Dick Dastardly

Dick Dastardlyis a fictional character and the mainprotagonistwho has appeared in variousanimated seriesbyHanna-BarberaProductions from 1968 onward.Dastardly's most famous appearances are in the seriesWacky Races(his initial appearance) and itsspin-off,Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines.He is partly based on the English actorTerry-Thomas.

Dick Dastardly
Wacky Racescharacter
Dick Dastardly as seen inWacky Races
First appearance	"See-Saw To Arkansas"(1968)
Created by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Portrayed by	Porter Flynn (2013)
Voiced by	Paul Winchell(1968–1991) Malcolm McNeill(Spin a Magic Tune) Michael Bell(1990) Rob Paulsen(1991) Jim Cummings(2000–2008) Jeff Bergman(Cartoon Network) Trey Parker(South Park) Eric Bauza(2015, 2024–present;Uncle Grandpa,Tooned Out) Peter Woodward(2017–2019) Tom Kenny(2018) Jason Isaacs(Scoob!) Terry Mynott(Dastardly and Muttley) Dwight Schultz(Jellystone!)
In-universe information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Alignment	Evil
Family	Delilah Dastardly (wife) Dick Dastardly III (son) Dread Baron (twin brother) Desdemona Dastardly (cousin) Sheriff Longarm D. Law (cousin) Pop (Dick Dastardly I) (father)
Nationality	English-American

The character was originally voiced byPaul Winchell,using a characterization that Winchell would also employ several years later to voicethe Smurfs' nemesisGargamel.Winchell's facial structures were caricatured in the related character design as well.

In subsequent depictions of the character, Dick Dastardly was voiced byRob Paulsenand byJim Cummings(the latter of whom was notable for voicing other characters previously voiced by Winchell, includingTiggerand Zummi Gummi).

Dastardly's catchphrases in the cartoons were "Muttley, do something!", "Drat, and double drat!"and occasionally "Triple drat!" or "Curses, foiled again!"

Appearances

Wacky Races

Main article:Wacky Races (1968 TV series)

InWacky Races,Dastardly was one of the drivers who competed in each episode for first place, in a long and hazard-filled cross-countryroad rally.As his name implies, Dastardly aimed to win solely through cheating and trickery. His race car, numbered double-zero and namedThe Mean Machine,featured all sorts of devious traps for him to use against his opponents. AsWacky Raceswas inspired by the filmThe Great Race,so was Dastardly derived from the film's chief villain, Professor Fate, played byJack Lemmon.Dastardly in this series wore old-fashioned racer's gear — a long bluedusterovercoat often worn by early motorists, along withlong red gloves,a large striped hat with driving goggles attached, and sporting a handlebar mustache.

Dastardly was aided in his schemes by his sidekick, a scruffy anthropomorphicdognamedMuttleywho had a distinctive wheezy laugh, heard most often when Dastardly's schemes failed. Despite Dastardly and Muttley's best efforts, the "double-dealing do-badders", as the opening narration ofWacky Racesdescribes them, failed to win a single race. Dastardly came close to winning on several occasions, but always failed, either through his own actions or bad luck, such as posing for his picture as it was aphoto finish,stopping to sign anautographfor Muttley, and having Muttley sabotage his own vehicle (Dick told the hound to "stop the winning car" ). On one occasion, Dastardlydidcross the finish line in first place, but was revealed to have extended the nose of his car at the last moment, and was disqualified in favor of Penelope Pitstop; this despite the fact that other characters had pulled similar stunts in the past without punishment (and indeed the original footage showed that Dastardly hadnotextended the nose of his car). In another episode, The Mean Machine accidentally crossed the finish line first, but Dick wasstilldisqualified; due to a series of crazy vehicle mix-ups, Dastardly and Muttley were in the wrong car!

It seemed likely that if Dastardly had not bothered to cheat, he might have won many of the races fairly. The Mean Machine was the fastest car on the grid (indeed, in many races, he would take the lead before stopping to set traps for the other drivers), and Dastardly's driving ability was often shown to be superior to the other racers. Alas, Dick seemed bound to a code similar to that of wrestlerGorgeous George:"Win if you can, lose if you must, butalwayscheat! "(In fact, in one episode he came close to crossing the finish line first without cheating, but chose not to win and let the other racers finish before him, as he did not want to win fairly.)

Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines

Main article:Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines

Dick Dastardly (actually Dick Dastardly Sr.; see below) continued his villainous career in theWacky Racesspin-offDastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines.The series was inspired by the 1965 filmThose Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machinesand Dastardly's appearance is based on the film's villain, Sir Percival Ware-Armitage, played byTerry-Thomas.Dastardly and Muttley flew with two other pilots: Zilly, a coward who would hide in his own clothing when ordered to deploy, and Klunk, the mechanic/inventor, who speaks a language largely composed of strange sounds that only Zilly can understand.

Together, they comprised the "Vulture Squadron", presumably working forGermanyandCentral PowersinWorld War I.The squadron constantly attempted to stop amessenger pigeon,"Yankee Doodle Pigeon", from delivering messages to an opposing army (seemingly American and/or theTriple Entente), often with the song "Stop the Pigeon" playing. A typical scene shows the Vulture Squadron all converging from different directions on Yankee Doodle Pigeon, only to end up crashing into one another—while the bird remained unharmed. As inWacky Races,Dastardly continued to fail miserably at his mission, only coming near to success on a single occasion. Muttley, despite showing enough competence to win various medals (which Dastardly was constantly threatening to revoke), seemed to delight in Dick's failures, displaying his trademark snickering laugh.

Yogi's Treasure Hunt

Main article:Yogi's Treasure Hunt

In later years, Dastardly and Muttley were thenemesesforYogi Bearand his friends in the 1980s seriesYogi's Treasure Hunt.This time, Dick repeatedly failed at discovering hidden treasure before Yogi and his team. It was in this series' episodeYogi's Heroesthat Dick's full name was revealed; as the leader of an island named Dicaragua, he introduced himself asRichard Milhous Dastardly(a play on former U.S. PresidentRichard Milhous Nixon). One episode shows that Dastardly and Muttley are the greediest creatures in the world.

Fender Bender 500

Dick Dastardly and Muttley were in the "Fender Bender 500" shorts on the early 1990s short-lived seriesWake, Rattle, and Roll.In those segments, the duo once again appeared in a suped-up version of the Mean Machine as a monster truck called the Dirty Truckster (a pun on the phrase "dirty trickster" ), but raced against such Hanna-Barbera stalwarts as Yogi Bear andQuick Draw McGraw.In this series, they were actually able to pull off at least two race wins, one when racing to Russia's 'Red Square' where it was announced that the prize was itself the Red Square. Unfortunately, their prize was simply a piece of red square paper, and not the deed to the Russian capital as the title of 'red square' would imply. In another Fender Bender race (The "Hit 'n' Mississippi 500" ), he played onYogi Bear's famouscatchphraseof being "smarter than the average bear" by claiming to be "smarter than the average cheat".

Yo Yogi!

Dick Dastardly (alongside Muttley) appeared as a child (known as Dickie) in the short-lived seriesYo Yogi!,voiced byRob Paulsen.In the series he rides abicyclethat resembles the Mean Machine and his clothes resemble his ones fromDastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines.Dick Dastardly would often come up with various plots which would often backfire on him.

Wacky Races Forever(2006)

The series depicted a roster of both new and returning racers competing against each other. Penelope Pitstop and Peter Perfect had married and created Perfect Industries, the corporate sponsor of the new Wacky Races; their children, Parker and Piper, competed in the race. Dick Dastardly (voiced by Jim Cummings) appears in this and hatches a plan to take them out of the race but has it backfire on himself instead.

Wacky Races(2017)

In the 2017 reboot ofWacky Racesit is revealed that the Dick Dastardly who flew in World War I (voiced byTom Kenny) was the father of the Dick Dastardly (presumably Dick Jr.) of the originalWacky Races.In the new version, Dick Jr.'s son/descendant, Dick Dastardly III, technically wins in the episode "Sister Twister" – winning the "Great Sportsman of the Year" trophy after he made a bet with Peter Perfect that involved him being nice and not cheating for once. He won due to Pandora Pitstop disguising herself asPenelope Pitstopwho proceeded to act unsportmans-like and so the judges gave the win to Dastardly – however – to Dastardly's horror. He won by due to the sudden shift in his personality, such as saying nicer things to other racers and not cheating. The event also involved race, which Dastardly of course lost, though it had no effect on who won the trophy.

In the episode "Grandfather Knows Dast", the original Dick Dastardly (World War I flying ace) rides with Dick Dastardly III, and chastises Dick Dastardly III for cheating instead of winning and ultimately causes them to lose the race just as they were about to win.

Scoob!

Main article:Scoob!

Dick Dastardly is the main antagonist in the animatedScooby-DoofilmScoob!,voiced byJason Isaacs.This version of Dick lacks the hat and goggles he usually wears, and his overcoat is now a dark purple long coat. According to his police report, this version of Dastardly is 6' 5 ", 295lbs. He is also depicted as more of asupervillainthan a racer, having robotic minions called Rottens and being an enemy of theBlue Falcon.He operates a giant airship that is loosely based on his racing vehicle, theMean Machine.During a scheme to steal the treasure horde left byAlexander the Greatin theGreek underworldby use of a dimensional portal, Dastardly lost Muttley in the underworld when the portal was found to be one way only. He then seeks out the three skulls of Cerberus andScooby-Doobecause as the last descendant ofPeritas,Alexander's dog, he is the key to opening the gates to the Underworld and reuniting with Muttley; though at the cost of unleashingCerberusonto the world. After achieving this, Dastardly and Muttley try to escape with treasure, but are captured by the reformed Rottens and taken into custody by Blue Falcon,Dynomutt,andDee Dee Skyes.During his capture, Dick attempts a double-mask trick by wearing a mask of himself over a mask ofSimon Cowell.During the credits, Muttley breaks Dastardly out of prison.

Jellystone!

Main article:Jellystone!

Dick Dastardly appeared in the third season ofJellystone!,voiced byDwight Schultz,in hisDastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machinesoutfit. Dick Dastardly is the mayor of New Bedrock.

Other appearances

• Universal Studios Floridaformerly had a motion simulator ride titledThe Funtastic World of Hanna-Barberawhich was a tribute to Hanna-Barbera cartoons; Dastardly (voiced byMichael Bell) alongside Muttley kidnap Elroy Jetson, so Yogi and Boo-Boo Bear have to travel across the various worlds of Hanna-Barbera to rescue him. At the end of the ride Dastardly is arrested and sent to a flying jail cell.
• Dick Dastardly, Muttley, and the Mean Machine returned as a boss car in the 2000Wacky Racesvideo game, voiced byJim CummingsandBilly West.They are the protagonists in theearlier 1991 version.
  • A remastered version of the game, calledWacky Races: Starring Dastardly and Muttley,is notable for allowing players to have Dick Dastardly finally win a race. If the player wins as him, the narrator is taken aback or disgusted and Dastardly is happy and surprised at winning a race.
• Dick Dastardly made a non-speaking cameo in theHarvey Birdman, Attorney at Lawepisode "Death by Chocolate".
• In the pilot ofWacky Races ForeverDastardly (voiced by Jim Cummings) and Muttley are the main villains, working for the vice-president of Perfect Industries in an attempt to stop the other racers from crossing the finish line. The series was not picked up by the network.
• Dastardly and Muttley were to appear in the seriesThe Perils of Penelope Pitstop,where they (especially Dastardly) would have been perfect villains given the tone andthePerils of Paulinereferences, rather they were imagined to be the bodyguards of a younger brother of Penelope. However, this was only in the first sketches of the series, and the two did not appear in the final work. In the first of their encounters, the Hooded Claw did ask Penelope "Who did you expect, Dick Dastardly?" possibly in reference to the above unshot scene.
• Dastardly and Muttley cameo in theSouth Parkepisode "Handicar"as participants in the return ofWacky Races.
• Dastardly also did an announcement for Cartoon Network, voiced by Jeff Bergman
• Dastardly and Muttley are named in theMadvillainsong "Accordion", from their 2004 albumMadvillainy.
• Dastardly makes a cameo in theUncle Grandpaepisode "Uncle Grandpa Retires" voiced byEric Bauza.He and Muttley appear as attendees at the Big Race.
• Dick Dastardly appears as one of the main characters in 2016'sWacky Raceland.In this version, it is revealed that before the apocalyptic event that ravaged Earth, Dick Dastardly was a world-famous pianist named Richard D'Astardlien who agreed to enter the race to Earth's last known paradise Utopia so that he could have a chance of seeing his wife and son being reborn.
  • Another version of Dick Dastardly appeared inDastardly & Muttley,also published by DC Comics under theHanna-Barbera Beyondinitiative. This version is Lt. Col. Richard "Dick" Atcherly, aUnited States Air Forcepilot who is sent to shoot down the rogue drone "War Pig One" and is mutated by the mysterious element "unstabilium", becoming increasingly insane and subject tocartoon physics.
• Dastardly and Muttley appear as contestants in a futuristic car race againstPhilip J. Fry,inFuturama Comics#82.
• A live action version ofWacky Raceswas created for a campaign for Peugeot in 2013 in which Dastardly (played by actor Porter Flynn) and Muttley (puppeteered by Mark Jeffris) race through the city against Penelope Pitstop, Peter Perfect, The Red Max, The Slag Brothers, The Ant Hill Mob, The Gruesome Twosome and Sergeant Blast and Private Meekly.