Encyclopedia SpongeBobia
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Encyclopedia SpongeBobia
Not to be confused with Ol' Bessy.
If you were looking for the article about the trenchbilly, then see Betsy.
You should all be ashamed and if you're going to talk like sailors, you're going to work like sailors.
 
— Betsy Krabs, "Sailor Mouth"
Character

Betsy[1] "Mama"[2] Krabs[3](née Quaterkrab) is the wife of Krabs Senior, the mother of Eugene H. Krabs, and the paternal grandmother of Pearl Krabs and a maternal grandmother of her son's unnamed nephews. She lives in an anchor house like her son, only it is pink.

She was voiced by Paul Tibbitt in her first two appearances and by Sirena Irwin in subsequent appearances starting with "Enemy In-Law."

Description[]

In the same manner, by which most octopuses on the show are modeled after Squidward, Betsy Krabs is very similar to her son in terms of appearance. She has wrinkly light red skin, wears a purple dress and large blue glasses, and has a small patch of fluffy white hair. In "Mid-Life Crustacean," she sported a blue dress.

She has a different appearance in the book Mother Knows Best. She wears a pink dress, lipstick and no glasses, and looks about the same age as her son.

Personality[]

Betsy Krabs is generally shown to be nice and caring, as she loves her son and was nice to SpongeBob and Patrick when meeting them for the first time. In addition, she doesn’t share her son's greedy tendencies.

However, she can get temperamental whenever she is messed with, like when Mr. Krabs raided her dresser and Plankton deceived her in the name of getting the formula. She was also shown in the crowd cheering for SpongeBob and Patrick's violent fate in "Spongicus."

She also treats Mr. Krabs like a child well into his adulthood, as seen when she sends him to his room for stealing her panties.

She’s overbearing and still treats Mr. Krabs slightly like a child.

Biography[]

Betsy Krabs was born to unknown parents with her brother Alan Quaterkrab.

At some point, she married Krabs Senior.

The two had two children, Eugene H. Krabs, who was born on November 30, 1942 and an unnamed daughter, born either before or after Eugene's birth.

At some point, her father-in-law took custody of her son while he was an infant. Though in the events of "Friend or Foe," Eugene is seen living with her again.

Role in series[]

"Sailor Mouth"[]

SpongeBob, Patrick and Mr. Krabs are forced to re-paint her house as punishment for swearing. Since the three have been doing a good job, Betsy rewards the trio with a glass of lemonade, but on the way into her house to get them, she trips over a rock, after which she expresses anger over her pain and censorship sounds are heard that imply that she herself is swearing, although these sound effects are then just revealed to be the honking of Old Man Jenkins' jalopy.

"Mid-Life Crustacean"[]

SpongeBob, Patrick and Mr. Krabs break into a woman's house at night to steal her undergarments as part of the promised "panty raid." The gloves come off the moment that the woman they raided is revealed to be Mr. Krabs' mother, initially unbeknownst to the trio. Betsy catches them in the act as she turns on the light. Disgusted by her son's inappropriate actions, she sends him to his bedroom for the rest of the night and told him to turn off his light.

"Enemy In-Law"[]

Betsy plays her first major role in this episode. Plankton develops a crush on her due to her elderly appearance and schedules a date with her at the Krusty Krab. It then appears as though Plankton uses the fist of one of his robots to break through her house and take her to destroy Bikini Bottom, although this is just revealed to be an arcade game simulation.

They then go on a date, although things get iffy as it’s revealed that Betsy's date is Plankton. Mr. Krabs calls his mother out for dating his arch-nemesis, but Betsy stops him and Plankton pops the question to her. At that moment, when she realized that Plankton was using her to steal the secret formula, Betsy automatically loses her interest in him and turns against him.

"Friend or Foe"[]

She appears in the flashbacks of Mr. Krabs as a kid.

"Spongicus"[]

Betsy appears at the Krusty Krab and later she is seen in the crowd begging for SpongeBob and Patrick to get mauled by the lion fish.

"Lame and Fortune"[]

She appears in a dream sequence attending Mr. Krabs' imaginary funeral.

"Momageddon"[]

On Bring Your Mom to Work Day, SpongeBob invites Betsy, along with the other moms of the Krusty Krew, to the Krusty Krab. Betsy criticizes Mr. Krabs' business, suggesting he could be cheaper to make more money. Betsy and the moms decide to take over their sons' jobs and sent all three of them to the "shame corner." The Krusty Krab then operates as Mama Krabs Home-style Cooking under Betsy's leadership. Betsy leads Bubble Bass and his mom to their seats and takes their order. While SpongeBob, Squidward and Mr. Krabs are lazing around in the basement, Betsy and the moms serve their sons if they request food or drink.

Trivia[]

  • She hadn’t made a speaking appearance in over a decade since "Spongicus." It took until "Momageddon" for her to finally have another speaking role.
  • Mama Krabs has a laugh strikingly similar to Popeye.
  • In the episodes "Sailor Mouth" and "Mid-Life Crustacean," Betsy's voice sounds like an elderly woman version of Mr. Krabs while played by Tibbitt, while in the episodes "Enemy In-Law," "Spongicus" and "Friend or Foe," she has a younger Irish voice while portrayed by Irwin.
Enemy In-Law 188
  • It’s shown in the episode "Enemy In-Law" that she has large muscles after she learns that Plankton tricked her to get the Krabby Patty secret formula.
  • In the Croatian dub, her name is never revealed.
  • In SpongeBob Comics No. 63, a topiary reveals that Betsy Krabs helped Mr. Krabs to raise Pearl.
  • Unlike her son, granddaughter and father-in-law, she doesn’t seem to have much desire for money, rather innocently asking her son only to be turned down.
    • However, in the episode "Momageddon," it becomes evident that she has an interest in money as she criticizes Mr. Krabs, suggesting that he could make more profit if he was cheaper.
  • In the storyboard version of the episode "Clams" featured on the SpongeGuard on Duty DVD, after Mr. Krabs gets his 1,000,000th dollar at the Krusty Krab, he uses the restaurant's phone to call Betsy Krabs and her husband at the Bikini Bottom Graveyard to tell them about it. The reason this scene was cut from the final episode is unknown.


References[]

  1. ^ Q&A section of the official SpongeBob SquarePants website for New Zealand
  2. ^ "Sailor Mouth." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. September 21, 2001. Television.
  3. ^ Mother of Eugene H. Krabs and his unnamed sister
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