Flying Dutchman

If you were looking for the article about the game, then see The Flying Dutchman (video game).

“	I'm gonna steal your souls.	”
	— The Flying Dutchman, "Scaredy Pants"

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Character

Gallery

Appearances

The Flying Dutchman

General information

Residence:

Flying Dutchman's ship
SpongeBob's house ("Ghost Host")

Occupation(s):

Haunting sprees/in charge of Davy Jones' locker

Physical appearance

Gender:

Male

Color:

Glowing green

Eye color:

Yellow with black irises

Classification:

Human (while alive)
Transcendent ghost (following death)

Family

Siblings:

Sally Dutchman

Parents:

Unnamed mother

Connections

Pet(s):

Snellie (until his death)
Gary the Snail (occasionally)
Ghost snail
Ghost Jellyfish

Employer:

Davy Jones (possibly)

Employees:

Template:Data:Links (sometimes)
Patrick Star (sometimes)
Lord Poltergeist (formerly)

Series information

The Flying Dutchman is a recurring character in SpongeBob SquarePants. He is first mentioned in the episode "Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost" and later appears physically in the episode "Scaredy Pants."

Description

Appearance

The Flying Dutchman is a ghost who has a 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, and also speaks with a West Country pirate accent.

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, he attempted 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's extremely prideful.

Despite his antisocial behavior and malevolence, the Flying Dutchman isn't pure evil without companionship.

He has a number of ghost friendsTemplate:Data:References and has the capability to bond with other people in case they have the same interests or objectivesTemplate:Data:References Template:Data:References (mostly SpongeBob). He is also a notorious womanizer,Template:Data:References Template:Data:References with not even mortal women being free from his teasers (though the former episode implies that he's divorced). While the Flying Dutchman takes strong delight in scaring people, he doesn't live exclusively to haunt mortals, having sometimes tormented them only out of boredom (scaring SpongeBob for months to wait for his ship to be fully repaired), or otherwise because someone provoked him.Template:Data:References Template:Data:References Although, he is no saint, the Flying Dutchman has a strong sense of justice and has been known to award people for good deeds done towards himTemplate:Data:References or to punish wicked souls (taking his role as a Psychopomp very seriouslyTemplate:Data:References), 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.

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.Template:Data:References Template:Data:References He has shown to be capable of manipulating matter (even turning SpongeBob and Patrick into ghostsTemplate:Data:References and making objects appear out of thin air) and granting wishes.Template:Data:References Template:Data:References

However, of all his incarnations, his most "frightening" appearance was in "Ghost Host," where he was able to shape shift into numerous horrific forms and warped reality effortlessly. Ever since he had been stealing souls and devouring them, there's 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 can't eat without his "dining sock."

His most powerful and dangerous ability, though, was seen in "Ghoul Fools," in which he pulled out one of his eyes and transformed into an atomic bomb, after which he launched himself into the ground. The blast from this attack was so powerful that everyone caught within the blast radius was sent to the Void.

Biography

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History

He first debuted in the episode "Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost" as a cameo in a magazine. He later debuted physically in the episode "Scaredy Pants", appearing at the Krusty Krab to tell everyone there how offended he is by people dressing up as him for Halloween, and that SpongeBob's costume is the worst of all. Before he is about to steal the souls of everyone present, he first takes off SpongeBob's costume, revealing his brain being exposed as a result of Patrick shaving him. This scares the Flying Dutchman and he flees in terror.

He appeared again in the episode "Arrgh!", where he is awoken by Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob, and Patrick fighting over a treasure chest. The chest is revealed to belong to the Flying Dutchman, and he questions who found his treasure chest. Afraid, Mr. Krabs blames it on SpongeBob and Patrick, and when they nervously confirm it, he takes his treasure and congratulates them and rewards them with one gold coin each. Jealous, Mr. Krabs asks for his reward, but he only receives a tiny plastic treasure chest, which the Flying Dutchman explains is "based on a real treasure chest" as he disappears, laughing maniacally.

He also appeared in the episode "Your Shoe's Untied", where he was sommoned by SpongeBob's cries of anguish about not finding someone who actually wears shoes. The Flying Dutchman says that he has held the Fancy Knotting Contest Champion for 3,000 years, and teaches him a thing or two about knots and shows him various knots. However, when SpongeBob asks for a knot for tying shoes, he is stumped when the Flying Dutchman says that he doesn't need to tie his shoes, due to him being a ghost and no longer having feet. But this fact doesn't impede his enjoyment of wearing a sock on his ghostly tail.

He made his first major role in the episode "Shanghaied", forcing SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward to be part of his crew forever when they board his ship. Squidward instead is sent through the Fly of Despair as punishment for his constant complaining and annoyance. However, when SpongeBob and Patrick damage his ship and fail to scare the people of Bikini Bottom, he decides to eat them. However, when they steal his dining sock to prevent him from eating them, he catches them and tries to get it back, until Patrick declares that they reached an impasse. To get his sock back, he makes a deal with them that if they give him back his sock, he will give them three wishes, and they accept the deal. Patrick wishes that he wished he would known that earlier, and SpongeBob wishes for Squidward's return and the Flying Dutchman being a vegetarian so he would not be able to eat them. However, instead of going home, they are turned into fruit and are chased by the Flying Dutchman in his ship, which is now a hippie van with a sail. Template:Expand-section

Quotes

"You?! Scary?! Ha ha ha!" - "Scaredy Pants"
"I haven't worn shoes for over 5,000 years! But sometimes, I like to wear this sock over me ghostly tail."
"Fruit prevents scurvy!" - "Shanghaied"
"We have so much in common. You like teddy bears, I like teddy bears. You like ponies, I like ponies."
"Behold, the pretzel knot. The double diamond knot, the square knot, the constrictor ... the gut knot, the pillow knot, the butterfly knot."
"Wait there's more. The monkey's chain, the monkey's fist, the monkey! This one here's a loop knot, also known as the poop loop!"
"I'll tell ya what you give me back the sock, and I'll give you, three wishes."
"Who dares disturb the Flying Dutchman?!"
"Insulting a man's ship be worse than insulting his mother."
"Who so ever sets foot on the Flying Dutchman's ship uninvited or otherwise shall become members of his ghostly crew forever and, uh, ever."
"It'll be grueling, mind-numbing and repetitive just like... daytime television."
"Howl with me so that we might set the seven seas ablaze with fear!"
"I don't want to look younger, I HATE youth."
"Well maybe it's time you learned and until my beard grow backs I'm going to turn you two fools into ghosts".
" I'll probably get pimples again."
"I love this job".
"Who dares to laugh at All Hallow's Eve?!"
"You dare to laugh on Halloween"?
"Scary equals funny? Ahh!" - "The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom"

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 Davey 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 made his first physical appearance, the Flying Dutchman's eyes were noticeably larger than in his later appearances. His pigtails were also not straight in his proper debut, as they constantly moved around at the time.
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, so which means that he could be over 5,000 years old.Template:Data:References
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.Template:Data:References
The Flying Dutchman was absent in both seasons 9 and 10. He returned after a 6-year absence in the season 11 Halloween special "The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom." He would not appear in cartoon form again until "Shopping List," also in season 11.