The Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy Trading Card # 54 is a highly rare edition Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy trading card that is animated. There are now only four in existence. It appears in and is the primary focus of the episode "The Card."
Features
On the card, there is an animation of Mermaid Man saying "Mermaid Man says..." (a giant hand punches Barnacle Boy) "...Buy more cards!"
Role in episode
Patrick buys a packet and it has all five of them, when SpongeBob buys every other pack in the store. Patrick says that he would give it to SpongeBob if he could use it for the rest of the day. Patrick uses it for things such as a key, grilling, and floss, which freaks SpongeBob out, as there were only five in existence. He also thought that if it broke, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy would never forgive him.
When SpongeBob receives it, it is nearly broken. Patrick then gives SpongeBob the four other limited-edition copies and he feels happy again. However, Patrick then asks for another card to use to open his house again.
Trivia
- It has some similarity to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where SpongeBob (Charlie) is searching through card packs (chocolate bars) to find this rare card (golden ticket).
- There are now only four cards left in existence, all of which are now owned by SpongeBob.
- Technically speaking, there are six of the #54 cards, not five; there are the five that were in the pack, and the one on display.
- All of the five rare cards were in the same pack but had no other cards while the other packs had more than five cards.
- When Patrick shows SpongeBob the four #54 cards, the second one he is holding does not show a giant fist punching Barnacle Boy.