"For years I'd heard about the curse and the supposed haunted treasure. That was the reason I came to Crystal Cove. I'd been accepted to Darrow University's history department, which gave me access to the town archives. When I found the story about the conquistadors that disappeared, I decided to disguise myself and begin my search for the planospheric disc. Sadly, I found nothing. Until Mystery Incorporated walked into the library seeking advice. They had no idea what they'd found. Well, that wasn't true. Actually, their mascot knew. For access to my knowledge, Pericles was willing to betray his friends. We concocted a scheme to blackmail the kids into leaving town by threatening them with fabricated documents implicating their parents in various crimes. They were unaware of my true identity, but I still had one loose end. Pericles had to go. I placed an anonymous call to the police implicating him in the kids' disappearance. By the time Pericles woke, he was already in custody. He was sentenced to spend the rest of his miserable parrot life where he belonged In a cage. Becoming mayor allowed me to continue my search for the remaining pieces."
— The Freak of Crystal Cove, Fred Jones Sr., Mystery Incorporated, "All Fear the Freak"
Since 1969, Mystery Incorporated has been uncovering and solving mysteries, some real, some fake. But underneath some masks and costumes lie within clever planning and devious charm.
All spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
Series
- Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'s "Hassle in the Castle": Bluestone the Great is an ex-magician criminal wanted in six states, and one of the gang's more affable foes. Seeking the treasure of Vasques hidden in his old castle, he disguises himself as "the Phantom" and uses his magic tricks to scare away visitors so that he could take the treasure for himself. When The Mystery Gang investigate, he easily fools the gang with his deceptions and traps, while also showing more theatrical flair than their average adversary. Eventually foiled thanks to Scooby, he takes his capture in stride, happily showcasing the one trick they couldn't figure out and allowing himself to be taken in.
- The Scooby-Doo Show's "A Menace in Venice": Mario is a descendant of a former ruler of Venice whose lost fortune Mario covets and doesn't want to share with his distant cousin Antonio. Hiding his true identity, he befriends Antonio and researches the treasure. Upon learning that four medallions act as the key to the treasure chamber, he assumes the guise of the Ghostly Gondolier to steal them in a series of daring public thefts. He kidnaps Antonio and Daphne to get the last two medallions and makes the gang think the Gondolier mistook Mario for Antonio and kidnapped him. He eludes pursuers using a rubber gondola that he can deflate and re-inflate within seconds. He succeeds in finding the treasure right before being confronted by the gang and is only captured due to a fluke of luck.
- Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated:
- Mayor Fred Jones Sr. is secretly the Freak of Crystal Cove, the Arc Villain for season 1 and arguably the gang's most personal enemy. Decades ago Jones came to Crystal Cove in search of its fabled treasure, and to do this used the Mystery Inc. of his time to find pieces of the Planispheric Disc for him. In league with their mascot Professor Pericles, Jones blackmailed the gang with forged documents to run them out of town, then promptly doubled on Pericles and successfully framed him for the deed. Because of Jones' plans, Pericles—no idle schemer himself—rots in prison for eighteen years, while Jones becomes Mayor of Crystal Cove. When Brad Chiles and Judy Reeves attempted to return years later, Jones kidnapped their baby as leverage to drive them off. Jones would name this baby "Fred" and for the next eighteen years of his life gradually comes to love him as his own son, to the point where he scuttles his own getaway to save Fred's life. Even after being arrested, Jones Sr. manages to help one-up Pericles again, and he ends as one of the show's few recurring villains to overcome the curse on his own, reconciling with Fred in the Sitting Room with pride and dignity.
- Marcie "Hot Dog Water" Fleach is the unofficial Sixth Ranger of Mystery Incorporated and a deceptively cunning schemer. Introduced as a rival of Velma's who is arrested after pulling a Manticore hoax for a convoluted scheme to sell "super helium", Marcie is later released from prison by Mr. E to work for him. Marcie proves to be exceedingly competent at this new role, from nearly stealing a piece of the Planispheric Disc all the way in Russia to spying on the gang for Mr. E, and even genuinely befriends Velma while priming her for manipulation. When sent after another piece of the disc, Marcie elects to lure in Fred to navigate the multitude of traps guarding her prize, repurposing her old costume to craft the legend of the demonic Dark Lilith—only to then hand the piece over to Velma despite having a clean getaway, valuing their relationship over any treasure. Later aiding the gang in stealing the rest of the disc pieces from the original Mystery Incorporated, Marcie sacrifices herself in the finale to stall her friends' villainous predecessors from reaching the cursed treasure, proving herself one of the gang's most stalwart allies.
- "The Legend of Alice May" & "Pawn of Shadows": "Alice May", real name unknown, is a teenage mercenary in the frequent employ of Mr. E, aiding him in his manipulations of the new Mystery Incorporated. Initially hired to pose as the vengeful daughter of their old enemy the Creeper, Alice May harasses the gang as the Ghost Girl and seduces Fred under the guise of targeting him for revenge, ensuring enough variables line up that they believe her cover story while she subtly leaves them an important clue on Mr. E's behalf. Returning as a bona fide badass assassin, the Obliteratrix, Alice May begins relentlessly hunting Mystery Incorporated with a veritable trove of advanced weaponry and cloaking technology as a means of drawing out Professor Pericles, outwitting their traps and faking the destruction of the Mystery Machine to lure the gang into her clutches.
- Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!:
- "The Curse of Half-Beard's Booty": Captain Cutler is a seasoned enemy of Mystery Incorporated who always manages to escape after his plans are foiled. Recognizing their aptitude for solving mysteries, Cutler decides to trick them into helping him uncover the lost treasure of Captain Half-Beard. Pretending to be reformed, Cutler has a fellow treasure hunter disguise herself as Half-Beard's ghost so he can entice the mistrustful Fred with a mystery, quickly proving himself an invaluable asset to the gang with his expertise of the area while he leaves copies of his treasure map disguised as restaurant placemats for Scooby and Shaggy to further investigate. Cutler makes his escape with the recovered treasure while the gang unmask the ghost, writing a letter to Fred politely explaining his plan and expressing anticipation for their next encounter.
- "Professor Huh?" two-part finale: The eponymous Professor Huh? is a criminal mastermind dedicated to the pursuit of utterly bizarre crimes. The doting father of Fred Jones in his civilian life, Huh? preserved his true identity by adopting completely nonsensical mannerisms in his capers, remaining an unpredictable and uncatchable menace for years until a happenstance discovery by Fred and his childhood friend Rose. Upon discovering Rose's intent to frame Fred for aiding in his father's crimes, Huh? escapes prison with ease and lures Mystery Incorporated on a wild chase for his own amusement, effortlessly out-gambitting Scooby and Shaggy in their usual skit as he leaves the gang clues to Rose's plan. Offering to turn himself in after helping foil Rose, Huh? is instead remotely flown away in the Mystery Machine by a grateful Fred in thanks for his aid, and closes the series returning the van some time later with a note reaffirming his love for his son.
- Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed: Dr. Jonathan Jacobo stole millions while wearing a flying suit modeled after a pterodactyl to finance his experiments to create monsters. After being captured by Mystery Inc, Jacobo made another flying device to escape from prison, faking his death in the process. He spends the next three years plotting revenge and fine-tuning his experiments to create high-powered, ruthless, loyal monsters by exposing costumes of past villains to a chemical process. Jacobo assumes two disguises: a female reporter, Heather Jasper Howe, and an evil masked figure who publicly challenges Mystery Inc and controls the monsters, at one point riding into town on the deck on a ghost pirate ship. He uses the Howe alias to turn the public against Mystery Inc with some tricky emotional appeals and selective camera footage. When Daphne suspects Howe, he has an accomplice ready to immediately don the masked figure costume and provide Howe with an alibi. His monsters come within seconds of killing the entire gang, and Jacobo remains stoic and defiant after his capture. He uses his monsters as tools and enforcers but doesn't mistreat them and seems mournful when they are turned back to normal.
- SCOOB!: Dick Dastardly is far more cunning and intelligent than his original counterpart in this film. After an attempt to steal the Underworld's treasures leads to his sidekick Muttley being trapped there, Dastardly travels the world in search for Cerberus' skulls to unlock the Gates of the Underworld and retrieve his canine companion. Discovering that Scooby-Doo is the other key to opening the gate, Dastardly disguises himself as Simon Cowell to separate him and Shaggy from the Mystery Gang to capture him using an army of shapeshifting robots called the Rottens. Staying one step ahead of the heroes, Dastardly uses his disguises and deceptive skills to capture the Mystery Gang and retrieve the other two skulls along with Scooby-Doo to open the Gates of the Underworld, risking the apocalypse, just to save Muttley. Even when he is betrayed by the Rottens and sent off to prison, Dastardly and Muttley escape to continue their criminal activities once again.
- Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!: Coco Diablo is an underworld fashion designer and the secret mastermind behind all the fake monsters Mystery Inc. have faced. Doing business with criminals around the world, Coco rakes in the dough by providing them with the costumes and gear they need to stage fake haunts to keep them out of trouble. Even when captured at last, Coco writes an autobiography from prison that turns her into a folk hero, and is later released to consult on the unexpected reappearance of ghosts in Coolsville. Blackmailed to serve as a patsy by the mastermind of the new haunt, she quickly turns the tables on him, and later helps Mystery Inc. recapture a gang of escaped past adversaries before parting with them on friendly terms.
- Scooby Apocalypse: Scrappy-Doo is a mutated mutt determined to survive the apocalypse through any means necessary. Transformed into a cyborg dog by the Dinkleys, Scrappy amasses a group of fellow experimented-upon pups and begins taking advantage of wounded or ambushed humans to attack and devour them for sustenance. On the hunt for Velma and Scooby-Doo for revenge, Scrappy traps the Scooby gang and nearly finishes them all of, but ultimately decides to ally with them to take on the worse enemy of the Nanites. After becoming a spy on the group for the rest of the Dinkleys, Scrappy ends up developing a close bond with the Scooby gang, using his brute strength and tactical mind to save them plenty times over and protect the world with their help.
