of superiority to gain a higher standing. Let’s move onto Governor Ratcliffe. Greedy,
violent and xenophobic, Ratcliffe is a heartless villain. Certainly in something of a position
of power, he doesn’t wield as much as assumed. For instance, he admits he never had been a
popular man… and his peers refer to him as a pathetic social climber. Still, he does seem
to at least command respect from his troops, which is where he becomes a genuine threat. Now, Bill Sykes was a small time mob
boss that relied more on his two dogs than other people. He had the ability to be
able to terrorize a variety of individuals but instead preyed on Fagin and others in
his position. He’s heard talking on the phone after kidnapping Penny to take another person
out, but we don’t see him run much of a group. He’s more the type to prefer
working hands on with those he uses. Otherwise he could have been a very
ruthless leader of the criminal underground. Speaking of, Ratigan is next. He was not
only an elegant rat with a large following, but he had high ambitions to be the next ruler.
He knew what buttons to press to get people to do as he wanted as he had high enough intellect
that he almost always escaped Basil’s grasp. He was close to his goal, having broken the
toy maker and Basil’s spirit for a long while, but he hadn’t counted on how much Dawson
would kick the detective into action. Onto Clayton. He was a successful poacher
and had many allies among the trade route, which was a tricky thing to accomplish. And he’s
also a pretty manly dude, willing to trek into the jungle and fight high up in the trees. With a gun,
with a blade, with his fists… We have to give him points for that. He managed to make his way onto a
trip that was praised by the scientific community and worked well to trick Tarzan and the other
members of the expedition to find the information he wanted, so he’s also no dummy. Not smart
enough to avoid hanging himself, but still. Moving onto another hunter… Gaston was a hero
to the town but a terror to Belle and the Beast. He was a capable hunter, strong enough to
lift numerous people at once and lead a mob, and could have easily gained more
standing as a soldier or governor. Despite how dumb he appears, he knew how
to conduct shady deals to get his way, relying on blackmail when charm and force didn’t
work. The only reason we give him the edge over Clayton is because Gaston has a surprising
amount of influence for someone of his ignorance. Prince John was also good at getting people to
bow to his wants. He sent his brother off to the Crusades so that he could rule without being
regulated and taxed his people to the point where they were too poor to leave and unable to
really fight back. He used the death sentence on anyone that dared to oppose him and used
his crown to make up for his low self-esteem. The Duke of Weselton was a much more open
and ruthless figure. He’s willing to play the game among royals as long as it means he
can get something out of it. He tried prying information from Anna, declared Elsa a threat
to be taken out and only played nice with Hans since the man was the closest leader
Arandelle had while the sisters were absent. Hans was an excellent actor, but the Duke
was raised and trained on how to swim among the higher elite. He gets his higher
ranking due mainly to political power. Yzma was briefly emperor and a cunning scientist. Though she didn’t have the best method
for storing and sorting her vials, she was able to create some pretty off the wall
things. And this all scores her some big points. She could have easily used that ability to take
out anyone who opposed her. But unfortunately for her, she usually fails to pay attention to the
small details… Which ultimately thwart her plans. Mother Gothel was like Medusa in that she
was a successful kidnapper. But her tactic was a little different, taking Rapunzel at a very
young age to convince the girl she was her mother and making it more difficult for Rapunzel to leave
the tower. We don’t see her use much magic aside from making herself younger with Rapunzel’s hair,
but she does have a way of getting people to do things for her and see her side of things. She’s
a talented manipulator that has no issue using a blade when words don’t sway her victims. This
may not seem like true power, but it really is. And arguably an even more dangerous type of
power because of how it flies under the radar. Madam Mim gets a higher ranking as a very
capable witch with impressive magic. But she also loses points because she tends not to
have much of a plan and dives into confrontations without much thought. It doesn’t do much good
to turn into a dragon if your only goal is to make another spell caster feel inferior.
Still, we can’t deny the overall power. The Coachman from Pinnochio was not a
spell caster of any time. He was just a shady business man that knew how to trick
young boys into letting their guard down so he had slave labour to use... Honestly one
of the most f’d up villains in Disney history. He had an abundance of anything a young boy
would find tempting from cigars and booze to candy and fun carnival rides. It’s unclear how he
came across these things, but we can only guess he has a vast network of connections from selling
the boys off once they changed into donkeys. The Queen of Hearts was a merciless ruler,
ready to take out anyone who displeased her in any fashion. She was dangerous because she was
unpredictable. Anything from a game to having tea could set her off and result in her chopping off
heads. It’s a sad truth that many rulers used this fear method to keep power and she uses the tactic
very well. And we have to rank her this high, because she really knew how to keep her kingdom
in line. Everybody genuinely feared her. Next up we have a serious plot-twist villain...
Bellweather from Zootopia… Now, physically, she certainly doesn’t even come close to
ranking with the big baddies… But it’s her intelligence and skills at manipulations
that really allow her to pull off a lot… When you factor in the threat she was to
Zootopia and power she briefly held over it… all while flying under the radar…
You really can’t deny her power. And unlike villains like The Queen of Hearts… she
doesn’t reveal her cards until she has to. King Candy, or Turbo as we find out, was a master
of disguise. He was a program from a dated racing game and since his initial game hop, he found
ways to constantly update himself and shift the world he was in so no one knew the game was
even tampered with. Anything he disagreed with he could just shut out of the game and pretend
didn’t exist. This may seem like a kind of fun and goofy plot-line, but contextually, this
is a pretty tremendous display of power. Being able to go into another digital
world and take over is pretty serious. We can’t forget about Lyle Tiberius Rourke
from Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Simply put, he’s an opportunist much like other Disney
Villains, but his strong military training and leadership skills really separate him from others…
He is physically strong, willing to do whatever it takes to achieve what he wants and is both
manipulative and adaptable to intense situations… Now we’re really getting into monarch power…
Scar knew how to twist things to get his way. He was smart enough to recruit the
hyenas for his plot to take the throne and everyone believed him without question when
he gave the news Mufasa and Simba were dead. His army of savangers made him nearly impossible
to challenge and his downfall was trying to sell them out when confronted by Simba. Scar was
physically weaker than his brother Mufasa, but he was smarter… more conniving and brutal.
And he didn’t have those pesky little “ethics” to stop him from clawing his way up the hierarchy.
Scar’s power emulates many historical dictators, both Communists and Fascists… intelligent
enough to hone in on fear and cast blame on other classes in order to rise to power. And
cruel enough to kill those who got in his way. And like most other dictators… the
fall after his rise was brutal. Frollo was a nightmare politician and the worst
person that could ever be a parent. There’s also an argument for Frollo being the most vile villain
Disney has ever created. He tried using fear to keep Quasimodo hidden away and to try and keep the
people of Paris from warming up to the gypsies. He had an actual torture chamber in
the Palace of Justice and is heard having people whipped relentlessly just
for being sympathetic to the people he deemed unworthy. The man even
ordered an attack on Notre Dame that was obeyed without question. His power
is pretty vast given the status he has in his city and government. But all that political
power couldn’t stop his one-way ticket to hell. Big Hero 6’s Robert Callaghan is next… Also
known as Yokai, he hunts down those that crossed him after cloning Hiro’s technology. The fact
that he’s a robotics professor at Sanfransokyo Institute of Technology shows that he is indeed
powerful… but the serious damage he does with his telepathic controlling of nanobots is what
really makes him one of the most serious threats. Shan Yu was the leader of the Hun army... So that
alone ranks him pretty high when it comes to power level. There is never a time in the film where we
see his men doubt him or try to take over command. He commands loyalty, but also seems to
have tremendous respect for his people. It was an almost brotherly banter as
they discussed tactics and murder, and because of their joined efforts they nearly
succeeded in taking over the Palace. Shan Yu, in addition to being a ruthless leader,
was also powerful as an individual. Not only being willing to fight on his own,
but genuinely loving every minute of it. Doctor Facilier was dubbed the Shadow
Man for his use of voodoo magic and was a tough man to take on. He resorted
to using his friends from the other side when things were looking riskier than he liked
and was only defeated because he got cocky and thought Tiana would be easy to buy off.
Really, the power that he wields is some of the most terrifying in all of Disney animation.
It’s veiled in mystery and can only be assumed to be endless torment… He was ultimately
consumed by it in the end, which showed that as powerful as the dark arts were… He
didn’t have the ability to totally control it. As we continue through the realm of royalty,
we get to The Evil Queen. She had impressive magic herself. She could manipulate age and
appearance, summoned a lighting bolt for her potion and was able to hunt down Snow White
with the help of her magic mirror. We can’t rank her any higher though as she doesn’t
use the magic much past killing the princess. The woman had potential and just didn’t
use it as much as she could have. Otherwise she likely wouldn’t have been
chased through the woods to her death. Ursula on the other hand knew how much magic
to use and when to gain more power. She knew how to lure Ariel and was able to make it work
as leverage for Tritan. Like the Evil Queen, she also could change her appearance and voice to
trick others, enchanting Eric so he didn’t marry Ariel. Really, Ursula was smart and convincing
enough to be manipulative, her ruthlessness allowed her to seize power and her magic was
really some of the most intense on the list… Too bad she became too big a target
once she had the power she craved. Jafar was another magic user, who had some of
the most aggressive magic of any Disney film… He used it to influence the Sultan and
gain power over the kingdom. Not only that, but he practically made himself a God… Although
it didn’t last long. Even before he was able to utilize the Genie, he had ways of finding
people and using their desires against them. He had the guard which obeyed his every order
and a secret lab to plot his next move in. He knew how to hide his true intentions, not
suspected of anything until Aladin showed. Heck, he worked his way up the Sultan’s hierarchy
using his quick wits and hypnotic magic. Hades gets a higher spot simply for being
the God of the Underworld. He’s a schemer and clearly has immense power in his world. He
knew how to be patient to get what he wanted, waiting eighteen years for the stars to align
in his favour. But once Hercules was a threat, he completely lost his cool and resorted
to emotional black mail. But either way, the mere fact that he’s able to create
contracts that damn souls to an eternity of being in his possession is scary,
and we can’t take that away from him. Our Bronze Medal of Power goes to Maleficent. She
may have had weird motivations for cursing Aurora, but she was said to be one of the
most powerful beings of that world, with the fairies only able to twist her magic
a little instead of being rid of it completely. She transformed into a giant dragon, could make
countless thorns grow to slow her enemies down, had fire and lightning abilities when attacking
and could vanish from sight in an instant. Onto the Silver Medal of Power… The Horned
King was not a man of any specific goal, but was still one to be feared. His ambitions
in the film mainly revolved around taking out anyone else with magical ability and gaining as
much power as possible. He was able to raise and command the dead, and found ways of seeing into
the lives of others so he could take out any enemy before they became a threat. Not only is The
Horned King likely the darkest Disney Villain, he’s also arguably the most powerful… Well,
except for our Gold Medal recipient... Our Gold Medal of Powerful Villain goes
to Chernabog. Our number one because, well… he’s the literal devil. He’s seen in the
Fantasia film as being able to create and destroy, showing neither joy nor anger as he sentenced the
creatures that served him to a fiery fate. We see him as a force of nature, calling about storms
and breaking apart the earth at will. And yes, he’s described as Satan and has been described
as Disney’s best representation of pure evil… But more specifically, Chernabog’s raw
power is unmatched. So… congratulations, Chernabog. For taking the Gold
Medal of Power home to hell! But what do you think? Who is the most powerful
among the Disney villains? Let us know in the comment section. Don't forget to hit that
notification bell and binge our Good-to-Evil playlist. Where we break down the morality
of the characters in your favorite cartoons, shows and movies. But most
importantly, stay wicked!
