Although Mr. Krabs is certainly a character from SpongeBob SquarePants that the audience loves, he is not immune to having flaws. Everyone's favorite animated crab is notorious for being cheap. This would be forgivable if it did not consume his entire personality, while simultaneously causing harm to the people around him. In fact, this mainly is the case for individuals that he cares the most about in the show, too. It becomes a common conflict in the series, even if it is also funny at times.
However, there are a handful of specific scenes that truly display just how bad he treats others around him when money is present. In fact, some of the activity that he partakes in because of it can easily be deemed as illegal, too. The severity of his actions do vary, but at the end of the day, they all warrant a lot of criticism from fans.
It seems as though SpongeBob and Squidward are the most likely to experience the negative consequences from Mr. Krabs' greed, but it does not stop there. So many people end up being hurt by him, and it is rather challenging to look past.
When He Sells SpongeBob's Soul To The Flying Dutchman
The Flying Dutchman wants SpongeBob's soul and offers Mr. Krabs money in the process. Instead of rejecting him immediately, Mr. Krabs asks how much he is willing to give him.
The Flying Dutchman hands him $0.62, which Mr. Krabs takes instantly. The audience understands how bad this action is when Squidward actually defends SpongeBob and scolds Mr. Krabs for selling him for literal change. Thankfully, though, SpongeBob comes back, as the Flying Dutchman finds him annoying but this was an act that many fans thought he unforgivable.
When He Fires Squidward For "Stealing His First Dime"
When Mr. Krabs' first dime goes missing, he goes on a complete rampage. This leads to him accusing Squidward of stealing it, which is of course not the case. Without any investigation, he quickly fires him.
This leads Squidward losing his home and SpongeBob takes him in. Yet, at SpongeBob's house, Squidward becomes very ungrateful and bosses SpongeBob around. This leads to SpongeBob confronting Mr. Krabs and demanding him to hire Squidward again. When he lifts Mr. Krabs up out of anger, the monstrous first dime falls out of his pants.
When He Starts Billing SpongeBob And Squidward For Unreasonable Things
Mr. Krabs starts billing SpongeBob and Squidward at the Krusty Krab for ridiculous things, such as breathing and standing. SpongeBob does not take issue with it at first, and even pays off the bill. Yet, this leads Squidward to convince him to go on strike.
The pair gets fired in response to this, but realistically, they are entirely correct in fighting against these ludicrous charges. Mr. Krabs does hire new employees but begs the pair to come back after, as he misses their productivity at the restaurant.
When He Makes SpongeBob Serve An Old Krabby Patty
After cleaning the kitchen, SpongeBob finds an old Krabby Patty under the grill. When SpongeBob tries to throw it out, Mr. Krabs scolds him and demands that he serves it to a customer.
When he does so, the recipient smells it and screams. This leads him to backflip out of the restaurant out of pure horror. Not only does Mr. Krabs almost poison this customer, but his own greed also leads him to eat it himself. This is where he gets hospitalized, as the Krabby Patty poisons him. Thus, he not only hurts others but also himself.
When He Holds Jellyfish Captive
When SpongeBob introduces the customers to Krabby Patties with jellyfish jelly, it becomes a hit. In fact, it even leads to Fred actually singing about how delicious it tastes. The interest in it makes Mr. Krabs put it on the menu.
However, his greed ends up becoming toxic to others, as he begins to hold jellyfish captive as a way to stock up on the jelly. SpongeBob becomes aware of this when the blue jellyfish captures him and takes him there. Thankfully, SpongeBob is able to set them free, which leads to the jellyfish stinging Mr. Krabs.
When He Steals The Oyster's Pearl
When visiting the zoo, SpongeBob and Patrick want to see Clamu perform tricks. However, Clamu is fast asleep, which disappoints them. SpongeBob aims to wake her up by throwing a peanut at her, but this leads to complete turmoil.
Clamu cries extremely loud and it impacts the entire city. SpongeBob spends the whole episode petrified that he is going to go to jail for causing her such distress, but the real cause becomes known. Mr. Krabs actually is responsible for her sadness, as he steals her pearl, which hatches into her baby.
When He Makes A Bad Playground For Children's Money
When summer comes around, Mr. Krabs explains to SpongeBob that it is his favorite season. This is because of the fact that kids are out of school, so they will spend money at the restaurant.
As a way to lure them to the Krusty Krab, Mr. Krabs builds a playground. They are quite excited, but it soon changes once they see it, as it is made of items from the junkyard. It also is immensely unsafe because of this, as one kid even hurts himself in the process. This leads to them protesting against him, which is entirely fair.
When He Makes The Krusty Krab Open 24 Hours Per Day
Mr. Krabs just never learns. In this episode, he decides to keep the Krusty Krab open 24 hours per day. In theory, this would make sense if he had other workers who could take on different shifts. However, he does not, so SpongeBob and Squidward are forced to work nonstop for weeks.
The sleep deprivation impacts them immensely, as they are visibly exhausted. SpongeBob even begins hallucinating a giant Krabby Patty chasing him, which creates a new fear for him. It does pass after he ends up falling asleep, but Mr. Krabs really puts his employees at risk with this change.
When He Uses Gary As A Magnet
Mr. Krabs' greed would even go on to impact Gary negatively. Yes, Mr. Krabs ends up taking advantage of Gary when he finds out that he is magnetic when it comes to loose change. However, it is important to note that it actually causes Gary pain when he does it.
Mr. Krabs does not pay attention to this and keeps it going. He keeps SpongeBob busy with an array of tasks to keep him from finding out, but he fails in his efforts. This leads to the two arguing over what Mr. Krabs is doing when they are at the arcade, but Gary feels the true impact of this, as a load of coins come out from the machines. Mr. Krabs runs towards it and gets hospitalized from the impact.
When He Starts The Krabby Kronicle
Mr. Krabs decides to expand upon his business, as he starts a newspaper. With it, he recognizes that embarrassing stories lead to more buyers, so he has SpongeBob spy on local citizens for the material.
This leads to outrage from everyone and SpongeBob begins to feel immensely guilty for writing it. Thus, to get Mr. Krabs to stop this business venture, he writes a big hit piece on him. Yet, the damage is already done to everyone at this point, though. For example, the Chum Bucket gets shut down for Plankton and Sandy loses her science trophies, too.