They're the Digital World's most dangerous denizens. Join Ashley as we look over the best anatagonists to come out of the Digimon franchise
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00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most iconic or impactful
00:11 antagonists in the Digimon franchise.
00:28 There's nothing inherently wrong about wanting DigiDestined to remain with their digital
00:33 partners forever, although kidnapping people across the globe and reverting them back to
00:38 children is a bit excessive.
00:40 To Menowa, however, it was worth it.
00:42 She knows the pain of losing your Digimon, and if she had her way, no one else would
00:47 ever experience it again.
00:59 You can't help but relate to her plight, especially since the movie isn't called
01:04 the "Last Evolution" for nothing.
01:06 Tai and Matt stop her plan in the end, but that doesn't make the message any less affecting.
01:11 If anything, Menowa's stint as a villain proved exactly why it was time for Digimon
01:17 to grow up.
01:29 While it may look warm and cuddly, you really don't want to catch Meiko's partner on
01:33 a bad day.
01:34 Due to a virus in its data, Meikuman has a nasty habit of going berserk and attacking
01:40 anything around her, even Meiko herself.
01:49 The DigiDestined try to stop her, but that only triggers a dark Digivolution into Meikragmon,
01:55 and later, Ordinemon.
01:57 It's one thing to beat up a bad guy, and another to destroy a former friend.
02:10 Then again, when the entire human world is at stake, there isn't much of a choice.
02:14 The tragic circumstances turn Meikuman into a one-of-a-kind adversary that's more pitiable
02:20 than sinister.
02:35 No matter what medium, Cherubimon is a force to be reckoned with.
02:39 In the Digimon movie, he's a corrupt digital partner who tries to capture his former tamer,
02:45 Wallace, by any means necessary.
02:54 Even if it means destroying the DigiDestined.
02:56 If that sounds bad, wait until you hear what the Frontier gang has to deal with.
03:01 There, Cherubimon is a fallen archangel trying to conquer the entire digital world.
03:10 In both appearances, Cherubimon is sadistic, all-powerful, and extremely difficult to take
03:16 down.
03:17 Eh, on the bright side, Cherubimon does have a purified form that uses his power for good.
03:22 It's just buried really, really deep.
03:33 Following the impossibly creepy Debimon, Digimon Adventure opted for a villain with a bit more
03:39 personality.
03:40 Introducing Etemon, master of the Dark Network and Elvis impressions.
03:52 Odd English dubquicks aside, Etemon's charming villainy forced the team to re-evaluate their
03:59 strategy, leading to some downright legendary moments.
04:02 By the time MetalGreymon rockets Etemon into oblivion, it's almost sad to see him and
04:08 his Elvis impression go.
04:16 Luckily, the fiend later returns for an encore as MetalEtemon.
04:25 His second act isn't as long as his first.
04:28 He basically shows up, cracks a few jokes, and promptly goes blasting off again.
04:33 Like any good musician, Etemon always leaves you wanting more.
04:43 Seeing is believing, unless of course, you're Yukio Oikawa.
04:47 Led by a promise to a deceased friend, the disgruntled crook sought to weaken the barrier
04:52 between the human and digital worlds, regardless of the consequences.
05:01 In doing so, Oikawa nearly destroyed everything.
05:05 And yet, it's hard to judge him too harshly.
05:08 Beneath the slimy veneer, he's just a kid who wants a Digimon.
05:15 Plus, Oikawa's story isn't all doom and gloom.
05:21 We'd be remiss not to mention his lackeys, Arukenemon and Mumemon, who take the buddy
05:27 cop grunt trope to new, hilarious heights.
05:31 Whether through compelling character work or dim-witted hijinks, these three made sure
05:36 O2's villains were some to remember.
05:42 Meet Gamemon.
05:46 He's a young, well-meaning Digimon with four different champion forms.
05:53 The first three are friendly, the last one though, not so much.
05:58 Still, Ghoulous Gamemon is so much more than your average evil transformation.
06:10 For one, the mystery behind his insidious motives are the driving force of Ghost Game's
06:16 entire narrative.
06:17 Can you blame them?
06:18 Ghoulous Gamemon is cool, intriguing, vicious and above all, deadly.
06:32 And that's before he Digivolves into Regulusmon.
06:35 Afterwards, it took the might of three Megas just to keep him at bay.
06:39 Based on that, there's a good reason Ghost Game never had to introduce another main antagonist.
06:45 Ghoulous Gamemon was all it needed.
07:00 Most recurring villains show up, cause some mischief and quickly get sent packing.
07:04 But in a refreshing change of pace, Ogemon actually gets a fully fleshed out character
07:10 arc.
07:11 In his returns with Greymon on more than a few occasions, the troll Digimon eventually
07:16 learned to respect his own strength above that of his evil boss, Devimon.
07:26 Then, as atonement, Ogemon points Tai towards Devimon's face and sacrifices himself.
07:39 It's a surprisingly empowering end to what could have been a one-note villain, or it
07:47 would have been, if it was actually Ogemon's end.
07:50 Later, he shows up again as the newly evolved Rebellimon, giving this former villain the
07:56 happy ending he deserves.
08:10 Born from the corrupt spirit of darkness, it's really no wonder Duskmon was such a
08:14 thorn in the side of the Digidestined.
08:16 Actually, scratch that, he's a problem for anyone who gets in his way, full stop.
08:22 Just ask Arbomon.
08:29 He's even less merciful to the Frontier team.
08:35 Not even their beast spirits were enough to compete with Duskmon's menacing bloodlust.
08:43 Then, just when it seems it can't get any worse, the other shoe drops.
08:50 Duskmon is actually Koichi, fellow Digidestined Koji's twin brother.
08:54 Talk about an awkward family reunion.
08:56 From unstoppable adversary to mind-controlled ally, Duskmon runs the gamut of entertaining
09:03 villainy.
09:04 Despite what Koichi says, that's a good thing in our book.
09:13 Lilithmon.
09:14 The Bagra army isn't something to take lightly, especially with generals like Lilithmon.
09:20 She's a cunning strategist who conquered entire zones of the digital world on nothing
09:28 more than a whim.
09:30 The worst part?
09:31 She barely had to lift a finger.
09:33 Lilithmon's signature game plan is getting others to fight for her, sometimes even creating
09:38 new fusions in the process.
09:40 But don't worry, Lilithmon can still fight when the need arises.
09:47 While her phantom pain attacks do plenty of damage, once she merges with Blastmon, the
09:52 appropriately named evil beast Lilithmon is a threat to the whole digital world.
09:57 Whoever said you can't have beauty and brawn has clearly never met Lilithmon.
10:08 When it comes to nefarious schemes, attempting to blow all of Tokyo off the face of the Earth
10:13 is pretty high on the list.
10:15 But that's just Diaboromon for you.
10:23 As a living internet virus, it wreaked havoc on the world by shutting down banks, disconnecting
10:29 phone lines and, oh yeah, launching the aforementioned nukes.
10:33 Did we mention it can multiply too?
10:42 It took the debut of fan favourite Omnimon to defeat it for good, and even then, they
10:47 only scraped by with a few seconds to spare.
10:50 We have to give credit where it's due.
10:52 There may never be another Digimon villain that comes so close to literally destroying
10:57 the world.
11:18 Talk about apocalyptic.
11:20 While originally designed by humans as a program in order to keep the digital world in check,
11:26 it soon ended up mutating to the point where it became a threat to both humans and Digimon
11:31 alike, taking the form of a sentient, blood-like creature that even managed to put multiple
11:36 Mega Digimon through their paces.
11:47 If that wasn't scary enough, it goes on to use traumatic memories of Jerry as a way
11:53 to learn more about humans, bringing us some creepy imagery that still haunts us to this
11:58 very day.
12:13 By far one of the most morally complex characters in the franchise, despite being born from
12:18 the corrupt nature of 100 control spires, this Digimon was above all else a warrior
12:24 trying to forge his own path.
12:31 He managed to cripple the DigiDestined on multiple occasions, brought about all kinds
12:36 of calamity, and yet, through it all, became intrigued about the nature of the heart.
12:42 He may look like a darker version of WarGreymon, but this character was well and truly his
12:47 own.
12:57 The first true villain of Digimon, this malicious being more than lives up to his demonic appearance.
13:10 Whether he's infecting innocent Digimon with the Black Giz, or by administering the
13:15 appropriately named "Touch of Evil", Devimon's presence is felt all throughout
13:20 File Island.
13:21 Of course, he's not above getting his hands dirty either, and nearly managed to kill off
13:25 Tai and company during their final confrontation, only to be defeated after getting a fistful
13:31 of Angemon.
13:39 He may not be the most complicated of individuals, but he certainly set a solid foundation for
13:45 all antagonists that followed.
13:55 Regardless of any initial impressions you might have, trust us, this guy is anything
14:00 but heavenly.
14:01 The being responsible for the chaotic state of the digital world, this tyrant loves nothing
14:06 more than to play mind games with both the legendary warriors, as well as his own subordinates.
14:22 As if his cruelty and God Complex weren't bad enough, he's also got some serious power
14:27 under that toga.
14:29 With both his Chaos and Shadow Lord forms, he was but a breath away from bringing about
14:34 the end of the human world.
14:39 Luckily, it's nothing a celestial blade to the side can't fix.
14:56 What's worse than a scary clown?
14:58 How about a scary clown armed with four swords, a psychotic mindset and a desire to slaughter
15:04 anything he comes across?
15:06 As the leader of the Dark Masters, Piedmon wasn't only more terrifying than Puppetmon,
15:11 but was even stronger than titans like Machinedramon and MetalSedramon.
15:20 His strength was astounding, his clownish attributes were unnerving and in many ways,
15:25 stood as the last true antagonist for the original DigiDestined to fight against.
15:30 Nothing against his follow-up, Apocalimon, but the psycho jester was in a different league
15:35 altogether.
15:46 The simplicity of this guy is almost admirable.
15:49 He has one mission and one mission alone; destroy everything.
15:59 As the leader of the Bagra Army, this antagonist proved to be quite the obstacle for the fusion
16:05 fighters.
16:06 To the point where the only way to beat him involved our hero literally absorbing every
16:11 single Digimon in existence.
16:13 Though, what would you expect from someone known around the digital world as the Sage
16:18 of Death?
16:19 This guy was even willing to kill and absorb his own brother.
16:38 For the majority of the series, Impmon was nothing more than an annoyance that the tamers
16:43 and their partners had to deal with on repeated occasions.
16:46 He could be loud and crass, but he certainly wasn't any kind of threat.
16:51 That is, until he Digivolved into his mega form, got himself a motorcycle, as well as
16:55 a brand new murderous attitude.
16:58 Then, he became very threatening.
17:10 While he would ultimately go on to redeem himself, there's no denying Beelzemon made
17:14 quite the impact as a villain.
17:16 Killing Leomon with his bare hands?
17:18 We're still not over that.
17:31 One is a legendary being known for its unparalleled thirst for destruction, and the other is a
17:36 cowardly human researcher with delusions of grandeur.
17:48 Put them together and what do you get?
17:50 Enough brain and brawn to bring ruin to both worlds.
17:54 Due to his megalomaniac tendencies, and utter fear for Digimon in general, Dr. Karate decides
18:00 to use Belphemon's untold power to try and make his twisted dreams a reality.
18:06 Even if he ends up as nothing more than a face inside the belly of the beast.
18:16 As always, you can count on humanity to make things a million times worse.
18:24 A child prodigy who saw himself as the rightful ruler of the digital world, Ken Ichijoji
18:30 kept up the persona of a perfect student as a cover for his villainous activities as the
18:36 self-proclaimed Digimon Emperor.
18:38 Loving nothing more than turning Digimon into his slaves, thanks to the mind-control effects
18:44 of the Dark Rings.
18:50 While he would eventually abandon his evil ways and join the Digi-destined, as far as
18:55 human antagonists go, Ken remains the king.
19:01 Or perhaps emperor.
19:21 If Dracula were a Digimon, had an unbelievable amount of swag, and a stubborn refusal to
19:35 stay dead, then you'd probably get this guy.
19:38 Not only did he nearly manage to defeat the Digi-destined multiple times, bring war to
19:43 the human world, pull off one hell of a wardrobe, but also, Myotismon is damn hard to get rid
19:49 of.
19:58 Blown to pieces by Angewomon, just come back as the terrifying Venom Myotismon.
20:04 Get your demon crotch torn open by WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, make a dramatic return
20:10 in the sequel series as Malo Myotismon.
20:21 Possessing style, substance, and all manner of delicious evilness, they don't make them
20:26 like this guy anymore.
20:27 Who's your favourite Digimon villain?
20:30 Let us know in those comments below.
20:45 Thanks for watching.
20:51 (upbeat music)
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