King Bob-omb

"I can't lose to these puny brats. I'm a king! I... I have a mustache! Oh. Right. So do they."

- King Bob-omb

King Bob-omb (formerly known as Big Bob-omb) is the king of the Bob-ombs. He is mostly recognized for being the first boss fought in the game Super Mario 64 and its remake. Guarding the Power Star, which Bowser entrusted him with, he will not give it up without fighting the player. After his debut, King Bob-omb became a recurring boss in later games, specifically spin off games such as Mario Party 9 and Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. King Bob-omb, like other certain bosses, takes pride in his royal status.

Super Mario 64
King Bob-omb first appeared in Super Mario 64, under the moniker of the "Big Bob-omb". In the game, Mario merely has to run around to the back of him, pick him up, and toss him three times. Only then will he give up the Power Star. If he is thrown off the mountain, he will accuse Mario of cheating and he will have to start over. He will also accuse Mario of cheating if Mario baits him into walking off the mountain.

Super Mario 64 DS
In the remake, Super Mario 64 DS, the Big Bob-omb is fought twice. The first time is as Yoshi, and instead of picking him up, Yoshi had to grab the Bob-ombs thrown at him with his tongue and spit them back at him before they explode in Yoshi's mouth. Yoshi can also lead a Bob-omb to explode next to him. After being hit by three Bob-ombs, he will be defeated. The second time, he can only be defeated by one of the three unlocked heroes and by using the same strategy as in Super Mario 64. He also received a slight redesign, being given large white gloves and pointed shoes aside from the yellow spheres he had in earlier iterations. He retains this look in every subsequent appearance.

Mario Party 2
In Mario Party 2, a statue of King Bob-omb appeared in the background of Mystery Land, stuck in a sinkhole.

Mario Party 5
King Bob-omb made a cameo appearance in Mario Party 5 in the minigame Defuse or Lose, where the players had to defuse wires leading to him by Ground Pounding them.

Mario Party Advance
In Mario Party Advance, King Bob-omb is known as Big Bob-omb like in Super Mario 64. He is the leader of the Bob-omb Mafia which protects Shroom City, and lives in the basement of Mushroom Condo. When the player encounters him, he will be sitting on a throne, two Bob-ombs next to him. He will then challenge the player to the dice game, where the player and Big Bob-omb roll dice blocks, and the one with the higher number three times wins. If the player wins, they get the Gaddget Stress Press. The ending states that he retired and moved to the jungle, Bob-omb being his replacement.

Mario Party 8
King Bob-omb, once again known as Big Bob-omb, made a reappearance in the Mario Party 8 minigame called You're the Bob-omb. He blows up when the right wire is detonated (or in this case the wrong wire, as doing so will cause the player to lose the game).



Mario Party 9
In Mario Party 9, Big Bob-omb is the stage boss of Bob-omb Factory. He appears in the minigame Bombard King Bob-omb, where four players have to throw Bob-ombs at him.

Mario Party: Island Tour
King Bob-omb next appears in Mario Party: Island Tour as the fourth boss of the Bowser's Tower mode (being faced off against on the twentieth floor). His boss minigame is King Bob-omb's Court of Chaos.

Mario Kart DS
In Mario Kart DS, Big Bob-omb is a boss in Mission Mode. Similar to Super Mario 64 DS, the player has to pick up Bob-ombs and throw them at him as Wario three times to defeat him. However, his move set is altered to fit Mario Kart DS. He is battled in Mission 5.

Mario Kart Arcade GP DX
In Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, King Bob-omb is a non-playable character and appears in Bowser Factory course.

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
King Bob-omb appears in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour on a golf course in Peach's Castle Grounds. Hitting him will cause him to get up and flee from the course instead of exploding. In Ring Attack, the golfer must hit a ring that is circling him to complete the hole successfully.

Mario Golf: World Tour
While King Bob-omb himself does not appear in Mario Golf: World Tour, one of the names that can appear on the tournament scoreboard is "King Bob-omb".

Mario Superstar Baseball
King Bob-omb is an item in Mario Superstar Baseball in the minigame, Bob-omb Derby. When a player smacks and get a homerun with him, he causes large fireworks and around 400-500 points for the player.

Mario Super Sluggers
In Mario Super Sluggers, King Bob-omb is a stage obstacle on the Bowser Castle stage, which he throws Bob-ombs down onto the field. He rides a vehicle similar to the Koopa Clown Car. He can also interfere with the player's hit. Once again, in the minigame Bob-omb Derby, he plays the same role he had in Mario Superstar Baseball.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
King Bob-omb appears in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam as the boss of Mount Brrr, making his official Mario & Luigi series debut and first appearance in an RPG overall. He is placed in charge of the paper terrain operation on Mount Brrr, and retains his voice clips and regal demeanour from Super Mario 64. When King Bob-omb finds that the Mario Bros. have discovered his operations, he threatens to self-destruct, forcing the trio to battle him.

King Bob-omb's boss fight is unique in that it involves a special countdown timer, similarly to Pi'illodium. If King Bob-omb is not defeated within the strict time limit of four minutes (three in the Boss Battle Ring), he will self-destruct and deal enough damage to potentially cause a game over. If at least one Bro survives the final explosion, the party will not gain any EXP or coins. He attacks by throwing Bob-ombs at the trio, attempting to pick up Mario or Luigi before throwing them at Paper Mario, or by rallying a large red bomb at Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario in a sequence. If the trio successfully counter the red bomb rally, King Bob-omb's timer can occasionally be set back by a minute, to King Bob-omb's shock; most likely due to his unbalanced state afterwards. However, this is not always the case, as the timer can sometimes remain untouched. All of King Bob-omb's attacks have a high chance to give a Dizzy status if not counter-attacked. Due to the timer in the battle, Boo Biscuits cannot be used; due to his crown, he is immune to Jump attacks and certain Bros. Attacks, such as Rocket Blast.

Interestingly enough, King Bob-omb retains all of his attacks from Super Mario 64; throwing Bob-ombs as well as picking up and throwing one of the Bros. His only new attack is the red bomb rally. Additionally, he is one of the few bosses in the game to not feature a chase attack in his moveset.

Physical description
King Bob-omb has a circular, explosive body. The color of his body is black just like in the first games, but is sometimes shown in a dark purple tint like in Mario Party Advance. His large eyes and body shape are identical to a Bob-omb's, although he has no visible wind-up keys or fuses (as he wears a bejeweled crown), and he has a large white mustache. Originally, he was depicted with yellow spheres as hands and smooth shoes, but this was changed to white gloves and pointed shoes and he has retained this appearance from Super Mario 64 DS onward. His method of attack, which involves throwing his opponents, is like that of Chuckya, an enemy similar in appearance; he is also defeated in a similar way.

Personality
King Bob-omb is an antagonist, but acts in a regal, gentleman-like manner and is not afraid to admit defeat and compliment the player in Super Mario 64. He even briefly gives tips on how to defeat Bowser and reselect completed missions, and Mario Party Advance implies that he actually leads the society of the Bob-omb Mafia to protect Shroom City. In Super Mario 64 DS only, he is very critical and acts patronizingly towards everyone he believes is of lower class. He, along with Chief Chilly, is proud of his mustache, leading him to act condescending to those without a mustache or to criticize mustaches he sees as inferior. He even seems to equate mustaches with strength, claiming that the bare-faced Yoshi has no chance against him. When he returns in Big Bob-omb's Revenge, he mentions that he has restyled his mustache, as though this could assist him. Also, despite insulting Mario and Luigi for having inferior mustaches, he seems to view Wario's mustache as dignified.

In Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam, King Bob-omb retains the regal aspect of his personality, but is now more stolid, using as few words as possible. He acts like a perfectionist, going as far as to initiate his own self-destruction to protect the secrets of his operation. He still believes in mustaches as signs of power, with his incredulity upon defeat only sated when he realizes that the Bros. also sport fine mustaches of their own.