Shadow Queen

"Then, you wretched fools... you will learn the error of your ways!"

- Shadow Queen

The Shadow Queen is the true main antagonist and final boss of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. 1,000 years before the game's events, she arrived in the Mushroom World with hopes of conquering it and making it her own. She was ultimately defeated and sealed away in the Palace of Shadow, where she remained for the last millennium and throughout the course of the game.

Personality
The Shadow Queen is a ruthless and humorless demon that cares only for herself and her personal goals, which entail subduing the entire world and remaking it in her image. She prefers to inspire fear in her followers, as opposed to loyalty. She seems to rule her followers through fear rather than loyalty, as she uses her vast power to intimidate them.

Some of the Shadow Queen's speech and behavior vary somewhat between the Japanese and English versions of the game. In the Japanese version, she speaks in a far more down-to-earth manner. For example, when she sees Mario and his party members, she describes them as looking "agreeable," and when she offers them a second chance to serve her, she says if they agree she will "let by-gones be by-gones." In the English version, she speaks more formally, and she is more condescending, backhandedly describing Mario and his party members as looking weak, but possibly useful.

Background
Legend tells that the Shadow Queen simply appeared one day and waged war against the city where Rogueport now stands. She destroyed the city and all who opposed her. The city eventually succumbed to the Queen's rule. She transformed a quarter of the city into the Palace of Shadows, which was her personal base.

With the city under her control, the Queen planned to conquer the rest of the world. She created an army of demonic beasts, the three Shadow Sirens, and the three dragons, Hooktail, Gloomtail, and Bonetail. She used her forces to wreak havoc on any settlement she could.

The Queen then created the Crystal Stars, which held the essence of the heavens. The Queen planned to use the stars to remake the planet in her image. She hid the stars in fortresses and castles across the land, and also created the Pit of 100 Trials to torture those who opposed her.

When the Queen was nearing the peak of her power, four warriors emerged to stop her. They were a Toad, a Goomba, a Koopa, and a Boo. The four planned to steal the Crystal Stars and use their power against the Queen. They gathered the stars and mounted an attack on the Palace of Shadow. They fought through the Queen's entire army, until finally they reached the Queen. The warriors destroyed the Queen's body and sealed her spirit in the foundations of the palace. However, the Queen had cursed the warriors before her death, causing them to prepare for the day when she would return.

The four warriors sealed the palace entrance using the Crystal Stars, and hid the stars in many places all across the land. They also created a Magical Map so that the Crystal Stars could be found after their demise. However, this map was held in a magic chest that could only be opened by a pure-hearted person to ensure that it didn't fall into the hands of evil.

The Queen left behind her Shadow Sirens, who began preparations for her revival. They spread a rumor that a great treasure was sealed in the Palace of Shadow so that as many people as possible would try to break the seal.

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
After a millennium passes, the Shadow Sirens begin to prepare for their queen's awakening. They join the Secret Society of the X-Nauts and Beldam, the oldest of the Shadow Sirens, convinces their leader, Sir Grodus, that he will have total control of the Shadow Queen once he frees her.

Beldam finds the chest with the map that reveals the locations of the Crystal Stars. She then tells Grodus that a being of pure heart is needed, both to open the chest and serve a suitable host for the Queen. Beldam disguises herself as a merchant and sets up shop in Rogueport; there, she discovers that Princess Peach is an ideal host, but cannot capture her. Grodus then sends his X-Nauts to abduct Peach while she is in a back alley.

After Mario gathers all the Crystal Stars, he releases the seal on the Queen's palace and chases Grodus through it. Grodus holds Peach hostage, but Bowser intervenes. Mario defeats Bowser and corners Grodus, who tells Mario and his friends that the Queen needs Peach's body so that she can be fully revived. He summons the Queen and presents Peach as a host, who the Queen then possesses. Once reborn, Grodus believes that he can now control the Queen; his attempts prove fruitless, however, and she almost completely destroys him in her disgust. The queen then notices Mario and his friends and offers to let them be her servants. They refuse, and the enraged Shadow Queen launches an extremely powerful attack against them. Eventually, she becomes invincible, and all Mario can do is wait for the Crystal Stars to appear.

The Crystal Stars appear and travel to their home locations, allowing the people of each area to communicate with Mario. They distract the Shadow Queen with their good wishes, allowing Peach to regain control of her body long enough to give Mario all her power. Mario mounts a final attack on the Shadow Queen, and ultimately destroys her. Peach is released, unharmed, and all the Queen's followers are no longer a threat. The Shadow Queen is defeated forever, leaving Mario and his friends to celebrate.

Super Mario-Kun
The Shadow Queen also appears in the Super Mario-Kun manga adaptation of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door's plot. As with most characters in the manga, she displays more of a comic side.

Powers and Abilities
The Shadow Queen is an immortal demon, having survived for a full 1,000 years while being sealed in the Palace of Shadow. She can also possess other beings, as she did with Peach, and wields immense magical power, which she uses to create extremely powerful beings and objects (as seen with the dragons and the Crystal Stars), as well as her own army of demonic beasts.

In battle, at her full power she is immune to normal and defense-piercing attacks, and can only be made vulnerable with the power of the Crystal Stars. In her spiritual form, she is able to use her hands to drain the health of her enemies and pierce their defenses. Her hands are also capable of smashing opponents to the ground, and are considered separate enemies; whenever they're defeated, the Shadow Queen can revive them the following turn. The Shadow Queen is also able to strike her opponents with lightning, an attack that is difficult to avoid due to its speed and defense-piercing nature. When in a dire situation, the queen will often resort to attacks that induce poison, confusion, or allergies that prevent status changes.

One of the Shadow Queen's most deadly attacks is the use of several shadowy hands that come up from the ground and drag Mario and his partners down, or else stampede them for heavy defense-piercing damage. The Queen will also sic these hands on the audience members and drain their energy to restore her to full health and power. Her strongest attack is a series of black dark energy waves that hit Mario and his partner for heavy damage; however, this attack takes a turn to charge up, allowing Mario to avoid it with Vivian's Veil ability. The Shadow Queen also has the ability to temporarily raise her attack and defense by substantial amounts.

Trivia

 * The Shadow Queen is the only final boss in the Paper Mario series to not have any official artwork.
 * She cameos in Super Paper Mario as a doll in one of Francis Fort's rooms. The room is full of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door character dolls and posters.