Editing Cannon (Mario Kart series)

{{about|the hazard in the Mario Kart series|other uses of the term "cannon"|[[Cannon (disambiguation)]]}}

A '''Cannon''' or '''Launch Cannon''' is a track feature seen in various tracks in the [[Mario Kart (series)|''Mario Kart'' series]]. It is a somewhat uncommon feature that appears in a few courses throughout the series. It launches racers at very high speeds to another section of the course. Cannons take on different forms, such as pipe cannons and the more common barrel cannons. In ''[[Mario Kart: Double Dash!!]]'', ''[[Mario Kart DS]]'', and ''[[Mario Kart Wii]]'', all cannons make racers immune to all items, including [[Lightning Bolt]]s, [[Blooper]]s, [[Thunder Cloud]]s, [[POW Block]]s and [[Spiny Shell (blue)|Spiny Shells]], while in ''[[Mario Kart 7]]'' onwards, they no longer make players immune to any items. Since ''Mario Kart 7'', cannons start with a [[Glide Ramp]], whereas in previous games, they started with a [[Dash Panel]].

In ''[[Mario Kart 64]]'', Dash Zones serve as a predecessor of the cannon, which actually have the same purpose. They appear in two courses: [[N64 Royal Raceway|Royal Raceway]] and [[N64 DK's Jungle Parkway|D.K.'s Jungle Parkway]].

Cannons make their first appearance in ''[[Mario Kart: Double Dash!!]]'' where they are featured on three courses: [[GCN DK Mountain|DK Mountain]], [[GCN Daisy Cruiser|Daisy Cruiser]], and [[Rainbow Road (Mario Kart: Double Dash!!)|Rainbow Road]]. In DK Mountain, the cannon takes the form of a barrel cannon, most likely to suit the Donkey Kong theme of the track. In Daisy Cruiser, the cannon takes the form of an orange exhaust pipe. In Rainbow Road, the cannon takes the form of a long, vertical tube going straight upward.

In ''[[Mario Kart Wii]]'', cannons are a bit more commonplace, as they appear in three Wii courses ([[Wii DK Summit|DK Summit]], [[Wii Maple Treeway|Maple Treeway]], and [[Rainbow Road (Mario Kart Wii)|Rainbow Road]]) and one Retro course (<small>GCN</small> DK Mountain). Also, in the retro track <small>N64</small> DK's Jungle Parkway, the Dash Panel acts like a cannon. Both DK Summit and Maple Treeway use a barrel cannon, both of which are located near the beginning of the tracks, while Rainbow Road uses a [[Launch Star]] design, to fit the ''[[Super Mario Galaxy]]'' theme of the track. In DK Summit and <small>GCN</small> DK Mountain, the cannons have the initials "DK" on the sides, while in Maple Treeway, the cannon has no designs on the sides.

In ''[[Mario Kart 7]]'', cannons do not appear in any of the new courses, due to the introduction of [[Glider|gliding]]. However, the returning <small>DS</small> Waluigi Pinball, <small>Wii</small> Maple Treeway, and <small>DS</small> Airship Fortress all retain their cannons, albeit now using [[Glide Ramp|glide ramp]]s. When a player goes through one of the cannons, they are unable to steer while gliding. Players are also no longer immune to items in any of these cannons, so it possible to be hit and have to be rescued by [[Lakitu]].  

''[[Mario Kart 8]]'' and ''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]'' use cannons occasionally. ''Mario Kart 8'' is the first ''Mario Kart'' game to add a cannon to a retro track (in this case, replacing the long route in {{classic-link|N64|Yoshi Valley}} with a Cannon). Aside from the aforementioned retro track, [[Sweet Sweet Canyon]] uses a doughnut themed cannon near the beginning of the track, while [[Cloudtop Cruise]] uses an actual cannon to launch racers into the clouds, similar to that of Airship Fortress. Like ''Mario Kart 7'', these are glider segments.

There are additional gliding segments that work like a cannon as they launch racers at a high speed and the gliders can barely be controlled: they include the first gliding section in [[Sunshine Airport]], which launches racers off the runway and onto an anti-gravity platform; the second gliding section in [[Rainbow Road (Mario Kart 8)|Rainbow Road]] that takes racers off the second satellite; and the second glider segment in [[Big Blue]] to transition from the second to the third segment. Unlike previous games, it is now possible to perform [[Trick|Tricks]] while being launched.

In ''[[Mario Kart Tour]]'', a silver barrel cannon is used on [[3DS Rainbow Road|3DS Rainbow Road R]] to launch drivers off the planet section. The aforementioned cannon returns in [[Singapore Speedway|Singapore Speedway T]], where there are two present. Like the cannons in ''Mario Kart 7'' and onward, this cannon makes use of a gliding panel. In the normal and reverse variants of [[Vancouver Velocity 2]], a red and yellow circus cannon with a lit fuse appears in {{wp|Rogers Arena}} and launches the player to the autumn section of the course in the normal variant and appears in the autumn area to launch players into Rogers Arena in the reverse variant. A blue variant of the aforementioned circus cannon appears in Singapore Speedway and its reverse variant, launching players to the top of {{wp|Marina Bay Sands}}. Additionally, DS Waluigi Pinball, DS Airship Fortress, Wii DK Summit and Wii Maple Treeway retain their cannons, complete with the Glide Ramp from the previous version.