Spike

"Spike 'em, er...Spike!"

- Bowser Jr.

Spikes (Gabons in Japan) are Koopa enemies that throw spiked balls. They were first designed by Hiroyuki Kimura at Nintendo, and they first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3. Spikes have black Buzzy Beetle-like shells on their backs that are too small for them to enter.

Super Mario Bros. 3
Spikes first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3 as enemies. They are found in the Water Land and Ice Land stages, and they attack by pulling spiked balls out of their stomachs and throwing them at Mario or Luigi. Despite their appearance, Spikes can be stomped even when they are holding their spiked balls above their heads.

New Super Mario Bros.
Although no regular Spikes appear in New Super Mario Bros., an icy variety of Spike called Snow Spike appears in World 5-1. Instead of throwing spiked balls, Snow Spikes throw snowballs that progressively get bigger.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Normal Spikes reappear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, along with Stone Spikes, a blue variety that uses spiked balls made of stone thrown directly downwards from the ledges on which they stand. Spikes can be defeated by a simple jump to the head, however, unlike in Super Mario Bros. 3, if the Spike is holding a spiked ball it will damage the player. They can also be defeated by fireballs or barrels and can also be frozen via the Ice Flower or the Penguin Suit power-ups. In this game, Spikes stay at one spot instead of walking around, although they can turn directions. The green variation appears only in World 2. Unlike regular spiked balls which destroys blocks, the Spike's spiked balls cannot break blocks.

New Super Mario Bros. U
Spikes and Stone Spikes also appear in New Super Mario Bros. U, where they act in the same way they did in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The green variation appears at their own level called Spike's Spouting Sands, where they appear mounted on Flying Question Blocks, while Stone Spikes appear in Dry Desert Mushrooms. The green Spikes jump whenever a "bah" is heard in the music. Stone Spikes reappear as well, acting the same as in the previous game.

Super Mario 3D World
Spikes make their first appearance in a 3D Mario platformer game in Super Mario 3D World. Here, they appear in a few levels, such as Spike's Lost City and Hands-On Hall, and throw spike bars instead of spiked balls.

Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros.
In Super Mario Momotarō, a Spike is the last creature to join Mario on his mission to rescue Princess Peach. The Spike hopes to get his revenge against Bowser for destroying his home world. During the final battle he helps by knocking Ludwig von Koopa out with an exploding spike ball. After the final battle, he joins Mario in returning the treasure Bowser had stolen to their rightful owners. He is most likely based off of the monkey from the Momotarō.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island / Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3
Spikes later reappear in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. In this game, they were smaller than normal but are still able to create spike balls. They only are in BLIZZARD!!!, but in the remake, they also appear in Endless World of Yoshis. They are erroneously named "Mace Penguins."

Yoshi's Story
Spikes reappear in Yoshi's Story in the level Jungle Hut on Page 4. They regurgitate spiked balls and roll them down hills. The Yoshis may eat them, but the Green Yoshi likes them best. They are mistakenly known as Gabons, probably a translation error as Spikes are called Gabons in Japan.

According to the text seen after beating the level, the Baby Yoshis apparently met one specific Spike named "Gabon" while entering his hut. All that is known about the encounter is that the angered Spike threw various objects at the Baby Yoshis. Additionally, the boss Don Bongo bears some resemblance to a Spike.

Super Princess Peach
Spikes also appear in Super Princess Peach, which also introduces the orange haired, enraged Mad Spike.

Mario Party 9
A giant Spike appears as a boss in Mario Party 9. It is the mid boss of the Magma Mine board, while the stage boss is Chain Chomp. The minigame it is fought in is Spike Strike. During the minigame, the Spike attacks the players by spitting spiked balls onto the paths leading to them. The players must attack it by quickly choosing a hammer to smack the spiked balls back at him.

Spike is also the only playable character in Mario Party 10 to not appear in Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash.

Mario Party 10
Spike appears in Mario Party 10 as a new unlockable playable character. This is the first appearance of Spike as a playable character in the Mario franchise. Spike is unlocked by purchasing "Hidden Character 2" in Toad's Shop for 600 Mario Party Points.

Mario Party: Star Rush
Spikes appear as nonplayable characters in Mario Party: Star Rush, appearing as NPCs in the minigame, Roller Revenge. Here, they throw spiked rollers at players, and players who are hit by the rollers lose a life.

Paper Mario series
Although no regular Spikes appear in Paper Mario, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door or Super Paper Mario, Clubbas, a variation of Spikes that use maces as weapons and are often seen sleeping, appear instead.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Spikes make their Paper Mario debut in Paper Mario: Sticker Star. They only appear within the levels of World 2. They also have a lot of HP and they have the same HP yellow Pokeys and Snifits have. Spikes also fight in groups of two later and are aided by Paragoombas, Paratroopas, Swoopers and Hammer Bros. Spikes will chase Mario and throw their spike balls instead of tossing them slightly and letting it roll. In battle, Spikes can hold a spike ball over their heads, making jump attacks ineffective until they throw the ball on their next turn. Spikes can also Ground Pound Mario but if the attack misses, it will bounce to the left. When defeated they occasionally drop a Spike Ball sticker. Snow Spikes from New Super Mario Bros. also appear in this game and sometimes drop a Snowball sticker. If a Spiked ball is touched outside battle from a Spike, Mario loses 2 Heart Points.

Paper Mario: Color Splash
Spikes return in Paper Mario: Color Splash with the same appearance and behavior from the previous game. However, they don't hold the Spiked Balls during the entire battle this time around, but only when they attack. Also, the design of the spiked balls has changed, since the spikes were brown in Paper Mario: Sticker Star and are now white. Spikes appear in Kiwano Temple, The Golden Coliseum, and Sunset Express. Two Spikes assist Ludwig von Koopa in battle, and their Spiked Balls must be hit back at them as Raccoon Mario to defeat them. One appears as a member of the Shady Sledge Bro's gang in Dark Bloo Inn, and one also appears as an NPC on the Sunset Express.

Mario Golf: World Tour
Spikes appear in Mario Golf: World Tour as NPC characters in the Castle Club game mode. Their name can also appear on the tournament scoreboard. A giant Spike also appears in Wiggler Park.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Spikes return in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker acting like in Super Mario 3D World, although they can throw Spiked Balls as well. They appear in Windup Stairs, Seesaw Sizzle, Retro Ramp-Up, and Trick-Track Hall.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
Spikes appear in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam as enemies in Doop Doop Dunes and reside with their paper counterparts, Pokeys and Spinies.

Mario Sports Superstars
Spikes, alongside Stone Spikes, make their playable debut in a Mario sports game as selectable teammates in Mario Sports Superstars, in the soccer and baseball modes of the game. They are classified as power type characters. They also appear as bosses in the Road to Superstar mode.

Super Mario Run
Spikes return in Super Mario Run, though they only appear in the level Land of Spikes. They throw spiked balls like in previous games, except at slightly faster intervals.

Super Mario Run

 * Notebook bio: "This hardworking turtle has a very small shell. It spits out metal balls that it'll throw at its enemies."

Trivia

 * In Japanese, the spiked balls thrown by Spikes and Ptooies are named "shūringan" (シューリンガン). The name shūringan is taken from the Japanese rakugo folktale Jugemu, from which the Japanese names of Lakitu (Jugemu) and Spiny Eggs (Paipo) are also derived.
 * In the Super Mario Bros. movie, one of President Koopa's cousins is named Spike. The film character bears no resemblance to the Spike species depicted in the games, however.
 * Spike's Super Mario Bros. 3 sprite depicts it as nearly bald, with only 2 pixels allocated for hair, and its Yoshi's Story appearance depicts it completely hairless.