Codename: Kids Next Door/Headscratchers

Codename: Kids Next Door

• The KND Recommissioning Module was powered by Numbuh Zero's booger, and Numbuh 86 says that she fixed it herself. So how can people disprove the existence of Numbuh Zero when his DNA example is sitting right there?
  • Maybe no one thought his booger powered the Recommissioning Module. Everyone probably thought it was some other operative's booger.
  • Maybe the teens aren't really so "evil" after all. Think about it -- your entire childhood has been consumed by fighting adversaries. Then it's taken from you. Then you're given a chance to fight adversaries again -- the exact same ones that took everything you lived for during your childhood away from you. What else are they gonna do?
    • Except most of them don't remember ever being in the KND.

• Why why why, Delilah, in that episode where Numbuh 1's dad first appeared, was his face not seen until about halfway through the episode, and then from that point always seen?
  • According to Mr. Warburton himself, he prefers not to reveal one of the parent's faces until there's a "personal/emotional" moment. Best seen in "Operation: M.I.S.S.I.O.N.": when Numbuh Four's dad is hanging out with his bowling buds, his face his fully visible, but when Numbuh Four shows up to talk with him, we only see him below the neck.

• I can't believe this wasn't the first thing on here but... how did the Delightful Children make Nigel COMPLETELY AND PERMANENTLY bald? Did they BURN OFF his hair follicles with acid or something? And furthermore, WHY? I was kind of pissed they never told us by the end of the series.
  • ...okay, REALLY pissed.
  • While acid or burning does permanently remove hair, that might be a little too Grimdark for C:KND. This troper's own personal theory? Father was balding and not taking it well. The Delightful Children, being the goody-goody toadies to adults that they are, removed pre-KND operative Nigel's hair-growing capabilities from him and gave it to Father. It didn't transfer Nigel's brown hair color to Father because it was only the hair-growing capabilities they stole, not the actual hair. Now someone write this fanfic!
  • I fear I wouldn't do it justice, but my imagination's going to keep building on it anyway...
  • This raises a further question. Why would Father do something like this to his own nephew?
  • Cause he's evil!
  • And because Numbuh One was the closest genetically compatible donor.

• If the decommissioning squad is a multi-man task force, what's keeping the KND from capturing and taking in Cree Lincoln? Numbuh Five threatens this to her in "Operation: M.A.U.R.I.C.E.", but nothing comes of it.
  • The same reason the KND haven't done just that to their own parents. Even as mortal enemies they're still family.
  • That and Cree has shown herself to be quite capable of dealing with multiple KND operatives on her own. Trying to capture her on her own turf would probably not be worth it in the end.
  • Not only that (though Cree's a dangerous-enough fighter for that to play a big part too), but the KND relies on The Masquerade. If push comes to shove, Cree could blow everything by revealing the KND to the whole world. And whereas Father would never do something like that because he depends on the status quo too, Cree's a wild enough card that she might do it just out of spite.
    • If that's so, what's stopping Cree from making such a reveal earlier?
      • Because unless she's got nothing to lose, The Masquerade also works to her advantage.

• What the hell is Mr. Wink and Mr. Fibb's deal? I know they're supposed to be parodies of Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd from James Bond, but it doesn't explain their robot sofas and their being half walrus/buffalo.
  • Well, the Kenny and the Chimp pilot revealed that Professor XXXL gets his bizarre animal traits (a crab-claw at the time) as parts of "sooper top-secret experiments." Is it possible Mr. Wink and Mr. Fibb had a freak accident in a couch-buffalo-walrus-related experiment?
    • He must have fallen on the couch-buffalo-walrus cursed spring.
    • I always thought that in the beginning they were planning on basing all the bad guy on animals. Doctor triple extra large was gonna stay a lobster, wink and fibb were a walrus and buffalo, and there was that old lady with the tail in the episode about the zoo, and I've seen concept art of Chester as a moose, Hence the moosicles episode.
  • Robot chairs is probably some accidental adlib over their first appearance, where they work as lifeguards(or something alike) and use armchairs as a super giant robot weapon of sorts. The walrus and buffalo motif... you got me. I think the above explains it quite better.
• Alright, let me rephrase the above question: What's their kid-hating theme supposed to be? Knightbrace is a mean dentist, Count Spankulot spanks kids, Stickybeard steals candy... The only things I've seen them do by themselves were wrecking a playground and keeping kids out of the pool. What the hell does that have to do with commanding robot sofas and having tusks?
  • I always thought them as cranky weird neighbors. Or something. They're so a gay couple, by the way.
    • Actually, at this point they might be more of an Artifact than anything.
  • Like you said, they're Those Two Bad Guys. Being the only villains without a quirky theme is a theme, too.
  • Combining the above theories, giving all the antagonists Petting Zoo People was probably an Artifact that started with Prof. XXXL, but never really extended beyond characters introduced in the first season.

• Operation W.H.I.T.E.H.O.U.S.E. Nigel awakens in a hypothetical future where he's president of the United States, and his friends don't remember being KND members despite Nigel knowing that they were. I don't understand this episode at all, it's so confusing.

• Is it me, or was Operation S.P.I.N.A.C.H. somewhat in the Too Soon category? Sure, the bad guys in that episode were a parody of Monty Python characters, but that episode came out shortly after the outbreak of E. coli bacteria in spinach.

• Why the HELL is there an Amish branch in the Kids Next Door? What is the point of having an old fashioned, PACIFIST branch in an otherwise military organization?
  • It's funny. Also, the KND fight for the rights of all children, which includes those poor Amish kids.
  • Plus, diplomacy is needed in any military organization.
  • Bamboo Technology might be a loophole for the Amish.
    • Yup, two-by-four technology would still be okay for most sects of Amish. They'd actually probably be better at it, too.
  • Maybe they serve as the KND Witness Protection Program. They did it for Numbuh Two.

• WTF happened to Hoagie's dad?
  • Guy hated being in the crossfire between kids and adults, and after one of his son showed interest in the KND, he decided to set out with a select few people to create an isolated paradise where kids and adults could live in harmony. Of course, he had to abandon his family in the process, which means Hoagie and Tommy probably have a few choice words for him when they run into him again. Nah, I dunno.
  • What happens to any parental character who is mentioned but never seen. He died of "Generic Terminal Plot Disease".
  • You didn't know? He's dead. That was revealed in "Operation: C.A.K.E.D.-F.O.U.R." See the "Wild Mass Guessing" page for some interesting theories on how he died.
  • Are we explicitly told [in "Operation: C.A.K.E.D.-F.O.U.R."] that he's dead? Just curious.
• How do they get away with hanging out in a treehouse for days on end?
  • It's only in their backyards!
  • Adults Are Useless and parents are oblivious.
  • See the show's Wild Mass Guessing entry.

• If Nigel only lived in England for like 3 years, why does his voice STINK of British? Unless he only talked to his parents through early childhood you'd think the accent would have at least partially left him by now. (Yeah I know, stupid thing to pick at, but it does bother me.)
  • Maybe he just liked the accent and learned how to speak with it deliberately.
  • He's a parody of Captain Picard, you got to have a British accent for the effect.
    • The interesting thing about all of this is that his voice actor, Benjamin Diskin, is nowhere near British.

• Why do the Delightful Children always bother making it known to everyone that they have their birthday cake and are planning to eat it without sharing? Even if it's just to rub it in, broadcasting a video message about it to everyone will only make the Kids Next Door come after it. Why don't the Delightfuls ever just eat their cake first, possibly while taking video of them doing so for posterity, and then gloat about it to everyone?
  • Isn't the point of the videos and preemptive gloating to get the KND to try and take it? It'd hardly be fun for them if there wasn't a fight.
  • That'd interfere with their live performances.
  • Also, the Delightful Children are arrogant bastards. Probably literally. We never see Father's wife. And yes, I know that the Delightful Children are actually the long lost "Sector Z".

• This came up on another site and sorry if it is a bit much but, but how in the heck do the Delightful Children go to the bathroom?
  • The final episode made a remark on that too when The Delightful Children fell in a toilet. My guess? They're courteous enough to not look.
  • Maybe the they all separate and wait? Or maybe the guys separate from the girls?
  • Lenny proved that they can separate, they just don't most of the time. So they separate to go to the bathroom.

• Are we supposed to know the gender of the helmeted Delightful Child? I don't know why but the question's been bugging me.
  • He's male. And named... Doug or something.
  • Lenny, actually. Here's a picture of him with his helmet off. You can tell what gender the Delightful Children are by what clothes they wear. The boys wear suits, and the girls wear dresses.

• As much as I enjoyed the series finale, I couldn't help but think there were too many unanswered questions, like what is the Galactic Kids Next Door? Is adultism really a disease? And what about the Matrix-esque plot in Operation: A.R.C.H.I.V.E? Maybe I'm thinking too much into this, but is a little closure too much to ask?
  • At the very end of Op INTERVIEWS, Abby mentions that they've deliberately misled Father. It's entirely possible that everything animated in that episode is a lie designed to mislead him. If not everything, then at least the GKND.
    • Then why would she say "welcome back" at the end of the episode when Numbuh 1 called her?
  • Maybe it's just because I haven't seen the episode (but know enough about the series to know its weirdness) but why did Numbah 1's parents just let him leave? He's TEN. I would never let my ten-year-old leave.
  • Well, they are Ex-KND agents, but I'm not quite sure if that still justifies it or not...
  • According to Word of God, Nigel's story in Operation ARCHIVE is just another one of his wild conspiracy theories.
    • Aw... and I was so hoping for a continuation! (It's one of my favorite episodes, you see.)

• Why are teenagers treated as bad guys? I don't think this is just me as a teenager being subjective, because even as a kid this bugged me. I have never met a single teenager in all my life who can't wait to grow up, however in KND it seems that teens will go to the great lengths of inventing machines to speed up the aging process. I get that a lot of kids have annoying older siblings, so they need to show teens as evil, but there was only one time in the entire show that a teen was seen as adult hating, and yet I think it's safe to say a lot more than one teen hates adults. It just bugs me is all.
  • Probably not all teenagers are members of the evil organization/gangs of teenagers that frequently antagonize the KND, just like all children in the world aren't members of the KND. I always assumed the term "the teenagers" referred to their group of teenaged enemies, not all teenagers period.
  • All of the teenagers in "Operation: P.O.I.N.T." seem like pretty nice people, and the only trouble happened because Sector V antagonized them for no reason.
  • I'm surprised that the teenagers aren't also hostile to adults, honestly. A three-way faction war could be interesting.
  • I got it! The characters and world of Kids Next Door are supposed to be exaggerated versions of childhood, right? Adults can get teenagers to do or not to do things by promising them an award, like an allowance, car, later curfew, ect. So the evil adults are giving the teenagers an allowance to fight the KND!
  • If it's any condolence, in the later episodes of the series, unless there's a multiple-villain team-up, the BRA-augmented teens and the evil adults seem to be treated as their own separate entities. There was no three-way faction wars or anything (sadly), but at least the teen ninjas were no longer Father's mooks.
  • I've always considered the teens as a sort of mercenaries who happen to work for the adults or at least some type of "out for their own interest" independents. As the above troper mentioned, they don't work for father in the later season. This is confirmed by "Operation: T.R.E.A.T.Y." where they are considered an entity separate from the adults in the treaty negotiations. It is possible in this case that the teenagers are just as much against the adults as the KND but still mistrusting of the organization who tried to wipe away the memories of their childhood.
  • It's stated in-universe that not all adults are evil, the same can probably be said about Teens.
  • This is just WMG, but maybe the evil teens are so desperate to grow up because they can't see what's so great about being young. Why would that be? Because the best memories from their childhoods have been erased. Who but former KND operatives would be able to kick that much butt anyways? Normal teens are not ninjas.

• One question: WHERE ARE THE F* CKING POLICE? After all the stuff going on, you think at least SOMEONE would've dialed 911!
  • The police are probably part of the adult conspiracy. It would explain why, for example, the local school doesn't do any background checks for supervillainy.
    • That also explains how the teenagers presented a threat for as long as they did. Cops hate teenagers, especially cybernetically enhanced teenagers with armored bicycles.
  • Nurse Claiborne did get fired from her school nursing job and blacklisted for what she did, so presumably it was reported to someone. It is possible that in-universe, the KND are seen as the authorities in this matter, as they do appear to be a legit organization to some degree and are better prepared to deal with supervillains like this.
  • one should keep into account that in the KND Universe, most adults are either stupid or evil, it would only make sense if the police are that way as well.

• I admit I stopped watching the show a few seasons in, so it may have been answered, but why are the main five (who are just five random operatives) given the numbers of 1-5 while the higher ups are assigned random numbers (eg. 86, 365, whatever)?
  • Perhaps they aren't assigned random numbers, and they do have operatives for nigh every number? They seem to be a worldwide thing, so I wouldn't be surprised..
  • Popular fan theory is that you pick your own number when you join up. Presumably the command staff just lumped 1-5 together because it felt right.
  • Not really, it's stated that 5 was in the Kids Next Door long before 1. Presumably assigning groups is either random, or based on where you live.
    • "Operation: G.R.A.D.U.A.T.E.S." confirms that when an operative joins the KND, s/he chooses his/her own number.
  • So, it's basically an incredible coincidence that Sector V has five operatives numbuh'd One-through-Five.
    • Exactly.
    • Not really, it's true you pick your number but we have seen all the other sectors having the 5 consecutive numbered teams. Like Numbuh 13 is still in the same sector as 11, 12, 14, and 15. It would be easier to say that you CAN pick any number you want, it's just tradition to pick one for the sector you serve in. That's why all the really high numbers and weird ones are all on the Moon base and in Antarctica.
    • Also, considering they're assigned to the sector closer to where they live it's possible the operatives of each sector had known each other since before becoming operatives and just agreed to pick matching numbers. Alternatively they could have met previously at training.
  • When the series started it was going to be one group of friends, one annoying family down the street, and a few mean older siblings. The reason the number system isn't so convenient for the higher numbers is because all those characters, along with the idea of a world-wide organization, came much later in the series. If it hadn't then Bradley wouldn't have become honorary nubmuh 6, he'd be sent to the training camp, and only the most elite operatives would have been positioned in sector V, cause it's right next to Father.
  • My hypotheses in respect to canon are, first, that Numbuhs 1 to 5 are all friends from before KND, in one way or another. Additionally, they must be skilled/elite to be so close to Father and a five-man-band is not uncommon. Thirdly, some may have taken either their parents' (or other family members') numbers or used puns (don't forget that Numbah Three's name is "Number Three"). Combine these (and other small things) and you get a relatively-skilled group of five friends with most of them filling the roles their loved ones used to.
  • Only slightly off-topic, but there was an episode which featured one "Numbuh Eleventy-Six." Really? Most kids learn that "eleventy" is not a word by the time they are four. So how does someone (who's apparently supposed to be smart -- a researcher of sorts) who's in at least the fifth grade, actually call herself that?
    • This is the show where a buhmillion is a real number. It's not worth questioning that.
    • He's a fan of Bilbo/The Hobbit/ Lord Of The Rings. Before you say he's too young, you said he supposed to be smart. also, I read Lot R in 3rd grade.

• if the kid's next door has thousands of members and is at lest over a hundred years old (as shown "Operation: C.A.K.E.D.-F.I.V.E.") why weren't all the low normal numbers like 1 though 5 or even 86 taken a long time ago? you'd think by now every body would have to take code names like numbuh 10985678
  • Every time a member is decommissioned, their number opens for a new member to use. They won't get too high as long as the rates of decommissioning and recruiting remain stable.

• The children. They all seem to be extremely exaggerated of childhood innocence. Everyone. Everyone likes soda for example. No-one seems to act like most kids in our world their age.
  • Well, at least Numbuh One dislikes the beach, unlike pretty much everybody else...
  • And Numbuh Two doesn't actually find spinach all that bad. The cast seems to show a good mixture of innocence and maturity sometimes.
  • I think there are little doubt the series is happening in anything close to "our world". Everything is exaggerated to epic proportion, including the Kid's attitudes. It's very much Cartoon-Land, and it doesn't even try to hide it. No wonder they don't act like children in the real world.
  • Personally, I don't think the kids' attitudes are that unrealistic (despite the show being fictional). They are somewhat exaggerated, but not to epic proportions.

• How exactly does a former KND operative become an ally of the adults? They don't even have any memories of being apart of the KND.
  • Decommissioned KND agents aren't guaranteed to be recruited. The main reason why Cree and Chad played such large roles is that they managed to defect before their memories were wiped, and you could argue that Maurice was purposely positioned to be recruited since he was acting as a Double Agent.
    • I figured that even though his memories were wiped, the teens would remember that he did have skills, and could use him as one of their own. Just because he supposedly didn't remember, doesn't mean that he couldn't still be a valuable ally to the Ninjas/ Adults.
      • Nope, they don't remember anything as we see when in operation:E.N.D. Numbuh 2 doesn't remember he is good at calculations after he was decommissioned.(Numbuh 1: Numbuh 2! I need you to calculate out distance and thrust and tell us when to cast off. Numbuh 2: Uh, I can do that?)
        • Yeah, but forgetting complex math is a lot different than losing muscle memory. So decommissioned members would still be able to be ninjas with their physical skill with only a minimum amount of training. The body would remember their moves for them, they'd just have to roll with it.
• R.O.B.O.B.R.A.D.L.E.Y.. Seriously, 2×4 tech just was not meant for cybernetic upgrades. That is some serious Body Horror inflicted on the resident Ridiculously Cute Critter, and the fact that he doesn't seem to mind is not helping.
  • Who knows? Maybe Bradley really does like the whole "construction-scoop-for-a-hand" and the ability to shoot stinkrockets out of his posterior.
  • To be fair, he was hurt badly. Had the cybernetic upgrades not been applied, he likely wouldn't have survived.
    • Besides, it makes him look Badass.
  • Also, the doctor outright said that there was nothing they could do for him. It was rather plain as day Bradley would've died without being upgraded. Look at what they had to do to him, replace an eye, one arm, almost an entire side of his chest, and a good chunk of his back and tail. He got hit by a big rig if memory serves, he was probably pretty messed up. If you thought that was Body Horror, imagine what the poor little guy looked like before they rebuilt him.

• In "Operation: T.H.E.-F.L.Y.", why doesn't Numbuh Two pick up that it's electronic when he scans it? It doesn't make any sense.
  • Sooper-advanced biotechnology. The Delightfuls have resources like that.

• In "Operation: T.H.E.-F.L.Y.", we see Numbuh One's bedroom as having a bed that doubles as a trampoline. HOWEVER, in further episodes his bed is an overturned bulldozer, and I'm pretty sure it changed another time too. Why so many renovations, Nigel?
  • The trampoline turned out to be uncomfortable as hell for Nigel's back. So he had the brilliant idea to try a construction scoop instead! Of course, that was even worse, so he kept switching beds throughout his KND career.

• Why can't any of the kids really spell at all? Or know basic numbers?
  • In the case of counting, their numbers seem to simply be hyperbole, as many children, especially 10-year-olds, often do. As for spelling, I assume you mean the names of all their 2×4 tech; in that case, it's so the acronyms work. When it comes to actual spelling (like for homework) only Wally seems to be completely clueless.
  • I like to think that similarly to how children in real life abandon proper spelling and grammar for Instant Messaging and other informal messages, the KND kids most likely know how to write and speak properly (except for numbuh four) but for operative-related reasons, they don't see a point in acting like they are still in school.
    • Yeah, plus Numbuh Four is said to be a Book Dumb enough that his homework is literally poison to Weredogs.

• In "Operation: I.N.T.E.R.V.I.E.W.S.", are the Delightful Children... Dead? They were last seen being sucked into a toilet and then Numbuh 5 had said it was their last encounter.
  • Considering "Operation: F.O.U.N.T.A.I.N." they suffered a Disney Villain Death and in "Operation: Z.E.R.O." they were launched into space in an escape pod, I'd say it'd take more than falling into a giant toilet to kill them. They probably ended up cold and shivering in a New Jersey sewer and were rescued by the Toilenator.
    • They were seen climbing back out in "F.O.U.N.T.A.I.N.", no attempt is really made to show they survived "I.N.T.E.R.V.I.E.W.S.". Really, considering what happened to them, it might have put them out of their misery...
  • Perhaps with Father also seemingly falling to his Disney Villain Death, they stopped trying to destroy the KND because they thought he died (he turned out not to have but still). They seemed to only follow him because they were scared to death of them. Or perhaps the fall broke them out of their brainwashing?

• How is Lenny wearing a football helmet at all times considered polite? I know it's braces that turn into a helmet, but sometimes it's considered "rude" to wear headgear all the time, especially at school or at the dinner table. (OK, this is more of a nitpick)
  • Makes him creepier. It might be kind of a way of making his character design as a Foil to Numbuh Two, who nearly always wears his aviator cap and goggles.
  • Exactly. Each of the Delightful Children are drawn as a foil to the kids in Sector V.

Tall, lanky, brunette boy with Blinding Bangs -- Numbuh 4
Short, blonde boy -- Numbuh 1
Helmet boy -- Numbuh 2
Long-haired, blonde girl -- Numbuh 3
Short, heavy, pigtailed girl -- Numbuh 5

• • • Wouldn't it make more sense for

Helmet boy -- Numbuh 5
Short, heavy, pigtailed girl -- Numbuh 2

• • • They just flipped genders because numbuh 5 wears a hat that conceals her face. And the girl is basically a female numbuh 2.
    • I always thought that part of the idea behind the Delightfuls' appearance was that they are supposed to look either classic (the girls in their sailor dresses with cutsey hair) or preppy (the boys in their uniform-esque suits). Lenny's football hemet alludes to the modern "football-playing-male-prep" stereotype.

• In "Operation: H.A.M.S.T.E.R.", the DCFDTL's cats attempt to attack the treehouse hamsters. The main hamsters dress the Numbuh 4 hamster in a dress, attempting to attract the cats. But... assuming all the cats match the genders of their owners, why is it the female cats fall for "her" as well? Other than Les Yay, Foe Yay, Even the girls want "her", or Rule of Funny. I guess they all share a Hive Mind?
  • The DC's cats that correspond to the two girls seem to be male, considering their haircuts are boyish, so I'd say all the DC's cat's are toms.

• What was with the two villains (the army husband and wife) that gave Numbuhs 2 through 5 "sailor" costumes in "Operation: C.A.N.N.O.N."? The both of them never appeared in the series again after that episode.
  • There's also the "Parent Teacher Organization of Eradicating Youngsters" (Members: The Principal, Mad Dad, Midwestern Mom, Heliteacher, Terrible Tutor) from "Operation: N.O.P.O.W.U.H."
  • They were all invented as throwaway villains, never meant to have their own episodes. And they appear several more times in the series, though never with speaking roles; they're basically relegated to filling out group shots for big-huge-massive gatherings of villains.

• Whatever happened to Lasso Lass from "Operation: C.O.W.G.I.R.L.?" She was the first adult ally to appear in the series, and was even apart of the backstory for Mr. Wink and Mr. Fibb (and will forever be the only thing we know about them).
  • Possibly just still hanging out in her treehouse. I doubt the KND would recruit her since she's far too old to be effective any more.
    • Also, Lasso Lass appears still too hung up on the Misters Wink & Fibb, probably wouldn't pay much attention to anything that came after that.
  • Still, kind of a lost opportunity, considering there were a few times recruiting her for aid would've been really useful (for example, when Father was turning every KND operative into animals).

• In "Operation: F.U.T.U.R.E.", Old!Numbuh 4 is upset about never asking out someone. With the reveal at the end of the series, is that to say that he wanted to ask out someone that wasn't Numbuh 3?
  • Considering that was Numbuh 4 from what's now an alternate timeline, it could be anyone.
  • How does this make any sense at all? He's from a timeline when Madame Margarot TOOK OVER THE WORLD. Of course he never got to ask out numbuh 3, but now that the timeline was fixed, he could tell his younger self to make sure he does it, which he eventually does.

• In his first appearance, it's established that Professor Triple-Extra-Large only wants to create the perfect snow-cone. Why, in all subsequent appearances, is he considered an enemy of the KND? Considering how much everybody loves snow-cones, wouldn't that be the kind of guy they'd want to succeed?
  • He probably hangs out with the Villains for the barbecues and bowling tournaments.
  • He seemed to be doing it more For Science! rather than for any benefit for kids.
  • Brain freeze, probably. That and he shows up where there's an evil villain behind the scenes. So with the mind of kids, it seems natural that the adult would know something; and if you don't actively stop the evil plans you must be helping the evil people.
  • Maybe her partakes in Offscreen Villainy?
  • It should be noted that nine times out of ten, they really don't know it's him.

• In Season 1 of the show, everything was animated in a cool-looking Thick Line Animation. While it was still present in Season 2 (but made very subtle), by the end of that season, it got completely phased out from the show in general. What bugs me is, why was it phased out?
  • It was ugly. >:T
    • That was mostly the case only in the pilot.
  • This troper finds it hard to watch the earlier episodes because it looks so awkward-looking, but that probably had more to do with the dull color pallet and animators getting used to the odd-shaped heads. It was simply changed with the other animation additions. Would the show look better if they kept the Thick Line Animation throughout the series? Maybe. Who can say?

• In "Operation: Z.E.R.O.", we learn that the DCFDTL are really the KND of Sector Z. Yet in "Operation: G.R.A.D.U.A.T.E.S.", they didn't turn into animals until Tommy added their "genetic material" to the Code Module. WTF?
  • Maybe the DCFDTL were technically removed from the KND as soon as the delightfulization happened?
    • That doesn't make sense, because then they'd be locked out from re-entry.
  • Delightfulization changes DNA.
    • This, they don't even look like their old selves that much so odds are the Delightfulization altered their genetic code.

• In connection with the above, what happened to the Delightful's original families? As former members of Sector Z they don't appear to have true connections to one another; yet now they are considered Father's children, and thus apparent siblings. But what about their original genetic families? Would they be looking for them or is this part of the Adult Conspiracy? Also, it means that Father is in effect the single parent of five, without anyone batting an eye. Even for the Ad Consp, it is a bit much.//Two theories emerge, which can work together:
  • The children may be officially declared "dead", ie as in a bus crash, and thus the families would have given up on them. This would remove any legal problems about adoption.
  • The various parents may be caught wind of Sector Z and decided to "volunteer" ie sacrifice their own children to being Delightfulized, in order to further the Adult Conspiracy. Father was considered the best man for finalizing their training. The now Delightful children would turn to him as someone who knows what's left to do.

• Minor Nitpick: it bugs me that, in their regular clothes, Numbuh 1 has actual legs while Numbuh 3 has... sticks. Maybe I'm just paranoid that they're going to break off one day...
  • I always thought Kuki just wore leggings. They tend to make peoples' legs look pretty tiny... I worry about how small HER legs look though, I'm kind of waiting for her to die from lack of circulation.
  • On a few occasions, like when she's in her swimsuit, she's drawn with normally-sized legs. It's just artistic license that her default look has line-thin legs.

• CAN NUMBUH 5, LIKE, WEAR PANTS? Like, I assume she's wearing shorts under that T-shirt, but seriously, every time I see her I just go, "Oh, she's half-naked." And I don't think I should have to assume that.
  • It's not like she never wears pants, like that one time she wore a tuxedo or when she's dressed for winter...
  • She IS wearing shorts, black and probably the spandex kind, you can see them when her shirt tilts. And her Fusion Fall avatar is very clearly wearing them too.

• In "No P in the OOL", Abby was seen wearing a pair of glasses, but in episodes afterwards we never see or hear of these glasses again. They could just be for reading, but I've seen her reading magazines without them before... is she just so self-conscious about it that she never wears them? She doesn't seem the type.
  • Contact lenses maybe?
  • The Artifact
  • Oh, she wears glasses outside that episode. When she was turned into one of the DCFDTL, she wore polite glasses. Not to mention the finale, where Numbuh 1 gives Numbuh 5 his own glasses.
  • An early idea for Numbuh 5 was that she needed glasses, but refused to wear them, therefore making her clumsy.

• How could they decide the entire future of the KND... on something as random as a GAME OF TAG? What if whoever 'won' at the end turns out to be a terrible leader? Like say, all the problems that arose in that episode, for instance.
  • Well. . .when Numbah 13 got tagged, a whole bunch of kids jumped him so he wasn't the Supreme Leader, IIRC.
  • It was explained that no one actually likes or wants the job, thus the randomness, no one would be supreme commander if it wasn't decided that way.

• why can't the new Supreme Leader just start a new game of tag as soon as their term of office begins? or if they have absolute power just order some body else to take the job?

• Go right now to "Operation: S.U.P.P.O.R.T." (or just another episode, I haven't really checked) in which Abby's Bill Cosby father appears. As he appears, pay attention to the colour of his sweater. Memorized it? Okay, now wait until he goes away, and then look at the next scene in which he comes back. THE SWEATER CHANGES EVERY SINGLE TIME. EVERY TIME. WHY? WHY DOES HE KEEP CHANGING HIS SWEATER? Your Mileage May Very, but this absolutely blew my mind.
  • It's just a parody of Bill Cosby's multi-colored sweaters, taken to a humorously large degree.

• "Operation: F.U.T.U.R.E." as a whole. The villain in this episode basically aimed to put an end to the entire human race, and being a kid's show, no-one in-universe realizes that that would be the result of turning every human on Earth into a girl. Had it not been for one rogue girl who cooperated with the boys to reverse the effect of the girlification ray or whatever it was called, the entire human race would have been wiped out over the course of about 265 years.
  • Except there's technology that exists that could theoretically allow human females to reproduce without males.
  • Besides, Madame Margret was an 85-year-old tyrant -- some combination of senility and going mad with power could have rendered her completely insane. Note that there are no adult women in her army -- she's using girls who may not comprehend the gravity of the situation. What started as a plan to make her an Amazon Queen, keeping men only as sex slaves, turned into Gendercide when she lost it in her old age.
    • That's... actually a pretty scary thought.
  • This troper is a little bit confused with the whole gendercide thing. Considering that within a good year and a half or maybe 2 the whole human race could have possibly been transformed into females, how the [[[Gosh Dang It to Heck]] heck]] do you manage to produce male children? Take Numbuhs 1 and 2, who got hit by a Gender Bender. If they manage to gender-bend the whole world, how do they produce male kids? And even if they find a way to make women pregnant without males, they would have found a way to make sure all produced children would become girls.

• It bugs me that the Kids Next Door consider poor dental hygiene a good thing. Especially girly girl Numbuh 3.
  • They probably just really hate dentists.
  • In a World where everything childhood-related is Serious Business, poor dental hygiene does not end up making your teeth fall out. Somehow.
  • Obviously there IS no such thing as dental hygiene. It's all a myth perpetuated by the adults in order to torment children.
  • Hmm...that theory sounds vaguely familiar (fluoride conspiracy theory).
  • Numbuh 1 might secretly have good dental hygiene... I mean he never showed his teeth so he shows Numbuh 4's instead!

• "Operation: M.O.O.N." Just... "Operation: M.O.O.N.".

• If father and Numbah Zero are brothers, why do they have different last names?
  • They don't. Mr. Wigglestein was either an ancestor of theirs or a character made up by Nigel.
  • That, or Monty took his wife's surname because he was repulsed by his father, even accounting for the effect of decommissioning.
  • Or Benedict changed his last name because he didn't want to be known to be related to the one who founded the second age of KND.

• They really expected the viewers to like Lizzie? Really?
  • I loved her from the very beginning. D:
  • Mr. Warburton, the creator, says that he received a ton of fan mail demanding that Nigel dump Lizzie... but just as much threatening his life should they ever break up, so I guess it's really just a matter of taste.
  • This troper has always been of the theory that Nigel eventually drops Lizzie for Rachel (Numbuh 362). They quite obviously respect each other and she even tries to make a pass at him by inviting him to lunch(Jokingly threatening to make it an official order). YMMV of course as to if this is actually personal feelings or just playful banter between friends as it is never fully expanded upon.

• Where do babies come from? I mean, assuming the whole "Adult Disease" is real and people are supposed to be children forever, then where do babies come from if we know them to come from adults?
  • New Jersey?
  • Word of God is that "Operation: A.R.C.H.I.V.E." is just a crazy conspiracy theory, so... the same place as in real life, I guess.
    • Actually I was talking about "Operation: I.N.T.E.R.V.I.E.W.S." where it's stated that adulthood is a disease the Galactic KND are fighting
  • The disease, in addition to causing aging, was what triggered the first mutations that lead to organisms capable of sexual reproduction. Now that much of the life on Earth has been infected with the disease for billions of years, they are dependent on it: if they were incapable of reaching the sexually mature stage, their species could not reproduce and ergo not survive. While genes that resisted the disease after the individual had reached, say, late adolescence (whether it be slowing down the physical deterioration of the body or staying a kid at heart) may spread, and may in fact prove an evolutionary advantage, any genes that provide immunity to the disease are goners. Chew on that, if you will.
    • Whoa. So in other words, adaptive biology actually worked around the virus to create what we know now. This troper may be speaking from the older perspective but one must question the motives behind the GKND for wanting to destroy the adultism virus. The prospect of being a kid forever is really something to think about.
    • Aliens may reproduce differently. It may never have occurred to them that we need the disease to survive as a species. If/when the GKND finds the cure, a representative from earth is going to have to sit down with them and have a nice long talk about why they need to let earthlings grow up. Mind you, getting older is pretty much all downhill after your thirties. Provided we do not rely on the disease for any other biological functions, no one would object to curing it after an individual had reached the peak of their health.
      • I always assumed that without the adult virus people would just stay kids forever and there for live forever so reproduction wouldn't be an issue
      • Well, even if you completely eliminated human mortality, you still need the adults to do the stuff that isn't fun but necessary to keep the world turning.

• Why the hell does everyone think that the DCFDTL or for that matter Sector Z is the same one Numbuh Zero worked with when he was a child? I mean really, it could be a different Sector Z.
  • Another Sector Z was never mentioned. Occam's Razor applies. It's quite likely that the overloaded Delightfulization device also halted their aging as well as making them "perfect little children
  • Sectors seem set to a location rather than its members though.

• The ending of that episode where the KND are escorting the Fourth Grade President to a conference to negotiate the time school lets out. At the end of it, he betrays them, having worked with Father to extend school to college-level hours. That makes for a neat twist ending, but the entire plot just ends so abruptly. There's no follow-up to it. OK, sure the President shows up again as a minor recurring villain, but the whole school extended to insane times thing is never touched on again. What, did the KND just stand there and let it happen?
  • My guess would be that the kids fought back. All the kids. At least the bulk of them. And since going to school isn't generally a big deal anyways for the main characters, skipping would not be unconsidered.

• "Operation: C.O.L.L.E.G.E.". Just what the hell was with Sector V showing up right at the climax when they were supposed to be at the beach, and furthermore, didn't even believe Nigel's theory? Is there at least a fanfic or something that tries to elaborate on this?
  • Nigel's paranoia is generally correct; so what would initially be a small amount of doubt would (when they are off screen) grows to concern and their sense of duty leads to them saving the day. Though now that you've brought it up someone will have to make a fan-fic.

• What happens when you're decommisioned? Do you recall your team-mates, just without the KND part? Is everything KND related wiped from your memory? Has the last few years of your life basically been erased from your mind?
  • My guess is that only everything related to the KND itself is wiped. The teenagers remember school, home and they vaguely remember "playing" with their friends, and they chalk up how vague their memories of that last part is to being young and stupid (if pressed too closely on what they did with their friends, you'd just get "who cares, it was probably stupid kid stuff" from them).
  • In the episode where Sector V get decommissioned they don't remember ever knowing each other.
  • I think the inclination is you remember your childhood as if you had never joined the KND. Odds are they wouldn't have met, or at least become friends, if they hadn't joined the KND.

• Related to above. What exactly do the parents and non-KND related friends think after what happens? Do think think you're just playing the "I don't know you" game after an argument or something? Also, do decommissioned member ever think about why they can't recall any, or most, friends in their childhood?
  • Since decommisioning seems to be selective it's not a stretch to think that it wouldn't wipe memories of friends outside the KND. There would be no reason to do that. You'd would probably remember them as you would before. Secondly, adults that are not villains are oblivious to the KND entirely so they certainly wouldn't notice or think something along the lines of "I guess s/he has some new older friends to be with." Finally, we haven't really seen an operative that has really questioned why they couldn't remember it clearly. It would be an interesting subject to write about however.

• The way people spell "number" as "numbuh". Characters have used "number" plenty of times, like Number 3 in "Operation: F.U.T.U.R.E." and "Katie" in "Operatio: U.T.O.P.I.A.". "Numbuh" is just a speech habit, like when people pronounce "our" like "are". Was there ever an episode that insisted this was the correct pronunciation?

• "Operation: G.I.R.L.F.R.I.E.N.D." That really became the needle on the haystack for Lizzie for me... So he's fighting to rid the world of adult tyranny, but Nigel deserves all the flack from Lizzie in this episode... why? He's fighting to protect her too, and earlier seasons have proven that she should not only be able to handle that fact, but is about as well-trained as any moderately-skilled KND operative, especially in bipedal and gadget-based 2x4 tech. She should be supporting his fight since it seems pretty clear that her livelihood as a child is thanks to the KND, and realize that he has been a well-meaning boyfriend in every possible way considering the elite and well-respected nature of his job. I watched the whole thing and I love the series-Nigel had given more time and effort to Lizzie than any other relationship to any other character in terms of development. How in the hell does she miss this? How in any right mind, too, was she not scouted or considered for candidacy and training as a KND op?
  • Probably because she doesn't care about joining the KND. She's stated time and time again that she thinks what he's doing is silly -- even to go so far as agreeing that kids don't need recess when it's been turned into a slave labor camp to process salad dressing. Lizzie seems more inclined toward adults, even looking for a more stable relationship akin to an adult one with Nigel (obviously not a sexual one, just a more mature one). She finally came to the sense that he's not "mature" enough for her to settle down into a regular relationship and dumped him. And Nigel isn't exactly in the clear. He's been known to bail on his dates pretty easily, which is unfair to Lizzie. It's been hinted throughout the series that he sets up decoys and other excuses just so he doesn't piss her off which is wrong -- he should have just told her outright that he had a job to do.
  • Perhaps Lizzie is a ingrate and doesn't know when she's offered freedom from Adult Tyranny.

• "Operation: A.R.C.H.I.V.E."'s backstory completely forgotten due to a Word of God cop-out for "Z.E.R.O.". I would accept it better if the narrative didn't make me believe that the ending was actually canon. No. He decides to make it a fantasy of Nigel Uno (not told in the actual show) to be looked over that Father wasn't created and then given a motive based on being a slave to liberate the other adults from their creators but to be another kid that was under the tyranny of a villain that was created for the film.

• Why was Bradley taken to a human hospital? He's a skunk, shouldn't he have been taken to a vets or animal rescue clinic?
  • They were in a hurry? They had to save him and there just was no time.

• This doesn't just bug me, it rather ticks me off. I can't help but think that I'm the only Troper who's ever thought it out this much but seriously, has anybody truly considered how vile the whole set up of KND is? Kids, only about 5 or 6 when they join, are put rather serious situations with little insight on how it would affect them. They sign on for the chance to be cool and have fun but never foresee the consequences when something like Grandfather happens. Even worse is the entire thing involving decommissioning. It's no wonder that the "Teenz" exist. They were once agents of the KND themselves. Some people like Chad Dickinson (Numbuh 274) give up so much of their childhoods to become the best agents and leaders, why wouldn't they feel entitled to some compensation for their time? After all of that their only reward is the very organization they put their childhood into building wants to scramble their memories because they are thirteen. They even KNOW that this is an eventuality that they all have to face. The ones who run away give a lot to the organization and have absolutely nothing to show for it because once they turn thirteen the system they once worked with turns against them. I can't blame any of them for running. The rogue agents only want to protect everything about their childhood that was precious to them. It's all they get to keep for what they give to the KND. Even that the KND wants to take away from them. That logic wouldn't fly with younger kids because they lack the perspective to see exactly what they miss out on by joining this organization. They only see what they want to see. Short term benefits before the long term drawbacks. Kids Are Cruel indeed, even if it is unintentional.
  • Maybe towards the end of the series, the writers were trying to imply something like this -- the stakes definitely became more serious and the plots became more involved. I can't seem to decide: Fridge Brilliance or Darker and Edgier?
    • Nothing says it can't be both. Bringing out fridge brilliance by making it darker and edgier.
  • Also, towards the end, they did try to reach a truce with the Teenz so they wouldn't need to do this. So it seems they don't want to, it's just they have some reason they need to do it. And we still have not idea what decomissioning is like, their memories of being in the KND may be replaced with a normal childhood as if they'd never joined the KND. And considering the Teens are already organized and powerful despite most of them not remembering the KND in the first place, their motivation is 'get the annoying kids out of our way' that 'they stole my childhood! Revenge!'.
    • True, but consider the sheer number of operatives that try to run once their number (pardon the pun) is up. The Teenz didn't just wake up one morning and say "I'm going to go harass grade-schoolers with laser shooting armored bicycles!" The Teenz had to have been started by former KND operatives who could come up with that technological know-how to defend themselves from the organization that wanted to take away what they thought was everything their childhood was about. True that a lot of the Teenz themselves were not part of the KND but cases like Cree and Chad happen and there are bound to be more like them.
      • True, but if one looks at it, it's possible something like that is exactly why. What if say a group of Teens splintered off with technological knowhow of the Kids Next Door and began using it for their own gain? And that's how the Teenz started. The Teenz are quite clearly a major threat to the KND, so it would make sense if that's what happened, or something simular, the reaction was to do anything possible to stop it from ever happening again. There's also what Numbuh 1 said about teens being permitted to live normal lives. It's possible decomissioning doesn't erase their entire childhood, just replaced the KND parts with memories of those what their life would've been like if they'd never been in the KND. When we saw Numbuh 2-5 be decomissioned, it was interrupted partway through, so it's possible the procedure wasn't completed yet. The only other one we saw completely decomissioned was actually a double agent and faking it. So we can't be sure what decomissioning actually does.

• Am I allowed to ask "how the hell do you teach a 6-year-old how to operate and repair advance technology as well as train them in complex martial arts in only a few months?" or is that supposed to be covered by suspension of disbelief?
  • Do we know for a fact that training at the KND academy takes only a few months? Otherwise, it's possible that an operative's training starts around age 8(I don't think any of the fully-trained operatives we see are younger than 8) which makes this point slightly more believable.
    • Didn't Tommy (post self-decomissioning) say he was seven once? Regardless, this is also an organization that has the technology to travel all over the world and to the moon like it's a walk down the block, so yeah, this is probably one of those willing suspension of disbelief-thingies.

• What exactly makes the KND think that KND Operatives will betray them in favor of villain groups? What is it that makes people like Cree so bound to betray the KND and Maurice not, what's the psychology and logic behind that, how do we know for certain other Operaitves after reaching 13 wouldn't just leave the KND alone if they were allowed to go undecommissioned?
  • Too much risk. Chad probably would've gone rogue even if decommissioning didn't exist because he was in love with power. Probably in the past they didn't decommission people and it resulted in something that was horrible enough to require it to protect the KND.
    • Chad's love for power would indeed explain why he'd have went rogue and his former position as Supreme Leader shows how his amount of intel could have strong impact against the KND, but not with the majority of KND Operatives, I'm asking what it is about KND Ops reaching 13 that makes loyalty seem like something you can just outgrow, we're talking about a military organization around the size of some third-world country armies, not a fan club. I'm asking HOW an Operative's loyalty changes with his age and how it would make letting them go a big enough risk for decomissioning's strict enforcement to be required, and also what is it about about Maurice that makes him not bound to betraying the KND as they seem to think every other Teen ex-operative seems to be?

• When Father revealed Grandfather to the villains and explained his plan, why didn't Numbuh One recognize Grandfather as his, well, grandfather? Did Monty not keep in touch with any family? Granted, I can see Benedict not wanted to keep in contact, but since Grandfather lost his memories he has no reason to not want to keep in contact with Monty and neither does Monty. Monty strikes me as the type who sees family as being important, and seeing as he didn't remember Grandfather being a cruel dictator I don't understand why he wouldn't keep him in his, and thus, Nigel's life.
  • Well, we don't know how long it's been since Monty moved out of his dad's home to go his own path, or what events might have happened after Monty's decommissioning that might have affected his relationship with the decommissioned Grandfather. But since the decommissioned Monty seems considerably simple-minded compared to his recommissioned self, it's likely it simply hasn't crossed the decommissioned Monty's mind to contact his dad.
  • The fact that Father and Monty apparently have different last names (Monty's last name is, of course, Uno while Father's last name is clearly shown starting with a 'W' in one episode) shows that perhaps Monty was disgusted with his father and brother's path to being evil and cut ties with the family anyways by changing his name. This can also be the same reason that Monty never mentioned that Father is Nigel's uncle.
    • I always fifured Uno was the mother's last name, and he took it.
      • Or maybe Monty and Ben were half-brothers; same father, different mothers. And since it's obvious Ben and Grandfather's relationship is complicated (Really? You still like the kid who DEFEATED you better?) Ben took his mother's name. Just thought I'd toss that one out there.

• You know how in "Opeartion: Z.E.R.O.", how Monty Uno/Numbuh 0 apparently destroys the Recommissioning Device just before he let's himself and Grandfather be decommissioned? And you know how he sends a last-minute message to Nigel, telling him that he secured his decommissioning because he's not a kid anymore and said his 'biggest mission' is to be a good father to Nige L? I don't understand why Monty thinks he can't do that while he's recommissioned. What makes him think his decommissioning is really required to properly parent Nigel? what kind of negative impact does Monty expect might happen if he allows himself to be recommissioned? If anything, I can see quite a few ways Monty's parenting would improve if he remain recommissioned, 1 example would be if Nigel is faced with a KND-related problem that's affecting him emotionally, Monty, who'd likely have faced a similar experience, might be able to comfort Nigel and help him deal with the problem. So why did Monty think he has to be decommissioned in order to be a good dad? What does he think might happen involving him parenting Nigel that could cause negative impact had he been recommissioned and stayed that way?
  • Maybe he had post traumatic stress disorder or something similar?
  • Monty may also have decided that he'd had his day in the sun and Nigel would ultimately do better on his own. For Monty to return fully to his old kid-friendly ways was something of a conflict of interest.

• This has bugged the hell out of me for years: why do numbers five and three side with the girls in "Operation: F.U.T.U.R.E."? I mean I know they're girls and probably get annoyed by boys sometimes, but that doesn't automatically mean they would side with Madame Margaret and enslave and kill them all (including their male friends), it'd be like if Britain declared an illegal war on France and we all just supported it because of patriotism.
  • It's never explicitly stated where Numbuh Five was in the future so her loyalty is never established. However, Numbuh 3 definitely defied Margaret from what her future granddaughter, Sally, had told the Boys Next Door when she met with them. It's entirely possible that Numbuh Five defied her as well.
  • However Numbuh Five seemed to be blasted by the girl-ray that turned Numbuh 1 and 2 into females as well... I wondered how the heck does that work? I mean Numbuh Five is already a girl just what can a girl-ray possibly do to a girl? My head hurts just thinking about it.
    • The girl-ray seems to exaggerate the silly-frilly side of "girlishness", so even a tomboy like Numbah Five would lose her more aggressive side in favor of silly tea-party stuff. Notice how anything hit with the ray turned fluffy and flowery?
    • It could also be a mind control device.

• Why do most characters have Black Eyes, others have vaguely Brown Eyes, and some just have colored eyes? Most cartoons either have Black Eyes with maybe one character with non-standard colored eyes, or colored eyes

• If the Delightful Children from Down the Lane are obsessed with growing up (as mentioned in "Operation: F.O.U.N.T.A.I.N." and "Operation: P.A.R.T.Y.") then why did they freak out when they did become adults and teens with the age changer cigar device in "Operation: G.R.O.W.-U.P."? I mean they got what they wanted so why freak out when they became adults? Also why didn't Numbuh 1 just keep the item in the first place and use to end adult tyranny instead of throwing it away which lead to the incident in G.R.O.W. U.P.?
• ^ Well, maybe the Delightful Children only wanted to become adults progressively (rather than in seconds). That would allow them to fully enjoy the sensation of growing up, and to learn how to be adults. As for Nigel... I think he decided the cigar was simply too dangerous to keep-what if a rogue KND agent or a villain had gotten its hands on it? Admittedly, that doesn't explain Nigel's very unintelligent method for getting rid of the cigar. He must have believed that the object would get lost or destroyed before anyone could find it.

• Mr. Warburton refused to answer this question for a trouper on facebook but here goes... With all these times the villains threaten the KND operatives it's starting to make me wonder... has any of the Kids Next Door villains (Even Father) ever... you know... killed anybody? Or what if Cree successfully offs her sister Numbuh 5, how will she deal with the guilt and explain to her parents about the deed? Also if he answered "yes" then I guess that explains whatever happened to Sector Z's biological parents when they went looking for their "Delightful" Children... pretty dark huh?
  • It seems to me that none of the villains are actually trying to kill the Kids Next Door. The only exceptions are Mr.Boss (in Operation OFFICE) and the Delightful Children. Otherwise, the villains just try to ruin children's lives in a specific way.
    • However Father did try to kill Numbuh 1 in "Operation I.N.T.E.R.V.I.E.W.S. just for stealing his pipe.
      • My mistake. In that case, Father would be the third exception.

• Why are there Child Villains in the series anyway? Here we have the KND fighting Adult Tyranny which means freedom for kids... and then we have some children who pretty much oppose the KND like former school president James Nixon McGarfield, Laura Limpin (the big badolescent), the Six Gum Gang, Windsor, Ernest, and many others. This sort of thing tells me that they are ingrates and very ungrateful that the Kids Next Door fight for the freedom of kids everywhere, but these guys either oppose the KND or are on the side of Adults... Even Lizzie (Numbuh 1's ex-girlfriend) seemed to be on the side of the adults as seen in "Operation: R.E.C.E.S.S.". What's up with that?
  • To add variety. If the show followed solely the "adults are bad, kids are good" formula, it would become boring fast. Children are free to have their own opinion and not forced to agree with the KND, and willing to be villains on their own if they find it more fun. Plus, this provides more opportunity for betrayal, moles, double agents, etc. And not every child villain necessarily side with the adults; they're just antagonists to the KND. You should note that there are some adults siding with the protagonists too. From a narrative standpoint, the fact that Child Villains can exist is a very good thing.
    • So they want to be sent to bed early, given tons of homework and spanked by Spankulot?
      • That's not it at all. They are free agents, doing it for their own reasons. As the previous troper stated, just because they oppose the KND doesn't mean they support the adults. Take the Six Gum Gang for example. They're attacking busses and stealing homework for the DCFDTL because they were paid to (somehow). They don't owe loyalty to anybody least of all adults. James Nixon McGarfield did what he did to impress Lizzie of all people.
• Why does Numbuh 5 speak in the third person?
  • Because Numbuh 5 says it's cool to be third person baby!
• This was never made this clear but are most of the villain's superpowers science-based or magic-based? Long story short, are Grandma Stuffum's food minions created by magic or genetically engineered and that explains their sentience.