Swoop

"Nyah, nyah, you can't fly!"

- Swoop

Swoops, originally called Swoopers, are bats that first appeared in Super Mario World. Since then, Swoops have become recurring enemies, appearing in several other games, including main-stream and spin-off ones. They typically hang idly on the ceiling, waiting for the player's character to come near, at which point they fall and fly towards the player, hurting the heroes on contact. They have appeared in numerous colors across different games, but almost always have squinting eyes and round noses.

Super Mario World
In Super Mario World, Swoopers hang from the ceilings of caves upside down, waiting for Mario or Luigi to approach. When they come near, the Swoopers fly down and try to hurt Mario or Luigi. They can easily be defeated by with a stomp. They first appear in Donut Plains 2, though they are mainly found in Vanilla Dome.

This is the only game in which Swoopers are green. An unused variant exists that is the later blue color; it acts like the Boo Buddy Swarm. However, the blue Swoopers have a glitchy animation, with one frame showing half of a square outline and half of a blue Spike Top.

Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS
Swoops (called as such for the first time) also appear in Super Mario 64 and its DS remake. Found only in Hazy Maze Cave, these Swoops are recolored from green with reddish-brown wings to entirely blue with a darker shade of blue on the top half of the wings. Like in Super Mario World, they hang still on the ceiling waiting for Mario to come, then fall off the ceiling and to attack. However, they now fly in horizontal loops above the ground. In the original, they had pointed mouse-like faces with large rhombus-shaped ears and a visible tooth, as well as no feet; the remake featured the modern design, based off of the artwork for Super Mario World and the sprites for Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

New Super Mario Bros.
Like in previous games, they hang on the ceiling waiting to attack. One appears in World 2-3, whereas the other twelve appear in World 5-2. They are blue and have purple wings. Like many other thing between the two games, they use their model from Super Mario 64 DS.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Swoops appear in caves in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. They look just like their New Super Mario Bros. counterparts, and behave exactly the same. They appear in World 5-2, World 6-2 and World 6-6. In dark levels with lights, their eyes can be seen glowing when the Swoops are not in the light.

New Super Mario Bros. 2
In New Super Mario Bros. 2, Swoops appear in and in the third level of the Coin Challenge Pack B, behaving exactly as they did in previous games.

New Super Mario Bros. U
Swoops reappear in New Super Mario Bros. U, behaving exactly as they did in the previous New Super Mario Bros. games. Their eyes also glow in the dark. They only appear in three levels: Perilous Pokey Cave, Light Blocks, Dark Tower, and Shifting Floor Cave.

Super Mario Run
Swoops return in Super Mario Run, behaving exactly the same as in the previous titles. Their first appearance is in Treasure-Hoarding Swoops.

Nintendo Adventure Books
A trio of Swoopers appear in Dinosaur Dilemma, living in the upper floor of an abandoned mansion. Upon spotting Mario, they attack him by dropping Koopa Shells. Depending on which page the reader chooses to turn to, Mario either avoids the Swoops and hides until they grow bored and leave, or one of their shells connects and knocks him out for several hours, allowing Bowser to conquer Dinosaur Island.

Paper Mario
Swoopers made their first appearance in the Paper Mario series in Paper Mario. They are found inside the Dry Dry Ruins, where they are either constantly flying or hanging on the ceiling. When they are hanging from the ceiling, Mario cannot reach them using a regular jump attack, and must instead use the Quake Hammer, Skolar's attack, an item, or one of his partners (such as Parakarry) to knock them off from the ceiling. They attack by simply swooping down and physically ramming their opponent. A stronger version of Swoopers exists, called Swoopulas.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Swoopers also appeared uncommonly in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Four Swoopers led by Sir Swoop make up the Glitz Pit team Wings of Night who appear during Chapter 3 to serve as a brief replacement for the KP Koopas after King K. "retires".

Later on, in Chapter 4, Swoopers can be found in outside areas of Creepy Steeple. They attack like they did in Paper Mario. Additionally, Swoopulas return, and the Swampires also debut, which are even stronger than a Swoopula.

Super Paper Mario
Swoopers also re-appeared in Super Paper Mario. They are only found in Chapter 2 (Gloam Valley and Merlee's Mansion). Swoopers can be found in Gloam Valley in a secret area via using the Flip and falling into a 3D-accessible hole near the Star Block. Their Catch Card can be found here, along with the Shlurps' Catch Card. Swoopers are also found in the line-of-coins trap in Merlee's Mansion as well as a room in Merlee's basement. They always appear in groups of two, making up a total of six that appear in the game.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Swoops re-appear in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, for the Nintendo 3DS. They appear in the first section of Drybake Desert, inside the Yoshi Sphinx, and during Sandshifter Ruins. Despite how many enemies were redesigned in this game to look like their mainstream appearances, Swoops were kept purple for unknown reasons. In battle, they are always in mid-air and never hang from the ceiling but they are not common in fact they are a little rare and four of them only appear outside battle. They attack by swooping down at Mario. Swoops also make an appearance in the final battle, where they are summoned by Bowser. Swoops also assist Paragoombas, Paratroopas, and Spikes.

Paper Mario: Color Splash
Swoops return in Paper Mario: Color Splash, keeping their appearance and attack from the previous game, though their sprites lack the color gradients and the shading, the latter now being rather applied at the 3D models. They are found in Indigo Underground and Vortex Island. They can also assist the Big Spiny in Kiwano Temple in battle.

Paper Mario: The Origami King
Swoops return in Paper Mario: The Origami King, where origami Swoops appear as enemies. The origami Swoops use their blue coloration, rather than the purple coloration from other Paper Mario games (though their concept art in the game shows they were originally going to have their purple coloration). They can be found in Graffiti Underground with Scaredy Rats, in the Water Vellumental Shrine at the bottom of the first room, and in the Earth Vellumental Temple, surrounding a Toad.

Mario Kart DS
Swoops appear first in Mario Kart DS, in the track Banshee Boardwalk, a retro course that first appeared in Mario Kart 64. Swoops, appearing in place of the original course's bats, fly in large flocks in the opposite direction of the racers. Though they are not a real hazard, Swoops can get in the way of any incoming karts, slowing them down. Unlike the bats in the original, Swoops appear in the course's time trial mode.

Mario Kart Wii
Swoops also appear in Mario Kart Wii and act in the same way as in Mario Kart DS. They only appear in the courses Wario's Gold Mine and Dry Dry Ruins. Additionally, players can wipe out these bats by using certain items such as Shells, or under the power of a Star.

Mario Kart 7
Swoops reappear in Mario Kart 7 in the course Rock Rock Mountain. They behave the same way as in previous titles slowing down racers. There is also a glider that looks like a Swoop.

Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Swoops appear as obstacles in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe during the cave portion of Mount Wario, N64 Yoshi Valley and  Wii Wario's Gold Mine. In Hyrule Circuit, Swoops are replaced with Keese to fit with the theme of the course.

Mario Kart Tour
Swoops appear once again in Mario Kart Tour as obstacles in N64 Choco Mountain,  3DS Rock Rock Mountain, Tokyo Blur R/T, and Vancouver Velocity, behaving the same way as they did in previous titles.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis
In Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, Swoops do not appear on the ceiling, but instead flying around. They only appear in a boss fight against Donkey Kong, trying to attack the Mini Marios. The Swoops' artwork can be seen during the credits.

Mario Party 8
Swoops make their first appearance in the Mario Party series as a cameo in Mario Party 8: they appear on the wrapper of the Vampire Candy. The Swoops appearing on the wrapper are blue, making them look like the Super Mario 64 and Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2 versions of Swoops.

Mario Party 9
Swoops also have a minor appearance in Mario Party 9, flying around Boo's Horror Castle board. In the minigame Chain Event, several Swoops can be seen in the background as the player slides down the chain. It also appears as a constellation in the Museum.

Mario Party: Island Tour
Swoops appear in Mario Party: Island Tour on the Star-Crossed Skyway board. In the first and third stages, it gives out two Mini Stars. They also appear in the minigames Match Faker and Tap Dash.

Mario Party 10
Swoops appear again in Mario Party 10 in multiple minigames. They appear in the minigame Pipe Sniper, and grant five points if hit.

Mario Party: Star Rush
Swoops appear in Mario Party: Star Rush in Samurai Smackdown, alongside Goombrats and Bullet Bills, appearing during the High Attacks.

Super Mario Party
Swoops appear once more in Super Mario Party in the minigame Fireplace Race. They must be avoided while players are lighting candles, and will take them back to the fireplace if they catch them. One also makes an appearance in Absent Minded.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
While regular Swoops are not present in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Paper Swoops appear as enemies in the Twinsy Tropics Dungeon.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
Although they are absent from the original game, Swoops appear in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey in the Bowser Jr.'s Journey mode as enemies and allies, thus marking the first appearance of regular Swoops in the Mario & Luigi series. They are flying troopers, and attack by charging into enemies. They are strong against Shroobs and Fawfulcopters. Their special skill is Discord which can lower enemy DEF.

Dr. Mario World
Swoops debut in the Dr. Mario series as assistants in Dr. Mario World. Their stage mode skill is increasing the player's score by a small percentage. In versus mode, they have a chance of eliminating all capsules if an object reaches the 3rd from bottom line.

Paper Mario: The Origami King

 * Gallery description: They love dark ceilings and swooping in on their foes. Low attacks won't cut it, so don't even bother with a hammer.

Super Mario Run

 * Notebook bio: "This foe will swoop down from above. Stomping it can send you flying waaay up high!"

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey

 * Bowser Jr.'s Journey profile: They charge straight at enemies, even in the dark. The sound of their wings can weaken mechanical enemies, as well as certain other types.

Trivia

 * In the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack in Minecraft, Bats are replaced by Swoops.