| “ | ” | |
— Mermaid Man's catchphrase
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Ernie[1] (or Jim) Huckler,[2] commonly known by his superhero name Mermaid Man,[3] is a semi-retired superhero who lives in Bikini Bottom. He and his sidekick Barnacle Boy are the stars of a show-within-a-show called The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, but they are also real superheroes within the SpongeBob SquarePants universe.
The two are now very old and currently reside at Shady Shoals Rest Home. However, their two biggest fans, SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star, convinced them to come out of retirement.
Along with Barnacle Boy and Grandma SquarePants, Mermaid Man is one of the three recurring characters who have been retired from the series after his voice actor, the late Ernest Borgnine, passed away in 2012,[4] although he and Barnacle Boy continue to appear as toys or on pictures. His younger self is voiced by the late Adam West.
Appearance
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Mermaid Man's model sheet.
Mermaid Man is an elderly human with light tan skin, white hair, and dark gray eyebrows. He wears an orange top with a lavender sea shell bra, deep green gloves and leggings, a black speedo with teal scales, a light yellow utility belt with a yellow-orange "M" shaped buckle, a dark lavender starfish on his nose, and pink bathroom slippers.
Young
Young Mermaid Man's model sheet.
He has a much taller and muscular appearance. His hair is colored blond (with a graying streak at the temples) and his skin is dark peach. He lacks the straps on his seashell bra and his pink slippers.
Personality
Mermaid Man is depicted as one of those characters that mean the best but is a forgetful character. Indeed, he does show the stereotypical elements of an older superhero, whose memory gaps tend to lead to comic situations because he is so absent-minded and quirky.
Biography
Mermaid Man when he was younger.
Mermaid Man is an old man who is overweight and very round in shape. He exhibits several typical characteristics of an elderly man, such as white hair, poor sight and hearing, crankiness, and memory loss, often forgetting what he is thinking about or doing. Elements of his costume not shared by Aquaman include an M-shaped belt buckle that is metallic blue and his belt is purple (several versions of Aquaman, however, wear an A-shaped belt buckle and his belt is yellow), a purple star-shaped mask, a scallop-shell bra (which is also a cell phone), and a pair of pink fuzzy slippers. The purple-shaped star over his nose was given to Mermaid Man by a mermaid. It is the only way that he can breathe underwater.
Mermaid Man has a sidekick, Barnacle Boy, whom he still treats like a child even though Barnacle Boy is 68 years old (according to "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V"). Mermaid Man also notably goes crazy whenever anyone says "evil."
Abilities
According to Mermaid Man, his powers all come from his costume. His abilities include summoning and controlling sea creatures, high-speed swimming (used to create the "Raging Whirlpool"), water balls, super strength, and the ability to survive underwater. While Mermaid Man retains all of these abilities, they are not as powerful as they were in his prime.
Belt
The interior of Mermaid Man's belt.
In addition to this, his belt features a wide array of abilities, similar to Batman's utility belt, as seen in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy IV." These abilities are usually manifested as a beam or ray. The only one specifically named on the show is the "Small Ray," which shrinks things, but various effects are created when SpongeBob tests various buttons on Squidward in an attempt to reverse the Small Ray's effects. These include several bizarre mutations and effects, such as causing the victim to suddenly catch on fire, turn inside out, get a clump of snakes covering their head, or to be cut in half by scissors. Despite being the operator of the belt, he doesn't know how it works.
According to Patrick in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy IV," turning the M on the belt upside-down to a W causes it to channel the power of Wumbo, which is the opposite of "mini." Wumbology is the study of everything Wumbo-related.
In the video game Lights, Camera, Pants!, Mermaid Man states that his belt has a "Chin Cam," a hidden camera that takes pictures of his chin.
Role in video games
Operation Krabby Patty
Mermaid Man makes a cameo with Barnacle Boy in the level "Boating School 101."
SuperSponge
SpongeBob wants Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy to sign a photograph for Patrick's birthday. However, they want to get rid of SpongeBob and send him on random tasks around Bikini Bottom.
Revenge of the Flying Dutchman
A costume of him can be accessed via the changing tent in the console version.
Employee of the Month
Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy are in Rock Bottom when Patrick and Mermaid Man have a soda drinking burping contest. Patrick wins but Mermaid Man gets very bad gas that makes him unable to stand up and SpongeBob finds help to get him in the invisible boatmobile to leave Rock Bottom.
Battle for Bikini Bottom/Battle for Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated
Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy appear in the Mermalair but Plankton's robots have invaded it.
They can also be seen in the levels "Jellyfish Fields" and "Kelp Forest."
Nicktoons Freeze Frame Frenzy
Him and Barnacle Boy makes a cameo in Nicktoons Freeze Frame Frenzy as an out of place character the player must photograph.
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie video game
A costume of him is unlockable as an extra in the console version.
Lights, Camera, Pants!
Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy appear during a new episode being directed by Gill Hammerstein. In it, they are falsely accused of destroying the Sand Stadium when it was actually stolen by the Sneaky Hermit. However, when they are sent to Bikini Bottom Jail, the prison warden tells them what is really going on and lets them go so they can catch the villain, thus accidentally letting the Dirty Bubble and Man Ray go free.
Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy go to Goo Lagoon and to the Krusty Krab to find clues. When they go to the Chum Bucket, they discover that Man Ray and the Dirty Bubble are using the mayor's child as their captive in an attempt to help the Sneaky Hermit's plans. They reluctantly make a truce with the villains and work together to find the Sneaky Hermit with some help from an expert hunter from Jellyfish Fields.
They manage to track down the hermit and foil his plan of putting Bikini Bottom on his back so he can have a home. When the crisis ends, they return to the Sand Stadium to continue watching the musical performance.
The Yellow Avenger
SpongeBob acquires Mermaid Man's powers and has to defeat all of his enemies.
Creature from the Krusty Krab
He appears in the level Rooftop Rumble in the console version and helps Starfishman defeat Plankton.
SpongeBob's Truth or Square
He and Barnacle Boy appear in the Mermalair and SpongeBob's bedroom.
SpongeBob's Boating Bash
Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy appear when SpongeBob and Patrick want to borrow the invisible boatmobile.
They later appear when SpongeBob gets his "license" from Seymour Scales. Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy later arrest Seymour and Mermaid Man calls him evil.
They are also unlockable characters who drive in the same boat during the races.
SpongeBob SquigglePants
He appears in some of the Comic Book nano-games.
Nicktoons Unite!
SpongeBob can be seen wearing a costume of him as an unlockable extra in the console version.
Nicktoons: Android Invasion
He and Barnacle Boy are mentioned after SpongeBob rescues Manny Rivera/El Tigre for Zim's telephone booth.
Nicktoons MLB
He and Barnacle Boy are seen as a card.
SpongeBob Simulator
He appears as a playable character.
SpongeBob Tower Defense
He appears as a unit
In-universe merchandise based on him
The Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy trading cards.
In the episode "Ditchin'," a Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy origin comic book is shown. One panel features a man resembling Barnacle Boy and a woman resembling Mermaid Man in a spaceship. The woman has two children in her arms resembling Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, implying that the heroes are brothers.
More merchandise can also be seen in "Mermaid Man Begins," thus causing a dispute on his and Barnacle Boy's backstory. In "The Card," 54 trading cards have also been made as entertainment for fans. Toys were manufactured as part of a Krusty Krab promotion in "Mermaid Man vs. SpongeBob."
Enemies
Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy have several supervillain enemies. Their two most notable foes are Man Ray and Dirty Bubble. Other villains include the Atomic Flounder, who is now retired, the Sinister Slug, the Jumbo Shrimp, Kelp Thing, and the Moth, a humanoid moth who steals light, as seen in "Night Light." Mermaid Man claims to have been trying to catch the Moth for 57 years due to his very small size.
The Mermalair features a "villain containment chamber," where villains such as Man Ray and Prawn are imprisoned in frozen tartar sauce, as seen in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy III" and the video game Battle for Bikini Bottom.
Similarities to DC and Marvel Superheroes
- The invisible boatmobile is a parody of the invisible plane of Wonder Woman and the Batmobile of Batman.
- His friends and enemies are similar to Batman and Aquaman's' friends and enemies such as Barnacle Boy, Elastic Waistband, Miss Appear, and Man Ray being parodies of Aqualad, Robin, Plastic Man, Elongated Man, Wonder Woman, and Black Manta.
- In "Back to the Past," Mermaid Man's younger self is voiced by Adam West, who portrayed Batman in the TV series.
- Similarly, Burt Ward, who voiced Barnacle Boy's younger self, portrayed Robin in the TV series.
- The fight sequences have scenes with words like "POW!," "BAM!," and "NAP!," another possible nod to Adam West's portrayal of Batman.
- His utility belt seems to contain gadgets for any situation, much like Batman's.
- His sidekick, Barnacle Boy, is a parody of both Aqualad and Robin.
- His supposedly fake origins (shown in "Ditchin'") suggests he is from outer space, much like Superman and Martian Manhunter.
- He and Barnacle Boy spring into action after they "say the oath" while touching the tips of two golden rings. This is an obvious parody of The Wonder Twins both with the rings and the oath "Wonder Twin powers activate!" It should be noted that in addition, this is also a parody of the Green Lantern Corps of DC, as they also say an oath, and wield "power rings" as their armament.
- The way he shouts to the place he wants to go is a parody of the famous way Batman shouts "to the Batcave," mostly in Adam West's TV show (sometimes, followed by the singular eye-catch).
- In "Shuffleboarding," Mermaid Man has a boomerang called the Mermarang, which is a parody of Batman's Batarang.
- His superhero group, The International Justice League of Super Acquaintances, is a parody of the Justice League of America.
- He is very similar to the DC and Marvel superheroes, Aquaman and Namor (though mostly Aquaman), as well as Batman.
International names and voice actors
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Dutch |
Meerminman, voice Sander De Heer | - |
 Korean |
인어맨, voice Park Kyung-chan (EBS), Lee Chae-jin (JEI TV), Lee In-seong (Nickelodeon), Park Young-jae (Nickelodeon; younger), Seo Ban-seok (The Patrick Star Show; younger) | - |
Trivia
An early version of Mermaid Man with his friend Barnacle Bill.
- In the episode "Mermaid Man Begins" it is revealed that Mermaid Man's real name is Ernie, a reference to his voice actor, the late Ernest Borgnine.
- A kid appears dressed as Mermaid Man in "The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom."
- A common stereotype of the elderly, Mermaid Man is easily annoyed, falls asleep often, and is very senile.
Mermaid Man's name as "Mermaidman" in the SpongeBob SquarePants 2021 McDonald's Happy Meal toys.
- On several title cards, DVD episode listings, and the SpongeBob SquarePants 2021 Happy Meal toys his name is spelled as "Mermaidman."[5]
- When it comes to mermaids, seashells are used in place of bras or bikini tops (as seen with Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid). Mermaid Man sports a seashell bra, thus continuing his mermaid motif.
- His name in the Russian dub, is "Морской Супермэн," which roughly translates to "Marine Superman."[6]
- Out of all the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy themed episodes of the series, "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy III" is the only one that does not focus around them and the only one where they only appear in the form of a cameo.
- In the Hebrew dub, Mermaid Man is named "ish hayam," which translates to "sea man."[citation needed]
- He and Barnacle Boy have been discontinued from the show due to the deaths of their respective actors and now only appear on pictures or as toys.
- In the Croatian dub, he speaks with a Bosnian dialect.[citation needed]
- The running gag of the way Mermaid Man says, "Eeeevil" was ad-libbed. When Ernest Borgnine was recording his dialogue, when he was supposed to say "Evil," his voice cracked, causing the engineer and voice director to go into a laughing fit.[7]
- According to SpongeBob SquarePants: The Essential Guide, Mermaid Man has been fighting crime for over 65 years.
- He is so senile that he even called mid-to-late adolescents and young adults being in love at Make-Out Reef "hormonally stressed out children," and he couldn't distinguish The Quickster (SpongeBob) from Captain Magma (Squidward) in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V."
- His voice actor, the late Ernest Borgnine, along with Barnacle Boy's voice actor, Tim Conway, have previously starred in McHale's Navy.
- He makes a cameo in the SpongeBob's Birthday map in Just Dance 2025 Edition.
References
- ^ "Mermaid Man Begins." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. September 23, 2011. Television.
- ^ SpongeBob SquarePants Trading Cards Premiere Edition card 9
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20160208163006/ttps://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/502519292349673473
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20191120160148/https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/1197180365552545794
- ^ File:SpongeBob SquarePants 2021 Happy Meal toys.jpg
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rMW0M9VfZ8?list=PLsVewCUqhXpOEEjZQzwNCYx8birsat1aB&t=40
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsHhZ_bnpQg?t=90
