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I never thought I'd have to explain why 10-C SpongeBob is bad in every regard, but I'll try to keep this simple. Maybe not short, but simple.
Getting to the point, 10-C SpongeBob does not seem legit, and a lot of its reasons are off.
SpongeBob has only been overpowered by an ordinary, featless human once (The Cyclops from the first movie), but I'll get to that in a bit. Humans and seagulls being stronger than the SpongeBob cast doesn't mean they need a 10-C key on them at all times. It simply means they upscale them. As for the seagull part, that was literally in one episode (Pressure), so that argument already falls flat on its back.
In fact, humans in the SpongeBob universe are usually shown to be WAY above the average human:
The only human who has shown to be normal and featless is The Cyclops. Sure, he overpowered SpongeBob and Patrick, but you have to remember this was in a movie. The writers weren't suddenly going to think "We should have SpongeBob and Patrick beat him up!". If they weren't any match for The Cyclops, the movie would've been a whole lot shorter, so it's plot-induced stupidity at best.
Btw it's probably worth noting the seagulls who overpowered SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward and Mr. Krabs survived an unrestrained beating from Sandy, so unless you wanna say real life seagulls can tank 9-A attacks, then...there's that.
All in all, the amount of times SpongeBob and co. were overthrown by normal humans and animals sit at two, which might actually be one since the seagulls have shown superhuman durability.
By the way, one part of SpongeBob's characteristics is how he's supposed to tank a lot of inhuman damage given his spongy body, so there goes the "He's supposed to be 10-C!" argument.
Unless you don't have any feats to stand on, size shouldn't define how powerful you are, and the two characters I mentioned are good examples of that.
tl;dr - 10-C SpongeBob is downplay, and all of its arguments are really flat. He's inconsistent like any fictional character, but his moments of weakness are meant for comedy and are only brought up during very specific, far-in-between moments (e.g. MuscleBob BuffPants when he tries to fool Sandy into thinking he's muscular and No Weenies Allowed when he wants to go into a bar for tough fish). They are outnumbered by his much greater feats (e.g. going from slipping on an ice cube to getting struck by lightning, sparring with Sandy in karate, being set on fire, being vaporized, having Patrick drop his rock house on him several times, not feeling Flats' punches, surviving Bikini Bottom exploding, etc). Should this go through, his key in base form should be "Varies from 9-A to 8-B".
Getting to the point, 10-C SpongeBob does not seem legit, and a lot of its reasons are off.
"But SpongeBob has been overpowered by humans and seagulls!"
SpongeBob has only been overpowered by an ordinary, featless human once (The Cyclops from the first movie), but I'll get to that in a bit. Humans and seagulls being stronger than the SpongeBob cast doesn't mean they need a 10-C key on them at all times. It simply means they upscale them. As for the seagull part, that was literally in one episode (Pressure), so that argument already falls flat on its back.
In fact, humans in the SpongeBob universe are usually shown to be WAY above the average human:
- David Hasselhoff swam from Santa Monica, California to Bikini Atoll in 4 minutes (even if it hypothetically took him days, no human can do that without either freezing, drowning, or simply getting exhausted). Shortly afterward, he tanks an attack from Neptune's trident that burns his entire body.
- Patchy the Pirate has many Small Building feats that he's casually tanked, and he also survived being launched from Bikini Atoll to California in Truth or Square, and the other way around in SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout. Cavey, a one-off character, even tossed a boulder without effort, which was calculated in the linked blog.
- Burger Beard gets kicked from Savanna, Georgia to Bikini Atoll and survives it without a scratch. Earlier in the movie, he tanks a punch that launches him out of an island and onto his ship.
- Jim Bob creates afterimages just by dancing, and grows multiple arms.
The only human who has shown to be normal and featless is The Cyclops. Sure, he overpowered SpongeBob and Patrick, but you have to remember this was in a movie. The writers weren't suddenly going to think "We should have SpongeBob and Patrick beat him up!". If they weren't any match for The Cyclops, the movie would've been a whole lot shorter, so it's plot-induced stupidity at best.
Btw it's probably worth noting the seagulls who overpowered SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward and Mr. Krabs survived an unrestrained beating from Sandy, so unless you wanna say real life seagulls can tank 9-A attacks, then...there's that.
All in all, the amount of times SpongeBob and co. were overthrown by normal humans and animals sit at two, which might actually be one since the seagulls have shown superhuman durability.
"But SpongeBob can't lift teddy bears! Or a drink! Or a stick with two marshmallows! And he couldn't open a frozen door!"
I'm not denying SpongeBob is an inconsistent character like any cartoon character, but isn't it common knowledge that lifting strength is completely different from striking strength? And if SpongeBob can't open a ketchup bottle, then how the hell is he a fry cook in the first place? That's a regular task you do if you work at any restaurant. And if he can't lift anything for dear life in general, how does he manage to flip burgers with his spatula on an every day basis? SpongeBob failing to open a frozen door might be the dumbest argument of them all though (I can't find a clip from it but this is from Survival of the Idiots), since SpongeBob didn't even try to physically open it at first. That argument also ignores the amount of times he's already broken through doors and walls. Even then, come back when you can effortlessly break open a frozen metal door.By the way, one part of SpongeBob's characteristics is how he's supposed to tank a lot of inhuman damage given his spongy body, so there goes the "He's supposed to be 10-C!" argument.
"The characters are too small!"
This is easy. It's true SpongeBob is 4 inches tall, but size doesn't equal strength, much like how lifting strength doesn't equal striking strength. The Knight is the size of a bug, but is blatantly ranked 9-B because he has feats that prove he's far above the ordinary insect. And then there's Kirby...Unless you don't have any feats to stand on, size shouldn't define how powerful you are, and the two characters I mentioned are good examples of that.
tl;dr - 10-C SpongeBob is downplay, and all of its arguments are really flat. He's inconsistent like any fictional character, but his moments of weakness are meant for comedy and are only brought up during very specific, far-in-between moments (e.g. MuscleBob BuffPants when he tries to fool Sandy into thinking he's muscular and No Weenies Allowed when he wants to go into a bar for tough fish). They are outnumbered by his much greater feats (e.g. going from slipping on an ice cube to getting struck by lightning, sparring with Sandy in karate, being set on fire, being vaporized, having Patrick drop his rock house on him several times, not feeling Flats' punches, surviving Bikini Bottom exploding, etc). Should this go through, his key in base form should be "Varies from 9-A to 8-B".
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