Thwomp

"Rats, I missed! Ohh, I hate it when I miss!"

- Thwomp



Thwomps are rock creatures and baddies found mostly in the Mushroom Kingdom. They are spike-encrusted living stones, usually rectangularly-shaped, that made their first appearance in the game Super Mario Bros. 3. They typically attempt to flat or squash whoever passes below them using their own weight. They are often invisible creatures and cannot be defeated in any way. It is suggested in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time that Thwomps may in fact be born from volcanoes.

Super Mario Bros. 3 - The Beginning
Thwomps made their debut appearance in the game Super Mario Bros. 3. In this game, they had an unusually mad expression on their faces. They would usually try to squish Mario under their weight whenever he passed beneath them. Thwomps were possible to avoid easily by using the Statue Mario ability. With this, it was impossible for Thwomps to destroy Mario by crashing against him from above. They return in the game's remake, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 in the same fashion as the older Thwomps. They obviously feature improved graphics and retake their especially mad expressions. Curiously, these Thwomps have a kind of "bigger spike" on top of their forehead, separated from the rest of the body by what looks like a small ribbon of sorts. This spike is prominent in appearance but has no effect in the game. It is also worth noting that these Thwomps, instead of having their eyes separated, have both eyes as glowing dots in a black space. This is most probably due to palette and space limitations. This also explains why they look pale blue in the Nintendo version of Super Mario Bros. 3.

Super Mario World
Thwomps, alongside a few enemies such as Boos and Nipper Plants are some of the few Super Mario Bros. 3-introduced enemies that keep appearing in later games. Thwomp itself make a new appearance in Super Mario World, now redesigned and recolored due to the expansion of the palette. Unlike old Thwomps, they are now gray-colored and have lost the prominent spike on top of their head; now all spikes are looking the same and are the same size, relatively. They retake their role as the smashers of whatever walks or moves beneath them, and will try to squish it without a second thought. Their speed is almost unaffected, and usually take a few seconds to rise up to their original place once again. This gives the player a chance to run below them.

Thwomps have their first sub-species in Super Mario World with the inclusion of Thwimps. They are smaller version of Thwomps that roam around usually small hallways, and often come in groups. They are, just like Thwomps, invisible and are usually only used as obstacles that slow the player down.

Curiously, Thwomps still have their eyes connected and their pupils being but small dots of glowing white, although the official art clearly shows their eyes looking different. This was probably to familiarize players with their old physical appearance.

Thwomps also return in most compilations made for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, such Super Mario All-Stars, as well as the unpopular Bandai Satellaview version of Super Mario Bros. 3.

Super Mario Kart
Thwomps make their first appearance in a spin-off game in Super Mario Kart for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Thwomps shine as being obstacles in the race track. They appear prominently in the track of Bowser Castle, and also appear in the track Rainbow Road.

These are the first Thwomps to not feature spikes at all. They are plain blocks of rectangular-shaped stones (setting them apart from the more modern square-shaped ones) and, once again, have their eyes as glowing white dots in a dark space. Also, these Thwomps feature cheeks, something that has not been implemented to date.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and Link's Awakening DX
Thwomp made surprise cameo appearances in the The Legend of Zelda 1993 game, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, and the 1998 incarnation, Link's Awakening DX. In these games, Thwomps are enemies found usually in dungeons. Although they have the Thwomp essence in them, these Thwomps are quite different to the previously seen ones. There are four types of Thwomps in this game. The most well-known one is a Cyclops Thwomp. These have small spikes beneath their chins and on the sides, but above they are perfectly plain. Unlike older Thwomps, these also feature a single eye. They are, additionally, brownish in color.

The second type of Thwomp is strictly linked to the third - they are both simple perfectly square-shaped stones, one being red and the other blue. While red ones look quite angry and unhappy, blue looks jolly and surprised. One moves up and down and the other from side to side, respectively. Finally, Thwimps return as well in two flavors: blue and red.

Thwomps could not be destroyed in either game. To pass them, the player had to use the Pegasus Boots and run below them as fast as possible.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, 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.

Physically, Thwomps look much like they first looked back in Super Mario Bros. 3. Although a bit gloomier and darker, fitting the Super Mario RPG graphical style, Thwomps return full-spiked and with a prominent spike on their head. These Thwomps are also the first ones to finally have their eyes correctly depicted as they look in the official art. Also, this would become the first 3D-looking Thwomp in history.

Super Mario 64
Thwomps returned in Super Mario 64. This time, though, Thwomps return in a much different fashion, and look more like they did in Super Mario Kart. These Thwomps are square-shaped, dark sky blue-colored and have no spikes. They, as before, are impossible to destroy and serve as obstacles throughout the game. This time around, though, Mario could also use Thwomps to his advantage by jumping on top of them to reach higher areas or unreachable points. Thwomps were especially featured in Whomp's Fortress, which also featured new Thwomp-like creatures known as Whomps. A single Thwomp also appears in Tick Tock Clock. Additionally, a new species of Thwomp, the Grindel, makes its debut in Super Mario 64. These creatures are huge, wooden-looking dark blocks with a different face expression on each side of their cube-shaped body that do nothing but roll around trying to squish whoever passes near them. They were especially prominent in Shifting Sand Land.

Thwomps returned in the same fashion in the Super Mario 64 Japanese-only Shindou Version.

In the DS remake of Super Mario 64, Super Mario 64 DS, the spike-less version of Thwomp was absent from the game and replaced by the regular spiked version, though Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Yoshi were still able to stand on top of them to reach higher points, having the same pros and cons as the spike-less Thwomps. This suggests that the spikes may be merely ornamental, or that these Thwomps are of a variety whose spikes are not as sharp.

Mario Kart 64
Thwomps get their second appearance in a spin-off game in Mario Kart 64, released in 1997 for the Nintendo 64. Just like in its predecessor, Super Mario Kart, Thwomps serve as obstacles in the course. They appear in the stage of Bowser's Castle and try to flat any player that races beneath them. They are often placed in strategical points so that the player is forced to pass under them in order to continue. The results of being flattened by a Thwomp are devastating: The player must wait a few second for their character to return to normal. There are also some Thwomps that go from one side to the other, trying to bump players on the ground. The version present in this game is the one seen in Super Mario 64, that is, the blue square-shaped stone that lacks spikes.

Mario Party Series
Thwomps have been active non-playable characters in the Mario Party series. They usually appear in mini-games or as obstacles in the different boards, but have also appeared as items.

In Mario Party, Thwomps appeared as board obstacles as well as mini-game obstacles. In the mini-game Running of the Bulb, Thwomps served as obstacles that did the best a Thwomp can do - try to squish the player, stunning him or her temporarily. A Thwomp-looking inanimate box appeared in the mini-game Box Mountain Mayhem. The stone baddies also had a small appearance in the mini-game Skateboard Scamper, trying to slow down the player. Thwomps were also obstacles in Yoshi's Tropical Island. In here, the player had to pay a determined number of coins to pass through the area which the Thwomp was guarding. They usually covered shortcuts that took faster to the star in dispute. Thwomp was also part of the celebration of the winner in this game. They followed the 2nd are 3rd Place.

In Mario Party 2, Thwomps return in the same fashion as before. They would block paths in boards such as Pirate Land, forcing the players to pay if they wanted to take the route. In the board Western Land, if a player landed in a Happening Space, they could trigger a Thwomp event. This Thwomp would chase the player to the other side of the board, as well as any other player found in the way. Thwomps also appeared in several mini-games besides the ones that were transferred from Mario Party.

Paper Mario Series
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 the player failed the quiz, they summoned enemies which would attack the player. One Thwomp was found over the entrance of Shhwonk Fortress, the other, rather robotic-looking Thwomp was inside the X-Naut Fortress.

In Super Paper Mario, Thwomps serve again as obstacles, and are found in a underground area below Yold Town.

Mario & Luigi Series
In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, two Thwomps appeared in the Hammerhead Bros.'s cave. When Mario and Luigi won their mini-game, they could learn one of the secret Bros. Attacks, Swing Bros. and Cyclone Bros.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time shows a female Thwomp named Mrs. Thwomp, who strangely looks like a huge boulder instead of the normal block shape. She, along with her husband, Mr. Thwomp, appears at Thwomp Volcano.

Super Mario Galaxy
Thwomps will appear in the upcoming video game Super Mario Galaxy. In this game they appear much larger then in previous games, and are once again spiked.

Other Series
In the Mario Kart series, Thwomps can be seen on the Bowser's Castle, courses, and the Rainbow Road course from Super Mario Kart where they try to squish or block racers. Thwomps have also made many appearances in the Mario Party series, as items, like the Thwomp Orb. Also a Thwomp appeared as a partner in the Duel Mode of Mario Party 3. It did not have actual power, but would simply destroy the enemy's partner. It had two HP.

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 mini-game 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.

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 of rubber that have appeared in the mini-game The Great Deflate in 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.

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

Cartoons Thwomps made minor appearances in several episodes of the The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, and would later also appear in the Super Mario World TV Series.

Trophy Information from Super Smash Bros. Melee
''Thwomps spend most of their time suspended in midair, waiting. When Mario passes below, they crash down with amazing speed. As you may guess from their appearance, they're heavy and solid enough to make any attack on them futile. Small ones are called Thwimps: despite their weight, they often form groups and bounce around.''

Trivia

 * A Thwomp is one of the types of stones Kirby can transform into in Super Smash Bros. Melee using the Stone move.