Would've put the image where he threatens Mr. Krabs, but decided to put this instead because he just looks ugly asl here lol.
| “ | You will give me what I want, Krabs! Maybe a little time to think will get it through that thick shell of yours! | „ |
| ~ There's lack of subtlety and then there's this. |
Hey, everybody. Back with yet another proposal. I'm trying to speed-run what's left of the remaining SpongeBob candidates, with my candidate today currently being on the NPE-to-PE watchlist. I figured since nobody else seemed to be doing him, I could take on the task of proposing him.
This guy actually used to be a serious PE a couple of years ago, but got removed due to having a couple of detracting comedic moments. But now that Silly PE has existed for some time now, it was deemed he can be re-proposed here. So, without further ado, let's get onto the proposal, shall we?
What's The Work?
SpongeBob Comics is a comic book series that was published by Matt Groening's Bongo Comics and based on - you guessed it - SpongeBob SquarePants. The comics ran for a total of 85 issues from February 2011 to October 2018, ending most likely due to the combination of Bongo Comics' still-unexplained closure and the series' creator, Stephen Hillenburg, passing away from ALS in November that same year.
The specific issues we'll be examine today are Issues #76-77, which make up the two-parter comic "Untidaled". I didn't have the issues myself, so I was left to resort to reading them via these two videos. If you want context, I suggest you watch those two videos.
Anyways, the two-parter follows SpongeBob, Mr. Krabs, Sandy, and Patrick (and also Plankton) as they embark on a journey to restore the water to Bikini Bottom after a sudden drought occurs, while simultaneously having to save Pearl from the drought perpetrator's clutches. Enter our candidate.
Who's The Kraken? What Does He Do?
The one-eyed man that the Kraken encounters is of course Plankton. Hard to guess though.
The Kraken is the main antagonist of "Untidaled".
According to himself, he was once a regular carnival barker who, as he quotes, "provided quality experience for those with niche interests", but he became dissatisfied due to being separated from his fellow ocean dwellers. This all changed for him when one day, a one-eyed man in a trenchcoat (who turns out to have been Plankton in a disguise, except… how does that work? Like just look at the guy. How is that Plankton?). Plankton promised the Kraken treasures beyond his wildest dreams, under the condition he team up with him to lure Pearl in so that Plankton could steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula in a more efficient way. This is because Mr. Krabs would jump into save Pearl if he found out she was captured.
But Plankton never instructed the Kraken anything beyond that, so the Kraken got impatient. Like, really impatient. So what does he do? He grabs a giant jar and makes a machine that drains all the water in Bikini Bottom, and potentially the ocean, which kickstarts the story. SpongeBob and gang at the Krusty Krab prepare patties for a literal bunch of clowns, but they are all swept away by a wind, as the air is beginning to dominate since the water is being drained. They're left with no choice but to go to Sandy's treedome and drop their water there so they can breathe. SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs go with Sandy to figure out why the water is being drained, where they encounter Patrick, who has a bucket of clay on his head for some reason. They find the giant jar and meet the Kraken.
The Kraken reveals that he was the mastermind behind the drain of Bikini Bottom, mocking Mr. Krabs for wanting to save Pearl and going on a motive rant detailing how he'll eat potentially the biggest Krabby Patty ever - with the ingredients being Bikini Bottom citizens. To add salt to the wound, we even see a pile of fish corpses - heavily implied to be that of the citizens - in the background, with SpongeBob having a justified reaction of horror to it. He goes on a motive rant detailing how he'll get his Patty by forcing Mr. Krabs to make him his Patty under threat that Pearl remains captured and the water will be drained forever. Soon after, Mr. Krabs realizes how awful he has been while imprisoned by the Kraken, and SpongeBob convinces him to go back and save Pearl.
Mr. Krabs demands the Kraken release Pearl and everybody else, but the Kraken refuses, insisting on having his Krabby Patty. He goes as far as to place Pearl on a dried area, which causes her to become beached. He declares that he will have TV dinners forever to further taunt the heroes, but then Mr. Krabs asks for him to hear Pearl's singing before he kills them all, to which he does. This backfires on the Kraken as Pearl's singing is so loud (and bad) that it breaks the jar, getting all of the water back and sends the Kraken flying away, presumably into the stars. The Kraken is never seen again after this, and things go back to normal with Pearl singing at the Krusty Krab, to Mr. Krabs' tears of joy.
Mitigating Factors
Yeah none lol. His "tragedy" of being a lonely carnival barker who wanted to escape his separation from ocean dwellers like him is immediately subverted the moment he teams up with Plankton to capture Pearl, and even as he has betrayed Plankton himself as well, he's very likely forgotten all about his tragedy and why he became evil to begin with, with his only concern in the present being to wipe out all citizen life in Bikini Bottom so that he can eat them all with his giant Krabby Patty. Moral agency and personality are no issue either ofc as he's every bit as sentient and aware as any other giant creature in the franchise would, yet still actively chooses to be evil. This makes him similar to the Frogfish Monster from the first movie.
Heinous Standards
Passes them relatively easily, surprisingly enough. I really see no point going into depth about how high the franchise's standards are given I've explained it over in several proposals in the past. Basically, the main villain set the standards while the main heroes indulge in heinous acts every now and then, but not regularly. How does the Kraken specifically stand out? Well, for one, we're shown the lovely sight of multiple rotting fish corpses on a pile, with the heavy implication that he was the one who killed those fish, giving him the type of advantage the aforementioned Frogfish Monster has. He also tried to knowingly kill not only the main heroes, but every other being in Bikini Bottom and possibly the ocean. Compare this to the Cyclops, who only tried to kill SpongeBob and Patrick specifically. And before you ask, yes, he has autonomy separate from Plankton, as Plankton is amongst the people he attempts to kill and even then he went behind his back so that he could finish carrying out their plan on his own terms. Personal villainy also helps as Mr. Krabs is forced to confront his own flaws in order to save Pearl, his daughter, mind you, from the Kraken's clutches. So with all of this in mind, I'd say he's a relatively easy pass.
Is He Silly Enough?
He's a weird mix of a Silly and Serious PE, but in the end, he leans toward the Silly side, given the inherent goofiness of the franchise that translates well into the comics, but you'd be shocked to find that he's one of the more serious SpongeBob PE candidates. In fact, I'd go on a limb and say that he's one of the least comedic villains in the franchise, down there with the Cyclops and the Frogfish Monster. Outside of his defeat and Patrick asking for a recap on who he is, he and his acts of draining all of Bikini Bottom's water, combined with his attempts to wipe out all life in Bikini Bottom, including Pearl, are not played for laughs at all in-universe, regardless of if he's still goofy given he's a SpongeBob villain. So, yeah, he's good here.
Verdict
I mean, I'm fine with saying Yes, but whether or not he actually counts if ofc up to you guys to decide. I may propose the Mawgu after this. Or the Boo-Kini Bottom trio. Or the Alaskan Bull Worm. Idk :)