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{{Cquote2|Well, I like to kick people's butts.|Flats the Flounder|"[[The Bully]]"}}
{{Cquote2|<center>Hi SpongeBob. I'm gonna kick your butt.</center>|Flats the Flounder|"[[The Bully]]"}}
{{CTab}}
{{CTab}}
{{Character
{{Character
|name = Flats the Flounder
|name = Flats the Flounder
|image = FlatstheFlounder.png
|image = <gallery>
Typing Flats.png|Normal
FlatstheFlounder.png|Old colors
</gallery>
|residence = [[Bikini Bottom]], [[Pacific Ocean]]
|residence = [[Bikini Bottom]], [[Pacific Ocean]]
|interests = Kicking people's butts<br />Square dancing ("[[Texas]]")
|education = [[Mrs. Puff's Boating School]]
|gender = Male
|gender = Male
|color = Light olive-green
|color = Light olive-green
|eye-color = Light yellow
|eye-color = Beige with black pupils
|species = Flounder
|species = Flounder
|siblings = [[List of characters/Background|Brian Flounder]] (brother)
|parents = [[Flats' dad]]
|parents = [[Flats' dad]] (father)
|first-appearance = "[[SpongeBob SquarePants (pitch bible)]]"
|friends = [[Patrick Star]]
|latest-appearance = ''[[SpongeBob Tower Defense]]''
|employer = [[Sheldon J. Plankton]] (in ''[[SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis SquareOff]]'')
|enemies = {{Link|SpongeBob SquarePants}}
|first-appearance = "[[Sandy's Rocket]]"
|latest-appearance = "[[SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout]]"
|portrayer = [[Thomas F. Wilson]]
|portrayer = [[Thomas F. Wilson]]
}}
}}
'''Flats the Flounder'''{{e|The Bully}}<ref>Closed captions of [[Bikini Bottom Mysteries]] Episode 10.</ref> is a character who first appears in a cameo in the episode "[[Sandy's Rocket]]" and later serves as the antagonist of the episode "[[The Bully]]."
'''Flats'''<ref>[[Just One Bite and The Bully (credits)]]</ref><ref>"[[SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout]]" [https://twitter.com/TweetinV/status/1150162349120266241 Ian Vazquez] [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D_YyA3YWsAEN7on?format=jpg&name=orig storyboard]</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20220514081307/https://twitter.com/TweetinV/status/1525388629752786944</ref>''' the Flounder'''<ref>''[[SpongeBob SquarePants Typing]]''</ref><ref>''[[List of games#Board and Card games|Top Trumps]]''</ref> is a character who first appears in the episode "[[Sandy's Rocket]]" before becoming a major character in "[[The Bully]]."


In the ending credits of ''[[The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water]]'', Flats makes a cameo appearance along with other [[Bikini Bottomites]].
{{Clear}}


He later makes cameos in the episodes "[[Squid Noir]]," "[[Don't Feed the Clowns]]," and "[[SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout]]."
==Names==
[[File:SpongeBob SquarePants pitch bible - added art 5.jpg|thumb|Flats being referred as Farley Flatfish in the 1997 addendum of the SpongeBob SquarePants pitch bible.]]
[[File:Netted Farley the Flatfish model.jpg|thumb|Flats being referred as Farley the Flatfish in a model sheet of him trapped inside a net from "Sandy's Rocket."]]
*In the 1997 addendum of the [[SpongeBob SquarePants (pitch bible)|SpongeBob SquarePants pitch bible]] and [[season 1]], he was named Farley Flatfish, but his name was later changed to Flats the Flounder in the [[season 3]] episode, "[[The Bully]]."
**In a model sheet of him trapped inside a net from "Sandy's Rocket," he was named Farley '''the''' Flatfish.
*In ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants: Plankton Rising]],'' his name was misspelled as '''Flatts''' the Flounder.
*In ''[[SpongeBob's Idle Adventures]]'', an gingerbread version of him is mistakenly labeled as "Holiday Fred," although there is [[Fred|another character in the game]] that's named Fred.


==Description==
==Description==
He is a light olive-green flounder who has light yellow eyes. He wears a light orange, dark green shirt, and light reddish-brown pants. Flats' body is shown to be somewhat two-dimensional, hence his name.
He is a flat kite-shaped light olive-green flounder who has sideways beige eyes. He wears a light orange, dark green shirt, and light reddish-brown pants. In his older appearances, his eyes were colored light yellow.  
 
===Health===
Flats is twice injured in his appearance. First, he runs over a banana peel in the middle of the street while driving, ultimately culminating in a vehicular accident and subsequently hospitalizing him. He seemed to have undergone a fatal accident, as his entire body is covered with bandages. However, later in the episode, he is shown to have recovered, as he is no longer bandaged during his final confrontation with SpongeBob. During said confrontation, Flats' health starts to deteriorate as he loses energy from persistently punching SpongeBob, eventually knocking him unconscious at school.


==Personality==
==Personality==
Being a bully, Flats is very sadistic, rude, intimidating, and unrepentant for no apparent reason. This is established when he reveals kicking other people's butts as his main interest. This is also evident when he ''still'' wants to hurt SpongeBob even after the latter saved his life from a vehicular accident, showing no remorse to the situation whatsoever. He is also shown to be disrespectful to authority figures, as he confronts his dad about talking to strangers and threatens to kick his butt; this intimidates his dad, who is too scared to punish his son for his actions.
Flats is shown to be quite sadistic, finding great enjoyment in threatening and hurting others. He also is quite ruthless, threatening SpongeBob for simply introducing himself, attempting to run him over and kill him with a garbage truck, and still attempting to hurt him even after he saved his life after he got in a car crash. He even threatened his own father after he caught him talking to SpongeBob. He also does not give up easily, punching SpongeBob for days before collapsing due to exhaustion. The only person Flats seems to care about is Patrick, visiting his home and drinking lemonade with him because they were friends in community college.
 
Despite his rudeness, authority figures view his threatening behavior as friendly and well-intentioned, when it is anything but.
 
==Abilities and talents==
*'''Driving:''' Flats is shown to be proficient at operating motor vehicles, as seen when he drives a garbage truck down the street. However, he fails to defend himself against an unsuspected banana peel on the road.
*'''Fighting:''' While he is unsuccessful in attacking SpongeBob due to the latter's status as an invertebrate, he is implied to have inflicted serious physical harm to his previous victims.
*'''Strength:''' He was strong enough to rip his own chest hair off without feeling any pain, and later knock SpongeBob's door down.


==Role in series==
==Role in series==
==="Sandy's Rocket"===
[[File:Texas 158.png|thumb|Flats doing "square dancing"]]
Flats first appears as a cameo in this episode, where he is one of {{Link|SpongeBob}}'s "alien hunting" victims.
Flats is a side character in the series that usually makes non-speaking cameos and can also commonly be seen among [[List of characters/Background|incidental characters]]. He was originally given the name Farley Flatfish in the first season but his name was changed to Flats the Flounder in the season 3 episode "The Bully," where nearly the entire episode focuses mainly on him as the main antagonist, this is also the only episode in the series where he speaks. He has had short absences between some of his episode appearances and he was firstly designed to be a victim of {{Link|SpongeBob}} and {{Link|Patrick}}'s "alien hunting."
 
===''[[Sandy's Rocket (book)|Sandy's Rocket book]]''===
He had the same role as the episode.


==="[[Texas]]"===
==Major roles==
Flats attends {{Link|Sandy}}'s [[Texas (place)|Texas]] party.
==={{SBSP}}===
===="[[Sandy's Rocket]]"====
He appears as a victim of SpongeBob and Patrick's "alien hunting" where SpongeBob traps him inside a net.


==="The Bully"===
===="[[Texas]]"====
He joins [[Mrs. Puff's Boating School]] and wants to kick SpongeBob's butt. The latter takes this extremely seriously, reacting as if he were going to actually ''kill'' him. He makes many attempts to reason with and/or escape him, but to no avail. He eventually calls {{Link|Patrick}} to protect him, only to find out that Flats is friends with him and that they were community college friends.
He is seen attending {{Link|Sandy}}'s party at the [[Krusty Krab]] where he is shown to be responsible for the "square dancing" by holding a large cube.


He also tries to go to Mrs. Puff to help, who talks to Flats and explains to SpongeBob that "kicking his butt" means that Flats wants to become his friend, which is obviously not true.[[File:SpongeBob and Flats.jpg|thumb|Flats kicking SpongeBob's butt]] He then encounters [[Flats' dad]] and confronts him about his son's actions, only for the latter to go up to his father and teach him a lesson about talking to strangers, threatening to harm ''one of his parents''.
===="[[The Bully]]"====
[[File:I meen it.png|thumb|"I mean it!"]]
His biggest role in the series yet. He joins [[Mrs. Puff's Boating School]] and wants to kick SpongeBob's butt. SpongeBob, afraid and concerned for his safety, makes many attempts to reason with and/or escape him, but to no avail. He eventually calls Patrick to protect him, only to find out that Flats is friends with him and that they were community college friends.


Flats goes as far as to chase SpongeBob out of school into town, even trying to run him over with a garbage truck. However, said garbage truck slips on a banana peel and flips over, critically injuring Flats in the process. He wakes up in the [[Bikini Bottom Hospital|hospital]] and learns that SpongeBob saved his life through CPR, yet he is still intent on harming him.
He also tries to go to [[Mrs. Puff]] to help, who talks to Flats and explains to SpongeBob that "kicking his butt" means that Flats wants to become his friend, which is obviously not true.[[File:The Bully 038.png|thumb|"I mean it!"]][[File:The Bully 184.png|thumb|Flats mercilessly punches SpongeBob, who feels no pain, as he walks out of his bathroom, since he is an invertebrate.]] He then encounters [[Flats' dad]] and confronts him about his son's actions, only for the latter to go up to his father and teach him a lesson about talking to strangers, threatening to harm ''one of his parents''.


Eventually, Flats corners SpongeBob in his own [[SpongeBob's house|home]] and proceeds to "kick his butt" by repeatedly hitting him. However, SpongeBob discovers that his soft body simply absorbs the blows and does not harm him in any way. Relieved, SpongeBob allows Flats to attack him throughout his routine.
Flats goes as far as to chase SpongeBob out of school into town, even trying to run him over with a garbage truck. However, said garbage truck slips on a banana peel and flips over, critically injuring Flats in the process. He wakes up in the [[Bikini Bottom Hospital|hospital]] and learns that SpongeBob saved his life through CPR, yet he is still eager to kick SpongeBob's butt.


Flats continues to hit SpongeBob throughout the whole week until he finally passes out from exhaustion one morning at Boating School. The aftermath is that SpongeBob is seen with his fist raised in the air, requesting Mrs. Puff's attention; however, the latter misinterprets the situation by deeming that SpongeBob knocked Flats unconscious, and thereby threatens to harm SpongeBob in the same way Flats did at the end.
Eventually, Flats corners SpongeBob in his own [[SpongeBob SquarePants' house|house]] (from someone giving away the location or by following SpongeBob home) and proceeds to "kick his butt" by repeatedly hitting him. However, SpongeBob discovers that his soft spongy body simply absorbs the blows and the punches do not harm him in any way. Relieved, SpongeBob allows Flats to attack him throughout his routine.


==="[[SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout]]"===
Flats continues to hit SpongeBob throughout the whole week until he finally passes out from exhaustion one morning at Boating School. While SpongeBob makes his speech that Flats is the true victim, he raises his fist. Mrs. Puff suddenly arrives and, upon seeing SpongeBob's raised fist and Flats unconscious, believes that SpongeBob beat up Flats and thereby threatens to harm SpongeBob in the same way Flats was harmed at the end.
Flats makes a cameo at SpongeBob's birthday party.


===''[[The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (video game)|The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie video game]]''===
===="[[Don't Feed the Clowns]]"====
A drawing of him can be seen in Squidward's house in the PC version.
He is a customer of the [[Bikini Bottom Bakery|bakery]] who gets knocked out after getting hit with a pie thrown by [[Incidental C1]].


===''[[Gone Nutty!]]''===
===="[[SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout]]" ====
He is seen in the "Sandy's Rocket" segment of the book, where he has the same role he has in the episode.
He is one of the many Bikini Bottomites setting up SpongeBob's surprise birthday party, implying that he eventually made up with SpongeBob.


===''The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water''===
===="[[Upturn Girls]]" ====
He is seen in the end credits with other Bikini Bottomites.
He appears as one of the "lovely" customers at the Krusty Krab, holding his order on a tray.
[[File:Flatts The Flounder (Texas).jpg|thumb|Flats in season 1]]


==="Squid Noir"===
==Major roles in movies==
He is one of the customers seen in the [[Krusty Krab]], covering his ears due to {{Link|Squidward}}'s poor [[Squidward's clarinet|clarinet]] playing.
===''[[The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water]]'' ===
He is featured as one of the marching characters in the end credits.


==="Don't Feed the Clowns"===
==Major roles in games==
He is a customer of the [[Bikini Bottom Bakery|bakery]] who got knocked out by getting hit with a pie thrown by [[little clown]].
===''[[SpongeBob's Idle Adventures]]''===
He appears as a usable character in the game.


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*Flats is a {{W|flounder}}, which is a species of flatfish, who have both eyes on one half of their body.
*He is one of six characters with sideways eyes.
*It's never really explained why he wants to kick SpongeBob's butt, though fans speculate it's for revenge for SpongeBob trapping him in [[Sandy's Rocket]].
**The other five are the [[Atomic Flounder]] (sometimes), Flats' dad, [[Colonel Sandab]], [[Doctor 14]], and [[Lefty]].
**[[Bikini Bottom Mysteries]] Season 1 Episode 10 further investigates the mentioned speculation through Exhibit A.
*Only [[Flats' dad|his father]] was shown, his mother has never been mentioned or shown.
*Coincidentally, [[Thomas F. Wilson]] is known for playing another bully named {{W|Biff Tannen}} in the ''{{W|Back to the Future}}'' film series.
*His voice actor, Thomas F. Wilson, is best known for playing Biff Tannen in the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy. Wilson would also voice several other characters in the ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' franchise, such as [[Reg]], the [[Tattletale Strangler]], [[Victor]], and [[Herb Star|Herb]]/[[Cecil Star]].
*Underneath his chest hair, Flats has a tattoo that reads "I mean it," to show that he is being serious.
*Despite returning in {{Link|season 11}}, he does not have any lines in either of his appearances in the said season.
**On a side note, he does not have any lines in either of his {{Link|season 1}} appearances.


==References==
==References ==
{{Reflist}}[[de:Fred, die Flunder]]
{{Reflist}}
[[de:Fred, die Flunder]]
[[es:Plano]]
[[es:Plano]]
[[nl:Plat]]
[[nl:Plat]]
[[pl:Płaski Fląder]]
[[pl:Płaski Fląder]]
{{AtlantisSquarePantis}}
[[ru:Камбала Флэтс]]
[[Category:Villains]]
[[Category:The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water]]
[[Category:Fish]]
[[Category:Fish]]
[[Category:Movie characters]]
[[Category:Minor characters]]
[[Category:Video game characters]]
[[Category:Characters portrayed by Thomas F. Wilson]]
[[Category:Book characters]]
[[Category:Background characters]]
[[Category:The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie]]
[[Category:Mrs. Puff's Boating School]]
[[Category:Comic book characters]]
[[Category:SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout]]

Latest revision as of 14:01, 27 July 2025

Hi SpongeBob. I'm gonna kick your butt.
 
— Flats the Flounder, "The Bully"
Character

Flats[1][2][3] the Flounder[4][5] is a character who first appears in the episode "Sandy's Rocket" before becoming a major character in "The Bully."


Names

File:SpongeBob SquarePants pitch bible - added art 5.jpg
Flats being referred as Farley Flatfish in the 1997 addendum of the SpongeBob SquarePants pitch bible.
File:Netted Farley the Flatfish model.jpg
Flats being referred as Farley the Flatfish in a model sheet of him trapped inside a net from "Sandy's Rocket."

Description

He is a flat kite-shaped light olive-green flounder who has sideways beige eyes. He wears a light orange, dark green shirt, and light reddish-brown pants. In his older appearances, his eyes were colored light yellow.

Personality

Flats is shown to be quite sadistic, finding great enjoyment in threatening and hurting others. He also is quite ruthless, threatening SpongeBob for simply introducing himself, attempting to run him over and kill him with a garbage truck, and still attempting to hurt him even after he saved his life after he got in a car crash. He even threatened his own father after he caught him talking to SpongeBob. He also does not give up easily, punching SpongeBob for days before collapsing due to exhaustion. The only person Flats seems to care about is Patrick, visiting his home and drinking lemonade with him because they were friends in community college.

Role in series

File:Texas 158.png
Flats doing "square dancing"

Flats is a side character in the series that usually makes non-speaking cameos and can also commonly be seen among incidental characters. He was originally given the name Farley Flatfish in the first season but his name was changed to Flats the Flounder in the season 3 episode "The Bully," where nearly the entire episode focuses mainly on him as the main antagonist, this is also the only episode in the series where he speaks. He has had short absences between some of his episode appearances and he was firstly designed to be a victim of Template:Data:Links and Template:Data:Links's "alien hunting."

Major roles

SpongeBob SquarePants

"Sandy's Rocket"

He appears as a victim of SpongeBob and Patrick's "alien hunting" where SpongeBob traps him inside a net.

"Texas"

He is seen attending Template:Data:Links's party at the Krusty Krab where he is shown to be responsible for the "square dancing" by holding a large cube.

"The Bully"

His biggest role in the series yet. He joins Mrs. Puff's Boating School and wants to kick SpongeBob's butt. SpongeBob, afraid and concerned for his safety, makes many attempts to reason with and/or escape him, but to no avail. He eventually calls Patrick to protect him, only to find out that Flats is friends with him and that they were community college friends.

He also tries to go to Mrs. Puff to help, who talks to Flats and explains to SpongeBob that "kicking his butt" means that Flats wants to become his friend, which is obviously not true.

File:The Bully 038.png
"I mean it!"
File:The Bully 184.png
Flats mercilessly punches SpongeBob, who feels no pain, as he walks out of his bathroom, since he is an invertebrate.

He then encounters Flats' dad and confronts him about his son's actions, only for the latter to go up to his father and teach him a lesson about talking to strangers, threatening to harm one of his parents.

Flats goes as far as to chase SpongeBob out of school into town, even trying to run him over with a garbage truck. However, said garbage truck slips on a banana peel and flips over, critically injuring Flats in the process. He wakes up in the hospital and learns that SpongeBob saved his life through CPR, yet he is still eager to kick SpongeBob's butt.

Eventually, Flats corners SpongeBob in his own house (from someone giving away the location or by following SpongeBob home) and proceeds to "kick his butt" by repeatedly hitting him. However, SpongeBob discovers that his soft spongy body simply absorbs the blows and the punches do not harm him in any way. Relieved, SpongeBob allows Flats to attack him throughout his routine.

Flats continues to hit SpongeBob throughout the whole week until he finally passes out from exhaustion one morning at Boating School. While SpongeBob makes his speech that Flats is the true victim, he raises his fist. Mrs. Puff suddenly arrives and, upon seeing SpongeBob's raised fist and Flats unconscious, believes that SpongeBob beat up Flats and thereby threatens to harm SpongeBob in the same way Flats was harmed at the end.

"Don't Feed the Clowns"

He is a customer of the bakery who gets knocked out after getting hit with a pie thrown by Incidental C1.

"SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout"

He is one of the many Bikini Bottomites setting up SpongeBob's surprise birthday party, implying that he eventually made up with SpongeBob.

"Upturn Girls"

He appears as one of the "lovely" customers at the Krusty Krab, holding his order on a tray.

Major roles in movies

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water

He is featured as one of the marching characters in the end credits.

Major roles in games

SpongeBob's Idle Adventures

He appears as a usable character in the game.

Trivia

  • He is one of six characters with sideways eyes.
  • Only his father was shown, his mother has never been mentioned or shown.
  • His voice actor, Thomas F. Wilson, is best known for playing Biff Tannen in the Back to the Future trilogy. Wilson would also voice several other characters in the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise, such as Reg, the Tattletale Strangler, Victor, and Herb/Cecil Star.

References

de:Fred, die Flunder es:Plano nl:Plat pl:Płaski Fląder ru:Камбала Флэтс