Summary

• Voldemort's Death Eaters are a force to be feared, with some being powerful and others less so.
• Even those under the Imperius Curse, like Thicknesse and Shunpike, played significant roles in Voldemort's plans.
• Not all Death Eaters were equal; some like Draco Malfoy struggled with their loyalty, while others like Bellatrix were fanatical.

The Death Eaters, Voldemort's inner circle of loyal followers, strike fear into the hearts of wizards, witches, and Harry Potter fans everywhere. Harry's journey to stop Voldemort's rise to power is the main storyline of his story. While each book or movie focuses on a separate adventure, they are all united by Voldemort's attempt to regain power in the Wizarding World and Harry's desire to stop him. While Harry is aided by a handful of loyal friends and adults who Voldemort's last rise to power, the dark wizard has his followers, known as Death Eaters, to do his bidding.

Even when Voldemort was too weak to act, the Death Eaters he commanded remained an ever-present threat. They moved in the shadows, orchestrating Voldemort's return to life, the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, the downfall of Albus Dumbledore, and countless other plans. As Voldemort returned, Harry found himself facing a variety of horrifying wizards and witches. Death Eaters are not equal, however. Some were largely ineffective, while others posed an almost insurmountable threat whenever they appeared on the scene. The conflicts revealed which Death Eaters were the most powerful and which did not stand a chance.

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Stan Shunpike

Unjustly Branded

Poor Stan Shunpike never should have been considered a Death Eater in the first place. Shunpike was the conductor of the Knight Bus introduced when Harry left the Dursleys in Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban. He held that job until he was arrested by the Ministry of Magic and sent to Azkaban under suspicion of being a Death Eater just a few years later.

When news of his arrest broke, Harry was adamant that the man he met certainly wasn't someone who would follow Voldemort. Everyone seemed to know that Shunpike was no Death Eater, but then he was placed under the Imperius Curse during the breakout from Azkaban and was forced to them. Even though he participated in an attack on Harry while under the Imperius Curse, he only lived through it because of Harry's restraint in defending himself. Shunpike was the most powerless.

Crabbe and Goyle Sr.

The Loyal Followers

Fans were already pretty certain Crabbe and Goyle's family had to be Death Eaters because of how closely they associated with the Malfoy family, who had very carefully escaped punishment for their loyalty to Voldemort after his last rise to power. That fact was finally confirmed in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Crabbe Sr. and Goyle Sr. were both present when Voldemort returned to life in the graveyard where Harry was held and Cedric Diggory was killed.

However, aside from a few brief mentions of their presence alongside other Death Eaters in major battles, very little is known of the actions of elder Crabbe and Goyle. Their participation was not notable at all. They did not seek out Voldemort when he disappeared, avoided Azkaban, and seemed only to take part in Voldemort's plans when all other Death Eaters were present. At the very least, they were loyal followers.

Draco Malfoy

A Reluctant Death Eater

Draco Malfoy was too young to be one of the original Death Eaters. He did, however, seem to be a prime candidate to become one in the early chapters of Harry's story. He had no problem antagonizing Harry Potter and the other Hogwarts students with insults, bigotry, and common jinxes. He also was extremely loyal to his family, who were heavily connected to Voldemort. However, when Voldemort finally called upon him with a Death Eater's task, he wasn't willing to descend to the violence that Voldemort required.

Harry Potter: Every Death Eater Ranked From Weakest To Most

The young Malfoy spent the year he was given a task usually reserved for inner circle agonizing over his assignment. Even though he was sent by Voldemort to take down Dumbledore, he was in the process of backing out when Severus Snape showed up to finish the job. Maybe Draco could have been a powerful Death Eater, but in the end, it was not who he wanted to be.

Pius Thicknesse

Puppet Minister

Like Stan Shunpike, Pius Thicknesse never should have been a Death Eater. However, Corban Yaxley placed him under the Imperius Curse, turning him into an unwitting key player in Voldemort's machinations. Once under the Imperius Curse, Voldemort's henchmen installed him as the Minister for Magic following the untimely demise of Rufus Scrimgeour.

With the entire wizarding government at his command, Thicknesse was able to severely restrict the moves Harry Potter and his allies could make against Voldemort. His actions as Minister for Magic and his presence at the Battle of Hogwarts were significant. He effectively became the most powerful person in the Wizarding World, but he was also relatively powerless since his actions were also not of his own choice. If being allied with the Death Eaters had been his decision, he might have been a more powerful player.

Quirinus Quirrell

Reluctant Accomplice

[his] plans were so small-time that three 11-year-old children were able to foil them

Professor Quirrell was not an official Death Eater since he was never seen to sport the Dark Mark or wear one of the Death Eater masks. The fact that Voldemort lived on the back of his head certainly gives him some kind of ceremonial status among them though. Quirrell was instrumental in setting Voldemort's plans in motion in Harry's first year, but for the most part, these plans were so small-time that three 11-year-old children were able to foil them (with a little subtle help from Snape and Dumbledore).

He wasn't even effective as a vessel for Voldemort's soul, as he crumbled apart immediately when Harry Potter touched him. It wasn't his fault, of course, since Harry was still protected by his mother's magical form of protection against Voldemort, but Quirrel's actions still amounted to almost nothing in the grand scheme to the Death Eaters carrying out Voldemort's plans.

Gibbon

A Misplaced Trust

Gibbon did not get a single moment of glory in the entire series. In fact, he didn't even appear much in the series at all. He was among the Death Eaters brought into Hogwarts through Draco's Vanishing Cabinet, so he was presumably important enough to be trusted with the weighty task of dispatching Dumbledore. The plan was presented as though only a handful of Death Eaters had been told about what Draco's task was. It seems that trust in Gibbon might have been misplaced, though.

He was told to wait for Dumbledore in the Astronomy Tower, but he did not want to wait for him alone and instead left his position to check out other areas of Hogwarts. As he tried to return to the other Death Eaters at the Astronomy Tower, a fight was already underway, and he was hit by friendly fire, a curse intended for Remus Lupin. That was then the end of Gibbon in the Harry Potter franchise.

Nott

Disappointing Performance in Battle

Nott fails to live up to expectations in battles seen throughout the series

Nott was one of Voldemort's earliest Death Eaters, noted to be present when Tom Riddle applied to teach at Hogwarts in his younger years. That means he was likely someone that Tom Riddle knew from school before he became Lord Voldemort. Nott avoided a prison sentence in Azkaban, much like the Malfoys, and was present upon Voldemort's return in the graveyard, proclaiming himself Voldemort's most faithful servant.

However, despite this reputation, Nott fails to live up to expectations in battles seen throughout the series. In the Department of Mysteries, Hermione managed to stun him and sent shelves crashing down around him. This incapacitated him for the rest of the battle, and Lucius Malfoy instructed the others to leave him behind. Though he presumably escaped any repercussions since he fought in other battles after this, he still failed to present much of a challenge to Harry and his allies.

Jugson

A Brief Encounter at the Department of Mysteries

Jugson is not one of the Death Eaters who is named at every gathering in the series. Little is known about Jugson other than a single named appearance in the battle at the Department of Mysteries. Still, he fared better than some of his compatriots in this single battle. He managed to use an Impediment Jinx on Harry, Hermione, and Neville, briefly slowing them down. Harry then hit him with a Full-Body Bind Curse, putting him out of commission for part of the battle.

After this, he is not mentioned for the rest of the series. He may have recovered in time for the end of the battle against the Order of the Phoenix and he may have participated in other battles, but that's never made clear to the readers or movie watchers. His one named appearance failed to distinguish him much.

Avery

The Imperius Enthusiast

Avery ed the Death Eaters at the same time as many of its premier , such as Bellatrix Lestrange and Severus Snape. After Voldemort's downfall, he claimed he had been under the Imperius Curse which allowed him to avoid Azkaban. Voldemort did not appreciate that some of his followers, like Avery, appeared to denounce him with their methods of avoiding prison. Upon Voldemort's return, he begged forgiveness at Voldemort's feet for believing the Dark Lord would not return.

When Voldemort pursued the prophecy, Avery had the idea to Imperius an Unspeakable from the Department of Mysteries. His plan failed because he did not know the Unspeakable could not retrieve the prophecy, and Voldemort punished him for not thinking the plan through. Avery gets points for enthusiasm and creativity, but he was still a mostly ineffective henchman.

Mulciber

The Imperius Curse Specialist

Mulciber was in the same Slytherin group with Avery, Bellatrix, and Snape, but little is known of his personal actions. Like several of the Death Eaters whose names are learned in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire or Order of the Phoenix, he was present at the Department of Mysteries, but the rest of his involvement is largely speculative. He would hardly be worthy of mention if not for the testimony of Igor Karkaroff when he was accused of being a Death Eater.

Karkaroff attempted to turn in Mulciber, only to be informed he had already been captured. During his testimony, Karkaroff stated Mulciber specialized in the Imperius Curse. Since the Imperius Curse was such a common and useful tool for Voldemort, Mulciber likely would have been a valued Death Eater by those who needed his skills.