In a world dominated by comic book animation, good old cartoon rivalries can get so easily lost among the vast varieties fo superheros and villains. What shame considering that some of the greatest on-screen rivalries have come out of children's cartoon shows. You put two polar opposite characters in a room together and just wait for the fight to get going.

RELATED: 10 Best Animated Shows for Parents and Children

Something that cartoon rivalries never lack is comedy. Every punch is loaded with a joke or connotations that have not only kids laughing but adults too. From the likes of Looney Tunes to Adventure Time, the following cartoon duos' nostalgic chemistry will have audiences transported back to their childhoods to witness the best rivalries of all time.

Jimmy and Cindy - 'The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron' (2002-2006)

Collage Maker-07-Jan-2023-12.16-PM

What happens when you have two impressively smart kids in the same class? An all out battle of the wits - literally. With both of them knowing how brainy the other is, Jimmy and Cindy constantly look for ways to one-up the other one.

From Jimmy showing off his new inventions that Cindy could never make, to Cindy ridiculing Jimmy when they fail, these two don't let up. Throughout The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, both Jimmy and Cindy show off their intelligence while throwing the other under each bus that comes their way.

He-Man and Skeletor - 'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe' (1983-1985)

He-Man fighting Skeletor in Masters of the Unvierse: Revelations.

The last thing you want is some annoying hero getting in your way when your objective is galactic dominion. Unfortunately, Skeletor learns that is just what he gets from the likes of He-Man. The excessively beefy guy just won't back down and allow the old skull head to rule the world.

RELATED: 10 Spooky Scary Skeletons In TV & Film That Will Have You Jumping Out of Your Body

Even though He-Man may be preoccupied with other things, when Skeletor makes an appearance, He-Man is completely focused on him, much to the villain's dismay. With a plethora of iconic insults and memes originating from the sassy Skeletor, He-man has quite the icon on his hands.

Optimus Prime and Megatron - 'Transformers' (1984-1987)

Optimus Prime and Megatron The Transformers: The Movie
Image Via De Laurentiis Entertainment Group

They have the same emotions as us little people, despite being giant, transformable machines. Megatron is the opposite of Optimus Prime, who is all honor and bravery, where Megatron is evil and cowardly.

The audience finds out that the two were initially buddies in Transformers. That is, until Prime realized Megatron was heading down a dark path along which there was no turning back. What a way to break viewers' hearts. However, one benefit of this is that it gave fans a fierce rivalry that has persisted throughout numerous films.

Popeye and Bluto - 'Popeye the Sailor' (1960-1962)

popeye-the-sailor
Image via Paramount

Olive Oyl certainly irritates these two individuals; though it's unclear what makes her so crazy-special. Popeye and Bluto have always been bitter rivals for Olive's love. Typically, Bluto's method of operation is taking the lovely Olive hostage for purposes that we can only speculate about.

However, the lady is suddenly back where she belongs when old Popeye opens a can of spinach and whoops Bluto's ass (rightfully so). Popeye is a true hero when it comes to the affection of the girl he so dearly loves.

Mr. Krabs and Plankton - SpongeBob SquarePants (1999-Present)

Collage Maker-07-Jan-2023-12.38-PM

As Mr. Krabs and Plankton from SpongeBob SquarePants demonstrate, there are no rivals like business rivals. Once close friends, they fell out over the recipe for the Krabby Patty, and now Plankton will do anything to get the recipe back and destroy Mr. Krabs. Mr. Krabs has a strong incentive to hold onto the recipe because he really, really likes money.

RELATED: 10 Best 'Golden Era' Episodes of 'Spongebob Squarepants'

The conflict between vengeance and greed appears to be won by who has more money. A conflict motivated by business owners' desire for greater financial gain than their rivals - rather hefty for a cartoon for children.

Finn and Ice King - 'Adventure Time' (2010-2018)

Collage Maker-07-Jan-2023-12.44-PM

Finn the Human is a bold, devoted, and loyal hero on Adventure Time. The Ice King is creepy, wacky, and evil. He's also on Finn's hit list because he won't let go of Princess Bubblegum or any of the other princesses in the realm. The two, however, aren't always at odds.

RELATED: The 10 Best 'Adventure Time' Couples, Ranked from Least to Most Romantic

They frequently rile each other up when there is nothing else to do because, without the other, they would become utterly bored. And these guys are terrible at being bored; simply ask anyone around these two stupidly bad rivals.

Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird - 'Looney Tunes' Franchise

Collage Maker-07-Jan-2023-12.52-PM

Tweety and Sylvester are frequently after each other. Both of them living in the same house leads to some disastrous chases. They literally destroy the house. Although Sylvester has laid hands on Tweety and even got Tweety in his mouth on some occasions, most of the time he has never succeeded in eating the canary.

RELATED: The Top 10 Animated Pets of All Time

In the end, Tweety Bird always manages to humiliate Sylvester, unless Sylvester ends up humiliating himself trying to catch Tweety, which in turn does nothing but encourage Tweety to go further in his humiliation attempts on the cat.

Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd - 'Looney Tunes' Franchise

Collage Maker-07-Jan-2023-01.00-PM

For 70 years, Elmer Fudd has been pursuing that "wascally wabbit," Bugs Bunny. You'd think he could see right through the rabbit's deceptive masks after all that time. From multiple different women to his own barber, Bugs always manages to fool Elmer into thinking he isn't the rabbit he is hunting.

But Elmer is the punchline of countless jokes because he never learns. Unending laughs result from the conflict between single-minded Elmer and free-spirited Bugs Bunny. They are one of the most iconic duos ever to come out of The Looney Tunes.

Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner - 'Looney Tunes' Franchise

Collage Maker-07-Jan-2023-01.06-PM

The Looney Tunes iconic duo that is in the forefront of everyone's minds when they think of cartoon duos, these two almost made first place but just fell short. Together, they show an unchanging truth: Some folks simply don't know when to give up. Audiences may want the Roadrunner to survive this rivalry, but they actually end up empathizing more with Wile E. Coyote more.

Viewers can't help but admire his resilience in the face of overwhelming odds. And by overwhelming odds, it's really boulder after boulder, explosion after explosion brought upon this little wild dog.

Tom and Jerry - 'Tom and Jerry' Franchise

Collage Maker-07-Jan-2023-01.12-PM

Tom and Jerry's rivalry is one of the fiercest rivalries around - they are the definition of cat-and-mouse-game. The two can never agree on anything, even when it comes to who wins. Tom and Jerry represent the inspiration behind many other famous duos and even though it is the same formula every episode, they manage to surprise viewers each time.

Jerry is the essential protagonist, yet he can also be cheeky, mischievous, and overconfident. Despite being the aggressor, Tom is more focused on winning than truly harming Jerry. These two have a brother-like bond, albeit a seriously violent one.

NEXT: 10 Great Actors Who Voiced Recognizable Animated Characters