Spike

Spikes (Gabons in Japan) are enemies that throws spiked balls. They first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3.

''Super Mario Bros. 3
Spikes are enemies that appeared first in Super Mario Bros. 3. They were found in the Water Land and Iced Land stages, and attack by pulling spiked balls out of their stomachs and throwing them at Mario or Luigi; like Lakitus, they have unlimited amounts of ammo. Also, Spikes' stomachs can be used to store other things as well.

''New Super Mario Bros.
An icy variety of Spike called Snow Spike also appears in New Super Mario Bros. and instead of spiked balls, they throw snowballs that progressively get bigger.

''New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Normal Spikes also reappear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, along with a blue variety that throw spikeballs made out of rock. Spikes can be defeated by a simple jump to the head, although it may be unsafe because the Spike may pull out a spiked ball, which will cause players damage if they land on top of it. Luckily, there are usually Barrels nearby that can be thrown at it, although good timing is needed as the spike balls will destroy the barrel. They can also be defeated by Fireballs, and can also be frozen via Ice Flower or Penguin Suit.

In this game, Spikes stay at one spot instead of walking around. The green variation only appeared in World 2-2.

''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Spikes later reappear in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Instead of pulling spiked balls from their stomachs, they shoot huge ones twice their size. They only are in BLIZZARD!!!, but in the remake, they also appear in Endless World of Yoshis. They are erroneously named "Mace Penguins."

''Yoshi's Story
Spikes reappeared in Yoshi's Story in the level Jungle Hut on Page 4. They regurgitate spiked balls and roll them down hills. The Yoshis may eat them, but the Green Yoshi likes them best. They are mistakenly known as "Gabons", probably a translation error.

According to the text seen after beating the level, the Baby Yoshis apparently met one specific Spike named "Gabon" while entering his hut. All that is known about the encounter is that the angered Spike threw various objects at the Baby Yoshis.

''Super Mario Momotarō
In Super Mario Momotarō, a Spike is the last creature to join Mario on his mission to rescue Princess Peach hoping to get his revenge against Bowser for destroying his home world. During the final battle he helps by knocking Ludwig von Koopa out with an exploding Spike ball. After the final battle he joins Mario in returning the treasure that Bowser had stolen back to their rightful owners.

''Super Princess Peach
Spikes also appear in Super Princess Peach, which also introduces the orange haired, enraged Mad Spike.

Appearances
Some are green while others (ones that inhabit cold places) are white. Clubbas closely resemble Spikes, which differ in that they are bigger than Spikes, and instead of producing spiked balls, Clubbas wield them on their maces. The Japanese names of Spikes and Clubbas, Gabon and Gabon Hei respectively, imply that they are directly related. Additionally, the character Tolstar (found in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga) may be the Beanbean Kingdom version of Spike.