Top 20 Hardest To Kill Cartoon Characters
If only we all had cartoon bodies! For this list, we’ll be looking at powerful, persistent, and lucky characters that constantly cheat death.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 people try to kill me every week. I end up getting high with half of them."
00:03 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 20 Hardest to Kill
00:09 Cartoon Characters. "Oh my god, we killed Kenny." "We killed Kenny?" "We killed Kenny, we're bastards."
00:13 For this list, we'll be looking at powerful, persistent, and lucky characters that constantly
00:18 cheat death. We'll include those that come back to life and the ones that never die. However,
00:24 we'll be saving anime and superheroes for lists of their own. Is there a death-defying character
00:30 we forgot to mention? Let us know in the comments. Number 20. SpongeBob SquarePants.
00:37 SpongeBob SquarePants. Your first thought when you think of SpongeBob SquarePants probably isn't
00:43 that he's impossible to kill. But when you look back at the series, he seems to have abilities
00:48 that put him a step above most residents of Bikini Bottom. "Scary! There's a bomb strapped to my chest!
00:55 It's gonna explode in three seconds unless you take a bath!" "Please."
01:01 Thanks to his resistant and spongy body, even big tormentors can't hurt the fry cook at all.
01:10 He can also regenerate lost limbs within seconds without effort. And when competitors tried to
01:15 cause him harm in the Demolition Derby, it was SpongeBob who nearly took them all out without
01:21 even realizing it. The character's natural abilities and random nature make him extremely
01:26 hard to stop. He's not just a sponge. He's a pure force of nature. Number 19. Everyone.
01:35 SeaLab 2021. "What about the leak? Oh, Quinn'll save us. Quinn always saves us. Stupid Raccoon Fox."
01:43 "Damn!" The SeaLab crew of SeaLab 2021 seem to always find themselves unscathed from every
01:52 devastating event imaginable. In pretty much every episode, the crew of the highly expensive
01:58 underwater station end face to face with certain death. And yet, no matter how many times a
02:09 character dies - and spoiler alert, it's a lot - they always end up perfectly okay in the next
02:15 episode. Seriously, they could get run over, blown up, or eaten by sharks. Nothing matters because
02:21 nothing really sticks for long. While you can chalk this up to the show's lack of continuity,
02:26 it's also possible the SeaLab has some special ability to revive everyone in the crew at will.
02:32 Number 18. Popeye. "Popeye the Sailor." Normal people just get important nutrients from spinach,
02:40 but for Popeye, it's an entirely different story. "I regret that there's only one way to stop that
02:46 skunk marine." On many occasions, Popeye the Sailor Man has shown us that he's capable of
02:58 extraordinary feats once he eats the leafy vegetable. The plant vastly enhances his
03:03 strength and durability in an instant. Equipped with only a can-do attitude and a can of spinach,
03:10 Popeye can fight off entire submarines, hurl enemies into orbit, and deliver bone-shattering
03:16 punches. Since the vegetable works pretty instantaneously, he can come back from the
03:21 brink of death before you can blink. Unless an opponent can find a way to completely rid
03:26 the world of spinach, it's unlikely they can permanently take the wind out of Popeye's sails.
03:35 Number 17. Everyone. "Happy Tree Friends." Try not to judge this book by its cover.
03:41 If you look at the illustrations of "Happy Tree Friends," you might assume it's a kid-friendly
03:46 show, but it's much more like a cartoon version of "Final Destination." This grisly, gory,
03:55 hyper-violent cartoon sees the Happy Tree Friends dying off in extremely messed-up ways
04:00 every episode. Their causes of death range from being hit by buses to being squashed by the moon
04:06 itself. No matter how much suffering the characters endure in one episode, they're pretty much good
04:12 as new in the next episode. Virtually no one stays dead for long. It's hard to tell if they're happy
04:18 or sad about their seeming immortality. Number 16. Sterling Archer.
04:30 Archer. A lot of the characters on Archer get grievously injured. Barry Dylan even
04:35 gets rebuilt into a cyborg. "How are you not dead?" "Because the Russians turned me into
04:41 the unholy abomination of metal fused with flesh which now stands before you."
04:48 But lead character Sterling Archer is very injury-prone. Over the course of the show,
04:53 he's been shot, stabbed in the back, thrown out of cars, and so much more. Honestly,
04:59 it'd be easier just to say what he hasn't gotten injured from.
05:03 "I seriously wouldn't do that." "Yeah, because you're not awesome."
05:06 "Oh, and what fresh hell is this?" "Whatever it is, they can handle it."
05:12 Despite his many injuries, some of which he accidentally gave to himself, he always survives.
05:18 We don't really know what Sterling's secret to cheating death is, but we do know his stubborn
05:23 refusal to die makes him a challenge to enemies. "Wait, wait, wait, stop! Stop! Do you hear that?"
05:29 "Hear what?" "That crunching noise?"
05:31 Number 15. Bill Cipher - Gravity Falls
05:36 Who knew floating triangles could be so dangerous? In Gravity Falls, Bill Cipher proves to be one of
05:42 Dipper and Mabel's most powerful threats. He'll completely annihilate you without breaking a sweat
05:47 and crack a joke while it happens. Even in a limited form, this reality-altering demon can
05:53 get inside your head and wreak pure chaos. "Do you have any idea what I'm like?"
05:59 "When I'm mad." He's not just a spooky ghost that can possess you. In his true form, there's
06:05 virtually no limits to his power. He can reshape space, time, and the universe around him like it's
06:11 nothing. Bill's one enemy you're better off running away from than trying to fight.
06:16 "Oh wow, that's a great offer! How about instead I shuffle the functions of every hole in your face?"
06:20 Number 14. Uncle Grandpa - Uncle Grandpa
06:31 Given how eccentric and annoying Uncle Grandpa can be, he's sure to have a ton of enemies.
06:39 But good luck trying to get to him. Uncle Grandpa's magical abilities make him nigh
06:44 invulnerable. It might have something to do with that magical fanny pack of his he always carries
06:49 around. But either way, Uncle Grandpa's practically omnipotent. He can clone himself, travel across
06:56 time, and even have his limbs separate from him and act on their own. He also happens to be the
07:02 uncle and grandpa of all of us, which isn't a power but is pretty impressive. It really doesn't
07:08 seem like anyone can stop Uncle Grandpa from having a good morning. "Check out what I can do with mine!"
07:13 Number 13. Rigby - Regular Show
07:21 Rigby's facedown death so much that we should probably give him a medal for it.
07:25 The raccoon co-protagonist of Regular Show has always found a way to return from certain doom.
07:31 For him, dying doesn't seem to be too difficult. But staying dead's always a different story.
07:37 "I'll kill you!" "Rigby!"
07:43 Think about it. Rigby's died multiple times, and yet he's still here. It's pretty impressive too
07:49 when you consider that Rigby doesn't really have any superpowers or enhanced abilities.
07:55 As far as we know, he's just a normal raccoon that routinely defies death. His ability to
08:00 avoid the Reaper makes him one of the most unexpectedly tough characters in the universe.
08:05 "Listen Rigby, uh, sorry for, you know, killing you back there. It was unprofessional."
08:11 "Huh? You know what? Water under the bridge."
08:15 If Rigby works at it, he might be as powerful and formidable as Pops one day.
08:19 Number 12. Carl "Brewtanana" Dlusky - Aqua Teen Hunger Force
08:25 "This is a big deal! It's a very big deal! What is this?"
08:28 While many characters from this series, including the titular trio of food products,
08:33 might be worthy of mention for this list, we have to give credit to their neighbor Carl.
08:37 "Oh, my hip!" A bad-tempered schlub of a man,
08:41 Carl is not on our list for any particular ability to stave off death. Rather, the opposite, in fact.
08:46 The perennially unlucky guy dies dozens of times over the course of Aqua Teen's run,
08:51 and almost always in a graphically violent and painful way, including being eaten alive, crushed,
08:57 frozen, shot, and a host of others. We doubt Carl has any memory of these,
09:02 otherwise he'd have moved away.
09:04 "I'm not gonna get humped by a giant red gorilla in space, okay? No thank you."
09:10 Number 11. Bugs Bunny - Looney Tunes
09:13 "What's up, Doc?"
09:14 As a main character of the Looney Tunes franchise,
09:18 Bugs Bunny doesn't let anybody stop him from doing what he wants.
09:22 Sure, Elmer Fudd's routinely tried to hunt him down, but he never wins.
09:27 That's because Bugs is always able to get the drop on him pretty much no matter what.
09:32 Seemingly nothing can keep Bugs Bunny down for long.
09:34 "All right now, you wise guy, dance!"
09:38 Between his wits and talent for escapes, Bugs is nigh impossible to catch.
09:48 He can pretty much evade anybody that tries to get on his tail.
09:52 Rivals like Yosemite Sam and Elmer Fudd know all too well that this is no regular rabbit.
09:58 While they've made plenty of attempts over the decades,
10:00 all they learned was that Bugs will always find ways to hop away.
10:04 "Adios! Have a nice trip! Bon Voyage! Farewell to thee!"
10:10 Number 10. Peter Griffin - Family Guy
10:13 "Peter, sweetheart, how do you feel?"
10:15 "Uh, had better days, Lois."
10:18 The protagonist of the show and the Griffin family patriarch,
10:21 Peter Griffin has received a huge amount of punishment over the years.
10:25 "Okay, go!"
10:25 "Ow, ow, ow!"
10:29 The dopey and reckless man engages in plenty of dangerous behavior.
10:34 That has seen him have a stroke, his spine distended, die repeatedly,
10:39 get into epic battles with a giant chicken, not to mention his repeated knee injuries.
10:44 "Ahh! Ah! Ah!"
10:52 Peter's ability to survive such punishments can mostly be attributed to the fact that
10:56 most of Family Guy's events revert to the status quo.
10:59 Though he does demonstrate unexpected skill in a fight.
11:02 Number 9. Steven - Steven Universe
11:11 Steven Quartz Universe is the main character of the hit show, Steven Universe.
11:16 Although he doesn't like fighting, his natural abilities make him into an extremely dangerous
11:21 warrior. As a human-gem hybrid, he can shapeshift, float, and demonstrate incredible super strength.
11:28 "Oh, no!"
11:29 "Steven Quartz, help!"
11:32 His defense is also impressive. As part of Steven's extensive power set,
11:36 he can generate powerful barriers that are hard to break through.
11:40 And since his powers seem to grow as he ages, there's no telling how powerful he'll get.
11:45 The universe should consider themselves very lucky that Steven is content hanging
11:50 with friends on Earth instead of conquering the galaxy.
11:53 "You're right, Jasper. I have been holding back."
12:00 Number 8. Aku - Samurai Jack
12:04 A cold, calculating, and demonic villain, Aku has been the bane of Samurai Jack's entire existence.
12:11 It probably has something to do with the fact that he sent Samurai Jack flying through time.
12:16 Just a guess, though.
12:17 "There is no future for you, Aku."
12:20 "I disagree."
12:21 "What trickery is this?"
12:25 Aku is able to shapeshift, regenerate, and tap into dark magic. Although many have tried,
12:34 few have succeeded in taking down this shadowy beast.
12:37 Only a select few weapons can even hurt him. Even if he's sliced up, he comes back at full
12:42 strength if just the tiniest bit of him remains. And as Jack learned, he can send you into the
12:48 future and just keep the past for himself. It's no wonder Jack nearly lost his mind
12:54 trying to end Aku for good.
13:03 Number 7. Brock Sampson - The Venture Brothers
13:06 "Oh God, the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle."
13:13 The Venture family's hyper-macho bodyguard, Brock Sampson,
13:16 is more than just a protector to the danger-prone clan.
13:18 "Hello, Brock. I was wondering when you'd show up."
13:23 He's also a veritable one-man army. Possessing outlandish skill in hand-to-hand combat,
13:28 and even dismissing guns as being too girly, Brock regularly takes on hordes of henchmen,
13:34 monsters, and skilled assassins with ease. He also displays impressive endurance,
13:39 as he's able to survive things like being filled with tranquilizer darts,
13:42 a robot's head being lodged in his chest, and even the vacuum of space.
13:46 Only the most skilled or powerful people in this fictional world can even prove a challenge to
13:53 Brock. And considering what he's up against, that's saying something.
13:58 "You get the boys. I'll take care of these guys."
14:01 "Are you sure? There's an awful lot of them."
14:02 "They hit me with a truck."
14:04 "Excuse me, I'd like to request $17 for a push broom re-bristling."
14:14 Springfield has a number of durable residents, but one of the more surprisingly resilient is
14:18 Hans Molman, a feeble, nearsighted, and possibly elderly man. Molman receives a variety of awful
14:27 and seemingly fatal injuries over the course of the series. Whether he's being forced off the road,
14:33 blown up, being set on fire, suffocated, getting his skull mutilated by a power drill,
14:39 executed at the local jail, or just hit in the groin by a football,
14:45 Molman can take it all, and reappear unscathed.
14:48 What a sad sack, though.
14:55 Rick Sanchez - Rick and Morty
14:56 The misanthropic genius scientist who makes up one half of the titular duo,
15:05 Rick Sanchez is a grouchy, amoral person with a heavy reliance on alcohol and alien substances.
15:12 But his brilliance is such that he's basically invincible.
15:15 Rick may not always have a plan, and he's rarely sober. But even when he's impaired or improvising,
15:20 he's able to outwit or kill alien supervillains, galactic governments,
15:25 and even alternate versions of himself. As he's constantly proven, though,
15:29 Rick is most dangerous to himself, and his self-destructive behavior could very well be
15:33 his only weakness. The Transformers franchise has seen many characters resurrect multiple times,
15:49 like the heroic Optimus Prime or the treacherous Starscream. However,
15:52 if there's one Transformer who's absolutely unkillable, it's the incredibly unfortunate Waspinator.
15:58 A wasp-transforming scout or grunt in the Predacon faction,
16:08 Waspinator may be lacking in intelligence and skills, but his endurance is otherworldly.
16:15 The poor bot can't seem to catch a break, as he's constantly destroyed and rebuilt throughout
16:19 the show's run, to the point where it's a running gag. The universe may seem to be
16:23 out to get Waspinator, but his suffering only makes him more endearing.
16:27 Number 3. Tom & Jerry - Tom & Jerry Franchise
16:41 A cat and mouse perennially engaged in a game of, well, you know. Tom and Jerry are both worthy of
16:46 a shared spot on our list. Tom, as the Pursuer, frequently receives outrageous cartoon punishments
16:56 and injuries for his attempts to catch and eat Jerry. Jerry, meanwhile, proves supernaturally
17:02 elusive to Tom, able to elude, fight, or luck his way out of many sticky situations. Together,
17:07 they each embody our criteria well, even if neither quite stands out enough to put them in our top two.
17:12 Number 2. Kenny McCormick - South Park
17:19 An eight-year-old boy almost always ensconced within an orange parka,
17:25 Kenny McCormick has probably died more than all the other entries on our list combined.
17:29 A running gag especially prominent in the early seasons of South Park
17:36 saw Kenny die every episode, usually in a needlessly violent way.
17:40 Although this has been phased out over time, Kenny still dies every now and again,
17:48 and returns completely fine the next episode. One major storyline reveals that every time Kenny dies,
17:53 he is literally reborn the next day, making him essentially immortal, possibly because of Cthulhu.
17:59 Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get
18:12 notified about our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or
18:18 all of them. If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
18:23 Number 1. Roadrunner - The Looney Tunes Franchise
18:27 Although Wile E. Coyote's resilience is impressive too, we don't know how he survives everything he
18:34 goes through. We had to give our top spot to his elusive prey, Roadrunner.
18:38 A fleet-footed bird of few words, the Roadrunner, despite the countless dangerous
18:45 gadgets and clever tricks tried by Wile E., always manages to escape.
18:49 While you could chalk up his getting away to his pursuer's incompetence,
18:55 you'd think that after all the things Wile E. has tried, at least one of them would have worked by now.
19:00 Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,
19:11 and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
19:16 Thanks for watching!