History Characters / SpongebobSquarepantsMainCharacters

->''"[[HypocriticalHumor Dumb people are always blissfully unaware of how dumb they really are.]]"''

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!!!'''Voiced by:''' Carolyn Lawrence (English), Presley Williams (English, young, ''Sponge on the Run'')[[labelnote:additional [=VAs=]]]Mercedes Prato (LA Spanish, Season 1), Anabella Silva (LA Spanish, Seasons 2-6), Yaraivi Acevedo (LA Spanish, Seasons 4-5), Lileana Chacón (LA Spanish, Season 6-present), Letícia Quinto (Brazilian Portuguese), Fernanda Bullara (Brazilian Portuguese, ''Pull Up A Barrel''), Melissa Bezerra (Brazilian Portuguese, young, ''Sponge on the Run''), Cathlen Gawlich (German), Pernilla Wahlgren (Swedish, Season 1-middle of season 7), Annelie Bhagavan (Swedish, Rest of season 7-present), Na'ama Uzan, Lital Vidavski (Hebrew, 2003–2006)[[/labelnote]]

!!!'''Debut:''' "Tea at the Treedome"

->''"Hear me, Krabs. When I discover your formula for Krabby Patties, I'll run you out of business. '''I WENT TO COLLEGE!'''"''

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JillTalley (English)[[labelnote:additional [=VAs=]]]Creator/MelanieHenriquez, Sofía Narváez (LA Spanish), Eleonora Prado (Brazilian Portuguese, Season 1), Rita Almeida (Brazilian Portuguese, Season 2), Cecília Lemes (Brazilian Portuguese, Season 3-present), Susanne Herrmann (German), Creator/ChristaLips (Dutch), Pernilla Wahlgren (Swedish, Season 1-middle of season 7), Annelie Bhagavan (Swedish, Rest of season 7-present)[[/labelnote]]
!!!'''Debut:''' "Plankton!"

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/LoriAlan (English)[[labelnote:additional [=VAs=]]]Irina Índigo (LA Spanish), Creator/YensiRivero (LA Spanish), Sofía Narváez (LA Spanish), Eleonora Prado (Brazilian Portuguese, Season 1), Tânia Gaidarji (Brazilian Portuguese, Season 2 - Season 3), Creator/AngelicaSantos (Brazilian Portuguese, Season 4 - present), Sabine Winterfeldt (German), Christa Lips (Dutch), Pernilla Wahlgren (Season 1-middle of season 7), Annelie Bhagavan (Rest of season 7-present)[[/labelnote]]
!!!'''Debut:''' "Squeaky Boots"

!!!'''English voice:''' Creator/TomKenny (English), Creator/DeeBradleyBaker (English, dream self voice in "Sleepytime"), Creator/KeithDavid (English, translator voice in "Chatterbox Gary")[[labelnote:additional [=VAs=]]]José Manuel Vieira, Fernando Márquez (LA Spanish), Santiago Ziesmer[[note]] while Santiago Ziesmer voices Gary, some of Tom Kenny's lines were kept in some episodes[[/note]] (German)[[/labelnote]]
!!!'''Debut:''' "Help Wanted"

** Envy: The most prominent for Plankton is his envy. He is jealous of Mr. Krabs for being far more successful than him in the restaurant business, fueling his obsessive desire to obtain the Krabby Patty formula.

* [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsSheldonPlankton Sheldon Plankton]]

[[folder:Sheldon Plankton]]

[[folder:Karen Plankton]]

[-'''Main Characters:''' [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsTitularCharacter [=SpongeBob SquarePants=]]] | [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsSquidwardTentacles Squidward Tentacles]] | [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsMrKrabs Mr. Krabs]] | [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsSheldonPlankton Sheldon Plankton]]\\

[[folder:Karen Plankton]]
!!Karen Plankton
[[quoteright:255:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spongebob_karen.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:255:''"Don't get so worked up again, Plankton. I just mopped the floors."'']]
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JillTalley (English)[[labelnote:additional [=VAs=]]]Creator/MelanieHenriquez, Sofía Narváez (LA Spanish), Eleonora Prado (Brazilian Portuguese, Season 1), Rita Almeida (Brazilian Portuguese, Season 2), Cecília Lemes (Brazilian Portuguese, Season 3-present), Susanne Herrmann (German), Creator/ChristaLips (Dutch), Pernilla Wahlgren (Swedish, Season 1-middle of season 7), Annelie Bhagavan (Swedish, Rest of season 7-present)[[/labelnote]]

A waterproof supercomputer who runs the Chum Bucket alongside her husband Plankton. She is always giving him new evil plans to steal the Krabby Patty formula, but their efforts never succeed. Karen is Plankton's own invention, and her software is built into most of his machines.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Sometimes laughs with the good guys against Plankton.
* AllThereInTheScript: Her name wasn't mentioned at all in the "Plankton!" episode, but it was listed in the credits.
* ArmlessBiped: In the movie and most episodes from season 5-9, her mobile form does not have arms. From season 10 onwards, however, her mobile form always has them.
* AscendedExtra: During the first three seasons, Karen was a SatelliteCharacter who primarily existed to provide [[DeadpanSnarker sarcastic commentary]] on her husband's antics and had minimal interaction with anyone else due to being stuck inside the Chum Bucket. Following the first movie giving her a mobile body and both her and Plankton becoming {{Breakout Villain}}s, Karen would get much more screentime and focus and is now considered one of the main characters of the series.
* AwfulWeddedLife: Though it's subject to DependingOnTheWriter, Plankton and Karen's marriage is sometimes depicted as very dysfunctional; Plankton constantly prioritizes stealing the Krabby Patty formula over showing Karen love, while Karen in turn tends to be very naggy and sometimes physically abusive towards Plankton in return.
* BeleagueredAssistant: She mostly averts this as she is generally the dominant one in the relationship.
* BerserkButton: She has one in "Plankton Gets The Boot". Don't insult Karen's new screensaver or say it makes her processor look fat. Plankton learned that the hard way, twice.
* BreakoutVillain: As mentioned above, Doug Lawrence was responsible for turning Plankton and Karen from one-off characters into the main villains.
* CharacterDevelopment: She shows no signs of sentience in "Plankton!" but gains her personality in "F.U.N." However, she did always have a Midwestern accent, as mentioned in JustAStupidAccent below.
* CutenessProximity: She gets so excited over how adorable Spot's puppies are in "Spot Returns" that she shuts down and spends several hours needing to be rebooted. When she comes back online and discovers even more puppies, she's even happier.
* CyberGreen: Her head is a (for the most part) monochrome monitor, using a bright green or yellow green on her display, harkening back to the earliest days of computers.
* DeadpanSnarker: In the post-movie episodes, she snarks at Plankton all the time.
* TheDragon: She's Plankton's main support in his villainous efforts, as well as his only underling who actually sticks around.
* DependingOnTheWriter: While she's usually depicted as more competent and logical than Plankton, there ''are'' a select few episodes where the opposite is true. In "Jailbreak!," she's a ditzy airhead who bakes Plankton a cake out of kindness while he's in prison, but forgets that she was supposed to hide a nail file inside that would allow him to escape. In "Walking the Plankton," she's a hopeless romantic who geeks out over the chance to spend time with Plankton on a cruise, and then quickly sours on the idea when she realizes it's just another one of his plans to steal the Krabby Patty formula. "Single Cell Anniversary" blends the two characterizations together; she's skilled enough to easily obtain a copy of the formula as an anniversary gift, but she refuses to hand it over unless Plankton returns the favor and gets ''her'' something.
* DragonInChief: She's always the one to come up with an EvilPlan to help Plankton in his scheme to steal the secret formula.
* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference:
** She was only seen in wall form until the first movie and season 4, which gave her a mobile body.
** Karen's mobile form lacked arms from seasons 4 to 9. From season 10 onwards, she gained a pair of arms for the sake of additional expressiveness.
* EmbarrassingTattoo: According to "[=CopyBob=] [=DittoPants=]", Plankton had a picture of himself dressed as a genius tattooed on Karen's hard drive. She's not happy about it.
* EquippableAlly: She is equippable with lasers, screensavers, and various software.
* {{Flanderization}}:
** Her sentience and, to a lesser but still noticeable extent, her DeadpanSnarker mannerisms. In the first season, she was always supportive of Plankton and focused on the mission. In the first movie, she became deadpan almost all of the time. While she has mostly reverted to her more cheerful demeanor as of season 9, she still shows signs of getting fed up with Plankton's ignorance at times.
** One aspect of her personality that was completely phased out was her unquestioning servitude to Plankton. She always helps with his plans and gives them to him in most cases, but she no longer does whatever he says when he demands it.
** An example of her unquestioning servitude can be seen in the Season 3 episode "The Algae's Always Greener". Plankton orders Karen to make him some dinner, so she gives him holographic meatloaf while saying--in a completely serious, non-sarcastic manner--"Yes, your majesty."
* HyperCompetentSidekick: She successfully stole a Krabby Patty the first time she tried alone, with near zero effort (then again, it was against Squidward).
* InformedAttractiveness: Despite being literally a sentient computer, both Sandy and several of Plankton's relatives have commented that Karen is "beautiful".
* InterspeciesRomance: If a computer counts as a species, her and Plankton counts as a relationship between people of different species.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: As snarky (and sometimes argumentative and insensitive) as Karen is, specifically towards Plankton, she still loves him nonetheless. But, then again, she doesn't physically have a heart since she's a computer.
* JustAStupidAccent: Had a very obvious Chicago accent even [[CharacterizationMarchesOn before she had a personality]].
* LackOfEmpathy: When Plankton was paranoid and scared of whales, Karen was very dismissive and refused to listen to him or show any sympathy or concern for him. She even says to [=SpongeBob=] in another episode that she cannot feel for others because she physically does not have a heart.
* LogicalWeakness: Since she's a computer, she can be shut down instantly by [[AchillesPowerCord unplugging her power cord]]. In "Plankton's Army," Plankton does this to stop her from laughing at his EmbarrassingFirstName.
* MamaBear: Is extremely protective of her son, Chip, to the point of destroying an arcade machine just to stop him from being harmed by the in-game enemies and outright ''forcing'' Plankton to search for him after the latter drives him away.
* NonIndicativeName: Her full name is Karen Plankton, but she's a computer, not a plankton.
* NonStandardCharacterDesign: Karen is the only one who is regularly drawn with wavy-lined borders instead of clean lines. This is because backgrounds and items in the show are normally drawn with wavy borders while characters aren't.
* OnlySaneWoman: Typically one to call Plankton out on his obsessive schemes, more so currently.
* PetTheDog: She is a computer but nevertheless has a very strong love for Plankton deep down.
* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Played with. She supposedly has no heart but still feels a wide range of emotions. However, she still has some limitations such as being unable to eat (though she is turned into a Krabby Patty zombie in "Krabby Patty Creature Feature" when she is force-fed bits of the Krabby Patty zombies by having them stuffed into her disc drive).
* RoboticSpouse: Yes and no. Yes, Karen is a robot and she married her creator. But no, Plankton did ''not'' create her just to marry her. She was originally just the security system for the business he and Mr. Krabs ran together, before they began dating naturally. Their romance even began before Plankton became evil, and Karen was so faithful to him that she became evil as well.
* SatelliteCharacter: In the first few seasons, she usually only interacted with Plankton and whoever else came into the Chum Bucket. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], since she was an immobile computer who was permanently stationed in the Chum Bucket. As the show progressed, Karen gained mobility and relationships with other characters than Plankton.
* SatelliteLoveInterest: Averted, since she wasn't written as Plankton's wife until Season 3 and is actually a formidable villain rather than just a love interest, having come up with almost all of Plankton's schemes herself.
* SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer: She plays crucial roles in the first two movies (authoring and telling Plankton about "Plan Z" in the first, powering the time machine in the second) but did not have much screen time in the trailers for them. However, she ''was'' featured in the associated merchandise, such as the Mega Bloks time machine playset for the 2015 movie.
* SnarkyInanimateObject: She's a robot and is pretty snarky in the later episodes.
* SnarkyNonHumanSidekick: She's a robot who aids Plankton in his plans and is prone to making snide remarks towards him.
* TalkingWeapon: She has robotic abilities like lasers and death rays that make her a talking, walking weapon sometimes.
* TinyGuyHugeGirl: The huge girl to Plankton's tiny guy, since she's a large computer and he's a tiny crustacean.
* TookALevelInCynic: She inexplicably becomes far more cold-hearted than usual in the first movie.
* {{Tuckerization}}: Named after Stephen Hillenburg's wife.
* TVHeadRobot: Early seasons depict her as a giant computer screen built into Plankton's lab, but later seasons gave her a mobile form that's effectively a CRT television on a thin pole attached to a base with wheels, occasionally with robotic arms.
* VirtualSidekick: She fills a sidekick role to her husband.
* WomenAreWiser: She is much more clever and competent than her husband Plankton.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mrs. Puff]]
!!Penelope Puff
[[quoteright:255:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spongebob_mrspuff.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:255:''"In all my years of teaching, only one student has ever failed my class."'']]
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MaryJoCatlett (English)[[labelnote:additional [=VAs=]]]Isabel Vara (LA Spanish), Arlete Montenegro (Brazilian Portuguese), Rita Engelmann (German, Episode 4-182, first movie), Joseline Gassen (German, second movie), Sonja Deutsch (German, Episode 190-present), Pernilla Wahlgren (Swedish, Season 1-middle of season 7), Annelie Bhagavan (Swedish, Rest of season 7-present)[[/labelnote]]
!!!'''Debut:''' "Boating School"

[=SpongeBob=]'s patient but paranoid teacher at boating school. She would like nothing more than to pass [=SpongeBob=] since he is an obsessively good student, but he routinely freaks out and crashes whenever he has to get inside a boat. She is a pufferfish who blows up into a ball whenever she is scared or stressed out.
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* AlliterativeName: '''P'''enelope '''P'''uff.
* ApatheticTeacher: Zigzagged, DependingOnTheWriter. Though it's mostly her attitude towards [=SpongeBob=] since no matter what she does, she can't seem to get him to pass the driving portion of her test and out of her hair for good. His over-eagerness certainly doesn't help, neither does continually landing her in jail either.
* AxCrazy: In "Demolition Doofus" when she becomes obsessed with attempting to get [=SpongeBob=] killed in a demolition match, and tries to kill him herself when that fails.
* BigBeautifulWoman: Her size comes with a noted appetite for pasta and cake, but she handily attracts Mr. Krabs, and [=SpongeBob=]'s ''mother'' has to talk loudly to pull her husband's attention off of her.
* BigEater: She's shown to have a big appetite. See ObsessedWithFood below.
* ButtMonkey: As a result of [=SpongeBob=]'s antics, she's frequently injured or sent to jail.
* CommonalityConnection: When Squidward has to attend her classes, they bond over the fact that [=SpongeBob=] is the bane of both their existences.
* CoolOldLady: She is surprisingly active for an elderly teacher and even has an expansive criminal record.
* DarkAndTroubledPast:
** According to at least one [[TalkingToThemself monologue]], she has previously skipped town under a different name.
** Her husband was apparently [[spoiler:fished up out of the sea and made into a lamp.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: [=SpongeBob=]'s annoyance and idiocy often causes Mrs. Puff to make snide remarks.
* DecemberDecemberRomance: She and Mr. Krabs are close to being senior citizens and have each been married before, but that doesn't stop them from falling in love and continuing to date (for nearly two decades, as revealed in ''Whirly Brains'').
* DependingOnTheWriter: How she feels about Spongebob varies from episode to episode. Some episodes have her genuinely like him as a student, despite his poor boating skills. Most episodes have her weary of having him as a student, but she doesn't truly hold anything against him. And some episodes, especially those in Season 8 and beyond, have her outright hating him.
* {{Determinator}}: Amazingly, she has made it her goal never to give up on [=SpongeBob=], no matter how many times he fails.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: She falls victim to this in the episode "No Free Rides". Sick and tired of having to go through [=SpongeBob=]'s [[DrivesLikeCrazy chaotic driving tests]], she comes up with a bogus extra credit test to just give him his driver's license and get him out of her classroom. It's only after she does so that it hits her that she has just given [=SpongeBob=] free reign to drive on public streets and wreak havoc there.
* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference:
** She had many more wrinkles in her first appearance.
** "Boating School" had her puff up a little whenever she inhaled. Now, she only puffs when she is surprised or injured.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The first time we see her, she is at her school watching [=SpongeBob=] dance around and says "I'm not ready..."
* EvilCripple: In "Demolition Doofus", Mrs. Puff loses her ability to puff and develops the desire to kill [=SpongeBob=].
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: No matter how many times she tries to get rid of [=SpongeBob=] (or get him in trouble legally), [=SpongeBob=] will always come out on top, leaving her stuck with him, or at worst, end up in jail.
* FatAndProud: Her size is a trait of her species, so she's not insecure about it.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Mrs. Puff has blonde hair and is rather kind-hearted, [[JerkassToOne so long as your name isn't SpongeBob]].
* FreudianExcuse: Her husband was captured by fishermen and made into a lamp, she was forced to legally change her name, and on top of all of that, has to teach [=SpongeBob=] how to drive, which, at least by what is shown so far, is virtually impossible. She's had to deal with the maverick's hasty driving skills ''1,258,058'' times, so it's understandable why she frequently loses her patience with [=SpongeBob=], sometimes to the point of threatening or wishing death upon him.
* HalfDressedCartoonAnimal: A rare female example. She doesn't wear any underwear. This, however, was later subverted since she was shown to wear underwear in the episode Oral Report when [=SpongeBob=] imagines people in their underwear.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Compared to the already hostile and mean-tempered Squidward, Mrs. Puff is a docile and well-meaning character whose nerves have slowly been worn at by [=SpongeBob=]'s behavior. Many episodes have shown her take increasingly desperate and sometimes unscrupulous measures just to finally get away from him. She's at her lowest point in "Demolition Doofus", where she's so furious at [=SpongeBob=] for accidentally puncturing her inflation sac that she outright tries to ''murder'' him.
* HeavyVoice: In her earliest appearances, she gets a deeper voice whenever she puffs up.
* IdiotBall: Despite being one of the few characters on the show with any common sense (aside from Squidward and Sandy), she holds this in "The Bully" when she fails to take action against an obvious bully who has joined her class and plans to harm one of her students, instead viewing him as a {{nice guy}}.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: With Sandy and Pearl in a few episodes, and also with [=SpongeBob=] in very early episodes, since she's considerably older than them.
* InterspeciesRomance: Her relationship with Mr. Krabs qualifies, since she's a blowfish and he's a crab.
* ItsAllMyFault: In early episodes, she thinks [=SpongeBob=]'s inability to drive is at least partially her fault.
* JerkassBall: She's usually always hostile towards [=SpongeBob=], but sometimes her grudge against him can go ''way'' too far, such as when she threatened to kick his butt at the end of "The Bully" [[MisplacedRetribution over something he didn't do]], and of course, [[AxCrazy going as far as trying to get him murdered]] in "Demolition Doofus". It's aggravated by the fact that she's supposed to be an authority figure.
* JerkassToOne: [=SpongeBob=] is typically the only person whom Mrs. Puff holds a grudge against. Aside from him, she's usually outgoing and friendly to everyone. Plus, it isn't hard to see why she's hostile towards him, considering the amount of times he has endangered her with his reckless driving and gotten her arrested.
* KnightOfCerebus: She briefly becomes one in the Season 8 episode "Demolition Doofus". She enters [=SpongeBob=] into a demolition derby and hopes that he dies (since his crazy driving previously caused her to puncture her inflation sac). She later tries to kill him herself by entering into the demolition derby using a massive monster truck. This episode is considered one of the darkest stories by many fans.
* {{Leitmotif}}: The production music [[https://youtube.com/watch?v=B-yAMfNT2mk Horlepiep]] is often associated with her, particularly when she is teaching her class.
* MadeOfIron: [=SpongeBob=] has caused this poor woman to get injured many times in fatal car crashes, but she seems to return to normal in a few episodes. It's only on "Demolition Doofus" that this trope was subverted with her losing her ability to puff and played straight at the end of the episode when she regains her ability to puff.
* MeaningfulName: Her name refers to both her species and her tendency to puff up like a ball.
* MisplacedRetribution: She is always blamed and put in jail for [=SpongeBob=]'s recklessness despite educating him right, [[KarmaHoudini with SpongeBob going completely scot-free every time]].
* NakedPeopleAreFunny: "Feral Friends" has her and Pearl become the first female characters shown naked on the show in the series' history. When she and Mr. Krabs return to normal two hours after being transformed into non-anthropomorphic sea life by Neptune's Moon, they bashfully giggle at seeing each other nude and promptly run off in embarrassment.
* NervousWreck: She's very neurotic, although it's usually justified.
* NeverBareheaded: Whenever she's not seen wearing her trademark sailor's cap, she usually wears hair curlers to bed.
* NeverMessWithGranny: She is around Mr. Krabs' age (early 70s) but has a dark side and commits many crimes.
* NeverMyFault: True, [=SpongeBob=] is the reason why she's so grouchy and getting constantly injured, but she forgets the fact that she's not obligated to keep [=SpongeBob=] as a student and she can simply expel him if she's tired of him failing her classes. While her suffering isn't her fault, she is unintentionally playing a role in prolonging it due to her never thinking of expelling [=SpongeBob=] from her boating school. Her claim that [=SpongeBob=] was the only student who has ever failed her boating school implies that she's only keeping him enrolled in the hopes that she eventually gets her record spotless again.
* NiceGirl: Mrs. Puff seems friendly to everybody. It's only [=SpongeBob=] who she can't seem to stand.
* NoAccountingForTaste: Is in a committed 16-year relationship with Mr. Krabs.
* NonGivingUpSchoolGuy: She is relentlessly determined to continue teaching [=SpongeBob=].
* NonMammalianHair: She's a fish who has short blonde hair.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: From Squidward. They both agree that [=SpongeBob=] is the bane of their existences.
* ObsessedWithFood: She loves pasta, chocolate cake, and Krabby Patties. Her love of food seemed to be a running gag in early episodes.
* OfficialCouple: With Mr. Krabs. As of "Whirly Brains", they have been dating for sixteen years in canon. However, this is shockingly debunked in prior episodes (e.g. "Growth Spout", "Summer Job"), where she doesn't even seen to ''recognize'' him. [[NegativeContinuity This being]] ''[=SpongeBob=]'', continuity errors are natural, and their relationship seems to be consistent from the former episode onwards, courtesy of the series becoming more continuity-driven.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Like Mr. Krabs, she looks a bit younger than her true age, although she ''does'' have wrinkles on her face in up-close shots.
* OutOfCharacterMoment: In the infamous "Demolition Doofus", she is driven insane after one of [=SpongeBob=]'s accidents causes her to deflate. She actually tries to get [=SpongeBob=] killed in a demolition derby. Thankfully, she was turned back to normal at the end.
* OnlyOneName: Until Season 13, she was only ever called "Mrs. Puff" in the series proper. Merchandise such as books and the video game ''Yellow Avenger'' stated that her first name is Poppy. Eventually, the Season 13 episode "Yellow Pavement" revealed that her first name is "Penelope".
* OnlySaneWoman: She often fills the role of being the only reasonable person when an episode only stars her and [=SpongeBob=].
* ParentalSubstitute: She tries her best to be motherly with [=SpongeBob=].
* PersonAsVerb: "Puff" has been used as an adjective by other characters when talking about her. It's not very clear whether or not it's referring to her name, the actual verb, or both.
* PrinciplesZealot: In "Doing Time," she has a flashback to the unfortunate day that she met [=SpongeBob=]. She's just opening her new boating school and gives her word that she will accept ANY student and never give up on them. Cue [=SpongeBob=]'s arrival. The entire plot of "Demolition Doofus" revolves around Mrs Puff's increasingly blatant desire and attempts to get [=SpongeBob=] ''killed'' in a destruction derby accident; she would sooner ''commit murder'' than go back on her word and just kick him out of the school.
* RageBreakingPoint: [=SpongeBob=] possibly deflating her permanently in ''Demolition Doofus'' seemed to be this, [[FridgeBrilliance with her somewhat calming down at the end]] when she was able to puff again.
* RiddleForTheAges: What, exactly, ''did'' she do that made her abandon her old life and assume the name Mrs. Puff? We'll never know.
-->'''Mrs. Puff''': I'll have to move to a new city! Start a new boating school, with a new name...no. ''Not again.''
* RunningGag: Many episodes ended with her going to jail.
* SanitySlippage: She tends to go crazy from having to deal with [=SpongeBob=]'s antics.
* SignatureHeadgear: Almost always wears a blue sailor cap.
* {{Slapstick}}: She is always a victim of [=SpongeBob=]'s recklessness.
* SpeciesSurname: Her name is Mrs. Puff and she's a pufferfish.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: She is often mistakenly called ''Ms.'' Puff by casual fans.
* StepfordSmiler: It is implied on several occasions that her cheerfulness is just a façade to mask the pain she feels over having to deal with [=SpongeBob=] all the time.
* TemporarilyAVillain: In "No Free Rides" and "Demolition Doofus", she acts as an antagonist towards [=SpongeBob=]. The former instance is due to her trying to undo her mistake of giving [=SpongeBob=], the show's poster boy for DrivesLikeCrazy, a driver's license just to get rid of him, while the latter is simply the result of her being sick of having to put up with him.
* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: She has visible eyelashes to certify her gender.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Tomboy to Pearl's Girly Girl and Girly Girl to Sandy's Tomboy.
* ThrowingOffTheDisability: In "Demolition Doofus", she ruptures her inflation sac, with the doctor stating she'll never be able to puff again. Since StatusQuoIsGod, Mrs. Puff spontaneously regains her ability to puff at the end of the episode.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pearl Krabs]]
!!Pearl Krabs
[[quoteright:255:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spongebob_pearl.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:255:''"As far as disasters go, that was really fun."'']]
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/LoriAlan (English)[[labelnote:additional [=VAs=]]]Irina Índigo (LA Spanish), Creator/YensiRivero (LA Spanish), Sofía Narváez (LA Spanish), Eleonora Prado (Brazilian Portuguese, Season 1), Tânia Gaidarji (Brazilian Portuguese, Season 2 - Season 3), Creator/AngelicaSantos (Brazilian Portuguese, Season 4 - present), Sabine Winterfeldt (German), Christa Lips (Dutch), Pernilla Wahlgren (Season 1-middle of season 7), Annelie Bhagavan (Rest of season 7-present)[[/labelnote]]
!!!'''Debut:''' "Squeaky Boots"

Mr. Krabs' beloved teenage daughter, who is a huge sperm whale. Her brain is the largest in Bikini Bottom and she is gifted in math, but she is still young and immature. Her father hopes to pass his restaurant on to her when she grows up.
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* {{Acrofatic}}: Justified. She's a whale, so of course she'd be agile for her size.
* AllGirlsLikePonies: In "Whale of a Birthday", Pearl spots a mini seahorse at the mall and expresses immense affection towards it by sitting on it a bit too tightly, much to the seahorse's discomfort.
* AmbiguouslyRelated: Her biological relationship to Mr. Krabs isn't mentioned. It's unknown if she's adopted or whether she takes after her MissingMom.
* AndCallHimGeorge: Being a GenkiGirl, she has a lethally affectionate attitude. She hugs [=SpongeBob=] in "Bossy Boots" to a point where he asks her to stop squeezing him.
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: DependingOnTheWriter, she tends to have a reputation among her peers as the social outcast.
* AnimalsNotToScale: She is a whale who's only twice the size of miniature creatures like starfish and crabs. Some international dubs justify this by claiming she is a ''baby'' whale, but she is 16 (mentally, at least).
* BigEater: In "Growth Spout" she went through a growth spurt and needed to eat tons of food.
* BrattyTeenageDaughter: On a frequent basis, she berates Mr. Krabs and whines whenever he doesn't let her have what she wants.
* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: She normally wears a dress with a P on the front.
* ButtMonkey: She is often mistreated, neglected, and publicly embarrassed by her cheapskate asshole of a father, belittled and betrayed by her friends, and has suffered many breakups. On a side note, her height often makes her subject to klutziness.
* CantGetInTroubleForNuthin: In "Bossy Boots", she goes to work for the Krusty Krab during her summer vacation, and makes multiple changes to the restaurant that effectively ruin her father's business. As it turns out, all the changes she made were because she was deliberately ''trying'' to get fired, but Krabs simply didn't have the heart to fire his own daughter. So [=SpongeBob=], who was sent to fire her anyway, "pretends" to fire her so she could go and enjoy her summer vacation.
* CartoonWhale: A gray whale with a square head. Justified since the creators say she's a sperm whale.
* CoolBigSis: She's had more than a few mutually affectionate moments with [=SpongeBob=] and often plays the role as a sister figure to him, due to her being a typical teenage girl and him being a naïve and innocent {{manchild}}.
* CryingARiver: Pearl cries literal rivers on a regular basis. The Krabs house even has drain plugs on the floors to empty out her tears.
* CuteClumsyGirl: She's quite the GenkiGirl and qualifies as clumsy owing to her gigantic height.
* DaddysGirl: Her default status is Mr. Krabs' beloved teenage daughter whom he often babies in an attempt to discourage her conformity to [[TeensAreMonsters toxic stereotypes]]. She's becoming less true to this status as the series progresses, however, partly due to her father's overprotective and cheap nature.
* DamselInDistress: In "Dunces and Dragons", where Planktonamor kidnaps her and [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick have to rescue her.
* ADayInTheLimelight:
** While all of the prominent characters have had times to shine every once in a while, "Mall Girl Pearl" exclusively focuses on Pearl as she tries to get a job at the mall.
** "Whale Watching" centers on both Pearl and Squidward. On the night that Mr. Krabs likes to play poker, he hires Squidward, whom Krabs promised a [=SpongeBob=]-free shift, to look after Pearl, who was forbidden from going out that night to hang out with some kids, including a boy she had a crush on. Pearl manages to sneak out, and Squidward follows to where she beaches herself after she breached the surface. Seeing her in trouble, the other kids run away, leaving Squidward to rescue her. After they get home, [[ThrowTheDogABone they decide to have some fun]] [[TheThingThatWouldNotLeave by siccing SpongeBob]] on [[LaserGuidedKarma the boy that left Pearl beached on the surface.]]

** In the first three seasons, she and [=SpongeBob=] have a very close bond, [[ImpliedLoveInterest almost resembling a romantic relationship]]. Some post-movie episodes disregard all of their previous interactions and don't portray Pearl as an ([[{{Tsundere}} admitted]]) friend to him. Of course, [=SpongeBob=] is always extremely nice to Pearl, regardless of the season. Despite his undying loyalty to Mr. Krabs, he is even friendlier to Pearl than he is to his boss. This is shown in episodes like "Whale of a Birthday" and "Barnacle Face", where [=SpongeBob=] takes Mr. Krabs' belongings to make Pearl happy.
** Her reputation. She ranges from being an AlphaBitch in a GirlPosse to TheFriendNobodyLikes. Due to the lack of recurring characters and continuity in general, she's also depicted with different friends per appearance.
** Her relationship with her father. She ranges from genuinely loving him and being on good terms, being displeased with him but still caring about him deep-down, or outright ''despising'' him and overpowering his authority. Since she's a stereotypical teenage girl, the variety isn't surprising. It also sort of depends on how her father is treating her.
* DramaQueen: Pearl cries over insignificant slights and is quite possibly the show's biggest drama magnet. Although, unlike [=SpongeBob=], who exhibits meltdowns over the most mundane of things like running out of ice, [[AgeAppropriateAngst Pearl's angsts are reasonable given her age]].
* TheDreadedPretendTeaParty: When [=SpongeBob=] enters her dream in "Sleepy Time" and sees that she's having a fake tea party, he asks her how to get to Mr. Krabs' dream instead.
* {{Fangirl}}: She is a huge fan of "Mecha Baleen" and "The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy", according to the comic series and the ''[=SpongeBob=] Moves In!'' app respectively. She's also a huge fan of the boyband Boys Who Cry, whom she wanted so bad to perform at her 16th birthday party (they did).
* {{Flanderization}}: Her brattiness, bad luck, and disrespect for her father got worse by the post-movie seasons.
* ForcedDancePartner: In "Tango Tangle", [=SpongeBob=] is Pearl's dance partner. She's less than enthused about it, particularly because [=SpongeBob=] is only there because Mr. Krabs ordered him to be her tango partner.
* FreudianExcuse: With the way Mr. Krabs treats her, you can understand her attitude.
* GenderEqualsBreed: Her father is a crab and her mother was a whale (according to the [[AllThereInTheManual official trivia book]]).
* GenkiGirl: Pearl is quite cheerful. She constantly shouts and eagerly bounces up and down when informing Mr. Krabs about something she wants. The fact that she's a cheerleader tops it all off.
* GiantsDropletHumansShower: She's not a giant, but she's one of the tallest characters, being a while and can easily flood areas with her tears.
* GirlyGirl: She wears a [[PinkMeansFeminine pink dress]], is a huge fan of boy bands (especially Boys Who Cry), gossips a lot, likes hanging out at the mall with her girlfriends, and in general possesses a lot stereotypical ValleyGirl and PhoneaholicTeenager traits. {{Downplayed}} in that this is all just Pearl trying ''desperately'' to fit in with the social norm.
* GirlyGirlWithATomboyStreak: She's a fan of "Mecha Baleen" (the Bikini Bottom equivalent to ComicBook/{{Cyborg}}) and "The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy" (though she obviously wouldn't want her friends to know that).
* GiveGeeksAChance: In "The Chaperone", her boyfriend was a nerdy little baitfish... although she [[InformedAttractiveness describes him as incredibly]] [[TallDarkAndHandsome "long, tan, and handsome"]].
* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: In "Sleepy Time", she dreams about a tea party with stuffed animals.
* GonkyFemme: She is a huge girl with inhuman strength and a tendency to cause everything to shake whenever she is crying, jumping or dancing.
* GossipyHens: She gossips quite a lot with her friends.
* HiddenDepths: Her [[https://web.archive.org/web/20040812015604/http://www.nicksplat.com/Tvshows/Characters/Nicktoons/Spongebob_squarepants/pearl.html original character bio]] reveals that she has the biggest brain in Bikini Bottom and loves math.
* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: Most of the neglect she receives from her cheapskate father is played for comedic effect, as Mr. Krabs' money obsession has been a PlayedForLaughs plot element since the show's beginning, meaning he doesn't outright ''hate'' his daughter, he just doesn't have the time or priorities to show his affection.
* HugeSchoolgirl: Considering she's a whale among little animals like fish and squirrels.
* IGotBigger: The entire plot of "Growth Spurt" revolves around Pearl undergoing a growth spurt that not only causes her to outgrow her bed, but also endlessly demand food to fulfill her metabolic hunger. She regresses to her regular size by the end after she eats a Krabby Patty.
* IJustWantToBeSpecial: There's often the implication that Pearl only behaves like an average teenage girl in a desperate attempt to fit in with the crowd.
* ImpliedLoveInterest: Quite a few episodes frame Pearl as this for [=SpongeBob=], in ways that are sometimes more blatant than any Spandy moments.
** "The Chaperone" is all about [=SpongeBob=] taking Pearl to the prom, and the ending shows that they were going to kiss had it not been for Mr. Krabs' interruption.
** "Bossy Boots" is a major moment as well, since Pearl hugs [=SpongeBob=] so hard he has to ask her to stop and later pecks him on the forehead.
** In the post-movie episode "Tunnel of Glove", the plot involves Pearl and [=SpongeBob=] going in a tunnel of love at Glove World, and it starts off with Pearl's fake friends calling [=SpongeBob=] her boyfriend. Even though this episode was made after the writers started disregarding Pearl and SB's friendship, the ending implies that Pearl ''does'' like [=SpongeBob=] but pretends not to when her friends are around.
** The solution to Pearl's growth spurt in "Growth Spout" is [=SpongeBob=] making her a special Krabby Patty ''with love''.
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Many episodes focusing on her reputation portray her as a talentless hack who behaves like a rebellious teenage girl in a desperate attempt to fit in.
* InformedAbility: According to her official character bio, she's the smartest citizen in Bikini Bottom, but there has never been an episode focusing on her intelligence. There ''have'', however, been episodes like "Mall Girl Pearl" that imply she only acts like a regular teenager to fit in.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: With [=SpongeBob=], who's an independent adult. This trope is played with as [=SpongeBob=]'s childish behavior makes it look like ''Pearl'' has the power in the dynamic since she's more mature, but since [=SpongeBob=] is older than her, it's the other way around.
* IronicName: Pearls are known for being very small, but Pearl is huge.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Has this attitude in "Whale of a Birthday", even saying that everyone in the world has to pay attention to her on her birthday.
* JerkassBall: She holds this in episodes that showcase her as an AlphaBitch, specifically in the episode "The Slumber Party" when she and her friends make fun of a sponge girl who looks like [=SpongeBob=].
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: While she tries her best to fit in with her bratty peers, Pearl's "hip, cool" persona is merely a ruse and she wants to be friends with [=SpongeBob=]. This is most obvious in the early episode "Bossy Boots", where she tearfully confides in [=SpongeBob=] that her new position is too stressful and that she only accepted it to make her father happy- and she thanks [=SpongeBob=] with a hug ''and'' a kiss when he helps her quit.
* LargeHam: She has an overdramatic voice, which isn't surprising given her height.
* LikeBrotherAndSister: She plays quite a sisterly role to [=SpongeBob=] whenever she's not outright hating him.
* LikesOlderMen: Like most girls her age, she fantasizes over men who are at least ten years her senior, if not in the same age range as her.
* LovableAlphaBitch: Some episodes depict her as joining the GirlPosse to fit in and acting rather condescending to the less fortunate. When taking into account the unreasonable amount of neglect she receives at the hands of Mr. Krabs, she still remains sympathetic in that the very hand that feeds and shelters her is too cheap to satisfy her demands despite being rich.
* MissingMom: Her mother has never been revealed in the show. The creators state that they're against revealing her identity and strive to keep it a secret throughout the show's run.
* NakedPeopleAreFunny: "Feral Friends" has her and Mrs. Puff become the first female characters shown naked on the show in the series' history. After everyone returns to normal two hours after being turned into non-anthropomorphic sea creatures by Neptune's Moon, she is shocked to find herself naked in public and runs away in embarrassment while covering herself.
* NoIndoorVoice: All the time, but it's especially emphasized when Mr. Krabs riles her up.
* NonStandardCharacterDesign: She's the only one with monocular vision: eyes on the sides of her head rather than in front.
* NotAllowedToGrowUp: She's been 16-years-old for decades. Funnily enough, episodes like "Goodbye, Krabby Patty?" and "Whirly Brains" make direct references to how many years have passed since the show started out. Pearl is the only character with a definite age, and it's stayed the same throughout all of these episodes, causing some continuity errors.
* OcularGushers: Due to her enormous height, she cries large puddles of tears, even flooding the Krusty Krab with them at one point.
* OddFriendship: In regards to [=SpongeBob=]. While their relationship makes sense given the latter is her father's employee, [=SpongeBob=] has been identified as an adult numerous times [[{{Manchild}} yet has the demeanor]] [[OlderThanTheyLook of a child]], while Pearl is a stereotypical teenage girl.
* OutOfFocus:
** Out of the original main characters, Pearl has been hit the hardest by this. Pearl's most essential roles are mainly OnceASeason, and she doesn't show terribly often compared to other prominent characters. While she still has her own ADayInTheLimelight episodes, she has also been increasingly left out of "group" episodes. Luckily, Season 9 and onward try to subvert this by rendering both [=SpongeBob=] and Mr. Krabs OutOfFocus in her featured episodes.
** In [[https://archive.org/details/sponge-boy-colored-copy-bible/page/n13/mode/2up first pitch bible from 1996]], Pearl was the lead female character, not Sandy or Karen. In the show proper, she appears less than the other female characters.
* ParentalTitleCharacterization: She's an affectionate, but somewhat bratty, DaddysGirl of a teenager. As a result, she still calls her dad "Daddy".
* PhoneaholicTeenager: She is frequently seen talking on her cellphone.
* PinkMeansFeminine: Her standard outfit is a pink and purple dress.
* ProneToTears: She doesn't cry as often as Spongebob, but she does often bawl about things people her age go through due to being a drama queen. Sometimes she even floods the places she's in.
* RibcageStomach: On the occasions a character ends up inside her stomach, she always invariably has one of these, however large or small it needs to be for comedy.
* SmallParentHugeChild: Mr. Krabs's massive teenage whale daughter. It is unknown whether she is adopted or if she is the result of Krabs having an InterspeciesRomance with a whale.
* SpoiledSweet: She's got daddy wrapped around her little fin and is quite used to getting her way, but is almost always cheerful and good-natured.
* TeensLoveShopping: Pearl and her girlfriends like to shop at the mall.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: The Girly BrattyTeenageDaughter to Sandy's karate chopping techno whiz Tomboy.
* TookALevelInJerkass: She becomes more spoiled and rude in later episodes.
* ValleyGirl: Borderline case of a girl who cares more about being stylish than anything else.
* VocalEvolution: In the first three seasons, Pearl's voice sounded different than what it sounds like now.
* YourSizeMayVary: Typically only twice the size of the other characters, above water she can be as big as whales usually are (as shown in "Whale Watching").

[[folder:Gary the Snail]]
!!Garold Wilson Jr.
[[quoteright:255:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spongebob_gary.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:255:''"Meow."'']]
!!!'''English voice:''' Creator/TomKenny (English), Creator/DeeBradleyBaker (English, dream self voice in "Sleepytime"), Creator/KeithDavid (English, translator voice in "Chatterbox Gary")[[labelnote:additional [=VAs=]]]José Manuel Vieira, Fernando Márquez (LA Spanish), Santiago Ziesmer[[note]] while Santiago Ziesmer voices Gary, some of Tom Kenny's lines were kept in some episodes[[/note]] (German)[[/labelnote]]
!!!'''Debut:''' "Help Wanted"

[=SpongeBob=]'s pet snail, who meows like a cat.

* AdvertisedExtra: Despite his prominence in advertising, most of his appearances boil down to minor gags with actual Gary-centric episodes being [[OutOfFocus very rare]].
* AffectionateNickname: He calls [=SpongeBob=] "[=PapaBob=]" in "Chatterbox Gary" when he gets a translator for his meows. [=SpongeBob=] also calls him "Gare Bear" quite often.
* AnimalJingoism: In "Pets or Pests", he develops a mutual hatred for a worm [=SpongeBob=] takes in, since worms in this show are the undersea equivalent of dogs.
* ApatheticPet: DependingOnTheWriter. Certain episodes portray him as not particularly concerned about his owner [=SpongeBob=] and only really being able to enjoy himself when he is away. Subverted in "Gary's New Toy", where Gary initially cares more about his new ball than [=SpongeBob=] and just continues playing with it and watching TV after [=SpongeBob=] says he is going to leave forever, only to want [=SpongeBob=] back when he realizes that [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone his actions drove him away and he really is gone]].
* {{Archnemesis}}:
** Squidward is Gary's least favorite person in Bikini Bottom and feeling is mutual on the former's behalf.
** Since "Shellback Shenanigans", Gary holds an immense grudge against Plankton for stealing his shell once and [[ItsPersonal immediately goes hostile towards the latter, whenever Plankton's present from that day forth.]]
* AscendedExtra: Gary wasn't officially part of the main cast until the show's second season. He was absent from the [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/spongebob/images/9/9a/Season_1_Complete_Model_Pack.png 1999 main cast sheet]] and was added to the [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/spongebob/images/3/3d/SpongeBob_season_2_main_characters_model_sheet.gif updated main cast sheet for season two, from 2000.]]
* BerserkButton:
** Don't you DARE bring a worm into the house; this'll set off his AnimalJingoism prompting him to brawl them into being shooed out.
** Do NOT check his undercarriage. You'll be lucky if he just gives you a warning by hissing at you.
* BigEater: He eats the entire year supply of snail food [=SpongeBob=] left for him in "What Ever Happened to [=SpongeBob=]?" as well as a lot of cookies in "Have You Seen This Snail?"
* ButtMonkey: He's abused mercilessly in a few episodes of the later seasons like "A Pal For Gary", "The Cent of Money" and "Pet Sitter Pat".
* CatsAreMean: Under the show's theory of snails existing as an underwater equivalent for cats. Subverted for the most part, though he has his occasional {{Jerkass}} moments like most of the cast: "Dumped" shows he can be a rather fickle bastard.
* CatsHateWater: Being the equivalent thereof, he's not a fan, even though [[WaterIsAir technically]] he ''lives'' underwater.
* CharacterCatchphrase: "Meow."
* CharacterDevelopment:
** Started off as a gag character whose sole purpose was to exhibit snails as an underwater equivalent to cats. Although his vocabulary is still limited to "meow", he arguably has much more of a personality nowadays than he did in the earlier seasons.
** As seen in the [[https://archive.org/details/sponge-boy-colored-copy-bible/page/n13/mode/2up first pitch bible]], Gary wasn't even included in the character list, or on the drawing of the main cast together; he was only drawn as a small prop in [=SpongeBob's=] room. He has developed into a main character with a personality all his own.
* ConnectedAllAlong: "Rule of Dumb" reveals he and Patrick are ''first cousins''.
* DependingOnTheArtist: What it looks like under his shell depends on the episode. He can either just have a smooth surface so he resembles a slug without his shell on, a large butt (sometimes with underwear), or cartoony organs.
* DoesNotLikeSpam: ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOutOfWater'' reveals that he hates mayonnaise.
* EvilDetectingDog: He has a complete hostility toward Plankton, and can even tell if he's around and attacks him in return. He also does this to Squidward when he witnesses him playing a mean trick on [=SpongeBob=].
* EyeOnAStalk: As to be expected for a snail. Gary's eyestalks have proven quite useful in a few episodes, most notably in "Jellyfish Jam", where he clicks his eyes together and creates a musical beat to distract an angry jellyfish swarm.
* FullNameUltimatum: If [=SpongeBob=] addresses him as "Gary the Snail" or "Gary Wilson Jr.", he means serious business.
* FurryConfusion: Although there are no anthropomorphic snails, some snails can ''talk'', although they remain unable to talk to anthropomorphic characters.
* HateAtFirstSight: Towards Squidward during their introduction together in "I Was A Teenage Gary." The feeling was mutual on Squidward's behalf, since he's allergic to snails and his initial reaction towards the former. Squidward not feeding him over the weekend [[NotHelpingYourCase probably didn't help]]...
* HatesBaths: As seen in "Gary Takes a Bath" and "Pet Sitter Pat", he doesn't like taking baths. This phobia is based on how [[CatsHateWater felines are opposed to water]].
* HypercompetentSidekick: He often seems smarter than his owner.
* IntellectualAnimal: In the episode "Sleepy Time", he is revealed to be quite intelligent through his dream self.
* IntelligibleUnintelligible: [=SpongeBob=] and some of the other characters can understand Gary even though he only meows.
-->'''Mr. Krabs:''' [=SpongeBob=], what's wrong with you?\\
'''Gary:''' Meow!\\
'''Mr. Krabs:''' The Suds?!
* JerkassBall: In "Dumped", where he decides to stay with Patrick (who himself also grasps the Jerkass Ball in this episode) despite [=SpongeBob=] blatantly showing his depression over being separated from him. Subverted however, as he's only interested in the cookie in Patrick's pocket.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Gary comes across as gluttonous and can be occasionally selfish and uninterested in some of the things [=SpongeBob=] wants to do. However, he is a very gentle snail who loves [=SpongeBob=] very dearly.
* KillerRabbit: He's mostly a sweet snail, but he has his dark side; he rebels and leads a revolution with other snails and worms against a pet show in "Grooming Gary" due to [=SpongeBob=] abusing him just to score a win, and admits through a translator that he fantasizes about raining fiery vengeance down on those who've wronged him in "Chatterbox Gary".
* LactatingMale: Implied in "New Digs", where a transition happens and [=SpongeBob=] is suddenly holding a glass of milk, which he calls "a glass of warm snail milk". The trope was originally intended to be played straight, with [=SpongeBob=] actually shown milking Gary, but the scene ultimately didn't make it into the episode because of the dirty implications.
* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler:"Rule of Dumb" reveals him and Patrick to be cousins.]]
* NearlyNormalAnimal: While he mostly functions as an ordinary pet, he does occasionally exhibit some human mannerisms or gestures, such as drinking from a glass, and he seems to think on a sapient level. His meows are intelligible to most who interact with him.
* OddNameOut: His full name has nothing to do with his species, unlike most of the other characters.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: He's never called by his real name, "Garold".
* OnlySaneMan: Despite being a pet, Gary fills the role of the only reasonable and rational person the vast majority of the time. He's also pretty much the only one on Conch Street who actually despises Squidward.
* OutOfFocus: Due to first and foremost being [=SpongeBob's=] pet, his actual role in the series is, to put it lightly, fairly small. While some of the other characters have frequent ADayInTheLimelight episodes, Gary-centric episodes are outright rare. He usually makes a brief cameo or shows up in a small gag at most.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: He's a cute little snail.
* SecretTest: In the episode "Treats!" Gary pesters [=SpongeBob=] to get him a box of discontinued treats, and spends the episode in vain searching for the snacks. When [=SpongeBob=] takes Patrick's advice, and tells Gary "no" they will not keep searching, Gary goes to bed happy to know that [=SpongeBob=] learned to say "no."
* SilentSnarker: Often non-verbally expresses his disdain for his owner's idiocy.
* SnarkyNonHumanSidekick: Despite all of them being sea creatures and all (except for some one-offs, Mermaid Man, and Barnacle Boy). Even if the [[TheUnintelligible audience will never be able to figure out what he's saying,]] [=SpongeBob=]'s retorts to whatever he says show that he is rather snarky.
* SuddenAnatomy: His mouth tends to appear and disappear, he can grow limbs when needed, and the appearance of his body without a shell (as well as the inside of his shell) changes throughout the show.
* TokenGoodTeammate: One of the few characters who is not a {{Jerkass}}, an antagonist, or a moron (although he can be fickle at times).
* UndyingLoyalty:
** If him rescuing [=SpongeBob=] from Puffy Fluffy after the sponge treated him like crap doesn't qualify for how unwilling he is to turn against [=SpongeBob=], ''nothing'' does.
** In "Suds", [=SpongeBob=] curtly dismisses Gary's insistence that he stay home from work. Despite this, Gary seemingly follows [=SpongeBob=] to work just to tell his boss that he's ill.
* WeaponOfXSlaying: While not a weapon, his status as a bottom feeder allows him to easily clean up an infectious fungus which would otherwise make the infected [[BodyHorror disgustingly sick]].

[-'''Main Characters:''' [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsTitularCharacter [=SpongeBob SquarePants=]]] | [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsPatrickStar Patrick Star]] | [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsSquidwardTentacles Squidward Tentacles]] | [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsMrKrabs Mr. Krabs]] | [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsSheldonPlankton Sheldon Plankton]]\\

* [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsPatrickStar Patrick Star]]

[[folder:Sandy Cheeks]]
!!Sandra Jennifer Cheeks
[[quoteright:255:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spongebob_sandy.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:255:''"Don't you dare take the name of Texas in vain!"'']]
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Carolyn Lawrence (English), Presley Williams (English, young, ''Sponge on the Run'')[[labelnote:additional [=VAs=]]]Mercedes Prato (LA Spanish, Season 1), Anabella Silva (LA Spanish, Seasons 2-6), Yaraivi Acevedo (LA Spanish, Seasons 4-5), Lileana Chacón (LA Spanish, Season 6-present), Letícia Quinto (Brazilian Portuguese), Fernanda Bullara (Brazilian Portuguese, ''Pull Up A Barrel''), Melissa Bezerra (Brazilian Portuguese, young, ''Sponge on the Run''), Cathlen Gawlich (German), Pernilla Wahlgren (Swedish, Season 1-middle of season 7), Annelie Bhagavan (Swedish, Rest of season 7-present), Na'ama Uzan, Lital Vidavski (Hebrew, 2003–2006)[[/labelnote]]

!!!'''Debut:''' "Tea at the Treedome"

An athletic, thrill-seeking squirrel from Texas who loves her home state. She works as a scientist and lives in an underwater dome full of air. She usually wears a bubble-helmet diving suit when she is outside of her home.

* RibcageStomach: On the ocassions a character ends up inside her stomach, she always invariably has one of these, however large or small it needs to be for comedy.

* CoolBigSis: Her relationship with [=SpongeBob=] can be rather brotherly-sister in that the former looks up to her and they get into conflicts often but always come out clean.

* InexplicablyTailless: She did not have a tail in season 1 while wearing her suit, but in nowadays, she has a tail.

* LikeBrotherAndSister: While there has been some romantic connotations in their friendship, she and [=SpongeBob=] have a brotherly-sister relationship, enjoying each other's company and performing karate together, albeit not without having their squabbles.
* MadeOfIron: Thanks to SuperStrength, Sandy has survived many fatal accidents and near-death experiences in ways that [[TooDumbToLive SpongeBob]] wouldn't.

** Her friendship with [=SpongeBob=] could qualify, as while both of them like karate, Sandy is far more intelligent and mature than the [[TheDitz dizty]], [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} goofball]] sponge, thus their relationship seems to be more brotherly-sister than genuine.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: The only times she was referred to by her first name were in "Patrick [=SmartPants=]", "Atlantis [=SquarePantis=]", and "Two Thumbs Down".

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: As snarky (and sometimes argumentative and insensitive) as Karen is, specifically towards Plankton, she still loves him nonetheless. But, then again, she doesn't psychically have a heart since she's a computer.

* BigBeautifulWoman: Her size comes with a noted appetite for pasta and cake, but she handily attracts Mr. Krabs, and [=SpongeBob=]'s ''mother'' has to cough loudly to pull her husband's attention off of her.

* OutOfFocus: Due to first and foremost being [=SpongeBob's=] pet, his actual role in the series is, to put it lightly, fairly small. While some of the other characters have frequent ADayInTheLimelight episodes, Gary-centric episodes are outright rare. Even so, he usually makes a brief cameo or shows up in a small gag in most cases.

* MilesGloriosus: In the comic story "Scaredy Snail", she and [=SpongeBob=] hear strange roaring noises coming from a trench. She immediately wants to investigate, mocking [=SpongeBob=] for being afraid. It turns out that ''she'' was scared out of her wits the whole time, banking on [=SpongeBob=] to get cold feet so she wouldn’t have to go into the trench. After [[InelegantBlubbering this tearful confession]], it seems there was no monster after all: it was just Patrick's echoing belches. [[SubvertedTrope But then an actual monster right behind him]]. Sandy, who came across as wanting to see such a creature, runs for her life.

** She is also the Masculine Girl to Squidward's Feminine Boy, as he prefers playing musical instruments, making arts such as paintings and participates in interpretive dancing

* CatchPhrase: "Meow."

* HyperCompetentSideKick: She successfully stole a Krabby Patty the first time she tried alone, with near zero effort (then again, it was against Squidward).

* FlawlessToken: Is a female mammal and the most gifted and least flawed central character by miles, though partly due to excessive {{Flanderization}} of the bipedal, male characters. Admittedly, it is also balanced by frequent NotSoAboveItAll moments. She played it undeniably straight pre-CharacterDevelopment however.

** In "Hot Crossed Nuts", Mr Krabs adds her barbeque nuts to the menu, and coldly dismisses SpongeBob and the Krabby Patties. Upon seeing SpongeBob's heartbroken reaction, and Mr Krabs' callous indifference, she retaliates by resigning and taking her recipe off the menu at the worst possible time.

* BullyingADragon: Combined with BreakTheHaughty. Despite the Bikini Bottomites and [=SpongeBob=]'s constant warnings about how big and monstrous the Alaskan Bull Worm was, Sandy refuses to take them seriously. This bites her in the butt when she finds out that the "worm" she was fighting was actually it's ''tongue.'' Sandy then realized that she was ''seriously'' outclassed and runs for her life.

*** Sandy is cheerful, is willing to befriend most citizens, is skilled in karate and bodybuilding, and is [[PlatonicLifePartners appreciative of [=SpongeBob=]'s company and efforts to make her feel at home]].

*** Sandy is cheerful, is willing to befriend most citizens, is skilled in karate and bodybuilding, and is [[Platonic Life Partners appreciative of [=SpongeBob=]'s company and efforts to make her feel at home]].

*** Sandy is cheerful, is willing to befriend most citizens, is skilled in karate and bodybuilding, and is appreciative of [=SpongeBob=]'s company and efforts to make her feel at home.