Since the title character in Dexter is a literal serial killer, it's quite hard to top him when it comes to series villains. Dexter Morgan himself, being one of the smartest and most capable characters in the show, makes everyone else look less terrifying. Still, every story needs a villain of some sort. While some don't hold a candle to Dexter's bloodlust and discretion, others have made up for it in showmanship.
Granted, the Bay Harbor Butcher is still the top dog, but some serial killers have proven quite a handful for both him and the MMPD. Some of Dexter's most formidable villains aren't even outright bad people, but law-abiding and vigilant detectives. Dexter's killing spree is always challenged by these characters throughout the series. Hopefully, some of them get considered for the reboot, Dexter: New Blood.
Updated February 6, 2022, by Ritwik Mitra: Dexter was hugely popular, even considering its rather divisive ending. The fact that Dexter: New Blood has brought the character back successfully is a testament to just how beloved this character really is. He might be a serial killer, but Dexter's M.O. to only kill the ones who are guilty makes him such a great protagonist. Here are some of the most imposing antagonists that have featured on this show.
15 Johnny Rose & Nikki Wald (Season 4)
The Vacation Murderers are a couple that serve as a major thorn in the side of Miami P.D., and are the primary antagonists in a rather engaging subplot. They have a major hand in some notable events in this season, although their individual characters aren't all that engrossing.
They do end up getting caught, and an argument between the couple causes Nikki to shoot and kill Johnny. She shortly confesses to all the murders they've committed after being arrested.
14 Stan Liddy (Season 5)
In the fifth season, Stan Liddy is a corrupt officer who is tasked with investigating Dexter by Joey Quinn. While this investigation is stopped by Quinn after a while, Liddy is in too deep and discovers Dexter's dark side.
He tries to confront the protagonist, but things end up taking a turn for the worst when the altercation gets physical. This leads to Dexter fatally stabbing Stan Liddy.
13 Miguel Prado (Season 3)
Miguel Prado is one of the unlikeliest villains one might find here, as he's actually one of the highest law-enforcement entities in any given state, an Assistant District Attorney. However, that doesn't stop him from descending into madness after finding out that Dexter is a serial killer.
Miguel befriends Dexter and allows him to just jump into his life-long obsession with Bay Harbor Butchering. It's one of the show's least believable notions, but the plot had to advance somehow. In any case, Miguel was a sloppy ticking time bomb and even one of the least competent villains in the show. Still, he managed to kill a powerful figure and became a thorn in Dexter's side.
12 Lila West (Season 2)
Speaking of thorns in Dexter's side, Lila West was one of the most intimate with Dexter out of all the villains in the show. She even managed to compel Dexter to cheat on Rita Bennett. Like Miguel, Lila also discovered Dexter's deepest secret, the "dark passenger," albeit unintentionally.
This didn't end well, and Lila ended up wedging herself — sometimes forcibly — into Dexter's life and circle. She not only killed James Doakes, but also nearly ruined Angel Batista's life. The reason she's so low in the ranking is that most of her actions were only possible through luck or plot convenience.
11 Maria Laguerta (Became A Villain In Season 7)
One of the few villains with a straight moral compass, Maria Laguerta, who was Captain of the MMPD by Season Seven, continued Sgt. James Doakes' legacy. At that point in the series, she finally caught on to why Doakes was accusing Dexter all along.
Laguerta even managed to arrest Dexter in a rather unceremonious fashion, but that didn't matter much for the Bay Harbor Butcher, thanks to Deborah Morgan. Dexter's sister reluctantly saved him from Laguerta's vigilance — something he otherwise wouldn't have been able to wiggle out from due to the MMPD Captain's power and influence.
10 George King (Season 3)
This ex-Nicaraguan soldier was of the few villains on the show who was more or less as capable as Dexter. King was also head of the Nicaraguan army's interrogation unit, and applied his veteran experience to his Miami victims. What he did was even more painful and grotesque than Dexter's modus operandi — King skinned his victims alive before killing them.
Dexter at least had an intact moral compass whereas King was a true sadist and didn't care much about his victims' feelings. At one point, he nearly managed to kill Dexter and even went close to skinning him alive. He was simply underutilized to make way for Miguel Prado's character.
9 Oliver Saxon (Season 8)
One of the last villains in the show, Oliver Saxon caused quite a lot of trouble for Dexter's family. He's the one who was finally able to kill Deborah Morgan, what with all the harm that constantly surrounded her. Granted, Deb's death at Oliver's hands was poorly executed and unjustified, but he still pulled it off.
As a serial killer, he's proven to be even more effective than Dexter, especially in situations that need improvisation. Oliver is better than Dexter at mimicking human emotions, and is well-trained enough to be able to kill a US Marshall and a highly-decorated detective.
8 Jordan Chase (Season 5)
So far, plenty of villains in Dexter didn't display enough negative traits to be considered truly deplorable, but Jordan Chase is the most hateful among them. He's definitely one of the most justified Dexter trophies in the series. Jordan Chase preys only on young women, whom his gang kidnaps and violates before stuffing them in barrels and killing them.
It doesn't help that they have a front where they get an endless supply of vulnerable victims. Hence, Jordan Chase proves a fitting villain because of his depraved actions. By the end of the season, Dexter did the world a favor by getting rid of him.
7 Christine Hill (Season 4)
The daughter of the Trinity Killer had a pretty major daddy complex, causing her to do whatever possible to gain her father's approval. This leads to her shooting and killing Frank Lundy, with a bullet hitting Debra as well.
After realizing the gravity of her crimes, she ultimately kills herself. It's a sad ending to the tale of a damaged character who was mentally tortured by her unhinged father time and time again.
6 Santos Jimenez (Season 2)
The death of Dexter's mother played a crucial role in turning him into the serial killer that fans of the show recognize. There were three men who participated in this butchering, with Santos Jimenez being one of the culprits.
Dexter finally hunts down and kills this person in Season 2, and he does this in a poetic fashion. He breaks out his code and uses a chainsaw to perform this grisly deed, exacting revenge for his mother's murder.
5 Kurt Caldwell (Dexter: New Blood)
The antagonist in Dexter's newest chapter is a sick person who likes to abduct and imprison innocent people, before letting them go and hunting them down in a rather twisted manner. He's a great villain who reignites the passion people had for the show.
Watching Dexter go back to his dark side as he hunts down this man is a blast for fans of this show to witness. Michael C. Hall hasn't lost his edge in playing this killer, and this shows when he hunts down and kills Kurt Caldwell.
4 Travis Marshall (Season 6)
Travis Marshall made quite the splash in Season Six after he introduced himself as the Doomsday Killer. That's an even better moniker than the Bay Harbor Butcher, and it's all thanks to his presentation of his kills. He usually parades off his kills or crime scenes in biblical iconography, inspired by the Book of Revelation itself.
He actually doesn't kill that many people, but his murder sprees left so many freaky intricacies that he quickly became one of the most interesting and enigmatic villains in the series. Like Dexter, he has his own dark passenger who compels him to carry out his murder.
3 Arthur Mitchell (Season 3)
It's not often Dexter gets to meet possibly someone who's better and has had a lot more experience than him. Hence, Arthur Mitchell, a.k.a. the Trinity Killer, fascinated Dexter. Mitchell was an uncaught serial killer who grew up to be an aging family man. Even an FBI agent considered him a "myth."
Sure enough, this drew Dexter's attention, and he even tried to cozy up to Mitchell in hopes of learning some techniques and habits. Mitchell didn't like that, naturally, and he quickly found out Dexter's true identity. Along the way, though, his haunting mood shifts and complex persona, coupled with John Lithgow's seamless performance, made Mitchell a memorable serial killer.
2 Brian Moser (Season 1)
One of the reasons why Dexter found it difficult to introduce better villains is that it peaked in the very first season. Brian Moser, a.k.a. The Ice Truck Killer, was such an effective, significant, and dramatic character that most of the following Dexter villains just paled in comparison.
Dexter's long-lost brother also turned out to be a serial killer, like him. The whole season plays out like a classic black-and-white chess match between the two killers. It's even made more exciting by the fact that they're brothers, and that their serial killer nuances are held only by Dexter's fragile sense of morality. Hopefully, the reboot re-captures the same idea.
1 James Doakes (Seasons 1&2)
Between Brian and Sgt. James Doakes, it's a tough call, but the latter managed to hound Dexter down and was the first "normal" person to discover Dexter's true identity through his own wits. While Brian was a creepy serial killer and individual, he didn't share the same chemistry that Doakes had with Dexter.
What makes Dexter vs. Doakes work is that viewers don't often know who to root for between the two. Doakes sometimes pulls ahead with his natural swagger and competence, but Dexter always finds a way to outsmart him. Their contrasting ideals and personalities made their character dynamics more entertaining than any relationship in the series. Doakes' unorthodox — and sometimes unethical — method of solving and fighting crimes, as well as his penchant for treating Dexter like prey, is a series highlight that sadly ended too early. Sadly, it seems actor Erik King won't be reprising his role as James Doakes in Dexter: New Blood.