Smithy

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

- Smithy

Smithy is the main antagonist and final boss of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and leader of the Smithy Gang, an organization that attempts to rule over Mario's World during the events of the game. In order to do this, Smithy tried to get rid of the power of wishes from the world, and, in its stead, filled the world with weapons. He is a dark-grey mechanical creature that wears a gold crown and has an extremely long white beard. As such, he resembles 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 anthropomorphic weapons which he uses against other worlds. It is also implied during the final battle that multiple versions of him were made, and that there were possibly plans to mass-produce him, due to the various heads littered in his final battle arena.

Etymology
Smithy's name is derived from the word smith, which is someone who forges weapons.

History
In the outset of his invasion of Mario's World in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Smithy gets the gigantic sword Exor to occupy Bowser's Keep. Once there, Smithy establishes his base of operations in Bowser's Keep of Mario's World (while Smithy's Factory remains the main headquarters of the Smithy Gang). During the battle that ensues, Bowser's forces are either beaten or defected to the Smithy Gang. With the Koopa Troop out of the picture, Smithy sets his sights on the rest of Mario's World. Additionally, during the initial invasion, Exor inadvertently shatters the Star Road, the source of wishes in the world.

Once Bowser's Keep is occupied, Smithy sends out his various lieutenants to recover the Star Pieces after learning the pieces have 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 and interfere with his attempt of world conquest.

During the invasion of the world, Smithy's lieutenants do their tasks:
 * The knife creature Mack conquers Mushroom Kingdom and acquires the first Star Piece.
 * The bow creature Bowyer attacks the people of Rose Town with poisoned arrows and finds the second Star Piece.
 * The spear creature Yaridovich occupies Seaside Town and takes the fifth Star Piece, which was previously owned by Jonathan Jones.
 * Lastly, the Axem Rangers claim the sixth Star Piece from Barrel Volcano, which was previously guarded by Czar Dragon.

However, all of Smithy's operations are foiled by Mario and his allies Mallow, Geno, Princess Toadstool, and King Bowser and the Star Pieces fall into the hands of Mario's party.

Eventually, Mario's band of heroes gets back Bowser's Keep and enters Smithy's dimension via Exor. Once there, they plan to beat Smithy and his weapons once for all. The heroes battle past mechanical minions and the factory's management staff, eventually reaching the leader of the Smithy Gang in his forge. Smithy is busy creating new weapons when Mario and company first meet him. As it turns out, Smithy has the last Star Piece embedded in his body, presumably to prevent anyone from restoring the power of wishes to the world. Smithy calmly asks Mario to turn over his Star Pieces, and when Mario refuses a battle commences.

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

In battle, Smithy is also aided by the creature Smelter. Smelter produces hot liquid metal from his mouth, which Smithy then shapes into Shypers, who will immediately enter the battle and begin attacking Mario's party. As such, it is wise for Mario and his allies to defeat Smelter first, cutting off Smithy's unlimited supply of soldiers. After that, the heroes can focus their attacks on Smithy.

Eventually, Mario and company defeat Smithy in combat, and he becomes infuriated and begins slamming the floor with his sledgehammer. A few of his minions arrive, begging him to calm down and to stop smashing the floor (as the foundation was just built the day before). However, an enraged Smithy ignores their warnings and continues pounding the floor. As a result, the floor collapses; and Mario, his allies, and Smithy fall into the basement of the factory. Once there, Smithy reveals his true form: a metal shape-shifter.

Although his body remains the same, Smithy can now use his sledgehammer to turn his head into different forms. Smithy has five heads that he can change into:
 * The normal Head, which he uses to switch to the other heads.
 * The Tank Head, which has extremely powerful physical attacks. It also has high physical defense.
 * The Magic Head, which has the most powerful magical attacks in the game, but has weak defense.
 * The Mask Head, used for increased protection and defense. It boasts the highest physical defense.
 * The Treasure Head, which attacks Mario's party with a random status ailment.

In this shape-shifting form, Smithy is nearly unstoppable. Nevertheless, the heroes beat Smithy, and overheat his body. At the end of battle, Smithy overloads and explodes and the last Star Piece is recovered by Mario and his friends. With all seven Star Pieces in hand, Geno is able to repair the Star Road and restore the power of wishes to the world. The Smithy Gang invasion ends, and peace returns to Mario's World.

At the end of the adventure, a huge parade is held in celebration of the end of the invasion. Smithy, in his original bearded form, appears during the parade, riding atop the Blade. Many Shysters and several of his lieutenants also appear alongside Smithy. As he flies by on the Blade, he pounds his minions Mack, Bowyer, and Yaridovich with his sledgehammer. Smithy has not been seen since.

Super Mario-Kun
Smithy appears in the Super Mario-Kun volume adaption of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. He still serves as the main villain and has the same role as he did in the games.

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 culminates in Smithy destroying his recently built headquarters. Additionally, in the aforementioned fit of rage, Smithy apparently destroys three of his henchmen who are simply trying to calm him down.

Ultimately, Smithy is determined to achieve world conquest through the Smithy Gang, confident that his weapons can serve as the basis of his power. As such, Smithy attempts to prevent the restoration of wishes, since the Star Road and the dreams of individuals represent a direct threat to Smithy's reign.

Quotes

 * For a full list of quotes, see here


 * "Huh...? Already finished your tour of the factory, huh?! All right, then! How about a little demonstration?"
 * ''"Huh? ...Gufaw haw haw! So YOU'RE... Mario?! Looks like we're gonna have a little dispute over the Star!
 * ''"My, my! We're a little touchy today, aren't we? You know, I'm actually growing rather FOND of this place...
 * "Hurrumph! Better yet... Why don't YOU give me YOUR stars. Why, then I could easily conquer this world! Then we could get rid of wishes, and create a world filled with... WEAPONS!!"
 * "Over here, now! I'll crush you ALL!!!"
 * "How utterly annoying!"
 * "Huh?! What the...?! How in the heck...?!"
 * ''"NOOOOOOOOOOOO...!!! Uwoooooooo... I'm burning... seething... Never have I been so wronged..."
 * "It is time... I will show you my real form... I will show you my true power... I will teach you some respect... And I shall have my revenge! NOOOOOOOOOOOO...!!!"
 * "Guooooooo!!!!! Come on, you puny ants!"
 * "Guooooo! C...can't move...!"
 * "Mwa ha! I am burning with power!"
 * "Guooooooo! My b...body and head are burning! It's not... possible...! I don't believe it...! I'm... finished... done for...! Guooooooooo... noooooo...!"

Trivia

 * 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 romanized as "Kajidoh" in the official soundtrack for Super Mario RPG.
 * His rain attacks may represent some of the members of the Smithy Gang. Spear Rain represents Yaridovich, Sword Rain represents Mack and/or Exor, and Arrow Rain represents Bowyer.