Friend or Foe?

Before we begin, a small aside. Yes, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games was released a few days ago with no mention here. I think I was the only one here who was actually looking forward to it, but, unfortunately, I failed to commit the release date to memory until it was too late. Thus, as I don't yet have it, I can't give you any impressions. Sorry.

In any case, today, we'll be taking a look at villainy in the Marioverse. Apparently, it's a pretty tough gig to hold down, because a considerable number of bad guys have also made stints as good guys. So, I've decided to see just how extensive this trend seems to be. I've separated recurring villains into two lists. Requirements for making the lists are as follows-

List one: Minimum of two appearances total, at least one as a major villain, at least one as a hero.

List two: Minimum of two appearances total, all of them as a villain.

Also, I should probably mention that I'm only going by mainstream storyline-based games. Thus, Party games and sports games and the like are not considered. Let's-a go!

List One- Villains with Records of Heroism:

Bowser

Let's start with the obvious. You know this guy as the villain of a whole slew of Mario games, so I won't bother mentioning any specifically. However, for a great demon king, he has a pretty extensive record of heroism. It began with Super Mario RPG, in which Bowser's Castle is taken over by the Smithy Gang. The spiky-shelled king reluctantly allows Mario and co. to join the Koopa Troop (his justification to himself for joining the party) in an effort to reclaim his digs. His grudge against Mario isn't as pronounced here as one might have imagined from past games, as Bowser refers to his new recruits in rather high acclaim throughout the game. He would later appear in somewhat of a support role early in Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, and was fully playable once more in Super Paper Mario. From these and other more recent appearances, Bowser doesn't seem to consider Mario as a full on arch-nemesis, but rather as an obstacle that often shows up at the wrong (right) time. Put simply, he fights Mario primarily because the plumber gets in his way, not because he wants him dead. I'm sure he's developed a grudge over the years, but you'd think it would be a bit more pronounced.

Wario

Interestingly, Wario's appearances as a hero (anti-hero, if you prefer) far outweigh his appearances as an enemy. In fact, he's only mixed it up with Mario once, in Super Mario Land 2. You might consider their interaction in Mario and Wario to be a second dust-up between the two, but I don't think they ever actually fought there. In any case, Wario's life as a villain was rather short-lived. Ever since Super Mario Land 3, he's been portrayed as an anti-hero, driven by his own greed rather than the altruism that guides Mario's conduct, but ultimately ending up in the "good" column. He even helped out the Mario Bros. and Yoshi in Super Mario 64 DS, when all he got for his trouble was part of a cake. Fat joke aborted.

Donkey Kong

This one works any which way you slice it. This will get sticky, so bear with me. If you consider the arcade DK to be the same as the Donkey Kong Country DK, then it's obvious. The arcade titles (and the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games) see the gorilla as a villain, while the DKC series and its sequels see him as a hero. However, if you believe (as I do) that the arcade DK is Cranky Kong, and that the current DK is a grown-up DK, Jr., it still works. To avoid confusion, I'll just refer to the elder DK as "Cranky" from here on out. Anyway, Cranky's villainy would be the arcade games, while DK would get his shot at bad guy status in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games. DK's heroism would entail Donkey Kong, Jr. and the DKC games. But Cranky's heroism? Well, I think that Baby DK in Yoshi's Island DS was meant to be the arcade DK, regardless of who you think he grows up to be. So, since we're going by the idea that Cranky is the arcade DK for the time being, that would mean that Baby DK is Cranky Kong. Phew. Did you get all that?

Mario

Yup, lest we forget, the main man himself was the bad guy in Donkey Kong, Jr. If I have to tell you how he qualifies as a hero, why the hell are you here?

Honorable Mention

Count Bleck

His lack of multiple appearances kept him off the main list, so I stuck him here. This guy deserves mention because he managed to start off good, go evil, and then reform back to good. The cryptic post-chapter messages in Super Paper Mario paint Bleck (AKA Blumiere) as a sympathetic figure. Unfortunately, when his romance with Lady Timpani met its tragic end, so did his sanity. He went nuts and sought to end all existence. However, once reunited with Timpani/Tippi near the end of the game, he realizes the err of his ways and even goes so far as to sacrifice himself for the greater good. I'm probably wasting this reference, but it sort of reminds me of Ghaleon from the Lunar series.

Lakilester and Vivian

Not much to say about these guys, but I figured I'd throw them a bone. They both joined Mario's party after fighting him on behalf of their respective game's villains, so there you go.

Kamek

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Really, I could have put this guy on any of these lists, but I decided he fit best here. His villainy is obviously established in the Yoshi games, as well as Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, but his heroism is debatable. Considering the confusion regarding his name, it's possible that the lone Magikoopa encountered in Bowser's Keep in Super Mario RPG is Kamek. And, as that Magikoopa offered his assistance to the heroes, that would make him an ally to the side of good. But, since it's not quite clear whether or not this Kamek is the same Kamek as seen elsewhere, I can't say for sure that he has a record of heroism. And since it's not clear that he isn't, I can't say for sure that he doesn't. So he ends up here.

Birdo

Though all of her main series appearances have shown her as a boss, the egg-spitter has since joined the ranks of every Mario character ever for sports outings and kart races and all that stuff. You could make the case that a few other villains have done the same, but Birdo has become more of a regular than they have, as well as having somewhat of an implied romance with an established good guy, namely Yoshi. Ew.

Luigi

No, I'm not talking about Mr. L. Brainwashing and amnesia disqualifies that as Luigi actually being villainous. I'm talking about a hopelessly obscure bit of information from Donkey Kong, Jr. See, the opening scene of that game showed Mario hoisting the caged gorilla up on a rope-and-pulley system. The thing is, there are two of him. Seriously. Call me crazy, but I think this "twin" may have at least partially served as inspiration for Mario having a similar-looking brother. Or, if that's too far-fetched for you, I could mention that Luigi is actually crazy with jealousy and wants to kill Mario. At least, that's what every Flash movie this side of Super Mario Bros. Z seems to think.

List Two- Flat-Out Villains:

King K. Rool

Bowser's crocodile counterpart seems to be a bit better at maintaining his villainy than the turtle. Despite appearing as the primary villain in most of the Donkey Kong games, K. Rool has never aided the Kongs, as far as I can recall. Granted, Bowser tends to only help Mario against a greater threat, or save the world just so he can take it over, but for the Kongs, their greatest threat usually IS K. Rool and his Kremling Krew. If not, then the reptiles are simply ignored. Along with everything and everyone else from the DKC series. Yes, I'm looking at you, Jungle Beat.

Captain Syrup

She just barely makes it, but her two appearances as final boss in the first two Wario Land games do indeed meet the list's requirements. I might have been able to say more, but the she-pirate fell off the face of the Earth directly after Wario Land 2, so that's really all there is to her. Shame.

Tatanga

A tad less qualified, but qualified nonetheless. This alien appeared as the final boss of Super Mario Land, and appeared as a level boss in its sequel. Since these were both Game Boy games, he was never seen again, and there's really nothing else I can say about him. Well, he was in cahoots with Wario for a while, but that's about it.

Kammy Koopa

Another one that just makes the cut. Both of Kammy's roles show her as Bowser's right-hand hag, and feature her as a late-game boss. Okay, okay, the fight in the first Paper Mario wasn't really a fight, but hey, it's the thought that counts, right? Again, this character's short career leaves me with little more to say in this blurb. Though, it's interesting to note how many "right-hand" people Bowser has had, and how often they change.

The Koopalings (including Bowser, Jr.)

Speaking of which, Bowser's children were the original sidekicks, and their little brother seems to be the current one. The original eight first showed their stuff in Super Mario Bros. 3, and returned in much the same role in Super Mario World. Fast forward to Super Mario Sunshine, which introduced the newest Koopa youngster, Bowser, Jr. This one would assume the main secondary villain role for the main platformer series. The original eight mysteriously reappeared as late-game bosses in Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, but haven't been heard from since. None of the kids have ever appeared as allies of the good team, so they earn a spot on this list. They love being mean, after all.

King Boo

His first and only appearance as a major figure was as the final boss of Luigi's Mansion. He later appeared as a level boss in Super Mario Sunshine, though he looked much different. Also, he arguably appeared in Super Mario 64 DS. The original game's Big Boo was given both a crown and King Boo's distinctive laugh in the DS remake. Still, despite being a minor villain, and not a very influential or memorable character overall, his one appearance as a major villain places him here.

Honorable Mention:

Waluigi

Wario's brother or buddy or partner or something. We don't know for sure, because Nintendo seems hell bent on never letting him appear in a mainstream game. Thus, I can't put him on the villains list, but his apparent greed and mischievous personality seem to imply that he isn't much of a sympathetic character. So, he gets this honorable mention.

Petey Piranha

His resume consists of Super Mario Sunshine, Super Princess Peach, Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, New Super Mario Bros., and a bunch of sports games. He's a boss in all the mainstream games he's appeared in, but he's never a major plot figure, and never more than a mere level boss, so he doesn't quite make the list.

Let's recap.

List One- Villains with Records of Heroism:
-Bowser
-Wario
-DK
-Mario

Honorable Mention:
-Count Bleck
-Lakilester
-Vivian
-Kamek
-Birdo
-Luigi


List Two- Flat-Out Villains:
-King K. Rool
-Captain Syrup
-Tatanga
-Kammy Koopa
-The Koopalings/Bowser, Jr.
-King Boo

Honorable Mention:
-Waluigi
-Petey Piranha

And there you have it. It seems that it's easy enough for a Marioverse character to be a bad guy through one or two games. Past that, however, odds are they'll turn up in some sort of sympathetic role if they stick around long enough. It's just a happy-go-lucky sort of place, I guess.