* Buzz, Delete and The Hacker from the childrens show ''WesternAnimation/{{Cyberchase}}''.
* The Greaser Dogs from ''WesternAnimation/{{CatDog}}''.
* The overly amorous Kanker Sisters from ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy''. And in the eyes of the cul-de-sac kids, the Eds are one of these, too, up until TheMovie.
* The Gross Sisters from ''WesternAnimation/TheProudFamily''.
* The (literal) Terrible Trio on ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' would count.
* The Hooded Claw and the Bully Brothers on ''WesternAnimation/ThePerilsOfPenelopePitstop''.
* Texas Pete's gang in ''WesternAnimation/{{Superted}}'' is perhaps the ultimate example of physically contrasting henchman: Bulk is a big fat guy, and Skeleton is... well, [[DemBones have a guess]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|1987}}'' has Shredder, Bebop, and Rocksteady, with Krang as the higher-up.
* ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'' has Fearless Leader, Boris and Natasha (the higher-up was Mr. Big).
* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'' has King Hippo, the Eggplant Wizard and Mother Brain.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls''
** The Amoeba Boys.
** Also the Ministry of Pain, consisting of Mastermind, Counterpart and Cohort.
** And the Rowdyruff Boys.
* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'', Eric Raymond was the higher-up to the Misfits and has various henchpeople as well.
* Scratch and Grounder in ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' with Robotnik as the higher up. Sometimes Robotnik himself joined them, and led from the front. Semi recurrer Coconuts also joined the team on occasion.
* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' has the Enforcers: Finn, Ratso and Chow.
* Disney's ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales'' has the Beagle Boys, often as not with archnemesis Flintheart Glomgold as TheManBehindTheMan. Sometimes their mother, Ma Beagle, tends to be in charge.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' has several examples:
** The Monarch, Henchman 21, and Henchman 24, all of whom are bumbling and ineffective. Higher Up is The Sovereign, [[spoiler:also known as David Bowie.]] Except for more recently, when the Monarch is showing increasing levels of competence and 21 and 24 have some lucky moments. Well, in the last minutes of the season three finale, [[spoiler: 24]]'s luck ultimately runs out....
** Doctor Girlfriend, with Tim-Tom and Kevin, the Murderous Moppets. She's coolly competent; the boys tend to get a little over the top and beyond mission scope... Higher Up is also The Sovereign.
** The Order of the Triad, lead by Doctor Orpheum, with Jefferson Twilight and The Alchemist. Higher Up is The Master.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''
** Donbot and his two goons, Clamps and Joey Mousepad, are the ''entire'' Robot Mafia.
** Mom's three sons, Walt, Larry and Igner, are another Terrible Trio. Though they're not completely incompetant, Mom treats them as if they are. Their original plan to get Fry's [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment PIN number]] wouldn't have worked if Fry hadn't been... [[IdiotHero well, Fry]].
* The "Circus Freaks" in ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}''.
* Though not villains, [[AlphaBitch Sissi]], [[ThoseTwoGuys Hervé, and Nicolas]] from ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' qualify at their most antagonist (or when possessed by [[BigBad XANA]]). The rest of the time, they're either comic relief or unexpected sources of help.
* Bowser, Mouser, Tryclyde, and an unnamed Koopa Troopa in ''The WesternAnimation/SuperMarioBrosSuperShow''.
* Edgar Allan Poe, Sappho and Basho in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Histeria}}!'' episode "The Legion of Super Writers".
* Icy, Darcy and Stormy from ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' become this after Season One.
* Megatron has Lugnut and Blitzwing for this in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' until he picked up the Constructicons later down the line.
* While hardly ineffectual until the main characters get the hang of them, [[FanNickname Ozai's Angels]] (Azula, Mai and Ty-Lee), from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' count. Azula is almost the BigBad herself, and then she's accompanied by a pair of {{Badass Normal}}s. Really, only the main characters are capable of beating them by the [[PlotArmour Power of Plot]]. And unlike most {{Heel Face Turn}}s, Mai and Ty-Lee do not lose their badassery. This is only shown for about 5 minutes in one episode, after which they're locked up. But it nicely leads to Azula's VillainousBreakdown.
* ''WesternAnimation/DonkeyKongCountry'' has Klump and Krusha, with King K. Rool as the higher-up. Also, Captain Skurvy, Kutlass and Green Kroc.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Stripperella}}''. El Cheapo and his two hoods, who due to the stinginess of their boss have to share the same gun.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan''
** The Enforcerers: Fancy Dan, Montana and The Ox, with Tombstone as their superior. (They later get PoweredArmor, becoming Richochet, Shocker and... Still Ox.)
* The second season of ''[[Franchise/CareBears Adventures in Care-a-Lot]]'' plays this up more by giving Grizzle two recurring hench-bots, [[BrainsAndBrawn UR-2 and Sergeant Rocketbottom]].
* The Urpneys ([[DrillSergeantNasty Sgt. Blob]], [[LovableCoward Frizz]] and [[TheDitz Nug]]) in ''WesternAnimation/TheDreamstone'' are very Team Rocket-ish; being rather sympathetic, doomed to failure from the start, and tending to get an unnecessarily hard time from the good guys ''after'' they've been clearly beaten already (bar a [[BewareTheSillyOnes few occasions]]). In later episodes, Urpgor sometimes joins them, albeit in an often rivalistic manner.
* From ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', the HIVE kids. [[DarkActionGirl Jinx]] is the leader, with [[GadgeteerGenius Gizmo]] and [[DumbMuscle Mammoth]] working with her. They're pretty dangerous on their own if they put their minds to it, but generally need a higher-up to scare them into that level of competence -- [[BigBad Slade]] in their first appearance and [[PsychicPowers Brother]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Blood]] later. Ultimately they strike out on their own, but without a ManBehindTheMan they become joke villains. [[spoiler:And then Jinx finally gets fed up with that and does a HeelFaceTurn.]]
* A classic example of this exists in ''WesternAnimation/CasperTheFriendlyGhost'' with the Ghostly Trio, who consist of Stretch, the tall one and leader; Stinkie, the short one, and Fatso, the fat one.
* Joey, Marky and Dee-Dee in ''WesternAnimation/OggyAndTheCockroaches''.
* The Meanos from ''WesternAnimation/PawPawBears''.
* The Diamond Dogs from the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "A Dog and Pony Show" are led by such a trio. {{Word of God}} says their names are Fido (the hulking one), Rover (the tall, skinny one) and Spot (the short one).
* Margret Rhino's group, the pretties from ''WesternAnimation/MyGymPartnersAMonkey''.
* Lucius, Samy and Molotov from ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes''.
* Potisha, Gwen and Marry Gibbons (or sometimes Penny) from ''WesternAnimation/TheMightyB''.
* [[TheStarscream Starscream]], Skywarp, and Thundercracker in WesternAnimation/TheTransformers. Later on, Thrust, Ramjet, and Dirge.
* Joy Peters' three sons from ''WesternAnimation/TomGoesToTheMayor''.
* The Brotherhood in ''WesternAnimation/{{X-Men Evolution}}'' is briefly reduced to three members: Avalanche, Toad, and Blob. They even do a PowerWalk together in the finale.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmoggies'' has the title characters: Emma, Clarence and Polluto.
* Popy, Buck and Harchi from ''OscarsOasis''.
* The Capicola Gang from ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'' and a possible {{Expy}} to the Greaser Dogs.
* To Mr. Eustace P. Peevly, TheHairBearBunch could be considered this.
* ''WesternAnimation/DangerMouse'' has Baron Silas Greenback, his pet caterpillar Nero, and his henchman Stiletto Mafioso.
* The Pet Store Employees in the ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' episode The Full Cognitive Redaction of Avery Bullock by the Coward Stan Smith (There voiced by unknown actors at this time).
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