Did The Boys copy SpongeBob SquarePants?

Cameron Frew
Images of Hughie in The Boys and SpongeBob SquarePants

Are you ready kids? A clip posted on social media has raised a wild question: did The Boys copy SpongeBob SquarePants?

We’re all familiar with the sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea (absorbant and yellow and porous is he). SpongeBob Squarepants has been running since 1999, and not dissimilar to – though not as witty as – The Simpsons, it has its own way of mirroring world events and culture. This includes the Renaissance, Pearl Harbor, and the moon landing.

The Boys is Amazon’s smash-hit, hard-edged superhero show, set in a world where supes are celebrities, actors, and politicians – basically, they do whatever they want. Most of them aren’t very nice, so a group of normal people work together to take them down.

One is a kids’ show, one is distinctly adult. What if I told you that SpongeBob SquarePants did one of the most famous scenes in The Boys, before The Boys even did it? Don’t worry, it’s not the Termite one.

SpongeBob SquarePants and The Boys share a very similar scene

A clip shared to Reddit the r/TheBoys subreddit by u/Mr_Muda_Himself_V3 features a scene from a SpongeBob Squarepants episode; more specifically, ‘Bubbletown’ from Season 11.

The episode revolves around Bubbletown, which is exactly what you think it is: a town made entirely from bubbles, whether it’s buildings, pets, or people.

SpongeBob visits the town, and everything’s going swimmingly… until he steps on two dogs, making them squeal as he crushes them into the sand. They eventually pop, but SpongeBob then slips and recklessly slides around the town.

He kills ducklings, destroys a school, and pops several homes. Most notably, as a bubble man proposes to his bubble girlfriend, SpongeBob speeds through her, before killing him.

How SpongeBob SquarePants is like The Boys

In the first-ever episode of The Boys, before Hughie (Jack Quaid) joins Butcher (Karl Urban) and the others, he’s in a happy relationship with his girlfriend Robin (Jess Salgueiro).

As they discuss their plans to move in together, Robin takes a “half step off the f**king curb”, at which point A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) runs through her. Unlike the bubble in SpongeBob, Robin’s body bursts into blood and bones, leaving Hughie holding her hands while the rest of her seeps into the ground.

Did The Boys copy SpongeBob SquarePants?

Bubbletown aired on Nickelodeon on October 28, 2018. The first episode of The Boys, ‘The Name of the Game’, arrived on Prime Video on July 29, 2019. The timeframe would certainly allow The Boys to have been influenced by SpongeBob Squarepants.

It should also be considered how The Boys changed Robin’s death in the comics. Originally, Robin is in Glasgow, Scotland, at the time of her death. Instead of A-Train running through her, he accidentally throws a supervillain into a wall and through Robin.

An image of Robin's original death in The Boys comics
Robin’s death in The Boys was changed from the comics.

Then again, there’s also the likely reality: it’s a complete coincidence, and that just makes it funnier.

One Reddit user even commented: “Coincidentally, SpongeBob had actually portrayed a Speedster Hero, The Quickster, in an episode along side Mermaid Man and The Justice League of Super Acquaintances.

“Now I’m interested to see a short parody of the boys featuring the JLSA. Mermaid Man the equivalent of Homelander and Barnacle Boy as The Deep.”

Well, if nautical nonsense be something you wish…

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About The Author

Cameron is Deputy TV and Movies Editor at Dexerto. He's an action movie aficionado, '80s obsessive, Oscars enthusiast, and a staunch Scot. He earned a First-Class Honours Degree in Multimedia Journalism from Glasgow Caledonian University, accredited by the NCTJ and BJTC. He began his career at UNILAD, starting as a Junior Journalist and becoming Entertainment Editor prior to joining Dexerto. You can contact him at cameron.frew@dexerto.com.