The best supporting characters from 'SpongeBob SquarePants'

Now, a few SpongeBob characters toe the line between supporting and being a main character. However, there is only one titular character, and SpongeBob is essentially always at the center. Thus, everybody else falls into the supporting realm, not unlike Clarissa Explains It All or Doug. Patrick, SpongeBob’s best friend, is less of a foil and more of an exaggerated version of SpongeBob’s quirks. Much as how Frasier introduced Niles to out-Frasier Frasier, Patrick out-SpongeBobs SpongeBob.

Squidward is SpongeBob’s foil. If the show was all the likes of SpongeBob and Patrick, it would be overwhelming and one note. Squidward is there for balance. SpongeBob’s neighbor and coworker, Squidward has more of an interest in intellectual pursuits, and he isn’t turned up to 11 all the time. If you like your comedy dry and sarcastic, Squidward is more your speed.

Mr. Krabs is something of a stock boss character, but he’s also a crab named Eugene who talks like a pirate. So, you know, that’s fresh. Mr. Krabs owns the Krusty Krab, naturally, so he is SpongeBob and Squidward’s boss. He’s also obsessed with profit, making money, and cutting every corner needed to make said money. Mr. Krabs has different motivations than basically anybody else on the show, which provides value.

Mrs. Puff has an inflated criminal record, but it isn’t really her fault. Who would have thought the pufferfish would become a recurring character of note? She teaches driver’s ed of the underwater boat variety, and she has taught SpongeBob time and time again. Of course, every time he fails the driving test, he usually causes damage, leading to Mrs. Puff being arrested. She also has spent much of the series’ run dating Mr. Krabs.

Sandy can seemingly do it all. She’s a rodeo champion, a karate master, a scientist, an inventor, you name it. What she can’t do, though, is breathe underwater. See, Sandy is a Texan squirrel, but she’s got too inquisitive a mind to stay there. Thus, Sandy moves to Bikini Bottom, where she befriends SpongeBob. She has to wear a deep sea diving suit whenever she leaves her home, and in her home, other characters have to wear diving suit helmets filled with water.

Voiced perfectly by Brian Doyle-Murray, The Flying Dutchman is basically the devil of SpongeBob SquarePants. Who knew a Nick show needed a Satan? (But do recall Peaches and his realm of Heck in Rocko’s Modern Life as well) A ghost pirate, The Flying Dutchman collects souls and keeps them in Davy Jones’ Locker. This is, of course, a locker filled with Davy Jones of the Monkees’ old socks.

Well, if you have a devil, it tracks to have a god. King Neptune, like the Roman god, is a merman who rules the sea, trident in hand. He lives in Atlantis and, fittingly, doesn’t care about anybody who lives under the sea. That is very Roman god of him. King Neptune is voiced by J. Peterman himself, John O’Hurley.

Looking for some classic SpongeBob absurdity? The Realistic Fish Head is a perfect example. A few different names have been used at different times, but ultimately, he’s Realistic Fish Head. An apparent cutout of a real tuna head serves as a TV announcer, a news anchor, you name it. If you want the news in Bikini Bottom, you get it from a Realistic Fish Head.

In the first season, Bubble Bass was not unlike Newman on Seinfeld, the nemesis of our main character. Then, the character, defined by being fastidious about his food at Krusty Krab, disappeared. SpongeBob kept going, though, and in season nine, Bubble Bass started to show up again. Eventually, maybe to keep things fresh, he started serving as a key supporting character in some episodes, even being something of the focal point on occasion.

By watching Looney Tunes or Animaniacs, kids learned about a lot of old movies and TV stars. Well, you saw characters and figured, “That has to be somebody, or it is based on somebody.” All that is to say, a lot of kids probably have no idea Slappy Laszlo is a clear parody of Peter Lorre. They probably aren’t watching M, you know? For certain adults, though, Slappy is appreciated.

For a character who has only popped up a couple of times, DoodleBob made a huge impact. He’s also a nice bit of meta-comedy. SpongeBob finds himself in possession of a real pencil, one from our world. Thus, whatever he draws with that pencil comes to life as animation. DoodleBob, a crude drawing of SpongeBob himself, is not unlike Frankenstein’s monster, but he’s funnier.

Several times, a celebrity has appeared on SpongeBob voicing characters that are thinly based on them. We’ll use Bob Barnacle as a stand-in for all those we enjoyed. Yes, he’s voiced by Bob Barker. One, it’s fun that Barker lent his voice to a SpongeBob character. Two, Bob Barnacle is a good pun name. Three, Bob Barnacle says, “Have your pets spayed or neutered.”

Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy are real superheroes in the world of SpongeBob and have been franchised to death. Thus, the main characters of SpongeBob’s favorite show. By this point, the real superheroes are old, losing it, and living in a retirement home. Owing to the duo they are obviously riffing on, they are voiced by Adam West and Burt Ward in one episode. Otherwise, they were voiced by Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway. After those two died, the show decided not to recast, so now Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy only appear as silent background characters.

Not unlike Brain, Inspector Gadget’s dog, Gary is a pet who is also a sensible balancing point. Gary is a snail who, of course, meows like a cat. He’s dearly devoted to SpongeBob and vice versa. It helps that SpongeBob and Gary are able to converse. Other characters don’t understand Gary, but SpongeBob does.

We end with another dynamic duo. Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob, occasionally gets a chance to stretch his live-action legs. Patchy is a pirate who has hosted special episodes of SpongeBob. He’s the president of the SpongeBob Fan Club and lives in Encino. Oh, and since he is a pirate, he has a parrot. Potty (not Polly) is a cheap-looking puppet who is quite chatty and rude to Patchy. They don’t seem to have the best relationship. To be sure, they are no SpongeBob and Patrick, or SpongeBob and Gary.