The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby
 | |
| Author | Dav Pilkey (credited as George Beard) |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Dav Pilkey (credited as Harold Hutchins) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Captain Underpants series |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher |
Blue Sky (US), Scholastic (US) |
Publication date | February 5, 2002 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| ISBN | 9780545385794 |
| Followed by | Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers |
The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby is an American children's novel by Dav Pilkey, credited as "George Beard and Harold Hutchins", categorized as part of the author's Captain Underpants series of books as a spin-off to the series.[1]
Plot
Introduction
George and Harold were in the gym on their skateboards running over ketchup packs having a good time, until Mr. Krupp yells at them. Mr. Krupp tells George and Harold to clean up the mess and meet him at his office. After George and Harold hose down the gym floor, they went to Mr. Krupp's office, where he told them he was going to punish the boys with writing a sentence over and over but realized that it won't teach them anything. Instead, he assigns them to write a 100-page essay on good citizenship and that they can't turn it into a story with Captain Underpants. George and Harold decided that they would create a book on good citizenship with a new superhero instead. The next day they showed the book to Mr. Krupp which made him angry and he punished the two by making them write sentences.
Main plot
The narrative begins with a married couple, Billy and Hodkind Hoskins, anticipating the birth of their first child. As the book begins, the expectant parents rush to the hospital, as Mary Hoskins is in labor. In another location, Deputy Dangerous and his pet, a talking dog named Danger Dog drain Captain Underpants of his superpowers by using the Deputy's "Super Power Taker-Awayer Ray 2000". The device steals the superhero's power and converts it into a liquid that Deputy Dangerous and Danger Dog plan to consume; however, the two are interrupted by the arrival of the police and Danger Dog manages to drink only half of the liquid. Both Deputy Dangerous and Danger Dog manage to evade the police.
Back at the hospital, Mary Hoskins gives birth to a baby boy, Billy. The attending doctor accidentally sends Billy flying out of a window into the bucket containing the liquid of Captain Underpants's secret powers. Billy drinks the juice, gaining the super powers, and overpowers both Deputy Dangerous and Danger Dog, both of whom are then apprehended by the police. Billy then flies back to the maternity ward, holding onto the nurse who attempted to diaper him, to be reunited with his parents.
Danger Dog and Deputy Dangerous escape from the "City Jail for Bad Guys and Dogs" to their secret lab on top of a mountain. Deputy Dangerous invents the "Danger Crib 2000", which can transmit superpowers from babies to his brain via satellite. They send it to the Hoskins family under the pseudonyms "Deputy Un-Dangerous" and "Safety Dog". Billy poops in his diaper one minute before the transmitting time of midnight and his mother removes him from the crib to give him a very nice bath just as the "Heat-Seeking Dish" that drains the powers turns on. Instead of transmitting the coveted superpowers of Captain Underpants to Deputy Dangerous; the "Danger Crib 2000" transmits the poop, turning him into a small turd (albeit with limbs, a face, and the same cowboy wardrobe).
The next morning, Deputy Dangerous invents the "Robo-Ant 2000" so he can take over the world. He asks Danger Dog's opinion, but instead Danger Dog coins the name "Deputy Doo-Doo", much to the Deputy's dismay. Instead of helping, Danger Dog goofs off by changing signs around. Billy hears the robot and decides to stop it, but he is defeated by Deputy Doo-Doo and taken to a nuclear power plant. Danger Dog saves Billy, while the Ant loses balance and falls into the power plant instead, then, Danger Dog takes Billy home. Bill and Mary want to keep "Safety Dog", but the Landlord who stepped on Deputy Doo-Doo earlier worries that Danger Dog might urinate on and stain the carpet. However, he changes his mind when they put a diaper on him and rename him Diaper Dog.
Meanwhile, back at the power plant, radioactivity causes Deputy Doo-Doo to grow into a giant, and he resumes rampaging through the city. Super Diaper Baby and Diaper Dog fly out to stop him, but Diaper Dog notes that they shouldn't touch the now-radioactive Deputy Doo-Doo. Instead, they trick him into attacking himself, and they wrap him up using a giant toilet paper roll (taken from the top of a building called "Bob's Toilet Paper Co."), and remove him to the planet Uranus.
On the way back to Earth, they stop by at a "Starbutts" on Mars, decide to take some Super Power Juice back to Earth, and go to the laundromat where Captain Underpants is held captive. They restore his powers, and all is right with the world.
Characters
- Billy Hoskins/Super Diaper Baby - is the book's protagonist; he is a newborn baby who gains Captain Underpants' powers.
- Danger/Diaper Dog - is the Hoskins pet and Super Diaper Baby's sidekick. He was once allied with Deputy Dangerous, but only because the villain gave him ample "kibbles". He gained superpowers by drinking half of the liquid produced by Deputy Dangerous' power-draining ray, and later began taunting his "master" incessantly following his accidental transformation into Deputy Doo-Doo. When Deputy Doo-Doo tried to kill Billy Hoskins, Danger Dog intervened and saved the baby, also turning to the side of good.
- Deputy Dangerous/Doo-Doo - is the main antagonist of the book. He invents the Danger Crib 2000 to steal Super Diaper Baby's powers, the Robo-Ant 2000, and owns the Ye Old Underwear Laundry. He becomes a piece of poop due to a mishap in one of his attempts to steal Super Diaper Baby's powers and grows huge when he gets dumped in radioactive waste. After he is defeated, he is dumped on Uranus.
- Captain Underpants - George and Harold's cartoon character.
- Bill Hoskins - Billy's father.
- Mary Hoskins - Billy's mother.
- Dr. Dilbert Dinkle/Rip Van Tinkle - is the main antagonist of Super Diaper Baby 2. He once was a criminal/inventor. He is accidentally shot by Petey, turning him into water. After antagonizing his cat one too many times, Petey drinks him, turning him into urine. Shunned everywhere due to his stench, the newly minted "Rip Van Tinkle" decides to destroy all toilets in the world to leave everyone unable to relieve themselves. He is betrayed by Petey and immobilized by being soaked into a giant roll of toilet paper, but one drop of himself escapes and falls into the city's swimming pool (currently converted into an emergency toilet by the Mayor). Absorbing all of the urine in the pool, Rip Van Tinkle grows into a giant that even overpowers Super Diaper Baby and Diaper Dog. However, the heroes defeat him by temporarily moving the Earth away from the sun, causing the water-based villain to become frozen solid. After being used in a ploy to restore Bill Hoskin's confidence, the frozen Rip Van Tinkle is then left on Uranus along with the wrapped Deputy Doo-Doo. Dav Pilkey originally planned to name Rip Van Tinkle "Pee Pee Longstockings".
- Petey - is a grumpy tabby cat. Petey dislikes Rip Van Tinkle's attitude and bad breath. He is the controller of the Robo Kitty and Supa - Mecha Kitty 3000. After he sniffs catnip, he goes mentally crazy. He is dropped off at a prison for cats. Later, he appears in Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Re-Turn of Tippy Tinkletrousers in the Comic ""The Adventures of the Dog Man"". He also appears in a bonus comic in Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers, and in Super Diaper Baby 2.5 in Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000.
Sequel
| Author | Dav Pilkey (credited as George Beard) |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Dav Pilkey (credited as Harold Hutchins) |
| Language | English |
| Series | Captain Underpants series |
| Genre | Children's novel |
Publication date | June 28, 2011 |
| ISBN | 9780545175326 |
| Preceded by | The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby |
On the last page of the book, an advertisement for a sequel titled Super Diaper Baby 2: Invasion of the Potty Snatchers can be found. The book took longer than the anticipated release due to Dav Pilkey taking care of his terminally ill father. On the back page there was a picture of the book with the words The Third Epic Novel by George Beard and Harold Hutchins underneath. The long-awaited book was finally published on June 28, 2011, named The Third Graphic Novel.
Plot summary
Introduction
After Mr. Krupp bans Captain Underpants comics, George Beard and Harold Hutchins decide to create a new comic book called "Super Diaper Baby." After seeing the comic, Mr. Krupp is shocked and sends them both into detention. In the sequel introduction it shows what happened after Mr Krupp reads the first book (as well as giving us a quick reminder or glimpse of what happened in the first book like in all the Captain Underpants books except the first) it turns out he rips it up and throws it away and shouts at George and Harold at to why can't they write about something besides poop, but they can't think of anything so to help Mr. Krupp gives them the book: How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It had the final seven pages ripped out and Mr. Krupp said it is because it is more realistic like that. After reading it George and Harold are inspired by the book and enjoy it. They then decide it was the right thing to write about other things than poop. After a while they decide to make a sequel to the previous book which was about poop and make this one about pee and when they give it to Mr. Krupp he sent them into detention again and he make them do busy work.
Plot
Mr. and Mrs. Hoskins, Billy and Diaper Dog go to the park to set up a picnic, Mr. Hoskins plays "airplane" with Billy, but Billy gets carried away and attempts to play the same game, tossing his dad into a tree thanks to his super powers. Mr. Hoskins tells his son everything is okay, puts an ice pack on his head, and starts eating with the rest of the family. Then, a girl appears and asks Mr. Hoskins to help her get her doll back because a bully stole it and was about to smash it with a rock. Before Mr. Hoskins can reply, Diaper Dog grabs the bully and forces him to apologize and return the doll to the little girl. Then, a boy and a girl ask for help getting their ball, which is stuck on top of a portable toilet. Before he could help, Billy cuts in and becomes Super Diaper Baby to push the portable toilet down so they could have their ball. Unfortunately, the toilet was occupied, and an innocent bystander was exposed. Last, a mother of a child asks Mr. Hoskins if they can drive them to the hospital because her son had a broken toe due to playing kickball. Before he could help again, Super Diaper Baby and Diaper Dog cut in and take the two to the hospital in less than 5 seconds. That night, Mr. Hoskins feels depressed, saying he doesn't seem "important" for what he does because he doesn't have super powers. Mrs. Hoskins tries to cheer up her husband by telling him he's still good at reading bed time stories, so Mr. Hoskins decides to read a book called "Mechafrog and Robotoad are Enemies" to Billy. But Diaper Dog explains that the super powers he has gave Billy the ability to read. And Billy reads the book to his sad father.
Meanwhile, at Jim's Bank, two criminals (Dr. Dilbert Dinkle, with a beard and odd head shape, and Petey, his pet, a talking cat with stripes) sneak with an invention. Dr. Dinkle shows his invention can shoot anything and turn it into water. And shoots it at the bank's wall. But, Petey gets bored and hides behind a bush, much to Dr. Dinkle's annoyance, so he gives Petey the job as the lookout. Petey complains, and Dr. Dinkle says "That's a Y.P not an M.P!" abbreviation of "That's your problem, not my problem!". Dr. Dinkle enters, but before he could measure, careless Petey accidentally pushes down the lever (and shoots Dr. Dinkle by mistake) Dr. Dinkle becomes water (but Dr. Dinkle sees being water has its perks, and slips inside the safe to steal the money) Back at his home, Dr. Dinkle finds out that if he stays concentrated, he evaporates into a cloud, and that if he's made out of water, he will never pay the water bill again (this later leads to the city cutting off the water to his house after not paying the bill for two weeks). Petey complains he needs water for drinking, but Dr. Dinkle ignores him and goes to sleep. Petey decides to get revenge at Dr. Dinkle, and drinks him. The next morning, Dr. Dinkle inside Petey's stomach starts yelling in surprise "Hey!", "Who turned out the lights!?!", "Let me out of here!", and "I demand a explanation!", at the same time Petey needs to urinate and leaps into his litter box. When he's done doing his business, Petey finds out that urinating Dr. Dinkle caused him to turn from water to urine.
At the city, Super Diaper Baby and Diaper Dog discuss Mr. Hoskins' blues. They also take down a purse snatcher, a carjacker, and a swindler while they talk. Diaper Dog finally announces they will try a find a way to cheer him up.
Meanwhile, Dr. Dinkle is still grumbling about the event earlier that morning. Petey instead coins the name "Rip Van Tinkle", much to Rip Van Tinkle's dismay. Petey finds this funny and makes jokes pointing at him. Rip Van Tinkle couldn't take it, and instead walked to a jewelry store, coffee place, book store, and a pizza parlor, but all deny him or his money (they reek) inside their stores. Rip Van Tinkle seeks revenge.
The following night, Rip Van Tinkle makes the Robo Kitty 3000 and puts Petey inside the control seat. Rip Van Tinkle then evaporates into a cloud made out of pee, and rains down hundreds of pee drops into people's houses. The pee drops steal toilets, and destroy them with the crushing jaws of the Robo Kitty 3000. One pee drop finds Billy, tricks him that he will go and repair the toilet, gives him a juice box and puts him back in bed, and destroys the toilet. Everyone moans the next day because they have nowhere to relieve themselves. Mr. Hoskins and Mrs. Hoskins are in pain back at their home, but put on diapers, solving the problem. The mayor decides to drain the pool and use it as a place to pee.
The pee drops unite to create Rip Van Tinkle, who does not know what to do next after his plan. So Petey adds to his idea, steals diapers everywhere, and sells them to the toilet fewer people. But, Rip Van Tinkle becomes a bit too greedy, saying the diaper thing was his idea, not Petey's, and takes Petey's money. Petey grabs a huge roll of toilet paper, and soaks Rip Van Tinkle up with it. Super Diaper Baby and Diaper Dog arrive, only for Petey to evolve the Robo Kitty 3000 into the Supa - Mecha Kitty 3000. Petey manages to grab Diaper Dog; Super Diaper Baby flies away to buy catnip and pour it inside the control seat. Petey goes crazy after having the slightest sniff of the cat nip, bounces around, and detaches the Supa - Mecha Kitty 3000's head. Super Diaper Baby and Diaper Dog grab Petey and carry him off to jail.
A drop of pee, the only one left after Petey soaked them up, goes flying through the air because he was flicked, and lands into the Mayor's pee pool. The pee drop absorbs the pee and grows into an enlarged Rip Van Tinkle, who seeks revenge. Meanwhile, Super Diaper Baby and Diaper Dog put the now mentally insane Petey away. The duo find Rip Van Tinkle wreaking havoc at the train tracks. Rip Van Tinkle uses the train as nunchucks and hits both of them. Rip Van Tinkle overpowers the two, and smashes a building right on top of them. However, Super Diaper Baby remembers that a week before, he put his juice box in the freezer and it froze solid, giving Diaper Dog the idea to push down on the Earth. It works, making the Earth go farther and farther from the Sun. Rip Van Tinkle freezes and Diaper Dog and Super Diaper Baby carry Rip Van Tinkle while Super Diaper Baby gets an idea of how to cheer up his father.
Back at the Hoskins' house, Billy tells Mr. Hoskins that there was an ice monster outside (Rip Van Tinkle) and tells his dad he's brave enough to stand up to him. Diaper Dog, hiding behind and making a voice for Rip Van Tinkle, talks to Mr. Hoskins. The "ice monster" is "scared" of Mr. Hoskins' talking and leaves Earth. While someone asks for Mr. Hoskins' autograph, Super Diaper Baby and Diaper Dog take Rip Van Tinkle to Uranus, only for Deputy Doo Doo to say The Baby again.. They come back, and take a picture with Mr. and Mrs. Hoskins with a news reporter and put on a newspaper saying "Diaper Clad Dad Saves The Earth!".
Controversy
Much like Captain Underpants, Super Diaper Baby was also banned in several schools for being inappropriate for children. It also faced criticism, along with the rest of the graphic novels, as some people claimed it would make children bad at spelling.
References
- ↑ Pilkey, Dav (2003). "Dav's Books" (Web page). pilkey.com. Eyeland Studio. Retrieved 23 March 2012.