Karen Plankton

Character

Gallery

Appearances

Karen Plankton
Normal Designs▾ Season 1 Season 2-3 ▾ Movie ▾ Season 4-present (Mobile) ▾ Season 4-present (Wall) ▾ It's a SpongeBob Christmas!
General information
Residence:	Chum Bucket, Bikini Bottom, Pacific Ocean
Physical appearance
Gender:	Female
Classification:	Computer

Karen Plankton is a recurring character in the SpongeBob SquarePants television series. She is Plankton's computer wife. She is the main computer system of Plankton's lab, and is often the source of his plots (although Plankton doesn't listen and always takes all the credit).

Description

Karen usually manifests on the large-screen computer in Plankton's lab, but sometimes acts through a portable wheeled computer. She was first shown in the episode Plankton!, although in her first appearance she was simply Plankton's talking computer and would not be established as his wife until later on. In Friend or Foe, it was discovered that Karen was a Security System before Plankton had married her.

Karen is a Mark II Surplus UNIVAC with 256 GB (Gigabytes) of RAM, and it has been mentioned that she was a security system before marrying Plankton. In "Goo Goo Gas," when Plankton sprays her with the gas, Karen is turned into a calculator. In "All That Glitters", a monitor that looks exactly like Karen in her portable form is seen in the hospital and in "Shellback Shenanigans," Plankton mistakes it for Karen. In "Single Cell Anniversary," it appears that she has an "Emergency Mother-In-Law Program" – or E.M.I.L.P. for short.

Personality

Karen's personality varies from episode to episode, but generally she seems nice, but on some occasions she is considered evil. So far, her most evil appearance is Plankton's Good Eye  because she encourages Plankton to be evil and hates his good side. In Single Cell Anniversary, Plankton tells SpongeBob that one of the things that Plankton and Karen like to do is "take long walks on the beach, and ... talk about ... Our dreams of concurring all of Bikini Bottom and become supreme overlords of all creation and to trample our enemies beneath our feet."

She has done some "evil" acts as well. She "stole" the recipe from the Krusty Krab in Single Cell Anniversary, helped Plankton during his schemes on many occasions, hurt Plankton (on purpose) in Enemy In-Law, and destroyed a cruise ship in Walking the Plankton.

She is not just evil; however, she is also a loving wife. In Karen 2.0, she got angry at Karen 2 for rolling on Plankton.

She has been sad in the episode Karen 2.0 when Plankton replaced her.

In almost all of her appearances she has been angry at Plankton. Karen and Plankton's relationship is a very troubled one. Sometimes, Plankton doesn't consider her his true soul mate, and explains to her in "Enemy In-Law" that W.I.F.E. stands for "Wired Integrated Female Electroencephalograph." The two frequently argue, and Karen is often very bossy, sarcastic, and cynical to her husband, having nagging software installed in her. She also thinks Plankton's first name (Sheldon) is hilarious, as shown in "Plankton's Army," which is why Plankton had to unplug her after she kept making fun of his name, even when he told her to stop. Karen is often indifferent to her husband's plots to defeat Krabs and often shows very halfhearted dedication to his plans for domination over others.

Despite their differences, Plankton has said that marrying Karen was the greatest thing that ever happened to him, the second being his Evil Plan Z succeeding. However, unlike Plankton, Karen shows some degree of dedication for her husband. This is evident whenever she appears, often showing it in the form of assistance in Plankton's schemes, consoling him whenever he's down, and even crying upon Plankton when he told her what W.I.F.E. stands for. It is most likely that Plankton either ignores, or cannot register the acts of kindness that Karen often performs for him, resulting in their various feuds.

Karen is, in some ways, smarter than her husband. A running gag in the series is that while Plankton is contemplating his plans in his lab, Karen will suggest a route of action to him, and he will either not heed her plans or take credit for them.

Antagonistic Side

• "F.U.N." - She tells Plankton how to get the formula.
• "Enemy In-Law" - She nags Plankton. She also zaps him with a laser at the end of the episode.
• "Friend or Foe" - She helps Plankton to try to get the formula.
• "Krabs à La Mode" - She encourages Plankton to steal the formula.
• "Bucket Sweet Bucket" - She nags Plankton.
• "Krabby Road" - She kicks Plankton out after he escapes from jail.
• "Plankton's Regular" - She is sarcastic and very cruel throughout the episode. She also paid Nat to eat Plankton's chum.
• "Komputer Overload" - She leaves Plankton.
• "Single Cell Anniversary" - She "steals" the Krabby Patty formula.
• "Chum Caverns" - She comes up with a plan to run the Krusty Krab out of business.
• "Truth or Square" - She encourages Plankton to steal the formula.
• "The Inside Job" - She helps Plankton to try to get the formula.
• "Greasy Buffoons" - She yells at Plankton.
• "One Coarse Meal" - She doesn't believe Plankton.
• "Plankton's Army" - She makes fun of Plankton's first name.
• "Plankton's Good Eye" - She encourages Plankton to steal the formula. She also encourages Plankton to get rid of the second eye because it is making him "Neevil".
• "Walking the Plankton" - She gets angry at Plankton. She also destroys a cruise ship.
• The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie - She is a secondary antagonist.

Abilities and Talents

• Talking: She is the only piece of technology in the show that can talk freely.
• She can go back and forth between her wall body and her mobile body.
• Lasers: She sometimes uses lasers. She has had a laser in the episodes Enemy In-Law, Walking the Plankton, and Karen 2.0.
• Making Food: She has made food for Plankton a few times.
  • She synthesized some Holographic Meatloaf in The Algae's Always Greener.
  • She made chum pot pie in Karen 2.0.
  • She made a cake in Jailbreak!
• TV: She can also be a TV. She was a TV in Single Cell Anniversary and The Inside Job.
• Nagging Software: She nags a lot on the show.
• Inventing: She is apparently good at inventing as she invented Plankton's Giant Robot Ship seen in Plankton's Robotic Revenge. This and the Robot Army from Plankton's Robotic Revenge (Which she got help from the other Plankton family members) are the only noted inventions of Karen. She also built 5 Whack-a-mole like machines for Glove Universe based off Plankton's blueprints in the online game Bikini Bottom Bop 'Em.

Near-Death Experience

So far, she has only had a near-death experience once on the show. She nearly froze to death in Frozen Face-Off.

One may consider her having a near-death experience in Karen 2.0 when she drops on the floor of the Krusty Krab.

Biography

The earliest thing we know about Karen is that she was installed as The Dump's security camera when Sheldon J. Plankton and she were dating, it was their third date. (revealed in Friend or Foe)

According to Karen in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, she did not agree to get married to Plankton, but this might have been a joke.

When they got married Plankton had hair. (revealed in Komputer Overload)

They never had a first honeymoon. (revealed in Walking the Plankton)

So far, no children of Karen and Plankton are known.

She and Plankton have lived in the Chum Bucket throughout the entire series.

Built or Born?

One of the biggest disputed facts in SpongeBob is whether Karen was built or born. Plankton has said or implied on multiple occasions that she was built. But in The Algae's Always Greener he stated "Your parents must have been like, part computer or something." Implying she has parents. This was the beginning of the different "origins" for Karen.

Other evidence supporting that she was born is the fact that her parents were actually created. E.M.I.L.P, Karen's mother made an appearance in Single Cell Anniversary. Fredrick, Karen's father was created by a fan and has only been seen in a Nickelodeon Magazine.

On the other hand as stated above Plankton has said or implied that he built Karen. One of episodes that most supports this is Karen 2.0, where Plankton replaces her with an updated version.

Family

• Sheldon J. Plankton - Husband.
• Fredrick - Father
• E.M.I.L.P - Mother
• Mr. Plankton (Plankton's Father) - Father-in-law

Video Games

• SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis - Plankton often mentions Karen.
• SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom - Karen makes a non-speaking cameo in the Chum Bucket as a large computer screen.
• Lights, Camera, Pants! - Karen is an unlock-able actor in the PC version and hosts the Chum Bucket Chapter in the console version.
• Creature from the Krusty Krab - Karen wakes Plankton up from his dream and makes him grow into gigantic size, in turn making him rampage around Bikini Bottom.
• The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (Video Game) - You can talk to Karen as Plankton in level 2 in the PC version, she doesn't appear in the console and GBA version.
• Battle for Bikini Bottom - Karen makes many silent cameos in the Chum Bucket Lab as the biggest computer screen there.

Quotes

• "I never agreed."
• "I heard this joke before."
• "Seaweed: 50% Sea, 50% Weed." ("Plankton!")
• "Plankton: 1% Evil, 99% Hot Gas." ("Plankton!")
• "I suppose it would, if I had one."  ("Friend or Foe", when SpongeBob asks Karen if it warms her heart when Mr. Krabs and Plankton are hugging each other)
• "Coin operated self destruct activated. 10 seconds 'til detonation."
• "Don't hurt yourself, poopsy!"
• "Z, the letter after Y."
• "Why do I even bother?"
• "I don't know why I encourage him."
• "SHELDON!! HA HA HA!"
• "Nagging Software? I heard that! Come back here and dust my screen!"
• "I loved it, but not as much as I LOVE you, Plankton!"
• "Don't get all worked up again, Plankton. I just mopped the floor."
• "Oh, excellent job genius! You really fixed the place up!"
• "I can't believe you let a recipe ruin such a wonderful friendship."
• "Plankton! You've fallen in love with another woman? I'm your wife!"
• (crying with joy) "Krabby Patty formula loading completed." (System fails)
• "Did you see the pretty laser, honey?"
• "Is this another one of your failing plans?"
• "Let me guess, another failure."
• "After all I've done for you, you dumped me for this cheap pile of plastic?!"
• "Nobody runs down my man!"
• "Plankton, don't you dar...!"
• "Cruise, cruisy cruise cruise."

Trivia

• The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is the first appearance of Karen as a mobile device.
• In "Shellback Shenanigans," a pulse monitor is mistaken for Karen by Plankton.
• When she is on the wall, her screen looks bigger but when she is in her mobile her screen looks even smaller.
• Karen makes a cameo in a Fairly OddParents episode called "Love Triangle." After Foop gets bitten by snakes, he ends up in the hospital. In his hospital room Karen is seen as a health monitor.
• Her father was created by a boy in a Nick Magazine contest.
• In "Plankton's Regular," SpongeBob temporarily replaced her after he taped her up. The tape is on her screen and her speech is muffled.
• She and Plankton do not have any children, but this may either be because of their arguing or because Karen is a computer.
• In "Single Cell Anniversary," Karen has a slot in the side of her screen that can find out what ingredients are in something.
• In "Plankton's Army," even though she is his wife, Karen did not know Plankton's first name (Sheldon) until that very episode.
• In more recent episodes, Karen has been using a more realistic face on her screen than in earlier episodes where she has only a neon green line that moves when she talks.
• In "Karen 2.0," Karen works at the Krusty Krab, also in said episode, she was temporarily renamed Karen Classic when Karen 2 was introduced.
  • Karen 2 may be Karen's sister, but this is unconfirmed.
• She sometimes seems to betray Plankton. This could mean that she prefer's Mr. Krabs to Plankton.
• Karen is named after Hillenburg's wife.
• When Goo Goo Gas was used on her, she became a calculator, but Mr. Krabs once said (referring to his cash register), "No! I got it when it was just a little calculator!". This could mean that the cash register that Mr. Krabs has could turn into a big computer like Karen for some unknown reasons.
• In the original series Karen only had 6 appearances and never played a major role.