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This Villain was Headlined on May 2021.

Villain Overview

Hear me, Krabs! When I discover your formula for Krabby Patties, I'll run you out of business! I WENT TO COLLEGE!
~ Plankton's first most famous quote
But it's becoming increasingly obvious. I can deny it no longer!... I am small.
~ Plankton
You wanna fight over this recipe? I'll give you a fight you'll never forget!
~ Plankton starting his long-lasting rivalry with Mr. Krabs

Sheldon James Plankton, better simply known as Plankton, is the main antagonist of Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants franchise.

He runs an unsuccessful restaurant called the Chum Bucket along with his robotic wife/sidekick Karen, and constantly plots to both expand his business (usually by stealing the Krabby Patty secret recipe) and eventually take over the world. He's also the best friend-turned-business rival and archenemy of Mr. Krabs.

He is voiced by Doug Lawrence, who also voiced Edward Platypus in Camp Lazlo, Dr. Machino in Awesome Possum Kicks Dr. Machino's Butt ManAnt in the Aquabats Super Show and Filburt Shellbach in Rocko's Modern Life. In the musical adaptation, Plankton was portrayed by Wesley Taylor.

Description[]

Plankton works with the help of his sidekick/wife, Karen, a sentient computer who gives him most of his evil plans. He is a planktonic copepod and the business rival of Mr. Krabs, the owner of the Krusty Krab where SpongeBob SquarePants works. Despite being portrayed as an antagonist in most incarnations, he frequently appears as an anti-hero (an example being the second movie The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water) and he has that role in almost all the newer episodes.

While the Krusty Krab is popular among the sea creatures of Bikini Bottom, Plankton's own restaurant, the Chum Bucket, gets little to no customers. Plankton's plans all revolve around stealing the elusive "Krabby Patty Secret Recipe," so that he can copy it and make the Chum Bucket popular. He lives inside his restaurant, where he has an elaborate laboratory that contains Karen's computer system.

Appearance[]

Plankton is a very tiny green planktonic copepod. He has short arms and legs, a big yellow eye, and a red pupil with one large eyebrow. He has two long antennae on his head with spikes alongside both. He also has big white straight teeth.

Personality[]

Plankton is shown to be an evil mastermind through and through, with signs of having a Napoleonic complex due to his very short stature. His plans always involve technological devices and weapons, all designed to aid his attempts at stealing the formula. Although, sometimes, he merely wants to expand his business or ruin the Krusty Krab, his main goal has always been throwing the Krusty Krab out of business. In Seasons 1 to 5, Plankton was shown to be a poor businessman, being completely unable to acquire any success for his Chum Bucket restaurant (as a majority of his schemes involving attempted theft of the Krabby Patty recipe).

However, in both events of the first movie and later seasons (which are chronologically still set between the first film and season 5), he is able to get more chances of success other than stealing the Krabby Patty formula, such as having an attractive restaurant where the people will come to observe the underground complex beneath both his and Krabs' restaurant. Other examples include putting slogans such as "Chum is Fum" and "Fum is Chum" (where Patrick Star helped him in his slogans until the starfish's both low IQ and literally overheated brain became setbacks) and one person named Nat Peterson kept coming to buy chum to eat, although he was only doing it since Karen paid him to do so. He also had Squidward make his chum edible and delicious, but one bad move on Squidward's part led to the customers tearing the Chum Bucket apart. Therefore, Plankton's poor business skills are mostly because of his lack of foresight.

Plankton's small stature, the fact that pretty much everyone else in his life looks down on him, and his poverty all cause Plankton to feel very insecure and even defensive. His desire for conquest stems from his deep-seated desire for respect and even admiration, both of which are absent from his life. From his childhood of poverty all the way to his adulthood of neglect, his bitterness and hatred of nearly everyone has grown and consumed him, almost molding him into a full-fledged psychopath who brings a lot of his bad luck on himself.

However, traces of empathy can still be found in Plankton. For example, he truly loved Spot, his pet amoeba. Even though he seems to look down on and belittles Karen, he does actually love her, and Karen returns this love in spite of often being snarky to him, much to Plankton's frustration. Furthermore, during the second movie, Plankton expresses his love for Karen before she shuts herself down, so that he and SpongeBob can time travel.

Due to his small size and the fact that he tends to have huge flaws in all his plans, no one in Bikini Bottom really sees Plankton as a threat, let alone is aware of his presence in the town or what he will do. For instance, when Sandy manages to capture Plankton for stealing her fur, the police arrests her instead for her unintentional public nudity, and barely notice his presence in spite of him being in extremely close proximity.

Most people who know Plankton or are aware of his presence in Bikini Bottom merely see him as a pest and a mere annoyance. Only a handful individuals are aware of how dangerous Plankton can be, including: Mr. Krabs, who acknowledges that if he DID get the formula, he would make the Chum Bucket a bigger risk to the Krusty Krab, which makes him vigilant around Plankton (though this doesn't stop Mr. Krabs from mocking him); and SpongeBob, who is truly afraid of him and his outlandish schemes, especially since the events of his debut episode where he uses a mind-control device on the sponge and nearly discovers the Krabby Patty formula in the process (though failed, this was enough to alarm SpongeBob about Plankton's villainous qualities and the danger that he can pose to others).

While Plankton often appears as a bumbling comic foil, he actually can be a real threat under certain circumstances, manipulating others to get his way, and when the odds are in his favor, he can be surprisingly successful (though this success is usually short-lived). Even his first appearance has him lose because of his bad luck as his scheme proved made him a dangerous threat to SpongeBob.

In the newer episodes, he has become less evil and more similar to an anti-hero as he even helps SpongeBob when they're outside of their businesses, and has occasionally shown a more good-hearted side of him as a result. However, he is still as mischievous and calculating as ever, and is still willing to exploit SpongeBob's gullibility to his own advantage, like when he had SpongeBob help him come up with an anniversary gift for Karen so that she'd give him the secret formula though SpongeBob didn't know about that until the end of the episode.

Quotes[]

SpongeBob SquarePants[]

Goodbye, everyone. I'll remember you all in therapy.
~ Plankton in "The Algae is Always Greener"
Harold: You!
Plankton: Me?
Harold: You think this is funny?
Plankton: In a cosmic sort of way, yes.
Harold: Well, Mr. Funny Man (Harold pulls out a Krabby Patty), is this how you get your sick kicks?!
Plankton: What? It's just an ordinary Krabby- (Plankton realizes what's wrong with the Krabby Patty) OH MY GOODNESS! Squidward!
~ Plankton in "The Algae is Always Greener"
That's it, Mister. You've just lost your brain privileges!
~ Plankton to SpongeBob in "Welcome to the Chum Bucket"
Shut your mouth, you mediocre clarinet player.
~ Plankton to Squidward in "Plankton"
Plankton: Now quit wasting my time!
Mom Fish: Hey, you can't talk to my son that way! Who do you think you are?
Plankton: I'm Plankton, you old hag! And your son smells like boogers!
Dad Fish: Hey, you can't talk to my wife that way! What do you think this is?
Plankton: I think it's time for you to lose some weight, fatty, that's what it is!
Gramma: Hey, you can't talk to my grandson like that! Someone outta put you in a mental hospital!
Plankton: Someone should put you in a box floating down the river, Gramma!
~ Plankton in "20,000 Patties Under the Sea"

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie[]

Curses! It's not fair. Krabs is being interviewed by Perch Perkins, and I've never even had one customer!
~ Plankton ranting about Mr. Krabs' success in opening the Krusty Krab 2 and that he never had any customer at the Chum Bucket.
Oh, Karen, my computer wife, if only I could have managed to steal the secret to Krabs' success, the formula for the Krabby Patty. Then people would line up to eat at my restaurant. Lord knows I've tried.
~ Plankton confiding in Karen his wishes to obtain the Krabby Patty formula
Plankton: I've exhausted every evil plan in my filing cabinet...from A to Y.
Karen: A to Y?
Plankton: Yeah, A to Y. You know the alphabet.
Karen: What about Z?
Plankton: Z?
Karen: Z. The letter after Y.
Plankton: W, X, Y, Z. Plan Z! Here it is, just like you said.
Karen: Oh, boy.
Plankton: Oh! Oh! Ohhh! It's evil. It's diabolical. It's lemon-scented. This Plan Z can't possibly fail!
~ Plankton deciding to use Plan Z, adamant that it will not fail
Plankton: So enjoy today, Mr. Krabs, because by tomorrow, I'll have the formula. Then everyone will eat at the Chum Bucket, and I will rule the world! All hail Plankton. All hail Plank...! Ow!
SpongeBob: I'm ready! Promotion! Ew, I think I stepped in something!
Plankton: Not in something, on someone, you twit!
SpongeBob: Oh, Sorry, Plankton. Are you on your way to the grand opening ceremony?
Plankton: No, I am not on my way over to the grand-opening ceremony. I'm busy planning to rule the world!
SpongeBob: Well, good luck with that. I'm ready. Promotion. I'm ready. Promotion.
Plankton: Stupid kid.
~ Plankton telling SpongeBob he does not have time to go to the grand-opening ceremony while being busy plotting to rule Bikini Bottom.
Time to put Plan Z into effect. Starting at the undersea castle of King Neptune.
~ Plankton going to King Neptune's castle to steal his crown and frame Mr. Krabs for the theft.
I got it. I got it!
~ Plankton succeeding in stealing Neptune's crown.
Hi, Mr. Krabs. This is Clay, the guy you sold Neptune's crown to. Yeah, I just wanted to say thanks again for selling me the crown. Neptune's crown. I sold it to a guy in Shell City, and I just wanted to say thanks again for selling me the crown. Neptune's crown. Which is now in Shell City. Goodbye.
~ Plankton, through a fake phone call, misleading a furious Neptune into assuming that Mr. Krabs sold his crown to Shell City
Plan Z. I love Plan Z.
~ Plankton goating about his success after tricking Neptune who yells in frustration
Ding-a-ling. Hey there, old buddy. Freeze! One secret formula to go, please. No, no, don't trouble yourself. I'll get it. Well, I'd like to hang around, but I've got Krabby Patties to make... over at the Chum Bucket. Plan Z, I love ya!
~ Plankton taunting an already frozen Mr. Krabs as he gets the formula and goes back to the Chum Bucket.
Perch Perkins: Excuse me, Plankton. Perch Perkins, Bikini Bottom News. Can I get a minute?
Plankton: Anything for you, Perch.
Perch Perkins: All of Bikini Bottom wants to know, how did you get the Krabby Patty?
Plankton: Well, Perch, before my dear friend Eugene Krabs was frozen by King Neptune... I'm sorry. He confided in me a secret wish. "Sell the Krabby Patty in my absence at the Chum Bucket," he said. "Don't let the flame die out." By the way, act now and you get a free Chum Bucket bucket helmet with every purchase. Here you go, Perch.
Plankton: Perch Perkins: Thanks.
Plankton: Bucket helmets for everyone!
~ Plankton being interviewed by Perch Perkins about how did he get the Krabby Patty and offering bucket helmets to everyone.
Plankton: Karen, baby, I haven't felt this giddy since the day you agreed to be my wife.
Karen: I never agreed.
Plankton: Evil Plan Z is working perfectly. Nothing can stop me now!
Plankton: Karen: Nothing except SpongeBob and his pink friend. My sensors indicate that they're going after the crown. If they make it back, Neptune might discover some fingerprints. Tiny fingerprints. Stubby, tiny fingerprints.
Plankton: Evil Plan Z is way ahead of you, baby. I've already hired someone to take care of those two. He's a vicious, cold-blooded predator!
~ Plankton assuring Karen that he hired a hitman to prevent SpongeBob and Patrick from retrieving the crown.
Squidward: So you're selling Krabby Patties, eh, Plankton?
Plankton: That's right, Squidward. And there's a free bucket helmet with every purchase. Care for one?
Squidward: No. You may have hoodwinked everyone else in this backwater town, but you can't fool me. I listen to public radio.
Plankton: What's that supposed to mean?
Squidward: It means you set up Mr. Krabs. You stole the crown so Neptune would freeze him and you could finally get your stubby little paws on the Krabby Patty formula. It was you all along. But you made one fatal mistake. You messed with my paycheck. And I'm gonna report you to the highest authority in the land, King Neptune!
Plankton: We'll see about that, Inspector Looselips.
~ Plankton prepares to capture Squidward so he can't tell the truth to King Neptune.
Karen: Now activating helmet brain control devices.
Squidward: Huh?)
(A radar rises out of the Chum Bucket restaurant, and the helmets on the people's heads cover their faces. They all stand up and drone: "All hail Plankton".)
Squidward: What's going on here?
Plankton: Seize him, slaves!
Drones: All hail Plankton.
Squidward: Ah! I'm getting out of here.
(Squidward tries to escape the Chum Bucket, but runs into other drones and he runs into the corner. Everyone marches toward him as they continue droning "All hail Plankton". Squidward screams in terror.)
Plankton: Who can stop me now?! WHO?!
~ Plankton turning the people in Bikini Bottom into slaves.
No resting! This monument celebrating my glory isn't gonna build itself. Move faster!
~ Plankton pressuring his slaves into building Planktopolis.
Sorry about this calendar. March 14. Wait, that's not right. It should say "The day that Krabs fries!" Guess who's here.
~ Plankton planning to have Mr. Krabs executed by King Neptune.
This is the best seat in the house. All right, Neptune, let's get it on!
~ Plankton before Mr. Krabs' execution.
King Neptune: Eugene Krabs, the time has come...
Mindy: No.
Plankton: Yes.
King Neptune: ...for you...
Mindy: No.
Plankton: Yes.
King Neptune: ...to fry...
Mindy: No.
Plankton: Yes.
~ Plankton cheering on Neptune while the latter attempts to execute Mr. Krabs mere seconds before Spongebob and Patrick return with the crown
Plankton: Oh, yes. Well done, SpongeBoob.
SpongeBob: Sorry to rain on your parade, Plankton.
Plankton: Oh, don't worry about me. My parade shall be quite dry under my umbrella!
Spongebob, Patrick and Mindy: Umbrella?
(A bucket helmet falls on Neptune's head while unsuccessfully trying to take it off)
Mindy: Daddy, no.
Plankton: Daddy, yes.
King Neptune: All hail Plankton.
(Spongebob, Patrick and Mindy scream in terror before the other mind-controlled slaves storm into the Krusty Krab 2 and Neptune aims his trident at the three of them)
~ Plankton sarcastically complimenting SpongeBob before mind-controlling King Neptune.
Patrick: Spongebob, what happened?
SpongeBob: Plankton cheated.
Plankton: Cheated? Hold on there, baldy. Oh, grow up. What, you think this is a game of kickball on the playground? You never had a chance to defeat me, fool! And you know why?
SpongeBob: Because you cheated?
Plankton: No, not because I cheated! Because I'm an evil genius. And you're just a kid. A stupid kid!
~ Plankton mocking SpongeBob and calling him a stupid kid.
[Plankton, Neptune and the other slaves laugh at Spongebob.
His dance moves are impressive, but I'm in control. Seize him!
~ Plankton ordering his slaves to capture SpongeBob only for them to be blasted away by the latter.
What? No! My precious helmets!
~ Plankton yelling in total defeat while SpongeBob frees the mind-controlled Bikini Bottom residents.
Come on, I was just kidding. (Cop uses a shovel to pick up Plankton) Come on, you guys knew that, didn't you? (Gets thrown into a small police car) With the helmets and the big monuments...Wasn't that hilarious, everybody? (getting drove away) I WILL DESTROY ALL OF YOU!
~ Plankton's last words in the first film before he is sent away to prison.

Trivia[]

  • Plankton found Mr. Krabs' life to be worse than his own when he experienced it in "The Algae's Always Greener" and "Spy Buddies". In "The Algae's Always Greener", he found lots of reasons that make Mr. Krabs' life difficult:
    • SpongeBob is always asking him for a Weekly Performance Review on Tuesday and throws a temper tantrum if Plankton refuses. He also keeps yelling "SOILED IT! SOILED IT! SOILED IT!" when he accidentally gave a customer a large soda when the customer wanted a medium soda.
    • Squidward, the lazy, grumpy, pessimistic worker at the restaurant, complains to Plankton that he doesn't want to work with SpongeBob. Later, when Plankton put him in charge of fry cooking, a customer got angry because the Krabby Patty that Squidward cooked was very ugly, disgusting-looking, and hideous.
    • Pearl, his virtual reality daughter, throws a big temper tantrum because she doesn't get more than $1 advance to her allowance.
    • Krabs tries to steal the Krabby Patty formula (which Plankton actually does in the show's reality), and Krabs NEVER gives up like he does. This version of Krabs, while not as smart as Plankton, is even more unhinged in his attempts.
  • Early in the series, Plankton is considered a true villain. Later, as Krabs becomes more dramatically greedy (said greed ultimately drove him insane) and Plankton becomes less dramatically evil and less of a genius, the role of the main villain of the series becomes more debatable as lots of people think that Mr. Krabs is evil. Plankton also acknowledges this himself when he begins to question whether he or Krabs is truly evil. On the other hand, once seasons 9-12 started reducing Mr. Krabs' less pleasant traits, Plankton ended up becoming the true villain again. Even then, it depends on who is writing the episode.
    • Though speculative, Plankton's post-first movie seasons portrayal could be attributed to newer showrunners involved misunderstanding his character as much as the rest of the main cast. In this case, they erroneously found Plankton a better anti-hero than Mr. Krabs hence why the series' flanderization throughout those seasons in which the former became increasingly sympathetic just as Krabs became increasingly detestable.
  • He and Mr. Krabs were born exactly on the same date.
  • He may not have become the main antagonist at first, because Steven Hillenburg didn't know what to do with him, but Mr. Lawrence liked him and so created many ideas how to use him.
  • Plankton oddly does not attempt stealing a to-go meal from people leaving the Krusty Krab.
  • Despite his genius, Plankton doesn't try inventing a device to scan and replicate the taste memory of a person who ate a Krabby Patty.
  • Given the main cast of Spongebob has been compared to the Seven Deadly Sins, Plankton obliviously embodies Envy. Ironically Envy is called the "little green monster", which kids unfamiliar with aquatic life would call Plankton. Plankton's jealousy towards Krabs' success drives him to try stealing the Krabby Patty formula.
  • In real life, chum is the grounded up body parts of fish, meaning Plankton's food is made from organs and other body parts, and this is why anyone who ever eats chum always gets sick.
  • Even if Plankton ended up selling Krabby Patties at the Chum Bucket, he could get sued by Mr. Krabs since Plankton doesn't own the right to sell Krabby Patties. This didn't happen in the first movie since Mr. Krabs was frozen and Plankton was able to forge a lie to make the public think that Mr. Krabs gave him his blessing to sell Krabby Patties at the Chum Bucket before King Neptune froze him.

External Links[]

Navigation[]

           SpongeBob SquarePants Logo Villains

Bikini Bottom
Mr. Krabs (Alternate Reality Mr. Krabs) | Plankton Family (Plankton, Karen Plankton) | Bubble Bass | Flats the Flounder | Tattletale Strangler | BlackJack SquarePants | Sergeant Sam Roderick | Carl | Con Man | Don Grouper | Animatronic Hieronymus Glove | Art Appraiser | Gale Doppler | Stickyfins Whiting | Dorsal Dan | Kevin C. Cucumber | Nurse Daisy Bazooka

Monsters and Creatures
Alaskan Bull Worm | Puffy Fluffy | Madame Hagfish | Big One | Sea Bear | Jelliens (Evil Alien Jellien Overlord) | Dragon Jellyfish | Kraken | Abominable Snow Mollusk

Supervillains
Every Villain Is Lemons (Man Ray, Dirty Bubble, Jumbo Shrimp, Notodoris) | Sinister Slug | Atomic Flounder | The Moth | Catfishstress | Octopus King | Hoodoo Guru | Robot Mantis

Pirates
Flying Dutchman | Lord Poltergeist | Gordon

Others
DoodleBob (Mini Doodles) | Abrasive SpongeBob | Dead-Eye Plankton | Planktonamor | Plankrab | Karen 2.0 | Captain Scarfish | ToyBob | Triton | Cuddle E. Hugs | Coupe | Swamp Natives | Earworm | Master Udon | The Fisherman | Hash-Slinging Slasher | Nosferatu

Movie Villains
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie:
Mr. Krabs | Plankton | Dennis | Karen Plankton | Victor | Cyclops | Boat Jacker | The Frogfish | The Thug Tug Gang
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water:
Plankton | Mr. Krabs | Burger-Beard
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On the Run:
Plankton | Mr. Krabs | Karen Plankton | King Poseidon | El Diablo

Video Game Villains
Evil Syndicate | King Gorge | The Mawgu | Robots (SpongeBot SteelPants, Robot Plankton, Robo-Patrick, Robo-Sandy) | Prawn (Admiral Prawn) | Mutant Krabby Patty | Dreaded Patrick | Globulous Maximus | Seymour Scales | Madame Kassandra | Cosmic Jelly Monsters

           Nickelodeon All Stars Brawl Villains

Playable Characters
Zim | GIR | Ren Höek | Shredder | El Tigre | Plankton | Mr. Krabs | Ember McLain | Azula | Zuko | Rocksteady |

Non Playable
Armagedroid | Mini Moose | The Gromble | Krang | Foot Soldiers | Ghost Bride | Karen Plankton | Cluster Bots | Box Ghost |

Bosses
Vlad Plasmius | The Flying Dutchman | Sartana of the Dead | Evil Clockwork|

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