King K. Rool

King K. Rool, who has gone by many aliases, is the malevolent ruler of the Kremlings and the Master of the Kremling Krew. He is also the main villain in the Donkey Kong series, as well as the archenemy of Donkey Kong and his allies. King K. Rool has repeatedly tried to steal the Kongs' Banana Hoard for unknown reasons, and has even kidnapped members of the Kong Family on various occasions. Next to Bowser, King K. Rool is possibly the second most recurring villain in the Mario continuity.

Donkey Kong Country


King K. Rool first appeared in Donkey Kong Country as the game's main antagonist and final boss. K. Rool and his gang of minions, the Kremling Krew, came to Donkey Kong Island one stormy night with intention to steal Donkey Kong's fabled Banana Hoard. Sending several Kremlings to Donkey's tree house to steal the precious bananas, the Kremlings encountered little resistance as the only person guarding them was Donkey Kong's nephew and apprentice, Diddy Kong. Knocking Diddy aside and sealing him in a barrel, the Kremlings stole the banana hoard.

After venturing through the many regions of Donkey Kong Island, Donkey Kong and the released Diddy Kong defeated many of K. Rool's operatives and reclaimed Donkey Kong's bananas, which were guarded by these lieutenants of the Kremling Krew. Finally, the Kongs managed to reach K. Rool's ship, the Gangplank Galleon, where they faced the tyrannical crocodile in battle. K. Rool tried many tricks to defeat the Kongs, such as using his crown as a boomerang, trying to ram them, stomp them and summoning a barrage of large cannonballs at them. In the end, the Kongs managed to beat K. Rool after a long, difficult battle.

Donkey Kong Land
K. Rool returned in Donkey Kong Country's semi-sequel on the Game Boy, Donkey Kong Land. In this game, Cranky Kong calls up K. Rool, and demands he return to Donkey Kong Island and re-steal Donkey Kong's banana hoard. Cranky had made a bet earlier with Diddy and Donkey Kong that they couldn't reclaim the bananas on a handheld system. In this game, K. Rool is fought in a blimp above Big Ape City, where his attacks were mostly the same as his techniques in Donkey Kong Country: running, jumping and throwing his crown, although he did use a new, belly flop-like attack. King K. Rool is eventually defeated again.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest


In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest, K. Rool (under the alias of Kaptain K. Rool) manages to kidnap Donkey Kong and speed him away to the home of the Kremlings, Crocodile Isle, and demands the Banana Hoard in return for Donkey Kong. After discovering that Donkey Kong has been kidnapped, Diddy Kong and his girlfriend, Dixie Kong, rush off to save him from Kaptain K. Rool. After venturing through the swampy Crocodile Isle, Diddy and Dixie managed to reach K. Rool's Keep, where Donkey Kong was supposedly being held. Finding Donkey Kong in a tower, the Kongs were about to rescue him when he was whisked away by K. Rool (in the Game Boy Advance remake of Donkey Kong Country 2, K. Rool also sends the gigantic Kremling Kerozene to battle Diddy and Dixie).

After facing a few more obstacles, the Kongs managed to reach K. Rool's airship, the Flying Krock. Here Diddy and Dixie saw K. Rool in the midst of torturing Donkey Kong. Engaging K. Rool in battle, the Kremling king used a high-tech blunderbuss that could be used as a vacuum, also allowing K. Rool to move at high-speeds, turn invisible, fire spiked Kannonballs and strange gases that could effect the Kongs in bizarre ways, e.g. reversing the game's controls, making the Kongs move extremely slow, and freezing them in place.

After a long battle in which the Kongs manage to do damage to K. Rool by hurling Kannonballs back into his blunderbuss - Donkey Kong managed to break free of the bonds that held him and uppercut K. Rool out the front window of the Flying Krock. Crashing into the swampy water of Krem Quay, K. Rool managed to swim ashore to the Lost World.

By collecting enough Kremkoins for Klubba, Diddy and Dixie manage to follow K. Rool into the bowels of the Lost World, into Krocodile Kore. Here, they battled K. Rool in an ancient palace, and once again, K. Rool is defeated when a Kannonball is hurled into his blunderbuss. This time instead of backfiring, the gun explodes, flinging K. Rool into a nearby geyser that supplied energy to Crocodile Isle. Due to K. Rool clogging the energy geyser, the pressure within it kept building up more and more until it exploded, taking the top of Crocodile Isle with it. The rest of the island sunk into the sea.

At the end of the game, a ship can be seen sailing away from the remains of the island and an ominous laugh can be heard as the ship sails over the horizon, telling the player that K. Rool survived the explosion, making way for another sequel.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, King K. Rool's trophy states that Kaptain K. Rool is actually King K. Rool's brother, however, this is regarded as a mistake by Nintendo.

Donkey Kong Land 2
In Donkey Kong Land 2 for the Game Boy, Kaptain K. Rool, having risen Crocodile Isle from the sea and repopulated it, succeeds in capturing Donkey Kong again, and demanding the Banana Hoard again. With Donkey Kong once again kidnapped, Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong had to travel to the now ravaged Crocodile Isle once again to save him and defeat the Kremling Krew.

Fought on the Flying Krock, Kaptain K. Rool's attack pattern in Donkey Kong Land 2 is a simplified version of his battle strategy in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest; instead of shooting status afflicting gas or using a vacuum attack, Kaptain K. Rool would simply shoot gusts of wind from his blunderbuss.

Once Kaptain K. Rool is defeated on the rebuilt Flying Krock and once Klubba is paid forty-seven Kremkoins, Kaptain K. Rool could be fought in the Lost World. In the ruins of Krocodile Kore, Kaptain K. Rool would attack Diddy and Dixie Kong by blasting them with kannonballs, both normal and spiked varieties. Eventually, Kaptain K. Rool would shoot a barrel, which must be jumped on to claim the kannonball within. This kannonball must be thrown at Kaptain K. Rool to defeat him and cause his blunderbuss to explode, flinging him into the geyser of Crocodile Kore, once again causing it to explode.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble


In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, King K. Rool was seemingly replaced as Master of the Kremlings by KAOS, a robotic entity. Under KAOS' rule, the Kremling Krew proceeded to take over the Northern Kremisphere and imprison the Banana Bird Queen, as well as several of her children, the Banana Birds.

Eventually, after a long search for the recently vanished Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong and her cousin Kiddy Kong reached KAOS' base-of-operations, Kastle KAOS. Entering Kastle KAOS, Dixie and Kiddy encountered and began to battle KAOS, who was determined to destroy them.

It was only after their battle against KAOS that Dixie and Kiddy discovered that KAOS was nothing but a puppet leader controlled by King K. Rool, under the moniker of Baron K. Roolenstein. After Dixie and Kiddy discovered him, Baron K. Roolenstein began to battle the Kongs, using a helicopter pack on his back to fly and a remote control to send blasts of electricity across the floor of Kastle KAOS. In order to injure Baron K. Roolenstein, Dixie and Kiddy would need to pull down on a particular pipe on the ceiling of Kastle KAOS, while avoiding Baron K. Roolenstein and his electric beams. Pulling on this pipe would cause a barrel to appear, which would need to be thrown at Baron K. Roolenstein; after being hit by multiple barrels, Baron K. Roolenstein would be defeated.

After Baron K. Roolenstein's defeat, the body of KAOS would drop from the ceiling of Kastle KAOS and crash into the ground. Once on the ground, KAOS' body would release Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, who had been kidnapped by Baron K. Roolenstein to be used as living batteries for KAOS.

If Dixie and Kiddy manage to collect all the cogs in Krematoa and give them to Boomer, Baron K. Roolenstein can be fought again. After Boomer's machine awakens the ancient volcano in Krematoa, a submarine, the Knautilus, will rise from beneath the volcano's lava. Inside this submarine, Baron K. Roolenstein can be found and battled. In this battle, Baron K. Roolenstein would simply remain in the back of his vessel, using electric beams and a fireball launching cannon to attack Dixie and Kiddy from a distance. In order to hurt Baron K. Roolenstein, Dixie and Kiddy would need to throw several Steel Kegs at him through the use of a teleportation device. After being hit multiple times, Baron K. Roolenstein would lose control of his helicopter pack and be left spinning out of control in his submarine.

If players manage to release the Banana Bird Queen from her imprisonment behind the Banana Bird Barrier, a brief cutscene of Baron K. Roolenstein riding away from the Northern Kremisphere in a hovercraft will be shown. As Baron K. Roolenstein drives away, a giant egg, laid by the Banana Bird Queen and being ridden by Kiddy and Dixie, will fall on the Kremling king, trapping a perplexed Baron K. Roolenstein inside.

Donkey Kong Land III
In Donkey Kong Land III, Baron K. Roolenstein and the Kremling Krew, as well as a rebuilt KAOS, appear as the main antagonists of the game. Similar to Donkey Kong Country 3, Baron K. Roolenstein is only accessible after KAOS is destroyed permanently (the two are bosses in different worlds). His first battle takes place in K. Rool Duel, where K. Roolenstein tries to attack Dixie and Kiddy by shooting electric beams at them. The Kongs then throw a barrel at K. Roolenstein, sending him bouncing around trying to attack the Kongs. After three hits, he is defeated...or is he?

Baron K. Roolenstein could later be fought in Donkey Kong Land III in the Lost World. In this battle, Baron K. Roolenstein would attack by using electrical beams and by dropping bombs on Dixie and Kiddy Kong. Baron K. Roolenstein would need to be repeatedly hit with barrels in order to be defeated.

Donkey Kong 64


King K. Rool returns in Donkey Kong 64, where K. Rool (said to have become somewhat unstable) randomly appears one day on a large mechanical island. King K. Rool had planned to blow up Donkey Kong Island with a weapon called the Blast-O-Matic. Fortunately for the island's inhabitants, K. Rool's Ship ends up crashing due to the incompetence of the ship's drivers. In an attempt to distract Donkey Kong while he has his ship repaired, K. Rool has several Kongs imprisoned. These are: Diddy Kong, Tiny Kong, Lanky Kong and Chunky Kong. He also steals Donkey Kong's Golden Banana Hoard.

K. Rool, along with his unnamed pet Klaptrap, appear in several of the game's cut scenes, watching the Kongs progress and chastising his own minions' failures. A notable scene shows K. Rool demand that nobody leaves the Blast-O-Matic until its repaired.

Eventually, K. Rool's henchman succeed in repairing the the Blast-O-Matic, just as the Kongs break into Hideout Helm, and K. Rool demands that the weapon be fired, despite the warnings that if it isn't fully tested then it could explode. After the Kongs permanently shut down King K. Rool's mechanical island and the Blast-O-Matic laser weapon, K. Rool tries to escape in a large airship. Unfortunately for K. Rool, the ship ends up being knocked to the ground and destroyed by a recently released K. Lumsy. Venturing inside the crashed vessel the Kongs found a boxing arena filled with spectators and King K. Rool, as his boxer alias King Krusha K. Rool, ready to battle. King K. Rool will create multiple shockwaves by slamming the ground, throw his gloves as a boomerang, and uppercut the Kongs after charging at them. Engaging K. Rool in a bizarre series of battles - which include blasting out of barrels into K. Rools face, dropping spot-lights on the villain, causing him to slip on banana peels, shrinking down and blasting his toes, and generally pummeling him - the Kongs manage to claim victory.

After Chunky Kong delivers the final blow to K. Rool, a humorous cut scene is shown in which K. Rool gets back up after the fight and is about to attack Chunky from behind, but is distracted by Candy Kong, ends up being blasted over the horizon by Funky Kong and a bazooka that shoots out a boot. When K. Rool lands, it is in K. Lumsy Island, where he meets a very unhappy K. Lumsy who proceeds to beat the Kremling king senseless in retaliation for locking him up.

K. Rool's depiction in this game changed as it goes on. He's initially depicted as cruel and merciless, and even menacing in the opening when he has a voice. However, as time goes on, especially towards the end of the game K. Rool is depicted as far more comical.

DK: King of Swing


One of K. Rool's more recent appearances was in DK: King of Swing where he once again appears as the main antagonist. In DK: King of Swing, King K. Rool steals all the medals that were supposed to be rewards in the upcoming Jungle Jam competition and crowns himself king of the jungle in the process.

As the end boss of DK: King of Swing, King K. Rool must be defeated in two battles. First, he summons a huge field of pegs, which Donkey Kong must race him through. If Donkey Kong succeeds in defeating King K. Rool, he will promptly stutter that "that was practice" and challenge Donkey Kong to a battle on another peg field. If Donkey Kong beats him again, K. Rool will be vanquished and the medals relinquished as Donkey Kong flies off in King K. Rool's hovercraft and destroys the K. Kruizer III.

King K. Rool is also playable in DK: King of Swing's Jungle Jam mode, where he is the largest playable character and the most powerful. His partner is, oddly, Bubbles, the hero of the game Clu Clu Land. This was the first time King K. Rool was playable in a game.

DK Jungle Climber
In DK Jungle Climber, King K. Rool appears as the main villain and is first encountered atop Sun Sun Island, where he and his entourage of four Kritters steal the five Crystal Bananas from the banana alien Xananab. When King K. Rool and his henchmen are discovered by Donkey, Diddy and Cranky Kong, they quickly flee the scene using a dimensional portal device known as a Spirowarp. After this encounter, King K. Rool is encountered several more times on the various islands and dimensions of the game, usually appearing to taunt Donkey, Diddy, Cranky and Xananab before having one of his Kritter followers power-up with a Crystal Banana and battle them.

After King K. Rool's Mega AMP robot and final Kritter subordinate is defeated on his ship the King Kruiser IV and the forth Crystal Banana is claimed by Donkey, Diddy, Cranky and Xananab, King K. Rool flees through a wormhole to the Planet Plantaen. Chased to a dead end on Planet Plantaen, King K. Rool will battle Donkey Kong, attacking by jumping at him, charging into him and throwing exploding spiked balls. Once King K. Rool is defeated in this battle, he will, refusing to give up, use the last Crystal Banana in his possession to turn monstrous in size and become even more powerful.

In his new form, King K. Rool will attack by doing such things as exhaling fire and exploding mines, summoning meteors and gales of wind and trying to crush the Kongs with his claws. In this form, King K. Rool's only vulnerable spot is his face, which, once hit five times, will deplete King K. Rool's health, turning him back to normal and leaving him unconscious. King K. Rool is last seen in DK: Jungle Climber being taken back to his and the Kong's home planet, being dragged through space by a rope attached to the back of a Banana Spaceship.

Other Appearances
Though King K. Rool doesn't actually appear in Diddy Kong Racing, he is presumably the one who sent the Kremling Krew member Krunch to Timber's Island. Krunch was ordered to spy on Diddy Kong and his allies, who were believed to be hatching some sort of anti-Kremling plot. K. Rool was set to appear as a playable character in the now canceled sequel to Diddy Kong Racing, Diddy Kong Pilot, where he was dressed as a stereotypical pilot, complete with a fur coat and aviator goggles.

King K. Rool appears in one of Donkey Konga's mini-games, where the player must bash King K. Rool on the head with a Steel Keg while he tries to evade them. King K. Rool will also sometimes appear dancing to the beat of music during certain songs in Donkey Konga.

In Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, K. Rool makes an appearance as a secret playable character, riding in a vehicle resembling a rocket-powered barrel and using his claw as his attack. He is unlocked by playing Challenge 31 of Candy's Challenges, and winning; his main rival in the game is Cranky Kong.

A trophy of King K. Rool can also be obtained in Super Smash Bros. Melee and in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

King K. Rool appears in Mario Super Sluggers for his first giant step in a Mario game. He is on Donkey Kong's team. In Challenge Mode he will try to stop Mario and the gang in Donkey Kong's stage, by using his green, red, blue, and brown Kritters to challenge them. When the player wins, the player will unlock him, as well as all four Kritters. He is one of the most powerful batters in the entire game, but having just below average pitching and bottom of the barrel running and fielding. He has great chemistry with all four Kritters and King Boo. He also sports a new original Egyptian look not seen in any other game. He even uses a Scepter with a large gem to bat.

Physical Appearance


In King K. Rool's most common appearance, he wears a red cape and a gold crown, but he is fond of adopting many other looks and costumes as well. When he took on the alias of Kaptain K. Rool, he traded in the cape for a brown trench coat and the crown for a pirate hat. When he becomes Baron K. Roolenstein, he wears a white lab coat and has a propeller on his back. As King Krusha K. Rool, K. Rool wore a pair of large overalls and boxing gloves. He also had a pair of pink shoes with a hole in one of them. Strangely enough, his tail appears to be longer and has four toes instead of three as shown in artworks. K. Rool's skin is light green (though some appearances show it as dark green), he has a large bloodshot eye and he is usually shown with jagged teeth. King K. Rool's under-belly is golden in texture and color, but in DK: King of Swing his underbelly was changed to plain skin color.

Taking into consideration his physique, as his body may be composed of more muscle than fat, his attacks and athletic abilities from the first Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong 64, he is capable of inflicting considerable damage with physical strength alone. In DK: King of Swing King K. Rool had the highest attack out of all the characters. The brute strength that he possesses may rival or perhaps even surpass that of Donkey Kong and Chunky Kong.

Personality
K. Rool, as his name, a pun on "cruel", may imply, is often extremely brutal, ruling his minions through threats and intimidation, often punishing them severely when they fail. Even his most powerful followers seem to fear his wrath, as displayed in Donkey Kong 64, when his subtle display of anger results in Armydillo fainting on the spot. K. Rool is also somewhat of a dirty fighter, he feigns defeat, often collapsing in the middle of combat and making it seem like he has been defeated, only to rise seconds later and begin fighting again.

K. Rool seems to hate the Kongs, referring to them as "filthy apes" and "monkey brains", though he doesn't treat his own soldiers much better either, whom sometimes appear to be loyal to him regardless. Both Donkey Kong 64 and Super Smash Bros. Melee imply that K. Rool is somewhat insane and demented. The final battle of Donkey Kong 64 also showed him to be somewhat of showboater, constantly showing-off and making taunting gestures.

K. Rool's greatest weakness is his own incompetence. It's very common for him to be defeated simply because he keeps making the same mistake in a fight, such as in Donkey Kong Country when he keeps throwing his crown allowing Donkey and Diddy to jump on his head.

Weapons
Throughout his various appearances, King K. Rool has used a variety of weaponry.

In Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Land, using his trademark attack, King K. Rool would hit Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong by taking off his crown and throwing it at them, which could boomerang back to him.

In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Land 2, Kaptain K. Rool would use a powerful blunderbluss that, along with firing Kannonballs and status afflicting mists, could propel Kaptain K. Rool forward.

In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! and Donkey Kong Land III, Baron K. Roolenstein would use a helicopter-equipped pack on his back to obtain flight (though ironically, the helicopter serves as more of a liability since it's his weakpoint in the game; he can actually move faster on his feet then with the helicopter), and also, through the use of a remote, he could send blasts of electricity at Dixie Kong and Kiddy Kong. During the battle in Krematoa, Baron K. Roolenstein would also use a fireball launching cannon to attack.

During the final battle of Donkey Kong 64, in his fight against Diddy Kong, King Krusha K. Rool was capable of throwing his boxing gloves like boomerangs.

Vehicles
King K. Rool has also used a wide variety of vehicles, from his currently ruined ship, the Gangplank Galleon, to large airships, such as the Flying Krock and K. Kruizer III. DK: King of Swing also showed King K. Rool had in his possession a personal hovercraft, which could move quickly and was green in color. He also uses a type of barrel vehicle in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast.

Powers and Abilities
In combat, King K. Rool usually uses his size and strength, attempting to tackle, crush and even leap onto opponents. Although, in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, King K. Rool's attack was a single claw swipe. Additionally, despite his size, King K. Rool can actually be quite swift and speedy in battle (far more so then Donkey Kong, as shown in Donkey Kong Country where he can leap from one end of the Gangplank Galleon to the other in one jump).

In Donkey Kong Country King K. Rool boasted the ability to summon a barrage of large cannonballs to rain down on Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.

In Donkey Kong Country 2 K. Rool could teleport.

Aside from simple strength, King K. Rool displayed very few powers until Donkey Kong 64, originally simply using gadgets and weaponry in battle. In Donkey Kong 64 though, King K. Rool displayed the ability to create multiple shockwaves by slamming the ground. He can also perform a powerful uppercut after charging at the Kongs, which can knock Chunky Kong high into in the air even when he's the same size as K. Rool.

In Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey Kong 64 King K. Rool displayed his ability to turn invisible. Although, in Donkey Kong Country 2, his blunderbuss left a trail of smoke puffs revealing where he was, and in Donkey Kong 64, his shadow can be seen on the ground. In DK: Jungle Climber, King K. Rool, after being damaged in battle, could turn temporarily invincible (gaining a reddish coloration) and the ability to assume a ball shape and bounce off surfaces rapidly. After being empowered by a Crystal Banana, King K. Rool gained a multitude of different powers, such as manipulating the weather, summoning meteors and breathing a barrage of fireballs and exploding mines.

Family
King K. Rool mentioned having a wife in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. Specifically, after KAOS is defeated a second time, Baron K. Roolenstein appears, stating he built KAOS from his wife's best pots and pans. It is unknown if K. Rool was telling a joke, or if he actually has a wife.

If K. Rool does in fact have a wife, her real name may be "Queen K. Rool" or, in the style of the games, "Kween K. Rool". However, in a December 23, 1999 edition of the Scribes section of Rare's website, Leigh Loveday revealed that K. Rool's "my wife is going to kill me" line was merely "a typically throwaway Vic and Bob reference".

Television


K. Rool was one of the main characters and antagonists on the Donkey Kong Country animated series. In the show, his personality was relatively the same as in the games: bossy, megalomaniacal, and slightly clumsy. King K. Rool would often, with the aid of his henchmen Klump and Krusha, attempt to steal the mystical Crystal Coconut and use its power to rule Kongo Bongo Island (which was what Donkey Kong Island was called in the show) and possibly the world. King K. Rool would also enact other schemes such as trying to steal the legendary Golden Banana of Inka Dinka Doo and framing Donkey Kong for several crimes he himself had committed.

In the animated series, King K. Rool's physical appearance was slightly altered from his video game counterpart. His tail was gone and his eye was not bloodshot like in the games, though it did bulge to large proportions when he was excited or irritated (which was often). His eyes also weren't connected as they are in the games, and instead are separated. K. Rool's wrist bands were more detailed instead of being plain gold, as is his crown. King K. Rool's cape was also much shorter in length in the Donkey Kong Country cartoon.

The series also expanded King K. Rool's backstory slightly, with the episode "Best of Enemies" revealing that he was once friends with Cranky Kong and that the two were nefarious pranksters; another episode entitled "The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights" also has King K. Rool mentioning both his mother and various, unnamed siblings. The Donkey Kong Country cartoon also introduced a Kremling rival of sorts to King K. Rool, a pirate named Kaptain Skurvy, who also wished to obtain the Crystal Coconut.

In a possible alternate timeline seen in the episode "It's A Wonderful Life", in which Donkey Kong sees what Kongo Bongo Island would be like if he didn't exist, King K. Rool is portrayed as a somewhat timid freedom fighter in a feud with Diddy Kong, who is portrayed as a power-hungry tyrant.

Literature


King K. Rool appeared in German Club Nintendo's comic adaptation of Donkey Kong Country, first appearing to attack Diddy Kong and seal him within a DK Barrel before stealing Donkey Kong's Banana Hoard. King K. Rool later appears on his ship, the Gangplank Galleon, and battles both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, only to be defeated by them. King K. Rool, under the guise of Kaptain K. Rool, was also featured in the magazine's Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest comic special, appearing at the beginning of it to taunt a captured Donkey Kong.

Kaptain K. Rool was also featured as the main antagonist in an obscure German Donkey Kong comic, "Bumm-Badabumm Im Urwald". In this story, K. Rool sends several members of the Kremling Krew to steal all the bananas on Donkey Kong Island, apparently hoping to starve the Kongs to make them weaker. K. Rool himself only appears near the end of the comic in the "Lost Land". When K. Rool notices that the Kongs are in the Lost Land he, at first, sends several dozen Kremlings at Donkey, Diddy and Dixie Kong, thinking the shear number of Kremlings would defeat the Kongs. Unfortunately for K. Rool, the Kongs managed to pulverize his Kremling warriors. Taking matters into his own hands, K. Rool tries to blast the Kongs with a pineapple-launching blunderbuss. At first, it seems the Kongs are overpowered, until Donkey Kong finds and throws a nearby TNT Barrel into the pile of bananas K. Rool is standing on. The resulting explosion buries K. Rool under the huge pile of bananas. King K. Rool is last seen having made a deal with Donkey Kong, in exchange for digging K. Rool out of the giant pile of fruit, K. Rool would have all the bananas returned to the Kongs.

K. Rool was also featured as the villain of another Donkey Kong comic called "Donkey Kong in When the Banana Splits". Here K. Rool, along with several Kritters, manage to steal all of the Kongs Golden Bananas. Unfortunately for K. Rool, his heist was a failure, as he stole the bananas when the Kongs were home, so the Kongs easily tracked down K. Rool and his Kritter minions. In the end, K. Rool is defeated by Donkey Kong's Super Duper Simian Slam and the Kongs reclaim their stolen bananas.

Other
King K. Rool was featured as the villain of Nintendo's 2003 version of Camp Hyrule. King K. Rool caused chaos in Camp Hyrule by creating a massive earthquake.

A large amount of Donkey Kong merchandise depicting King K. Rool has also been released. This includes plush dolls, action figures and miniatures, often based on King K. Rool's appearance in either Donkey Kong 64 or the Donkey Kong Country animated series.

Portrayals
In the Donkey Kong Country animated series, King K. Rool was voiced by Ben Campbell, while in the Japanese dub of the television series he was voiced by Jūrōta Kosugi. In Donkey Kong 64, King K. Rool possessed an ominous and low Darth Vader-like voice provided by Kevin Bayliss.

Trivia

 * In the Bumm-Badabumm Im Urwald comic, King K. Rool, despite being dressed as Kaptain K. Rool, is never referred to as such; instead he is always called King K. Rool.


 * In several of the sunken ships in Gloomy Galleon in Donkey Kong 64, portraits of Kaptain K. Rool can be found hanging on the ship walls. Making it possible he once owned the ships.


 * Towards the end of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode "Never Koop a Koopa", Bowser dons a red cape, and comes close to resembling King K. Rool in terms of appearance and color. However, this is completely coincidental, as the cartoon was made four years prior to King K. Rool's debut. Additionally, in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "Mighty McMario and the Pot of Gold", King Koopa dons a red cape for his alter-ego. However, this look bears somewhat less of a resemblance to K. Rool.


 * According to Gregg Mayles (designer of Donkey Kong Country and the Banjo-Kazooie series) on Rareware.com's former "scribes" column, K. Rool's motivation for stealing the banana hoard is either that he wants Donkey Kong to starve to death so that he can occupy his treehouse, or simply just the fact that he likes bananas. The latter explanation is contradicted in DK: Jungle Climber though, in which K. Rool states he despises bananas.


 * He is the only character in DK Barrel Blast who rides in a barrel.


 * In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, one of the names that appears when the player presses the "Random Name" button when naming their custom stage is KROOL a reference to him.


 * In Mario Super Sluggers, King K. Rool has bad chemistry with the Kongs and has good chemistry with "Kritter" and oddly, "King Boo". This is possibly because King Boo is king of his own species, like King K. Rool. However, K. Rool's chemistry with Bowser is bad, despite the fact that they're both kings.


 * According to the Donkey Kong Country TV series, his name is pronounced "Kuh-Rool", rather than "Kay-Rool".