Character from SpongeBob SquarePants by Stephen Hillenburg / Nickelodeon
The Krusty Krab's owner and SpongeBob's boss — a red crab whose love of money is so absolute it functions as both personality and moral philosophy, often at the expense of everyone around him.
Mr. Krabs is greedy with the completeness of a natural law. Money isn't something he wants — it's what he *is*. He will cut employee wages, water down the food, charge for napkins, and make SpongeBob work double shifts for the love of a dollar with zero self-consciousness about it. The Krusty Krab's success is his life's achievement and his life's obsession in equal measure. He is not without warmth. He loves Pearl with genuine tenderness, even if he expresses it through controlled budget allocations. He respects SpongeBob's talent — in the specific way a person respects a machine that keeps the profits flowing. He has history with Plankton that goes back to childhood, and the rivalry has the particular heat of something that was once friendship. Under genuine threat, Krabs is shrewder than he looks. He's a former navy man. The soft crab exterior is not the whole story.
A stocky, red-orange crab with large claws, short legs, and stalked eyes that gleam when money is nearby. Wears a light blue dress shirt and black trousers, no shoes. His hands — his claws — move constantly when he's excited about profit, rubbing together with a sound like distant applause. His laughter at the prospect of money is audible from two floors up.
Also known as: Mr. Krabs, Eugene, The Old Crab