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Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People is the eighth epic novel by Dav Pilkey.

Synopsis[]

George and Harold's time-travelling Purple Potty has landed them in a strange, backwards universe. The Purple Potty People--Evil George, Evil Harold, and Captain Blunderpants, are on a mission to take over our world, and nothing's going to stand in their way. Can George and Harold handle this mess on their own, or will they need Captain Underpants to save the day?

Summary[]

The book first starts off with a rant about how grown-ups (such as your parents) encourage something initially when you are very young and discourage it greatly as you grow older. Then it goes to the staff of Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, who are anything but trustworthy are extremely cruel to children. However, George and Harold manage to outsmart them frequently since they aren't very bright.

Getting back to the main story, George Beard, Harold Hutchins, Sulu, and Crackers become skeletons as a result of using the Purple Potty Time Machine two days in a row. They become regular again when they end up in an alternate universe where the whole world is the opposite of their normal world (instead of being perched up in a tree in the Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era) as Melvin warned them about in the last book. Good is bad, smart is dumb, and heroes are villains. For example, Melvin Sneedly is struggling to comprehend a simple children's book, and Mr. Krupp is nice and has a sense of humor (like Captain Underpants does).

After they realize these events taking place and then some, there they see evil versions of George and Harold (George and Harold's evil counterparts), and they learn through one of their evil twins' comics that they had turned their principal into an evil supervillain named Captain Blunderpants. Sulu and Crackers are kidnapped by Evil George and Evil Harold, and they are hypnotized to be evil. Sulu becomes evil and attacks Good George and Good Harold, but Crackers, on the other hand, saves them (which Good George and Good Harold can't understand why).

The heroes finally get back to their normal dimension of the multiverse but end up unintentionally bringing Nice Mr. Krupp, Sulu, and Evil George and Evil Harold with them. Evil George and Evil Harold transform Nice Mr. Krupp into Captain Blunderpants by getting water on his head and the 4 began to raise havoc into the town of Piqua. Good George and Good Harold take the 3D Hypno Ring so that they could dehypnotize Sulu and the Extra-Strength Super Power Juice just in case. However, Mr. Beard stops Good George and Good Harold from leaving the house and forces them to come inside as it is Grandparent's Day and Good George and Good Harold have to eat dinner with their grandparents at Good George's house. While Good George and Good Harold try to explain to Mr. Beard they need to leave, George and Harold's grandparents take the remainder of the Extra-Strength Super Power Juice and drink it.

Elsewhere, Evil George and Evil Harold find Good George and Good Harold's treehouse, rummage through their personal belongings and find the "Goosy-Grow 4000". They then use it to transform Sulu into a giant monster. Sulu charges at Good George and Good Harold, but Crackers flies in and Good George and Good Harold flee from their home, flying over on Crackers' back to be chased by Evil Harold, Evil George, and Captain Blunderpants. The Good George and Harold decide that they have to drink the superpower juice to fight back, but unfortunately, they realize it is somehow empty, despite there being a third amount of juice earlier. Since there was no more of the Super Power Juice left, Good George explains that there is only one plan left they can resort to now.

The duo and Crackers managed to escape the evil duo that was following them, They go to Nasty Mr. Krupp's house (which Good George and Good Harold covered in toilet paper at an earlier point) and knock on his door. Right after Nasty Mr. Krupp answers, Good George and Good Harold quickly snap their fingers to turn Nasty Mr. Krupp into Captain Underpants. The latter then defeats the "Giant-Evil Sulu,"also known as "Hamsterzilla". The evil trio notice this after robbing a bank, so Captain Underpants now must fight his evil counterpart, Captain Blunderpants. However before the epic battle begins, Captain Blunderpants is transformed back into Nice Mr. Krupp by the snap of Good George's finger. The duo reveals that they didn't forget about reading their evil counterparts' comic book on how Blunderpants and Nice Mr. Krupp can switch identities.

Captain Underpants ties the alternate counterparts up, but when Good Harold states that nothing can go wrong, this causes a rainstorm to turn Nice Mr. Krupp back into Captain Blunderpants and Captain Underpants is turned back into Nasty Mr. Krupp. Good George and Good Harold try snapping their fingers, but the snaps have no effect on either Nasty Mr. Krupp or Captain Blunderpants as the rain is pouring too hard on them. Nasty Mr. Krupp can't figure out how he got outside, so he goes back to his soggy toilet paper covered home to get back to bed not contributing to the plot of what is happening around him.

With Captain Underpants out of commission, Good George and Good Harold are forced to get away on Crackers while Captain Blunderpants flies after them with Evil George and Evil Harold in his hand. Good George soon finds the Shrinky Pig 2000 in the treehouse which the gang can use to make the evil twin counterparts no longer a threat. Unfortunately, it is too late as Captain Blunderpants grabs the duo by their shirts while the device falls into the hands of Evil George and Evil Harold. When all seemed lost at a point before Captain Blunderpants can finish off Good George and Good Harold due to Captain Underpants not being in commission to save them, someone's voice stops him from doing so.

Good George and Good Harold's grandparents have arrived and order Captain Blunderpants to put down their grandchildren, but he just tightens his grip on them, so George and Harold's grandparents become Great-Granny Girdle and Boxer Boy. They then place two curtains on them as capes before they defeat Captain Blunderpants and save their grandchildren. Good George notes he figured out what happened to the Super Power Juice that disappeared earlier.

However, Evil George and Evil Harold are prepared to use the Shrinky-Pig 2000 on their alternate twins, but Good Harold claims they can go right ahead as they are holding the device backward. The evil twins stupidly believe this and turn the device around before activating it, resulting in themselves being shrunk. After giving the evil twins the punishment they deserve and George and Harold's grandparents fly off for a romantic dinner, the duo dehypnotizes and shrink Sulu to normal. They then take Evil George, Evil Harold, and Captain Blunderpants back into the Purple Potty, and then they kick them back to their universe.

Harold states everything worked out perfectly, but this causes policemen to arrest them because they think they are the evil George and Harold, who robbed a bank while Captain Underpants was fighting Sulu, also known as Hamsterzilla. Harold again states that things cannot get any worse because they are going to jail for the rest of their lives. This time, however, Tippy Tinkletrousers (Professor Poopypants who changed his name at the end of Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants) comes and freezes the cops solid before he starts chasing George, Harold, Sulu, & Crackers. The book ends, once again, with George yelling "Oh no!" and Harold yelling "Here we go again!"

Comics[]

Characters[]

Differences Between the Universes[]

Underpants' Universe Blunderpants' Universe
There is only one book in the library, and the librarian, Ms. Singerbrains was fired (since she did not understand what Melvin, who switched bodies with Mr. Krupp, said in book 7). The library is full of books and Singerbrains encourages the joys of reading and creativity.
There is no school nurse in the school. There is only a box of band-aids and a rusty saw in case someone is sick or hurt. There is a school nurse in the school (a male one to be precise). The nurse's office is right next to the cafeteria.
All the teachers except Ms. Ribble (hypnotized as of the events of the fifth book) and Mr. Fyde (Mr. Fyde is retired) are nasty. All the teachers (possibly except Ms. Ribble and Mr. Fyde) are nice.
Mr. Krupp thinks that George and Harold's jokes are rude and offensive. Mr. Krupp thinks that George and Harold's jokes are funny.
Melvin is clever, smart, and intelligent. Melvin has no intelligence.
The school emphasizes knowledge and penalizes imagination. The school emphasizes imagination and penalizes knowledge.
Harold wears a T-shirt and George wears a collared shirt and tie. George wears a T-shirt and Harold wears a collared shirt and tie.
George and Harold are mischievous but good-natured. George and Harold are evil with a taste for destructive chaos.
George is the more bold and daring of the duo, while Harold is the more timid of the duo. Harold is the more bold and daring of the duo, while George is the more timid of the duo.
The cafeteria food is nasty. The cafeteria food is delicious.
Mr. Meaner is nasty, obese, and coaches the Purple Dragon Sing-A-Long Friends. Mr. Meaner is nice, fit, and coaches the Knuckleheads.
George and Harold's past enemies are evil. George and Harold's past enemies are good.
While working on the comics, George does the writing and Harold does the illustrating. George's spelling is not really that good and Harold's art style is pretty crummy.  While working on the comics, George does the illustrating and Harold does the writing (which is possibly why the drawings are more accurate and the words are spelled right and are written better, implying that Harold may be a better speller than George and George may be a better artist than Harold). 
George's writing is everywhere and sometimes crossed out and misspelled (which is considered normal for a kid his age). Harold's writing is aligned and spelled correctly.
Harold's artwork is slightly sketchy. George's artwork is perfect and accurate.
The underwear hero created by George and Harold is Captain Underpants. The underwear villain created by George and Harold is Captain Blunderpants.
Mr. Krupp turns into Captain Underpants by the snap of a finger. Mr. Krupp turns into Captain Blunderpants by pouring water on his head.
Captain Underpants turns back into Mr. Krupp by pouring water on his head. Captain Blunderpants turns back into Mr. Krupp by the snap of a finger.
Captain Underpants' war cry is "Tra-La-Laaaaa!". Captain Blunderpants' war cry is "La-La-Traaaaa!".
Mr. Krupp is nasty and wears a toupee. Mr. Krupp is nice and is bald.
Captain Underpants is nice and is bald. Captain Blunderpants is nasty and wears a toupee.
At the end of Good George and Harold's comic, they show a sketchy picture of a treehouse with the words saying: "Tree House Comix Inc." written below it. At the end of the evil George and Harold's comic, they show a far more accurate picture of a treehouse, with the words saying: "Evil Tree House Comics, LLC." written below it.
George and Harold own pets. George and Harold do not own pets.
George used the 3-D Hypno-Ring on Mr. Krupp and made Mr. Krupp think he was Captain Underpants. Harold used the 3-D Hypno-Ring on Mr. Krupp and made Mr. Krupp think he was Captain Blunderpants.
Harold stated "I'm so happy I could cry." after the boys manage to turn Captain Underpants back into Mr. Krupp. George stated "I'm so happy, I could cry!" after Captain Blunderpants stole a Video Game System and a Big Screen Television for him and Harold.
Captain Underpants is confronted by a police officer after foiling a robbery. Captain Blunderpants is confronted by a police officer while committing a robbery.
Captain Underpants avoids arrest when George and Harold grab him and run away from the police force. Captain Blunderpants avoids arrest by running away from the police officer.
Captain Underpants obtained his superpowers from alien superpower juice. Captain Blunderpants obtained his superpowers from a mixture of chocolate and peanut butter.
Captain Underpants gained his powers while fighting a monster and saving lives. Captain Blunderpants gained his powers while committing a crime and causing deaths (unintentionally but unconcernedly).
Captain Underpants first existed as a fictional comic book character before being brought to life via the 3-D Hypno-Ring. Captain Blunderpants first existed by being brought to life via the 3-D Hypno-Ring and then a comic book was created about him which was factual (though it's unknown if he was or wasn't ever a fictional character at first).

Trivia[]

  • The gender of Crackers is brought into question twice. The first time is when she saves Good George and Good Harold despite getting hypnotized to be bad by the 3-D Hypno Ring (according to Book Five, the effects of the 3-D Hypno Ring are reversed on women, such as Ms. Ribble/Wedgie Woman). The second is when all the "He's" were italicized in Good George and Good Harold's quotes. This is further confused by the fact that the narrator only refers to Crackers by name and species (Crackers, plucky pterodactyl, etc). The tenth book later revealed that Crackers is indeed female, so this means that the 3-D Hypno Ring in Captain Blunderpants' universe works oppositely on women, just like the regular 3-D Hypno Ring.
  • It was originally stated that Boxer Boy and Great Granny Girdle were going to appear in the ninth book. However, Dav Pilkey changed his mind, most likely since they appeared in this book.
  • The subtitle of this book, back when it and Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers were to be both parts of one story, was originally "The Clash of the Colossal Kung-Fu Monkeys from Beyond Infinity". However, no such characters appear in this book.
  • The book that the librarian offers the boys shortly after they arrive, Mommy Has Two Heathers, is a parody of the 1989 book, Heather Has Two Mommies, which gained controversy upon its initial release for its depiction of lesbians.
    • Actually, considering that this takes place during (their) Banned Books Week, and Heather Has Two Mommies is banned in our universe, technically "Mommy Has Two Heathers" being a banned book makes no sense and shouldn't be banned. Although Miss Singerbrains might've unbanned it.
  • At the 75th page of the book, the illustration depicts a sign saying: "'Schools is educationy'; A message from our president." This might be an indirect way of criticizing or parodying American president George W. Bush and his frequent grammar mistakes known by some as Bushisms.
  • If Melvin Sneedly does not have any intelligence in Captain Blunderpants' universe, then there should not be alternate versions of the Turbo Toilet 2000 and the Robo-Boogers, since they were created by his inventions.
  • The title of chapter 19, "Whenhamstersattack.com", is a real website (not anymore), first created to promote Captain Underpants and the Big Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy - Part 1: The Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets. It might be possible that it was named after the website because Sulu is a hamster, and he attack is mentioned in the site.
  • On page 72, a sign in the library shelf says, "Reading Might Offend You... Why Take a Chance?" This was first seen in the preceding book.
  • In the double-page 46-47 illustration, Dr Diaper is a policeman; The Turbo Toilet 2000 is a crossing guard; Zorx, Klax, Jennifer, and Tippy Tinkletrousers are firefighters; and Trixie, Frankenbooger, and Carl are road-workers and a postman respectively.
    • The only villains not seen are the Wicked Wedgie Woman and the Bionic Booger Boy. This might be because George and Harold haven't hypnotized Ms. Ribble in Captain Blunderpants' universe, and Melvin has already been separated from the Robo-Boogers.
  • Captain Blunderpants is a parody of Ultraman.
  • The cover of George and Harold's second comic has a subtitle of "An Epic Novella by George Beard and Harold Hutchins", mirroring the Captain Underpants subtitles of "The ___th/nd/st/rd Epic Novel by Dav Pilkey."
  • This is the first book where the intro comic is held by somebody rather than the comic being somewhat floating in mid air.
  • When Evil George and Evil Harold find the Goosy Grow 4000, it is shown to fit in the evil George's palm. But when Good George and Good Harold returned to normal size in the 4th book, it was smaller than a penny.
  • Ironically, Good George and Harold consider their counterparts' work terrible compared to their own.
    • Unless they are in denial about the fact that their work is terrible compared to their counterparts'. They eventually wise up during the Dog Man series and begin to improve.
  • This is the first time there are two "To Make a Long Story Short" chapters in a book. Usually there is only one per book.
  • The chapter about adult hypocrisy is probably a jab at adults who complained about the books.
  • This book advertises 4 books at the end, only 2 actually came out, that being Super Diaper Baby 2, and Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers, the others being The Captain Underpants Cartoon-o-Rama, and Frankenfart Vs. Bionic Barf Bunnies from Diarrhea Land.

Gallery[]

External links[]

Main Books in Main Series
Captain Underpants
The Adventures of Captain UnderpantsCaptain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking ToiletsCaptain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds)Captain Underpants And The Perilous Plot of Professor PoopypantsCaptain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman • Captain Underpants and the Big Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy ( Part 1) ( Part 2) • Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty PeopleCaptain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy TinkletrousersCaptain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-BoxersCaptain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot
Super Diaper Baby
The Adventures of Super Diaper BabySuper Diaper Baby 2: Invasion of the Potty SnatchersSuper Diaper Baby 3: Petey’s Revenge
Ook and Gluk
The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen From the FutureThe Adventures of Ook and Gluk Jr.: Kung-Fu Cavekids in Outer Space
Dog Man
Dog ManDog Man: UnleashedDog Man: A Tale of Two KittiesDog Man and Cat KidDog Man: Lord of the FLEASDog Man: Brawl of the WildDog Man: For Whom the Ball RollsDog Man: Fetch-22Dog Man: Grime and PunishmentDog Man: Mothering HeightsDog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea
Cat Kid Comic Club
Cat Kid Comic ClubCat Kid Comic Club: PerspectivesCat Kid Comic Club: On PurposeCat Kid Comic Club: CollaborationsCat Kid Comic Club: Influencers
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