Scooby Doo's 5 Bravest Moments

Scooby Doo is a juggernaut of children's entertainment; the dopey dog has been entertaining families for decades with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

The franchise got its start back in 1969, in response to parent watch groups (didn't even know that was a thing) complaining about the typical violent cartoons that graced Saturday morning television screens. The show originally ran for 2 seasons from 1969 to 1970. There was also an unofficial third season in 1978. The show featured a group of teen sleuths solving supernatural mysteries alongside their faithful canine companion.

This introduced children to the supernatural and mystery genres which was great; but as with most long-running franchises, something has seemingly been lost. What was lost? Scooby's bravery.

Yes, Scooby Doo was a coward who preferred a chocolate covered hotdog to hunting ghosts. He could, however, be an absolute mad lad when the situation called for it; especially in the early days of the franchise. With that in mind, and being a Scooby fan myself, I thought I'd count down 5 of Scooby's bravest moments.

This is going to be great!

Number 5: Saving Shaggy from the Skeleton Men - Creepy Tangle in the Bermuda Triangle

Creepy Tangle in the Bermuda Triangle was the second episode of the unofficial 3rd season. The gang ends up stranded on an island in the Bermuda Triangle and encounter three skeleton men who are trying to steal weather planes.

Following the show's usual formula, the gang is looking for clues and they find Shaggy being chased by the skeleton men. Scooby jumps into a motor boat and races to the rescue of his buddy.

So, why is this at 5? Well, the episode is fun to watch but like I said before; it's part of the unofficial third season and therefore cannot be placed higher than number 5.

Number 4: Challenging the Ghost of Haunted Isle - Hassle in the Castle

Hassle in the Castle sees the gang once again stranded on an island. This time, however, the ghost they're chasing is looking for a legendary treasure when they catch him.

Okay, so I know what you're thinking: "where's the bravery in this episode?"

This is literally the least frightening villain in the series, it can't be difficult to be brave while facing him, right? Well...yes, you'd be right - sort of. Remember, the audience is privy to the knowledge that the villain is wearing a costume but there's an element of uncertainty that accompanies that knowledge. There's always a chance that the villain could be a real ghost or monster - something that later entries ran with occasionally.

So, where is Scooby's bravery displayed? He is given the task of luring the phantom into one of Fred's elaborate traps and dressed in a hat, mustache and trench coat (yes, really). He isn't too happy about this - obviously - and Fred runs through a list of heroes including the likes of Rin Tin tin and others. None of the examples help until Fred mentions John Wayne.

Scooby thinks about it for a second before standing up and striding from the room John Wayne style to find the phantom. Of course, he finds and taunts the phantom which leads to the climactic, chase, capture and unmasking of the episode.

Number 3: Chasing the Phantom Puppeteer - The Backstage Rage

The Backstage Rage finds the gang finds themselves embroiled in a mystery revolving around counterfeit money. As they investigate a local puppet show for clues, Shaggy and Scooby are playing in the dressing rooms when they encounter the phantom of the episode and he scares the daylights out of them.

As they hunt for the phantom, the gang finds themselves on stage with a couple of angry puppets. Scooby spots the phantom in the rafters controlling the puppets on stage and, with the aid of a sandbag, catapults himself onto the catwalk where he chases the phantom down.

Yes, the dog who is terrified of ghosts chased said ghost and was able to force him into a makeshift trap. I love this episode, it's one of the few memorable ones that I saw as a kid - somehow the villain's costume always stuck with me somewhat. Apart from the cool villain, we got to see Scooby CHASING A GHOST! You can't tell me that's not cool!

Number 2: Fighting the Ape Man - Never Ape an Ape Man

Okay, Never Ape an Ape Man follows Scooby and co. as they're working as extras on a film - The Ape Man of Forbidden Mountain - for Daphne's uncle. A real ape man shows up during the shooting of a scene and nearly hurts Candy Mint; the film's lead actress. As she's yelling for help, who comes to the rescue but Scooby Doo!

He runs out onto the bridge and barks and growls at the ape man while the actress gets to safety just before the bridge falls apart. I particularly love how he bounces on a tree limb and punches, kicks and knocks the ape man off the cliff side. He does the same thing later when the gang are cornered by the ape man on one of the film sets and chases him to the top of the stairs before Daphne hits a switch that turns the stairs into a slide!

Considering the kind of damage that an actual gorilla can do to a person - given their size - the fact that Scooby runs out to 'fight' one to save a stranger is impressive but then again dogs are considered to be man's best friend so it's not completely unusual. As impressive as this is, it has nothing on our number 1 entry!

Number 1: Being Bait - Decoy for a Dognapper

Decoy for a Dognapper is Scooby's bravest moment by far as far as I'm concerned. The episode starts out with Scooby trying to impress a pretty girl dog who is promptly kidnapped...erm...dog-napped. He rushes to the gang and alerts them to the situation and they start to investigate.

They talk to the owner of the first dog that was stolen who tells them that a rival/friend of his' Great Dane is now definitely going to win. See where this is going? The gang decide to attempt to track the dognappers down using Scooby as bait. Now, admittedly Scooby isn't particularly keen but he doesn't put up much of a fuss.

He and Shaggy take the other dog's place and Scooby is taken; the gang track him down and after a rather close call with a train, Scooby takes them back to the hideout where they find and free the other dogs. The dognapper is subsequently caught and unmasked.

The dog that runs from any and all danger put himself in the line of fire to save other dogs! This selfless act of courage earns the top spot on this list.

Final Thoughts

I'm a huge Scooby Doo fan and I still enjoy watching the show from time to time. That said, I wish we'd acknowledge this brave pooch's bravery every once in a while. Hope you guys liked this one it was a blast to write.