10 Best ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ Villains, Ranked

Especially for a cartoon series that has gone on for as long as SpongeBob SquarePants, there are bound to be a multitude and wide variety of interesting and engaging villains over the years. Whether they are long-lasting villains who have been with the series since the beginning or iconic one-offs who steal the show for a single episode, SpongeBob is home to an amazing cavalry of villainous foes.

Few long-running animated series can claim that they have as effective and engaging catalog of villains as SpongeBob, as the show continues strong over 20 years after its debut. The main cast of characters is great in their own right, but it’s these exhilarating and exciting villains that always manage to pop out of the screen and leave a lasting impact on the audience.

10 Flats the Flounder

First Appearance: Season 3, Episode 3

Voiced by Thomas F. Wilson, Flats the Flounder is a one-off villain from the season 3 episode, The Bully, in which he is introduced as a new student at Mrs. Puff’s Boating School. He soon establishes his desire to kick SpongeBob’s butt, leaving him in a constant state of anxious fear at the prospect of being the victim of Flats’s bullying. The episode sees SpongeBob going around Bikini Bottom and doing everything that he can to avoid getting his butt kicked, before eventually succumbing and facing Flats head-on.

For a character that has only had one major appearance, Flats made a massive impact and impression upon fans of the show, cementing himself as an iconic villain of the Golden Age era of the show. It further helps his case that The Bully is chock-full of iconic moments from the show’s history, both moments that do and don’t directly involve Flats and his feud with SpongeBob. The character also works as an unexpectedly perfect guest star, as his voice actor Thomas F. Wilson is most commonly known for his role as another iconic bully, Biff Tannen from Back to the Future.

9 Kevin C. Cucumber

First Appearance: Season 2, Episode 10

Voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, Kevin C. Cucumber is the leader of the iconic jellyfishing fraternity known as the Jellyspotters, and is the primary antagonist of the Season 2 episode I’m Your Biggest Fanatic. After meeting Kevin at a jellyfishing convention, SpongeBob expresses his desire to join the Jellyspotters, which begins an elongated practical joke where Kevin and the rest of the Jellyspotters put SpongeBob through numerous impossible feats.

Kevin is a villain who shines massively because of the execution of what would seemingly be just a simple dismissive celebrity bully character. From his amazing vocal performance from Dee Bradley Baker to his hilarious design that parallels the cucumber vegetable, the entire episode gives Kevin a lot of moments to shine comedically. While the character was originally just a one-off during the golden age, he has proved to be popular enough with fans to find himself returning in the occasional episode, most notably in the Season 13 episode Patrick the Mailman.

8 Bubble Bass

First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 6

Also voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, Bubble Bass is a notorious overweight bass character who is most known for his belittling and bullying of the residents of Bikini Bottom with his large stature. He is most commonly known for his iconic Season 1 episode Pickles, in which he gives SpongeBob a hard time about not putting pickles on his Krabby Patty, which forces SpongeBob to leave in shame. After taking a break from having any major roles in episodes, the character has bounced back in reason seasons to become a mainstay and part of the regular cast.

While Bubble Bass has returned in glorious fashion in modern episodes, he isn’t nearly the villain that he was shown to be in Pickles, which made him so iconic and recognizable to begin with. Even with the characters’ more comedic and self-loathing turn in recent seasons, it’s hard to deny just how much screen presence and magic was present in his first appearance in Pickles, immediately making him an iconic villain.

7 DoodleBob

First Appearance: Season 2, Episode 14

Voiced by Paul Tibbitt, DoodleBob is a magical drawing of SpongeBob brought to life thanks to a magical pencil, most commonly recognized as the villain of the Season 2 episode Frankendoodle, one of the best episodes of the Golden Era. It doesn’t take long before DoodleBob turns upon his creators and begins attacking SpongeBob and Patrick after stealing their magical pencil, using a variety of drawn objects to create on a moment’s whim.

Even in just his debut episode, DoodleBob establishes himself as one of the most creative and formidable villains in the show’s history, going beyond simply being an annoyance and actually harming SpongeBob and Patrick. His mumbling voice and sketchy design also make him an iconic and memorable villain, acting as one of the best one-off villains of the show’s history. The character was so beloved that he managed to get another chance at taking down SpongeBob and Patrick 16 years later in the Season 11 episode Doodle Dimension, where his powers are even further explored.

6 Karen

First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 3

Voiced by Jill Talley, Karen is one of the most recurring villains in the series, as the computer wife of series main antagonist Plankton. She usually acts as the brains of Plankton’s operations and plans, as she has limitless vasts of knowledge thanks to her computer intellect, and has evolved greatly over the course of the show’s history. While initially being simply a monitor on a wall, she has grown to be more and more prevalent and core not just to Plankton and his schemes, but to the entire show as a whole.

While Karen was certainly a great character in the early episodes of the show, she truly came into her own after a collection of episodes that focused on her interactions with Plankton. Episodes like Plankton’s Army and Single Cell Anniversary especially help further establish the core connection between Plankton and Karen. She doesn’t get nearly as many great villainous moments as Plankton, but as an integral part of Plankton’s schemes and character as a whole, she secures herself a spot as one of the most iconic villains in all of Bikini Bottom.

5 Dennis

First Appearance: Season 13, Episode 10

Voiced by Alec Baldwin, Dennis is a one-off villain featured in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, as a deadly hitman hired by Plankton to stop SpongeBob and Patrick from reaching Shell City. He’s defined by his cutthroat and bloodthirsty demeanor, brutally taking down anyone and everyone in his path as he scours through the ocean on his trusty biker motorcycle.

Dennis is the perfect type of intimidating threat that works so well as an original character for the big screen, even further amplified by his effective vocal performance from Baldwin. Especially in a world and setting so well known for its bright, cheery, and comedic atmosphere, it works wonders to have a character who is the exact opposite, being hardened and defined by anger and wrath. This allows for even him to have a number of great comedic moments throughout the film, leading up to his inevitable confrontation with SpongeBob and Patrick.

4 The Flying Dutchman

First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 13

Voiced by Brian Doyle-Murray, The Flying Dutchman is a ghastly and deadly apparition that haunts and terrorizes all of Bikini Bottom with his collection of scares and mischievous schemes. The character is easily the scariest and most deadly of the entire villain lineup, acting as a great transition piece for the series’s more horrific moments. SpongeBob and his friends find themselves at the mercy of the Dutchman and his dastardly ways numerous times throughout the series, most notably in episodes like Shanghaied, Scaredy Pants, and Born Again Krabs.

The Flying Dutchman is easily one of the most iconic and long-standing villains in the entire series, having a multitude of great appearances from the very first season up until the latest seasons and spin-off shows. Despite his highly deadly and dangerous appearance, what makes the villain so great is his adaptability, being able to change from a formidable foe to an annoyed ghostly acquaintance depending on the episode. Even in his appearances that aren’t directly villainous, the character is simply so memorable and fun to watch on screen that it works, as he always carries an aura of villainy and danger with him

3 Man Ray and The Dirty Bubble

First Appearance: Season 3, Episode 12

Man Ray and The Dirty Bubble are both archenemies of the iconic superhero duo of Bikini Bottom, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, and have battled against the duo for decades. While Man Ray and The Dirty Bubble have both had their own collection of great moments across the series in numerous Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episodes, they are at their best when they team up with one another. The episode Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V shows the villainous duo in glorious fashion, as they perfectly work off of one another throughout the episode.

Even after Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy have been retired from the show, Man Ray and The Dirty Bubble continue to make appearances, proving their iconic stature and not being defined by their archenemies. The duo are easily some of the most iconic and most recognizable villains in the show’s history, having countless iconic moments between the two, and even succeeding in their evil plots more often than not.

2 Squilliam Fancyson

First Appearance: Season 2, Episode 15

Voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, Squilliam Fancyson is the former classmate of Squidward and lifelong arch-rival, having constantly succeeded and finding riches where Squidward has not. Despite having an appearance that is nearly identical to Squidward’s, Squilliam has a distinctly different luxurious lifestyle and high-class prejudice against Squidward and his failed efforts at success. Squilliam also finds himself to be the antagonist of a number of episodes, including one of the best episodes of the series, Band Geeks.

While many of the antagonists throughout the series have only acted as simple antagonists to SpongeBob, Squilliam is the rare and highly original recurring antagonist of another major character, Squidward. This shift in focus allows for much more creative and varied stories to be told from Squidward’s perspective, with Squilliam as the primary antagonist in Squidward’s own engaging adventures. The character hasn’t had a major role in the series since season 7, which is a shame as he’s one of the most unique and iconic villains that the series has ever seen.

1 Plankton

First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 3

Voiced by Mr. Lawrence, Plankton is the primary antagonist of both the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise, being a minuscule organism who runs the Krusty Krab’s rival restaurant, The Chum Bucket. Fueled by his drive to steal Mr. Krabs’s secret Krabby patty formula, Plankton is constantly concocting schemes and plans to steal the formula and take over the world. Plankton has been the star and primary character of a number of iconic episodes, including Plankton!, F.U.N, The Algae’s Always Greener, and Plankton’s Army.

More than simply the most iconic and most recognizable villain of the franchise, Plankton’s outstanding screen presence and countless amazing moments make him one of, if not the best character in the entire show. There is simply no shortage of iconic and unforgettable moments that can be traced back to Plankton, with his evil schemes and dastardly ways making him a constant comedic highlight. It’s simply hard to imagine what kind of show SpongeBob SquarePants would be without Plankton, as he is arguably as synonymous with the show as SpongeBob himself.

Watch on Paramount+

NEXT: 10 Jokes From Classic ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ That Deserve More Love