Tabuu

Tabuu is the final boss of the Subspace Emissary mode of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He resembles a human, though he is transparent, possesses red eyes, and houses a strange object inside of him. He is the "embodiement Subspace" and created the Subspace Army. His name is a reference to the word "taboo", which means unacceptable or improper by society's terms.

Backstory
Tabuu observes the Trophy World, and for unknown reason, desires to cut it in pieces and drag it to Subspace. However, Tabuu can not leave Subspace, and thus needs to create an army and recruit followers in order to invade it.

Tabuu studies the world and its inhabitants, eventually deciding to possess Master Hand, the master of the trophy world. Using Master Hand, he recruits Bowser, Ganondorf, and Wario to hunt down anyone who can challenge him. To drag the world into subspace, Tabuu takes the Isle of Ancients hostage and intimidate its leader, who, fearful of losing members of his own kind, accepts to work for him, manufacturing Subspace Bombs and other weapons. Tabuu also uses Mr. Game & Watch to create the Subspace Army and steals the Halberd from Meta Knight to have a transport for his army.

The Subspace Emissary


Suffering a humiliating defeat, Ganondorf and Bowser entered Subspace to seek out the Master Hand whom they have been trying to please. Finally prepared to usurp all the power, Ganondorf first betrayed Bowser and turned him into a trophy before approaching the Master Hand and bowing before him. However, just as Ganondorf prepared to launch an attack on Master Hand and overthrow him, Tabuu then revealed himself and the Chains of Light he had been using to control the Master Hand. Ganondorf, enraged that the circumstances of his plans have changed, tried to free Master Hand, simply for the sake of defeating the being himself, and defeat Tabuu. Tabuu easily overwhelmed Ganondorf and turned him into a trophy with a single attack. However, Ganondorf fell back on Master Hand with enough force to sever Tabuu's strings of light and freed him in the process. Master Hand, in a weakened yet vengeful state, then attempted to attack and destroy Tabuu. However, Tabuu reflected his attack easily and Master Hand flew back and hit the ground. As Master Hand is not a playable character, he simply lied there, wounded and possibly dead.

The heroes arrived and immediately noticed Tabuu, who spread his ethereal wings and released his ultimate attack: Off Waves, which instantly returned every fighter to their trophy form. Tabuu then used the energy of all the lands sent to Subspace to create his own world known as The Great Maze. When all seemed lost, Luigi, King Dedede, and Ness returned back to their original states thanks to the brooches the King had invented. They soon arrived in Subspace and, along with Kirby who is revived by one of Dedede's badges, returned all the heroes back to life.

Ganondorf, Bowser, and Wario realized that they all shared a common enemy with the heroes, Tabuu. Knowing that they have nothing further to gain by fighting the heroes now that their master is dead, the trio decided to put aside their differences for the time being and work together with the heroes to destroy Tabuu before he destroys them. The heroes and villains were forced to travel through Tabuu's maze in order to reach him for a rematch. As they traveled, they learned that Tabuu had resurrected all the previous monsters fought and even created dark clones of the heroes and villains based on detailed analysis's made by the subspace army. The clones were made to guard the maze from intruders. The heroes managed to destroy them all and made their way into Tabuu's residence for the final showdown. As they all arrived Tabuu once again spread his wings and was ready to attack the heroes when Sonic the Hedgehog appeared from seemingly nowhere and attacked Tabuu, shattering his wings. This caused Tabuu to lose his ability to turn the fighters into trophies, but his wings were still capable of causing significant damage to the heroes.

All the characters, now including Sonic the Hedgehog, faced Tabuu for the Final Battle. Tabuu proved to be an incredibly powerful opponent, having numerous powerful abilities and skills. Though he proved to be more than formidable, Tabuu was no match for the collective might of all the fighters in the end and was defeated. He screamed a painful shriek as his spirit shattered and his grip on all the worlds taken into subspace was lost and returned to the Smash World along with all the characters. Tabuu was ultimately destroyed and Subspace and its army were sealed off from existence forever, ending Tabuu's plans and threat. The only area that was not returned was the Floating Island of the Ancients due to the effect of so many subspace bombs going off at once. Instead a glowing X from the rays of the sun set was in place of the floating island, paying homage to the R.O.B.s. This made the Ancient Minister the last of his kind unfortunately, his entire race wiped out by Tabuu and his warped desires. Despite this tragic loss, the heroes and villains now as temporary allies watched the setting sun, reveling in their accomplishment as the Tabuu cast on their world was corrected.

Powers and Abilities
Off Waves: During this attack, Tabuu appears in the background and opens up his wings which proceeds to release three red shock waves. These shock waves deals very high damage and knockback, enough to one-hit KO on normal and higher difficulties in SSE and on very hard and intense difficulties of Boss Battles. To avoid the shock waves, a character must either roll or sidestep dodge with accurate timing. If playing as Pokémon Trainer, or Zelda/Sheik using Down B the instant Tabuu extends his wings also works. The player can also Perfect Shield, despite the fact that the attack is unblockable. The effects of a Metal Box will help resist this attack, in which case, the character is only slightly pushed.

Dark Cannon: Tabuu appears on one side of the stage and takes out a Dark Cannon, which fires a powerful laser that can only be dodged with a jump.

Side Spear: Tabuu transforms into a wide spear and attacks sideways with one swipe.

Chain of Light: Tabuu takes out a yellow chain, grabs the character, swings them around and slams them onto the ground for high knockback. This move uses the same type as chain that he used on Master Hand.

Dual Eye Lasers: Tabuu transforms into a giant version of himself and appears on either the left or right side of the stage, before unleashing red lasers from both his eyes. They mostly work the same way as Master Hand's lasers, including leaving their user vulnerable to attacks, but Tabuu's lasers are significantly more powerful, and are different in that they only take effect at the point of contact with the stage. They can be avoided by running to the edge of the stage where Tabuu is located.

Energy Blade: Tabuu appears mid-air on one side of the map and attacks the stage with a curved swipe of a red energy sword. It is avoided by jumping.

Teleport: Tabuu teleports around the area and appears at a set spawn position which is randomly decided from the large amount of spawn points available. He also sometimes teleports behind the character and attacks.

Teleport Explosion: Same as his normal teleportation move, but it creates a red explosion everywhere he teleports.

Electrical Shield: Tabuu teleports to a random area and releases energy from the object inside him to circle around him like a shield and attack.

Rapid Claw: Tabuu teleports behind the character and rapidly slashes the area near the character. The attack has less range than the visible shockwaves would indicate.

Golden Bracket: Tabuu transforms into two brackets and flies across the stage, grabbing the character (if he's not avoided) and slamming them onto the stage. On Intense difficulty, this attack is a one-hit KO.

Pinpoint Explosion: Tabuu points at five locations which will blink. Those locations will explode after a second, damaging anyone who did not move away in time.

Bullet Rain: Tabuu appears in a random area in the air and fires a series of small, magical bullets. Tabuu concludes this attack with a powerful energy blast, all of which is avoided by staying behind him.

Shuriken Boomerang: Tabuu appears on one side of the stage and throws a round boomerang which crosses the stage twice before he catches it. This is avoided by jumping and using Up-B (depending on character) to avoid the second swing.

Self Projection: Tabuu pauses in midair and sends out copies of himself in all directions. Characters will take damage if they make contact with a projection.

Character Depiction
While his presence is not known until the end of the game, Tabuu's actions were responsible for all the chaos sweeping in the Smash World. While next to nothing is known about his past, Tabuu is shown to care for nothing but power. Tabuu plans to merge the world with his own dimension to create a brand new world under his complete control. Hiding within the dark realms of Subspace, Tabuu manipulated numerous villains in his pursuit of power. Master Hand, Ganondorf, Bowser, Wario, Mr. Game & Watch, and Ancient Minister are just some examples of the beings he has used through various means for his goals. He recognized Master Hand's authority and used it to prey on the power envy all the villains have to create an army made up of the most evil beings.

Tabuu was shown to be a being that manipulated every single individual who served him in some shape or form. He took control of the Ancient Minister to not only serve him but have his people become members of the army as well. Tabuu used the R.O.B.s to the fullest of their abilities, using them as assassins for his army and to create weapons of mass destruction based on their technology to further his goals. All the equipment that Tabuu provided to his army was also stolen or made by beings under his forced control. Many army soldiers were clones made from captured originals while the rest were created from shadow bugs from the manipulated Game & Watch. Samus's suit and Star Fox's reflector technology were also stolen and even one of the power sources of the Subspace base was made from a captured Pikachu. The Master Hand himself proved to be no match for the villain and was turned into a literal puppet. This all contributes to Tabuu's character as a master of operations who sees other beings and things as pieces to be set in place for a game of deception.

Tabuu also showed much patience as he studied the world and all the characters to see which ones would be suitable to lead the army. This undoubtedly took much time as all his plans and operations were carried out very carefully and smoothly. It is this patience that allowed Tabuu to enlist the help from three of the most well known and evil Nintendo villains, Ganondorf, Bowser, and Wario. Ganondorf's murderous cunning, Bowser's brute strength, and Wario's mischievous methods proved to the perfect combination for Tabuu to serve as a leadership for his army. Tabuu however had no concern or regard for them in the slightest, only using them until their usefulness had run its course. Ganondorf and Master Hand, who seemed to have even been murdered, were both dispatched when their use was over. While Tabuu dispatched his servants when they served their purposes, he made clones of them so that their powers and abilities would not be wasted and be under his complete control.

Tabuu symbolizes a great evil and this is conveyed by his acts such as his mass murder of the Ancients known as the R.O.B.s, all to insure his own benefit and success. Other such acts he has committed included abduction, theft, destruction, torture, blackmail, manipulation, deception, and much more in order to further his desire and lust for power. He is also shown to take the depression of others and use it to control the beings themselves. The Ancient Minister is a perfect example of such a manipulation, having many of his friends and family murdered by Tabuu and the rest held hostage to be used, as collateral to ensure the minister will cooperate. This hints that Tabuu has no true emotions, or does not care for them in the slightest, but knows how to use them to his advantage.

Tabuu has also shown to be extremely intelligent, making complicated plans and able to use others while never making his presence known until the appropriate moment. He seems to also be very technologically advanced, having created doomsday devices such as the Subspace Gunship, bomb, and cannon as well as creating the bomb factory and the Subspace Base. His trophy also states that he is a master of operations and has great leadership skills, shown by the mass amounts of villains he was able to rally for his cause. Other than what is shown in the story and in the trophy information, Tabuu is a complete mystery. His past is shrouded in darkness and his very species, other than a spirit of sorts, is unknown as well.

Ultimately Tabuu showed to be a villain with high intelligence, patience, and a lust for power. He had no empathy for anybody, even those who served him loyally, only seeing them as tools to be manipulated for the greater good; the conquest of the entire world. His plans would have succeeded had it not been for the invention of Dedede's badges, the collaboration of all the heroes and villains, and Sonic's sudden attack.

Trophy Information
The Tabuu trophy is earned by use of a Trophy Stand. To get the Tabuu (Wings) trophy, the player must clear the Boss Battles game mode with every playable character.

Trivia

 * Tabuu's move set is very similar to Marx's move set from Kirby Super Star.
 * In the Boss Battles game mode, Tabuu's Off-Waves are not capable of making 1-hit KOs on the Easy, Normal, and Hard skill levels.
 * Tabuu is the only boss who has a snapshot in the Subspace Emissary.