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I'm gonna steal your soul.
―The Flying Dutchman, "Scaredy Pants""

The Flying Dutchman is a supporting and recurring character in Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants franchise. He is an irritable, mischievous pirate ghost who glows green. He is named after the ghost ship of the same name. He haunts the seven seas because his unburied corpse was used as a window display. He collects souls as a Satan-like character and resides in a cavern containing Davy Jones' locker, a literal locker stuffed with smelly socks that belong to Monkees singer Davy Jones, which within the series is analogous to Hell and occasionally mentioned as a curse word. During his own right, He is a powerful ghost who haunts the ocean, named after the legendary ghost ship of the same name. He is of enormous size compared to the other characters and captains a floating ghost ship with a green glow similar to his own, of which he appears to be the sole permanent crew member. He appears to be mainly interested in "scaring" undersea creatures rather than actually causing serious harm.

He is first mentioned in the episode "Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost" and later appears physically in the episode "Scaredy Pants," this was also his official debut in production order.

Eventually since his very first video game debut, He serves as a major antagonist in the show, the main antagonist of the 2002 video game SpongeBob SquarePants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman and 2007 online video game Dutchman's Dash, the main antagonist of the Halloween special episode The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom, a supporting antagonist in the critically acclaimed 2003 video game SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom.


Biography[]

The Dutchman's exact nature and role are inconsistent between episodes. It can be inferred from his appearance that he is the undead spirit of a pirate, and one episode mentions that the reason he haunts the seven seas is because his corpse was used as a mannequin in a clothing store window and he was never put to rest. In another episode, he states that he has not worn laced shoes in 5,000 years, yet pirates did not exist that long ago. Other episodes suggest the Flying Dutchman is a Devil/Grim Reaper–like figure, primarily Born Again Krabs where he attempts to put Mr. Krabs in the undersea version of Hell, "Davy Jones's Locker", which turns out to literally be a locker cabinet belonging to a person named Davy Jones, and in a much later episode, it is revealed that the Davy Jones in question is in fact none other than the Monkees member of the same name.

The Flying Dutchman notably appears as an enemy in several if not most SpongeBob SquarePants video games, most notably "Revenge of the Flying Dutchman" where he is the titular main antagonist. He also appeared in the Nickelodeon episode "The Legend of Boo-kini Bottom" as the main antagonist.

Personality[]

During all of his appearances, the Flying Dutchman proves to be anything but a "friendly ghost." Though his role in the series is to be the devil of the sea, he constantly varies from a sea demon to a restless soul or even as a psychopompic judge to the dead. The Flying Dutchman has been consistently shown to be gruff, malicious and even downright sadistic, scaring people and stealing their souls out simply for fun, and in his first full appearance in "Scaredy Pants," he attempts to steal the souls of everyone in the Krusty Krab simply because SpongeBob's ridiculous costume as the Flying Dutchman was the ultimate insult to his image. The latter trait shows that he is extremely prideful.

Despite his antisocial behavior and malevolence, the Flying Dutchman is not pure evil without companionship.

He has a number of ghost friends[1] and has the capability to bond with other people in case they have the same interests or objectives[2][3]. He is also a notorious womanizer,[4][5] with not even mortal women being free from his teasers. While the Flying Dutchman takes strong delight in scaring people, he does not live exclusively to haunt mortals, having sometimes tormented them only out of boredom, or otherwise because someone provoked him.[6][7] Although, he is no saint, the Flying Dutchman has a strong sense of justice and has been known to reward people for good deeds done towards him[8] or to punish wicked souls, taking his role as a psychopomp very seriously[9], and has been known to keep promises as seen in "Shanghaied," when he grants three wishes to SpongeBob and the gang in exchange for his sock.

While he has a penchant for scaring (since he likes to do so and is good at doing it), he's shown to be a rather dirty coward. This is shown despite having reality-bending powers, he refuses to scare a strong and imposing fish, preferring to scare the weak instead such as SpongeBob and Patrick.

Appearance[]

The Flying Dutchman is a ghost who has a chartreuse green glow around him, yellow eyes with black irises, a scraggly beard, a pirate hat with a chunk taken out, a handbag marked "Souls," a droopy nose, a coat, little pigtails, and a ghostly tail. He speaks with a West Country pirate accent and a slight lateral lisp.

Powers and abilities[]

The Flying Dutchman is shown to be one of the most powerful supernatural beings in the ocean, rivaling King Neptune. Though The Flying Dutchman's skills vary from episode to episode, he has been consistently capable to levitate, and teleport in a cloud of smoke preceded by a storm. In his first appearance, he is shown to be capable of stealing souls and fire-breathing through his nose. He has also shown to be capable of opening dimensional portals to banish his enemies.[10][11] He has shown to be capable of manipulating matter, even turning SpongeBob and Patrick into ghosts[12] and making objects appear out of thin air, and granting wishes.[13][14]

However, of all his incarnations, his most "frightening" appearance is in "Ghost Host," where he is able to shape shift into numerous horrific forms and warp reality effortlessly. Ever since he had been stealing souls and devouring them, there is no approximate limit to how much he can empower himself, and this is what caused him to reach into godhood over the years. The only limitation to his powers regards his ghost tail. Despite being a champion in looping for centuries, he has long forgotten how to tie his shoes and it's later shown that he cannot eat without his "dining sock."

His most powerful and dangerous ability, though, is shown in "Ghost Fools," in which he pulls out one of his eyes and transforms into an atomic bomb, after which he launches himself into the ground. The blast from this attack is so powerful that everyone caught within the blast radius gets sent to the Void.

"The Ghost of Plankton" shows that he can possess people's bodies, as he possessed Plankton's body.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • He is named after the legendary ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman, and seems to resemble the famous pirate Blackbeard (Edward Teach) or the ship's captain and mythological character Davy Jones, although according to the legend of the Flying Dutchman the ship's captain is a man by the name of Willem van Der Decken.
  • In "Scaredy Pants," where he makes his physical debut, the Flying Dutchman's eyes are noticeably larger, and his pigtails are also not straight as they constantly move around unlike in his later appearances.
    • He also acted a lot scarier because of his introductory to the series and his on-screen attempt to steal the souls of everyone, but in later appearances, he became less scary.
  • The beginning of his theme sounds like the opening of "Duel of the Fates," from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
  • A LEGO version of the Flying Dutchman appeared in a SpongeBob SquarePants LEGO set called "The Flying Dutchman," which included his ship.
  • He doesn't like it when his beard is shaved off because he fears he would get pimples again.
  • It's also said his beard grows in 1,000 years, but it grew back in several months. His claim could be an exaggeration, though.
  • In "The Curse of Bikini Bottom," he looks through his closet for a shirt and finds one that is sentimental because he says, "It was the shirt I was buried in." However, in "Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost," his origin, from the comic book, says he was never buried and his body was used as a window display so technically, it is impossible for the shirt to be the one he was buried in.
    • However, he may have indeed been buried eventually, and he remains as a ghost due to having been one for so long.
  • The Flying Dutchman says he hasn't worn shoes for 5,000 years, which means that he could be at least 5,000 years old.[15]
  • The Flying Dutchman has to have his dining sock on to eat.
  • In "Shanghaied," it is shown he has a monocle to read.
  • The Flying Dutchman appears to sometimes get emotional, though this very rarely happens.[16]
  • The Flying Dutchman was absent in both seasons 9 and 10, except for a picture of him appearing on a board game in "Plankton Gets the Boot." He makes a physical appearance after a 6-year absence in the stop-motion Halloween special "The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom" in season 11. He would not appear in animated form again until "Shopping List," also in season 11.
  • In "Arrgh!," it was revealed that there is a treasure hunt board game named after him.
  • Coincidentally, his voice actor was born on Halloween (October 31).
  • He is one of the few characters who didn't debut in their production order debut. However, his non production order debut wasn't a physical first appearance like his official production order debut.
  • The Flying Dutchman is one of the only guest characters to appear in all three SpongeBob shows.
  • When he sleeps he repeatedly says "I’m the Flying Dutchman" followed by a snore.

References[]

External Links[]


v - e - d
SpongeBob SquarePants logo
Media
Television series: SpongeBob SquarePantsKamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under YearsThe Patrick Star Show
Films: Film quadrilogy (The SpongeBob SquarePants MovieThe SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of WaterThe SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the RunThe SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants) • Television films (SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantisSpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big OneSpongeBob's Truth or SquareSpongeBob's Big Birthday BlowoutSaving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie)
Albums: SpongeBob SquarePants: Original Theme HighlightsThe SpongeBob SquarePants Movie – Music from the Movie and More...SpongeBob SquarePants: The Yellow AlbumSpongeBob SquarePants: The Best Day EverSpongeBob's Greatest Hits • SpongeBob SquarePants: BOBmusik - Das gelbe Album • It's a SpongeBob Christmas! AlbumThe SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (Soundtrack)The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Video games: Legend of the Lost Spatula • Operation Krabby Patty • SuperSpongeEmployee of the MonthRevenge of the Flying DutchmanBattle for Bikini Bottom (Rehydrated) • The SpongeBob SquarePants MovieLights, Camera, Pants! • The Yellow Avenger • Creature from the Krusty KrabAtlantis SquarePantisUnderpants Slam • Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition • The Big One: Beach Party Cook-OffTruth or Square • Boating Bash • SpongeBob SquigglePants • SpongeBob's Surf & Skate RoadtripSpongeBob Moves In!Plankton's Robotic RevengeSpongeBob HeroPantsSpongeBob's Patty PursuitThe Cosmic Shake
See Also: MerchandiseTrading Card GameSpongeBob ComicsMusicalSpongeBob SquarePants pilotOops! I Guess I Ripped My Pants Again!
Books: Grand Prize Winner!The Never-Ending StayBad Luck Day
Characters
SpongeBob SquarePantsPatrick StarSquidward TentaclesMr. KrabsSheldon J. PlanktonKaren PlanktonSandy CheeksGaryMrs. PuffPearl KrabsMermaid Man and Barnacle BoyPatchy the PiratePotty the ParrotThe French NarratorThe Flying DutchmanKing NeptuneMindyLarry the LobsterHarold SquarePantsMargaret SquarePantsRealistic Fish headPerch PerkinsBubble BassSlappy LasloOld Man JenkinsJellyfishBurger-Beard the Pirate
Locations
Bikini Bottom • Chum Bucket • Jellyfish Fields
Episodes
Season 12345678910111213
Songs
I'm ReadySquidward NoseAgua
Attractions
Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast (cameo) • Sandy's Blasting BroncoSpongeBob SquarePants 4-DSpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom PlungeSpongeBob SquarePants 4D: The Great Jelly RescueUniversal's Superstar Parade
Related
Stephen HillenburgUnited Plankton Pictures Inc.NickelodeonNickelodeon Animation StudioNickelodeon MoviesNickelodeon GroupParamount PicturesParamount AnimationParamount+Joe Murray Productions Inc.Viacom Networks Japan Co., Ltd.Simon SpotlightBongo ComicsPurple Lamp GmbH
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