The cast of The Bikini Bottom Horror. Please note that only tropes applying to their appearances here will be documented. For tropes referring to their original selves, see here.
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Sandy Cheeks
Sandy Cheeks
"Now’s my chance to make that monster pay for what he did!"
The aquatic squirrel scientist from Texas who serves as the protagonist of the comic. She rallies the others in fighting the Tortured One.
- Action Girl: Well, it wouldn't be Sandy Cheeks in a horror webcomic if she wasn't able to fend for herself.
- Adaptation Species Change: Justified. She turns into a beaver when she becomes Mermaid Squirrel.
- Badass Normal: While many of the other Bikini Bottom folks showcase impressive powers they never showed in the series, Sandy is basically herself. And while she is a little out of her depth against the Patrick Cult, she is still shown to be very agile and capable. She ends up becoming an Empowered Badass Normal after putting on Mermaid Man's mask.
- But Now I Must Go: In the epilogue, Sandy goes back to Texas, having had enough of the sea.
- Girls with Guns: She uses a pistol to shoot Patrick and some of his clones. Later, Mrs. Puff gives her an arsenal.
- The Heroine: The story follows her as she and Squidward rally everyone around her to defeat the Tortured One.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: After spending the bulk of the comic fighting against the Patrick Cult and Tortured One, the reveal that SpongeBob orchestrated the entire conflict to take over Bikini Bottom - and that he'll kill her and everyone else if she tries to fight back against him - ultimately drives Sandy to give up and return to Texas.
- No Sympathy: When Pearl expresses a desire to avenge her father's death at Patrick's hands, Sandy — by this point out of fucks to give — coldly replies that Mr. Krabs got what he deserved.
- Sadistic Choice: During the epilogue, Sandy has a choice; she can keep quiet about SpongeBob orchestrating the Tortured One's rampage so he can take over Bikini Bottom or reveal his secret to everyone and risk starting the nightmare again. Ultimately, Sandy chooses the former, realizing that the town's been through enough.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: As the series goes on, it becomes clear that the horrifying events Sandy has to deal with are gradually taking their toll on her. By the epilogue, she moves back to Texas only to suffer a hallucination of the Tortured One's stomach upon looking at the stars, implying she now suffers from PTSD.
- Spotting the Thread: In the comic's epilogue, Patrick says all the death and destruction wouldn't have happened if he never ate that undercooked Krabby Patty. If he hadn't done that, he wouldn't have linked with The Tortured One and helped rampage through the city. That gets Sandy thinking because, as the only good fry cook at the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob takes extreme care when cooking Krabby Patties and would never undercook one. Unless he did so on purpose.
Squidward Tentacles
Squirdward Tentacles
"There are more stars in heaven than can be dreamt of in your philosophy, Sandy... But if you ask me, the sea has a few too many."
Sandy’s main ally, the dour squid with a grudge against the starfish.
- Adaptational Badass: He can even transform into a giant Kaiju.
- The Apocalypse Brings Out the Best in People: The starfish attack turns Squidward from a self-centered misanthrope to a genuine hero who values his friendships and actively seeks out threats to Bikini Bottom.
- Badass Boast: Squidward gives one after he morphs into his Super Mode:Squidward: My beak can slice through steel. My razor sharp radula will rip you to shreds. WELCOME TO THE MACRO-ECOSYSTEM!
- Healing Factor: While not as great as Patrick's or Spongebob's, he is able to regrow one of his severed legs and presumably one of his hearts after it was skewered.
- Heroic Build: As a perfect way to show off how much of a badass he's gotten, he's gotten buffer and he puts those muscles to good use.
- Not Quite Back to Normal: In the epilogue, Squidward is mostly back to his normal appearance but he is still taller and quite muscular, in addition to having visible siphons.
- Parting-Words Regret: As he is overwhelmed by the starfishes, Squidward remembers the last thing he ever said to SpongeBob right before the attack. He coldly turned down SpongeBob's offer to go jellyfishing with him, then angrily told him that the two were not friends. After escaping a Patrick, he found SpongeBob's remains, took his tie as a memento and started fighting back against the starfishes."I’m sorry, SpongeBob. I’m sorry I wasn’t a better friend."
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: While fighting the starfishes, a Patrick retorts to Squidward's boast by saying the Krusty Krab workers are far worse than the starfishes and are to blame for the massacre. Squidward instead tells him that he (and SpongeBob) had no knowledge of the secret recipe and Mr. Krabs would never have trusted them enough to tell them such a thing in the first place. Realizing that SpongeBob wasn't involved in any way with Mr. Krabs's plan, the guilty Patrick runs away during the chaos and vows to Gary that he will atone for killing his best friend.
- Super Mode: He transforms into a giant squid-man version of himself to save Sandy from the Tortured One’s clones.
Mrs. Puff
Mrs. Puff
"Bikini Bottom is lost. My crew and I are riding West. You should come with us."
SpongeBob’s former boating instructor who became the leader of a Mad Max-style gang.
- Action Survivor: Mrs. Puff not only managed to survive her encounters with the Starfishes but became the leader of a band of survivors.
- Adaptational Badass: She becomes the leader of a Mad Max-style gang
with more guns than Rambo. - An Arm and a Leg: She is seen to have lost one of her arms and replaced it with a mechanical prosthesis.
- The Bus Came Back: Mrs. Puff and her gang return to help Sandy and the others in Chapter 19 with a giant drill they jury-rigged from an oil rig.
- But Now I Must Go: After helping Sandy and the others defeat the Tortured One, Mrs. Puff and her gang leave the city to make a life elsewhere, as seen in the epilogue.
- Chekhov's Armory: She supplies Sandy with several guns the first time they meet, later bringing reinforcements after Sandy and Barnacle Boy meet with her again.
- Expy: Becomes one to Furiosa from Mad Max: Fury Road.
- The Leader: She's the leader of a gang of survivors inspired by Mad Max.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Mrs. Puff managed to survive her encounter with the Starfishes and was able to form a group of equally capable survivors with her as their leader.
- Poisonous Person: The bullets she gives Sandy are laced with her own neurotoxin, enabling the weapons to kill the regular Patrick clones even if the core isn't hit.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Mrs. Puff decides to leave Bikini Bottom with her band of survivors when she believes the city's doomed to fall to the Starfishes; she offers Sandy to come with them, but she declines and chooses to stay and fight.
Larry The Lobster
Larry The Lobster
"Give me some credit, Squid-Brah; I’ve survived this far, haven’t I?"
The bodybuilding lobster who becomes an ally to Squidward.
- An Arm and a Leg: After the tortured one grabs a hold of him, he yells out, "My leg!" before being ripped apart.
- Casual Danger Dialogue: Briefly engages in it with Squidward while they fight the Tortured One.
- Sacrificial Lion: Neither SpongeBob nor Mr. Krabs were ever (usually) depicted as much of a fighter in the original series, so their deaths in a horror-themed setting aren't all that surprising. But Larry was always badass, so his gruesome death puts a sharp exclamation point on how huge the stakes have become, quite literally.
- Tempting Fate: In retrospect, him saying the quote above was likely unwise.
- The Worf Effect: He is introduced as a warrior on par with Squidward, only to be killed immediately once the Tortured One emerges.
Barnacle Boy
Barnacle Boy
"Someone killed Mermaid Man, and I’m getting payback!"
The sidekick of Mermaid Man who sets out to avenge his murder by a starfish.
- Adaptational Badass: Barnacle Boy, usually a Squidward-like comic relief Butt-Monkey in the show, proves himself every inch a real superhero by sacrificing himself to trigger a volcanic eruption on the Tortured One.
- The Bus Came Back: After several pages of absence, Barnacle Boy picks up Sandy in the Invisible Boatmobile, looking for the Krusty Krab and hoping to avenge Mermaid Man.
- Go Out with a Smile: Barnacle Man has a small smile when the volcano he's drilling into blows and kills him.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Barnacle Boy (now Barnacle Man) drills deep into Mount Bikini Bottom in order to help dislodge it and is killed when it blows.It’s what Mermaid Man would have done. one[sic] last play to stop evil.
The Starfishes
The Starfishes
"The handsome squid may thin our numbers,
But he cannot stop us.
The one becomes the many and the many become the one.
REJOICE."
But he cannot stop us.
The one becomes the many and the many become the one.
REJOICE."
The starfish clones of the Tortured One who serve as his minions.
- Acid Attack: They digest their prey externally.
- Adaptational Abomination: In the original show, Patrick, as well as other starfishes in general, are pictured as cartoony and anthropomorphic. In Bikini Bottom Horror, however, their realistic design of their One-Winged Angel forms being based on real starfish biology makes the Patrick clones look more like Animalistic Abominations here.
- Adaptational Intelligence: This version of Patrick is far more intelligent and calculating in this version of the show.
- Adaptational Villainy: Patrick and his army of clones are the central antagonists of the webcomic, as he's on a mission to get revenge on Mr. Krabs for using starfish meat from Patrick's own tortured clone as Krabby Patties. He's more of a Tragic Villain however, considering he assimilated all the pain and despair his clone felt all the time he spent being used as a living food supply.
- Assimilation Plot: Their ultimate goal. Step One: Grow an army of Patrick clones from Patrick's body. Step Two: Have each clone consume as many denizens of Bikini Bottom as it can. Step Three: Have each satiated and fully-grown clone travel beneath the Krusty Krab to merge with The Tortured One until every clone has joined into one Kaiju-sized starfish. Step Four: Finish off the Bikini Bottomites, then divide into more Kaiju-sized starfishes and continue consuming. Rinse and repeat until all sea life has been eaten as the Tortured One was once eaten.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: They are all clones of Patrick and The Tortured One who are out to avenge The Tortured One for being used as Krabby Patties. They assimilated The Tortured One's trauma and want to make it bigger by consuming the people of Bikini Bottom and allowing themselves to be absorbed by The Tortured One. However, The Tortured One wasn't entirely honest; Mr. Krabs never told anyone the secret formula so nobody knew about the clone's torture and he wanted Bikini Bottom to suffer for not asking questions about the secret formula.
- Clone Angst: They are clones of Patrick, who assimilated the trauma of The Tortured One and was driven mad with rage.
- Even Evil Has Standards: While they're jerks about it, after Plankton betrays Sandy and hands her to the starfishes, they keep their end of the bargain and allow him to escape Bikini Bottom unscathed. This is immediately rescinded after he makes a Heel–Face Turn and turns on them.
- Freudian Excuse: The Tortured One was a clone of Patrick that was used as the source of Krabby Patties and the original Patrick assimilated its trauma when he ate an undercooked Krabby Patty.
- Hydra Problem: Slicing up a starfish simply creates more starfish. It can be killed, however, by ripping out its nerve ring.
- Religion of Evil: They worship The Tortured One and they attack the people of Bikini Bottom so they can sacrifice themselves to him and allow him to grow in size and destroy Bikini Bottom.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Squidward figures out he can disable the Patricks by playing Solitude in E Minor to put them to sleep. It doesn't last, however, as one of the Patricks rips his own ears off and then quickly smashes Squidward's clarinet against his face. Due to the growing number of starfishes and the growing number of deaths, this forces Squidward to resort to his super form to fight the starfish with his own bare hands.
The Tortured One
The Tortured One
"The time has come for you to pay the price for your carelessness, SpongeBob. You devoured my flesh for years without ever even bothering to learn what you were consuming, but your ignorance absolves you of nothing!"
The leader of the starfishes and the main threat to Bikini Bottom. A clone of Patrick who was imprisoned by Mr. Krabs to use his flesh as Krabby Patties. He desired revenge and uses his starfish to strike against everyone who he feels has wronged him. His goal is to spread across the ocean and consume everything.
- Accomplice by Inaction: After years of Mr. Krabs tearing his body apart and him healing the wounds, he's come to believe that all of Bikini Bottom is to blame for never asking what the secret recipe is, as he rather quickly summarizes when trying to kill Patrick. Ironically, the only people who knew, those being the Tortured One, the Patricks, Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob all ended up doing something horrible to others, the Starfishes killing much of the population of Bikini Bottom, Mr. Krabs harvesting the Tortured One for meat, and SpongeBob orchestrating Patrick finding out and going crazy.Patrick: If they never knew what they were eating, why should they be punished?The Tortured One: BECAUSE THEY NEVER ASKED.
- Being Tortured Makes You Evil: The Tortured One is a clone of Patrick that was repeatedly tortured by Mr. Krabs having his limbs amputated to use as Krabby Patties. The original Patrick assimilated the tortured memories of his clone and set out on a rampage to get payback.
- Big Bad: He is the main threat to Bikini Bottom as he aims to devour everyone in it as revenge for being used to make Krabby Patties, but unbeknownst to him, SpongeBob himself is using him to Take Over the City.
- Deader than Dead: The Tortured One was finally killed for good when Porifera SpongeBob, with help from his friends, tossed the monstrous starfish into a river of lava, effectively killing the whole body at once with no hope of regenerating.
- Freudian Excuse: The Tortured One is actually a clone of Patrick that was tortured endlessly by Mr. Krabs so he could harvest its limbs to make meat for Krabby Patties. One day, SpongeBob undercooked Patrick's Krabby Patty and he assimilated the traumatic memories of his clone. This allowed Patrick to learn the horrifying truth behind the Krabby Patties and it also gave him a relentless drive for revenge.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: SpongeBob tells the Tortured One that, while he was justified in his desire to kill Mr. Krabs, he lost any sympathy points when he started slaughtering the innocents of Bikini Bottom who had no connection to or knowledge of the Krabby Patty formula.SpongeBob: What was done to you was monstrous, but what you have allowed yourself to become is worse.
- Human Resources: The Tortured One is actually a clone of Patrick that was harvested by Mr. Krabs when he sawed off one of Patrick's limbs. The Tortured One was fed growth hormones and attached to a machine that cut off parts of his own flesh to use as an endless supply of Krabby Patty meat.
- Hydra Problem: As with the normal-sized Patricks, cutting off one of the Tortured One's limbs causes it to grow into another Tortured One. Thankfully, Karen's Heroic Sacrifice nips that problem in the bud.
- Kaiju: The second season ends with The Tortured One rising from the sea floor as a gargantuan-sized version of Patrick.
- Kill It with Fire: As with the original Hydra, Fire Keeps It Dead, and the Tortured One is defeated for good by being tossed into a river of lava by Porifera SpongeBob.
- Last Breath Bullet: When tossed into the lava flow to be incinerated, the Tortured One shoots one last stream of luminescent acid to weaken the cliff Spongebob/Porifera is standing on and make it crumble.
- Mind Manipulation: The Tortured One can hypnotize someone, showing them an illusion of previous victims who urge the target to give up and join them.
- A Molten Date with Death: After Mount Bikini Bottom is reactivated, the Tortured One is thrown into a river of lava.
- One-Winged Angel: The Tortured One eventually attains the form of a massive, realistic starfish, which by Bikini Bottom standards is a horrific Eldritch Abomination.
- Tortured Monster: He's called "The Tortured One" for good reason. He was originally a clone of Patrick that spawned from one of the original Patrick's severed limbs after it was taken by Mr. Krabs, who imprisoned him and used him as an endless supply of Krabby Patty meat, forcibly and painfully extracting chunks of his body while he was still fully conscious. After Patrick obtained his memories and let himself be consumed by it, the creature mutates and transforms into a towering behemoth bent on making everyone on Bikini Bottom pay for the torment he endured.
Patrick Star
Patrick Star
"Your Krabby Patty Secret Formula... IS ME."
SpongeBob's best friend who was corrupted and/or possessed by the Tortured One.
- The Atoner: The Patrick who realized that SpongeBob was innocent, after apologizing to Gary, is intent on being one as part of a Heel–Face Turn.Guilty Patrick: I'm gonna make this right.
- Cult Defector: He believed that SpongeBob and Squidward knew that the secret recipe of Krabby Patties was starfish meat but when Squidward tells him that only Mr. Krabs knew the truth, Patrick is horrified as he realised that he killed SpongeBob for no reason. He then tries to reason with The Tortured One but the creature is too vengeful to listen.
- Eyes Do Not Belong There: Subverted. The end of a starfish's arms do have an eye, as he shows when he finds Mr. Krabs and Sandy at the Krusty Krab.
- My God, What Have I Done?: One of the Patricks has this reaction when he realizes that SpongeBob wasn't aware of the secret behind the Krabby Patty Secret Formula and that they killed him for ultimately no reason.
- Red Right Hand: Inverted. After Squidward reveals that he and SpongeBob were unaware of the Krabby Patties' "secret ingredient", this particular Patrick is identifiable as the only one that's aware and thus regretful of his actions by the suction cup marks over his torso. They're beginning to fade by the time he meets Gary, who bears him no ill will, and are gone in his next appearance. But he's donned his iconic floral-print shorts by then, differentiating him from any of the Tortured One's other clones.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: He calls out the Tortured One for targeting everyone indiscriminately in his revenge.The tortured[sic] one[sic] is a big fat liar! Your call said they were all in on it. But only Mr. Krabs knew what was happening to you. Squidward, SpongeBob, None[sic] of them knew that the Krabby Patties were made out of Patrick flesh. If they never knew what they were eating, why should they be punished?
- Starter Villain: The first of the starfishes to start killing, although he makes a Heel–Face Turn once he realizes his mistake.
Mr. Krabs
Mr. Krabs
"You’re gonna make me so much money!"
The owner of the Krusty Krab.
- Adaptational Villainy: Mr. Krabs is far worse in this version of the show, as he amputated Patrick's arm, presumably without his consent, and grew a clone from it to harvest its limbs to use as a limitless source of Krabby Patty meat.
- An Arm and a Leg: He gets all of his limbs ripped off in Part 6.
- Asshole Victim: Mr. Krabs, unlike everyone else, very much had his death coming. It is revealed that Krabs is the reason why Patrick wants revenge; he cut off one of Patrick's limbs, imprisoned the clone, and harvested the clone's limbs to use as Krabby Patties. When SpongeBob undercooked a Krabby Patty, the original Patrick unwittingly assimilated the tortured memories of his clone, driving him insane with murderous rage.
- Dies Wide Open: His eyes remain open after his limbs are torn off and a Patrick bursts from his body.
- Failed a Spot Check: His entire business ran on keeping The Tortured One's meat harvesting a secret from the public, but he never suspected that any of his employees would find out and plan to do something about it behind his back. Though for Krabs, this is somewhat justified, as Squidward probably never cared enough to try to find out anything, and SpongeBob was too loyal to question his boss. Doesn't change the fact that Krabs never built a countermeasure to stop SpongeBob from finding out, concocting a scheme to get rid of Krabs, and feeding Patrick an undercooked Krabby Patty. But then again, foresight was never exactly old Eugene's strong point, anyway. If it was, he would've survived Patrick's rampage.
- Giant Enemy Crab: His One-Winged Angel form has him become a massive crab with a realistic body shape, about half as big as his own restaurant.
- Greater-Scope Villain: He ultimately was responsible for The Tortured One's killing spree, having amputated one of Patrick's arms and when the clone emerged, he strapped him to a machine and harvested his limbs to use as an endless supply of Krabby Patty meat.
- Greed: While Mr. Krabs was always greedy in the original show and it made him do some questionable things, in this comic, his obsession with money led him down a road that's downright horrific. Unless you consider chopping off the arm of your employee's friend to have a neverending supply of meat a normal thing to happen because of greed.
- Karmic Death: For cutting off Patrick's limb and using the subsequent clone as meat for Krabby Patties, Mr. Krabs is subjected to a slow and excruciatingly agonizing death that he knows he can't prevent via being force-fed a raw patty that grows into a Patrick inside him before bursting out. Further adding to the karma is that Mr. Krabs, in a sense, betrayed Patrick by amputating his arm (presumably without consent), and leaving him with just three limbs out of his sheer hunger for money. Indirect as it was, Mr. Krabs' demise at the wrathful Patrick clones' hands was an intentional, clear result of SpongeBob's plan to take over Bikini Bottom and/or avenge Patrick by unleashing the Tortured One behind Eugene's back, meaning Mr. Krabs in turn was betrayed by SpongeBob, and unlike what the crustaceous cheapskate did to the sea star, it was to his death.
- One-Winged Angel: To fight off a Patrick clone, he turns into a giant, realistic crab version of himself. He's rather quickly overwhelmed once several more burst in through the floorboards, being drawn and quartered afterwards.
- Pet the Dog: When Sandy is snatched away from the Krusty Krab by Patricks, Krabs tried to reach out and grab her, even yelling her name in concern.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Mutilating the Tortured One to get meat for his Krabby Patties drove the Patrick clone to kill other people with SpongeBob insufficiently cooking one such meal for the original Patrick on purpose to ensure the carnage happened. That being said, Krabs very likely did not know that there was a possibility of the Tortured One finding any means of retaliating, let alone his prized star fry cook betraying him in such a horrible way. In fact, he was just as blindsided by the starfish attack as Sandy was.
- Walking Spoiler: Not to the same degree as SpongeBob, but as evidenced by the majority of his entry being whited out, this version of Eugene Harold Krabs is quite difficult to talk about in the comic's context, as some rather — to a hugely game-changing degree — shocking and insanely disturbing details regarding the main conflict will come up before long with him.
Plankton
Plankton
"Oh Karen, What’s[sic] the point of knocking out your competition if you also knock out everyone else?"
The rival of Mr. Krabs who decides to ask Sandy for help against the Tortured One.
- Anti-Villain: Even though he led Sandy to the Patrick Cult, it’s made clear that he did purely so that the Patricks would spare him. In fact, at the start of Season 3, he feels tremendously guilty about his actions and heads back to fight the Tortured One with a Humongous Mecha, complete with Redemption Equals Death.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: All he ever wanted was to learn the secret of the Krabby Patty formula. He learns that it is a living, tortured clone of Patrick and immediately regrets it:"For years, all I wanted was to learn his secret......and now, Eugene made me wish I never did."
- Conscience Makes You Go Back: Plankton is guilt-ridden upon allowing Bikini Bottom to fall and leading Sandy to her near-death, causing him to return to the town—with a Humongous Mecha in tow.
- Dying Declaration of Love: As he is being devoured by a mini-Patrick, Plankton tells Karen that he loves her.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Plankton is horrified when he learns the Krabby Patty Secret Formula and is disgusted with Mr. Krabs for even being capable of such a thing.
- Not Me This Time: Sandy accuses Plankton of being behind the Tortured One, but he clarifies that he is not:Sandy: I should have known you were behind this, Plankton.
Plankton: You give me too much credit, Sandy. I’ve done some bad things — diabolical even; But this? This is beyond me. - Pyrrhic Victory: He technically gets all he ever wanted: Krabs is dead, the Krusty Krab is destroyed, and he learned the secret formula. But all it leaves him with is guilt and regret."Finally, a Bikini Bottom without the Krusty Krab. I got everything I ever wanted... So, why don't I feel happy?"
- Super-Senses: Plankton (being, well, a planktonic copepod) has the ability to see individual cells in close detail. Looking at a Patrick who was holding a candle and got a drop of molten wax on his own arm, Plankton noticed that a Patrick's cells cannot regenerate if they're damaged by heat.
- Together in Death: When he is killed by a starfish, Karen makes a Heroic Sacrifice not long afterwards.
- [Verb] This!: When he uses the Fight-O-Plankton's flamethrowers to torch the stump of the arm he just cut off, he shouts "Regenerate from this!
Karen
Karen
"Plankton! I’m so glad you’re OK."
Plankton’s computer wife.
- Do Androids Dream?: Despite being an artificial intelligence operating a computer body (with her entire consciousness being transferable, as demonstrated by her powering the Fight-O-Plankton), Karen has demonstrated the capacity to feel emotions in regards to her husband. Whether or not she actually has a soul, Karen's last words are a promise to meet her husband in the afterlife.
- Heroic Sacrifice: After her husband's death, Karen convinces Squidward and Sandy to push the mech she's powering onto the Tortured One's severed limb and initiates self-destruct in order to keep it from becoming a whole new monster.
- Humongous Mecha: Her mind can be uploaded into the Fight-O-Plankton.
- Together in Death: She performs a Heroic Sacrifice and prepares to meet the just-murdered Plankton wherever she goes."See you soon, my love."
Gary
Gary
"Meow. ♥"
SpongeBob's pet snail.
- Big Damn Heroes: He's ultimately the one to save his owner from The Tortured One by popping the latter's stomach.
- The Nose Knows: According to the creator, Gary knew all along that SpongeBob was alive because he could smell his growing cells on Guilty Patrick.
Pearl
Pearl
"My dad deserves justice!"
The daughter of Mr. Krabs.
- Last Episode, New Character: She only appears in the epilogue.
- Monster Whale: Pearl thinks that she could have defeated the Tortured One if she'd been present. Considering just how large sperm whales are, she's probably right.
- Story-Breaker Power: It's revealed the Tortured One waited for Pearl to be away to destroy Bikini Bottom, because he didn't think he could beat her. And he's probably right, since she's a sperm whale, a creature whose size dwarfs even The Tortured One.
- Widow's Weeds: She's seen wearing those in the ending, while mourning her father.
The Mastermind (Unmarked Spoilers)
SpongeBob SquarePants
"Now is the the[sic] time for healing, Sandy. Not for reopening old wounds. Because when you pick at a scab, all you get is bloody."
The sponge himself, who is devoured by the Tortured One at the beginning of the comic and who may or may not have planned the Tortured One's rampage all along.
- Accomplice by Inaction: Even if he didn't specifically plan for the Tortured One to destroy Bikini Bottom, he's very much guilty of this. He knew about the Tortured One's plight for an unknown period of time and did nothing to help him before giving Patrick the undercooked Krabby Patty and causing the Tortured One's rampage— all of which could have been easily been avoided if he had simply revealed the existence of the Tortured One.
- Adaptational Badass: The first thing he does when he comes Back from the Dead is stop the attack of the gigantic Tortured One. With one hand. While he's still regenerating himself.
- Adaptational Intelligence: SpongeBob seemingly concocted a horrible plan that would do away with Krabs and Plankton and let him come out on top as an apparent hero.
- Adaptational Villainy: The ending reveals that SpongeBob undercooked a Krabby Patty on purpose, knowing full well that The Tortured One was being used as Krabby Patty meat and that Patrick would assimilate its traumas and go on a rampage. As it turns out, he was the real mastermind who manipulated everyone to get rid of Krabs and Plankton and allow him to Take Over the City, establishing him as a sociopath unlike in canon. However, as Ambiguous Situation below notes, it's unclear whether this was his plan all along, or whether it was revenge on Mr. Krabs for his treatment of his best friend that spiraled out of control.
- Ambiguously Evil: We know he gave Patrick an undercooked patty on purpose, and he presumably knew Patrick would assimilate the Tortured One's memories, but beyond that, his motivations and morality are a mystery. It's not even clear if taking over Bikini Bottom was his ultimate goal in the first place.
- Ambiguous Situation: SpongeBob’s reasons for serving Patrick the undercooked patty and his actions afterwards are never fully explained or justified, leaving it unclear if he really planned all this or if he’s just trying to make up for all the death and destruction he inadvertently caused by trying to punish Mr. Krabs. He has no interest in explaining himself to Sandy and wants nobody else to learn about his role in causing the events of the story. He does at least look sad when Sandy decides to leave him.
- Back from the Dead: He reemerges and saves Guilty!Patrick and Gary from the Tortured One at the start of Season 4.
- The Bad Guy Wins: SpongeBob succeeds in having the Tortured One eliminate Mr. Krabs and Plankton and comes out of the rubble a beloved hero. When Sandy realizes the truth, it's far too late to stop him, as SpongeBob now has his own clone army to eliminate anyone.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: The epilogue reveals that SpongeBob undercooked a Krabby Patty on purpose and knew that The Tortured One was being used as a source of Krabby Patties. By the time Sandy figures it out, SpongeBob has opened his own restaurant with clones of himself acting as his staff. SpongeBob responds by indicating to Sandy that he will kill her and everybody else if she tries to tell the truth.
- Came Back Wrong: Soon after he reappears, SpongeBob, now vengeful and seemingly more than a little twisted, proceeds to rapidly morph into a giant sponge monster to rival the Tortured One in size. Ultimately subverted. While absolutely filled with vengeful rage, he doesn't lose his heart to it. He directs it entirely at The Tortured One and forgives the guilty Patrick. Or rather, he never had a heart to lose to begin with.
- The Chessmaster: Everything from the Tortured One's rampage to the countless deaths were all according to SpongeBob SquarePants's design. Having known the truth behind the Tortured One for an unknown amount of time, SpongeBob gave Patrick an undercooked Krabby Patty fully knowing that once he did so, he would receive all the memories of his clone and go on a rampage. After faking his death, all SpongeBob had to do was sit back and wait for Mr. Krabs and Plankton to both take a trip to Davy Jones' locker and open his own restaurant. Due to him becoming the savior of the town, this only made it easier for SpongeBob to take control.
- Creepy Good: Subverted. SpongeBob assumes a titanic, monstrous form to fight the Tortured One, but is still portrayed as heroic... until the epilogue, where it's revealed that he may or may not have deliberately instigated the conflict all along.
- Engineered Heroics: The epilogue reveals that SpongeBob undercooked a Krabby Patty on purpose and fed it to Patrick knowing that he would assimilate its memories. Once Mr. Krabs and Plankton were killed by the Cult of the Tortured One, SpongeBob waited for a bleak moment to fully regenerate and save the day.
- Foil: Porifera SpongeBob to the Tortured One. Like the Tortured One's final form, Porifera is a horrific monster formed by different parts of SpongeBob regenerating and merging together, fueled by vengeful wrath over what was done to them. Unlike The Tortured One, however, SpongeBob does not allow this anger to overwhelm him, focusing it solely on The Tortured One and forgiving the guilty Patrick. Ultimately, his desire is to stop the bloodshed — revenge is just a savory seasoning. The ending reveals he is a foil in a very different way. While the Tortured One may lash out in rage, SpongeBob’s violence is carefully planned to look heroic. While the Tortured One has no goals other then devouring random people, SpongeBob uses his cloning ability to make himself the ruler of Bikini Bottom.
- From a Single Cell: SpongeBob is revealed to have survived the attack and appears to have grown from the rogue Patrick's body. Since sea sponges have the ability to regenerate from a single cell, SpongeBob was able to grow back from whatever was left of him.
- Full-Frontal Assault: SpongeBob returns in the nick of time to save the Rogue Patrick and Gary from the Tortured One, however, he didn't have time to put any clothes on and was fighting nude.
- Greater-Scope Villain: The epilogue reveals he intentionally undercooked a Krabby Patty to give Patrick the memories of the Tortured One, which would cause the entire comic.
- Hidden Agenda Villain: It's unclear precisely what his motives are for taking over Bikini Bottom, what he has in store for the town next, or even if doing so was his original goal in the first place.
- Kaiju: SpongeBob becomes a similarly gargantuan gorilla-shaped sponge monster called Porifera.
- Karma Houdini: He gets away with intentionally causing the Tortured One's rampage, killing many innocents, so he could Take Over the City.
- Pragmatic Villainy: He forgives Guilty!Patrick, saves the survivors and kills the Tortured One just to make himself the unquestioned ruler of Bikini Bottom.
- Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: SpongeBob combines this with a Pun as he goes to fight the Tortured One after reminding Squidward, Gary and Guilty!Patrick of his weakness to fire.SpongeBob: Start one. We're just getting warmed up.
- The Sociopath: Far from being the lovable goofy goober you grew up with, this iteration of SpongeBob has all the calling cards of one: his friendly, overly happy go-lucky demeanor is superficial; he orchestrates the Tortured One's rampage and faked his death only to then swoop in and play the part of the hero; he has an inflated sense of self-worth with referring to Bikini Bottom as his town; and he lacks remorse for his horrendous scheme.
- Super Mode: Porifera, a massive monster SpongeBob transforms into by absorbing every piece of himself spread across Bikini Bottom.
- Supreme Chef: Sandy realizes that SpongeBob is too good a cook to accidentally undercook Krabby Patties. Intentionally, on the other hand...
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Subverted, SpongeBob was attacked by Patrick in the opening scene and everyone (except Gary) assumed he was the first fatality of the attack. Sandy saw a hallucination of him when she was captured by The Cult of the Tortured One and Squidward saw his remains after he escaped one of the starfish. It's eventually revealed that SpongeBob did actually survive the attack and had spent the entire time multiplying until he was able to fight and defeat The Tortured One by pushing him into a volcanic vein. The epilogue also revealed that SpongeBob found out before the comic began that a tortured clone of Patrick was the source for Krabby Patties and he undercooked a Krabby Patty on purpose so that Patrick would assimilate its memories and seek revenge.
- Tranquil Fury: When SpongeBob reforms, he calmly yet furiously explains to Patrick how he was able to survive the attempted murder, all the while transforming into a titan to fight back against the Tortured One with Squidward.
- Vacuum Mouth: Or rather, Vacuum Pores. After becoming gigantic, SpongeBob inhales all the Patricks around him (except the Guilty!Patrick, who is grabbed by Squidward) into his pores. For the pores that are too small, the suction actually breaks down any Patrick caught in them until they are small enough to fit.
- Villain with Good Publicity: SpongeBob orchestrated the entire conflict with the Tortured One as a means of taking down both Mr. Krabs and Plankton while allowing him to be seen as a hero to all of Bikini Bottom. Sandy knows the truth, but SpongeBob threatens to kill her with his Clone Army unless she keeps quiet.
- Visionary Villain: SpongeBob was responsible for Patrick learning the secret recipe. He seemingly used The Tortured One to get rid of Plankton and Mr. Krabs while presenting himself as the hero of Bikini Bottom for the sake of opening his own business.
- Walking Spoiler: Once the epilogue's twist kicks in, SpongeBob's role in the webcomic is tossed through the wringer.
