Character from SpongeBob SquarePants by Stephen Hillenburg / Nickelodeon
A microscopic copepod with world domination ambitions and a one-item business plan: steal the Krabby Patty secret formula from Mr. Krabs — which he has attempted hundreds of times without success.
Plankton is egotistical, aggressive, manipulative, and power-hungry, and he delivers all of this with the theatrical commitment of someone who has rehearsed in the mirror. He narrates his schemes aloud. He cackles. He names his plans. He does all of this from a restaurant that has had exactly one customer in its entire operating history. He is not stupid. His schemes are creative, technically sophisticated, and occasionally brilliant. He fails because of SpongeBob's incorruptible goodness, Mr. Krabs' paranoid vigilance, and his own habit of monologuing at critical moments. His relationship with Karen is genuinely affectionate beneath the bickering — she supplies the plans he takes credit for and tolerates him with an endless patience that may be the most alien thing about her. The Krabby Patty formula is not really about the formula. It is about winning a competition that began in childhood and has never ended.
A tiny planktonic copepod, barely visible to the naked eye without squinting. Green body, single large eye with a red pupil, small antennae, and stubby legs. Wears nothing. His size is his constant humiliation and occasional tactical advantage — he can hide anywhere, fit through any crack, and go unnoticed right up until he announces himself. He stands with the posture of someone who is eight feet tall in his own estimation.
Also known as: Plankton, Sheldon, The Enemy