Dread Baron

The Dread Baron is a member of the Really Rottens in the animated Laff-A-Lympics TV series. He was voiced by John Stephenson.

In Marvel Comics, he is revealed to be the twin brother of Dick Dastardly.

Development
Dick Dastardly and Muttley were intended to be in the Laff-A-Lympics program, but due to Hanna-Barbera's co-ownership with Heatter-Quigley when creating them for the previous cartoon, Wacky Races, they were forbidden, and were replaced with Dread Baron and Mumbly (who had previously been the lawful protagonist in The Mumbly Cartoon Show). Dread Baron is virtually the same character, aside from a few differences. The transparency is even clearer in the TV film Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose, where again Dick and Muttley have been substituted by the Dread Baron and Mumbly, with Dread Baron being voiced by Paul Winchell and drives a plane like Dick did in the Wacky Races spin-off Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines.

When writing for Laff-A-Lympics #13, Mark Evanier retconned them to be brothers, although this has never been used outside of the comic.

In popular culture

 * In the Robot Chicken skit "Laff-A-Munich" segment of the episode "Ban on the Fun", after getting tired of always losing (although the Really Rottens did manage to win in some episodes of the actual series), the Really Rottens take hostage the Yogi Yahooeys and murder them. However later, shortly after Dread Baron and Mumbly receive a call from Captain Caveman, a bomb goes off killing both of them. In this parody, he was voiced by Dan Milano.