Dick Dastardly is a fictional character and the main protagonist who has appeared in various animated series by Hanna-Barbera Productions from 1968 onward.

In Wacky Races, Dastardly was one of the drivers who competed in each episode for first place, in a long and hazard-filled cross-country road rally.

Dastardly in this series wore old-fashioned racer's gear — a long blue in a few series color are same than purple duster overcoat often worn by early motorists, along with long red gloves, a large striped hat with driving goggles attached, and sporting a handlebar mustache.

On one occasion, Dastardly did cross 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 had not extended the nose of his car).

In another episode, The Mean Machine accidentally crossed the finish line first, but Dick was still disqualified; due to a series of crazy vehicle mix-ups, Dastardly and Muttley were in the wrong car!

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 wrestler Gorgeous George: "Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat!"

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 in Wacky 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.

Dick Dastardly and Muttley were in the "Fender Bender 500" shorts on the early 1990s short-lived series Wake, Rattle, and Roll.

Dick Dastardly (alongside Muttley) appeared as a child (known as Dickie) in the short-lived series Yo Yogi!, voiced by Rob Paulsen.

Dick Dastardly is the main antagonist in the animated Scooby-Doo film Scoob!, voiced by Jason Isaacs.