While the current big-bad of the cinematic Wizarding World is Grindelwald, Harry Potter fans already know that he will be defeated. Dumbledore triumphs against him in a duel only 13 years after The Secrets of Dumbledore, making the entire prequel series relatively anticlimactic. That may prompt fans to look back on the original series' villain, Lord Voldemort, to reclaim the excitement of the good guys fighting against insurmountable odds.
However, Lord Voldemort was not as great of a villain as many fans remember, spending the vast majority of his time waiting for an opportunity to defeat a child. While he and his followers were undoubtedly horrible, looking at Voldemort's role in each Harry Potter film illustrates how few successes he truly had. Fans have made memes about Voldemort's character journey, and they perfectly sum up his role in each film, whether as an indomitable foe or a bit of a fool.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Despite his defeat at an infant's hands ten years before, Voldemort was very confident in his plan to regain his body in Philosopher's Stone. Quirrell was the perfect host body, bringing him back to England, drinking unicorn blood, and doing all that he could to get the Stone. Yet, just like Gru in the meme, Voldemort's brilliant scheme was blocked by what he considered a minor obstacle.
Voldemort didn't fully understand Lily's protection over Harry, so he was thoroughly unprepared to die at the hands of an eleven-year-old. The first film spends a lot of time setting up Voldemort as a significant threat only to have him easily defeated in the climax, so this meme does a great job of capturing that let-down.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Many things happened by coincidence in Chamber of Secrets, especially for Voldemort, so the surprised Chris Pratt meme is perfect. Voldemort gave Lucius his diary at an undisclosed previous point, which Lucius happened to give to Ginny Weasley, who happened to have a crush on Harry. From there, Harry happened to come across it again and form a relationship with Tom, which helped Riddle put all the pieces together.
The version of Voldemort that was in the diary had no reason to even know who Harry Potter was until Ginny told him, so he really was just getting handed information and opportunities. Unfortunately for him, Harry also had a lot of advantages fall into his lap, which took away Voldemort's victory at the last moment.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Prisoner of Azkaban is the only installment in the Harry Potter series that doesn't feature Voldemort in some fashion, but he was still impacted by its events. The main version of Voldemort had been in hiding since being cast out of Quirrell, which left him in a state of ignorance. Wormtail's escape then provided him with critical information on the happenings at Hogwarts.
This meme comes from Dudley's temper tantrum in the first movie, but it captures the outrage Voldemort must have felt when he learned what had been happening. The actual text relies on the characters knowing more about the Horcruxes than either did, but the sentiment is the same. While Voldemort was out of commission, he lost several key advantages, and Wormtail almost certainly received the brunt of his rage.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Just like in Philosopher's Stone, Voldemort had good reason to believe he was going to win in Goblet of Fire. He had his wand, two loyal servants, including one who was in direct contact with Harry, and was on his way to having his body restored. Fans have called out how convoluted his plan was, but the complicated elements of it worked perfectly, bringing Harry to Voldemort in the cemetery.
Just like the meme shows, Voldemort was confident in his victory, recalling his old followers, regaining his body, and capturing Harry Potter. But then a simple disarming spell managed to overpower the Killing Curse. The true source of his problems was the twin cores, but the meme works all the same. A second-year defense charm made Voldemort look like a clown in front of his followers and spoiled his plans.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Voldemort's goal in Order of the Phoenix was to acquire the prophecy about himself and Harry, but the Ministry and Wizarding communities were just as serious of threats. Umbridge was the more memorable villain, and Fudge caused enough public distrust in Dumbledore and Harry that Voldemort didn't have much difficulty doing whatever he wanted to.
Until the climax, Voldemort was a background villain in Order of the Phoenix, so it's only fitting that he be depicted as only one of the three forces beating Harry down in this meme. The war may have begun again when Voldemort regained his body, but the Death Eaters remained covert so that only Harry had to tolerate their actions for the majority of the year.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Although Voldemort's return was finally public and his followers were causing chaos, his role in Half-Blood Prince predominantly came down to how well Harry understood Tom Riddle. While Harry and Dumbledore desperately sought out information about the Horcruxes, having already destroyed the diary and the ring, Voldemort was a consistent threat.
It became increasingly clear in this film how powerful Voldemort was because Harry's previous victories were insubstantial when Voldemort still had so many Horcruxes keeping him alive. Like Squidward in the meme, Voldemort seemed largely unbothered by the Order's actions, biding his time with the knowledge that by the year's end, he would have a dead Dumbledore and multiple Horcruxes preserving his own life.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
By Deathly Hallows, Voldemort pretty much had everything pulled together the way he wanted it. Dumbledore was dead, his Death Eaters were gathered, and the downfall of the Ministry was happening shortly. However, like the penguins from the Madagascar movies, they had all been here before. Harry had a knack for defeating people who were far more powerful than him.
Voldemort doesn't have much of a presence in Part One because he's pretty much already won. But, like Skipper, he is notorious for eventually failing anyway. Audiences see Voldemort at his most powerful in this film, but they know that it's only a matter of time before he and his followers fail.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Deathly Hallows Part 2 places Voldemort at the height of his power. He has multiple Horcruxes, a vast army, control over the government and education system, and mastery of Dark Magic even greater than Grindelwald. He is compared with Bane in this meme, which is fitting given how badly Voldemort had broken Harry, physically and emotionally.
The destruction of the Horcruxes made Voldemort vulnerable, but he still should have easily beaten a seventeen-year-old who didn't even finish school. Harry defeated him due to a combination of wand lore and protective love magic, but even die-hard fans have to admit the finale of Harry Potter doesn't make much sense. The meme does a great job contrasting Voldemort and Harry's realistic power levels while mocking the absurd plot contrivances needed for the considerably more powerful figure to lose.