Editing King (film character)

{{about|the king of [[Dinohattan]]|the king of the [[Mushroom Kingdom]]|[[Mushroom King]]}}

|first_appearance=''[[Super Mario: Makai Teikoku no Megami]]'' (1993)

|portrayed_by={{wp|Lance Henriksen}}

{{quote|I'm back... I love those plumbers.|King|[[Super Mario Bros. (film)|Super Mario Bros.]]}}

He served as royalty of Dinohattan, ruling with his wife. Then, General Koopa overthrew his government, setting himself up as dictator and turned the King into a sentient fungus using his de-evolution inventions. The "heart" of this fungus was situated above the King's throne in a room that became to be known as "[[Devo 4]]" in [[Koopa's Tower]]. This fungus slowly spread throughout the city in a matter described to by [[Toad (film character)|Toad]] and Koopa as "choking the city". Koopa, a germophobe, frequently expressed disgust at the expanding fungus throughout Dinohattan and instilled a [[Fungus Unit]] to "de-fungus" residents. This sentient fungus is able to manipulate itself in certain ways and is shown assisting the main characters throughout the film. Its central part located above the King's throne is shown to pulse like a heart, with a head-like ball that emerges in and out at will.

{{quote|Trust the fungus.|Luigi|Super Mario Bros.}}

[[File:SMBMovieDesertFungus.png|thumb|300px|The King's fungus form saving Mario and Luigi from falling to their deaths in a police car]]

Early in the film, Toad explains his theory to [[Mario (film character)|Mario]] and [[Luigi (film character)|Luigi]] that the fungus is a de-evolved version of the King. This sentient fungus form is shown helping the brothers in countless ways throughout the film, first offering them a [[Bob-omb]] in their escape from prison. A dismissive and skeptical Mario nudges Luigi away from the offer, and the two continue their escape. After the brothers drive off a cliff of an unfinished tunnel, the overgrown fungus takes hold of the police car they are in and gently takes it close enough to the floor for the brothers to jump off safely. Luigi mentions to Mario that the fungus saved them, but Mario arrogantly dismisses the claim, stating that it was his driving that saved them. At some points during the film, [[Lena]] and President Koopa allude to the King's fate to his daughter, without clarifying what they mean.

===''Super Mario: Makai Teikoku no Megami''===

In the manga adaptation of the ''Super Mario Bros.'' film titled ''[[Super Mario: Makai Teikoku no Megami]]'', the King is mentioned but never directly seen. A resident of the Koopa Kingdom city (the manga's equivalent of Dinohatten) mentions that there exists a theory that the fungus plaguing and spreading throughout the city is the revenge of The King for his dethronement by Koopa. It is never confirmed whether that is the case in this alternate storyline. The fungus growing throughout the city is capable of growing [[Bakudan Kinoko|exploding mushroom]]s, which Mario uses to defeat Koopa. The exploding mushrooms leave behind a residue of fungus which disgusts Koopa, much like his film equivalent. The King and Daisy are also not mentioned to be related in this alternate re-telling of the film events, and as such, Daisy returns to Earth at the story's conclusion unlike her film equivalent.  

 

|ItaN=In the novelization

|ItaM=King Bowser