King K. Rool

King K. Rool (sometimes shortened as simply K. Rool), who has gone by many aliases, is the malevolent king of the Kremlings and the main antagonist in the Donkey Kong franchise, as well as the archenemy of Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and their allies. King K. Rool has repeatedly tried to steal the Kongs' banana hoard. It has been suggested that he takes the hoard in order to starve the Kongs, in addition to simply liking bananas. He has even kidnapped members of the Kong Family on various occasions.

His name is a pun on the word "cruel", which often describes his actions and his personality, as well as an intentional misspelling of the word "rule".

Donkey Kong Country
King K. Rool makes his first appearance in Donkey Kong Country as the game's main antagonist and the seventh and final boss. K. Rool and the Kremling Krew come to Donkey Kong Island to steal Donkey Kong's banana hoard; they encountered little resistance, as the only person guarding them was Donkey Kong's friend, Diddy Kong, whom they trap in a DK Barrel. Later, Cranky tells Donkey Kong that his hoard was stolen, and Donkey Kong starts his adventure.

Finally, Donkey Kong and the released Diddy Kong manage to reach K. Rool's ship, the Gangplank Galleon, where they face him in battle. King K. Rool's attacks involve running into the Kongs and throwing his crown at them as a boomerang. While his crown is off his head, he can be stomped. If he is hit four times, he begins to drop cannonballs from the sky. These are slow and predictable but require careful movement to avoid. When K. Rool is hit three more times, the fake "kredits" show up on the screen, with the names of various Kremlings in place of actual developers.

After the fake credits are done, King K. Rool gets up and tries to stomp on the Kongs by jumping: first making long jumps, then long and short jumps, then long, short, and very short jumps. After being jumped on three more times, King K. Rool is defeated for real. The cast of the game appear as the real credits roll in DK's Tree House (or Gangplank Galleon in the Game Boy Advance remake). K. Rool also appears after the credits of the remake, where he forces Donkey, Diddy, Candy and Cranky Kong off the ship by threatening to blow up Kong Island with his onboard cannons, with Cranky calling it a "cheap stunt". This sets up the story for the sequel, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.

Some of King K. Rool's voice clips from Donkey Kong 64 are reused in the Game Boy Advance remake of Donkey Kong Country.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, K. Rool (under the alias of Kaptain K. Rool) kidnaps Donkey Kong and stows him away in Crocodile Isle, demanding the banana hoard as a ransom. After discovering that Donkey Kong has been kidnapped, Diddy Kong and his girlfriend, Dixie Kong, rush off to save him from Kaptain K. Rool. The Kongs eventually find Donkey Kong tied up in Stronghold Showdown, located at the end of K. Rool's Keep, but before they can rescue Donkey Kong, K. Rool pulls him up into his airship, the Flying Krock; in the Game Boy Advance remake, Donkey Kong does not appear there, and K. Rool instead sends a massive Kremling, Kerozene, to battle Diddy and Dixie.

In the final world, also named The Flying Krock, Diddy and Dixie engage in a boss fight against K. Rool in K. Rool Duel. The first time that Diddy and Dixie enter the boss level, they briefly witness K. Rool whacking Donkey Kong with his blunderbuss and shooting kannonballs at him; the battle then starts. For the entire battle, K. Rool uses his blunderbuss to fire kannonballs (including spiked ones) at the Kongs. He also uses it to release exhaust gas and travel back and forth quickly. During the last phase of the battle, K. Rool turns invisible and shoots out various poisonous gases: the blue gas freezes Diddy and Dixie, the red gas makes them move slowly, and the purple gas reverses the D-Pad controls. Kaptain K. Rool takes damage when the Kongs throw a kannonball into his blunderbuss, and is defeated after nine hits.

After his defeat, K. Rool tries to stand back up, but Donkey Kong breaks free from his ropes and uppercuts him out of the Flying Krock. K. Rool falls all the way down into Krem Quay, where he is chomped on by sharks. He recovers from the shark bites and swims ashore to the Lost World. In the Game Boy Advance version, Kaptain K. Rool is shown to be covered in seaweed in the following scene.

When Diddy and Dixie collect every Kremkoin, Klubba permits them to access an ancient Kremling Palace, Krocodile Kore, where the Kongs fight K. Rool a second time. In the rematch, K. Rool fires numerous kannonballs in succession. When he shoots out a barrel, the Kongs must jump onto it to reveal a kannonball, which they must throw into K. Rool's blunderbuss. Unlike the previous battle, K. Rool is only defeated from one hit. Instead of backfiring, the gun explodes, flinging K. Rool into a geyser that acts as a power source to Crocodile Isle. K. Rool gets stuck in the geyser, which continues building up energy until it explodes.

At the end of the game, right after the Lost World explodes, the entire Crocodile Isle sinks underwater. A ship sails away from the island's remains, and an ominous laugh can be heard as it sails over the horizon, suggesting that K. Rool survived the explosion. In the Game Boy Advance version, K. Rool instead curses the Kongs, vowing to return while sailing away before Funky Kong bombs the ship in his Gyrocopter, after which he vows revenge.

According to Wrinkly Kong, K. Rool is enrolled as a student at Kong Kollege, and she tells Diddy and Dixie that, should they encounter K. Rool, they should remind him to do his homework. According to the Player's Guide, K. Rool is not a skilled sailor despite being a pirate, and he is responsible for multiple shipwrecks such as the one in Krem Quay.

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 either a mistake by Nintendo, or a tongue-in-cheek joke in the vein of the Mr. L reference in Paper Luigi's trophy.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, King K. Rool is seemingly replaced by the robot KAOS as the Kremling Krew's leader. When Dixie and Kiddy enter Kastle Kaos near the end of their adventure, they battle KAOS a second time. Some time in the battle, a red curtain lifts, revealing K. Rool to have made KAOS as a puppet leader. This time, K. Rool goes under the alias of Baron K. Roolenstein. When Baron K. Roolenstein confesses his plans of using KAOS for world domination, he says, "[...] and I'd have gotten away with it... ...if it wasn't for you meddling kids," which is based on a line from the  franchise. After being revealed, K. Rool replaces KAOS to fight Dixie and Kiddy, using a variety of gadgets to assist him.

During the battle, K. Rool has a helicopter pack on his back to fly. He uses a remote control to send blasts of electricity. To attack K. Rool, Dixie and Kiddy must pull down on a specific pipe from the ceiling, causing a barrel to appear, and then throw it at K. Rool's helicopter pack. It deals more damage if K. Rool is electrocuted by his own electric beams after being hit by multiple barrels. When K. Rool is defeated, KAOS crashes on the ground, freeing Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.

In Krematoa, if Dixie and Kiddy collect all five cogs and give them to Boomer, his machine awakens a volcano, causing the Knautilus to rise to the surface. Inside the Knautilus is where Dixie and Kiddy battle K. Rool a second time. In this battle, K. Rool remains in the back of his vessel for some time and occasionally enters the front, where the Kongs are at. He attacks using electric beams and a fireball launching cannon. In order to hurt K. Rool, Dixie and Kiddy must throw several Steel Kegs at his helicopter pack either directly, or through the use of a chute in the ceiling, depending on his position. After ten hits, K. Rool is defeated as he loses control of his helicopter pack as he spins out of control in the Knautilus.

If the Kongs manage to free the Banana Queen, a short cutscene shows K. Rool attempting to flee from the Northern Kremisphere in a Hover Craft. As revenge for being imprisoned, the Banana Queen flies after K. Rool and drops an egg onto him, thus trapping him. K. Rool's eyes peek out the eggshell, perplexed.

Donkey Kong 64
King K. Rool returns in Donkey Kong 64, where he appears on a large mechanical island. He plans to blow up Donkey Kong Island with a new weapon called the Blast-o-Matic. However, his new and improved Crocodile Isle ends up crashing due to the incompetence of the ship's drivers. When Crocodile Isle is about to crash, K. Rool sitting in his throne wobbles in shock. In an attempt to distract Donkey Kong while he has the Blast-O-Matic repaired, K. Rool has Diddy Kong, Tiny Kong, Lanky Kong, and Chunky Kong imprisoned, and Donkey Kong's Golden Banana Hoard stolen.

K. Rool appears in several cutscenes with his unnamed pet Klaptrap, whom he strokes similarly to the way the  villain strokes his cat, being an obvious parody. Also similar to Blofeld, K. Rool largely has his face obscured in the early cutscenes. He also breathes and speaks in a manner similar to from . He is much larger in this game than all other games; as huge as Chunky Kong when he steps into his Hunky Chunky Barrel. Throughout the game, he watches the Kongs' progress and chastises his own minions' failures. A scene shows K. Rool demanding that nobody leaves the Blast-o-Matic until it is repaired, going as far as sending a large red Klaptrap to attack a fleeing Kasplat (albeit offscreen).

Eventually, K. Rool's henchmen succeed in repairing 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 is not fully tested, it could explode. After the Kongs permanently shut down King K. Rool's mechanical island and the Blast-o-Matic, he tries to escape in a large airship. The ship ends up being knocked to the ground and destroyed by a recently released K. Lumsy. Venturing inside the crashed vessel, the Kongs find a boxing arena filled with spectators and King K. Rool, as his boxer alias King Krusha K. Rool, ready to battle.

After Chunky Kong delivers the seemingly final blow to K. Rool, a cutscene is shown in which K. Rool gets back up after the fight. He is about to attack Chunky from behind, but is distracted by Candy Kong. He ends up being blasted over the horizon by Funky Kong. When he lands, it is in his dungeon, where he meets a very unhappy K. Lumsy who proceeds to beat King K. Rool in retaliation for locking him up before being sent flying again by the giant.

K. Rool's laugh uses a pitched-down version of the "" stock sound effect from the Cartoon Trax Volume 1 album, which was previously used for Baron Samedi in Rare's . The unaltered laugh is used for Kloaks and Krocs in the Game Boy Advance remakes of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, respectively.

K. Rool's Kaptain persona also makes a cameo and is referenced in Donkey Kong 64. Portraits of him can be found in some of Gloomy Galleon's sunken ships, several log cabins in Crystal Caves, and in Creepy Castle's Museum; additionally, inside the sunken ship off to a corner, there is a book entitled "Kaptain K. Rool's Log Book".

Battle
The battle against King Krusha K. Rool takes place in the boxing arena, where he is fought by all five Kongs during their respective round.
 * Round 1: K. Rool starts off by ground pounding, which will generate shockwaves upon contact. During this, Donkey Kong must reach the corners of the ring to enter his Baboon Blast cannons to attack K. Rool. When Donkey Kong is inside the barrel, K. Rool will begin throwing punches at the barrel. After a certain amount of punches, he will taunt for the crowd, leaving himself vulnerable to attack. Every time he is hit, he will generate more shockwaves with each ground pound, slowly becoming two rows of 4 shockwaves. After four hits, the next round will begin.
 * Round 2: Now K. Rool attacks by throwing his right boxing glove as a boomerang, meaning Diddy Kong has to watch for attacks both in front of and behind him. Diddy can use his Rocketbarrel Barrels and Popguns to attack the light fixture above K. Rool, causing a light to fall onto him. After all four lights fall on him (the last one getting stuck on K. Rool), the next round will begin.
 * Round 3: The light from the previous round is still stuck to King K. Rool's head. Lanky Kong takes advantage of K. Rool's predicament by using his elastic arms to punch number buttons and grab the banana-labeled barrel that appears; it releases a banana peel when thrown. K. Rool will patrol the arena by rushing to corners. Lanky then has to use his Trombone Tremor in each corner of the arena to lure K. Rool into slipping on the banana peel. When Lanky plays the trombone, K. Rool will stop his current path and sprints towards Lanky. If the banana peel is in K. Rool's path, he should slip on it as soon as he reaches it; if not, then K. Rool will reach Lanky and squish him. After slipping on bananas four times, K. Rool falls and the next round begins.
 * Round 4: Before the fourth round begins, some Kritters come up to K. Rool to get the light off his head. Once it is off, Tiny Kong enters the ring. K. Rool will again attack by ground pounding (Tiny can only avoid the resulting shockwaves with her Pony Tail Twirl), but this time, he reacts in pain when he does, rubbing at his rear after doing so a few times. While he is occupied, Tiny Kong can use her shrinking power to enter a hole in K. Rool's left shoe and fire her Feather Bow at his toes until they turn red. However, K. Rool will have his tows attack by pouncing at Tiny. Once all four of his toes are red, the final round will begin.
 * Round 5: For the final round, Chunky Kong enters the ring. K. Rool attacks by running and rebounding off the ropes (which is a wrestling move rather than a boxing one) while invisible. By Simian Slamming a switch in the middle of the ring, Chunky Kong can make Gorilla Gone pads appear to make himself invisible (and K. Rool and a Hunky Chunky barrel visible). To defeat K. Rool, Chunky Kong needs to jump into the barrel, which will force him and K. Rool to opposite corners. K. Rool then charges at Chunky and uppercuts him if he reaches him, which can only be avoided using a Primate Punch. When Chunky strikes him, K. Rool will become harder to strike, going invisible after the second and third hit. After four hits, K. Rool will finally be defeated and fall.

Donkey Kong Country Returns / Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
Even though he is absent in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D alongside the rest of the Kremlings, he and his usual role was indirectly alluded to by Cranky Kong, where the latter, in reference to the Kremlings' absence and the theft of the banana hoard being done by another party, said to Donkey Kong "who hasn't stolen [his] bananas at this point?". Similarly, his species, alongside that of the Kremlings, was also referenced by Cranky Kong dismissing Donkey Kong with "See you later, alligator" before chuckling to himself.

Donkey Kong Country
King K. Rool appears at the end of the Donkey Kong Country novel, where he announces to his Kremlings that their factory on Donkey Kong Island was destroyed and that he intends to launch a final attack on the Kong's home. Hearing this, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong and Cranky Kong board the Gangplank Galleon and K. Rool flees the ensuing brawl with his speedboat.

Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle
In the second installment of the Donkey Kong Country chapter book series, Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle, King K. Rool is managing the reconstruction of a factory within the abandoned Big Ape City. After Funky Kong is captured by the Kremlings, King K. Rool orders them to use a painful "truth machine" on Funky Kong, so that they can find out whether he is a spy. King K. Rool is seen again at the climax of the novel, where he is commanding a large zeppelin which fires rockets at Funky's barrel plane. Donkey Kong has the idea for him and Diddy Kong to jump from Funky's plane onto the zeppelin to reach the cabin. They briefly encounter King K. Rool, and tell him that they are going to blow up the ship. He responds by saying that he "won't be aboard when that happens" before he pushes past them, escaping. The Kongs successfully destroy King K. Rool's factory after the TNT Barrel-planted zeppelin lands on it.

Donkey Kong Country: Rescue on Crocodile Isle
K. Rool appears in his Kaptain guise in the third installment of the Donkey Kong chapter book series, Donkey Kong Country: Rescue on Crocodile Isle.

Club Nintendo
King K. Rool appears in the 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. In this comic, K. Rool has noticeably human-like hands with five fingers and nails, while his feet are still clawed and reptilian. 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.

Donkey Kong Land
King K. Rool makes his second appearance in Donkey Kong Land, the follow-up to Donkey Kong Country. In this game, Cranky Kong calls up K. Rool to steal Donkey Kong's banana hoard because he made a bet with Donkey and Diddy that they cannot have a successful adventure on an 8-bit handheld. K. Rool returns as the final boss and is fought in K. Rool's Kingdom, a blimp above Big Ape City. His attacks and battle techniques are mostly the same as in Donkey Kong Country: running, jumping, and throwing his crown. King K. Rool uses a new, belly flop-like attack once he takes six hits. After being hit twelve times, K. Rool is defeated, and Donkey Kong recovers his banana hoard.

Donkey Kong Land 2
Kaptain K. Rool reappears in Donkey Kong Land 2 where he serves the same role in the storyline as in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.

Fought on the Flying Krock in the level K. Rool Duel, 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; his blunderbuss only shoots gusts of wind instead of shooting kannonballs or a status-afflicting gas.

After Kaptain K. Rool is defeated on the Flying Krock, and when Diddy and Dixie pay all 47 Kremkoins at Klubba's Kiosk, Kaptain K. Rool is fought another time in Krocodile Kore. During the second battle, Kaptain K. Rool attacks the Kongs by shooting kannonballs, both normal and spiked, at them. Later in the battle, Kaptain K. Rool shoots a barrel, which must be jumped on to claim the kannonball within. Like the previous game, Diddy and Dixie must throw the kannonball at Kaptain K. Rool to defeat him, causing his blunderbuss to explode and flinging him into the geyser of Krocodile Kore.

Donkey Kong Land III
In Donkey Kong Land III, K. Rool reappears in his ancestral baron costume, but is only ever referred to as K Rool in level titles and K. Rool in the cast roll. He and the Kremling Krew, as well as a rebuilt KAOS, appear as the main antagonists of the game, competing with the Kongs in a contest to be the first to find the legendary Lost World. Similar to Donkey Kong Country 3, K. Rool is accessible only after KAOS is destroyed permanently (the two are bosses in different worlds). His first battle takes place in K Rool Duel, where K. Rool tries to attack Dixie and Kiddy by shooting electric beams at them. After a barrel is thrown at K. Rool, he bounces around trying to attack the Kongs. After three hits, K. Rool is defeated.

When the Kongs enter Lost World, K. Rool states that he underestimated them and dares them to catch him at K Rools Last Stand. In this battle, he attacks by using electrical beams and by dropping bombs on Dixie and Kiddy. The Kongs must repeatedly throw barrels at K. Rool to defeat him.

After defeating K. Rool, as the two are crowned the winners of the contest, he admits to being surprised that Dixie and Kiddy defeated him again. K. Rool then awards the six Watches to the Kongs and challenges them to beat the Time Attack mode.

Super Mario-kun
King K. Rool appears in volumes 14-15 of Super Mario-kun in the arcs based off Donkey Kong Country. Here, his role is the same as the game: he is the main villain and he steals Donkey Kong's banana hoard, but in addition to fighting Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, he also fights Mario and Yoshi, who are also present in said arcs. In the manga he is depicted like Bowser: comical but to be feared.

Two special chapters in volumes 22 and 23, based off the Donkey Kong Country TV series, K. Rool is once again the main antagonist. In the first chapter he is after the Crystal Coconut, while in the second one he ambushes DK and Bluster Kong, who were trying to immortalize for Candy Kong the first sunset of 2000, on the mountains, failing miserably.

KC Mario
King K. Rool reprises the main antagonist role in volumes 31 and 32 of the Kodansha manga, in the Donkey Kong Country arc. He allies with Manky Kong, whose information helps him conquer the island. Mario and the Kongs defeat him, trapping him in a Steel Barrel and tossing him in the ocean. The barrel drifts to the Mushroom Kingdom, where Princess Peach opens it, unleashing K. Rool. The Kremling King conquers the Kingdom and forces the Toads in helping him get revenge by returning to DK Isle and challenging Mario and the Kongs to a series of Picross duels. K. Rool loses and the Mushroom Kingdom is freed from his clutches.

Uho'uho Daishizen Gag: Donkey Kong
In Uho'uho Daishizen Gag: Donkey Kong, K. Rool, just like in the TV series, has his mind set on taking the Crystal Coconut from the Kongs and becoming the DK Isle ruler. Most of his plans parallels the one from the episodes (even if only three chapters are directly based off them). Like in the cartoon, he is followed by General Klump and Krusha.

Donkey Kong Country television series
"Where I come from, we do things with style, drama, flair."

- King K. Rool

K. Rool is one of the main characters and the main antagonist in the Donkey Kong Country animated series, where his name is typically pronounced "Kuh-Rool"; "Kay-Rool" is only said once. In the show, his personality is relatively the same as in the games. He is bossy, loud, megalomaniacal, flamboyant, dramatic, and slightly clumsy; despite this, however, he is not without a soft side, as seen in episodes such as "Baby Kong Blues" and "Four Weddings and a Coconut".

King K. Rool's physical appearance is slightly altered from his video game counterpart. His tail is gone and one eye is not bloodshot, unlike in the games, though it does bulge to large proportions when he is excited or irritated, and it briefly appears bloodshot after DK punches it at the end of Ape Foo Young and after he rolls K. Rool into a bowling ball in A Thin Line Between Love and Ape. His eyes also are not connected as they are in the games, and instead are separated. K. Rool's wrist bands are more detailed, instead of being plain gold, as is his crown. King K. Rool's cape is also much shorter in length in the Donkey Kong Country cartoon. K. Rool also has no combat abilities and thus can easily be defeated by Donkey Kong. K. Rool is a strategist instead of a combatant, trying to outsmart the Kongs using his army of loyal, yet dimwitted Kremlings.

His voice, provided by Ben Campbell, is radically different from the games, such as Donkey Kong 64. He constantly brags about his brain and emphasizes this by using more complex jargon. Often, with the aid of his henchmen Klump and Krusha, he attempts to steal the Crystal Coconut and use its power to rule Kongo Bongo Island and possibly the world. He seems to always be hatching plans to steal the coconut; however, they always lead to complete failure or humiliating defeats due to a combination of the stupidity of his troops and the resourcefulness of the Kongs. K. Rool has a very low tolerance for the incompetence of both Krusha and Klump, to the point where, in one episode, he mutters to himself "Do I really want the Crystal Coconut this badly?" while Krusha and Klump try to decode a message they themselves wrote. When not scheming to take the Coconut, he otherwise plans to eliminate Donkey Kong, who is the Coconut's main protector, by incriminating him, or to take over the Barrel Works to manufacture exploding barrels. His various other plans vary from episode to episode: for example, during a heatwave, he plots to steal a bunch of Donkey Kong's "Coconut Chill" shakes to keep him and his Kremlings cool.

The series also expands 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 notorious pranksters; another episode entitled "The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights" also has King K. Rool mentioning his mother and various unnamed siblings. The Donkey Kong Country cartoon also introduces a rival of sorts to King K. Rool, a pirate named Kaptain Skurvy, who also wishes 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 did not 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.

Bumm-Badabumm im Urwald
Kaptain K. Rool is also featured as the main antagonist in an obscure German Donkey Kong comic, Bumm-Badabumm im Urwald; however he is always referred to as King K. Rool. 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 appears only 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 sheer 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 him out of the giant pile of fruit, he would have all the bananas returned to the Kongs.

Donkey Kong in When the Banana Splits
K. Rool is 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 is a failure, as he steals the bananas when the Kongs are home, so they easily track him and his Kritter minions down. In the end, K. Rool is defeated by Donkey Kong's Super Duper Simian Slam and the Kongs reclaim their stolen bananas.

Super Smash Bros. series
A trophy of King K. Rool can be obtained in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, one of the names that appears when players press the "Random Name" button when naming their custom stage is "KROOL".

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, K. Rool receives his own Mii Brawler costume released as DLC.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
At the end of the Super Smash Bros. Nintendo Direct broadcast on August 8, 2018, King K. Rool was revealed as a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Outside minor cameos, this marks his first physical appearance in a decade since Mario Super Sluggers. This also marks the first time his underbelly has been shown as being gold-plated since the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 3, released 13 years prior. King K. Rool overtakes Donkey Kong as the second-heaviest fighter; he is lighter than only Bowser.

A number of King K. Rool's moves are references to his previous boss fights, such as using his crown as a boomerang, a blunderbuss, the Propellerpack, and boxing gloves, while his Final Smash involves him firing the Blast-o-Matic. His crown can actually be intercepted after it is thrown, meaning it can fall to the floor and be used as a throwing item or be stolen by Villager and Isabelle's Pocket. He can also use a move known as the Gut Check, which involves using his belly armor to counter or reflect opponents' attacks. On a related note, King K. Rool's belly armor can protect him while he uses certain moves, such as his forward tilt and dash attack. However, his armor has a set amount of durability: it takes 4 seconds to replenish a little over 1 hit point (and 47 seconds to fully replenish), while shattering the armor will stun King K. Rool similarly to a shield break.

King K. Rool uses realistic crocodile grunts instead of his voice clips from previous games, similarly to Bowser, Donkey Kong, and Diddy Kong. Unlike the other two Donkey Kong characters, King K. Rool has a unique victory theme, which is a rendition of the first few notes of "Gang-Plank Galleon" from Donkey Kong Country. Additionally, his Kaptain K. Rool and Baron K. Roolenstein identities appear in the game as spirits.

In his debut trailer, King Dedede pranks Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong by wearing a King K. Rool costume, only to end up being knocked aside from behind while laughing at the Kongs' expense by the actual King K. Rool, much to the Kongs' horror. The king then roars before gameplay footage is shown. The trailer ends with Donkey Kong knocked back only to rush on all fours at K. Rool, with the latter doing in kind, before proceeding to have their fists make contact in midair and release a shockwave that causes the jungle to sway. After the logo is shown, more in-game footage is seen of K. Rool, where he feigns defeat as he did in Donkey Kong Country. The two Kongs then celebrate only to be stomped into the ground by an enlarged K. Rool, who proceeds to furiously chomp his jaws. K. Rool's debut trailer uses a new arrangement of Gang-Plank Galleon, his boss theme from his debut game, which appears in the final game as battle music on Donkey Kong stages and is also used in K. Rool's character showcase video and Classic Mode credits. K. Rool's announcement was foreshadowed towards the end of the Nintendo Direct in which it occurred, as when Masahiro Sakurai was signing off, the camera began to shake, with the quakes gradually becoming more severe as the main broadcast ended.

King K. Rool makes a cameo in the tail end of Ken and Incineroar's debut trailer, where he, alongside Bowser Jr. and Villager, proceeds to challenge Incineroar to a bout after it defeats Ken, much to the Pokémon's chagrin. His cameo in the trailer indirectly references the final battle with him in Donkey Kong 64, as he wears his boxing gloves and the Boxing Ring is the primary setting for the trailer.

King K. Rool also has a role in Banjo and Kazooie's debut trailer, which begins similarly to his own debut trailer: the same boss montage is displayed on the TV (with a new scene alluding to his rivalry with the Kongs) and he is seen sleeping in the Kongs' treehouse, only to be awoken by Diddy after the two Kongs notice a Jiggy pass them by. Duck Hunt pull a similar prank to that of King Dedede from K. Rool's trailer by pretending to be Banjo and Kazooie, but they are ambushed by the real duo, much to the delight of K. Rool and the Kongs. K. Rool is later seen flying through the air at the end of the trailer after The Mighty Jinjonator is used on him; he crashes through the ground, creating a hole in the shape of his silhouette which is covered by a falling boulder, referencing Gruntilda's defeat from Banjo-Kazooie.

In the Adventure Mode, King K. Rool is among the fighters seen during the cutscene when they oppose Galeem for the first time. Although he is not shown to be hit by Galeem's beams directly, he is nevertheless vaporized off-screen and subsequently imprisoned alongside every other fighter except Kirby, where Puppet Fighters of him are created. Said Puppet Fighters, as well as the real K. Rool, initially serve Galeem, but are later brought under Dharkon's control. The real King K. Rool is eventually defeated in the Mysterious Dimension, freeing him. He then joins the fighters against Galeem and Dharkon.

On a side note, King K. Rool's name is announced differently in the Japanese and Korean versions to reflect the pronunciation in those languages, similarly to King Dedede in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Lucina in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. This trait is also shared with Simon and Richter Belmont and Lucina.

The King K. Rool Mii Fighter costume from the previous game also returns, now available in the base game and with a slightly different appearance to reflect his Ultimate design.

Classic Mode route
King K. Rool's Classic Mode route has him fight against some of the heaviest characters in the game, including his arch-nemesis Donkey Kong and fellow Super Mario villain Bowser. The title of the route uses boxing terminology, referencing the final fight of Donkey Kong 64.

Camp Hyrule
King K. Rool appears in the 1999 version of Nintendo's Camp Hyrule, in the games Donkey Konk and Kremling Krunch. In Donkey Konk, he is one of the Kremlings that can appear from one of the six hatches in the wall, and must be bonked using the mouse. In Kremling Krunch, the player must avoid him instead, as hitting him will cause the player to lose one of their hearts.

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

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

Aside from this, he is also mentioned in the opening by Diddy Kong, speculating that the bongos Donkey Kong uncovered may have been a trap set up by King K. Rool.

DK: King of Swing
King K. Rool makes another appearance as the main antagonist of DK: King of Swing. King K. Rool steals all the medals and crowns himself the king of the Jungle Jam competition. Donkey Kong goes after K. Rool to return them. Whenever Donkey Kong starts a world, a few medals fall out of K. Rool's hovercraft, one per most of the levels. Throughout the game, King K. Rool awaits Donkey Kong in his airship, the K. Kruizer III.

King K. Rool returns as the final boss in the eponymous boss level, King K. Rool. He and Donkey Kong first race up some Peg Boards. Donkey Kong must reach the top first to beat King K. Rool at the race. Afterward, K. Rool stutters "that was practice" and challenges Donkey Kong to a battle on another set of Peg Boards. During the battle, Donkey Kong must use his charge attack to attack K. Rool while also watching out for K. Rool charging or hitting into him. If Donkey Kong beats K. Rool at the battle, he wins the last medal and flies off in K. Rool's hovercraft with the recovered medals.

King K. Rool is one of the playable characters in the Jungle Jam mode, as the largest and most powerful playable character. His partner is Bubbles, the main character of . As Diddy Kong Pilot never saw a release, DK: King of Swing is the first game where King K. Rool is a playable character.

DK: Jungle Climber
In DK: Jungle Climber, King K. Rool appears as the main antagonist. This is the last game he appears as the main antagonist, and his last physical appearance in the Donkey Kong franchise. He is first encountered at the peak of Sun Sun Island, where he and his entourage of five Kritters steal the five Crystal Bananas from the banana alien Xananab. When King K. Rool notices Donkey, Diddy, and Cranky Kong are heading their way, 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 annoyed at Donkey, Diddy, Cranky and Xananab pursuing him before having one of his Kritter followers power up with a Crystal Banana and battle them.

After DK claims the fourth Crystal Banana from King K. Rool's completed Mega Amp and final Kritter subordinate on the King Kruiser IV, King K. Rool flees through a wormhole to the Planet Plantaen after feigning a fight. Chased to a dead end on Planet Plantaen, K. Rool battles Donkey Kong, attacking by jumping at him, charging into him, and throwing exploding spiked balls, but is defeated in this battle. Refusing to submit to his enemies, he uses his last Crystal Banana to grow larger and become even more powerful for a true final battle.

In his new form, King K. Rool attacks by exhaling fire, exploding mines, summoning meteors of various sizes, gales of wind, and trying to crush the Kongs with his hands. In this form, King K. Rool's only vulnerable spot is his face, which, once hit five times, depletes King K. Rool's health, depowering him and leaving him unconscious while the expelled Crystal Banana is claimed. King K. Rool is last seen in DK: Jungle Climber being taken back to his and the Kong's home planet, dragged through space by a rope attached to the back of a Banana Ship. It is unknown what the Kongs did with him once they returned home.

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast
In Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, K. Rool makes an appearance as a secret playable character. Unlike the other racers with barrels attached to them, he rides in a vehicle resembling a rocket-powered barrel with a skull (which possibly doesn't have a steering wheel since his functions are the same) and using his claw as his attack. His slipstream is also different as well. He is unlocked by playing Challenge 31 of Candy's Challenges, and winning. His main rival in the game is Cranky Kong, who, similarly to K. Rool, boasts high boost, speed and agility.

Mario Super Sluggers
King K. Rool's first appearance in a Super Mario game is in Mario Super Sluggers. He can only play as a team player, and is, ironically, on Donkey Kong's team, despite the fact he hates DK and the Kongs. The explanation for this is that he was impressed with their skills, and said he was only going to team up when playing baseball. King K. Rool bats with his right hand, and fields with his left hand.

King K. Rool is one of the most powerful batters in the entire game (tied with Bowser and Petey Piranha). His pitching is also a bit above average. However, he is tied with the Purple Toad for the weakest fielding abilities of all characters and is also tied with the Red Magikoopa as one of the slowest runners in the game. King K. Rool's stamina is also very low, but he takes longer to get exhausted than Petey Piranha.

King K. Rool has great chemistry with all four Kritters and King Boo. He has bad chemistry with the Kongs, as well as Bowser. He uses a scepter with a large gem to bat, and has a different, pharaoh-like clothing style that is exclusive to this game. His sweetspot is the red area on his scepter.

In Challenge Mode, King K. Rool tries to stop the baseball heroes in DK Jungle by using his green, red, blue, and brown Kritters to challenge them. When the player wins, he is unlocked, as well as all four Kritters, making this first and only game to have him as an ally.

The artwork of King K. Rool shows him striking the same pose as in his DK: Jungle Climber artwork. Additionally, unlike the Kongs, he and his Kritter minions do not speak in animal noises in Challenge Mode.

Super Mario Odyssey
A minor reference to King K. Rool is made in Super Mario Odyssey, as a street in New Donk City is named "KROOL Av."

Creation and development


During early production of Donkey Kong Country, the character that would become King. K Rool was named "Krudd". Another proposed idea had the character named "King Klinker" and have him paired with a female Kremling named "Queen Krapp". Later in development, "Kommander K. Rool" was considered as the character's name. This planned name was given a brief nod in the fake credits during his boss fight, which mentioned him as being the "Kommander" of the game.

When asked what the K in "K. Rool" stands for, Gregg Mayles replied "Nothing! It was just a way of making him seem more important, that he'd added it to inflate his ego. In hindsight, it could have been something tonal like 'Kremling', or something deliberately out of character like Keith. What do you reckon it should stand for?"

His Baron K. Roolenstein alter ego was designed by Mark Stevenson.

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 takes on the alias of Kaptain K. Rool, he trades 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 a tall prosthetic forehead with a small black wig resembling, and has a Propellerpack on his back. His outfit is based on a combination of Frankenstein's Monster as portrayed by in the  horror movie Frankenstein and the character of Baron Victor von Frankenstein (played by ) from the Hammer Horror Frankenstein series. In Mario Super Sluggers, K. Rool wears an Ancient Egyptian-style collar and loincloth, much like a pharaoh. Cranky Kong mentions in the Donkey Kong 64 instruction booklet that K. Rool had given up his silly disguises in that game. While he has not seriously gone incognito since Baron K. Roolenstein, for the final fight he goes by the moniker "King Krusha K. Rool" as a boxer. During this fight he sports a stereotypical one-piece as well as boxing gloves with a champion's belt.

K. Rool has three clawed toes on each foot and his hands each have four clawed fingers, though early appearances depict blunt or even nailed fingers. His Kaptain K. Rool and Baron K. Roolenstein sprites depict his hands as being much larger than in his typical appearances. K. Rool debuted with a tail, though its length and presence have varied between appearances. His tail was the longest in Donkey Kong 64, stubby in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and completely absent in DK: King of Swing and the animated series. He is portrayed with a signature bloodshot eye, usually his left eye. K. Rool's skin is light green (though some appearances show it as dark green) and he has muscular arms, as well as usually being shown with jagged teeth.

In Donkey Kong 64, during the final battle in the boxing arena, King Krusha K. Rool (his boxing alias) is wearing a boxing outfit. He is wearing a blue spandex suit, which has a thick, white stripe on both sides. King Krusha K. Rool also has a champion's belt, which has a brown strap and a gold center, tied around his belly. He wears a pair of red boxing gloves, and a pair of reddish-pink shoes, which are almost the same color as his boxing gloves. A large hole appears in front of K. Rool's left shoe; inside of it, K. Rool is shown to have four toes. Contrarily, in his regular character model and artworks, K. Rool has three toes. For both his regular and his boxer alias, K. Rool's crown has eight prongs, fewer than that in the Donkey Kong Country games.

King K. Rool's underbelly was originally golden in texture and color (meant to be a piece of armor according to character designer Steve Mayles ), but since DK: King of Swing his underbelly has been changed to a light flesh tone, and has lost the prominent vertical indentation down the middle. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he regains the gold plate, which now has a sharp ridge along the edges but still lacks the vertical indentation; however, Palutena's Guidance mentions his "leathery" belly, though it is possible she is referring to the belly underneath the armor. In this game, his general head and body shape is more akin to the later games, though he has a tail again, albeit a short one, similar to his tail in the cartoon. King K. Rool also has more pronounced scales in this game, akin to his design in the Rare Ltd. games. He is also once again depicted as being distinctly larger than Donkey Kong. His cape also appears to be slightly torn up at the bottom.

King K. Rool has seven other costumes to choose from in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, all of which change his colors. His orange costume resembles Kerozene from the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Re-Koil from Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! It also resembles the red Kritters that appear in the Donkey Kong Country series. King K. Rool's blue costume resembles the armored blue Kritters that appear throughout the Donkey Kong Country series, as well as Krusha from Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong 64. His yellow costume resembles Kutlass from  Donkey Kong Country 2, as well as Kopter as he appeared in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast. King K. Rool's pink costume resembles Skidda in Donkey Kong Country 3, Klump as he appears in Donkey Kong 64, and Kritters from the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country. King K. Rool's black costume resembles the armored Black Kritters from Donkey Kong Country, while his brown costume resembles Klump's original appearance in said game, one of his alternate colors in DK: King of Swing, and a partial inversion of his normal colors. Lastly, King K. Rool has a white costume, which somewhat resembles an albino crocodile.

Personality
"Don't tell me what I can't do!"

- King K. Rool

K. Rool, as his name, a pun on "cruel," may imply, is brutal, ruling his minions through threats and intimidation, often punishing them severely when they fail. This is mentioned by Klubba in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, who says that K. Rool mistreats his minions. This is also seen in Donkey Kong 64, when he presumably executes a purple-haired Kasplat via a giant Klaptrap for calling him "fatso", not realizing that K. Rool was listening. Even his most powerful followers seem to fear his wrath, as displayed in Donkey Kong 64, when his subtle display of anger results in Army Dillo fainting on the spot, and Dogadon ends up begging for mercy over his failure when admitting how his wings ended up singed by the Kongs (although K. Rool seems more shocked than angry at the failure regarding the latter). He does not seem to respect his henchmen, the Kritters, much better either. In Mario Super Sluggers, he refers to brown Kritter as "the dirty under-belly of the Kremling Krew". In Donkey Kong 64, he even has K. Lumsy locked up due to his gentle nature, with it being even more harsh in the Japanese version due to the latter being his younger brother. This abuse of his underlings has also worked against him, as demonstrated by Klubba openly rooting for Diddy and Dixie to ruin his boss's plans, and also K. Lumsy being implied to have supplied him with a massive beatdown before sending him flying again as revenge for locking him up after being sent flying by Funky Kong earlier. Despite all of this, however, he and the Kritters have good chemistry with each other in Mario Super Sluggers and the trophy bios of Kalypso and Kludge show he respects and trusts the former as a capable leader and is intimidated by latter's ferocious temper. K. Rool is also somewhat of a dirty fighter. He fakes 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. He has also shown himself to be negligent towards nature.

K. Rool hates the Kongs, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong more so than the others, having referred to them as "filthy apes" and "monkey brains". Despite his hatred of the Kongs, however, he is nevertheless susceptible to being attracted to female members of the species, as evidenced by his being mesmerized by Candy Kong in Donkey Kong 64, even going so far as to reach out to her from the ring in apparent infatuation (which was later revealed to be a diversion to distract the Kremling leader long enough for Funky Kong to literally "give him the boot" by firing a boot from his bazooka). He is also capable of commending the Kongs' skill, as shown when they first enter the Lost World in Donkey Kong Land III, where he also gives them six Watches and invites them to try Time Attack mode after he is defeated, as well as in Mario Super Sluggers where he joins Donkey Kong's team after acknowledging their skill.

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 shows him to be somewhat of a showboater, constantly showing-off and making taunting gestures. He has bad chemistry with all of the Kongs in Mario Super Sluggers, although he makes it clear that he is only teaming up with them when playing baseball, showing that he is capable of putting aside his hatred for them and will team up with them if needed, similarly to Bowser. He is also seen with Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong at their house sleeping in Banjo & Kazooie's reveal trailer despite his hatred for them.

According to Leigh Loveday (writer of the Donkey Kong Country 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 "cosy [sic] treehouse pad," or perhaps that he simply likes bananas. The latter explanation is supported in the Donkey Kong Country manual which states the Kremlings coveted the bananas for their nutritional value, Palutena's Guidance which states that Kremlings like bananas, and the half eaten bananas on the Gangplank Galleon. However, K. Rool liking bananas is contradicted in DK: Jungle Climber, where K. Rool states that he despises bananas.

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

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

In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Land 2, Kaptain K. Rool uses a powerful blunderbuss. He fires different types of ammunition such as Kannonballs, spiked Kannonballs, barrels, and status-afflicting mists, which either freeze, slow, or disorient his targets. K. Rool also uses his blunderbuss as a vacuum to suck the Kongs toward him, whereupon he hits them with the butt of his blunderbuss. In addition to using it as an offensive weapon, he also uses it as his primary form of movement by aiming it in the opposite direction and using the jet propulsion to thrust him forward at high speeds.

In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! and Donkey Kong Land III, Baron K. Roolenstein uses a helicopter-equipped pack on his back to obtain flight. Despite the fact that K. Rool can actually move faster on his feet, and the fact that the helicopter pack is his weakpoint in the game, it is necessary for his trap-based fighting strategy; it allows him to avoid his own electric beams by hovering over them. Through the use of a remote, he can manipulate various objects in his lair, such as altering positions and movements of platforms, and activating pods that send blasts of electricity at Dixie Kong and Kiddy Kong. During the battle in Krematoa, Baron K. Roolenstein's remote can also activate a fireball-launching cannon and a moving conveyor belt, in addition to the electric pods. In Donkey Kong Land III, he is capable of shooting electric beams from his gloves.

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

Vehicles
King K. Rool also uses a wide variety of vehicles, from his Gangplank Galleon, to large airships, such as the Flying Krock and K. Kruizer III. DK: King of Swing also shows King K. Rool has in his possession a personal hovercraft, which can move quickly. He also uses a type of barrel vehicle in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast. Another one of these vehicles is the Propellerpack.

Powers and abilities

 * In combat, King K. Rool usually uses his size and strength, attempting to tackle, crush and even leap onto opponents; considering his physique, 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. Although, in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, King K. Rool's attack is 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 DK: King of Swing, King K. Rool had the highest attack out of all the characters. He is tied with Bowser and Petey Piranha for the best batting abilities in Mario Super Sluggers.
 * In Donkey Kong Country, King K. Rool boasts the ability to summon a barrage of large cannonballs to rain down on Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.
 * In Donkey Kong Country 2, Kaptain K. Rool can teleport.
 * In Donkey Kong Country 3, Baron K. Roolenstein simply uses a remote control to activate his arenas' gadgets and weaponry in battle.
 * In Donkey Kong 64, King K. Rool displays the ability to create multiple shockwaves by slamming the ground (although, as demonstrated with Tiny Kong, doing this too many times will cause him to injure his posterior, leaving an opening for Tiny to inflict damage to his toes). 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 is the same size as K. Rool.
 * In Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey Kong 64, King K. Rool displays his ability to turn invisible, though minor details still give away his position. In Donkey Kong Country 2, his blunderbuss leaves smoke puffs behind him, and in Donkey Kong 64, his shadow can still be seen on the ground when he is invisible.
 * In DK: Jungle Climber, King K. Rool, after being damaged in battle, can 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 gains a multitude of different powers, such as manipulating the weather, summoning meteors, breathing a barrage of fireballs and exploding mines.

Family
King K. Rool mentions 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 is telling a joke, or if he actually has a wife. In a December 23, 1999 edition of the Scribes section of Rare's website, Leigh Loveday stated that K. Rool's "my wife is going to kill me" line was merely "a typically throwaway reference." The wife does make a physical appearance in 4-koma Gag Battle.

In the episode "The Big Switch-A-Roo" of the Donkey Kong Country animated series, King K. Rool mentions his mother, and in "The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights" he mentions his "slithering siblings".

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, K. Rool's trophy information erroneously states that Kaptain K. Rool is the brother of King K. Rool, which lead to some fans theorizing that King K. Rool and Kaptain K. Rool are separate characters in the Japanese versions. However, Japanese material (such as the intro of the Japanese Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 2) also portray Kaptain K. Rool as a disguise, and thus the trophy description is merely an error.

In the Japanese version of Donkey Kong 64, K. Lumsy is said to be King K. Rool's little brother.

According to the Nintendo Magazine System, K. Rool is a descendant of Kremlantis' former residents.

In Kodansha's manga, K. Rool meets an ancestor of his called Cranky Tenkai K. Rool who lived in Donkey Kong Island's depths for more than 500 years after the shame of losing at Picross against the Kongs.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Instruction booklet:
 * The leader of the pack is back, and this time he's packing a blunderbuss! Ouch!

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast

 * Unlock method: Win Candy's Challenge 31: Showdown vs. King K. Rool.
 * Rival: Cranky Kong
 * Boost: 4/5
 * Speed: 4/5
 * Agility: 4/5

Portrayals
In the initial versions of Donkey Kong Country as well as its sequels, his voice clips were reused from Krusha provided by Chris Sutherland. 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 possesses an ominous and low Darth Vader-like voice provided by Chris Sutherland again, complete with loud, emphasized breathing similar to Vader's. This was also done in Diddy Kong Pilot. K. Rool's evil laughter is a pitch-down stock sound effect from the Cartoon Trax Volume 1 sound effects library by The Hollywood Edge and has also been used by Rare Ltd. in other Donkey Kong games. In his boxing guise, K. Rool adopts a more showy and boisterous tone of voice. Many of these voice clips are re-used by Krusha in the game's multiplayer mode. According to Gregg Mayles, this change in persona to a boastful prize fighter was intentionally done because he felt it would lead to a more fun boss fight than one with K. Rool's -inspired alter-ego.

From Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (2007) to Mario Super Sluggers (2008), King K. Rool was voiced by Toshihide Tsuchiya, though in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he is given bellows and roars similar to that of a real crocodile, as well as some guttural laughter.

Donkey Kong Country (television series)

 * "My loyal reptilian subjects. This marks a glorious day history for all Kritters." - Bad Hair Day
 * "Because it wouldn't be a surprise, you numbskull! Now, We'll make them think we are participating in the ceasefire, but instead, we are going to be sneaky! Clever." - Kong for a Day
 * "All right, lizards! Today is the day! Today, we will take over Kongo Bongo! At this very moment, Krusha has bravely infiltrated Cranky's cabin under the guise of getting a medical exam! He will seize the Crystal Coconut! Once that beautiful orb is in my possession, Kongo Bongo, will fall at my feet! MEHAHAAA! Hahahahahahaaaa...." - From Zero to Hero
 * "Klump, didn't I say no news, no calls, and no tyranny until tomorrow? It's a bad villain day!" - Legend of the Crystal Coconut
 * "SHUUUUT UP! Don't you morons even realize? I'll be King K. Fool to future generations thanks to Cranky and that film! It's an outrage, a catastrophe. BLOW THAT SPACESHIP UP!" - To the Moon Baboon
 * "You think this has been fun? Oh, let me explain it so that even your underdeveloped cranium can understand. I'm just pretending to be buddies so I can get back at that loser Cranky and claim my prize. Now LET ME GO!" - Best of Enemies

Donkey Kong 64

 * "I want you to do everything in your power to keep Donkey Kong distracted. Steal that hoard of Golden Bananas he treasures so much and take care of his pathetic friends. This time there can be no mistakes."
 * "I hope for your sake, you're right this time."
 * "While you'll be busy looking for your precious golden bananas and flea-bitten friends, I'll be preparing my lizard flavored surprise! MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!"
 * "Fatso, is it? I'd choose my last words more carefully if I were you."
 * "Yeah!! Thank you!"

Mario Super Sluggers

 * "By my toothy grin! Who dares to disturb my rest?"
 * "You fools know who I am, don't you?"
 * "You think to oppose my glorious girth?! Graw haw haaa! I love it!"
 * "You deserve a kingly beating! Come on! Graaaw haw haaaaaaaw!"
 * "You think it's a good idea to challenge me?"
 * "King K. Rool doesn't do anything halfway! Hope you've said your good-byes, fools!"
 * "What a bunch of misfits!"
 * "Come back if you ever get the courage to challenge me."
 * "I see you fools failed to learn your lesson... If you strike at a king, you must finish him!"
 * "You'll regret the day you ran into me."
 * "Great gravyboats! You saps are pretty good!"
 * "Graw haw haw! I like your style! I'm going to join your lineup!"
 * "Come on! It's obvious who's better! Listen up, Kritters! From here on, we're allies!"
 * "Don't get me wrong! This is ONLY while we're playing baseball!"

Trivia

 * In the Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode "Never Koop a Koopa", King Koopa wears a red cape, giving him a passing resemblance to King K. Rool. However, this is coincidental, as King K. Rool debuted four years after the episode aired. Incidentally, aside from the similar appearance, the two characters have a similar habit of assuming thematic identities.
 * Bowser and his Koopa Troop would later take up King K. Rool and his Kremlings' usual role in stealing the Kongs' banana hoard in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.