Thwomp

Thwomps are large stone blocks that are usually covered in spikes. They are normally either blue or gray in color, and seem to to be perpetually angry. It is suggested in Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time that Thwomps may in fact be born from volcanoes.

Thwomps first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3 and tried to squish Mario whenever he walked underneath them. They have also been in Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario RPG, Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Mario Party, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS. Some Thwomps don't have spikes on their sides like the ones in Super Mario 64, and Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time shows a female Thwomp who looks like a huge boulder. In Super Mario 64 DS, the spikeless Thwomps were replaced with ones that did have spikes, though Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Yoshi were still able to stand on top of them. This suggests that the spikes may be merely ornamental, or that these Thwomps are of a variety whose spikes are not as sharp. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, they were shown to be very mini-game obsessed. In Super Mario Galaxy, Thwomps had the same look and same habit of crushing people.

In Super Mario RPG, Thwomps act as obstacles and cannot be fought like normal enemies. A Thwomp would attempt to crush Mario if he walked by, knocking the plumber unconscious for a short period of time. Additionally, if Mario is standing on a staircase and Thwomp crashes to the ground, the plumber will tumble backwards down the stairs. Thus Mario must Jump up the staircase quickly before Thwomp has a chance to strike. Interestingly, one Thwomp that lives in Booster Tower rests on a teeter-totter. When Mario hops on the other end, the Thwomp will fly up, smash its own end, and send Mario soaring high up in the air.

Variations

 * Grindels: Mummified Thwomps seen in Shifting Sand Land of Super Mario 64.
 * Spindels: Rolling pin-like Grindels that attempt to squish Mario in Super Mario 64.
 * Thwimps: Small versions of Thwomps found only in Super Mario World. They jump from side to side.
 * Tromps - Circular Thwomps from Paper Mario and Super Paper Mario who roll down slopes in an attempt to crush Mario.
 * Whomps: Stone blocks that appear to be related to Thwomps. They attack by attempting to crush Mario.
 * Inflatable Thwomps - Blue Thwomps made from rubber that have appeared in the mini game The Great Deflate for Mario Party 4.

Notable Thwomps

 * Mrs. Thwomp: A female Thwomp. She is married to Mr. Thwomp. She is always very angry.
 * Mr. Thwomp: Mrs. Thwomp's calm husband.

Mario Superstar Baseball
A few Thwomps appeared in Mario Superstar Baseball as obstacle in Koopa Castle (once it's unlocked.) They try to stop any of the players from making a homerun. They also appear in the unlockable minigame Star Dash and try to smash anyone who is beneath them. If a player gets smashed by a thwomp they will lose some of their coins.

Super Mario Bros. movie
Although no real Thwomps appeared in the live action movie, a neon sign for a store with their name appeared; this sign said "Thwomp Stompers".

Thwomps in Space
Thwomps will appear in the upcoming video game Super Mario Galaxy. They will, as in many other games, have to be dodged by Mario.

Paper Mario Thomps
Two Thwomps appeared in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, both of which asked several questions in a game-show manner in order to test Mario. If Mario guessed five questions correctly before getting three incorrectly, an important area or item was revealed to Mario. If you failed the quiz, they summoned enemies which would attack the player.