A Most In-Depth Dirty Bubble SpongeBob Guide On the Internet!

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Asad adores Spongebob and puts it up there with some of his favorites like Family Guy, Phineas and Ferb, and The Simpsons. He considers it iconic with its hilarious meme-worthy episodes, dialogue theories, and predictions. He's excited to share his love of SpongeBob with readers everywhere!

Dirty Bubble Spongebob Guide: Bottom Line Upfront

Dirty Bubble is one of the archenemies of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. He is basically a brown bubble when he is dirty but a transparent sky-blue bubble when he is clean. Usually, though, Dirty Bubble, as the name would suggest, is brown and dirty. Dirty Bubble first appeared in the first season, in the twentieth episode ‘Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II.’ His voice actor initially was Charles Nelson Reilly, who died on 25th May 2007. After him, Tom Kenny has been the voice actor of Dirty Bubble.

Key Character Information

Full Name: Dirty Bubble
Gender: Male
Occupation: Supervillain and a dishwasher (Temporarily)
Residence: Bubbletown prison (Formerly), Dirty Bubble’s house, Bikini Bottom, Pacific Ocean
Related Characters/Connections: Sheldon J. Plankton (in SpongeBob’s Atlantis SquarePantis SquareOff) and Eugene H. Krabs (in ‘Dirty Bubble Returns’)
First Appearance: Season 1 Episode 20b ‘Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II.’
List of Episodes that the Character Appeared In:
Season 1 Episode 20b ‘Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II.’
Season 2 Episode 31b ‘Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy III.’
Season 3 Episode 52b ‘Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V.’
Season 4 Episode 63 ‘Have You Seen This Snail?’
Season 6 Episode 113b ‘The Card.’
Season 7 Episode 135a ‘Back to the Past’ and Episode 135b ‘The Bad Guy Club for Villains‘
Season 8 Episode 163a ‘Mermaid Man Begins.’
Season 9 Episode 180a’ Patrick-Man!’
Season 10 Episode 209b ‘Plankton Gets the Boot.’
Season 11 Episode 223b ‘Bunny Hunt,’ Episode 238a’ Appointment TV’, Episode 240a’ Bubbletown.’
Season 12 Episode 252b ‘Dirty Bubble Returns,’ Episode 254-255 ‘SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout.’
Voice Actor(s): Charles Nelson Reilly (‘Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II’; Lights, Camera, Pants!) and Tom Kenny (‘Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V’ – present)

Dirty Bubble’s Physical Appearance

Dirty Bubble is a huge bubble that is either transparent sky blue when it is clean or brown when it is dirty. Dirty Bubble is brown when he is dirty, which is most of the time, hence the name, Dirty Bubble. He has black eyebrows and black pupils.

Dirty Bubble, with his large mouth and jagged lips, usually has a wide, mischievous grin as he is always up to no good. This mischievous grin is often accompanied by an evil laugh whenever Dirty Bubble is in the mood to do something naughty and evil.

Dirty Bubble, when clean, shrinks a tiny bit and has a transparent sky-blue color. In this state, Dirty Bubble often has a beaming smile on his face as he looks as innocent as a newborn baby. Whenever someone offers a handshake to him in this state, he grows out his right hand and shakes the person’s hand firmly.

Dirty Bubble’s Personality And Character

Dirty Bubble, being the second archenemy of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, is a villain who enjoys tormenting and making others’ lives difficult. He has a weird obsession with dirt and has the desire to make everyone and everything dirty.

Not only does he pollute the ocean with notorious acts, but he also swallows people whole and traps them inside himself. Such characteristics make Dirty Bubble one of the series’ most powerful and threatening antagonists.

However, he also has a lighter and virtuous side, which has especially interested me and many others who watch the series. When Dirty Bubble is actually clean, he has a beaming smile on his face and always wants to be the better version of himself. He strongly resists the urge to be near dirt or become dirty. He strives to be good and helpful to the community of Bikini Bottom.

This resistance to dirt and evil is what makes me love this character very much. It shows that no matter how weird or evil a person is, there is certainly room for moral improvement. I think Dirty Bubble wanting to be a helping member of the community of Bikini Bottom, instead of being a criminal, teaches us to always strive for goodness and resist evil at all costs.

Dirty Bubble’s Role In The Series

Dirty Bubble, being the second archenemy of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, is a super villain in the story plot. He mainly tries to attack and trap Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy inside him. Apart from his interactions with Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, Dirty Bubble torments the Bikini Bottomites and is an outlaw often chased by the police of Bikini Bottom. Let us look further in detail at the role of Dirty Bubble in the story plot.

Mermaid Man And Barnacle Boy II: The Autograph!

In his debut episode in the first season, Dirty Bubble suddenly appears on the scene. It attacks Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, swallowing them and trapping them inside him. Although Dirty Bubble did not seem threatening enough, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy could not do much to defend themselves.

Meanwhile, SpongeBob, who Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy tried to ditch, is searching for the theme song of The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy in the jukebox. Poor SpongeBob does not realize that Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy are ditching him. Having found the theme on the jukebox, he suddenly emerges from the diner. He sees Dirty Bubble trapping the so-called heroes Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.

Instead of realizing the danger in which he was, he funnily takes out a pencil and a small notebook. He asks Dirty Bubble, his favorite super-villain, for an autograph. Isn’t SpongeBob adorable?

However, Dirty Bubble is anything but willing to give SpongeBob an autograph. Freaking out, Dirty Bubble backs away from the pointy edge of the nib of the pencil. SpongeBob, in an attempt to get an autograph from Dirty Bubble, pops Dirty Bubble with his pencil and saves Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.

Mermaid Man And Barnacle Boy V: The Evil Barnacle Man?

In this episode, Dirty Bubble plays a major role as he, along with Man Ray and Barnacle Boy, forms a criminal group known as ‘EVIL.’ It is the abbreviation for Every Villain is Lemons. That sounds like a pretty weird name for a group of some of the strongest and most threatening villains in the series, doesn’t it? Well, I think the name is justified by the fact that the group engages in a series of ‘immature’ criminal deeds, such as Dirty Bubble, and the other villains cause trouble and act like a bunch of crazy kids.

Later in the episode, Dirty Bubble is dismayed when Barnacle Boy leaves the EVIL group and rejoins Mermaid Man. Although it is not shown in the episode, Dirty Bubble and the other villains are defeated by Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, and they all end up in prison. The episode ends with Dirty Bubble and Man Ray, along with a handful of other characters, laughing at Barnacle Boy and admitting that the adult-sized Krabby Patty is indeed way too big for him.

Have You Seen This Snail? 29,998,559,671,349 Times In A Row!

In this episode, Dirty Bubble only appears in an image. Though, it is a pretty famous image as it comes with a near-impossible challenge regarding paddleball. The challenge comes with the paddleball package, stating, ‘Take the Dirty Bubble Challenge! Hit the Paddleball 29,998,559,671,349 times in a row.’

SpongeBob accepts this challenge, falling to his knees and addressing an invisible Dirty Bubble. He considers winning this challenge as helping Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy defeat Dirty Bubble.

Off-screen, the Dirty Bubble Challenge has proved to be very popular as people have posted various parodies of the challenge, often changing the challenge to funny ones as a meme.

I have an answer for any serious statisticians out there wondering how long it would take to complete the original challenge. With four constant hits per second, the challenge would take at least 238,050 years to complete.

The Bad Guy Club For Villains: A Perfectly Normal Book Club

SpongeBob and Patrick are watching a lost episode of the TV show Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. In the show, the fan-favorite heroes are doing their duty, i.e., protecting Bikini Bottom from villains and spying on them. At the moment, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy are spying on Dirty Bubble, who is wearing a hat and carrying a briefcase. And, of course, Dirty Bubble has his usual mischievous grin on his face.

Apparently, Dirty Bubble has a one-way ticket to Bikini Bottom as he takes a bus heading for Bikini Bottom. And just like that, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy conclude that Dirty Bubble could only be planning to commit a crime in Bikini Bottom.

But well, you cannot blame Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy either. As Dirty Bubble comes off the bus, he can be seen smirking as he meets up with other super villains of the series, which includes Man Ray, Jumbo Shrimp, and many others. Naturally, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy feel suspicious of the villains. To add up, all the villains appear pretty threateningly, which might be in their nature.

As Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy call for backup, Dirty Bubble and the villains gather at Motel Evil, and Dirty Bubble leads the others inside. However, Dirty Bubble is surprised to see two people already sitting in the room in which Dirty Bubble and the villains were to meet up.

Eventually, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy reveal themselves and the backup they have brought. It seems like a challenge and a threat to Dirty Bubble and the villains, and the two groups clash in a fight of good vs. bad. But I’m having trouble figuring out who’s good and who’s bad here.

As Dirty Bubble and the super villains are about to lose, they make a run for it. Dirty Bubble exclaims that Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy had misunderstood and that it is not what they think it is. It is only after Dirty Bubble and the villains are captured that Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy get to know that the group of villains was meeting just to discuss a book they were reading instead of destroying a library. What a pleasant surprise!

At that moment, Dirty Bubble had a rare, dejected look that made me downhearted. It pained me to see that Dirty Bubble and the villains were beaten up and tied up just for meeting for a book club. Ridiculously, the episode ends with Mermaid Man addressing the children in the audience, saying that no one can imprison anyone for reading. In my opinion, no one should be able to beat up and tie up others without knowing their real intention.

Patrick-Man: The Cone Head

In this episode, Dirty Bubble is disguised as Incidental 82. He is having his meal at Krusty Krabs when Patrick blows his cover, desperate to unmask a super villain. And boy, Patrick hung onto Incidental 82 so tight I thought her head would rip off! Eventually, Dirty Bubble’s cover is blown off, and he emerges, smirking with his jagged lips.

Both SpongeBob and Patrick are shocked to see Dirty Bubble appear. However, Patrick is slightly disappointed, as he wanted to unmask Man Ray. Poor Patrick just wanted to show he’s a useful hero for Bikini Bottom. And now that Patrick has uncovered Dirty Bubble, he will also face his wrath.

However, Dirty Bubble just floats in his place as Patrick hurls various objects aimed at Dirty Bubble. And you guessed it. Not one of the objects hit Dirty Bubble, and it only destroys the furniture at Krusty Krab. When Patrick is frustrated, he even hurls SpongeBob at Dirty Bubble, who just swallows him and traps him inside. Ironically, it is not Dirty Bubble, the villain, that is responsible for the damage caused at Krusty Krab.

Finally, when Dirty Bubble lunges forward to deliver his attack, Patrick finds a Krabby Patty on the floor and bends to pick it up. Dirty Bubble comes straight into the pointy end of the ice cream cone hat that Patrick was wearing and pops. That was immensely hard work right there from Patrick to defeat Dirty Bubble, if you ask me.

Dirty Bubble Returns: My Favorite Dirty Bubble Episode!

Episode 252b ‘Dirty Bubble Returns’ from season 12 is my favorite episode that features Dirty Bubble. In this episode, Dirty Bubble transforms into ‘Clean Bubble’ for quite a while. It shows his extreme resistance to the temptations of being dirty and evil again. But I am just getting ahead of myself.

As the episode starts, Dirty Bubble is about to be captured by the police at Bikini Bottom. But he seems to have already tied up Al Gristlepuss, the police chief, onto an ariel. Dirty Bubble then threatens the people of Bikini Bottom that unless they act for him, he will eat Al Gristlepuss.

Perch Perkins, the news reporter, comes ridiculously close to the police chief and Dirty Bubble as he further states what Dirty Bubble would do. Dirty Bubble apparently seems very annoyed by the news reporter getting too close to him, obviously feeling disrespected. He leaves the police chief and grabs hold of Perch Perkins through his tongue.

As Dirty Bubble is about to swallow and trap the news reporter inside him, he is caught by other policemen through bubble wands. Dirty Bubble is ordered to release Perch Perkins, which he does, and is then trapped inside a glass jar.

Dirty Bubble is rightfully sent to jail for his criminal acts. After six months, he is released again. This time, Dirty Bubble appears in a transformed state, Clean Bubble. His voice changes from rough to confident, and he has a beaming smile on his face. The warden warns Dirty Bubble, now Clean Bubble, to always be clean and stay away from dirt, or he will become evil. The warden extends his hand for a handshake, and Clean Bubble grows out his right hand to shake the warden’s hand like an obedient child.

Clean Bubble then flies to find where he is appointed to work. As he flies, he vows to avoid dirt and evil acts. He eventually reaches Krusty Krab, where Clean Bubble is assigned to work. Clean Bubble enters Krusty Krab as excited as a kid at Christmas, determined to work hard. He shakes Mr. Krabs’ hands warmly, expecting to work as a cashier or a waiter.

To his disappointment, Mr. Krabs assigns Clean Bubble to the chore of doing the dishes. Clean Bubble, at this point, also realizes that he has to stay away from dirt at all costs, so he requests Mr. Krabs for different work but is denied. Clean Bubble accepts the work positively, never showing any sign of negativity or hatred towards Mr. Krabs. This shows how determined Dirty Bubble is to remain clean and virtuous.

Clean Bubble repeats the mantra ‘stay clean, or you’ll get mean’ over and over but knows that he has to do the work. At that point, he meets SpongeBob, who welcomes him warmly, and clean Bubble introduces himself as DB, and both get back to work.

Clean Bubble does some of the dishes and realizes that he got dirty but did not get mean. Jubilant, he believes that he got cured, but as he does more of the dishes, he gets dirtier and dirtier. In the process, his demeanor also changes to rudeness. Eventually, his jagged lips and brown color return as he becomes Dirty Bubble again.

Dirty Bubble approaches SpongeBob to attack him, who constantly asks what Dirty Bubble has done to DB. SpongeBob then sprays water at Dirty Bubble, who becomes clean again. SpongeBob then realizes that DB is actually short for Dirty Bubble.

Clean Bubble explains to SpongeBob how he wants to change his evil ways and stay clean. SpongeBob is very impressed, as I was, and promises to help him stay clean. Clean Bubble is then shown the dirty toilets by Mr. Krabs, who expects him to scrub them off clean.

SpongeBob assures Clean Bubble that he will clean the toilets for him. But Clean Bubble is tempted by the beautiful dirt to become dirty again. Eventually, gives in to the temptation and goes into the dirty toilet to transform into his dirty self. After wreaking havoc on the people in the toilet, SpongeBob runs and spits out water to clean Dirty Bubble.

After a few weeks, SpongeBob compliments Clean Bubble for not being dirty for weeks. And boy, does Clean Bubble seem proud and happy about being clean! However, Patrick arrives at the scene and talks about his dirty belly button gunk. Yuck! He flicks it into Clean Bubble accidentally, due to which Clean Bubble becomes dirty again. Weeks of hard work wasted by a moment of carelessness by Patrick!

At this point, after weeks of resisting the temptation of being dirty, there is no stopping Dirty Bubble. He now wreaks even more havoc in Bikini Bottom than he has done before. One of the funniest scenes in the episode is when Dirty Bubble’ cleans’ a teacher’s face. The news reporter funnily reports this as Dirty Bubble ‘wiping the teacher’s dirty looks off her face.’ A moment later, the news reporter himself gets his ‘dirty looks wiped off his face by Dirty Bubble. That’s some handy cleaning right there!

SpongeBob attempts to clean Dirty Bubble by hosing him down, but the plan seems to be not working. He is then trapped by Dirty Bubble, who now moves to Goo Lagoon and torments the people there. In a lightbulb moment, SpongeBob realizes his absorptive power and starts absorbing water inside Dirty Bubble. In fact, he even absorbs Dirty Bubble! In an awful burp, Dirty Bubble comes out as a tiny version of himself. He is immediately captured by the police, who put him in a small glass jar.

My Opinion About Dirty Bubble

Dirty Bubble is, without a doubt, a super villain and a criminal in the series. Not only does he attack the fan-favorite characters, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, but he also engages in a crime spree from time to time. This makes some people dislike him for what he is.

However, one episode in the series changed my opinion about the character. In the episode, ‘Dirty Bubble Returns’ in season 12, Dirty Bubble shows a rare virtuous side of his. It astonished me to see how Dirty Bubble was trying his best to be a good man, resisting the temptation of becoming dirty and evil again.

Initially, after Dirty Bubble was released from jail, I thought he was just putting an act on about being uncorrupted. Though, after seeing him go to Krusty Krab, determined to get a job and be a respectable citizen, I developed a liking for the character.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Who voiced Dirty Bubble?

Answer: Charles Nelson Reilly was the original voice actor of Dirty Bubble. In the first season, he voiced Dirty Bubble in his debut episode ‘Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II.’ Charles also voiced Dirty Bubble in the video game Lights, Camera, Pants! However, after Charles died on 25th May 2007, Thomas James ‘Tom’ Kenny became the voice actor of Dirty Bubble. He voiced Dirty Bubble in the episode ‘Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V’ and still voices Dirty Bubble to date.

Question: What does the Dirty Bubble do?

Answer: Regarding his ability, Dirty Bubble floats and flies in the air. He also traps his enemies inside of his body. Regarding his character and role in the story, Dirty Bubble is a super villain and a criminal at Bikini Bottom. He usually attacks Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy and often goes on a crime spree. In the episode ‘Dirty Bubble Returns’ season 12, Dirty Bubble works at Krusty Krab as a dishwasher for some time.

Question: What is the Dirty Bubble made of?

Answer: The Dirty Bubble is a giant bubble that can be popped by any pointy object. Though, he is a bubble covered in dirt. Although in one of the episodes, he turns into a clean bubble. He turns back into his dirty state when a piece of Patrick’s belly button lint comes in contact with Dirty Bubble. So, Dirty Bubble is a giant bubble made of and covered in dirt.

Dirty Bubble Spongebob Guide: Final Thoughts

Being a super-villain, Dirty Bubble has made life difficult at times for Bikini Bottomites through his crime sprees. But I suppose one can’t go against their nature, can they? Perhaps being a dirty bubble has made Dirty Bubble the evil super villain he is.

In my opinion, he has a very clean heart and a will to be clean and a caring citizen of Bikini Bottom. In fact, we all could learn a lesson from Dirty Bubble, trying our best to stay away from dirt and evil. This is why I find Dirty Bubble a very fascinating character in the series.

Aren’t you excited to see more of Dirty Bubble? I, for one, can’t wait to see Dirty Bubble in future episodes! I hope this guide has helped you know much about Dirty Bubble that you probably didn’t know before.

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