Ms. Tara Ribble (also known as the Wedgie Woman) is George and Harold's teacher in the Captain Underpants books and the titular antagonist of Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman. She also appeared as a minor character in DreamWorks's 35th full-length animated feature film, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, where she is voiced by Dee Dee Rescher.
Biography
The Wedgie Woman was a villain originally created by George and Harold who was based on their teacher, Ms. Ribble. After a second mishap with the 3D Hypno-Ring the real Ms. Ribble becomes convinced that she really is Wedgie Woman - at first she has no superpowers, but after her hairstyle gets splattered with the superpower juice from the third book her hair transforms into arms and she gains super-intelligence.
Role
In the books
In the first book, Ms. Ribble makes two cameos: at the start of the book, where she notices George and Harold behaving and muttering that this has to be a dream, and at the end, where she snaps her fingers at George and Harold for pulling pranks and inadvertently transforming Mr. Krupp into Captain Underpants.
In the second book, she bullies George and Harold once they are suspended. Later, she witnesses Mr. Meaner get eaten by a Talking Toilet before getting eaten herself. Once the Toilets are defeated, she is seen wondering if this is all a dream, and is finally seen in detention when George and Harold are Principals of the Day. She is also transformed into a zombie in the third book, and makes cameos in the fourth book. Ms. Ribble serves as the main antagonist in the fifth book. At the start of the book, she announces her retirement and has the class write her thank you cards. However, George and Harold instead write a Captain Underpants comic she finds offensive, and she sends them to detention. There, George and Harold forge a "marry me" card, ostensibly from Mr. Krupp, and send it to her. Taking the message seriously, Ms. Ribble sets up a wedding, but loses her patience. After sadistically lowering George and Harold's grades to an "F" and a "G", they hypnotize her in order to make her forget about it. However, unknown to them, the 3D Hypno-Ring has the opposite effect on females, and because they mentioned that she should not become Wedgie Woman, an antagonist from a Captain Underpants comic, they accidentally turn her into Wedgie Woman. Wedgie Woman ambushes George and Harold at their treehouse, accidentally acquiring her comic book counterpart's hair-based powers from superpower juice. She kidnaps the boys and creates robotic doppelgängers of them to attack the city. Following an intense battle, Wedgie Woman is defeated with hair starch, and the boys hypnotize her so she becomes a nicer teacher. In the sixth book, Ms. Ribble is in on George and Harold's "Squishy" prank, using one on Mr. Krupp. When Melvin becomes the Bionic Booger Boy, he accidentally makes her sick. She also has cameos in the ninth and eleventh books; the latter of which sees her reverted to her original personality.
In the film
Ms. Ribble has a very minor role in the film.
Trivia
- Ms. Ribble's favorite ice cream flavor is chunky tofu, as revealed in the fifth book.
- When she almost marries Mr. Krupp, she refuses because he has a "silly nose." Ironically, they have the same nose.
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