King Neptune

“	Why it tastes so good, I think I'd like to try it a second time!	”
	— King Neptune after trying SpongeBob’s Krabby Patty, "Neptune's Spatula"

Character

Gallery

Appearances

King Neptune XIV
General information
Residence:	His castle, just outside of Bikini Bottom, in the Pacific Ocean
Occupation(s):	King, cook
Physical appearance
Gender:	Male
Color:	Teal (Normal) Green (Movie) Black (Party Pooper Pants)
Eye color:	Black
Classification:	God/Mermaid
Family
Spouse:	Queen Amphitrite (wife)
Siblings:	Unnamed sister
Children:	Princess Mindy (daughter) Triton (son)
Parents:	Unnamed mother
Nieces:	Jody (niece)
Ancestors:	King Neptune XIV's family
Connections
Employer:	SpongeBob SquarePants ("Neptune's Spatula")
Series information
First appearance:	"Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy" (mentioned) "Neptune's Spatula" (physically)
Latest appearance:	"The Patrick Show Cashes In"
Portrayer:	John O'Hurley (most episodes/BFBB/Rehydrated/The Cosmic Shake) Sergio Ristie (live-action; physically) Kevin Michael Richardson (live-action; voice) Jeffrey Tambor (movie/console game) Brad Abrell (PC game) Paul Tibbitt ("SpongeBob vs. The Patty Gadget")

King Neptune is a recurring character on SpongeBob SquarePants. He and his wife, Queen Amphitrite, are the supreme rulers of the ocean. King Neptune's name is often used in place of God's, with phrases such as "Dear Neptune," "Thank Neptune," "Neptune's preserver!," and "Oh my Neptune."

King Neptune is frequently mentioned by name, but his physical appearances are more sporadic. He first appears in person in "Neptune's Spatula," and he plays important roles in "The Clash of Triton," "Trident Trouble," and "High Sea Diving."

In The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Neptune appears with a different design from the TV series. The movie introduces his daughter, Princess Mindy.

Personality

King Neptune is a regal king who has a strong opinion of his rank as a deity and is known for using his powers to bully mortals and punish them for talking back to him. He often judges people for their sizes and thinks a person with a grand physical appearance is worthy of him.

History

King Neptune was born thousands of years ago, and when his father died he became the Roman god of the sea and later had two kids, Triton and Princess Mindy. He has an unnamed sister that has a daughter, Jody which that’s his niece. Both of his kids were far more compassionate toward mortals than Neptune himself, driving a wedge between the family. 

King Neptune first appears in the Season 1 episode "Neptune's Spatula," where he spawns after SpongeBob pulls the golden spatula from the ancient grease, making him Neptune's royal fry cook. However, Neptune refuses to accept such a lowly creature like SpongeBob as the chosen one and challenges him to a cook-off where, if the latter wins, he will become a god in Atlantis, but if he loses, he must give up fry cooking forever. The challenge is held at the "Poseidome," where the first one to make 1,000 patties wins. Using his godlike powers, Neptune wins the challenge just as SpongeBob finishes his first patty. To celebrate his victory, he gives the patties to the audience, who hate it. Neptune then tastes SpongeBob's patty and loves it. He declares SpongeBob the winner and makes him a god. However, when SpongeBob learns that his friends can't join him in Atlantis, he does not want to go and instead, makes Neptune his "trainee" at the Krusty Krab. In the show, Neptune is green and has fairly realistic human features, has hair, a mustache, a beard, thick fingers, is very muscular, and has a different crown. This version of Neptune also appears in Battle for Bikini Bottom and Battle for Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated, where he summons SpongeBob and Patrick to the Poseidome to defeat a robot version of Sandy.

In the live-action Patchy the Pirate segment of "Party Pooper Pants," a live-action version of Neptune is at Patchy's party.

Neptune plays a central part in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. The movie also introduces Neptune's daughter, Princess Mindy. In the movie, Neptune is bald, has brighter green-skin, has a larger nose, and a different beard. He is also explicitly portrayed as a king rather than a god and lives in some sort of sandcastle just outside of Bikini Bottom. This version of Neptune is very brutish and tyrannical, which he tells his daughter is necessary for him to be a respected ruler. Neptune is shown to be prone to anger when someone does something (such as messing with his crown) that makes him really angry, and makes his citizens suffer constant harsh and unfair punishments (including sending his servant 20 years in the dungeon for touching his crown, even though it's his job to polish the crown). His crown is very important to him, not only because it is a symbol of his power, but because it covers his "thinning" (bald) head. When the crown is stolen by Plankton, Neptune attempts to fry Mr. Krabs as punishment, who is framed for the crime with the only evidence being an obviously fake note saying he did it and a phone call by Plankton saying he took it to Shell City. While in the meantime he wears a brown paper bag on his head to cover his bald spot. When SpongeBob refuses to let him kill his boss, he threatens to fry him along with his boss until Mindy arrived and convinced her father to let him go to Shell City and get his crown back, leading to Neptune to order SpongeBob to return with the crown in 6 days (which was originally 10 until Patrick argued it down to 6) and freezes Mr. Krabs, as he will keep him that way unless he kill him when the champion doesn't return with his crown in six days. He spends the rest of the movie dealing with his bald spot (as shown through Mindy's magical clam) while Bikini Bottom has been taken over by Plankton. When SpongeBob and Patrick manage to get back with the crown, Plankton drops one of his mind-control helmets of Neptune and takes control of him as well. After SpongeBob frees everyone and Plankton is exposed as the real thief and arrested for his crimes, Neptune realizes the error of his ways at the end of the movie when he nearly fries Mr. Krabs before SpongeBob and Patrick arrived with his crown before he does so. Happily reunited with his crown and praising SpongeBob for his heroic deed, he finally takes Mindy's advice of being a loving and compassionate ruler and apologizes to Mr. Krabs for falsely freezing him.

In "SpongeHenge," Incidental 45 denies Neptune's existence when an anchovy tells her that Neptune must be mad, saying "Everyone knows Poseidon is the ruler of the undersea."

Neptune appears briefly in "SpongeBob vs. The Patty Gadget," where he was sleeping until being awoken by the explosion of the Patty Gadget.

A picture of King Neptune, as seen in "Neptune's Spatula," is shown in "Krusty Towers." Squidward refers to this Neptune as "Neptune XIV." 

In "The Clash of Triton," the version of King Neptune from "Neptune's Spatula" appears with John O' Hurley voicing him once more. It's his birthday and he's spending it at the Krusty Krab, but he can't enjoy himself because he misses his son, Triton too much. He imprisoned his son for thousands of years because he was more interested in mortals and benefiting them than using his powers. To cheer Neptune up, SpongeBob and Patrick go to the prison where Neptune trapped Triton years ago. The boy's free Triton and Triton begins to take his revenge on Neptune by trapping him in the same cage and wreaking havoc on Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob saves Neptune and the king goes to confront his son on his actions. However, when Neptune sees that Triton used his powers at long last, he accepts Triton for who he is, and the two return home, now closer than ever. 

He also makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in "Hello Bikini Bottom!" during the song "High Tide Time."

"Trident Trouble" marks King Neptune's first speaking appearance since "The Clash of Triton." SpongeBob accidentally gets ahold of his trident and Neptune gets SpongeBob's spatula, causing trouble. Eventually, Neptune realizes the mixup and is defeated by a monster. Neptune appears in the city and points out the error to SpongeBob before getting the trident back. After Neptune fixes damage to the town, they team up to defeat the monster and her child with a monster patty.

Neptune appears in "High Sea Diving." At the end of the episode, he appears in Bikini Bottom and is angry at Old Man Jenkins for tricking the town with his made-up stories and impersonating him. As punishment, Neptune then zaps the deluded and now scared old man with his trident.

Video games

King Neptune and Queen Amphitrite's sprites from Bikini Bottom Chess.

• Employee of the Month - An amusement park called Neptune's Paradise is a destination for SpongeBob and Patrick.
• Battle for Bikini Bottom/Battle for Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated - King Neptune invites SpongeBob and Patrick to the Poseidome to face off against a giant Robo-Sandy which they manage to defeat. Additionally in Rehydrated, a photo of King Neptune, alongside Triton and Queen Amphitrite, is visible on a television set inside of the Shady Shoals Rest Home.
• The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (video game) - King Neptune's role is the same as in the Movie: his crown goes missing and he accuses Mr. Krabs of taking it. He later sends SpongeBob and Patrick to find it, allowing Plankton to take Bikini Bottom for himself. His crown is returned and he frees Mr. Krabs. Under the control of Plankton, he is the final boss of the game.
• SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis - King Neptune makes a cameo in a painting in the Bikini Bottom Museum as an object SpongeBob must photograph. The painting is also unlockable in the gift shop with The Sirens added in it.
• SpongeBob and the Clash of Triton - Triton, King Neptune's son, captures King Neptune on his birthday at the Krusty Krab. After his and Queen Amphitrite's tridents fall near SpongeBob and Patrick they gain powers and defeat Triton's underlings. They defeat Triton, restore Bikini Bottom to its former glory, and reunite Triton with his proud father.
• Bikini Bottom Chess (online Nick.com game) - He is the king of SpongeBob's "good" side, while Amphitrite is the queen.
• Plankton's Robotic Revenge - The gizmo called Neptuning Fork is named after King Neptune.
• The Cosmic Shake - He appears in the game's final cutscene where he is trapped by Madame Kassandra using jelly before SpongeBob and Patrick free him. He also makes a small cameo in Karate Downtown Bikini Bottom.

Trivia

Neptune's crown in "Lost and Found."

Neptune's crown in "Insecurity Guards."

Concept art from an earlier version of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run with King Neptune on his throne, watching his minions encircling SpongeBob and Sandy.

• King Neptune's redesign in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie was due to a firewall between Nickelodeon and Paramount content at the time. This resulted in other elements created for the first movie not being allowed to be used in the series from 2005 to 2014.
  • After the firewall was lifted, King Neptune's crown from the 2004 movie made appearances in the episodes "Lost and Found" and "Insecurity Guards."
  • The designs are also poked fun at in the 20th anniversary character poster.
• Neptune usually has five fingers on each hand, although in some long shots, he has four like most other characters.
• In "Party Pooper Pants," he is portrayed physically by Sergio Ristie and voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.
• King Neptune was originally supposed to appear in a scrapped storyline of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run. He would have captured Gary in order to clone him. He also would have had a different design in this version.