Lava Bubble

"Fire EVERYWHERE!"

- Podoboo

Podoboos (sometimes called Lava Bubbles or Sparkies) are living fireballs that emerge from lava. They are commonly depicted as a large fireball with two black eyes or also as only a large fireball. Podoboos mainly appear in the Mario platformers but occasionally appear in several Mario sub-series, like the Mario Party series, the Mario Kart series, and the Paper Mario series. In most games, Podoboos are nearly invincible, only being able to be destroyed by using a Star, a Hammer Suit, Penguin Suit, or an Ice Flower.

''Super Mario Bros.
They first appeared in Super Mario Bros., as simple fire balls, that would jump out of the lava in simple patterns trying to burn Mario whenever the plumber attempted to jump over them. In this game, they are invincible, and only appear in castles.

''Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels
In Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels, Podoboos return and act just as they did in Super Mario Bros., and are still only found in Castles.

''Super Mario Bros. 3
Like many other enemies from the previous games, they appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3. Also, in World 5-Fortress 2, there are some Podoboos that can stay suspended in the air for a short while when they jump out, then they come back to the lava. Podoboos can be defeated with the Hammer Suit or a Star.

''Super Mario World
They were called Lava Bubbles in the player's guide for this game. They again appear in the castle levels of Super Mario World, where they act the same as in their previous appearances, by jumping out of the lava. They were first given eyes in this game. However, some are now found outside the lava at all times, bouncing around the rooms of castles. This behavior is similar to Boo Buddy Snakes in Ghost Houses and the red Fireballs found in the Mario Bros. game.

''Super Mario 64
In Super Mario 64 and its remake, Podoboos are rare, only appearing in Lethal Lava Land. They jump out of the lava horizontally and bounce on the bridges, then they come back to the lava. They are indestructible, and if Mario touches one, it causes him to uncontrollably run and lose three wedges of health, like all other fiery enemies or obstacles. In the battle with Bowser in Bowser in the Sky, he spits some green fireballs that turn into Podoboos which immediately bounce towards Mario. They disappear after a few seconds. In the remake, Yoshi can eat a Podoboo, causing him to spit out fire, like in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.

''New Super Mario Bros.
In New Super Mario Bros., Podoboos appear as enemies in the World 1 and World 4 castles and in World 8-5 acting like they do in Super Mario Bros. and taking a similar look.

''Super Mario Galaxy
Though Podoboos themselves do not appear in Super Mario Galaxy, a sub-species called Lava Bouncers do. These act in a similar pattern to regular Podoboos but bounce along the ground.

''New Super Mario Bros. Wii
In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Podoboos appear in many boss castles, acting like they did in New Super Mario Bros., and they could commonly be found in World 8 as an enemy course. They have eyes in this game, having a similar appearance to the Super Mario World Podoboos. Aditionally, the Podoboos can be defeated using either the Ice Flower's or the Penguin Suit's iceballs or a Star.

''Super Mario Galaxy 2
Podoboos reappeared in the game Super Mario Galaxy 2 appearing as obstacles in galaxies with lava and Bowser's galaxies. Like in previous installments, Podoboos jump out of the lava trying to hit Mario (or Luigi). Also, in Bowser's Gravity Gauntlet, in a place in which there are many lava pits, there are Podoboos that jump from a lava pit to another lava pit nearby. Lava Bouncers from the prequel also appear.

''Super Mario 3D Land
Podoboos return in Super Mario 3D Land, where they mainly appear in castle stages and like in previous games they act as obstacles that jump out of the lava and try to hit Mario or Luigi, and can only be defeted while the bros. are under the affects of a starman.

''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Podoboos appeared in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island under the name of Lava Bubbles like in Super Mario World. They act like in that game too. They could be eaten, and gave Yoshis the power of the Super Red Watermelon: fire-spitting power. They also appear in Yoshi's Island DS under their traditional name.

''Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Podoboos (called Sparkies) can be encountered in the Pipe Vault, harassing Mario and others by blocking their path through the sewer system. In battle, they hover in the air.

In battle, a Sparky attacks by spinning its body into one of Mario's party members. A Sparky can also use the special attack Drain, which allows the flame creature to shoot a small fire orb at a party member. Needless to say, fire magic is ineffective against Sparkies. However, despite being made of fire, Mario can surprisingly use jump attacks on Sparkies. Sparkies typically fight in groups of one to three.

Although most Sparkies live in the Pipe Vault, they were first seen in Bowser's Keep during Mario's initial rescue attempt. However, these Sparkies did not attack; they merely jumped out of the lava as Mario walked by.

''Paper Mario
In Paper Mario, Podoboos appear as common enemies in Mt. Lavalava. In this game they are referred to as Lava Bubbles like in Yoshi's Island and Super Mario World. Because of their fiery bodies they can't be jumped on, so Mario can only harm them with hammer-based attacks, unless he has a Fire Shield or Ice Power badge. They are weak to water and (strangely) to ice. A blue and stronger variety of Lava Bubble called Ember appeared as enemies in Star Way.

''Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, they can be found in the Pirate's Grotto as well as in the Pit of 100 Trials. Mario has to attack them with his Hammer since, obviously, they cannot be jumped on. However, if he is equipped with an Ice Power badge, he can jump on them without taking damage. In this game, they attack by getting close to either Mario or the partner, and burning him/her with their body, causing 4 damage. They can also spit fireballs that hit either Mario or his partner. These fireballs cause only 3 damage, but they can set Mario (or his partner) on fire. Strangely, ice and explosions are their main weakness. Also, one character refers to them as "ghosts".

''Super Paper Mario
In Super Paper Mario, they jump out of lava pits in the Underwhere, just like Podoboos from the main series, but they can be damaged. The player can use Carrie and jump on them, use Boomer to explode on them, or hit them with Cudge. In this game, their flames are no longer slanted, and they don't flip over at the tip of their jump like Podoboos from the main series.

''Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Lava Bubbles will also re-appear in Paper Mario: Sticker Star for the Nintendo 3DS.

Mario Party series
In most Mario Party titles, Podoboos appear as Orbs.

''Mario Party
In the game Hot Rope Jump, players are required to Jump over a rope made up of many Podoboos. Contestants must jump over the flaming rope twenty times. If one fails to do so, he or she loses fifteen coins, and five coins go to everyone else. However, if all complete it successfully, everyone gets ten coins.

''Mario Party 2
The Hot Rope Jump mini-game returns in Mario Party 2. This time, contestants start by jumping over slow, blue Podoboos five times. After five jumps, the Podoboos turn orange and go swifter. The rope keeps twirling until only one contestant remains. The winning contestant gains ten coins.

''Mario Party 3
In this game, Podoboos appear in the battle mini-game, All Fired Up. Here the player must avoid them and try to be the last one remaining to win the mini-game. They also are obstacles in Treadmill Grill, and are targets in Hyper Hydrants.

''Mario Party 5
In Heat Stroke, Podoboos would land on the platforms the three players were on, making it more difficult for them.

''Mario Party 6
In Daft Rafts, Podoboos were obstacles on some of the rafts. They appear only in the nighttime, in groups.

''Mario Party Advance
In Mario Party Advance, Podoboos appear as obstacles in the mini game, Go-Go Pogo. They attack in the same way as in Super Mario Bros., causing the player to lose the minigame if it touches them.

''Mario Party 8
In Mario Party 8, the minigame Lava or Leave 'Em requires contestants to dodge a Podoboo that splits into many other Podoboos. Also, when the player lands on a Bowser Space in Goomba's Booty Boardwalk, Bowser appears and surrounds the player with three Podoboos. He or she has to jump and avoid them as they move to the centre (to try to burn the player) for ten seconds. The Podoboos only try to hurt the player three times. If the player touches one, he or she looses ten Coins (and therefore, the maximum number of coins that can be lost are thirty Coins).

Mario Party 9
Some Podoboos jump off the magma in Magma Mine. A Mini Star constellation based on them can be found at the Museum, this time called simply Fireballs.

''Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, they appeared as obstacles in a side-scrolling area in Bowser's Castle.

''Mario Superstar Baseball
Podoboos reappear in this game, but only in Bowser's Castle. First they would jump out of the lava pond and then they would land on the player and cause them to lose the ball. The players themselves would catch on fire and run around for a second, disallowing control over them.

Mario Kart series
Mario Kart DS has some Podoboos. Most of them are located in Desert Hills, being shot down by Angry Sun. Podoboos appear as enemies in the Grumble Volcano course of Mario Kart Wii, and on various Bowser's Castle courses throughout the entire series. While in most courses, they jump out of lava, and then fall back down, at Grumble Volcano, the large pieces of rock from the volcano hit the ground to become very large Podoboos. In the Mario Kart Wii remake of Desert Hills, the Podoboos return.

''Super Princess Peach
In Super Princess Peach, they could be encountered in Fury Volcano where they behave in the same manner as in previous games. There is also a blue variant of the fiery enemies. These ones appear in torches with blue fire in Bowser's Villa, and when Peach approaches a torch, a blue Podoboo appears and slowly chases after her (Peach must lead them to the unlit torches). The reason why they appear is to light unlit torches to open up doorways.

''Mario Sports Mix
Podoboos also make an appearance in the Wii game Mario Sports Mix where teams must avoid losing possession in the Bowser's Castle court. If one team member touches it, they will get burned.

''Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!
Podoboos make a brief appearance in Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen! when the Goombas pull a switch which sends Mario and Kibidango onto platforms that move up and down over lava and where Podoboos began attacking them trying to knock the heroes into the lava. Luckily Luigi accidentally breaks a hole in the ceiling that was filled with water while looking for Coins which causes water to flood the area presumably killing the Podoboos.

Nintendo Adventure Books
Some Podoboos appear in the Magma Pits in Koopa Capers, hopping in and out of a lava pool Luigi can try and cross using protruding rocks as stepping stones. If Luigi decides to wait before jumping, he will make it, but if he jumps immediately, he will only pass the first three Podoboos, and collide with the fourth, who notably speaks, taunting Luigi by responding to his "I'm pretty hot stuff!" remark with "Not as hot as me."

Related Enemies

 * Trouble Bug - Donkey Kong
 * Hot Foot - Super Mario Bros. 3
 * Fire Snake - Super Mario Bros. 3
 * Fireball - Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
 * Pyrosphere - Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
 * Lava Ghost - Yoshi's Story
 * Ember - Paper Mario
 * Phantom Ember - Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
 * Fire Elemental Ghost - Luigi's Mansion
 * Li'l Cinder - Super Mario Galaxy