[2] Petoetje made his debut in the album Moea-Papoea (1950), where he lives on the island Moea Papoea in the Pacific Ocean.

[2] In the story Het Zevende Spuitje (The Seventh Syringe, 1963) Petoetje temporarily changes into a cannibal after receiving a wrong injection by Adhemar.

In De X-Bom (The X-Bomb, 1955) it turns out he is even a child prodigy, making all kinds of inventions and lecturing at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Puyvelde.

In De Juweleneter (The Jewelry Eater, 1963) they rebel against this and pull off an elaborate scheme where they act like ghosts to scare off the adults.

Safari, 1979–1980), De Bibberballon (The Shiver Balloon, 1990) and Het Achtste Wereldwonder (The Eighth Wonder of the World, 1996) they skip school and either travel along with the adults in secret or go on adventures independently.

Gradually he started wearing more Western clothes and eventually received his familiar outfit: a red sweater with the letter "P" written on it and black pants.

Despite having a somewhat stereotypical "tribal" look in the early albums Petoetje was always portrayed as a clever, even genius character who spoke normal language.

He is included along with other The Adventures of Nero characters on a bas-relief in Sint-Niklaas, made by sculptor Paul Dekker in 1988 to commemorate Marc Sleen's induction as an honor citizen of the city.