Bullet Bill
- This article is about the recurring enemies in the Super Mario franchise. For the character playlist on the Nintendo Music app, see List of character playlists on Nintendo Music § Bullet Bill.
| Bullet Bill | |||
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 Artwork from Mario Kart World | |||
| First appearance | Super Mario Bros. (1985) | ||
| Latest appearance | Yoshi and the Mysterious Book (2026) | ||
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- “Clear the way for one of Bowser's fastest minions.”
- —New Super Mario Bros. Wii trading card
Bullet Bills are large black self-propelled ammunition with angry eyes and white arms that are usually enemies and obstacles in the Super Mario franchise. They are fired by Bill Blasters, at which point the Bullet Bill archetypically flies in a straight line while ignoring gravity. Some games have Bullet Bills home in on the player instead. Bullet Bills can fly in from off-screen, without a Bill Blaster shooting them. In such cases, the sound effect for a Bill Blaster shooting is usually still played upon their appearance. Bullet Bills are usually immune to fireballs from Fire Mario, but vulnerable to being stomped. They are one of the most recurring and oldest enemies in the franchise, having debuted in the original Super Mario Bros.
Bullet Bills frequently appear as items in spin-off games, such as the Mario Kart series. In some cases, the Bullet Bill is a projectile to use against other players. In others, the player gets to ride a Bullet Bill, transform into a Bullet Bill, or transform their ball into a Bullet Bill. This enables the player to utilize the species' speed and flight powers.
General information[edit]
Physical description[edit]
Bullet Bills are black anthropomorphic missile-like creatures. They have eyes with black pupils/irises and engines at their backsides, thus allowing them to travel in the air. In most games, they can be defeated by simply jumping on them, though other games make them more resilient. Like other enemies, Bullet Bills have had varying appearances. In the earlier Super Mario games, Bullet Bills had a slightly brown hue, though this was due to color limitations. Bullet Bills were inspired by shark mouth nose art on fighter planes[1] and older artwork shows them with both arms and mouths, which are depicted variously in early sprites and models. To date, they appear with both arms and a visible mouth in the Game & Watch Super Mario Bros., the DIC Entertainment cartoons, Super Mario Bros. Print World, the PC release of Mario's Time Machine, Yoshi's Safari, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. In Super Mario Kart, Super Mario 64, and Yoshi's Story, they lack arms but have an open mouth with sharp teeth and an angry expression, resembling Bomber Bills. In Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and Yoshi's Island DS, Bullet Bills display a grin instead, as well as a green color scheme in the second of these. In Super Mario Sunshine, they have a slimmer shape in the vein of Torpedo Teds, in addition to having a smile, fuller eyes, and rocket-like fins in the back.
Powers and abilities[edit]
In most games, Bullet Bills simply fly around without targeting a victim, usually being launched from Bill Blasters. However, the Super Mario Galaxy games give Bullet Bills the ability to home in on their opponents, while their eyes turn red. In the Super Smash Bros. games, Bullet Bills can also home in on their opponents, though only a few of them do this. In some cases, they can spin while flying. In Super Mario Odyssey, Bullet Bills appear as capturable enemies; this game reveals that, Bullet Bills can fly at three different speeds, and can self-destruct after a certain period of time. In the Paper Mario games, Bullet Bills use a kamikaze attack, thus resulting in explosions. In Puzzles and Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, Bullet Bills are associated with the Dark attribute, boast higher ATK, and attack on every turn. The Mario & Sonic games depict Bullet Bill (and more specifically, Big Bullet Bill), as a Speed rival. This is supported by the Mario Kart series, which makes Bullet Bill a high-speed item with automatic turning capabilities. A billboard advertisement in Mario Kart Wii's Moonview Highway course addresses Bullet Bill as the "King of Speed".
History[edit]
This section needs Yoshi franchise improvement. Specifically:
- Merge Yoshi's Island series section with all other Yoshi franchise sections.
- Add Yoshi and the Mysterious Book info.
Super Mario series[edit]
Super Mario Bros. / Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels[edit]
Bullet Bills are enemies in Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, and their remakes within Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Bros. Deluxe. Bullet Bills are usually shot from a Turtle Cannon, though are sometimes shot from off-screen, and fly in a straight line. A Bullet Bill can be defeated if stomped or from the effects of a Starman. A Koopa Shell or Buzzy Shell can defeat Bullet Bills instantly if they originate from off-screen, but not if they are shot from Turtle Cannons. Bullet Bills are immune to fireballs. Because Bullet Bills travel continuously, if Mario touches the flagpole, any Bullet Bills in his presence disappear instantly. Stomping on a Bullet Bill is always worth 200 points, and it is not possible to earn additional points by stomping them in succession. Bullet Bills and Piranha Plants are the only two enemies with death animations that never depict them with their sprites flipped upside-down, the former remaining right side-up and the latter simply disappearing.
Bullet Bills are first encountered in World 5-1 in Super Mario Bros. A Bullet Bill takes on the disguise of the fake Bowser in World C-4. Since Bullet Bills share the same color palette as Goombas, they appear gray in World 6-3 of Super Mario Bros. and blue in World A-2 from Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. Bullet Bills are not launched from the Turtle Cannons in World 9-1 of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.
In the Super Mario All-Stars ports for both Super Mario Bros. and The Lost Levels, although their overall role is the same, their sprite is altered slightly to show them moving their arms up and down while flying.
Super Mario Bros. (Game & Watch)[edit]
Bullet Bills reappear in the Game & Watch game Super Mario Bros., where they appear in levels starting in the second Loop of the game, after World No. 8 Burning Road is completed for the first time.
Super Mario Bros. 3 / Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]
Bullet Bills are enemies in Super Mario Bros. 3. Their design is slightly updated to have them entirely black and white with no orange around their arms and rims of their thrusters. They are encountered mostly in airship stages. Besides previous methods, it is also possible for Bullet Bills to be defeated from a Hammer, a tail attack, or a Bob-omb in certain stages. The game introduces Missile Bills, which turn around and fly back towards Mario if it misses him the first time. The World-e level Wild Ride in the Sky in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 features diagonally-fired Bullet Bills.
Super Mario Land[edit]
- Main article: Bullet Biff
Bullet Bills do not appear in Super Mario Land, though a subspecies native to Sarasaland named Bullet Biffs appears.
Super Mario World / Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2[edit]
Bullet Bills are enemies in Super Mario World. Bullet Bills are first encountered in Vanilla Dome 4 where they are fired off-screen, while Bullet Bills emitted from Turtle Cannons are first encountered in Sunken Ghost Ship. Bullet Bills in Cheese Bridge Area are encountered in a zone led from a Warp Pipe, where they are fired diagonally. The level Outrageous includes several Bullet Bills launched from Turtle Cannons. The game introduces Bullet Bills that are fired diagonally from four corners, Bullet Bills shot vertically, and both the Torpedo Ted and Banzai Bill variants. Additionally, when the Special Zone is completed, horizontal-moving Bullet Bills turn into Pidgit Bills, which function identically but look like flying Pidgits. In Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, vertically and diagonally-fired Bullet Bills are given this design and are animated to flap their wings.
Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins[edit]
Bullet Bills appear in the Crane Course of the Mario Zone and the Sunken Ship Course of the Turtle Zone in Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins, and they act like they do in previous games. They are depicted with grinning faces and no arms. Unlike most enemies, defeating a Bullet Bill does not increase the defeated enemy counter.
Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS[edit]
Bullet Bills are enemies in Super Mario 64, where they are designed similarly to Banzai Bills. Bullet Bills are only encountered in Whomp's Fortress, after the Whomp King has been defeated, and are shot from the Turtle Cannon at the top of the fortress. Bullet Bills home in on Mario and spin backwards upon hitting him or a crate, but explode after hitting a wall or after reaching a certain distance. Bullet Bills cannot be defeated, and any form of contact with it takes away three wedges of Mario's health. A Bullet Bill can appear from the Turtle Cannon forcefully if Mario Ground Pounds it, though not in the remake.
In Super Mario 64 DS, Bullet Bills can appear at the new base of Whomp's Fortress, directly opposite of the starting point. Bullet Bills were also added in Dire, Dire Docks, at the submarine dock until completing Bowser in the Fire Sea. It was made possible to defeat a Bullet Bill from a kick or a Mushroom, which sends them spinning backwards to eventually explode. The remake standardized the design of Bullet Bills, depicting them with smaller pupils, though their arms would be recolored from black to white in later appearances, matching their hands.
Super Mario Sunshine[edit]
Bullet Bills are enemies in Super Mario Sunshine. They have been redesigned enitrely, having a metallic exterior, googly eyes, and smile in a manner akin to Torpedo Teds. Bullet Bills make a quick radar beeping constantly as they fly. Bullet Bills appear with different colors and behaviors at various points in the game, coming in black, purple, gold, and blue. Most types of Bullet Bills release two coins when squirted by FLUDD, except Golden Bullet Bills, which release eight coins instead. Black Bullet Bills are first shown at Pinna Park during Episode 1, being fired from four cannons in Mecha-Bowser's chest and following the tracks of the roller coaster that Mario is riding, either from the front or back, though they can still miss him by a wide margin on certain turns. In Episode 2, black, purple, and golden Bullet Bills appear fired by Monty Mole, and all of them travel in a long, downward arc, exploding when they hit the ground, with black and gold only differing in rarity and coin reward. Purple Bullet Bills,[2] which have blinking red nosecones, follow Mario on a horizontal plane if they approach him, similarly to Bullet Bills in Super Mario 64, though with a tight-but-lengthy u-turn if they miss; this type can destroy the baskets with Blue Coins in the same episode. In Episode 1 of Noki Bay, a single inactive black Bullet Bill is found laying dormant in the platform connecting the cannon to the giant cork. In the battle against Bowser and Bowser Jr. on Corona Mountain, the latter shoots special Purple Bullet Bills[2] or Guided Bullet Bills,[3] which come in black and blue, the former having a blinking nosecone (aside than the first one launched) and the latter being solid-colored. These ones follow Mario more persistently when they get a lock on him, but the large number causes them to have a fairly short and narrow line-of-sight, and they can also change their altitude to get on his level. These Bullet Bills can be defeated by being jumped on, with the blue ones giving a 1-Up Mushroom or Water Bottle if defeated this way, or from Bowser's Fire Breath.
In the demo reel on the title screen, black Bullet Bills have blinking red noses and solid red eyes with white pupils, like Purple Bullet Bills, so the design change occurred most likely very late in development.
New Super Mario Bros.[edit]
Bullet Bills are enemies in New Super Mario Bros. Their role is based on their appearance from Super Mario Bros., except some of them are launched from Bill Blaster Turrets, and some can be additionally defeated from using a Mega Mushroom. Banzai Bills also return as enemies. Bullet Bills are encountered in World 2-
Castle; World 5-4, where some appear from offscreen; World 6-1; World 6-Castle, during the Monty Tank fight only, World 7-5, and World 8-1.
Super Mario Galaxy[edit]
Bullet Bills are enemies in Super Mario Galaxy and its Nintendo Switch port. They are very common and appear in several galaxies, notably appearing in all of Bowser Jr.'s galaxies. Upon being fired, if Bullet Bills notice the player character, their eyes turn red and they home in on him (similar to Missile Bills) until hitting either him, an obstacle, or an enemy; this method can break open cages, destroy fences, and attack and eventually defeat Megaleg. If a Bullet Bill hits Mario, he is knocked down for a few seconds and loses a wedge of health. Both Banzai Bills and Torpedo Teds also make a reappearance.
Bullet Bills appear in the following list of galaxies and missions. If no mission is stated, Bullet Bills appear during all missions:
- Good Egg Galaxy ("King Kaliente's Battle Fleet")
- Bowser Jr.'s Robot Reactor
- Battlerock Galaxy ("Battlerock Barrage", "Luigi under the Saucer")
- Buoy Base Galaxy ("The Secret of Buoy Base")
- Bowser Jr.'s Airship Armada
- Dusty Dune Galaxy ("Bullet Bill on Your Back")
- Bowser Jr.'s Lava Reactor
- Dreadnought Galaxy ("Infiltrating the Dreadnought")
- Melty Molten Galaxy ("Through the Meteor Storm")
- Bubble Blast Galaxy
- Bowser's Galaxy Reactor
New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]
Bullet Bills are enemies in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. They act the same as in New Super Mario Bros., though they can be frozen by an Ice Ball from Ice or Penguin Mario. Unlike other flying enemies, Bullet Bills could be picked up and thrown while frozen. They are encountered in World 3; World 5-5, being fired from off-screen only; in World 6, including as Enemy Courses; and in several levels of World 7. In addition to Missile Bills and Banzai Bills reappearing, the game also introduces King Bills and homing Banzai Bills.
Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit]
Bullet Bills return in Super Mario Galaxy 2, being rarer than in Super Mario Galaxy. Some retain their homing capabilities, though other Bullet Bills fly straight and do not follow the player character. Yoshi can use his tongue to capture an incoming Bullet Bill in his mouth and spit it back out at other incoming enemies or bosses; this is required to attack and eventually defeat Megahammer, which launches out Bullet Bills constantly. When in Yoshi's mouth, Bullet Bills blink before eventually exploding, which will damage him. Banzai Bills also return as enemies.
Bullet Bills appear in the following list of galaxies and missions. If no mission is stated, Bullet Bills appear during all missions:
- Homing:
- Non-homing:
Super Mario 3D Land[edit]
Bullet Bills are enemies in Super Mario 3D Land. The game incorporates many elements of the two-dimensional games of the Super Mario series, and as such Bullet Bills only fly forward after being fired, are immune to fireballs, and can be stomped to defeat them. Boomerangs from Boomerang Mario can defeat them as well. Tanooki Mario's tail attack does not defeat Bullet Bills, but instead makes them spin in place. Once they stop, the Bullet Bull faces a different direction and flies that way. In this game, Bullet Bills leave behind smoky red flares as they fly.
The game introduces Tail Bullet Bills, which are Bullet Bills that fly using striped tails instead of a jet. They can slow down to perform their own tail attack.
New Super Mario Bros. 2[edit]
Bullet Bills return in New Super Mario Bros. 2, appearing and behaving as they do in New Super Mario Bros. As long as a Gold Ring is active, Bullet Bills transform into Gold Bullet Bills. Gold Bullet Bills leave a trail of coins behind them, but defeating them stops the coin trail. All Bullet Bills in the base game fly horizontally, but courses of Coin Challenge Pack B and the Platform Panic Pack contain diagonally flying Bullet Bills.
New Super Mario Bros. U[edit]
Bullet Bills are present in New Super Mario Bros. U, retaining their behavior from New Super Mario Bros,. Instead of leaving white clouds in their wake, as they did in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, they leave behind produce a red smoky flare as they did Super Mario 3D Land. When they are stomped, Bullet Bills fall offscreen without tumbling, but still tumble when defeated through other means such as a Ground Pound. Bullet Bills also appear in the battle against Roy Koopa, who shoots them from a Bill Blaster at players alongside Missile Bills.
Torpedo Teds reappear, as well as a new variant of them named Targeting Ted.
Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury[edit]
Bullet Bills are in Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. They retain their behaviors from Super Mario 3D Land. The game introduces Cat Bullet Bills, based on Cat Mario, that home in on the player.
Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS[edit]
Bullet Bills appear in Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS. They behave as they do in New Super Mario Bros. U irrespective of the game style of a given course, though they lack trails in the Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3 game styles while keeping the white trails from the original game in the Super Mario World game style. Bullet Bills are not standalone course elements, instead only appearing in courses through placed Bill Blasters. Further, the Bill Blaster has to not be set to fire a course element in order to fire Bullet Bills. Bull's-Eye Bills return along with their Bull's-Eye Blasters.
Super Mario Run[edit]
In Super Mario Run, Bullet Bills appear in the course Sky-High Lifts and Leaps! and their self-titled course Bullet Bill Barrage. Bullet Bills behave the same as before, but no Bill Blasters appear in courses. As such, all Bullet Bills in the game appear from offscreen, and even still only from the right side of the screen. This game further does not include the sounds for a Bullet Bill being fired. Characters can vault over Bullet Bills flying just above the ground. Bull's-Eye Bills also make a returning appearance.
Super Mario Odyssey[edit]
Bullet Bills are enemies Super Mario Odyssey. They are encountered in the Sand Kingdom and Metro Kingdom, where they can wear visors. They also appear in the Underground Moon Caverns in the Moon Kingdom, where they wear white top hats. Once they are fired from a Bill Blaster, Bullet Bills chase after Mario. They are unable to change elevation as they do. If a Bullet Bill cannot see Mario, either because he is inside an area accessed through an 8-bit pipe and the Bullet Bill is not or Mario is too far away, the Bullet Bill just flies forward. They explode on contact with anything, including other Bullet Bills. This can break certain Blocks or interact with a number of objects. Bullet Bills also explode after flying for too long, glowing red when this is about to occur.
A Bullet Bill can be captured by using the Cap Throw on it. If it has a hat, another Cap Throw is required to knock off the Bullet Bill's hat before it can be captured. As a captured Bullet Bill, Mario can travel across pits or fly into an object to blow it up. The player can accelerate with 
or 
, causing purple flames to erupt from the Bullet Bill as it flies faster. Shaking the controller has the Bullet Bill twirl, increasing the speed further. Mario cannot change elevation, as they cannot jump or drop downward. During the period where time is stopped while something is being captured, the player can rotate the Bullet Bill in any direction so that they will start flying in that direction once time resumes. Bullet Bills continue to explode on contact with anything or when their timer elapses, and Mario is forced to release the Bullet Bill when these happen. The explosion from Bullet Bills that Mario is capturing does not harm Mario. The timer for exploding is reset when a Bullet Bill is captured for the first time. In dark areas, the eyes of a captured Bullet Bill are flashlights, illuminating the area in front of it and showing where Mario currently is. After being released, Bullet Bills are not stunned and therefore do not teleport back to their origin point. They are briefly forced to fly forward instead of homing into Mario though.
Bullet Bills can also appear in areas accessed through 8-bit pipes, using their sprite from Super Mario Bros.. Bullet Bills in such areas function as they do in that game, but still grant a coin when stomped and explode on contact with any surface as per there mechanics elsewhere in the game Bullet Bills are allowed to fly out of an area accessed through an 8-bit pipe, and change to their normal behavior in the game after doing so.
Banzai Bills appear much later in the game, functioning similarly to Bullet Bills but with an immunity to Blocks and enemies. Knucklotec, a boss in the Sand Kingdom, has two floating hands each named Kuncklotec's Fist. They can be captured, and control identically to Bullet Bills. The hands do not explode, but are still timed.
Super Mario Maker 2[edit]
Bullet Bills are enemies in Super Mario Maker 2. Their role is similar as in Super Mario Maker, but in the added Super Mario 3D World style, Bullet Bills can defeat enemies on contact and get defeated when hitting a wall; version 3.0.0 introduces the Bullet Bill Mask in said style.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder[edit]
Bullet Bills are enemies in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, appearing in Fluff-Puff Peaks Flying Battleship, Petal Isles Flying Battleship, KnuckleFest Bowser's Blazing Beats and The Semifinal Test Piranha Plant Reprise. A few variants were introduced, all prominently in Castle Bowser levels: Missile Megs, which bear a vicious grimace and a more elongated shape resembling a missile and can be stood upon; Seeker Bullet Bills, which stick onto surfaces and fly towards the players on contact; and Bull's-Eye Billet Trains, variants of Bull's-Eye Bills consisting of multiple segments and dorsal fins.
Alleyway[edit]
Several breakable blocks are arranged in the shape of a Bullet Bill in stage 15 of Alleyway.
Mario's Picross[edit]
In Mario's Picross, a Bullet Bill is pictured in puzzle D-3 of the Kinoko Course.
DIC cartoons[edit]
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show![edit]
- “Hit the deck! It's a Bullet Bill!”
- —Toad, "Robo Koopa"
Bullet Bills appear only in "Robo Koopa" of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, though Bullet Bill-like projectiles with gray bodies, peach-colored arms, and toothy grins are fired by a Snifit in "On Her Majesty's Sewer Service."
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]
Bullet Bills appear only in "Reptiles in the Rose Garden" and "Mush-Rumors" of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. They are projectiles fired from the Doom Ship. Additionally, they are launched at a family consisting of Norman, his wife, Missy, and Bud in "Mush-Rumors."
Super Mario Bros. (Valiant Comics)[edit]
In the Super Mario Bros. comic "The Kingdom Enquirer", several Bullet Bills (depicted as being able to talk) appear among the various enemies pestering Toad (who had become a reporter) for an interview. A later story, entitled "Bowser Knows Best", also features Bullet Bills, which the Koopalings hitch a ride on in order to chase down Princess Toadstool, who had previously escaped their clutches.
Super Mario Adventures[edit]
In Nintendo Power's Super Mario Adventures comic, a Bullet Bill makes a relatively small appearance; after accidentally activating a Turtle Cannon after knocking Luigi off it, Mario is blasted by a Bullet Bill, which he ends-up riding straight into the Koopaling's Tower, where he is captured by Bowser's forces.
Mario Kart series[edit]
Bullet Bills[4] appear as both obstacles and items in the Mario Kart series.
Super Mario Kart[edit]
Bullet Bills are obstacles in Super Mario Kart. They appear in Match Race, functioning as additional obstacles in all Mario Circuit courses, Donut Plains courses (excluding Donut Plains 3) and Bowser Castle courses. They bounce back and forth between two walls, and racers that come into contact with them spin out and cause it to bounce off the screen.
Mario Kart DS[edit]
Bullet Bills are obstacles and an item in Mario Kart DS. As o