SpongeBob SquarePants

**SpongeBob SquarePants** (also known as **SpongeBob** or **Mr. SquarePants**) is the titular main protagonist and the central antagonist of the Nickelodeon animated television series of the same name, he is the primary fry cook at the Krusty Krab. He is also the main protagonist of the movie trilogy and a supporting character of the spin-off series, *The Patrick Star Show*. He is a sponge who lives underwater in Bikini Bottom.

He is voiced by Tom Kenny, who also voiced Heffer Wolfe in *Rocko's Modern Life*, Dog in *CatDog*, Raimundo Pedrosa in *Xiaolin Showdown*, The Mayor and the narrator in *The Powerpuff Girls*, Eduardo in *Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends*, H.U.E. and Kevin Van Newton in *Final Space*, the Ice King in *Adventure Time*, Iron Man and Captain America in *The Super Hero Squad Show,* Commander Peepers *in Wander Over Yonder* and Spyro the Dragon. In the Japanese dub, he is voiced by Taiki Matsuno.

## History

### Debut and Creation

He first appeared on television in the series' pilot episode *Help Wanted* on May 1, 1999. SpongeBob was created and designed by the late cartoonist, Stephen Hillenburg shortly after the cancellation of *Rocko's Modern Life* in 1996. Hillenburg intended to create a series about an over-optimistic sponge that annoys other characters.

Hillenburg compared the concept to Laurel and Hardy and Pee-wee Herman. As he drew the character, he decided that a "squeaky-clean square" (like a kitchen sponge) fits the concept. His name is derived from "Bob the Sponge", the host of Hillenburg's comic strip The Intertidal Zone that he originally drew in 1989 while studying at the California Institute of Arts.

SpongeBob has achieved popularity with both children and adults, though he has been involved in public controversy. The character appeared in a We Are Family Foundation video promoting tolerance, which was criticized by James Dobson of Focus on the Family because of the foundation's link to homosexuality. SpongeBob is an anthropomorphic kitchen-type sponge with two buck teeth, blue eyes, wears brown rectangular-like pants (probably attached to the white shirt with the red tie), black shoes, and red/blue-striped socks.

### Character Biography

SpongeBob was born to Harold SquarePants and Margaret Bubblebottom. According to his driver's license, SpongeBob's birth date was on July 14, 1986, making him 35 years old in Season 13. In the first episode, he applied as the fry cook of Krusty Krab, under the employment of Mr. Krabs.

SpongeBob doesn't seem to be very bright (although he is much smarter than his starfish friend). However, he is goofy and loyal. He lives in a pineapple house in the fictional underwater town of Bikini Bottom.

## Personality

SpongeBob is hard-working, optimistic, hyper, fun-loving, kind-hearted, clueless, honest, naive and friendly. He works as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab Restaurant in the underwater town of Bikini Bottom. He is also a leader, he loves his job very much and performs it very well, even though his greedy cheap boss Mr. Krabs pays him poorly if not rarely. He can also get very overly reacted. Like from the episode *The Bully*, he started getting petrified of getting his butt kicked from new student Flatts the Flounder.

But it was turned out that like a sponge, he did not get hurt much after all. SpongeBob also cares for his loyal pet snail, Gary, who only meows like a cat, and loves hanging out with his best brainless friend, Patrick Star, a friendly but dim-witted pink sea star who lives under a rock. Their middle neighbor is Squidward Tentacles, a grumpy, ill-tempered, and self-centered octopus who lives in an Easter Island Tiki head-shaped house and hates both SpongeBob and Patrick with a passion because of their annoying antics, maturity you would expect from a sponge and starfish, and them always ruining his day. However, they are both unaware of this and believe him to be their closest friend.

He is sometimes seen as Nickelodeon's mascot and is one of the most popular fictional characters distributed by Nickelodeon.

## Abilities

### Powers

Like many other cartoon characters, SpongeBob has been shown to have numerous extraordinary abilities and attributes throughout the series (even though physically weak).

* **Soft Pliable Body**: Due to his soft, pliable frame, he is capable of shapeshifting, has some degree of invulnerability, being able to absorb any type of physical impact, though there are also limits which depend on the plot of episodes he featured in.
* **Regeneration**: It is shown that he can quickly regenerate parts of his body that are injured or removed, but given that there is some instance where he shown treated in hospital, how good his regeneration depends on the plot of episodes he featured in.
* **Boneless**: SpongeBob mostly portrayed without any bones in his body, but sometimes otherwise depends on the plot of episodes he featured in (E.G: The Splinter and I Had an Accident).
* **Reproductive ability:** Being a Sea Sponge Spongebob has very good regeneration and on top of that, when he's split in two those 2 halves will create another SpongeBob
* **Absorbent**: Being a sponge, he is also absorbent, and can expand his body by absorbing liquids. When he cries, he often re-absorbs his tears. Like in "The Bully" when Flats kept on hitting him, but SpongeBob just absorbed all of his blows. Although, how good his body can absorb and endure physical trauma still depends on the plot of the episodes he featured in. For instance, with a precise hit, Patrick caused SpongeBob to have bruises all over on one of his eyes.
* **Leadership**: SpongeBob is a great natural leader for all of his friends in Bikini Bottom.
* **Singing and Nose Playing**: SpongeBob is shown to possess a fantastic singing voice and thanks to his physiology, his nose can be used as a flute.
* **Fry Cooking**: SpongeBob is highly skillful in cooking Krabby Patties at the Krusty Krab as a chef of the said restaurant, As He can cook Krabby Patties at a very fast pace, even faster than a machine.
* **Jellyfishing**: He has impressive skills in Jellyfishing, and he also has a code to release the captured Jellyfishes every time he managed to capture one.
* **Tongue Boarding**: SpongeBob's tongue can be expanded large enough to be used as the makeshift board.
* **Survival Skills**: SpongeBob had remarkable survival skills, where he and Patrick almost ate each other to survive.
* **Bubble Blowing**: SpongeBob can perform extraordinary moves with bubbles and even capable to create spectacular variations of bubbles includes bubbles-based constructs which, unfortunately, ridiculed by Squidward(perhaps he was the only one) due to their different views about art in general.
	+ **Enhanced Bubble Blowing**: As Invinci-Bubble, his bubble-blowing skill improved into a superhuman level, as he can conjure a destructive bubble tsunami (with help of Plank-Ton), a jet of bubbles for transportation, and bubbles that can carry objects as heavy as cannonballs.
* **Driving**: He is capable of driving various vehicles, but never passes his driving test at Mrs. Puff's Boating School because he stresses out and crashes each time.
* **Karate**: He trains in Karate perfectly, but he rarely mixes them up/performed them properly.
* **Destruction**: SpongeBob has a degree of talent in destruction, but most of the cases show that he mostly performed this involuntary due to his gullible and reckless personality. In "*Sandy's Rocket*". Sandy mentioned that SpongeBob was responsible for the accidental death of numerous fishes when his attempt on tampering whirlybird went wrong.
* **Superhuman Speed:** The Quickster, he can move very fast, but unfortunately lacks any proper training in mastering this ability. Although, he is certainly able to run faster than Patrick when he's about to tell Mr. Krabs in *"Sailor Mouth"* and Squidward when he's about to chase SpongeBob about the pizza in *"Pizza Delivery"*.
* **Enhanced Strength:** Spongebob has shown in many episodes to have strength beyond a normal Sea Sponge, including lifting patrick and mr Krabs, and moving heavy objects. But also has shown to a strength limit including not being able to even lift marshmallow's.
* **Teleportation**: SpongeBob is to capable to teleport in various episodes (though merely implied since he teleported off-screen). Like in "The Wreck of the Mauna Loa" When he was chasing Patrick in a game of tag, Patrick was looking back at SpongeBob in the other direction, when he imminently bumped into SpongeBob in front of him.
* **Dream-walking**: In *"Sleepy Time"*, a freak accident occurred during his nightmare when he sees his supposed driving license torn by Mrs. Puff to bits resulting in his dream self being accidentally projected to the real-world and enabling him to enter the others' dreams and even interact within them, revealing that he possesses the ability of dream-walking. His friends seem to be aware of his said powers, as by the end of the said episode, they demand him not to tamper their dreams anymore.
* **Ghost Physiology**: After he and Patrick accidentally shave Flying Dutchman's beard, the powerful ghost cursed SpongeBob and Patrick by stripping them from their flesh and blood, turned them into ghosts. This gave them various ghost powers including intangibility, flight, ectoplasm creation, and turned inanimate objects into the said object's ghost version (SpongeBob created a ghost version of his spatula by broke the original one, in which the ghost version of the said spatula materialized from its remains). Although, Flying Dutchman eventually have to restore SpongeBob and Patrick to normal due to their newfound cursed powers proved too much for them to handle (SpongeBob can't interact with the realm of the living as much as when still normal and accidentally made himself passed deeper through earth's crust when sleeping).
* **Climbing**: SpongeBob can climb on his own house in *"Party Pooper Pants"*.
* **Slide Whistle**: SpongeBob can use the all-powerful slide whistle. The Slide Whistle can teleport, and control either SpongeBob or other objects. The whistle also grants SpongeBob the ability to control others slightly like what direction they walk in and other minuscule things. It cannot teleport other people, only the user. The downside of the whistle is that you need both hands to use it, and it can break. The slide whistle is the nerfed infinity gauntlet when paired with the infamous pencil.
* **The Pencil**: The pencil grants the user god-like abilities. The user can create anything and erase anything at will.

### Weaknesses

* **Lack of Physical Strength**: Due to his physiology, SpongeBob's natural physical strength appears to be below average. One instance exaggerated this whereupon close inspection, his hand was depicted in the emaciated state as if it was only skin and bone. Although, SpongeBob can also build up his strengths to several times of what he is normally capable of by sheer force of will, with his prowess depending on the writers of the episode. and he is pretty strong in some games
* **Gullibility**: SpongeBob's gullible personality made him prone to the manipulation of others who used him for their gain or made him unknowingly hurt others, physically and emotionally. The most controversial of this is in *A Pal for Gary*, where he was too gullible by Puffy Fluffy's manipulation that made him mistreat Gary and be ignorant with the fact that Puffy Fluffy was in fact, one of the most dangerous sea predators.
* **Cowardice:** SpongeBob often lacks the willpower to stand up for himself. Even his arch-nemesis Plankton points this out in *Walking Small* when beachgoers were walking all over SpongeBob (ironically enough, Plankton himself was forcing SpongeBob to do his bidding in the same episode). Patrick even takes advantage of SpongeBob in *Suds*, *Hooky,* and *Rock-a-bye Bivalve*.
* **Driving**: He is not good at driving because he always crashes into buildings and/or hits people with his boat, although he is able to drive other vehicles, for example he can drive the patty wagon, or even a boulder [the former in the first movie, and the latter in pizza delivery].

## Relationships

### Family/Relatives

* Gary - Pet snail
* Harold SquarePants - Father
* Margaret SquarePants - Mother
* Grandpa SquarePants - Grandfather
* Grandma SquarePants - Grandmother
* Sherm SquarePants - Uncle
* Capt. Blue SquarePants - Uncle
* Stanley SquarePants - Cousin
* BlackJack SquarePants- Cousin
* Larry SquarePants - Cousin
* Todd SquarePants - Cousin
* SpongeBuck SquarePants - seventh great grandfather
* SpongeGar - Ancestor
* Primitive Sponge - Ancestor

### Friends/Allies

* Patrick Star - Best friend, neighbor and sidekick
* Squidward Tentacles - Best frenemy, neighbor, and workmate
* Mr. Krabs - Boss, friend and mentor
* Pearl Krabs - Friend
* Sandy Cheeks - Friend
* Plankton - Frenemy
* Karen Plankton - Frenemy
* Mrs. Puff - Teacher and frenemy
* Gary - Pet snail, companion, and friend
* Mermaid Man + Barnacle Boy - Idols, mentors and friends
* The Flying Dutchman - Friend
* Larry the Lobster - Friend
* Fred - Friend
* Princess Mindy - Close friend
* Neptune - Enemy turned friend
* Bubbles - Enemy turned friend

### Enemies

* Man Ray - Enemy
* The Dirty Bubble - Enemy
* Dennis - Enemy
* Plankton - Arch-enemy, sometimes friendly rival
* The Flying Dutchman - Occasional rival
* King Neptune - Friendly rival

## Trivia

* As with the rest of the main cast, SpongeBob's portrayal in post-first movie seasons (Season 4-Season 9) became increasingly negative as a result of his worst traits being exaggerated through the show's Flanderization, with his portrayal in "*A Pal for Gary"* where he was at his worst. Fortunately, this has since been revised following the end of Season 9 which re-earned the fans' love for the character. Worse, *"Sold!"* showed him believing a guy in a **commercial** he was watching bought his house; making it questionable how well he was educated, since he clearly had to buy his pineapple house himself.
* Possibly as one of the show's numerous running gags, SpongeBob's brain has been shown an incredibly large number of times throughout the *SpongeBob SquarePants* series (most notably in *Plankton*, *The Inside Job* and *Sponge Out Of Water*, with *SOTW* featuring what is currently the series' most detailed close-up shot of its exterior by far), with its appearance and contents somehow managing to majorly change each time it appears; naturally, it's (presumable) hidden knowledge of the secret formula for Krabby Patties also makes it a huge invasion target for Plankton. Ironically enough, however, the series doesn't seem to have shown Sandy's brain at all yet, although Squidward's has also been treated to a few occasional appearances throughout the series (most notably in the episode *Squidtastic Voyage*, in which SpongeBob and Patrick accidentally manipulate it into making him slap Sandy in the face).
* While Tom Kenny has always been the voice of SpongeBob, his voice became significantly more high-pitched and effeminate after the first SB movie, especially around seasons 6-8. Starting with season 9 and onwards, SpongeBob's voice has gotten slightly lower in pitch once again.
* According to the late creator, Stephen Hillenburg, SpongeBob is neither gay nor straight, but he is indeed asexual, meaning he has no sexual desire.
	+ Also, because of him liked the dynamic between SpongeBob and Mrs. Puff, Hillenburg established SpongeBob never meant to be able to receive his driving license no matter what he does. Such policy proved to be a rather controversial choice, for it attributed Mrs. Puff's descent into villainy in Post First Movie Seasons (Season 4-9) of the series.
* In 2009, SpongeBob appeared briefly in the music video to "The Official BBC Children in Need Medley" by Peter Kay's Animated All Star Band appearing via video link on Big Chris's phone.
* As noted by fans and suggested by writer/voice actor Doug Lawrence in the DVD commentary for the season one episode "Plankton!", main casts of *SpongeBob SquarePants* were intended to represent Seven Deadly Sins. In SpongeBob's case, he represented **Lust** through his craving for fame, attention, and love from everyone, a trait which, coupled with his gullibility, more than often clouded his judgment at worst.
* SpongeBob's early name is "Spongeboy", which he was later later renamed "SpongeBob" in the final version due to the copyright name of the mop.

## External Links

* SpongeBob SquarePants on the Antagonists Wiki
* SpongeBob SquarePants on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
* SpongeBob SquarePants on the Inconsistently Heinous Wiki
* SpongeBob SquarePants on the Encyclopedia SpongeBobia Wiki
* SpongeBob SquarePants on the Nickelodeon Wiki