Appearances
Plankton was first created by Stephen Hillenburg as a potential villain for the show. However, he later feared that Plankton's stories would get repetitive and predictable. During the production of season one, Hillenburg demoted Plankton from a main character to a minor one; he insisted that Plankton would work better as a one-time guest star.
However, Doug Lawrence loved the character. He summarized Plankton's origins in 2015, saying that he "was only supposed to be in one or two episodes, but I was a writer on the show and I really liked this character."[1] Lawrence wrote episode ideas for Plankton and passed them to Hillenburg.[1] From then on, Plankton began to appear more often. Lawrence's most notable contribution was giving a personality to Plankton's "waterproof computer” wife, named Karen after Stephen Hillenburg's wife. He decided that Plankton and Karen should be an inseparable duo, with Karen as the brains of the operation, always supplying Plankton with evil plans.
Since Plankton's "reinvention" by Lawrence, he and Karen have appeared in many episodes. They were both officially promoted to main characters in the credits of the 2004 film and have been part of the main cast ever since. Plankton has also appeared in various video games.
Episodes
| Image | # | Episode | Role in episode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | |||
|
"Plankton!" (tr • ga) | Major; He takes control of SpongeBob's brain to attempt to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"Culture Shock" (tr • ga) | Minor; He does at magic act at a talent show at the Krusty Krab, attempting to steal a Krabby Patty. | |
|
"F.U.N." (tr • ga) | Major; He acts like he is lonely to get close to SpongeBob, so he could eventually steal a Krabby Patty. | |
|
"Sleepy Time" (tr • ga) | Supporting; He wakes up from a dream where SpongeBob came in and stopped him from terrorizing Bkini Bottom. | |
|
"Valentine's Day" (tr • ga) | Non-speaking cameo; He is given a tiny heart. | |
|
"Walking Small" (tr • ga) | Major; He trains SpongeBob to become assertive so he can build his Mega Bucket. | |
| Season 2 | |||
|
"Imitation Krabs" (tr • ga) | Major; He disguises himself as a robot version of Mr. Krabs. | |
|
"Life of Crime" (tr • ga) | Mentioned; SpongeBob mentions Mr. Krabs "borrowing" his lawnmower | |
|
"Christmas Who?" (tr • ga) | Cameo; Mr. Krabs gives him a fruit cake. | |
|
"Welcome to the Chum Bucket" (tr • ga) | Major; He forces SpongeBob to work at the Chum Bucket after winning a bet with Mr. Krabs. | |
|
"Band Geeks" (tr • ga) | Supporting; He is part of Squidward's band. | |
|
"The Fry Cook Games" (tr • ga) | Major; He coaches Patrick who competes against SpongeBob in the Fry Cook Games. | |
| Season 3 | |||
|
"The Algae's Always Greener" (tr • ga) | Major; He switches lives with Mr. Krabs. | |
|
"Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy IV" (tr • ga) | Cameo; He returns to Bikini Bottom and sees that everyone is much smaller than him. | |
|
"Snowball Effect" (tr • ga) | Cameo; He is covered by snow. | |
|
"Krusty Krab Training Video" (tr • ga) | Supporting; He is stealing a Krabby Patty during one of the training exercises. | |
|
"Party Pooper Pants" (tr • ga) | Supporting; He is at SpongeBob's party. | |
|
"Plankton's Army" (tr • ga) | Major; He enlists his relatives to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"The Sponge Who Could Fly" (tr • ga) | Minor; He is saved by SpongeBob, and later asks him to help him spread the word of evil. | |
|
"SpongeBob Meets the Strangler" (tr • ga) | Cameo; seen at SpongeBob's 100% on-time average surprise and birthday party. | |
| Season 4 | |||
|
"Fear of a Krabby Patty" (tr • ga) | Major; He plots to get the Krabby Patty Secret Formula from an exhausted SpongeBob. | |
|
"Krabs vs. Plankton" (tr • ga) | Major; He sues Mr. Krabs in a plot to run him out of business. | |
|
"Dunces and Dragons" (tr • ga) | Major, medieval ancestor appears instead | |
|
"Enemy In-Law" (tr • ga) | Major; He falls in love with Mr. Krabs' mother. | |
|
"Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy VI: The Motion Picture" (tr • ga) | Minor; He is part of the crew of SpongeBob and Patrick's Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy movie. | |
|
"Patrick SmartPants" (tr • ga) | Cameo; studied by Patrick who became smart after falling off a cliff. | |
|
"Wishing You Well" (tr • ga) | Supporting; He throws a coin into the wishing well and makes a wish, which ends up coming true. | |
|
"New Leaf" (tr • ga) | Major; He turns the Chum Bucket into a gift shop. | |
|
"Best Frenemies" (tr • ga) | Major; Plankton and Mr. Krabs team up to try and steal the Kelp Shake recipe. | |
| Season 5 | |||
|
"Friend or Foe" (tr • ga) | Major; The story of his and Mr. Krabs' past and their rivalry is told. | |
|
"Spy Buddies" (tr • ga) | Major; Mr. Krabs hires SpongeBob and Patrick to spy on him. | |
|
"Krabs à la Mode" (tr • ga) | Major; He freezes the Krusty Krab by turning down the thermostat, which ends up going the opposite of what he intended. | |
|
"Bucket Sweet Bucket" (tr • ga) | Major; He gets SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward to fix up the Chum Bucket. | |
|
"Goo Goo Gas" (tr • ga) | Major; He creates a gas that turns adults into babies. | |
|
"Atlantis SquarePantis" (tr • ga) | Major; He journies to Atlantis with the gang. | |
|
"Mermaid Man vs. SpongeBob" (tr • ga) | Major; He takes control of the minds of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy by using Professor Plankton's Mind Control Shampoo. | |
|
"20,000 Patties Under the Sea" (tr • ga) | Major; He tries to go around Bikini Bottom and sell Chum. | |
|
"Banned in Bikini Bottom" (tr • ga) | Major; He turns Mr. Krabs into the police. | |
|
"Stanley S. SquarePants" (tr • ga) | Minor; Stanley is hired by him at the Chum Bucket and it gets destroyed. | |
| Season 6 | |||
|
"Krabby Road" (tr • ga) | Major; He starts a Band with SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward in an attempt to figure out the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"Spongicus" (tr • ga) | Major; He builds a coliseum and holds a gladiator show. | |
|
"Patty Caper" (tr • ga) | Minor; He is interrogated by SpongeBob and Patrick about stealing the Krabby Patty Secret Ingredient. | |
|
"Plankton's Regular" (tr • ga) | Major; He gets a customer that visits the Chum Bucket on a daily basis. | |
|
"The Krabby Kronicle" (tr • ga) | Minor; He is mad that the Chum Bucket shut down due to a newspaper article published by SpongeBob. | |
|
"Komputer Overload" (tr • ga) | Major; He tries to replace Karen with new computer inventions. | |
|
"Chum Bucket Supreme" (tr • ga) | Major; He hires Patrick as the advertising director of the Chum Bucket. | |
|
"Single Cell Anniversary" (tr • ga) | Major; SpongeBob helps him with an anniversary gift for Karen. | |
|
"Truth or Square" (tr • ga) | Major; He attempts to sneak in the Krusty Krab and steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula amid the distractions of the eleventy-seventh anniversary celebrations. | |
|
"Chum Caverns" (tr • ga) | Major; After falling into an underground cave, he opens a new restaurant there. | |
| Season 7 | |||
|
"Tentacle-Vision" (tr • ga) | Minor; He crashes Squidward's TV show, causes some destruction, and advertises the Chum Bucket. | |
|
"Someone's in the Kitchen with Sandy" (tr • ga) | Major; He steals Sandy's fur, disguises as her, and tries to get the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"The Inside Job" (tr • ga) | Major; He explores SpongeBob's brain and tries to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"Greasy Buffoons" (tr • ga) | Major; He serves greasy foods at the Chum Bucket. | |
|
"SpongeBob's Last Stand" (tr • ga) | Major; He tries to run the Krusty Krab out of business by having a highway built over it. | |
|
"One Coarse Meal" (tr • ga) | Major; Mr. Krabs has Pearl scare him, since he is severely afraud of whales. | |
|
"The Play's the Thing" (tr • ga) | Non-speaking cameo; He is thrown among many other objects at SpongeBob and Squidward. | |
|
"Rodeo Daze" (tr • ga) | Supporting; He carries dynamite to the Krusty Krab, which goes off before he is able to get inside. | |
|
"Gramma's Secret Recipe" (tr • ga) | Major; He pretends to be SpongeBob's great grandmother in an attempt to figure out the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"Welcome to the Bikini Bottom Triangle" (tr • ga) | Minor; He is trapped in a jar after trying to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"The Main Drain" (tr • ga) | Supporting; Him and Mr. Krabs try to discourage SpongeBob and Patrick from pulling the plug of the main drain. | |
|
"The Great Patty Caper" (tr • ga) | Major; He steals the key to the safe deposit box where the Krabby Patty Secret Formula is being held. | |
|
"That Sinking Feeling" (tr • ga) | Cameo; He gets excited that the Chum Bucket is the only restaurant still standing, but it ends up going underground as well. | |
|
"Buried in Time" (tr • ga) | Supporting; He tries to get to the time capsule where a copy of the Krabby Patty Secret Formula is being held. | |
|
"Shellback Shenanigans" (tr • ga) | Major; He impersonates Gary. | |
|
"Perfect Chemistry" (tr • ga) | Major; Him and Sandy converse about their inventions, he tries to use as a way to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
| Season 8 | |||
|
"The Other Patty" (tr • ga) | Major; He teams up with Mr. Krabs to try and steal the Flabby Patty secret recipe. | |
|
"Drive Thru" (tr • ga) | Minor; He tries to order a Krabby Patty from the drive thru at the Krusty Krab. | |
|
"Frozen Face-Off" (tr • ga) | Major; He orchestrates a sled race as a distraction so he could get into the Krusty Krab with no one there so he could steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"Squidward's School for Grown-Ups" (tr • ga) | Cameo; annoyed by SpongeBob and Patrick game. | |
|
"Sweet and Sour Squid" (tr • ga) | Major; He tries to become friends with Squidward in an attempt to learn the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"A SquarePants Family Vacation" (tr • ga) | Cameo; He is at SpongeBob's home watching him present his vacation slides. | |
|
"Walking the Plankton" (tr • ga) | Major; He tries to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula from Mr. Krabs by going on the same cruise as him. | |
|
"Plankton's Good Eye" (tr • ga) | Major; He gets a second eye, which drastically changes his personality. | |
|
"The Krabby Patty That Ate Bikini Bottom" (tr • ga) | Minor; He worships the giant Krabby Patty that is running rampant through Bikini Bottom, before being swallowed by it. | |
|
"Fiasco!" (tr • ga) | Major; He swipes a plate of Krabby Patty and condiment remains, not knowing that it is a priceless piece of art. | |
|
"Free Samples" (tr • ga) | Major; He sold Chum burgers and pretended that they were Krabby Patties, which ruined the public image of the Krusty Krab. | |
|
"Karen 2.0" (tr • ga) | Major; He replaces Karen with an upgraded Karen 2.0, which ultimately fails in the end. | |
|
"For Here or to Go" (tr • ga) | Major; He wins a free Krabby Patty from a contest, which Mr. Krabs is determined to not let him have. | |
|
"It's a SpongeBob Christmas!" (tr • ga) | Major; He gives his Jerktonium filled fruitcake to SpongeBob, who feeds it to everyone in Bikini Bottom, turning them into jerks. | |
|
"Super Evil Aquatic Villain Team Up is Go!" (tr • ga) | Major; He joins forces with Man Ray. | |
|
"Chum Fricassee" (tr • ga) | Major; He gets Squidward to work at the Chum Bucket where he share's his grandmother's special recipe. | |
|
"The Good Krabby Name" (tr • ga) | Cameo; SpongeBob's Patty suit falls on him. | |
|
"Move It or Lose It" (tr • ga) | Major; Him and Mr. Krabs try to get people to sign their petitions to determine which of their restaurants is to be bulldozed. | |
|
"Hello Bikini Bottom!" (tr • ga) | Cameo; He tries to buy the Krusty Krab from a pawn shop. | |
| Season 9 | |||
|
"Squirrel Record" (tr • ga) | Minor; Sandy and SpongeBob get raw Chum from him. | |
|
"Eek, an Urchin!" (tr • ga) | Major; SpongeBob enlists his help in an effort to try and catch a sea urchin. | |
|
"Jailbreak!" (tr • ga) | Major; When he is imprisoned, he joins forces with his cellmates to break out of jail and steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"Evil Spatula" (tr • ga) | Major; He gives SpongeBob a spatula that secretly spied on him in an attempt to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"It Came from Goo Lagoon" (tr • ga) | Major; He tries to harness the power of a giant purple goo bubble in an attempt to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"Plankton's Pet" (tr • ga) | Major; He gets a pet amoeba named Spot. | |
|
"Company Picnic" (tr • ga) | Major; He hosts his own company picnic in direct competition with the Krusty Krab picnic. | |
|
"Married to Money" (tr • ga) | Major; He disguises as money in an attempt to get close to Mr. Krabs and figure out the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"CopyBob DittoPants" (tr • ga) | Major; He makes clones of SpongeBob in an attempt to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"Lame and Fortune" (tr • ga) | Major; He twisted fortune cookies into his own evil schemes. | |
|
"Goodbye, Krabby Patty?" (tr • ga) | Minor; He tries to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula, however he found out that they were just blank souvenirs. | |
|
"Pineapple Invasion" (tr • ga) | Major; He tries to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula, which is being hidden in SpongeBob's home. | |
|
"Salsa Imbecilicus" (tr • ga) | Major; He made Salsa Imbecilicous, which makes you dumb, which he used to make everyone dumb, but he accidentally did it to himself as well. | |
|
"Mutiny on the Krusty" (tr • ga) | Non-speaking cameo; He is seen in a cupboard. | |
| Season 10 | |||
|
"Mimic Madness" (tr • ga) | Supporting; SpongeBob imitates him. | |
|
"House Worming" (tr • ga) | Minor; He tries to help SpongeBob with his worm problem. | |
|
"Plankton Gets the Boot" (tr • ga) | Major; Karen kicks him out of the Chum Bucket. | |
|
"Burst Your Bubble" (tr • ga) | Supporting; He has his own bubble boat. | |
|
"Plankton Retires" (tr • ga) | Major; He decides to move to the Chum Bucket and move to another town, which Mr. Krabs feels suspicious about. | |
|
"The Incredible Shrinking Sponge" (tr • ga) | Minor; A tiny SpongeBob is flung to the Chum Bucket and lands on him. | |
| N/A | "Feral Friends" (tr • ga) | Deleted scene; In the scene, Plankton is waiting for Karen to bring his dinner, but Neptune's Moon turns him into a feral copepod. When Karen brings his food over, she mistakes Plankton for a bug and squashes him with a flyswatter. She then flicks the splattered remains away. [2] | |
| Season 11 | |||
|
"Spot Returns" (tr • ga) | Major; He tries to use Spot's offspring to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"Spin the Bottle" (tr • ga) | Major; He disguises himself as a genie in a bottle, in a plan to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula where he'll break the bottle so Mr. Krabs would have to put him in the secret formula bottle. | |
|
"The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom" (tr • ga) | Supporting; Plankton and Karen are doing the haunted tour of the Krusty Krab. But SpongeBob finds this funny as well, which deeply annoys Plankton and Karen. He joins forces with the Flying Dutchman where he becomes his ghoulish servant. | |
|
"No Pictures Please" (tr • ga) | Supporting;Krusty Krab customers step on Plankton. | |
|
"Krabby Patty Creature Feature" (tr • ga) | Supporting; He and Karen become Krabby Patty creatures, and SpongeBob climbs a tower of chum to get away from them. | |
|
"Teacher's Pests" (tr • ga) | Major; He goes to Mrs. Puff's Boating School with Mr. Krabs. | |
| N/A | "Fun-Sized Friends" (tr • ga) | Mentioned; He is mentioned when Patrick thinks that Mini SpongeBob and Mini Patrick are going to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula but SpongeBob tells him that he is thinking of Plankton. | |
|
"Grandmum's the Word" (tr • ga) | Major; He tells his grandma that he owns the Krusty Krab, but must keep the lie going when she comes to visit. | |
|
"Bottle Burglars" (tr • ga) | Major; SpongeBob and Squidward accidentally let him slip away with the formula. | |
|
"Shopping List" (tr • ga) | Major; SpongeBob and Sandy have to collect Krabby Patty ingredients, but he follows their every step. | |
|
"Patnocchio" (tr • ga) | Major; He tells Patrick he's his conscience so he can convince the wooden-headed star to steal him a Krabby Patty. | |
|
"Plankton Paranoia" (tr • ga) | Supporting; He celebrates the anniversary of the first time he tried to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"Call the Cops" (tr • ga) | Major; He goes to jail for stealing the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"Surf N' Turf" (tr • ga) | Cameo; He steals the Krabby Patty Secret Formula but SpongeBob takes it back. | |
|
"Appointment TV" (tr • ga) | Supporting; He helps SpongeBob after he misses the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy long-lost episode. | |
|
"Karen's Virus" (tr • ga) | Major; He gives SpongeBob directions on how to find the virus in Karen and soon after he starts looking for it, he falls down into a hole the virus made and sees it eat through Karen. | |
|
"The Grill is Gone" (tr • ga) | Minor; He joins the race down Murder Hill for the grill in order to obtain the Krabby Patty Secret Formula, but his cart is easily destroyed by Mr. Krabs. | |
|
"Girls' Night Out" (tr • ga) | Supporting; Karen, Sandy, and Mrs. Puff prank him into dressing up as Mr. Krabs by telling him Mr. Krabs will give the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. Later he and Mr. Krab fight as amoebas ruining Mrs. Puff's, Karen's, and Sandy's relaxing. | |
| Season 12 | |||
|
"Gary & Spot" (tr • ga) | Minor; He is sleeping when Gary sneaks into his and Karen's bedroom to pick up Spot. | |
|
"The Krusty Slammer" (tr • ga) | Major; He gets arrested and goes to the jail at the Krusty Krab, but he gets released not long after. Later, Mr. Krabs is imprisoned at the Chum Bucket as he feeds Chum to Mr. Krabs. | |
|
"King Plankton" (tr • ga) | Major; He declares himself the king of SpongeBob's aquarium. | |
|
"Plankton's Old Chum" (tr • ga) | Major; He tricks SpongeBob into hiding his rotten Chum all over Bikini Bottom. | |
|
"The Krusty Bucket" (tr • ga) | Major; He creates a hybrid clone of himself and Mr. Krabs in an attempt to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula, but it doesn't work out as he intended. | |
|
"Sandy's Nutty Nieces" (tr • ga) | Likeness only | |
|
"Karen's Baby" (tr • ga) | Major; Him and Karen have a son named Chip. | |
|
"Senior Discount" (tr • ga) | Minor; Mr. Krabs and Old Man Jenkins stay at the Chum Bucket, which he is not happy about. | |
|
"SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout" (tr • ga) | Supporting; He helps plan a surprise party for SpongeBob's birthday. | |
|
"Handemonium" (tr • ga) | Major; He gets help to stop his Chum Bucket Glove which went running wild in Bikini Bottom. | |
 
|
"The Ghost of Plankton" (tr • ga) | Major; He becomes a ghost to try and steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula, but he needs training from the Flying Dutchman before doing so. | |
|
"My Two Krabses" (tr • ga) | Minor; SpongeBob and Patrick buy Chum from him. | |
|
"Hiccup Plague" (tr • ga) | Minor; He catches a case of the hiccups. | |
|
"The Hankering" (tr • ga) | Supporting; He gives Mr. Krabs Chum in exchange for the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"Who R Zoo?" (tr • ga) | Minor; Him and Karen try to avoid the bubble penguins that have invaded the Chum Bucket. | |
|
"Kwarantined Krab" (tr • ga) | Minor | |
|
"Plankton's Intern" (tr • ga) | Major; He hires Pearl as an intern in an attempt to have help stealing the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"Dream Hoppers" (tr • ga) | Non-speaking cameo; he is seen in the dream where he appears to have obtained the the formula with Mr. Krabs working for him. | |
| Season 13 | |||
|
"A Place for Pets" (tr • ga) | Minor; He gets inside Spot's body in an attempt to sneak into the Krusty Krab and steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. | |
|
"Lockdown for Love" (tr • ga) | Major; After ruining a date with Karen, she puts the Chum Bucket on lockdown until he can prove his affection for her. | |
Shorts
| Image | # | Episode | Role in episode |
|---|---|---|---|
|
"Plankton's Holiday Hits" (tr • ga) | Major; He sings parodies of Christmas songs. | |
|
"Can't Swim" (tr • ga) | Supporting; He saves Mr. Krabs from drowning when they were younger. | |
|
"Remodeling" (tr • ga) | Supporting; Him and Mr. Krabs build a sandcastle, which gets destroyed by a bully. | |
|
"Loop dee Loop" (tr • ga) | Minor; He almost gets run over by a steam roller, but Mr. Krabs saves him when they were younger. | |
|
"Plankton Pays" (tr • ga) | Major; He gets injured, taken to the Bikini Bottom Jellyfish Trauma Center, and gets stung by a ton of jellyfish. | |
|
"SpongeBob's Legendary Dance Party" (tr • ga) | Minor; He likes a dance that SpongeBob does. | |
|
"Plankton's Color Nullifier" (tr • ga) | Major; He tries to stop SpongeBob from making a new colorful Krabby Patty. |
Movies
| Image | # | Episode | Role in episode |
|---|---|---|---|
 
|
"The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" (tr • ga) | Major; He frames Mr. Krabs for stealing King Neptune's crown and takes over Bikini Bottom, turning everyone into his minions. | |
 
|
"The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water" (tr • ga) | Major; He teams up with the gang and becomes a superhero to get the Krabby Patty Secret Formula back from Burger Beard. | |
  |
"The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run" (tr • ga) | Major; he alongside Mr. Krabs, Squidward, Sandy and Plankton embarks on a journey to free SpongeBob and Patrick. |
