Iggy Koopa

Iggy Koopa (known as Hop Koopa in the cartoons) is the fourth oldest of the eight children of Bowser. Iggy is depicted as a demented, mechanical genius. His two main outstanding physical characteristics are his glasses and green hair (originally pink, light blue, yellow). He is very recently shown to be the thinnest of the Koopalings. Iggy is named after Iggy Pop, a famous punk rock singer and leader of the band The Stooges.

''Super Mario Bros. 3
Iggy's first appearance is in Super Mario Bros. 3, in which he aids his siblings and father in their plot to conquer all the Mushroom World. Using his army and weaponry, Iggy takes control of Big Island, the king of which, he turned into a dinosaur (or a Donkey Kong Jr. look-alike in remakes) using his own stolen Magic Scepter.

Iggy can be found and battled by Mario in the cabin of his personal Airship, which is heavily guarded by various traps. In battle, Iggy tries to either jump on to Mario or shoot magical blasts of energy at him using his Magic Scepter. After being jumped on three times by Mario, Iggy is defeated, and he relinquishes the Magic Scepter of Giant Land's ruler.

''Super Mario World
Sometime after Super Mario Bros. 3, Iggy returns with his family in Super Mario World, aiding them in their conquest of Dinosaur Land. When Dinosaur Land is successfully subjugated by Bowser's forces, Iggy is given reign over Yoshi's Island, in a castle where he guards a Yoshi trapped within an egg. This castle is called in the game.

Located deep within his castle, Iggy fights Mario by charging at him on a platform floating haphazardly in lava; Iggy is only be knocked back by Mario's attacks. This pattern is similar to that of a Bully. Iggy also shoots fire balls at Mario when he has time. Iggy is defeated by Mario by being knocked backwards and into the lava surrounding the platform.

The in-game text in the SNES version of Super Mario World that described Iggy as "demented" is changed into "crazed" in the Game Boy Advance version. This is most likely because some people sometimes classify the word 'demented' as inappropriate.

''New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Iggy and the other Koopalings return in New Super Mario Bros. Wii as the final bosses of each world. Iggy's appearance has been changed drastically, as he is now thinner, and his hair color has changed from rainbow to solid green and is styled differently. He is also shown to be very hyperactive, and can be heard giggling maniacally to himself when the player walks down the corridor towards his room in the castle.

Iggy is first encountered in the World 5 tower. When he first sees Mario, he is falsely shocked by his appearance, and then, he taunts him. Here, he jumps between the main floor and three moving platforms. Iggy also shoots green fireballs from his wand to attack Mario and appears to cast the fireballs faster than his other siblings. After he is stomped on three times, Iggy retreats to the castle deeper into World 5.

When Mario encounters him in the castle, Iggy is in a carriage attached to an average-size Chain Chomp. Kamek suddenly flies in and triples the Chain Chomp's size. Mario must get behind the Chain Chomp and attack Iggy, who still shoots fireballs from his wand. If Mario strikes Iggy, the Chain Chomp turns red, turns around its direction, and starts moving fast for a short time. After Mario hits Iggy twice, the Chain Chomp becomes faster, giving Mario less time to react. Eventually, however, Iggy is defeated, and Mario gains the key to leave the castle and move on to World 6.

Iggy survives the battle, however, and is seen along with the other Koopalings getting Bowser back up, only to have Bowser's castle fall on top of them.

Super Mario anime series
In the Super Mario anime series, Iggy and his siblings appear in the series' first story, Momotarō, where they aid Bowser in kidnapping Princess Peach. Iggy also appears in the series' third story, once again as a minion of Bowser (now the Wicked Queen), like his brothers and sister. Iggy ends up beaten by Mario.

DIC Cartoons
In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World produced by DIC Entertainment and Nintendo, Iggy is renamed Hop Koopa and he, along with his twin, Hip Koopa, are portrayed as the youngest of the Koopalings. Unlike some of the other cartoon Koopalings, Hop closely resembles his game artwork. Hop and Hip are constantly seen together, and the duo are constantly pulling pranks on unsuspecting citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom. Like many stereotypical twins, Hop and Hip often share their sentences by either speaking in unison or finishing each other's lines. Additionally, Hop is not portrayed as an inventor as in the games. That role goes to Kooky.

Comics
Iggy appears in the Nintendo Comics System story Bowser Knows Best, and Nintendo Power's Super Mario Adventures, where he and his siblings act as Bowser's henchmen in his plot to kidnap and marry Princess Toadstool. Iggy also appears in the cover in Super Mario-Kun's forty-second issue.

Nintendo Adventure Books
Iggy invents the GLOM, a machine capable of creating loyal duplicates of people and monsters out of sand, in Double Trouble, and uses it to overrun the Mushroom Kingdom with cloned citizens and monsters after capturing their images using spy cameras disguised as flowers. When Mario reaches Fort Koopa in the Koopahari Desert, he can run into Iggy absentmindedly walking down a hall, and covertly follows him, until he accidentally alerts the Koopaling to his presence by knocking over a statue of Genghis Koopa. Running to his laboratory, which is hidden in a hall of mirrors in the basement, Iggy awaits Mario's arrival, and sics the GLOM on him when the plumber discovers him. Depending on the reader's choice of what to do next, Mario is either knocked out (either by his own clone or Iggy's duplicates) and dumped back in the hall of mirrors, or leads the GLOM into the hall, where it clones itself after seeing its own reflection; thrown into a panic by the development, Iggy can only watch in terror as the GLOM keeps cloning itself until it overloads and it and all the duplicates it created explode into sand, bringing Fort Koopa down, leaving Iggy, Bowser and Wendy to dig themselves out of the rubble and limp their way back home.

After being cornered by Luigi in his Water Land houseboat in Leaping Lizards, Morton summons Iggy and the Doomship as backup, but upon spotting Luigi, the bespectacled Koopaling abandons his brother out of fright. Shortly afterward, Iggy is tracked down to his secret Water Land laboratory, and reveals that he, as the winner (through cheating) of the International Mushroom Games held six years ago, possesses the magic silver whistle that can restore the Mushroom King, who had been changed into a rabbit by Morton, to normal. Via old legal documents, Iggy reveals that only the rightful owner of the whistle can use it, and if someone else takes it it is punishable by a sentence of hard labor in the Sponge Mines; however, Iggy loses this advantage over the protagonists when Princess Toadstool reveals that the International Mushroom Games are going to be held again in three weeks, and Iggy is legally obligated to put his whistle up as the grand prize.

During the International Mushroom Games, Iggy and five of his siblings enter as a team, and Iggy competes in the Waterfall Race (where he makes Princess Toadstool lose by turning her around) and the Super Triple Jump, where he will use either a large spray can or a rocket-powered booster as a leap aid. If the Mushroom Kingdom Royals win the games, Iggy tries to sneak away, but is caught by the heroes, and reluctantly gives up his whistle after getting five coins from Luigi, as per the rules of the tournament.

In Koopa Capers, Iggy and his brothers have their wands stolen by Wendy, who disappears with them shortly afterward, intent on overthrowing their father with her own army, and a super wand she intends to create by fusing her own wand with her brothers'. If Luigi, who had been coerced by Bowser into searching for Wendy, tracks the female Koopaling down to her hideout, Bowser and the male Koopalings, who had been following him, will barge in after the plumber, but decide to stave off punishing Wendy for her treachery if she helps search for the hiding Luigi. If Luigi had acquired Boom Boom's socks earlier in his adventure, he can toss them into Wendy's simmering wand combination potion, which will release fumes that knock the entire Koopa family and their minions out for at least a week.

In Brain Drain, Iggy creates the Synapse Switcher, a device capable of switching people's minds. From his base in Dinosaur Island, Iggy uses the Synapse Switcher to cause widespread havoc throughout the Mushroom Kingdom by amplifying the machine's rays using the signals broadcast by the nearby WMUSH radio station. In the book's good ending, Iggy, after taking over WMUSH with his minions, attempts to use the Synapse Switcher on Mario and his friends at close range, but the group protect themselves using Fungus Up cola, which they discovered can counteract the effects of the Synapse Switcher. Due to forgetting to put on a protective helmet before activating the Synapse Switcher, Iggy ends up in the body of a Wiggler, while Yoshi's mind (which had previously been switched with another Koopaling) is transferred into his.

In this book, it is revealed Iggy has an apparent secret love of music. One of his minions mentions the rumor that Iggy always wanted to be a disc jockey, and later Luigi can find Iggy's homemade music video, which depicts him moonwalking in a garish green wig and gold jumpsuit.

''Mario is Missing!
Though absent from the NES version of Mario is Missing!, Iggy is in the SNES and PC versions of the game, the latter of which he speaks entirely in rhyme. In this game, Iggy travels to Antarctica with his family and some of his siblings, trying to aid them in stealing artifacts, which Bowser intended to sell to raise funds to buy hairdryers from Hafta Havit Mail-Order. With these hairdryers, Bowser plans to melt Antarctica, flooding the Earth.

Iggy is encountered by Luigi in Bowser's Antarctic fortress; while looking for Mario and stopping Bowser's plot, Iggy is fought by Luigi, who can easily defeat him by stomping on his head repeatedly (or, in the PC version, hit by a fireball).

''Yoshi's Safari
In Yoshi's Safari, Iggy helps his family invade the kingdom of Jewelry Land. After stealing the jewels that that maintained the stability in Jewelry Land, Bowser entrusts one of these jewels to Iggy, who is given domain over Grand Bridge. To aid his family in the conquest of Jewelry Land, Iggy creates seven heavily armed mechanisms, one for himself and the other six for his brothers and sister.

Utilizing a large mechanism whose appearance is based upon a Blooper, Iggy has six cannons on his mechanism, one located in the end of six of his mechanism's ten tentacles. Iggy needs to be blasted repeatedly with Mario's Super Scope to be injured. Soon, Iggy's Blooper mechanism, upon sustaining enough damage, explodes, and Iggy is left floating on a piece of debris floating on the ocean, waving a white flag.

''Hotel Mario
In Hotel Mario, Iggy, unlike his siblings, does not gain a hotel when the Mushroom Kingdom is taken over by Bowser. Instead, Iggy is located inside Bowser's Seizures Palace Hotel, in "Bowser's BBQ Room". In his battle against Mario in Hotel Mario, Iggy wears an over-sized Bowser mask and, along with jumping between floors, can spit fireballs and summon a small amount of lightning that can strike Mario. Iggy's Bowser mask needs to be jumped on repeatedly by Mario to defeat Iggy. Eventually, Iggy's mask falls off and he is defeated, summoning the real Bowser to battle.

''Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Iggy appears in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, where he, along with his siblings (excluding the recently introduced Bowser Jr.) are employed by Bowletta to protect Bowser's Castle, which is converted into a flying fortress used to attack Beanbean Castle Town, from Mario and Luigi. Iggy is the first of the Koopalings encountered by Mario and Luigi, and before battling the two, Iggy spins rapidly, making Mario and Luigi dizzy before fleeing further into his room. Mario and Luigi needs to dizzily stumble through the traps in Iggy's room to reach and fight him.

In battle, Iggy could spew fireballs (as with all the Koopalings) as well as use the spinning attack from the overworld.

Defeating Iggy forms a bridge over a river of lava, allowing the Mario Brothers to continue through the castle towards Morton.

Cameos
In the LazerBlazer - Type A: Intercept mode in the game Super Scope 6, Iggy can occasionally be seen flying across the game screen chasing Mario while riding a missile.

In Super Mario Sunshine, a brief clip of Mario fighting Iggy Koopa in Super Mario World can be seen when F.L.U.D.D. first scans Mario.

Character Description
Like most of the other Koopalings, Iggy has a yellow and tan skin complexion, as well as a green head. Iggy has four, fang-like teeth in the upper corners of both sides of his snout; they are the same as Morton's. He also has a four-ribbed, padded stomach and padded feet. His mouth is straight, and he has a jutting jaw-line. Iggy has always been the tallest of the Koopalings, but it is not until New Super Mario Bros. Wii that he takes on his lanky appearance. His hair is tall and adds to his height. Originally he had a multicolor Mohawk, similar to his brother Lemmy, but it is now depicted as a plant-like stalk of lime-green hair tipped with darker green. He has large, oval eyes with blue-ringed irises, although sometimes his eyes are depicted as swirls to indicate that the glasses he wears have very thick lenses.

As well as his distinctive glasses, he wears the same metal, spiked cuffs as the other Koopalings. His shell is light green, lined with a white encasing, and the multiple, short spikes are circled with purple rings. His shell used to be blue, as seen in Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, in both of which Larry was the one with the green shell. However this is due to the in-game palette used to design the sprites, Iggy's official artwork for both games, still shows him wearing his green shell.

Personality and Traits
Iggy is portrayed as being a mechanical genius, having invented various machines used by the Koopa Troop, most notably the mechanisms used by his siblings in Yoshi's Safari. Also, according to the in-game dialogue in Super Mario World, Iggy is also portrayed as demented. This is supported by his rematch in the castle in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where he is shown laughing many times in an almost maniacal way. Also, in New Super Mario Bros. Wii as well as Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, he is shown to be extremely energetic and hyperactive. He is also said to be something of a trickster, who goes too far when he taunts his opponents, such as when he smacks his rear end in front of his adversary. In Mario is Missing!, Iggy speaks completely in rhyme. In the comics, he seems to think his father is somewhat stupid and acts as if he is smarter.

In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, Hop is quite childish in personality, and he often pulls pranks instead of causing true crimes, though some episodes has him doing so.

In the Super Mario Amada Series, Nintendo Comics System and Super Mario Adventures, Iggy's personality is largely identical to that of his brothers, with him having no real defining characteristics.

Powers and Abilities
Iggy rides a Chain Chomp in his boss battle in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and in the beta sprites of Super Princess Peach, it is shown that the Koopaling can use his hair as a spear. He could spin as a top in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and even move fast enough to make his opponents dizzy. As shown in New Super Mario Bros Wii his magic blasts are the fastest out of all the Koopalings. In Hotel Mario he could cause small amounts of lightning to rain down on Mario, and like his siblings, he can shoot fireballs.

Bio from The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 Writers Bible
''While the rest of the Koopalings are in their teens, Hip and Hop are bratty six-year-olds. These twins don't go anywhere without one another, and are always finishing each other's sentences. Silly and dumb, goofy and bumbling, they are always lost, and have probably forgotten where they were going anyway. They flunked Koopergarten. They wouldn't be a threat to the Marios and the princess, if it weren't for the fact that they have the most powerful Magic Wands, and are easily manipulated by Bully and their other siblings.

Trivia

 * Iggy was originally going to appear in Super Princess Peach, although he was taken out of the final game with the rest of the Koopalings.
 * In the fastest possible route to complete Super Mario World, Iggy is the only Koopaling that must be fought.
 * Additionally, if one uses the fastest possible route to complete New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Iggy would be the only Koopaling that the player must defeat; the cannon to World 8 is accessed through a secret exit at the World 5 Ghost House, which comes after the World 5-Fortress.
 * In Hotel Mario, he is one of three Koopalings who wouldn't try to eat Mario or Luigi. This could be due to the fact he does not use elevators, or it could be due to the fact he was wearing a "giant tiki-head Bowser" disguise.
 * For unknown reasons, Iggy's hair was changed from a rainbow mowhawk to the current green one.