''Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds)'' is the third book of the ''

Captain Underpants ''Captain Underpants'' is an illustrated children's novel series by American author and illustrator Dav Pilkey. The series revolves around two fourth graders, George Beard and Harold Hutchins, living in Piqua, Ohio, and Captain Underpants, a ...

'' series by

Dav Pilkey David "Dav" Murray Pilkey Jr. (; born March 4, 1966) is an American cartoonist, author, and illustrator of children's literature. He is best known as the author and illustrator of the children's book series, ''Captain Underpants'', and the ch ...

. The series of American

children's books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

are about two

fourth grade Fourth grade (also called grade four, equivalent to Year 5 in England and Wales, and Year 4 in Australia) is a year of Elementary education in some countries. In North America, the fourth grade is the fifth school year of elementary school. Stud ...

rs, George and Harold, and their mean principal Mr. Krupp, who can turn into Captain Underpants. It was published on September 1, 1999. It is the first book to feature the use of 'Extra-Strength Super Power Juice' (an invention of Zorx, Klax, and Jennifer, the antagonists of the book), which is used to give Captain Underpants superpowers later in the book. Its "annoyingly long title" becomes a running joke in the later books. In September 2008 a collector's edition of the book was released. It features a 3D cover, and a CD of Captain Underpants-themed songs by Dav Pilkey's friend Koji Matsumoto.

Plot

Zorx, Klax and Jennifer, three

evil Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...

extraterrestrials Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected, although efforts are underway. Such life might ...

, suddenly land on the

rooftop A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temper ...

of Jerome Horwitz

Elementary School A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

, but people don't realize this

unidentified flying object An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

is on the

roof A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temper ...

of this school, and this allows them to

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

on them. Meanwhile, George and Harold mess with this school's science teacher, learning about this action of mixing

baking soda Sodium bicarbonate (IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda, is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cation ( Na+) and a bicarbonate anion ( HCO3−) ...

and

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to et ...

. They son make cafeteria ladies a fake

cupcake A cupcake (also British English: fairy cake; Hiberno-English: bun) is a small cake designed to serve one person, which may be baked in a small thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, frosting and other cake decorations such as frui ...

recipe A recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to prepare or make something, especially a dish of prepared food. A sub-recipe or subrecipe is a recipe for an ingredient that will be called for in the instructions for the main recipe. His ...

, disguised as "Mr. Krupp's Krispy Krupcakes" for Principal Krupp's "birthday". The lunch ladies decide to surprise Mr. Krupp and make cupcakes for the entire school and the school is flooded with sticky green goop. A day after, as the school is cleaned, the lunch ladies show Mr. Krupp about the mess, who gets very mad when he hears that they did it for his birthday. ("But this was never my birthday!") Agitated, the lunch ladies blame George and Harold, but Mr. Krupp needs proof to punish them. Disappointed and pissed off from past agitations these two students did, these lunch ladies soon decide to

resign Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

. About 10 seconds after, these aliens invaders come, disguised as people and Mr. Krupp approves of them, despite having no previous similar efforts in cooking, with no credentials, or references. For George and Harold's antics, Mr. Krupp eliminates cafeteria privileges from both of them and requires them to eat lunch in his office where he can keep them, much to this surprise (believing they got in trouble for something they "didn't" do). The day after, while the three of them have lunch, both boys made unique sandwiches and other food so offensive, this makes Mr. Krupp sick making him exit his office to have some fresh air. After Mr. Krupp leaves, George and Harold go to change letters on the sign in the cafeteria, only to realize this sign is already oddly arranged by the aliens. They immediately notice that all of the students and staff at the school have become evil zombie nerds. Sneaking into the lunchroom, George and Harold learn that the aliens fed the students and faculty "Zombie Nerd

Milkshake A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, fruit syrup, or whole fruit into a thick, sweet, cold mixture ...

s" and plan to feed them "Super Evil Rapid Growth Juice" the next day, turning them into giant minions bent on taking over the world. George and Harold steal the carton of growth juice and pour the contents out the window, most of which lands on a

dandelion ''Taraxacum'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus is native to Eurasia and Nor ...

, turning it into the massive Dandelion of Doom. When they tell Mr. Krupp, he doesn't believe them but starts to believe them after Miss Anthrope (as a zombie nerd) takes a bite out of his desk. When they enter the cafeteria, Zorx grabs Harold, who escapes and pulls off his gloves revealing his

tentacle In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work main ...

s. Zorx snaps his tentacle at them (despite tentacles not having fingers), turning Mr. Krupp into Captain Underpants, who runs to the

shoe store Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...

to order a

cheeseburger A cheeseburger is a hamburger topped with cheese. Traditionally, the slice of cheese is placed on top of the meat patty. The cheese is usually added to the cooking hamburger patty shortly before serving, which allows the cheese to melt. Cheese ...

, for what the incredibly graphic violence chapter said. The boys temporarily defeat the aliens by Captain Underpants' return, but are spotted by the zombie nerds, causing them to climb up on the roof, where they run into the alien

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

to escape the Dandelion of Doom. Inside, they steal multiple cartoned juices, before the aliens lock them in their jail cell. The aliens take off in the spaceship and plan to shower the zombie nerds with "Super Evil Rapid Growth Juice" via the ship's spray gun. While the aliens gloat, the boys switch the labels of the growth and "Ultra Nasty self-destruct juices", along with those on the spray gun and fuel tank, setting off a chain reaction in the spaceship. The trio jump off the spaceship before it explodes using Captain Underpants' cape as a

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

. They end up landing in the mouth of the Dandelion of Doom, which begins to eat Captain Underpants. George reluctantly gives him some of the "Extra-Strength Super Power Juice", who fights and kills the dandelion with his new powers. Harold mixes the "Anti Evil Zombie-Nerd Juice" with

root beer Root beer is a sweet North American soft drink traditionally made using the root bark of the sassafras tree ''Sassafras albidum'' or the vine of ''Smilax ornata'' (known as sarsaparilla, also used to make a soft drink, Sarsaparilla (soft drink ...

, which is fed to all the zombie nerds, transforming them back to normal. However, as a result of the Super Power Juice, Mr. Krupp (when Captain Underpants) permanently has superpowers.

Comics

''Wedgie Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Principal''

A parody of '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'', this book explains the events of the previous two books and how Captain Underpants and Mr. Krupp can change.

''The Night of the Living Lunch Ladies''

The Lunch Ladies are cleaning Friday's leftovers when the janitor locks them in the school, where they die by Sunday night. The janitor unknowingly buries them at a haunted hill. The Lunch Ladies rise from the dead and attack the gymnastics teacher. Captain Underpants came and tried to give them wedgies, but it proves ineffective "Oh no! Wedgie Power doesn't work on the living dead!" (Captain Underpants). They get into a big fight, and they all end up on a building. Captain Underpants uses the Toilet Paper of Justice to tie the ladies, but they break free with the help of steak sauce. Captain Underpants then swings to safety using the toilet paper to swing on, while the lunch ladies fall to their deaths when they try to follow.

''Dog Man: The Wrath of Petey'' (Full-color version only)

Dog Man was the best cop of the world, but he only had one weakness. He was eating out of the garbage cans, rolling in the dead fish and sniffing the other dogs. The cops (even the chief) decided to give him a bath, but Dog Man ran away because he doesn't like baths. The cops searched all around the city looking for Dog Man, but they couldn't find him anywhere. Soon, Petey decided that he should escape. He put the newspaper in the toilet, and he clogged the toilet by flushing the chain. The water from the toilet began going higher and higher and Petey escaped cat jail to his crime spree by robbing banks, stealing jewels and hijacking cars. But the cops could never catch them, they wish Dog Man would return. Meanwhile, Dog Man was hiding in an alley, eating out of a garbage can, and saw a newspaper. He felt ashamed, but he knew he must be brave and returned "bravishly" to stop Petey. He searched for him and picked up a trail which led straight to Petey's house, but it was a trap. Petey sprayed water and Dog Man got scared, so he ran away from Petey by digging a hole to the zoo. Dog Man came up in a cage where the skunks live, and the skunks sprayed on Dog Man. Dog Man "liked stinky stuff but that was too much"! Petey ran out of the hole and got caught by a net. The cop sent Petey back to cat jail while the cops gave Dog Man a bath. Dog Man was now clean, but then he rolled on the dead fish again. This comic was both seen on the full-color version of the third Captain Underpants book in 2014 and Dog Man Unleashed in 2016.

Characters

* George Beard and Harold Hutchins - Two fourth grade pranksters in Jerome Horwitz Elementary School. * Mr. Krupp - The mean principal of Jerome Horwitz Elementary School. In this book, he bans George and Harold from cafeteria privileges for pranking the old lunch ladies into creating a flood of green goop in the school. He sends the boys to eat in his office from that point onward. * Captain Underpants - Mr. Krupp's alter ego. * Zorx, Klax and Jennifer - Three mean aliens who disguise as school lunch ladies and turn the entire school personnel into zombie nerds, except for George, Harold, and Mr. Krupp. * The lunch ladies - Three mean, gruesome lunch ladies of the Jerome Horwitz Elementary School cafeteria. George and Harold prank them into a birthday cupcake recipe, which turns into a wave of green goop flooding the school. Because they are fed up with the boys' pranks, they quit their jobs. In this book, all except one have a name - Mrs. DePoint and Ms. Creant. * Mr. Fyde - The science teacher of Jerome Horwitz Elementary School. * Ms. Ribble - The English teacher of Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, who turned into a zombie nerd. * Mr. Meaner - The gym teacher of Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, who turned into a zombie nerd. * Miss Anthrope - The school secretary of Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, who turned into a zombie nerd. * Melvin Sneedly - George and Harold's nemesis, who received an unnamed cameo. * The Deliriously Dangerous Death-Defying Dandelion of Doom - A dandelion that has consumed Super Evil Rapid Growth Juice, and the third key antagonist in the book.

References

{{Captain Underpants 1999 American novels Captain Underpants novels Scholastic Corporation books