Boom Boom

"This is Lord Bowser's island! Boom Boom says SCRAM!"

- Boom Boom

Boom Boom (sometimes parsed Boom-Boom or BOOM-BOOM ) is one of Bowser's henchmen and an antagonist in the Mario franchise and among Mario's most persistent foes. While often depicted as an individual, sometimes he is shown as an entire species, also called Boom Booms. Boom Boom first debuted in Super Mario Bros. 3, where he often battles Mario or Luigi in fortresses. Boom Boom then later made his return appearance in Super Mario 3D Land as one of the two secondary antagonists who often appears in airships, along with his partner Pom Pom, a female Boom Boom who acts the other secondary antagonist in the game. After Super Mario 3D Land, Boom Boom reappeared in later games more often. Compared to Bowser's species, he has a complete shell instead of a carapace not directly connected to his plastron, and the shell itself may not have spikes on it, depending on the game. Additionally, he has enormous hands that he swings around as fists as his primary form of attack.

Super Mario Bros. 3 / Super Mario All-Stars / Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
Boom Boom makes his first appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES, where he helps Bowser and the Koopalings invade the Mushroom World's seven kingdoms. He appears in the fortresses of each kingdom, fighting Mario and Luigi to prevent them from going any closer to the Koopalings. However, the Mario Bros. prevail, and his fortresses get destroyed thanks to the Magic Balls he dropped. After he fails to protect the Koopalings, Boom Boom also appears in many levels in Dark Land; specifically in World 8-Fortress and all the battleships, airships, and tanks - except for the first tank set, which is instead manned by a Boomerang Bro. Due to palette inconsistencies between locations in the original version, he appears dark brown in most places, blue and gray in, tan with white details in 2, and tan with lighter tan details in vehicle levels, though later versions have him consistently tan.

In battle, Boom Boom begins by simply walking left and right towards Mario, occasionally crouching down and showing his large spikes, then leaping. After being hit, he either starts to charge and jump very high or flies with his winged arms; the latter strategy first appeared in Water Land's first fortress. After a second hit, Boom Boom walks left and right again, but very quickly, possibly as a desperation tactic. After the third hit, he releases a Magic Ball, which destroys the fortress Boom Boom is in when Mario or Luigi touch it, and opens a lock or makes a bridge appear elsewhere on the map.

To defeat Boom Boom, Mario has to jump on his head three times to eliminate him, hit him with five fireballs from a Fire Flower, or score five hits with hammers from the Hammer Suit (which he can do with as little as one hammer if his aim was precise enough).

Because of ambiguity in the language used in the instruction manuals of the original Super Mario Bros. 3 and its ports, it is unknown whether there is a different Boom Boom in each fortress or if they are all the same one. Additionally, two World-e levels (Swinging Bars of Doom and Ice Cubed) in Super Mario Advance 4 make the player fight two Boom Booms at once. He also acts as the key art for the World-e level Treacherous Halls.

Super Mario 3D Land
After 23 years of absence, Boom Boom makes a return appearance and his 3D debut in Super Mario 3D Land, along with a new, boomerang-wielding, female partner named Pom Pom. In this game, Boom Boom now has an audible voice for the first time, which is quite deep. In an interview, Koichi Hayashida explained that "when Tanooki Mario appeared, some members of the team wanted to include Boom Boom and the Koopalings. Then we created a type of gameplay where the enemy follows as you run around the room, and we thought this would be interesting, so we used Boom Boom to put it into the game."

In battle, Boom Boom spins wildly with his arms and fists to hurt Mario which makes his head more difficult to stomp, but after doing this for a while, he becomes dizzy and vulnerable. He is also still vulnerable to fireballs from Fire Mario, now in addition to the tail swipe of Tanooki Mario and boomerangs from Boomerang Mario - a single tail strike counts as one hit, while it takes five fireballs or boomerang hits to do the same. When hit, Boom Boom can also attack by retreating into his large shell and then spinning fast in random directions, in a similar fashion to the Koopalings when they are hit by the player in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. After taking three hits (or up to 15, with projectile attacks) Boom Boom, defeated, will vanish while releasing ten coins. Boom Boom also receives a unique boss theme in this game; in the demo version of the game at E3 2011, he instead used a version of the music used by bosses such as Peewee Piranha in Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Boom Boom, Pom Pom, Bowser, and the Koopa Troop, invade the Mushroom Kingdom to kidnap Princess Peach, and take most of the Super Leaves during a storm. Mario receives a letter from Bowser and goes after them. After the defeat of the first Tail Bowser, Boom Boom appears in some airships, where he encounters and fights Mario. In World 2-Airship, Boom Boom faces Mario in a flat windowed cabin arena, while in World 3's airship, Boom Boom fights in a more mechanical arena with a floor comprised of two conveyor belts: one running to the left in the upper half of the room, and one running right on the lower half. Like most bosses, Boom Boom can return after each defeat - after he is defeated in Worlds 2 and 3, Pom Pom replaces him in Worlds 4 and 6.

Eventually, Princess Peach attempts to escape from Bowser, but Boom Boom and the Koopa Troop chase her down, recapture her, and lock her within a cage. He returns in the airship of World 7 and battles Mario for the final time of the main adventure, now joined by Pom Pom. In this battle, Pom Pom stands on an elevated red portion of the arena while Boom Boom fights on the blue floor below, with the former's boomerangs adding an additional hazard while trying to jump on Boom Boom. If Pom Pom is defeated first, the elevated floor will fall to Boom Boom's level, giving him a full arena for the rest of the fight. Both are defeated in the end, however.

He also returns to do battle with both Mario bros throughout the Special Worlds of the game, usually appearing earlier in the level than in his other boss fights. In Special 4-Airship, Boom Boom is fought halfway through the level, in an arena where spikes will emerge from the center and outer area of the room at different intervals, potentially damaging Mario and Luigi while also giving them less room to avoid his attacks. In Special 6-Airship, Boom Boom will return for a potentially-skippable boss fight in an arena resembling his 2-Airship battle, but with the dangerous new ability to create a trail of flames with his spin attack. Finally, in Special 8-Crown, Mario fights both Boom Boom and Pom Pom at the same time, similarly to the boss fight of World 7-Airship, but with Boom Boom being able to make use of his trail-blazing attack from Special 6-Airship (and Pom Pom's battle theme being used instead of his). A Boom Boom that requires only one hit to be defeated can also appear in the Special Worlds' Mystery Boxes.

The official European and Oceanian websites refer to both Boom Boom and Pom Pom in the plural sense. Therefore, it's possible that the player is fighting different individuals in each airship, although the Prima guide and the American website use the singular, and only one Boom Boom or Pom Pom is seen onscreen at any given time.

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
Boom Boom returns in New Super Mario Bros. U, where multiple are shown on the world map; the Prima guide states that these are all the same individual. Unlike Boom Boom's design in Super Mario 3D Land, he once again possesses spikes on his shell, as he did in Super Mario Bros. 3.

Just like the Koopalings in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Boom Boom stands on top of the fortress on the map and when the player enters, he cackles and then jumps inside. He is the tower boss for the majority of the worlds, with the exception of Screwtop Tower and Slide Lift Tower and their respective New Super Luigi U equivalents, where Boss Sumo Bro and Magikoopa respectively, will act as the bosses in Boom Boom's stead.

Before each battle after Acorn Plains, Boom Boom is assisted by Magikoopa, who will use his magic on him the same way he did with bosses in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Magikoopa will grant Boom Boom these abilities:
 * Layer-Cake Desert: Will grant Boom Boom the ability to spin jump.
 * Sparkling Waters and Frosted Glacier: Will grant Boom Boom the ability to jump in similar fashion to Super Mario Bros. 3.
 * Soda Jungle: Will make Boom Boom larger.
 * Rock-Candy Mines: Will transform Boom Boom's arms into wings, similar to Super Mario Bros. 3.

Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
Boom Boom reappears as the boss of World 2, as the second boss of World 6, and in World Flower-12: Boss Blitz in Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. In World 2 and World 6, Boom Boom is the leader of the tank armies returning from Super Mario Bros 3, as Airships do not return. He maintains a similar appearance and fighting style from 3D Land in addition to his boss music being the same, but he has both a few new tricks and different properties this time.

In the first fight, he fights with the same strategy as in Super Mario 3D Land, only that his spinning lasts longer. After the first hit, he turns almost entirely invisible while spinning in his shell, though he still remains somewhat visible. After the second hit, he becomes even harder to see, with his impact against the walls being the main visual indicator of his location. In World 6, he loses his invisibility, but learns to duplicate his shell while spinning after the first hit in addition to spinning for even longer. After the second hit, he conjures two shells. In World Flower-12, he maintains the same pattern as in World 2. He once again takes three hits to beat for each battle, though he now takes only a maximum of nine projectiles to defeat instead of fifteen. In the ending, he appears to be upset about Bowser (who is trapped in a bottle) and being defeated once again, while Pom Pom tries to cheer him up.

Boom Boom also makes a brief appearance in the level Mystery House Marathon in World Crown, where he guards the penultimate Green Star. However, Boom Boom here is defeated after only one hit, similar to his 3D Land Mystery Box appearances.

A cat variation of Boom Boom known as Cat Boom Boom appears in the Bowser's Fury campaign of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. He is fought twice in the Clawswipe Colosseum. His battle in his first encounter, titled "Clash with Cat Boom Boom," is based on his battle in World 2 and Boss Blitz, while his second encounter, titled, "Final Bout with Cat Boom Boom," is based on his battle in World 6.

Super Mario Run
Boom Boom reappears in Super Mario Run as the boss of all three airship levels. He retains his appearance from New Super Mario Bros. U, but his only attack is running towards Mario. The fight in World 2 has no hazards, World 4 has Burners, two on each side, and World 6 has Boom Boom jump every time he touches the ground. He may also be found in airship stages at the end of certain areas in Remix 10. Two Boom Booms are fought at the same time in Airship Plunder, the ninth level of World Star. One of these Boom Booms appears golden and shining, and it leaves a trail of coins behind it whenever it runs across the boss stage. Both Boom Booms must be defeated individually with three hits each.

Super Mario Maker 2
Boom Boom appears as an enemy in Super Mario Maker 2. Boom Boom appears in all styles, with the Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World styles giving him new sprites. In the Super Mario Bros. 3, New Super Mario Bros. U and Super Mario 3D World styles, he behaves identically to their respective original games, though he now crouches when stomped on in the main four styles, even in the New Super Mario Bros. U style; the Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World styles use the same behavior as in Super Mario Bros. 3. When he is stomped twice, he dashes faster in the first three styles; in the New Super Mario Bros. U style, he instead Spin Jumps like his appearance in Stoneslide Tower of the original game. If Boom Boom is given wings, he will fly across the screen and occasionally swoop down in an attempt to hurt the player, akin to his appearance in 1 of Super Mario Bros. 3 in the first three styles or Grinding-Stone Tower in the New Super Mario Bros. U style; in the Super Mario 3D World style, he instead floats while spinning. Boom Boom can only be placed five times in a course.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
Boom Booms appear in four episodes of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, where their roles are limited to attacking Mario and Luigi in various locales and producing only roars as sounds. Unlike the games, their teeth are yellow, not white, and they are depicted with similar shells to Bowser's species, due to the carapaces and plastrons being disconnected. The episodes featuring them are Misadventures in Babysitting, Do the Koopa, Crimes R Us, and The Venice Menace.

Super Mario Bros. film
The Boom Boom Bar in the Super Mario Bros. film is named after Boom Boom - one of many references the movie makes to Super Mario Bros. 3 and other early games.

Nintendo Adventure Books
In the Nintendo Adventure Books series, Boom Boom appears in the third book Monster Mix-Up. On one of the multiple routes, the Mushroom King gets kidnapped by two Koopa Troopas. Bowser then lands nearby in the Monster Mixer and threatens to throw him in with Elmo, the stupidest of all of Bowser's troops. However, Elmo does not show up. Eventually, Bowser loses his patience and asks for an explanation to Elmo's disappearance. Boom-Boom waddles up to the front and explains that he wanted to get out of the Fortress and left Elmo in charge there. Infuriated, Bowser tosses him in the mixer with a Fire Snake. Boom Boom pops out of the mixer with his head on fire and flails around pleading for water. Bowser makes a joke saying he's the first of the red hot Troopas. Also, in the book Koopa Capers, an item called "Boom Boom's Socks" can be found.

Super Paper Mario
In Super Paper Mario, one of the Sammer Guys that can be fought is named Flailing Boom Boom, a reference to Boom Boom's sprite animation during the battle against him in Super Mario Bros. 3.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
Boom Boom serve as the bosses of most of the tower courses in Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition. They are Light attribute characters, and their skill changes all Orbs into a random attribute. Their Awoken Skill increases the amount of time that the player has to move Orbs around.

Each Boom Boom that is encountered can have different battle strategies, which can include delivering first strike blows, raising their own ATK, raising their defense against certain attributes, and even refresh the player's Orbs.

After Bowser joins the player's party, a Boom Boom replaces him as the boss of. Likewise, after Bowser Jr. joins the player's party, a Boom Boom replaces him as the boss of, , and.

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Boom Booms appear as teammates for Mario or Sonic's team in the Rugby event in the Wii U version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. They have spiked shells and wear rugby helmets, which are blue (if they are on P1's team), red (if they are on P2's team), or green (if a 3- or 4-player match is set to P1 and P2 vs. P3 and P4/COM).

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Boom Booms reprise their roles as teammates in the Rugby Event in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Minecraft
In the Super Mario Mash-up of Minecraft, Boom Boom appears as a playable skin. Additionally, following the Nether Update, Piglins are replaced by Boom Boom.

Mario Sports Superstars
Boom Boom and Pom Pom appear as supporting playable characters in Mario Sports Superstars, their Mario sports game playable debut. In soccer, they serve as the two selectable goalies. They additionally appear as team players in baseball, where they are classified as power type characters.

Mario Tennis Aces
"Mario! This is Lord Bowser's island! Boom Boom says SCRAM!"

- Boom Boom

Boom Boom makes his first appearance in the direct Mario Tennis series in Mario Tennis Aces. He appears as an enemy in Story Mode on Inferno Island, and needs to be defeated in a tennis match in order to progress. The conversations before and after the match against him mark the first time he has had dialogue in a game; he refers to himself in the third person and speaks in broken English.

Boom Boom also appears as a Defense-type playable character, meaning he excels at returning shots. He became available for all players on March 1, 2019, although he could be unlocked earlier by participating in the February 2019 online tournament. Boom Boom has the fastest sideways movement in the game, although he is very slow when moving vertically on the court. His movement and victory animations reference his original sprite animation from Super Mario Bros. 3. In his entrance animation, an anchor is lowered onto the court while he holds onto it; he then jumps off of it and rises into the air with a spinning attack similar to the one he uses in the 3D Super Mario games. He also uses this attack in his Special Shot, Spiteful Strike. His horizontal Trick Shot is named Twist 'n' Boom, while his vertical Trick Shot is named Boom Twirl; Twist 'n' Boom has significantly more range than Boom Twirl does, fitting with his theme of being good at moving horizontally and bad at moving vertically. His emblem depicts one of his arms.

Super Mario Party
In Super Mario Party, Boom Boom makes a cameo appearance in the minigame Absent Minded, where he is one of the characters that can appear. Outside of this small cameo, this game is notable for being the only one to feature Pom Pom but not Boom Boom.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Boom Boom appears as an Advanced-class Attack-type primary spirit with one support slot. The image representing the spirit is a render from Super Mario 3D World. In World of Light, the spirit is encountered on the Light Realm map at the entrance to the Molten Fortress. The puppet fighter is a giant Squirtle, fought on the Battlefield version of the Unova Pokémon League stage.

The spirit be enhanced at level 99 into "Boom Boom & Pom Pom", an Ace-class spirit that makes the user's smash attacks more powerful during battle.

Dr. Mario World
Boom Boom debut in the Dr. Mario series as assistants in Dr. Mario World. In stage mode, his effect is to grant a chance that an object, mainly a virus, is transformed into an exploder at stage start, where the chance of it happening is greater at higher levels. In versus mode, their effect is to instead grant a chance that the lowest row of objects are eliminated when an object reaches the second-to-last row, where the chance of it happening is greater at higher levels, with a chance it can reactivate if it failed the first time whenever the condition is met again. Once this versus mode effect activated, it will not activate again for the duration of the match.

Mario Strikers: Battle League
Boom Booms appear as goalies in Mario Strikers: Battle League, replacing Kritters from the previous installments, and with new soccer forms depending on the team name. Like the previous goalies, the Boom Booms are immune to most shots and knock players on contact, but unlike Kritters, they are only controlled via a CPU and not by the players. Boom Booms are also able to block Hyper Strikes depending on the accuracy of the opponent's shot and if they are able to block it by a mashing minigame, which can be pressed by the players. If the arrow meter is filled, there is an increased change of the Boom Booms blocking the Hyper Strike, and they can either successfully block it, block it but get a side effect from the strike, or miss entirely.

Physical appearance
Boom Boom is a large, muscular Koopa with features similar to that of Bowser and the Koopalings. He has a beige-colored muzzle around his mouth and nostrils, a large mouth with two protruding teeth, a round snout, thick legs and padded feet with three claws. He also has round white eyes with black pupils and thin black eyebrows, typically depicted in a scowling expression. In his Super Mario Bros. 3 sprites, Boom Boom was depicted with a prominent browline instead of eyebrows which media like The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 adopted, but both official artwork and most later appearances uses his eyebrows to convey emotion instead. Perhaps Boom Boom's most distinguishing feature is his long flailing arms and large hands - even compared to similarly burly Koopas like Roy, Boom Boom's arms are very thick and often have little to no distinction from his hands, which are typically balled into fists and swung around for the Koopa's attacks. The main distinction from Boom Boom's appearance and that of the Koopalings is his shell's plastron extending over the front of his body, completely covering Boom Boom's belly and torso.

In his debut, Boom Boom was depicted with tan or brown skin. In the original NES version of Super Mario Bros. 3, Boom Boom in Desert Land's fortress was colored gray due to color limitations. After returning from a long absence in 3D Land, Boom Boom received an updated design that has remained largely consistent in appearances since, maintaining his tan-colored head while now having yellow limbs with the addition of a short, yellow tail. His carapace, previously unseen in artwork and depicted as smooth while matching the color of his skin in sprites, became red with hexagonal scutes much like those of a Koopa Troopa's. In Super Mario Bros. 3 Boom Boom's carapace was also originally depicted covered in long, pointy spikes, but in Super Mario 3D Land, as well as Super Mario 3D World and Bowser's Fury, Boom Boom lacks these spikes entirely. However, in other modern appearances beginning with New Super Mario Bros. U, his shell maintains these spikes, albeit with a much more rounded and short appearance than before, and he gained visible finger claws as well. In his original appearance, Boom Boom's height was similar to Super Mario and many Koopalings (though noticeably shorter than the largest Koopalings in the game: Morton, Roy, and Ludwig), but in modern appearances is consistently portrayed as a large character, typically towering over Mario even while standing in a hunched position.

In Super Mario Maker 2, Boom Boom receives new designs to match the Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World  styles: the former is very close to his original sprite design in Super Mario Bros. 3, but with more rotund body proportions and an open mouth; the latter depicts him closely to his modern appearance, but with a smooth carapace and a noticeably darker head and limbs than his other designs.

Personality and traits
Boom Boom is Bowser's faithful servant. He is a powerhouse with a short-temper, although his profiles usually point out that he is easily defeated by taking three stomps to the head. Boom Boom can give orders to the Koopa Troop with Bowser, like to capture the fleeing Princess Peach in Super Mario 3D Land. In several appearances, Boom Boom is partnered with Pom Pom; the two are shown to work together very well in and outside of battle - in the credits sequence of Super Mario 3D World, the duo are shown sitting together on top of the Clear Pipe while the heroes pass through and looking at Bowser trapped in a large jar, with the defeated Boom Boom seeming somewhat dejected and shrugging while Pom Pom pats his shoulder in a reassuring manner, showing that Boom Boom may have a sensitive side and that the two are on friendly terms. Likewise, Boom Boom does not get along with Mario and his friends due their interferences in Bowser's plans and repeated victories against him.

Boom Boom was introduced as a silent character in Super Mario Bros. 3; since Super Mario 3D Land, he communicates using grunts, yells, and roars. In Mario Tennis Aces, Boom Boom speaks in third person via textbox dialogue.

Abilities
Boom Boom has unique abilities different from other Koopas. In Super Mario Bros. 3, he is capable of jumping higher, running fast and turning his arms into wings to fly (although the wings simply sprout from his head in Super Mario Maker 2's Super Mario 3D World theme). He can also expose his spikes on his shell. However, Boom Boom's most relied-upon forms of attack tend to involve his large, powerful arms - in 2D games such as his debut and New Super Mario Bros. U, Boom Boom's regular attacking pattern involves charging at Mario and co. while flailing his arms, while in Super Mario 3D Land and its sequel, he displays the ability to spin around the room after the heroes with his arms extended, damaging them on contact at the cost of leaving himself dizzy after a while. Boom Boom's formidable strength is once again shown in Mario Strikers: Battle League, where as goalies, Boom Booms are capable of catching and deflecting a number of extremely powerful and fast-travelling shots from the teams, even attacks which set the ball aflame such as Bowser's Hyper Strike; Boom Boom's gloves will actually catch on fire after catching such attacks and leave them trying to put out the flames, but the large Koopa still manages to put it out and shrug such damage off within a few seconds.

In Super Mario 3D Land, Boom Boom displays a range of new abilities. On top of his aforementioned spin attack, later battles show him doing so while leaving behind a trail of flames, leaving the entire arena more hazardous for the Mario bros at the cost of still briefly tiring himself out. He also spins in his shell to attack Mario, similar to the Koopalings. In another display of great weight and power, Boom Boom can shake his airship just by stomping the floor or hitting the wall with his spinning shell. In Super Mario 3D World, he has the ability to turn invisible and create up to two large duplicates of his red shell that spin across the arena while he attacks with his usual spin attack. He can also teleport across the arena, performing a hand sign similar to Pom Pom before doing so after recovering from being dizzy.

Trivia

 * Not counting ports and remakes, Boom Boom currently holds the record for the longest non-appearance gap in the series with 99 titles between his initial introduction and his reappearance.
 * Despite being listed separately in the Friends and Foes section, the Prima Games guide of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 refers to Boom Boom as a Koopaling.