List of characters in the Kirby series

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citationstyle = December 2007
refimprove = December 2007This is a list of characters in the Kirby Nintendo video game series.

Main characters

Kirby

nihongo|Kirby|カービィ|Kābī has been the star of a number of namesake games developed by HAL Laboratory.

Kirby has appeared in over twenty games since 1992 and has starred in his own animated series. The Kirby series has sold over 30 million units worldwide. The core games of the series are platformers. They typically begin with an evil force threatening his home of Dream Land ("Pupupuland" プププランド) on the planet Popstar, most often the greedy King Dedede or mysterious Dark Matter.

The main games always have Kirby with the same basic abilities; he can walk, run, jump, float, and inhale and spit out or swallow his enemies. Following Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby was able to gain the abilities of the enemies he swallowed, such as: Fire, Sword. Fighter, and cutter. Kirby also can spit water out of his mouth while underwater.

King Dedede

nihongo|King Dedede|デデデ大王|Dedede Daiō is a major recurring antagonist of the series (along with being a recurring anti-hero), appearing in every game except "Kirby and the Amazing Mirror". He is a jolly penguin-like monarch, known to be fat and self-centered; furthermore, Dedede causes many problems for the inhabitants of Dream Land through selfish mischief, such as stealing Dream Land's food supplies for a midnight feast, stealing all of the stars from the sky, or merely just wanting revenge on Kirby. Despite this, he and Kirby have teamed up on occasions with the purpose of taking down a greater common foe. He has many of the same abilities as Kirby himself does, such as being able to inhale objects and spit them back out with tremendous force, and following "Kirby's Dream Land", the ability to suck in air and fly.cite video game|title=Kirby's Adventure |developer=HAL Laboratory |publisher=Nintendo |date=1993-05-01 |platform=Nintendo Entertainment System |language=English]

Dedede is both an enemy and ally in the various games of the main series. Often he just acts in his own interests, such as stealing the food of Dream Land in "Kirby's Dream Land", but in others, such as "Kirby's Adventure" he breaks up the Star Rod to protect Dream Land from Nightmare. In "Kirby's Dream Land 2", "Kirby's Dream Land 3", and "", he is possessed by Dark Matter, and is eventually freed by Kirby. Dedede often is the main instigator and final boss in the side series of puzzle and handheld arcade games, such as "Kirby's Ghost Trap", "Kirby's Dream Course" and "Kirby's Block Ball". King Dedede was originally intended to be a playable character in "Super Smash Bros.", but was cut due to time constraints; he does however appear as a trophy in "Super Smash Bros. Melee" [cite web |date=2007-06-29 |author=Lucas M. Thomas |title=Smash It Up! - Volume 2 |url=http://wii.ign.com/articles/800/800696p1.html |accessdate=2008-02-07] and was finally added as a playable character in "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" due to being one of the most requested characters to be playable in Japan, [cite web |date=2007-06-29 |author=Lucas M. Thomas |title=Smash It Up! - Volume 2 |url=http://wii.ign.com/articles/800/800696p1.html |accessdate=2008-02-07] where his main weapon, the "Jet Hammer" is a mechanized version of his mallet.cite web |date=2007-10-25 |title=King Dedede's profile in the Smash Bros. DOJO!! |url=http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/characters/kingdedede.html |accessdate=2008-02-07] In "Kirby Super Star Ultra", Dedede is the last boss of the "Revenge of the King" game, wearing a metal mask and wielding a giant mechanical "Dedede Hammer" (Not unlike the one he wields in Super Smash Bros. Brawl) in an all-or-nothing attempt to defeat Kirby.

In the anime series ', King Dedede is presented as the illegitimate and incompetent ruler of Dream Land, with a castle atop a hill overlooking Cappy Town. This version of the character is more rude and malicious, but ultimately ignored by the unimpressed populace. Dedede's main cause of inconvenience is his constant purchasing of monsters from Holy Nightmare Enterprises to enforce his laws, create chaos, or to get rid of Kirby, whom he feels is a threat to his popularity and authority. He is often seen broke or in enormous debt to Holy Nightmare Enterprises. King Dedede is voiced by Kenichi Ogata in the original Japanese version. Ted Lewis voices him in the English dub in a pseudo-southern accent vaguely similar to Foghorn Leghorn. He is voiced by Masahiro Sakurai in ' and "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" where he is the latter game's director.

Meta Knight

nihongo|Meta Knight|メタナイト|Meta Naito is an enigmatic character, created by Masahiro Sakurai. [ [http://wii.qj.net/Sakurai-Responds-to-Smash-Poll/pg/49/aid/48412 Mashiro Sakurai's response to an statement on poll (features comments on his creation of Meta-Knight)] URL Accessed January 21, 2008.] Meta Knight is voiced by Atsushi Kisaichi in the original Japan, Eric Stuart in the English dub of the anime, and Jay Ward in the English version of "Super Smash Bros. Brawl". He follows a code of honor, and usually gives Kirby a sword before they fight to be fair. cite video game|title = Kirby's Adventure | developer = HAL Laboratory | publisher = Nintendo | date = 1993-05-01 | platform = Nintendo Entertainment System | language = English ] He is called Kirby's rival, [http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/characters/metaknight.html Smash Bros. DOJO!! ] ] and while Kirby often battles him, they have worked towards the same goals in the past. cite video game|title = Kirby & the Amazing Mirror | developer = Flagship | publisher = Nintendo and HAL Laboratory | date = 2004-10-18 | platform = Game Boy Advance | language = English ] Little is known of his background other than his rivalry with Kirby, and how they share a similar appearance (It is possible that Kirby and Meta Knight are the same species). He wields a powerful sword that is called "Galaxia", but Meta Knight did not have Galaxia in the beginning of it all. Galaxia can create small tornados, small waves of fire, a small field of electricity, and, the legendary ability known as "Galaxia Sword Beam". Meta Knight wears a blue cloak that he can use as a set of wings, and wears a light blue-silver mask. In some games, his mask has been knocked off, revealing that he looks like Kirby, except that his body is blue and his facial features are white, and a bit more scrawny. In Kirby and the Amazing Mirror & Kirby Squeak Squad, Meta Knight has a purple body. cite video game|title = Kirby's Adventure | developer = HAL Laboratory | publisher = Nintendo | date = 1993-05-01 | platform = Nintendo Entertainment System | language = English ]

Meta Knight is often a boss in the games. In his first appearance in "Kirby's Adventure", he fights Kirby to keep him from taking a piece of the Star Rod to keep it out of Nightmare's hands. He helps to defeat Dark Mind in "Kirby & the Amazing Mirror" by giving Kirby his sword. cite video game|title = Kirby & the Amazing Mirror | developer = Flagship | publisher = Nintendo and HAL Laboratory | date = 2004-10-18 | platform = Game Boy Advance | language = English ] In "", he works to keep the chest containing Dark Nebula out of Kirby's hands. cite video game|title = Kirby: Squeak Squad | developer = Flagship | publisher = Nintendo and HAL Laboratory | date = 2006-12-04 | platform = Nintendo DS | language = English ] In "Kirby Super Star", however, Meta Knight had a more sinister role. He wanted to conquer Dreamland, though Kirby was meddling with his plans by defeating his crew and destroying his ship. He eventually faces Kirby and says, "This is it! Prepare to die!"(edited in the remake) and then fights him. He is defeated, and Kirby attempts to escape. Meta Knight then flies up to him, trying to knock him out. Kirby (and Meta Knight) do successfully escape the Halberd before it crashes into the sea. Meta Knight has never done anything truly evil. Whenever he fights Kirby, he is just following orders from his king. In "Kirby Super Star," the American translation makes him seem a lot more evil than he really is. In the American version, he says "Dreamland's lazy life style will end. Soon, I will rule!". However, in the Japanese, he says something about corruption, so that means that he was stopping King Dedede from doing something stupid.

Meta Knight is also a regular on the anime series "". He is revealed as a member of the same group as Kirby, the Star Warriors, and is a high ranking and respected member of the Galaxy Soldier Army which fought against the armies of Nightmare, though he ended up being the only surviving member. He works for King Dedede, but is in truth an ally to Kirby and only stays with the king to keep a close eye on his mischievous yet usually failing schemes. He wields a golden, legendary, spiked sword called Galaxia which has some significance to the show's plot, and acts as a mentor to Kirby, occasionally training him or defending him when needed, but tries to make Kirby learn for himself so he may eventually be able to defeat Nightmare. He is also well known for hating people who lack common sense, which is probably why he has a good understanding of the intelligent and reasonable Fumu (Tiff). He is also serviced by two swordsmen by the name of Sword and Blade (in the games, they are called "Sword Knight" and "Blade Knight"). They are revealed to have been saved by Meta-Knight from a demon beast known as chili-dog (yes, that is a strange name) after having subsequently just tried to mug him. They pledge loyalty to Meta-Knight who uses their talents well and gives them respect. Both Sword and Blade can be summoned in "Kirby Super Star Ultra" In Meta-Knightmare Ultra as the only team mates to Meta-Knight.

Meta Knight is a playable character in ', where he merely replaces Kirby in the main game and fights with only his sword. Though powerful, Meta Knight has less hit points than Kirby, thus increasing the challenge level. A similar mode also appears in "Kirby Super Star Ultra", where Meta Knight can use a more diverse set of abilities, all of which powered by absorbing energy from defeated enemies. In this game, Meta Knight seeks to summon the wish-granting comet NOVA (which is later destroyed, only do be fused with a defeated marx) with a request: to fight the galaxy's greatest warrior. In response, NOVA summons Galacta Knight"', a masked swordsman similar to Meta Knight who, according to NOVA, was sealed away in fear of his power. When Galacta Knight is defeated, Meta Knight flies home to Dream Land, proud of his accomplishment.

Meta Knight also appears in "" and "Kirby's Air Ride" as an unlockable character, and appears in "Super Smash Bros. Melee" as a trophy cite video game|title = Super Smash Bros. Melee | developer = HAL Laboratory | publisher = Nintendo | date = 2001-12-03 | platform = Nintendo GameCube | language = English ] Meta Knight is then made a playable character in "Super Smash Bros. Brawl", where he utilizes his sword as his main weapon.

Dark Matter

nihongo|Dark Matter|ダークマター|Dāku Matā is a recurring antagonist of the series. Its main form is that of a planet-sized dark cloud with a single eyeball. It can separate into smaller clouds lined with petal-like extensions. These can possess other beings, putting them under the control of Dark Matter. cite video game|title = Kirby's Dream Land 2 | developer = HAL Laboratory | publisher = Nintendo | date = 1995-03-20 | platform = Game Boy | language = English ] At the core of the giant cloud is 0, a giant eye, which controls the Dark Matter. It is a force of negative energy that lives a lonely existence. It is jealous of Dream Land's lifestyle, so it constantly targets it to recreate Pop Star into a dark world where no one can be happy.

In "Kirby's Dream Land 2", one small cloud first appears as a masked, robed being, wielding a magical sword. It assumes its general form afterwards. In "Kirby's Dream Land 3", Dark Matter attacks Pop Star, and possesses many of its inhabitants. Kirby eventually obtains the Heart Rod, and defeats it by destroying 0. It returns in "", where it attacks Pop Star and many other planets. After being repelled from all of the planets, it forms as the Dark Star. It is controlled by 0² (Zero Two), an angelic-looking form of 0 with a halo, and geometric, segmented wings, who is destroyed along with the star. Zero Two is an extremely unusual foe: not only is he completely white, but he has several red feathers on each side of him that throws attacks. He also has a color-changing halo, an immense bandage on his head, and a large spiny tail, which is apparently a weak spot to the large monster. On a side note, Zero Two seemed to cry blood (or some other red substance) in the Japanese version of the game, although this was edited out of the international release of the game...

Nightmare

.] Nightmare (ナイトメア "Naitomea") , also known as the Cloaked Nightmare cite video game|title = Super Smash Bros. Melee | developer = HAL Laboratory | publisher = Nintendo | date = 2001-12-03 | platform = Nintendo GameCube | language = English ] , is the ultimate villain of "Kirby's Adventure" and its remake, "". After Nightmare invades the Fountain of Dreams, King Dedede splits up the Star Rod into seven pieces and gives them to his lieutenants, preventing Nightmare from using it to spread bad dreams. Kirby, not knowing this, finds the pieces and reunites them. Nightmare soon tries to steal it, but Kirby ends up using it to defeat him. Nightmare starts out as an orb that shoots stars, and he eventually transforms into a humanoid, vampire-like being with a tornado-like cloak for a body. cite video game|title = Kirby's Adventure | developer = HAL Laboratory | publisher = Nintendo | date = 1993-05-01 | platform = Nintendo Entertainment System | language = English ]

Nightmare is also the main villain of the ' anime. He runs 'NightMare Enterprises' (Holy Nightmare Co. in the Japanese version). In the dub, he is given the name of eNeMeE"'. The anime version of Nightmare already dominates much of the universe from the series' beginning. He uses his ability to create an endless number of creatures known as demon beasts to conquer civilizations. He also sells them to unsuspecting customers for a profit, via a network comparable to the Internet. His only opposition are the Star Warriors and Galaxy Soldier Army, but he defeated all but a few of them before the show begins. As told in one of Nightmare's lines later in the series, he is an embodiment of life's fear and suffering, and so he strives to bring more pain in order to increase his power, and will always exist as long as people hold fear in their hearts. In the finale, he is destroyed by Kirby using the Star Rod (which he gained from swallowing the Warp Star), whose dream powers proved to be his one weakness.

upporting characters

Adeleine

nihongo|Adeleine|アドレーヌ|Adorēnu is a human painter who originally appeared in "Kirby's Dream Land 3" as one of the boss characters; under the name "Ado". Her name was changed for her appearance in "", where she appears as a miniboss early in the game and then as an ally once she is defeated. Adeleine had no direct effect on the game-play, but her paintings provided clues on various puzzles and sometimes provided Kirby with power-ups or health restoration. She was a playable character in the multiplayer mode.

Dyna Blade

nihongo|Dyna Blade|ダイナブレイド|Daina Bureido is an enormous, armored bird that acts as both a friend and a foe in "Kirby Super Star". In her self-titled game, she destroys all of Dream Land's crops to feed her chicks. Kirby defeats her not knowing this, so he ends up feeding the chicks and teaching them how to fly. For doing so, Dyna Blade helps Kirby get back on the Halberd only to be shot down by the ship's crew in the "Revenge of Meta-Knight" game. She makes a cameo appearance in Kirby's Air Ride, and also appears as a trophy in "Super Smash Bros. Brawl".

In "", Dyna Blade is shown as a legendary bird that is worshipped by the citizens of Dream Land. King Dedede hatches a plot to get rid of Kirby by tricking him into (seemingly) eating her egg, which infuriates Dyna Blade and causes her to chase and attack Kirby for much of the episode, until her chick appears and Kirby feeds it, placating Dyna.

Gooey

nihongo|Gooey|グーイ|Gūi is Kirby's best friend, and described as a friendly blob of Dark Matter. [ "Kirby's Dream Land 3" manual, pg. 8 ] He first appears in "Kirby's Dream Land 2", and could be found in the various bags in the game under certain conditions. In that game, his only function was to restore Kirby's health, but in "Kirby's Dream Land 3" he was a playable character. He is essentially a small blue blob of goo with a silly expression on his face. Gooey has similar powers to Kirby (except that he licks up enemies), and a second player can take control of him while the first player controls Kirby. In a single player game, Gooey can be summoned as a computer-controlled ally and during the game's final battle in space, Gooey's flying form is similar to Dark Matter.

Kirby's Allies

"Kirby's Dream Land 2" and "Kirby's Dream Land 3" feature various allies that can team up with Kirby and share powers. "Kirby's Dream Land 2" introduces nihongo|Rick|リック|Rikku the Hamster, nihongo|Coo|クー|Kū the Owl, and nihongo|Kine|カイン|Kain the Ocean Sunfish. Kirby's Dream Land 3 introduces nihongo|Nago|ナゴ|Nago the cat, nihongo|Pitch|ピッチ|Picchi the Bird, and nihongo|Chuchu|チュチュ|Chuchu the octopus. In "" with the Rock/Cutter ability Kirby can turn in to a rock form of one of these friends.

Ribbon

nihongo|Ribbon|リボン|Ribonis a pink-haired fairy from the planet Ripple Star who appears in "". She is a kind and brave character who attempted to escape her planet with the fairies' power crystal when it was invaded by " Dark Matter". In space, Dark Matter blobs ambushed her, shattered the crystal, and made her fall to Pop Star, where she lands on a stargazing "Kirby" and pleads him for help. Kirby agrees and they search for the Crystal shards scattered on various planets and thwart Dark Matter's invasion of Ripple Star along with "Waddle Dee", " Adeleine", and "King Dedede". In the final battle, Ribbon, along with the crystal, aids Kirby in defeating Zero-Two, the controlling force behind Dark Matter, and restores peace to the solar system. In the ending cutscene of the game, she gives Kirby a kiss.

Enemies

Dark Mind

Dark Mind is the main villain and final boss of Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, which was his only appearance. He attempted conquering the Mirror World, and had a mirror of Meta Knight, Dark Meta Knight, do all the dirty work for him. After Kirby defeated Dark Meta Knight, he was transported to Dark Mind's domain, and Meta Knight tossed the magical sword known as Galaxia in there with him. Dark Mind has three forms that Kirby has to fight, first appearing as a demonic figure with a giant eyeball in his body, and then becoming just the giant eyeball that was in his body for the second and third phases. After Kirby depletes Dark Mind's third form's life meter, the credits start to roll, and Kirby can continue to shoot at him for points (and even if he does get hit, the credits will still keep rolling), with the villain's explosion at the end of the credits granting thirty points. Many fans consider Dark Mind to be Dark Matter's Mirror World equivalent.

Dark Nebula

Dark Nebula ("Dark Zero" in Japanese) is the final boss and ultimate villain of Kirby: Squeak Squad, who resembles a star-shaped lookalike of Dark Matter with a dark purple fiery aura and a pink feline eye in the center. It was contained inside a treasure chest, which the Squeaks stole all the while thinking that it contained an ultimate power. But Meta Knight knew the secret of the treasure chest, and stole it to keep Dark Nebula from being released. Kirby fought and defeated Meta Knight, and then Daroach came and stole the chest. But when the Squeaks opened it, Dark Nebula possessed them. After Kirby freed them from its possession, he gained control of the Triple Star and fought against Dark Nebula. In battle, Dark Nebula can switch between three different elemental forms of fire, ice, and electricity, each form with different kinds of attacks. In the end, Dark Nebula was destroyed by Kirby.

Drawcia

Drawcia is the main antagonist and final boss of Kirby: Canvas Curse who was formed in a painting that resembled her slightly. She wanted a land of paint, and to get her wish, she turned Dream Land into a painting. Seeing this, Kirby chased after her into her world, but to make sure he didn't interfere with her plans, she turned him into a ball. However, she made the mistake of leaving her magic paintbrush behind when she left afterwards. It didn't want any of this to happen, and helped Kirby make his way through Drawcia's world. Her high-ranking minions were clones of Paint Roller, Kracko, and King Dedede. When Kirby finally reached her, he fought her in two forms, her first form being her regular, physical form, and her second being her soul, which was a giant ball of paint. As her soul, she threw many projectiles that the player had to use the stylus to protect Kirby from, and even turned into a large fireball. Upon her defeat as her soul, Drawcia was sucked back into her painting, which was then smashed to pieces.

Galacta Knight

Galacta Knight is the final boss of the "Meta Knightmare Ultra" subgame in "Kirby Super Star Ultra", and is known as the galaxy's greatest warrior. According to NOVA, Galacta Knight was sealed away out of fear that he was becoming too powerful. Meta Knight eventually reaches NOVA and makes his wish to battle the most powerful fighter in the universe, and NOVA grants his wish, releasing Galacta Knight. The two then fight, and ultimately, Meta Knight emerges victorious.

Galacta Knight is similar to Meta Knight, except with a lance-like sword and a shield, a mask with a cross-shaped opening and horns, and angel wings instead of bat wings. He is also the second-to-last boss of the "True Arena" subgame, the final boss following him afterwards being Marx Soul. His attack style and patterns are superior to Meta-Knights and do much more damage along with multiple attacks now being elemental based such as fire, ice, or electricity. He also will summon some of the same enemies that Meta Knight controlled from time to time. Sometimes he will spin in a similar fashion of the Mach Tornado move in Brawl that Meta Knight used, creating a small vortex around Galacta Knight.

Gordo

Gordos are floating enemies that cannot be sucked up by Kirby or destroyed in any way. They often appear stationary but sometimes move in a pattern. They have eight white spikes surrounding their black body and have two large eyes in the center. Gordos are used as projectiles by King Dedede in Super Smash Bros Brawl.

Knuckle Joe

nihongo|Knuckle Joe|ナックルジョー|Nakkuru Jō is a minor enemy that first appeared in "Kirby Super Star". He gives Kirby the fighter ability when eaten, and can also be summoned as a helper for that ability. He later makes his appearance in the "" anime as the son of a legendary Star Warrior who fought side by side with Meta Knight until he was turned into a monster by Nightmare and afterwards killed by his friend. Knuckle Joe attacked the unsuspecting Kirby, believing it was Kirby who killed his father. Meta Knight stops him in the nick of time, explaining to Joe the truth about his father's death. He appears multiple times afterwards, and eventually helps Kirby and his friends defeat Nightmare. Knuckle Joe later appears in "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" as an Assist Trophy. As an assist trophy, he is deadly, lashing out with a volley of punches at characters. He is voiced by Minami Takayama in the Japanese versions of both the Kirby anime and Super Smash Bros. Brawl and by Alésia Glidewell in the American version of that same game. [cite web |url = http://www.alesiaglidewell.com/bio.php |title = Bio - Alésia Glidewell - Voice Over Artist | publisher = AlesiaGlidewell.com | first = Alésia | last = Glidewell |accessdate = 2008-04-13 ]

Kracko

nihongo|Kracko|クラッコ|Kurakko is a recurring boss that first appeared in "Kirby's Dream Land". It resembles a large cumulus cloud with spikes protruding from all sides, and a single large eyeball in the center. It attacks with electricity, rain, and by producing smaller enemies, such as Waddle Doos, Starmen, Co-Krackos, and Flamers. Kracko is typically first seen in an "immature form", sometimes called Mini-Kracko or Kracko Jr. It retains its huge eye, but the eye is surrounded by four orbs, which it either spins rapidly or launches in different patterns. This form either fights as a mini-boss earlier in various games, or immediately prior to transforming to its "adult" form.

In Kirby Squeak Squad, the boss of the third world is a robot built by the Squeak Squad to defeat kirby that strongly resembles Kracko, called Mecha-Kracko. In Kirby Super Star Ultra's Revenge of the King subgame, Kracko is given the darkest makeover out of all the bosses - it is given a demonic red feline eye, black-and-white stripes, and its cloud is purple.

Kracko appears in the Kirby anime "" episode, "Secret of the Star Warrior/Dark and Stormy Knight". It is bought by King Dedede from Nightmare Enterprises to defeat Kirby. It attempts to attack him, but it is eventually defeated by Sword Kirby.

Lololo and Lalala

nihongo|Lololo and Lalala|ロロロ と ラララ| Rororo to Rarara are two characters based on the pair of characters from the "Adventures of Lolo" series, another creation of HAL Laboratories.

They also appear in the anime as friendly characters, where they are known as Fololo and Falala in the English dub, and they reside in King Dedede's castle. They were once a single monster working for Nightmare Enterprises called Lola (Fofa in the dub), but were split into two by another monster named Splice 'n' Dice (Japanese: KittariHattari) and sent to Dedede as punishment for being too soft-hearted and was a useless demon beast. They were sent to Dedede by Nightmare Enterprises. They are both voiced by Tara Sands in the English dub.

Marx

Marx is a jester-like character whose only appearance was in the game "Kirby Super Star" for the Super Nintendo, as well as its Nintendo DS remake, "Kirby Super Star Ultra". He is the main villain and final boss of the "Milky Way Wishes" portion of the game, and also appears in the mini-game "The Arena". Even though he is a resident of Dream Land, Marx is a wicked prankster who dreams of conquering Popstar itself. He has a distinct appearance, unlike most of Kirby's fellow Dream Landers, involving him wearing a jester's cap, big brown clown-like shoes, and a red bow tie around his neck, and having purple flesh and demented-looking facial features. He mainly moves around by bouncing on his favorite ball, which resembles a beach ball.

In the game, he tricked Kirby into helping him summon the seemingly mechanical, wish-granting comet, "NOVA" by telling him that it could make peace between the sun and the moon, whom Marx has secretly goaded into fighting each other. However, when the comet appears, Marx pushes Kirby from in front of it and uses his wish to become the ruler of Dreamland, subsequently gaining a powerful new body. In his ultimate form, he grows wings and fangs, and bears the same grin on his face as he does in his normal form. Despite his now-limitless power, Marx is defeated by Kirby and is sent crashing into NOVA, destroying both of them.

In "Kirby Super Star Ultra", a new form of Marx appears in the final round of the "True Arena" subgame, known as Marx Soul. His intro cutscene shows his defeated body drifting in space near the destroyed NOVA. the two then merge into a demonic version of Marx. He gains a newer more sinister laugh along with the ability to split himself into two colored orbs of blue and pink (which are foreshadows to two of his new attacks).

Meta-Knights

The nihongo|Meta-Knights|メタナイツ|Meta Naitsu are a group of soldiers led by Meta Knight, who often uses them to test Kirby's skills throughout Kirby's Adventure, which is their first appearance. The Meta-Knights include nihongo|Axe Knight|アックスナイト|Akkusu Naito, nihongo|Mace Knight|メイスナイト|Meisu Naito, nihongo|Javelin Knight|ジャベリンナイト|Jaberin Naito, Blade Knight, Sword Knight, and nihongo|Trident Knight|トライデントナイト|Toraidento Naito. They are four distinct armored soldiers that each wield the weapon they are named for. Axe Knight moves along the floor, swinging axes around, so he must be attacked from behind; he does not turn around. Mace Knight swings his mace over his head and throws it for considerable range and power. Javelin Knight looks like a black pod that jumps around the room, and occasionally flashes and summons a spear to grab and spin with, until he discards it. Trident Knight moves forwards and backwards until it tosses an electrified trident at you. He throws them where you are, so range is not important.

The Meta-Knights return in "Kirby Super Star" where they aided Meta Knight in his attempt to conquer Dream Land via his warship, the Halberd. As with their first appearance in "Kirby's Adventure", the four knights also appear in "Kirby Super Star Ultra", the Nintendo DS remake. Apparently, Meta Knight is not the only warrior they've served, as the Meta-Knights also appear as summoned soldiers in the service of Galacta Knight. It would appear, however, that Meta Knight has truly earned their respect, for several of them chose to stay and fight against Kirby despite the Halberd's destruction.

Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright

Mr. Shine & Mr. Bright are tag-team bosses first appearing in "Kirby's Adventure" at the end of the Butter Building stage. Mr. Shine appears as a crescent moon with a face and limbs, while Mr. Bright is a sun with similar features. As their type suggests, they love to fight tag-team style. One in the air will rain down beams or make stars falls for Kirby to spit out at the one on the ground, who will throw projectiles or try to ram into him. One of their most lethal attacks is when they create a solar eclipse: Mr. Shine will blast the area with flames while Mr. Bright creates a patch of shadow, which is the one safe spot.

The duo then appeared in the low-profile "Kirby's Pinball Land". They had to be defeated in order to reach Kracko, one of the bosses of the game. They do not attack the player, but rather position themselves among various obstacles, making it difficult for the player to attack them.

In "Kirby's Dream Land 2" Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright return as the bosses of Red Canyon and introduce their eclipse attack into their assault. Ado also paints them as minor opponents when fighting her in "Kirby's Dream Land 3".

Paint Roller

nihongo|Paint Roller|ペイントローラー|Peinto Rōrā first appeared as the boss of Ice Cream Island in "Kirby's Adventure", in a small room with nothing but a floor, two platforms and four canvases. It wears a baseball cap and roller skates, and rolls around the room, drawing enemies that come to life and attack Kirby. It guarded the second fragment of the Star Rod as King Dedede has instructed. It later appears in the remake of "Kirby's Adventure", titled ', and then later appeared in ' as one of Drawcia's clones, in a boss level where the player had to help Kirby from being popped by using the Magic Paintbrush to finish all of his games.

Paint Roller also appears in the anime. It appears in the Kirby anime episode, "Dedede's Monsterpiece". He made his debut when he was delivered to King Dedede, who didn't care about fine art. He went to Dedede's newly-built art museum, where he went around messing with the paintings. Kirby inhaled PR's paintbrush, and became Paint Kirby. They dueled and dodged with their paintings, which can come to life, as well as their roller blades. Kirby eventually got the best of Paint Roller with a painted missile of his, which homed in on the monster and his painted bomb, causing a massive, messy paint explosion that took out the entire art museum and splattered paint all over Kirby in the process.

Poppy Bros.

The Poppy Bros. are various related enemies (sort of) that appear in many Kirby games.

Poppy Bros. Jr.

Poppy Bros. Jrs. are average enemies dressed in blue clothing (in Kirby Super Star, they wear yellow-pink color-schemed clothing). They usually just hop around, roll on apples or ride on bear-like enemies called Grizzos. They give no ability. However, they do have some ability-giving variants who wear clothing with a yellow-pink color scheme.

Some Poppys are seen standing in place, attacking Kirby using an endless supply of bombs. They give Kirby the Bomb ability. There is also a blue-clothed version that is the Helper for the Bomb ability.

Some Poppys are seen trying to throw boomerangs at Kirby. These give Kirby the Cutter ability.

In Kirby Super Star Ultra's Revenge of the King subgame, Poppys sport clown-like faces, always stick their toungues out, and wear clothing with a purple-yellow color scheme, which applies to all Poppys within Revenge of the King.

Poppy Bros. Sr.

Poppy Bros. Srs. are mini-bosses. They hop around, throwing bombs at Kirby. Upon defeat, Kirby can eat them for the Crash ability- though in Kirby Super Star, they give Bomb instead.

The Squeaks

The Squeaks ("Dorocche Dan" in Japanese) are the main antagonists of Kirby: Squeak Squad. They are little mice lead by the magician known as Daroach ("Dorocche" in Japan), and they often appear whenever Kirby shows up in a room with a treasure chest in it, trying to steal the chest and take it with them to their home base, and Kirby must chase them there and fight them to take it back before the base's gates close. There are different kinds of Squeaks; Spinni ("Spin" in Japanese), a little yellow ninja mouse with red shades, Storo ("Stron" in Japanese), a big bulky blue mouse wearing a red sleeveless shirt and hat and a pirate patch and wielding a huge hammer, Doc, a small white mouse with a green moustache and swirly-eyed glasses, and tiny hopping mice called Squeakers ("Chuurin" in Japanese). The Squeaks steal King Dedede's chest and believe it to contain an ultimate power while Kirby chases them thinking that the chest may have his missing strawberry shortcake, but when they eventually open it, Dark Nebula possesses them and Kirby has to free them from its possession. After the credits, while they depart for parts unknown to look elsewhere for treasure, the Squeaks send Kirby a slice of strawberry shortcake as an apology for all the trouble they caused.

Waddle Dee

nihongo|Waddle Dees|ワドルディ|Wadoru Di are the most common enemies in the series. They have small stubby arms and small feet. Their face is always a light tan color, as are their feet, with their main bodies usually a dark red. They also appear in other colors, such as yellow, orange, or gold. They generally attack by running into Kirby, but they can also wield parasols and spears. Parasol wielding Waddle Dees can be used as allies in "Kirby Super Star", and as a playable character in '. ' has one Waddle Dee forming an alliance with Kirby after freed from the possession by Dark Matter. Waddle Dee occasionally appears in levels to help Kirby progress through them, usually using random means of transportation such as log rafts and mine carts.

In the Kirby anime "", there is a multitude of Waddle Dees who serve as King Dedede's servants. They work around the castle as guards, maids, cooks, repairmen, or any other job that needs doing. However, they are rather clumsy and weak and can often mess up. They serve him because they serve anyone that feeds them and gives them shelter.

In "Kirby Super Star" (both original and remake) and "Kirby and the Amazing Mirror", a single Waddle Dee appears in the boss endurance mode. This Waddle Dee has much more health then normal Waddle Dees, but it can't really do anything, which makes it the easiest boss in the game. The reason this "super" Waddle Dee was put in as a boss is unknown, though possibly just for a joke.

In "Kirby & the Amazing Mirror" and "", super-sized Waddle Dees are sometimes seen. These are called Big Waddle Dees. Though harder to inhale than regular Waddle Dees, they are just as easy to defeat as their smaller counterparts.

In ' and "Kirby Super Star Ultras Revenge of the King subgame, Waddle Dees are sometimes seen with spears. These are called Spear Waddle Dees, which is a reference to the anime. Also, sometimes, in Canvas Curse, Waddle Dees will be floating down with dandelions; these are called Fluff Waddle Dees.

In "", a golden Waddle Dee can sometimes be seen. If you successfully kill him before he commits suicide by falling into a bottomless pit or lava, he will drop a small chest. He is always running.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, King Dedede throws them as an attack. The Waddle Dees then proceed to walk around the stage but can harm opponents with a short hop after thrown.

Waddle Doo

nihongo|Waddle Doo|ワドルドゥ|Wadoru Du is a species very close in appearance to Waddle Dees, but they have only one huge eye. They appear in most of the games. If Kirby sucks up one of these, it will give him a beam ability, accompanied by a jester's hat in some games, starting with Kirby Super Star. In , Kirby's friendly Waddle Dee was taken over by Dark Matter, and when he lifted his face back up, he was a Waddle Doo. These Waddle Doos can fire short-ranged beams, making them more powerful than Waddle Dees. In the anime, there is only one Waddle Doo, who serves as the captain of all the Waddle Dees. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Waddle Doos were sometimes thrown by King Dedede instead of Waddle Dees. The Waddle Doos walk around like Waddle Dees, but will shoot a short electrical beam that can harm players.

Whispy Woods

nihongo|Whispy Woods|ウィスピーウッズ|Wisupī Uzzu is a large apple tree whose most common attack is dropping apples from his branches. He generally appears as a boss, usually the first one in many Kirby games and the first boss to appear in the Kirby series.

The anime features him as the king of the forest in Dream Land. Whispy is several hundred years old, and very wise, though he has a bit of a temper. He's very kind to his friends, but shows no mercy to those that threaten his kingdom. At first, he believes Kirby and his friends are intruders when they build a campfire around him. It turns out to be a setup by Dedede, who wants to destroy Whispy to build a golf course. After most of the forest is cut down, it is revived by one of Whispy's apples. Dedede continues to constantly try to build his golf course during the series, while Whispy becomes Kirby's ally. In "Super Smash Bros." he had his own stage where he blew players around and dropped apples that could be thrown or used as healing items but in "Super Smash Bros. Melee", and "Super Smash Bros. Brawl", he was on a level named "Green Greens" (The original first level ever of Kirby) with star blocks and bomb blocks dropping from the sky as well as the attacks on Super Smash Bros.

Anime-Only Characters

Escargoon

Escargoon, known in Japan as nihongo|"Doctor Escargon"|ドクター・エスカルゴン|Dokutā Esukarugon|, is an anthropomorphic snail that serves King Dedede in the anime series. He is voiced by Naoki Tatsuta in the Japanese version. Ted Lewis performs his voice in the English dub similar to a Paul Lynde impression. He originally leaves his mother's farm to become famous and make his mother proud, but ends up serving Dedede instead. He helps Dedede's plots by creating various inventions to help defeat Kirby. Escargoon has not made any appearances in the games.

Nightmare Enterprises

Nightmare Enterprises ("Holy Nightmare Co." in the Japanese version) is an organization in the anime Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, lead by Nightmare. Its purpose is creating monsters (demon beasts in Japan) and by-products and selling them to unsuspecting customers through the internet. Some of the monsters are enemies and bosses from various Kirby games. However, the company was created as a front for Nightmare's monster armies, which he sends down to planets to conquer them in his quest to take over the entire universe. The Galaxy Soldier Army banded together to battle those monster armies, but many members were outnumbered and killed, save for a few lucky souls (including Meta Knight). At the end of the anime, Nightmare Enterprises is ultimately destroyed by Kirby and friends. One of Nightmare Enterprises' main employees is its salesman ("Customer Service" in Japan), who sells monsters to King Dedede over the internet. In the Japanese version, he speaks politely but still doesn't pass up a chance to insult customers. In the dub, his personality is more like that of a stereotypical used car salesman.

Besides the monsters and by-products, Nightmare Enterprises also creates different kinds of warfare, ranging from laser guns to gun turrets to Destrayers (giant disk-shaped ships attack with lasers and fireballs) to Air Riders (alien creatures resembling ninjas and riding different Air Ride Machines). The company is housed by a massive blue UFO-like spaceship with an eye resembling O on its front and cyberspace cities on its exterior, as well as trenches, trolleys, elevators, and even a command center inside. The spaceship also houses Nightmare's chess board-like lair, as well as a school that his creations go to to learn how to be mean and scary. They are divided into four different classes and compete with each other to be the best. The school is headed by the monster Whippy (Hittei in Japan) as well as four evil clown-like creatures that head one class each, and resembles a circus in some ways. Many of the monsters are enemies, mini-bosses, and bosses from various Kirby games, while many others are original creations for the show.

ir Ebrum & Lady Like

nihongo|Sir Ebrum|パーム|Pāmu and nihongo|Lady Like|メーム|Mēmu are characters in . They are the parents of Tiff and Tuff who work and live in King Dedede's Castle and keep peace between their strong-willed offspring and their rambuctious employer. Sir Ebrum, the Cabinet Minister, is voiced by Takashi Nagasako in the Japanese version and David Lapkin in the English dub, while Lady Like is voiced by Yuko Mizutani in the Japanese version and Kayzie Rogers in the English dub. Lady Like is usually the one out of the two who is suspicious of Dedede's plots since they put her children in danger as well, although even Sir Ebrum gets suspicious sometimes.

Tiff and Tuff

nihongo|Tiff|フーム|Fūmu| and nihongo|Tuff|ブン|Bun| are the brother and sister duo that accompany Kirby in the anime series. Tiff is voiced by Sayuri Yoshida in the original Japanese version and Kerry Williams in the English dub. Tuff is voiced by Rika Komatsu in the Japanese version and Kayzie Rogers in the English dub. They live in Dedede's castle along with their parents, Sir Ebrum and Lady Like, and help Kirby in his fight against Dedede's plots and Nightmare's monsters. Tiff is more interested in academics, such as Chemistry and other studies, while Tuff is active in sports and other physical activities.

References

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