Which Nickelodeon Characters Would Make the Best Heist Crew?
By Andrea Grubaugh
Nickelodeon is full of characters with a wide array of skills - from the smarties, to the
powerful, to the surprisingly talented.
It makes you wonder…
How well would these characters work together in a heist crew and which ones would fit the
various roles of a heist crew best?
Well, that’s what we’re here to figure out!
I’m Brad with WickedBinge, and this is “Which Nickelodeon Characters Would Make the Best
Heist Crew”?
Now, you can’t have a heist crew without a leader.
For a heist to be successful, you’re going to need someone who can be The Brains.
To be the Brains takes more than just intelligence.
They also have to be strategic along with being someone who is charming or confident
enough to get others to follow their orders.
When it comes to this role, our top choices have to be Jimmy Neutron, Sokka of the Water
Tribe and Lincoln Loud.
With Jimmy, he’s not only a boy genius with an ability to calculate all the factors you
would need to take into account during a dangerous heist, but Jimmy is also the only one of our
choices to have actual heist experience.
In the episode “The Great Egg Heist”, we see Jimmy and his friends successfully
break into a museum.
Although Carl messed up the last step of the plan, Jimmy’s crew was still able to pretty
much get away with their crime, showing off just how impressive Jimmy’s planning skills
are.
While he might not have any heist experience per say, Sokka’s still had several big wins
that not only showcase his skills but give a clear reason why he’s the Brains of Team
Avatar.
After all, Sokka was the one who figured out how to fix the Mechanist’s air balloon design,
and later on he conceptualized the idea of waterbending-powered submarines.
We also see Sokka come up with not one but TWO escape plans after he and Zuko break into
the Boiling Rock, the Fire Nation’s highest security prison.
That last point especially really emphasizes Sokka’s improvisation skills, which can
be especially important in a heist situation - where anything can go wrong at any time.
Finally, we have Lincoln.
As he’s said many times over, he’s the self-defined “man with the plan”.
Despite all the chaos in his life, Lincoln uses his level-headedness and organization
skills to keep things running.
Whether it’s getting his sisters to their activities on time and keeping to their schedule
or knowing how to properly use his family’s talents to defeat an evil duchess, there’s
very little that Lincoln can’t do when he puts his mind to it.
It was an incredibly close call, as we feel any one of these boys would have made an excellent
Brains.
Ultimately though, we had to go with Jimmy Neutron for this one.
He has the most relevant experience and his intellect could certainly help get himself
and his crew out of any jam they may come across.
Next, we move onto another very important role: The Safecracker.
This crewmember often has nimble fingers, a level head and the ability to work under
pressure.
We’ve got a pretty unique selection for this role - Plankton, Toph and Manny Rivera
AKA El Tigre - with each character having their own technique when it comes to safecracking.
Obviously with Plankton, he has the most experience with this sort of thing.
The guy is almost constantly trying to break into Mr. Krabs’ vault - and while these
plans almost always fail, he’s usually pretty successful with the actual breaking-into-the-safe
part.
Not only does he know the ins and outs of various security systems, but Plankton’s
small size could also give him a huge advantage - or at least, it does when it comes to squeezing
through a safe’s cracks.
Not so much when he’s trying to get the treasure out of there without being squished
by it…
Now, when it comes to Toph, it’s less about her being able to crack the safe’s combination
and more about her LITERALLY being able to crack the safe.
Being a master metal bender, she could ideally tear through any safe like it was cardboard.
But, if you need a more quiet and subtle approach, she can do that too!
It can be assumed that, with her seismic senses, she would be able to ‘see’ the mechanisms
within the safe, allowing her to crack it in the traditional way.
There actually is evidence of this.
In the episode “The Puppetmaster”, we see her unlock a chest using a homemade key
and it only takes her half a minute to do it.
But whether she uses her own key, cracks the combination or literally just rips the door
off the safe, it’s nice to know that she has options.
Finally, we have the hero of Miracle City - Manny Rivera.
While he may not have nimble fingers, in his El Tigre form he DOES have nimble claws.
Made out of some sort of mystic metal and passed down to him from the first El Tigre,
his claws are not only sharp as heck but also incredibly strong and durable, likely allowing
him the means to claw his way through any safe.
Additionally, while Manny may not be the smartest boy around, he does have a supervillain grandfather
who we’re sure has taught him a thing or two about breaking into safes.
But while Manny and Plankton would both be good options in their own right, the versatility
and pure strength of Toph is just too good to pass up.
Moving on, it’s important to note we live in a high-tech world filled with security
and surveillance systems that can stop any unprepared heist crew dead in their tracks.
So, this crew’s going to need a tech-savvy Hacker.
For this role, our options are Sandy Cheeks, Mr. Denzel Crocker and Rise of the TMNT’s
Donatello.
With Sandy, it’s made clear that she’s one of - if not THE smartest person - in Bikini
Bottom.
From robots to rockets, she’s an inventor by trade and a pretty talented one at that.
However, for as good as she is with tech, we’ve admittedly never seen her hack into
anything on-screen, although we’re sure that she wouldn’t have too many problems
with figuring out how to do it.
When it comes to Crocker, however, although he’s much more manic and unhinged than Sandy,
it can be argued that his accomplishments are much more impressive.
For as crazy as he is, it’s been shown time and time again that he is right on the edge
of being a certified genius.
He’s invented many things that can be used to either track down or counter and defend
against various elements of magic.
He even knows how to link science and magic together, which is especially impressive and
could be incredibly useful since we’re sure most security systems aren’t equipped to
handle a partially-magical attack.
Our last option though is in a league all his own.
In all incarnations of the TMNT, Donnie is the techie who does machines.
This is taken to its extreme in the 2018 incarnation where it could be argued that he’s the most
powerful he’s ever been.
Donnie is never without at least one piece of tech on him and despite being only 14,
he’s invented some really amazing things.
He’s also the only one on this list with an on-screen example of his hacking prowess.
In the episode “Hot Soup: The Game”, Donnie just casually reveals that he’s hacked into
every security camera in New York and can access them at any time through an app.
For these reasons, we just had to go with Donnie.
Whether they need to fight off guards or keep the crowds under control, every good heist
crew needs a bit of extra Muscle on their side - someone who can show off the power
of Brawn when necessary.
There are plenty of tough Nicktoons characters out there, but the options we decided to go
with were Helga Pataki, TMNT 2012’s Raphael, and Patrick Star.
Now, Helga is pretty infamous for being the toughest girl in her grade.
She’s often seen shoving people or casually punching guys like Brainy in the face with
little effort on her part.
If you get in her way at all, it’s likely that she’ll threaten you with “Ol’ Betsy
and the Five Avengers” (aka her fists).
There are a couple drawbacks to picking Helga for our team, however.
Out of all our options, she’s the youngest, being only nine years old.
We can’t imagine a nine year old standing a chance against many adults, no matter how
tough she may be.
Furthermore, outside of Brainy, we don’t really see her successfully fight with too
many people, and instead see examples of her getting intimidated by Big Patty and easily
beaten by Wolfgang.
Sorry, Helga…
Raphael, on the other hand, isn’t really held back by his age despite only being 15.
Although the 2012 version isn’t the largest or buffest version of Raph that we’ve ever
seen - in fact, he’s the shortest of the team, funnily enough - he still manages to
stand on his own.
He can go up against opponents much larger than him like Slash and Rocksteady, and - like
all the other ninja turtles - he’s trained in a variety of fighting styles and weapons,
allowing him to stand a better chance against surprise threats.
Last but not least is the super star seastar himself, Patrick.
Like Raph, he’s not THE strongest in his series, but he’s still often said to be
one of the strongest characters in “Spongebob Squarepants”.
Unlike the titular character himself, Patrick doesn’t really struggle with lifting super
heavy objects and can be pretty insanely strong at times.
But while his most obvious weakness is his stupidity, we should also note that unlike
someone like Sandy, he isn’t traditionally trained in something like karate, which allows
him to often be outmatched in a one-on-one fight.
Although there’s something to be said about raw strength and intimidation, the best types
of muscle know how to do more than just throw a punch or two - and hey, what better option
for a heist than an actual ninja?
We’re going with 2012!
Raphael on this one.
Heists aren’t always about aggression, however.
Sometimes you need someone low-key to blend in with the crowds.
That’s why we’ll need a Master of Disguise.
We only have two options here - the always cheerful Spongebob Squarepants and the wicked
alien invader, ZIM.
Being a very playful type of person, Spongebob has quite a few silly costumes in his wardrobe.
He knows how to play a character, and while people may not always fall for his tricks,
at the very least Spongebob knows how to be a distraction.
Furthermore, in the fan-favorite episode “Mimic Madness” , we learn that Spongebob is actually
pretty talented at impressions, even having the ability to shape-shift himself to look
like the people he’s mimicking.
Again, this is less about him actually tricking people and more about getting their attention.
So while he may not be as “low-key” as other Master of Disguise characters, we still
feel like Spongebob could get the job done - or at the very least, distract people long
enough for the rest of the crew to play their parts.
ZIM, on the other hand, seems to have a bigger success rate when it comes to the actual disguise
part of this role.
Outside of his usual ‘normal boy’ disguise, we’ve seen him successfully disguise himself
as an old man, Santa Claus and even Professor Membrane in the “Enter the Florpus” movie.
Every single one of these disguises worked, managing to fool everybody outside of Dib
and Gaz.
However, we’re unsure if that says more about ZIM’s disguise skills or the intelligence
of the humans that surround him.
Honestly, this was another extremely close call.
Ultimately though, we felt that Spongebob was the better choice, being much more of
a people-person than ZIM.
As much as we may love a good fight, when plans go wrong and your crew gets pushed into
a corner, sometimes the only way out is to blast your way out.
So, we’re going to need a skilled Gunman.
Being a kids’ network, we don’t see too many characters using actual firearms, but
even laser guns are still a rarity on the channel.
In fact, the only other main character we could think of who uses lasers on a fairly
regular basis is the kid who’s already serving as the Brains of our crew (Jimmy).
So, by default, the role of Gunman is going to XJ9 - AKA Jenny Wakeman.
Being a robot, she’s filled to the brim with a whole armory’s worth of gadgets and
weapons - and a good chunk of those weapons are laser guns that are strong enough to blast
through walls, metal and even asteroids.
If you need something blasted, Jenny is definitely the robo-girl you need to call!
When all is said and done and you’ve finally got your hands on your stolen prize, it’s
time to make a clean escape.
When it comes to this, you’re going to hope that you picked the right Getaway Driver - someone
who’s not only fast behind the wheel but who knows how to avoid obstacles.
Although not all our choices have their driver’s license, they do have plenty of skills - those
choices being Gerald Johanssen, Lori Loud and Debbie Thornberry.
Now admittedly, we were going to go with Arnold as one of our choices, as there is an episode
that shows off his talents as a go-kart driver.
But then we remembered something: in the climax of “Hey Arnold: The Movie”, it’s Gerald
who’s convinced to drive the bus back to the neighborhood after their original driver
is knocked out cold.
Prior to this, it’s stated that Gerald is a master at playing the arcade’s runaway
bus video game, having the top score at it - and he’s actually able to transfer these
skills to real-life!
Granted, he does crash at the very end, but outside of that it’s a strong showing of
his driving skills.
Also, he’s nine.
The fact that he was able to do this at ALL is still impressive.
From one of Nick’s oldest characters to one of its more recent, the next option we
have is Lori Loud.
As the oldest Loud sibling, she’s pretty much the designated chauffeur when it comes
to driving, so it’s safe to say that she has the most driving experience out of all
out options here.
It may not be as impressive as driving a runaway bus, but given that she’s never had any
notable crashes with Vanzilla, Lori’s driving skills are still pretty evident.
The Wild Thornberry’s Debbie is a similar case, being a teenager who learns how to drive
by using a pretty large and hard-to-control vehicle - with the family’s RV leaning more
towards bus than van in terms of size.
In that sense, the fact that Debbie’s able to successfully drive it in the first place
is commendable, as we’re sure many teens would struggle with it.
However, while we may praise Debbie’s efforts, she’s still shown to be not the best driver.
She’s had a couple crashes with the RV, and even when she doesn’t crash, she tends
to be just a bit reckless like most young drivers tend to be.
Just look at how she drives in the Rugrats Go Wild movie - and that’s supposed to be
after she’s learned how to drive.
While having the ability to properly drive a family van may not be the most amazing feat
in the world, it’s still Lori’s lack of major crashes and competency behind the wheel
that make her our go-to getaway driver.
We’ve finally come to our final crew member, someone who’s always a bit of a mystery
due to getting recruited at the last minute.
You never know what they bring to the table, but that’s what makes them The Wildcard.
With this being Nickelodeon, we’ve got plenty of wild characters as well as characters that
just have some really cool abilities.
Since we can only pick four, we’re going with Aang, Sheen Estevez, Timmy Turner and
Danny Phantom.
Let’s start with the character who’s arguably the most powerful.
As the youngest Avatar to master all four elements, Aang is one of the strongest benders
who ever existed.
Even if he were to limit himself to only his airbending, it’s still an ability that not
only catches most people off-guard but can also be used in a variety of different ways
both offensively and defensively.
Any crew with Aang on it is going to have a much higher chance at getting away with
the goods.
Only question is: how okay is Aang with pulling heists?
Moving onto someone who’s… well, not exactly normal but still pretty different from Aang.
Now, Sheen is known for being easily distracted, hyperactive and totally obsessed with Ultra
Lord.
He’s loud and pretty annoying, which could cause tension on most teams.
But despite his flaws, Sheen has his strengths too, allowing to have a few wins under his
belt.
In the Jimmy Neutron theatrical movie, Sheen is the one who’s able to hijack one of the
Yokian ships when Nick is unable to, allowing them all to escape the alien planet.
In the series, we learn that his terrible singing can be used to lull twonkies to sleep,
being the one to ultimately save the day in that special.
Going back to the “Great Egg Heist” episode, we also see Sheen successfully distract the
museum’s guards with his puppets.
Simply put, Sheen may not seem like much on the surface, but he’s a boy of many surprises.
Then we have Timmy Turner.
Simply put, Timmy makes it into this section due to his access to magic through his fairy
godparents.
In a sense, Timmy could wish for almost anything the crew needed to succeed, no matter how
crazy it may be, and could maybe even wish for the object they were after itself.
He’s pretty much the definition of “overpowered”.
However, there is one HUGE catalyst to having Timmy on the team - namely, Da Rules.
If Timmy were to try and wish for something that’s impossible due to Da Rules or gets
the attention of the Fairy Council - a group that would likely be pretty peeved at Timmy
using his fairies’ magic to commit crimes - the crew would have a whole new problem
to deal with.
Lastly, we’ve got the ghost boy of Amity Park - Danny Phantom.
Danny is another character from this selection who’s not only powerful but flexible, having
at least a dozen abilities that can be used in a variety of ways.
He’s got plasma blasts, his ghostly wail, ice abilities, invisibility, intangibility
and even flight.
All of these abilities could help get the crew out of a jam, with that last one especially
allowing for at least one of them to make an emergency escape.
Not only that, but Danny isn’t limited like Timmy can sometimes be, nor is he quite as
moral as Aang, and needless to say he’s MUCH more powerful than Sheen.
So, we could think of no one better for our crew’s Wildcard than everyone’s favorite
half-ghost superhero.
Welcome to the team, Fenton!
(WRITER’S NOTE: For the Editor’s convenience, here’s a recap of all the characters selected:
Jimmy Neutron, Toph, Rise of the TMNT!Donnie, TMNT 2012!Raph, Spongebob, XJ9, Lori Loud
and Danny Phantom)
And there you have it, our Nicktoons Crew!
They may not be the most conventional, but they do seem pretty talented to us.
Who knows, they may even have a shot at stealing the Krabby Patty Secret Formula.
But let us know in the comment section if you agree with our picks and what you think
their likelihood at success would be.
Also, tell us what we should cover next!
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