In the pantheon of video games, it's hard to find a character more well-known or beloved than Super Mario. The Italian plumber has made his way into numerous games over the years. Most are friendly and colorful, and even when Mario and his brother Luigi face a real threat, the games still tend to be light-hearted.

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The games featuring Super Mario often have a string of recurring enemies. While some are mostly sweet, others are more evil and destructive in their fight to stop the plumber brothers. These villains stepped up their game when it came to fighting Mario.

10 Bowser Jr.

Bowser Jr. may not be as evil as his notorious father, but he's still a villain who gets in Mario's way throughout several games across different consoles. At times resembling his father, Bowser Jr. is known to be bold and energetic.

He can sometimes be a mirror image of Mario with his acrobatics and jumping techniques. However, Bowser Jr. is still physically stronger and can pound his opponents until they are paralyzed. He has no regard for the well-being of his enemies.

9 Shadow Mario

Super Mario Sunshine introduces a different version of Bowser Jr. This one is in disguise as a character called Shadow Mario. This character looks exactly like an evil version of Mario with a malicious aura.

Shadow Mario pollutes the islands with a toxic plant and kidnaps Princess Peach after tricking E. Gadd to steal his technology. Every bit of the way, he is framing Mario for his crimes.

8 Dimentio

Dimentio is one of the rogues' gallery of villains that appears in the Paper Mario games, especially the version made for the Wii. He is a magic user who pretends to be a whimsical jester before revealing he's twister and evil.

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Dimentio brainwashes Luigi to the point that Mario's brother would willingly blow himself up with his enemies in an effort to guarantee victory. Dimentio also transforms Luigi into a giant designed to crush anyone standing in his way.

7 Elder Princess Shroob

It's not often extraterrestrials make their way to the Mushroom Kingdom. However, Elder Princess Shroob is an aggressive alien determined to take over the kingdom through force of will. Anyone who stands in her way will be eliminated unless Mario is able to stop her.

The Elder Princess is able to deceive Mario and Luigi into releasing her. This leads to even more destruction than any previous Shroob has wrought on the kingdom. The Elder Princess reaches a point where she is transforming everyone she can into more Shroobs with little effort.

6 King Boo

While the Boos are far from frightening in their normal appearance, the game Luigi's Mansion3 puts them in a new light. The Boos are normally mischievous, but in this game, they become more fearless which makes them more destructive. The main reason for this more evil version is the actions of their leader, King Boo.

Granted, he's just a bigger Boo with a crown, but he's still a villain determined to cause chaos, so his fellow Boos can take over the world. In the game, he tries to eliminate Luigi and imprisons Mario in a living painting.

5 Fawful

Fawful has always been a problem with his extreme fits of anger mixed with his intelligence and food-based metaphors. He became a bigger problem when the games shifted to 3D. In Superstar Saga he uses a Vacuum Helmet and laser gun to fight his enemies.

Fawful is a difficult villain who also just wants to defeat Mario using his laser beams. But, his really villainous ways come out when he utilizes dark magic against Mario and his other enemies.

4 Culex

While Culex is not the final boss of his game, he is so evil that he becomes almost impossible to beat in Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars. Culex wipes out members of the party attacking him with ease and without remorse.

Gamers have to skip his secret area, get gear, and level up before they can take him on. And, he can still destroy his opponents with instant death if the gamer doesn't get a trinket to hamper that feature or characters who can reverse. Someone willing to kill that quickly is surely evil.

3 Bowser

Bowser remains the most common villain to appear in any game featuring the Mario brothers. With each evolution of his character, Bowser becomes more evil and tougher to beat. His constant changes make the King of the Koopas a unique fight for the plumber brothers.

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Bowser always looks like a monstrous dragon with a strong roar and the ability to breathe fire all combined with a cruel personality. He is so evil his fireball power works underwater. Bowser provides some of the most vicious performances of any Mario villain.

2 Cackletta

Superstar Saga introduced Cackletta as a new villain for the brothers to face when Mario finally entered the world of role-playing games. While exploring the new Beanbean Kingdom, Mario has to confront the evil witch who stole Princess Peach's voice. Cackletta has awakened the Beanstar in an effort to achieve ultimate power.

Cackletta reaches a threat level so powerful that Bowser willingly teams up with the Super Mario Brothers to stop her. In her spirit form, she's able to possess Bowser and transform him into the more terrifying Bowletta.

1 The Shadow Queen

The Shadow Queen provides one of the most devastating villains for Mario and his friends to face in the second Paper Mario game. After being sealed with the power of the Crystal Stars behind a massive door for a millennium, the Shadow Queen remains shrouded in mystery until the final act of the game.

While her time on screen is short, the Shadow Queen makes her mark by demonstrating pure evil focused on destruction. She wants revenge for her imprisonment and doesn't care who she takes it out on. She is also the hardest boss to fight in the game.

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