Fire Bar

Firebars are rotating rods made of fireballs that are found in numerous titles throughout the Mario series. They are generally found in fortresses and act as dangerous obstacles that Mario must avoid in order to reach his goal.

History
They debuted in Super Mario Bros.. Although not a living enemy, they go swinging around trying to hurt Mario or Luigi. In later games, they were replaced with similar-acting enemies such as Roto-Discs and Ball 'n' Chains.

In Super Mario 64, they appeared for the first time in full 3D. They only appeared in Lethal Lava Land.

In Paper Mario, the Firebars reappeared in Koopa Bros. Fortress and Mt. Lavalava; this time they swing sideways. They also swing either clockwise or counter-clockwise, if Mario touches one; he loses some HP. Jumping over one of these Firebars causes it to swing faster. If Mario dodges one 10 times, it will vanish and drop a number of coins. This is the only appearance that Firebars can be defeated.

In Super Mario Galaxy, they appear in Bowser's Star Reactor and Bowser's Galaxy Reactor.

In Super Mario Galaxy 2, they are used in the same way as in Super Mario Galaxy. They mainly appear in Bowser Jr.'s Fiery Flotilla, Bowser's Gravity Gauntlet, Slipsand Galaxy and Bowser's Galaxy Generator. Also of note is that Firebars are used during the boss fight with Bowser Jr.'s Boomsday Machine, in which they are integrated into the Boomsday Machine.

Firebars were the only enemies of the original Super Mario Bros. to not be featured again in Super Mario Bros. 3. They also appear in later Mario games, including Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario 64, New Super Mario Bros., Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Yoshi's Island DS, Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, Super Paper Mario and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Firebars also made appearances as obstacles in the later Mario Kart games. Firebars were also given notable appearances in certain castles of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, which depicted them as swinging three-dimensionally. A three-dimensional Firebar depicted with eyes also appeared in Waluigi Stadium and Bowser's Castle course of Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.

Trivia

 * Firebars were featured as collectible items in Animal Crossing: Wild World and Animal Crossing: City Folk. When it is set down, it plays the castle music of Super Mario Bros. while the Firebar spins.
 * In The Legend Of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Firebars spin on the ground.
 * According to Satoru Iwata, "...firebars, which appear in Super Mario Bros., had also been used early on in development of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past."