SpongeBob SquarePantsis easily one of the most defining cartoons of the 21st century, defining an entire generation of television with its groundbreaking humor and charm that took the world by storm. A big factor that played into the show’s massive success is its memorable and iconic cast of characters, from members of the main cast who flourish in nearly every episode, to the multitude oflegendarySpongeBob SquarePantsside characters. While everyone will have their own personal favorite characters, one of the biggest fan favorites in the history of the show is easily the show’s primary antagonist, Plankton.
Voiced byMr. Lawrence, Sheldon J. Plankton is the single-cell organism fast food rival to Mr. Krabs and the Krusty Krab, with an overarching plan to steal the Krusty Krab’s secret Krabby Patty formula, and use the success to take over the world. As with the case with the majority of the main cast,Plankton has received many episodes that entirely focus on him, from episodes where he plays a major foil to SpongeBob’s antics to episodes where he fills the role of protagonist. Some of these episodes are even regarded as some of the best in the series.
SpongeBob SquarePants
15"Bucket Sweet Bucket"
Season 5, Episode 6b (2007)
One of the few episodes that finds a way to focus entirely on the Chum Bucket without initially relying on Plankton’s dastardly schemes, “Bucket Sweet Bucket” sees Plankton once again lamenting his establishment’s lack of business. He attempts to remodel the Chum Bucket, but fails to make any substantial progress due to his small stature. to get the job done, he ends up tricking SpongeBob and Patrick into helping him out, although their work methods fail to align with Plankton’s vision.
The episode is a clear example of the levels of anger that Plankton can get up to when things don’t go his way, ashis reactions to SpongeBob and Patrick’s continuous failures are highly comedic and over the top. The levels of comical absurdity from both Patrick and SpongeBob’s ineptitude and execution of the job combined with Plankton’s increasingly annoyed reactions leading to an eventual realization of an evil scheme make for a highly entertaining and enjoyable watch.
14"Enemy In-Law"
Season 4, Episode 7a (2005)
One of the only times when Plankton is smitten with love with someone other than Karen, “Enemy In-Law” sees Plankton falling in love with one of the mostunderrated side characters inSpongeBob, Betsy Krabs, after seeing her during an attack on the Krusty Krab. The duo eventually begins dating, much to the disapproval of Mr. Krabs, who hates the idea of his arch-rival dating his mother, as well as believing that his mother is only being used by Plankton to get closer to the secret formula.
While it’s strange to see Plankton falling for someone other than his computer wife, Karen,the scheme and usage of Mr. Krabs' mother is fully in line with Plankton’s dastardly schemes. The reactions of Mr. Krabs have especially led to a lot of great comedic moments, continuing to the lengths that the two will go in order to make sure that the other doesn’t succeed. The episode also features a lot of great visual gags, ranging from the giant robot that Plankton operates to Betsy Krabs’sPopeye-style muscles at the end of the episode.
13"Chum Bucket Supreme"
Season 6, Episode 22a (2009)
One of few episodes that follow the connection between Plankton and Patrick, “Chum Bucket Supreme” sees Plankton attempting to find a new way to entice customers to eat at the Chum Bucket over the Krusty Krab. After a moment where Patrick is unable to read a sign that Plankton leaves up, he rearranges the letters to instead say “Chum is Fum!”, with this new slogan unexpectedly attracting customers to the Chum Bucket. Plankton then hires Patrick to be a slogan manager, hoping that he’ll keep creating successful slogans to drive the Krusty Krab out of business.
Plankton and Patrick are an underrated pairing in the show, playing off of Plankton’s vicious high intellect and Patrick’s simple-minded and dimwitted nature resulting in a comedy gold pairing. The inherent absurdity of the tagline “Chum is Fum”, combined with its unexplainable success that goes against everything Plankton has worked towards, is a great recurring punchline that continues throughout the episode.
12"Krabs vs. Plankton"
Season 4, Episode 2b (2005)
An episode that doubles as not only a standout Plankton episode, but alsoa standout Mr. Krabs episode, “Plankton vs. Krabs” sees the duo’s iconic rivalry brought to the court system. After another failed attempt to steal the formula, Plankton fakes an injury at the Krusty Krab, hoping to be able to sue him to get the Krabby Patty Formula. The legal battle results in a number of highly comedic moments, as Mr. Krabs is forced to rely on SpongeBob to act as his lawyer.
Legal battles have been an easy go-to for a number of cartoon series, able to find great deals of inherent comedy from shenanigans in the court system and how iconic characters handle the ins and outs of a courtroom.Plankton and Mr. Krabs are two characters that work perfectly for the courtroom setting, with Plankton especially hamming it up and overacting his own injuries to a hilarious degree.
11"Fear of a Krabby Patty"
Season 4, Episode 1a (2007)
While not initially a Plankton episode, the later half of “Fear of a Krabby Patty” is easily dominated byone of Plankton’s best outings in any episode of the series. The episode starts with the Krusty Krab choosing to stay open 24/7 in response to seeing that the Chum Bucket is open for 23 hours a day. It doesn’t take long before it begins to take a mental toll on SpongeBob and Squidward, with Spongebob specifically beginning to see everyone as a killer Krabby Patty.
Plankton makes his highlight appearance in the episode disguised as Dr. Peter Lankton, a psychiatrist who can help SpongeBob get over his crippling fear of Krabby Patties. In reality, he’s hoping to be able to get SpongeBob to tell him the Krabby Patty secret formula, but their session quickly becomes a nonsense back and forth with Plankton being unable to get anything out of SpongeBob. The antics parallel that of a classic slapstick cartoon, and if the entire episode focused on Plankton, it would easily be considered one of the best Plankton episodes of the series.
10"Single-Cell Anniversary"
Season 6, Episode 22b (2009)
One of the few episodes that sees Plankton doing something genuinely sweet and non-villainous, “Single-Cell Anniversary” sees Plankton forgetting to get his computer wife, Karen, a gift for their anniversary. Ironically, Karen got him exactly what he wanted, a replica of the Krabby Patty secret formula, but he won’t receive his gift until he gives her a present of equal worth. Sad and ashamed of himself, he wallows in the streets before receiving help from SpongeBob and Patrick to help him give a present from his heart; a beautiful serenading love song.
The middle seasons ofSpongeBob SquarePantsare hit or miss when it comes to quality, yet “Single-Cell Anniversary"stands out greatly thanks to its expanded focus on the love between Plankton and Karen. It helps show that as much of a villain Plankton is, he wouldn’t be anywhere without the support and love of Karen, and his love song “Oh, My Karen” is a true highlight, and one of the season’s best moments. It’s easily one of themost rewatchableSpongeBobepisodesthat continues to be effective as the relationship between Karen and Plankton continues to flourish in the show.
9"The Inside Job”
Season 7, Episode 3b (2009)
One of many notable episodes dedicated to an outlandish scheme and attempt to obtain the Krabby Patty secret formula, “The Inside Job” sees Plankton attempting to travel into Mr. Krabs' brain to steal the formula from his memories. A mistake in trajectory ends up sending him into SpongeBob’s body instead, messing with his senses in the process. As Plankton travels around in search of the secret formula, he begins to impact SpongeBob’s life more and more, before eventually learning that the formula is hidden in SpongeBob’s heart.
Plankton’s misadventures and quests to obtain the formula have always led him into strange and chaotic circumstances, with “The Inside Job” being one of the greatest examples of such. The episode shares a lot of similarities with Plankton’s debut episode, where he also traveled inside SpongeBob’s body, although “The Inside Job” hasa greater focus on creativity and wild exploration of SpongeBob’s entire body. While not as strong as his debut episode, the episode is filled with charm and has a clever and distinct ending.
8"Best Frenemies"
Season 4, Episode 18b (2007)
One of the few times when Plankton and Mr. Krabs are forced to team up, “Best Frenemies” sees the long-time enemies come together to defeat a new restaurant chain, the Kelpshake. With all of Bikini Bottom seemingly enamored by the delicious kelp shake, both the Chum Bucket and the Krusty Krab have lost all of their business and customers, with new Kelpshake restaurants popping up on every corner. Plankton had to teach Mr. Krabs the ways of stealing secret formulas so that they can uncover exactly what makes the Kelp shake so popular.
Plankton and Mr. Krabs have one ofthe most iconic rivalries in cartoon history, so seeingany excuse to have the duo team up will always result in outstanding results. The advent of another restaurant is simply the perfect way to bring them together, as it allows Mr. Krabs tap into the same mischievous, stealing energy of Plankton, while allowing Plankton to relish an unexpected partnership of crime. While they were never going to be partners forever, it’s nice to see a change of pace for two of the show’s most iconic characters.
7"Walking Small"
Season 1, Episode 18b (2000)
An episode where Plankton’s scheme doesn’t directly have to do with the Krusty Krab or the secret formula, “Walking Small” sees Plankton attempting to co-opt and take control of Goo Lagoon to build a new Chum Bucket Mega Bucket. It soon becomes apparent that Plankton is simply too small to enact his wrath and get people to leave the populated beach. He soon finds a solution, however, in SpongeBob, tricking him into getting everyone to leave the beach under the guise of teaching him how to be assertive.
“Walking Small” perfectly encapsulates the core differences between the angry and power-hungry Plankton and the completely trusting and wholesome SpongeBob. In Plankton’s efforts to corrupt and trick SpongeBob,the episode features some highly iconic moments, especially during the first half of the episode when SpongeBob completely misunderstands Plankton’s guidance and direction. It’s an episode that, on top of having a simple message of being nice to people, is chock-full of laughs and, even if just for a second, sees SpongeBob acting just as vicious as Plankton.
6"Plankton!"
Season 1, Episode 3b (1999)
One of the first episodes of the show, as well asthe episode that introduced Plankton as a character, “Plankton!” sees SpongeBob’s first encounter with Plankton after another failed attempt at stealing a Krabby patty. After a failed attempt by Plankton to become friends with SpongeBob as a way to get closer to the Krabby Patty, he enacts a plan to go inside of Spongebob’s head while he’s sleeping to take control of his body. With full control over SpongeBob, Plankton finally has what it takes to steal the Krabby Patty.
It speaks volumes to the writing and character of the show as a whole that, even in his introductory episode, major facets and aspects of Plankton as a character are introduced that have stayed consistent for the show’s entire run. From his not-always-perfect execution to his plans to the willingness to act comically and create ruses to get what he wants, Plankton immediately makes himself an iconic character from the very beginning. Especially when compared to theother beginning and introductory episodesof the show, “Plankton!” stands above and beyond.
