X-Nauts (organization)

From the Super Mario Wiki, the Mario encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
This article is about the secret organization to which the X-Nauts belong to. For the army subgroup, see X-Nauts (platoon).
X-Nauts
XNautInsignia.png
Insignia of the X-Nauts
First appearance Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004)
Leader Sir Grodus
Member(s) Lord Crump
Shadow Sirens
TEC-XX
X-Nauts (platoon)
Member species X-Naut
Yux
“We X-Nauts aren't all rainbows and lollipops. I could assure you, we could be quite nasty.”
Sir Grodus, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

The X-Nauts is an evil organization led by Sir Grodus in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. The majority of the operatives are also called X-Nauts, though there are other classes of soldiers and creatures in Grodus' employ. Many of the footsoldiers are part of the X-Naut platoon. Their base of operations is the X-Naut Fortress, which is located on the moon.

History[edit]

Sir Grodus
Sir Grodus, leader of the X-Nauts

All that is known about the X-Nauts stems from their failed plan to conquer the world using a 1,000-year-old demon known as the Shadow Queen. Grodus somehow came in contact with a trio of sisters known collectively as the Shadow Sirens, who told him that the Shadow Queen could only be released from her prison if the seven Crystal Stars were collected, and a vessel provided for her disembodied soul to possess. The X-Nauts kidnapped Princess Peach to use as the vessel, and Mario was manipulated into gathering the Crystal Stars in an attempt to save her from her captors.

However, Grodus had been misled by the Shadow Sirens, and when he tried to command the resurrected Shadow Queen to do his bidding, she destroyed his body. Grodus' robotic head, his second-in-command, Lord Crump, and two regular X-Naut soldiers and two Elite X-Nauts were last seen in Poshley Heights, as TEC-XX destroyed their fortress earlier, and reportedly reformed for the better.

Technology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

It is unclear whether the organization's name is supposed to be pronounced "ecks-naughts" or "cross-naughts", as there is evidence for both sides.

  • Some dialogue only makes sense if "ecks" is used, such as Koops comparing them to "tissues...to the extreme".
  • The Tattle for most X-Naut soldiers goes "an X-Naut" rather than "a X-Naut", implying "ecks".
  • The X-Yux's Tattle specifies that it's pronounced "cross-yux".
  • "Cross-naughts" would be a reference to Naughts and Crosses (i.e. tic-tac-toe).
  • TEC-XX's name would be a suitable piece of foreshadowing to be pronounced "double cross".
  • Other languages call the group by a name based on "cross".

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning
Japanese メガバッテン
Megabatten
From「眼鏡」(megane, "eyeglasses") and「罰点」(batten, "X mark")

French (NOA) Cruxonautes[1]
From crux (Latin word for "cross") with the suffix -naute ("-naut")
French (NOE) Mégacruxis
From Japanese name and crux (Latin word for "cross"), with French suffix -is
German Crucionen
From crux (Latin word for "cross") and possibly the Finnish diminutive -onen
Italian Incrociati
Possibly from incrociare ("to cross") and crociati (plural of crociato, meaning "crusader")
Spanish Mega X
Adaptation from the Japanese name

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Les abominables Cruxonautes sont à la recherche du trésor derrière la Porte Millénaire!" – Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch). nintendo.com (Canadian French). Retrieved March 10, 2024.