Smithy

"Then we could get rid of all wishes and create a world filled with...WEAPONS!!"

- Smithy

Smithy is the diabolical leader of the Smithy Gang, an organization that attempted to take over the world during the events of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. To do this, Smithy tried to eliminate the power of wishes from the world and, additionally, fill the world with his weapons. He is a gray mechanical monstrosity that wears a gold crown and has a long, white beard. As such, he resembles a diabolical Santa Claus. He hails from another dimension, a dimension that is accessible by the gateway Exor. In his dimension, he resides in his Factory, where, day and night, Smithy creates mechanical monsters to be unleashed against the peaceful people of other worlds.

The Initial Invasion
At the start of his invasion of the Mushroom World, Smithy had the gigantic sword Exor occupy Bowser's Keep. Once there, Smithy established his base of operations in Bowser's Keep on Mushroom World (while Smithy's Factory remained the main headquarters of the Smithy Gang). During the battle that ensued, Bowser's forces were either eliminated or had defected to the Smithy Gang. With the Koopa Troop out of the picture, Smithy set his sights on the rest of the world. Additionally, during the initial invasion, Exor inadvertently shattered the Star Road, the source of wishes in the world. Although he did not know this at the time, without the power of wishes in play, Smithy would have an easier time conquering the planet.

Weapons and Wishes
Once Bowser's Keep was occupied, Smithy sent out his various lieutenants to terrorize the people of the planet, and to recover the Star Pieces that had the potential to restore wishes to the world. Smithy did not want anyone returning the Star Pieces to Star Road, as the road's recovery would allow the power of wishes to counter the power of the Smithy Gang's weapons.

During the invasion of the world, Smithy's lieutenants did as follows:


 * The knife monster Mack conquered the Mushroom Kingdom and acquired the first Star Piece.
 * The bow creature Bowyer attacked the people of Rose Town with poisoned arrows and found the second Star Piece.
 * The bomb creature Punchinello held the third Star Piece in the Moleville Mines, but he was not a member of Smithy's gang.
 * Smithy didn't send any of his lieutenants to recover the fourth Star Piece on Star Hill.
 * The spear monster Yaridovich occupied Seaside Town and took the fifth Star Piece, which was previously owned by Jonathan Jones.
 * Lastly, the Axem Rangers claimed the sixth Star Piece from Barrel Volcano, which was previously guarded by Czar Dragon.

However, all of Smithy's operations were foiled by Mario and his allies Mallow, Geno, Princess Peach, and King Bowser. Occupied towns were liberated and the Star Pieces fell into the hands of Mario's party.

First Encounter
Eventually, Mario's band of heroes liberated Bowser's Keep and entered Smithy's dimension via Exor. Once there, they planned to eliminate the threat of Smithy and his weapons once for all. The heroes battled past mechanical minions and the factory's management staff, eventually reaching the supreme leader of the Smithy Gang in his forge. Smithy was busy creating new weapons when Mario and company first met him. As it turns out, Smithy had the last Star Piece embedded in his body, presumably to prevent anyone from restoring the power of wishes to the world. Smithy calmly asked Mario to turn over his Star Pieces, and when Mario refused, an epic battle commenced.

During the fight, Smithy had a variety of physical and magical attacks at his disposal. To begin with, the mechanical leader wielded a giant metal sledgehammer in battle, which he used with his right hand. The fingers of his left hand had been fitted with small projectile launchers which he used to fire bullets at Mario and his allies. Smithy also commanded great magical power. He could summon a giant wooden sledgehammer to drop from the ceiling and crush all of Mario's allies. Additionally, Smithy could summon powerful meteors to attack Mario's party.

In battle, Smithy was also aided by the creature Smelter. Smelter produced hot liquid metal from his mouth, which Smithy then shaped into the mechanical minions known as Shypers. Shypers were one of the strongest non-boss members of the Smithy Gang. Once created, Shypers automatically entered the battle and would begin attacking Mario's party. As such, it was wise for Mario and his allies to defeat Smelter first, cutting off Smithy's unlimited supply of soldiers. After that, the heroes could focus their attacks on the diabolical Smithy.

The Final Battle
Eventually, Mario and company defeated Smithy in combat. The mechanical leader became infuriated and began slamming the floor with his sledgehammer. A few of his minions arrived, begging him to calm down and to stop smashing the floor (as the foundation was just built the day before). However, an enraged Smithy ignored their warnings and continued pounding the floor. As a result, the floor collapsed; and Mario, his allies, and the diabolical Smithy fall into the basement of the factory. Once there, Smithy revealed his true form: he was not a bearded mechanical monster, but a metal shape-shifter. Indeed, several robotic heads that look identical to Smithy's true form could be seen littered on the floor of the basement, as well as in the background of the dungeon.

Although his body remained the same, Smithy could now use his sledgehammer to morph his head into different forms. Smithy had five heads that he could change into:


 * The normal Head, which he used to switch to the other heads.
 * The Tank Head, which had extremely powerful physical attacks.
 * The Magic Head, which wielded the most destructive magical attacks in the game.
 * The Mask Head, used for increased protection and defense.
 * And the Treasure Head, which attacked Mario's party with a random status ailment.

In this shape-shifting form, Smithy was nearly unstoppable. However, after a long and grueling battle, the courageous heroes overcame the many forms of Smithy, overloading Smithy's body with heat. In the end, Smithy self-destructed, and the last Star Piece was recovered by Mario and his friends. With all seven Star Pieces in hand, Geno was able to repair the Star Road and restore the power of wishes to the world. The Smithy Gang invasion ended, and peace returned to Mushroom World.

The Parade
However, Smithy apparently survived his defeat at the hands of Mario and his allies. At the end of the adventure, a huge parade was held in celebration of the end of the invasion. Smithy, in his original bearded form, appeared during the parade, riding atop the Blade. Many Shysters and several of his lieutenants also appeared alongside Smithy. As he flew by on the Blade, he pounded his minions Mack, Bowyer, and Yaridovich with his sledgehammer. Smithy has not been seen since.

However, the parades shown at the end of RPG games are to be considered non-canon, and more a way of showing the characters who appeared, therefore Smithy was destroyed. Another example would be the parade at the end of Paper Mario, where Tubba Blubba and his heart are shown to still be separated from each other, while during the storyline they reunited. Also, Lava Piranha, Huff N. Puff, and Crystal King are shown in the parade, while all were killed fighting Mario.

Personality
Although originally depicted as a calm and collected leader, Smithy is revealed to be highly ill-tempered, as shown by his fit of rage upon being defeated the first time by Mario and his allies, which culminated in Smithy destroying his recently built headquarters. Additionally, in the aforementioned fit of rage, Smithy apparently destroyed three of his henchmen who were simply trying to calm him down.

Ultimately, Smithy was determined to achieve world conquest through the Smithy Gang, confident that his weapons could serve as the basis of his power over the entire planet. As such, Smithy attempted to prevent the restoration of wishes to the world, as Star Road and the dreams of individuals represented a direct threat to Smithy's reign.

Quotes

 * See this article for a full list of quotes.

Trivia

 * Smithy likely gets his name from "blacksmith," a term used to describe one who forges metals to create weapons and other objects. Another possibility is that his name is directly derived from "smithy," the workplace of a blacksmith.
 * Smithy was a character nominated for "Best Villain" in the 1996 Nintendo Power Awards. He received third place. Smithy lost to Bowser (from Super Mario 64) who received second place, and Boba Fett (from Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire) who received first place.
 * Smithy's Japanese name, "Kajiō," was misspelled as "Kajidoh" in the official soundtrack for Super Mario RPG.