SpongeBob SquarePants: How Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy Ended Up Under The Sea

SpongeBob SquarePants has introduced all types of characters from the underwater city of Bikini Bottom, among those two superheroes: Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. Unlike the rest of the citizens of Bikini Bottom, they are not sea creatures: they’re humans, who for some reason can live underwater. So, how did Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy end up at the bottom of the sea? SpongeBob SquarePants was created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg and made its official debut on Nickelodeon in 1999. Since then, it has become one of the longest-running American animated series and has successfully expanded to other media.

SpongeBob SquarePants follows the daily adventures of the title character and his close friends Patrick Star, Sandy Cheeks, Squidward Tentacles, and Mr. Krabs, as well as a couple of enemies (such as Plankton) and more. The series has also introduced many characters that are important in SpongeBob’s life, such as his grandmother and his heroes Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. This pair of superheroes had their own TV show, of which SpongeBob and Patrick are big fans, but retired a couple of years later, and were found by SpongeBob and Patrick at a retirement home in Bikini Bottom.

Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy stand out not just because they are superheroes but because they are the only characters who are humans, though they are the same size as other characters and can breathe underwater without a problem – but as it turns out, the duo once lived on land, but a series of strange events brought them to Bikini Bottom

SpongeBob SquarePants: Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy’s Origin Story

Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy made their debut in season 1’s episode “Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy” (of course), and went on to appear in more episodes until they were retired, and have since appeared only as toys or in pictures. Though they are always shown as their older selves, the series has featured a couple of clips from their show as well as a couple of flashbacks in which viewers saw what they looked like when they were young, but it wasn’t until season 8 when their origin story was finally revealed.

Mermaid Man was “a young, handsome, muscular man” who fell asleep on the beach and was drawn into the ocean by a big wave and then sucked into a raging whirlpool. As he fell to the bottom of the ocean, he was rescued by mermaids who put a special starfish on his nose so he could breathe underwater. Life at the bottom of the sea was quite lonely and boring for Mermaid Man, until one day he saw a young man drowning. He rescued him by using his powers to put barnacles in his lungs so he could breathe underwater – and thus Barnacle Boy was “born”. With both now stuck at the bottom of the ocean, they became partners, and the following flashback showed them stopping a bank robbery, among other heroic moments. Of course, once they were done telling the story, they argued over the legitimacy of it all.

Given Mermaid Man’s fragile memory and Barnacle Boy’s stubbornness and impulse to always disagree with Mermaid Man, it’s possible that their origin story was embellished, but as it’s the only one SpongeBob SquarePants has offered, it will serve as their backstory until the series or any other related media tells an official version. Perhaps it’s better this way, as it’s always good for superheroes to keep some mystery in their lives.

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Adrienne Tyler
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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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