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[[Image:Shadowsirens0.jpg|thumb|right|The '''Shadow Sirens''' (from left to right): Beldam, Marilyn, and Vivian.]]
{{group infobox
|image=[[File:PMTTYD NS Three Shadows.png|frameless|upright=1.4|]]<br>[[Beldam]], [[Marilyn]], and [[Vivian]] of the Three Shadows
|leader=[[Beldam]]
|members=[[Marilyn]]<br>[[Vivian]] (formerly)<br>[[Doopliss]]
|first_appearance=''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]'' ([[List of games by date#2004|2004]])
|latest_appearance=''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch)|Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]'' ([[Nintendo Switch]]) ([[List of games by date#2024|2024]])
}}
{{quote|Let's go, my lovelies! [[Marilyn]]! [[Vivian]]! Come! We've got a job to do!|Beldam|Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door}}
The '''Three Shadows''', originally known as the '''Shadow Sirens''', are three ghostly witches in ''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]'' and its [[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch)|Nintendo Switch remake]] who serve the [[Shadow Queen]]. They consist of [[Beldam]], [[Marilyn]], and [[Vivian]], who is later replaced by [[Doopliss]] once Vivian splinters from the group and becomes one of [[Mario|Mario's]] [[Party member|party members]]. The Three Shadows aid [[Grodus]] and the [[X-Nauts (organization)|X-Nauts]] in their quest for the [[Crystal Stars]], and attempt to retrieve the [[Magical Map]] from Mario and his party to free their queen, though their help to Grodus and the X-Nauts is only out of convenience of using their resources rather than a true loyalty. They manipulate Grodus into believing he will control the queen upon her release; however, once the queen is free, they betray Grodus to serve the queen directly.


The '''Shadow Sirens''' are three witches in ''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]''. They consist of [[Beldam]], [[Marilyn]] and [[Vivian]]. They aid [[Grodus|Sir Grodus]] and the [[X-Naut Legion]] in their quest for [[Crystal Stars]] and retrieve the [[Magical Map]] from [[Mario]] and his friends. After Vivian joined Mario's team, [[Doopliss]] took her place. It is somehow speculated Beldam, Marilyn and Vivian were born in [[Twilight Town]].
Beldam, the leader of the Three Shadows, is often forgetful and on more than one occasion blames Vivian for her own faults. Despite this, Beldam appears to have the strongest affinity for magic among the group.  Marilyn is the biggest and physically strongest of the sisters, though she appears to lack communication skills and generally only grunts "Guh". Unlike Marilyn, who is happy to follow Beldam's every command, Vivian is more independently minded. The youngest of the sisters, she eventually defects from the group due to their mistreatment of her and instead joins Mario to help him stop the queen's revival. After Vivian's departure, Doopliss, a [[Duplighost]] with a knack for disguising himself, offers his skills to the group and joins them as the third member.
==History==
===''Paper Mario'' series===
====''Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door''====
In the [[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door#Prologue: A Rogue's Welcome|Prologue]], [[Beldam]] disguises herself as a merchant in [[Rogueport]] and convinces [[Princess Peach]], who has stopped in Rogueport with [[Toadsworth]] on her vacation, to open a box containing the [[Magical Map]]. Beldam explains the box can only be opened by one "pure of heart", like Peach. When Peach's curiosity gets the better of her and she opens the box, Beldam kidnaps her and sends her to [[Grodus]] at the [[X-Naut Fortress]] on the [[Moon#Paper_Mario:_The_Thousand-Year_Door|Moon]].
[[File:ShadowSisterBogglyWoods-PMTTYD.png|thumb|The Three Shadows in the Boggly Woods]]
[[Mario]]'s first encounter with the Three Shadows come in [[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door#Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree|Chapter 2]], when they attempt to take the map, which has come into his possession, from him in [[Boggly Woods]]. Initially, Beldam loses the sketch the [[X-Nauts (organization)|X-Nauts]] gave to them to identify Mario, which leads to Mario and his [[Party member|party]] walking by them without them realizing who he is. Beldam blames Vivian for the loss of the sketch, though she protests and explains it had always been in Beldam's possession. Beldam asserts that Vivian was too focus on the [[Necklace (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)|Necklace]] she found and that is why the sketch was lost. Mario remembers hearing this argument when [[Flurrie]] asks him to find the Necklace after she lost it on a stroll through the woods. Once Mario returns to reclaim the Necklace, the Three Shadows identify him as the one they are after and attack him. Before their battle, the Three Shadows formally introduce themselves, though Vivian calls the trio the "Three Shadow ''Sisters''" ("Shadow Beauties" in the original), much to Beldam's chagrin. After Mario and his party defeat the witches, they flee, with Vivian dropping the Necklace. They return to the X-Naut Fortress, where they explain to Grodus that they lost to Mario but have a new weapon that will ensure their victory on their next encounter.


Beldam, the leader of the Shadow Sirens, is an often forgetful old hag, and on more than one occasion, her forgetfulness gets Vivian in trouble. She is more of a magic user than the other two are. Marilyn is the biggest and strongest Shadow Siren in the bunch. Other than one line, "The Three," she is unable to say more than "Guh", and various forms of it. She can become stronger and hit hard. The Shadow Sirens are fought twice in the game. It is said that one of these is the merchant from the intro of the game, as near the end, Beldam says to the [[Shadow Queen]] "I spread rumors of the treasure and found a pure-hearted maiden."
In [[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door#Chapter 4: For Pigs the Bell Tolls|Chapter 4]], the Three Shadows plan to attack Mario and his party in [[Twilight Town]] using an explosive item called the [[Superbombomb]]. Unfortunately for them, the group loses the explosive and Beldam again blames Vivian for losing it despite it never being in her possession, and forces her to look for it. After Mario has his identity stolen by [[Doopliss]], he encounters a distraught Vivian, who fruitlessly searches for the Superbombomb. Mario finds it for Vivian, resulting in her joining his party in gratitude, though she is unaware of his true identity. This is especially helpful given the other party members have all abandoned Mario, thinking Doopliss is the true Mario and Mario himself is an imposter. Mario and Vivian head to the [[Creepy Steeple]] to confront Doopliss and reclaim Mario's identity; however, once Doopliss reveals Mario's true identity, Vivian abandons him, feeling betrayed after learning she teamed up with her enemy. After a brief self-reflection, Vivian decides to stay with Mario and rejoins the battle. The two defeat Doopliss, gaining the [[Ruby Star]] and winning back Mario's identity. With his party members back on his side, Mario explains Vivian's situation to the rest of his party, who are glad to welcome her. Following his defeat, Doopliss joins the Three Shadows to seek revenge on Mario for defeating him.


The Shadow Sirens may be the same species as the Shadow Queen.  The color stripes on their hats seem to represent what type of magic they use, as Vivian specializes in Fire Magic, Marilyn specializes in Thunder Magic, and Beldam specializes in Ice Magic. Beldam's name is a pun on the word "Beldame," a synonym for witch or ugly woman.
[[File:StarTheft.png|thumb|Beldam, Marilyn, and Doopliss stealing the fake Garnet Star]]
When Mario and his partners board the [[Excess Express]] in [[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door#Chapter 6: 3 Days of Excess|Chapter 6]], Mario's partner notices a [[Threatening Note]] on the floor in their room. After reading it, they wonder if Beldam is the one behind the threat of a "sticky, yummy doom". On the morning of the second day, the [[Businessman]]'s [[Briefcase]] containing the prototype of [[List of implied items#Nitro Honey Syrup|Nitro Honey Syrup]] is stolen, along with [[Toodles]]' [[Gold Ring (item)|Gold Ring]] and [[Excess Express waitress|the waitress]]' [[Shell Earrings]]. The culprit is initially thought to be fellow passenger [[Zip Toad]], though it is ultimately revealed that the thief was Doopliss disguised as Zip Toad. After being exposed, Doopliss flees the train while it is stopped at [[Riverside Station]].  The train continues to its final destination, [[Poshley Heights]], after the stop at Riverside, though it is attacked by [[Smorg]]s along the way. There, Mario finds that the Three Shadows have infiltrated [[Poshley Sanctum]] and stolen the [[Garnet Star]]. [[Pennington]], however, explains that the star they stole was actually a decoy and guides Mario to finding the actual star, hidden within the sanctum.


==Failed Plans==
While Mario and his party venture through the [[Palace of Shadow]] in [[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door#Chapter 8: The Thousand-Year Door|Chapter 8]], upon opening the secret path to the [[Shadow Queen]]'s lair, the Three Shadows ambush them again and fight them one last time. After Mario and company defeats them, they lay on the ground dazed. While all of Mario's other party members will comment "Let's leave these..." followed by some sort of insult ("doofuses", "louts", "idiots") upon speaking to them, Vivian will say "I'm sorry, Sis..." Once Grodus awakens the Shadow Queen from her eternal rest only to be attacked by her, Beldam takes full credit for awakening the queen. She reveals that she has been orchestrating the Shadow Queen's revival from the very start, and explains how Three Shadows manipulated Grodus into thinking he could control the queen.


They were first sent by Grodus to ambush Mario, [[Goombella]], [[Koops]] and [[Punio]] in [[Boggly Woods]] and retrieve the map from them, but Mario and co. weren't able to battle them because they were missing the picture of Mario. When Mario and co. learned that they stole [[Flurrie]]'s necklace, they fought them to get the necklace back. After their defeat, they dropped the necklace.
In [[Goombella]]'s letter to Mario after defeating the Shadow Queen, she mentions that Vivian has reunited with her sisters, who have agreed to stop being evil, and Beldam has promised to be nicer to Vivian.


While Mario, Goombella, Koops, Flurrie and the [[Yoshi Kid]] were searching for the [[Ruby Star]] in [[Creepy Steeple]], they planned to use an explosive item called a [[Superbombomb]] against them. Beldam blamed Vivian for losing the explosive. Mario, after Doopliss stole his appearance, found the item for Vivian and she joined the team, not knowing the person who helped her was Mario. After Mario and Vivian defeated Doopliss, Doopliss took Vivian's place in their nefarious group.
====''Super Paper Mario''====
Unused graphics for Vivian, along with the other partners from previous games, exists with in ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'', suggesting she was intended to have a role in the game. In the final game, however, she only appears in a group picture with the other partners and as a [[Catch Card]], which mentions Beldam and Marilyn.


After Mario, Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, the Yoshi Kid, Vivian, [[Bobbery]] and [[Ms. Mowz]] cleared Chapter 5, Beldam, Marilyn and Doopliss were sent to find the [[Garnet Star]] in [[Poshley Heights]]. No matter the costs, Beldam, Marilyn and Doopliss had to prevent Mario and his friends from reaching the Star during a 3-day train trip aboard the [[Excess Express]]. They first stole a [[Ratooey Businessman]]'s [[briefcase]], [[Toodles]]' [[Gold Ring]] and the waitress' [[Shell Earrings|shell earrings]] and planned to mix them together to bomb the train with Nitro Honey Syrup, thus resulting in a sticky, yummy, gooey mess. Beldam and Marilyn even had Doopliss disguise himself as [[Zip T.]], a pop star, that way nobody will suspect they committed the crime, and frame Zip T. for the crime. Before putting their evil plans into fruition, Mario and his friends, with [[Pennington]]'s help, managed to crack the case and return the briefcase, the shell earrings and the gold ring to their rightful owners. Since their Nitro Honey Syrup bomb idea failed, they used an alternative-- they ordered [[Smorg|Smorgs]] to lower the drawbridge at the [[Riverside Station]] to stop the train from going far, but Mario and his friends managed to fend off the Smorgs and lower the drawbridge. During Day 3 of the train voyage, the Smorgs stowed away onto the train, attacked it and took passengers hostage. Mario and his friends beat the Smorg and made it to Poshley Heights. When Mario and his friends reach the [[Poshley Sanctum]], they discover Beldam, Marilyn and Doopliss beat them to the Garnet Star, but eventually, Beldam, Marilyn and Doopliss discovered the Garnet Star they grabbed was a red herring-- a fake!
===''Super Smash Bros. Brawl''===
Though neither Beldam nor Marilyn appear in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', Vivian serves as a [[Sticker (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)|sticker]]. The sticker increases the attack power of energy-related attacks by 5 points and can be used by any [[Super_Smash_Bros._Brawl#Playable_characters|fighter]].


While Mario and his friends were venturing through the [[Palace of Shadow]], the Shadow Sirens ambushed them again and after Mario and co. defeated them, they continued on to stop Grodus from awakening the Shadow Queen. After Grodus awakened the evil queen from her eternal rest, getting destroyed in the process, Beldam took full credit for the awakening of the queen. In fact, it turns out the Shadow Sirens tricked Grodus into awakening the Shadow Queen. At the very end of Mario's adventure, Beldam and Marilyn tell Vivian they'll never be mean to her again.
===''Super Mario Run''===
The Three Shadows had a minor cameo in ''[[Super Mario Run]]'' (ver. 3.2.0) on promotional artwork in the game during its celebration of the release of ''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch)|Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]'' for [[Nintendo Switch]], though their presence on the in-game alert for the event was their only appearance in the game.


==Physical appearances==
The Three Shadows are purple ghosts with a wisp-like tail that appears to have infinite length in place of legs. Although their tails are connected to the ground, it is shown that they can be disconnected from the ground in their defeated animations. Being sisters, the Three Shadows have similar designs, with the main difference being their body types; Beldam is short and thin, Marilyn is large and portly, and Vivian is medium-height with a pudgy belly. Beldam also has a long, pointy nose, which the other two do not have, and has a toothy grin in place of her sisters' small mouths. The Three Shadows also wear white gloves, and have differently designed hair; Beldam has light-purple hair tucked behind her, Marilyn has an orange bang, and Vivian has pink, swirly hair. Marilyn and Vivian both have pink and orange blushes on their cheeks, while Beldam does not.


They each wear white-striped witch hats of a different color, covering their eyes. The color of each of the Three Shadows' hats is a reference to their attacks. Beldam's hat is blue; she can use blizzard to freeze Mario and his partner in the second battle. Marilyn's hat is yellow; she can use thunder to attack in the second battle. Vivian's hat is pink; she can use many fire attacks as Mario's partner. Concept art included in the remake reveals that the trio were also planned to have tassels at the ends of their hats corresponding to these elements; one relic of this can be found in the GameCube version's data, as [[List of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door pre-release and unused content#Graphics|an early, unused sprite of Vivian]] still depicts her with a flame tassel on her hat. The concept art in the remake reveals that the Three Shadows were originally designed as bedsheet ghosts before being redesigned as black, blob-like humanoids. Their skin would be changed to purple by the time the early Vivian sprite was created.


==Paper Mario 2 Stats and Tattle Information==
==Gallery==
<gallery>
ShadowSirens.png|''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]''
Lovlies.png|First time seeing the Three Shadows in-game
TheThree.png|Marilyn speaks normally for the only time in the game
PMTTYD Beldam Silence You Ditz.png|Beldam being condescending to Vivian
PMTTYD Beldam JP Insult.png|In the original Japanese script of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Beldam insults Vivian by calling her ｢オトコ」, "a man".
PMTTYD Beldam NA Insult.png|In the English localization of the game, Beldam uses gender-neutral insults instead.
PMTTYD Boggly Woods Shadow Sirens Fight.png|Mario and Koops about to battle The Three Shadows.
Beldam and Marilyn TTYD screenshot.png|Beldam and Marilyn leaving Vivian
Rematch.png|Beldam, Marilyn, and Doopliss about to fight Mario and his partners
PMTTYD Marilyn attack.png
Witness.png|Three Shadows watching the rise of the [[Shadow Queen]]. Vivian allies with Mario.
TTYD NS Shadow Queen Smoke.jpg|Three Shadows watching the defeat of the Shadow Queen.
PMTTYDNS concept art characters 5.png|Concept art with several iterations of the Three Shadows
SMR TTYD Promo.png|Three Shadows cameo in ''[[Super Mario Run]]''
Nintendo Magazine Summer 2024 TTYD Relationship Chart.png|The Three Shadows on the Nintendo Magazine for summer 2024, showing a relationship chart featuring many characters from ''Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door''
</gallery>


*'''Beldam's Tattle Number:''' 121
==Names in other languages==
*'''Marilyn's Tattle Number:''' 122
{{foreign names
*'''Vivian's Tattle Number:''' 123
|Jap=カゲ{{ruby|三人組|さんにんぐみ}}
*'''Doopliss's Tattle Number:''' 104
|JapR=Kage Sannin-gumi
|JapM=Shadow Trio
|ChiS=影子三人组
|ChiSR=Yǐngzi Sān Rénzǔ
|ChiSM=Shadow Trio
|ChiT=影子三人組
|ChiTR=Yǐngzi Sān Rénzǔ
|ChiTM=Shadow Trio
|Dut=Schaduwsirenes
|DutM=Shadow Sirens
|Ita=Trisdombra
|ItaM=Three Shadows
|Fre=Obscur Trio
|FreM=Dark Trio
|Ger=Schattentrio
|GerM=Shadow Trio
|SpaA=Las Tres Sombras
|SpaAM=The Three Shadows
|SpaE=Trío de las Sombras
|SpaEM=Shadow Trio
|Kor=그림자삼인조
|KorR=Geurimja Saminjo
|KorM=Shadow Trio
}}


===Boggly Woods Battle===
==Trivia==
*The Three Shadows' theme sounds somewhat similar to the song that plays when the player talks to ghosts in ''[[Luigi's Mansion]]''.
**[[The Three Sisters]] from ''[[Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon]]'' are similar to the Three Shadows in that they are both a trio of ghostly sisters.
*The Three Shadows appear to be a reference to the Hecate Sisters trope found in various media; the maiden, who is often depicted as beautiful but dim-witted (Vivian), the matron, who is often plump and behaves oddly (Marilyn), and the crone, who is often portrayed as bitter and having a sharp wit to contrast the maiden as well as a sharp tongue with which to berate her (Beldam).


====Beldam's Stats====
{{PMTTYD}}
 
[[Category:Enemy groups]]
* '''HP:''' 9
[[Category:Magicians]]
* '''Attack:''' 1
[[Category:Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door bosses]]
* '''Defense:''' 0
[[de:Schatten-Trio]]
* '''Tattle Log:''' The eldest sister and leader of the Shadow Sirens, she uses magic to attack. Her personality stinks.
[[it:Trisdombra]]
* '''Tattle:''' That's Beldam. She's the oldest sister, the leader of the Shadow Sirens. She can make her partners big and make us tiny, and attacks with weird magic. The worst thing about her is that sinister snicker. She sounds so totally evil! I mean, she's just the sort of person you want to avoid like the plague, y'know?
 
Attack stats:
Ice punch (1 damage to 1 character)
Blizzard (2 damage to each character, regardless of defense)
grow(ally gets "big" status)
shring(enemy gets "tiny" status")
 
When beldam's HP goes under half, all alive shadow sirens will use their magic attacks.
 
 
 
====Marilyn's Stats====
 
* '''HP:''' 12
* '''Attack:''' 2
* '''Defense:''' 0
* '''Tattle Log:''' She's one of the Shadow Sirens, which makes her Beldam's younger sister. She has strong Attack power, so it might be best to defeat her first.
* '''Tattle:''' That's Marilyn. She's a Shadow Siren, Beldam's younger sister. She charges up her attacks occasionally. Says here she's the toughest of the sisters, so it might be best to defeat her first, huh? Other than that, she doesn't have any particularly outstanding characteristics.
 
Attack stats:
slap(2 damage to 1 character)
lightning(2 damage to both characters, regardless of defense.
charge (+2 to next attack
 
Marilyn will use her lightning attack while beldam is alive when her HP is below half her Max.
 
====Vivian's Stats====
 
* '''HP:''' 10
* '''Attack:''' 1
* '''Defense:''' 0
* '''Tattle Log:''' One of the Shadow Sirens and Beldam's youngest sister.  She's so cute, she's able to infatuate anyone.
* '''Tattle:''' That's Vivian. She's the youngest of the three Shadow Sirens. She doesn't seem all that noteworthy. Uh... She is kind cute I guess... She might even be cuter than I am... I guess... ...Uh... What am I thinking?
 
Attack stats:
Shade fist(1 damage to 1 character)
fiery jinx(1 damage to each character, regardless of defense)
 
vivian will use her fire attack while beldam is alive when her HP is below half her Max.
 
=== Palace of Shadow Battle ===
[[Image:Doopliss2.jpg|thumb|200px|'''[[Doopliss]]''' replaces Vivian.]]
 
====Beldam's Stats====
 
* '''HP:''' 30
* '''Attack:''' 5
* '''Defense:''' 0
* '''Tattle Log:''' Leader of the three Shadow Sirens. She'll throw all sorts of magic at you and has a very unpleasant disposition.
* '''Tattle:''' That's Beldam. She's the leader of the Shadow Sirens. Her special move is a blizzard blast. If it hits you, you'll totally freeze. She has lots of other tricks up her sleeves, too. I wonder what that plan was that she mentioned? What do you think they're up to?
 
Attack stats:
ice punch (5 damage to 1 character)
blizzard (6? damage to both characters, may cause freezing)
grow(ally gets "big" status)
shrink(enemy gets "tiny" status)
slow time[enemy gets "slow" status(sometimes attacks only once per 2 turns)]
speedy[ally gets "fast" status(sometimes attacks twice per turn)]
toxic magic(poisons an enemy)
 
 
====Marilyn's Stats====
 
* '''HP:''' 40
* '''Attack:''' 7
* '''Defense:''' 0
* '''Tattle Log:''' Beldam's sister, and therefore one of the Shadow Sirens.  Her Attack is high, so take her out first.
* '''Tattle:''' That's Marilyn. She's Beldam's sister, another one of the Shadow Sirens. She'll attack you directly or use lightning. She also saves up energy for a big attack sometimes. So long as you avoid the brunt of her attacks, she shouldn't be too tough...
 
Attack stats:
slap(7 damage to 1 character)
lightning(7 damage to both characters, regardless of defense)
charge(+7 to next attack)
 
====Doopliss's Stats====
 
* '''HP:''' 40
* '''Attack:''' 6
* '''Defense:''' 0
* '''Tattle Log:''' A fiend who takes the shapes of Mario and friends, then attacks.  Currently a member of the Shadow Sirens.
* '''Tattle:''' That's Doopliss. He's a shapeshifter, and even turned into you once, Mario! He may turn into one of us and attack. When he does, he'll have our abilities! Hey, how do you think he became one of the Shadow Sirens? Isn't that...weird? How do you think he stands Beldam's abuse? You think he's all right in the head?
 
Attack stats:
headbutt(6 damage to 1 character)
mimic(becomes mario or his ally and uses his/her basic attacks)
 
== Videos ==
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDbE8KByl3o Mario vs. the Shadow Sirens]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcQFyQqHIuk&NR=1 Mario vs. the Shadow Sirens (again)]
 
{{Miniboss}}
{{RPG Villains}}
 
[[Category: Characters]]
[[Category: Enemies]]
[[Category: Paper Mario Series Characters]]
[[Category: Paper Mario Series Bosses]]
[[Category: RPG Bosses]]
[[Category: Bosses]]
[[Category: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Characters]]
[[Category: Magicians]]

Latest revision as of 13:49, December 18, 2024

Three Shadows
Group artwork of the Three Shadows in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch)
Beldam, Marilyn, and Vivian of the Three Shadows
First appearance Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004)
Latest appearance Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) (2024)
Leader Beldam
Members
“Let's go, my lovelies! Marilyn! Vivian! Come! We've got a job to do!”
—Beldam, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

The Three Shadows, originally known as the Shadow Sirens, are three ghostly witches in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and its Nintendo Switch remake who serve the Shadow Queen. They consist of Beldam, Marilyn, and Vivian, who is later replaced by Doopliss once Vivian splinters from the group and becomes one of Mario's party members. The Three Shadows aid Grodus and the X-Nauts in their quest for the Crystal Stars, and attempt to retrieve the Magical Map from Mario and his party to free their queen, though their help to Grodus and the X-Nauts is only out of convenience of using their resources rather than a true loyalty. They manipulate Grodus into believing he will control the queen upon her release; however, once the queen is free, they betray Grodus to serve the queen directly.

Beldam, the leader of the Three Shadows, is often forgetful and on more than one occasion blames Vivian for her own faults. Despite this, Beldam appears to have the strongest affinity for magic among the group. Marilyn is the biggest and physically strongest of the sisters, though she appears to lack communication skills and generally only grunts "Guh". Unlike Marilyn, who is happy to follow Beldam's every command, Vivian is more independently minded. The youngest of the sisters, she eventually defects from the group due to their mistreatment of her and instead joins Mario to help him stop the queen's revival. After Vivian's departure, Doopliss, a Duplighost with a knack for disguising himself, offers his skills to the group and joins them as the third member.

History[edit]

Paper Mario series[edit]

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[edit]

In the Prologue, Beldam disguises herself as a merchant in Rogueport and convinces Princess Peach, who has stopped in Rogueport with Toadsworth on her vacation, to open a box containing the Magical Map. Beldam explains the box can only be opened by one "pure of heart", like Peach. When Peach's curiosity gets the better of her and she opens the box, Beldam kidnaps her and sends her to Grodus at the X-Naut Fortress on the Moon.

The Three Shadows in the Boggly Woods

Mario's first encounter with the Three Shadows come in Chapter 2, when they attempt to take the map, which has come into his possession, from him in Boggly Woods. Initially, Beldam loses the sketch the X-Nauts gave to them to identify Mario, which leads to Mario and his party walking by them without them realizing who he is. Beldam blames Vivian for the loss of the sketch, though she protests and explains it had always been in Beldam's possession. Beldam asserts that Vivian was too focus on the Necklace she found and that is why the sketch was lost. Mario remembers hearing this argument when Flurrie asks him to find the Necklace after she lost it on a stroll through the woods. Once Mario returns to reclaim the Necklace, the Three Shadows identify him as the one they are after and attack him. Before their battle, the Three Shadows formally introduce themselves, though Vivian calls the trio the "Three Shadow Sisters" ("Shadow Beauties" in the original), much to Beldam's chagrin. After Mario and his party defeat the witches, they flee, with Vivian dropping the Necklace. They return to the X-Naut Fortress, where they explain to Grodus that they lost to Mario but have a new weapon that will ensure their victory on their next encounter.

In Chapter 4, the Three Shadows plan to attack Mario and his party in Twilight Town using an explosive item called the Superbombomb. Unfortunately for them, the group loses the explosive and Beldam again blames Vivian for losing it despite it never being in her possession, and forces her to look for it. After Mario has his identity stolen by Doopliss, he encounters a distraught Vivian, who fruitlessly searches for the Superbombomb. Mario finds it for Vivian, resulting in her joining his party in gratitude, though she is unaware of his true identity. This is especially helpful given the other party members have all abandoned Mario, thinking Doopliss is the true Mario and Mario himself is an imposter. Mario and Vivian head to the Creepy Steeple to confront Doopliss and reclaim Mario's identity; however, once Doopliss reveals Mario's true identity, Vivian abandons him, feeling betrayed after learning she teamed up with her enemy. After a brief self-reflection, Vivian decides to stay with Mario and rejoins the battle. The two defeat Doopliss, gaining the Ruby Star and winning back Mario's identity. With his party members back on his side, Mario explains Vivian's situation to the rest of his party, who are glad to welcome her. Following his defeat, Doopliss joins the Three Shadows to seek revenge on Mario for defeating him.

The Shadow Sirens stealing the Garnet Star in Poshley Sanctum.
Beldam, Marilyn, and Doopliss stealing the fake Garnet Star

When Mario and his partners board the Excess Express in Chapter 6, Mario's partner notices a Threatening Note on the floor in their room. After reading it, they wonder if Beldam is the one behind the threat of a "sticky, yummy doom". On the morning of the second day, the Businessman's Briefcase containing the prototype of Nitro Honey Syrup is stolen, along with Toodles' Gold Ring and the waitress' Shell Earrings. The culprit is initially thought to be fellow passenger Zip Toad, though it is ultimately revealed that the thief was Doopliss disguised as Zip Toad. After being exposed, Doopliss flees the train while it is stopped at Riverside Station. The train continues to its final destination, Poshley Heights, after the stop at Riverside, though it is attacked by Smorgs along the way. There, Mario finds that the Three Shadows have infiltrated Poshley Sanctum and stolen the Garnet Star. Pennington, however, explains that the star they stole was actually a decoy and guides Mario to finding the actual star, hidden within the sanctum.

While Mario and his party venture through the Palace of Shadow in Chapter 8, upon opening the secret path to the Shadow Queen's lair, the Three Shadows ambush them again and fight them one last time. After Mario and company defeats them, they lay on the ground dazed. While all of Mario's other party members will comment "Let's leave these..." followed by some sort of insult ("doofuses", "louts", "idiots") upon speaking to them, Vivian will say "I'm sorry, Sis..." Once Grodus awakens the Shadow Queen from her eternal rest only to be attacked by her, Beldam takes full credit for awakening the queen. She reveals that she has been orchestrating the Shadow Queen's revival from the very start, and explains how Three Shadows manipulated Grodus into thinking he could control the queen.

In Goombella's letter to Mario after defeating the Shadow Queen, she mentions that Vivian has reunited with her sisters, who have agreed to stop being evil, and Beldam has promised to be nicer to Vivian.

Super Paper Mario[edit]

Unused graphics for Vivian, along with the other partners from previous games, exists with in Super Paper Mario, suggesting she was intended to have a role in the game. In the final game, however, she only appears in a group picture with the other partners and as a Catch Card, which mentions Beldam and Marilyn.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]

Though neither Beldam nor Marilyn appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Vivian serves as a sticker. The sticker increases the attack power of energy-related attacks by 5 points and can be used by any fighter.

Super Mario Run[edit]

The Three Shadows had a minor cameo in Super Mario Run (ver. 3.2.0) on promotional artwork in the game during its celebration of the release of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for Nintendo Switch, though their presence on the in-game alert for the event was their only appearance in the game.

Physical appearances[edit]

The Three Shadows are purple ghosts with a wisp-like tail that appears to have infinite length in place of legs. Although their tails are connected to the ground, it is shown that they can be disconnected from the ground in their defeated animations. Being sisters, the Three Shadows have similar designs, with the main difference being their body types; Beldam is short and thin, Marilyn is large and portly, and Vivian is medium-height with a pudgy belly. Beldam also has a long, pointy nose, which the other two do not have, and has a toothy grin in place of her sisters' small mouths. The Three Shadows also wear white gloves, and have differently designed hair; Beldam has light-purple hair tucked behind her, Marilyn has an orange bang, and Vivian has pink, swirly hair. Marilyn and Vivian both have pink and orange blushes on their cheeks, while Beldam does not.

They each wear white-striped witch hats of a different color, covering their eyes. The color of each of the Three Shadows' hats is a reference to their attacks. Beldam's hat is blue; she can use blizzard to freeze Mario and his partner in the second battle. Marilyn's hat is yellow; she can use thunder to attack in the second battle. Vivian's hat is pink; she can use many fire attacks as Mario's partner. Concept art included in the remake reveals that the trio were also planned to have tassels at the ends of their hats corresponding to these elements; one relic of this can be found in the GameCube version's data, as an early, unused sprite of Vivian still depicts her with a flame tassel on her hat. The concept art in the remake reveals that the Three Shadows were originally designed as bedsheet ghosts before being redesigned as black, blob-like humanoids. Their skin would be changed to purple by the time the early Vivian sprite was created.

Gallery[edit]

  • First time seeing the Three Shadows in-game

    First time seeing the Three Shadows in-game

  • Marilyn speaks normally for the only time in the game

    Marilyn speaks normally for the only time in the game

  • Beldam being condescending to Vivian

    Beldam being condescending to Vivian

  • In the original Japanese script of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Beldam insults Vivian by calling her ｢オトコ」, "a man".

    In the original Japanese script of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Beldam insults Vivian by calling her ｢オトコ」, "a man".

  • In the English localization of the game, Beldam uses gender-neutral insults instead.

    In the English localization of the game, Beldam uses gender-neutral insults instead.

  • Mario and Koops about to battle The Three Shadows.

    Mario and Koops about to battle The Three Shadows.

  • Beldam and Marilyn leaving Vivian

    Beldam and Marilyn leaving Vivian

  • Beldam, Marilyn, and Doopliss about to fight Mario and his partners

    Beldam, Marilyn, and Doopliss about to fight Mario and his partners

  • PMTTYD Marilyn attack.png
  • Three Shadows watching the rise of the Shadow Queen. Vivian allies with Mario.

    Three Shadows watching the rise of the Shadow Queen. Vivian allies with Mario.

  • Three Shadows watching the defeat of the Shadow Queen.

    Three Shadows watching the defeat of the Shadow Queen.

  • Concept art with several iterations of the Three Shadows

    Concept art with several iterations of the Three Shadows

  • Three Shadows cameo in Super Mario Run

    Three Shadows cameo in Super Mario Run

  • The Three Shadows on the Nintendo Magazine for summer 2024, showing a relationship chart featuring many characters from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

    The Three Shadows on the Nintendo Magazine for summer 2024, showing a relationship chart featuring many characters from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese カゲ三人組さんにんぐみ[?]
Kage Sannin-gumi 		Shadow Trio
Chinese (simplified) 影子三人组[?]
Yǐngzi Sān Rénzǔ 		Shadow Trio
Chinese (traditional) 影子三人組[?]
Yǐngzi Sān Rénzǔ 		Shadow Trio
Dutch Schaduwsirenes[?] Shadow Sirens
French Obscur Trio[?] Dark Trio
German Schattentrio[?] Shadow Trio
Italian Trisdombra[?] Three Shadows
Korean 그림자삼인조[?]
Geurimja Saminjo 		Shadow Trio
Spanish (NOA) Las Tres Sombras[?] The Three Shadows
Spanish (NOE) Trío de las Sombras[?] Shadow Trio

Trivia[edit]

  • The Three Shadows' theme sounds somewhat similar to the song that plays when the player talks to ghosts in Luigi's Mansion.
  • The Three Shadows appear to be a reference to the Hecate Sisters trope found in various media; the maiden, who is often depicted as beautiful but dim-witted (Vivian), the matron, who is often plump and behaves oddly (Marilyn), and the crone, who is often portrayed as bitter and having a sharp wit to contrast the maiden as well as a sharp tongue with which to berate her (Beldam).
[Edit]
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo GameCube) / Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch)
Main characters Bobbery • Flurrie • Goombella • Koops • Mario • Ms. Mowz • Princess Peach • Vivian • Yoshi Kid
Species Bub-ulb • Craw • Crow • Doogan • Duplighost • Glitz Pit Security • Jabbi • Little Mouser • Luff • Nibbles • Para-bomb • Penguin • Pianta • Pig • Puni • Ratooey • Smorg • Toad • Twilighter • Yoshi
Chapters Prologue • Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3 • Chapter 4 • Chapter 5 • Chapter 6 • Chapter 7 • Chapter 8
Crystal Stars Diamond Star • Emerald Star • Gold Star • Ruby Star • Sapphire Star • Garnet Star • Crystal Star
Bosses Beldam • Blooper • Bowser • Doopliss • Gloomtail • Gold Fuzzy • Grodus • Kammy Koopa • Lord Crump • Marilyn • Rawk Hawk • The Iron Adonis Twins • Three Shadows • Vivian
Chapter bosses Cortez • Doopliss • Hooktail • Macho Grubba • Magnus von Grapple • Magnus von Grapple 2.0 • Shadow Queen • Smorg
Optional bosses Atomic Boo • Bonetail • Gus • Prince Musha • Whackaa
Minor characters Arfur • Audience • Bandy Andy • Battle Mastera • Blooey • The Bob-omb Squad • Bomberto • Bootler • Bub • Bub-ulber • Businessman • Charlieton • Chef Shimi • Chestnut King • Chet Rippo • Chomp Country • Cleftor • Craw-Daddy • Creepy Steeple Boo • Darkly • Dazzle • The Dead Bones • The Destructors • Doe T. • Don Pianta • Doopliss's parrot • Dupree • Eddy the Mask • Eve • Excess Express conductor • Excess Express engineer • Excess Express waitress • Fahr Outpost mayor • Flavio • Flo • Francesca • Frankie • Fred • The Fuzz • Garf • General White • Ghost T. • Glitzville reporter • Gloomer • Gob • Goldbob • Goom Goom • The Goomba Bros. • Goomez • Goomfrey • Goomther • Goose • Grifty • Grubba • Hamma, Bamma, and Flare • Hamma Jamma • The Hand-It-Overs • Hayzee • Heff T. • Herb T. • Ian Foomusa • Ishnail • Jabble • Jerry • Johnson • Jolene • King K • Koopie Koo • The Koopinator • Koopley • Koopook • Korvallis • The KP Koopas • Kroop • Lady Bow • Lahla • Laki • Larson • Lucky • Luigi • Lumpy • The Magikoopa Masters • Master Crash • Mayor Dour • McGoomba • Merlee • Merlon • Merluvlee • Maude • The Mind-Bogglers • Mousimilian • Mover • Mr. Hoggle • Niff T. • Nob • Pa-Patch • Parakarry • Peeka • Pennington • Petuni • Pianta syndicate • Pierre • Pine T. Jr. • Pine T. Sr. • Plenn T. • Podler • Podley • The Poker Faces • The Pokey Triplets • Porter • Prince Mush • Professor Frankly • Pungent • Pungry • Punio • Puniper • Puni elder • The Punk Rocks • Rob • Robbo Thieves • Rocko • Scarlette • Screamy • Shellshock • The Shellshockers • Sir Swoop • Spike Storm • Spiky Joe • Stewart • Swindell • Swob • Sylvia • TEC • Thriff T. • The Tiny Spinies • Toad sailor • Toad sailor's brother • Toad salesmana • Toadette • Toadia • Toadsworth • Toce T. • Tony • Toodles • Torque • Traveling Sisters Three • Twilight Shop manager • Twilight Shop manager's wife • Vinny • Whacka • Wings of Night • Wonky • Zess T. • Zip Toad
Enemies Bandit (Badge · Big) • Bill Blaster (Bombshell) • Blooper • Bob-omb (Bob-ulk · Bulky) • Boo (Atomic · Dark) • Bristle (Dark) • Bullet Bill (Bombshell) • Buzzy Beetle (Parabuzzy (Spiky) · Spike Top (Red)) • Chain-Chomp (Red) • Cleft (Bald (Hyper) · Hyper · Iron · Moon) • Crazee Dayzee (Amazy) • Dark Craw • Dry Bones (Dark · Dull · Red) • Ember (Lava Bubble · Phantom) • Fire Bar • Fuzzy (Green · Flower · Horde) • Goomba (Gloomba (Para · Spiky) · Hyper (Para · Spiky) · Para · Spiky) • Goomboarda • Hammer Bro (Boomerang · Fire) • Koopa Troopa (Dark (Para) · Koopatrol (Dark) · KP (Para) · Para · Shady (Para)) • Lakitu (Dark) • Magikoopa (Green · Red · White) • Pale Piranha (Frost · Piranha Plant · Putrid) • Pider (Arantula) • Pokey (Poison) • Ruff Puff (Dark · Ice · Poison) • Spinia (Spania · Spunia) • Spiny (Sky-Blue) • Swooper (Swampire · Swoopula) • Wizzerd (Dark · Elite) • X-Fist (Punch) • X-Naut (Elite · PhD · Platoon) • Yux (Grodus X · Mini · X-Yux (Mini) · Z-Yux (Mini))
Locations Boggly Woods • Broadshroom • Circuit Break Island • Creepy Steeple • Deepdown Depot • Excess Express • Fahr Outpost • Flurrie's House • Fresh Juice Shop • Glitz Pit • Glitzville • Goomstar Temple • Great Tree • Grimble Forest • Hatesong Tower • Herb T.'s place • Hooktail Castle • Hot Dog Stand • Inn • Item Shop • Jazzafrazz Town • Keelhaul Key • Keelhaul Galleria • Lovely Howz of Badges • Mario Bros.' House • Moon • Netherworld • Niff T.'s shop • Northwinds Mart • Palace of Shadow • Palace of Shadow Tower • Path to Fahr Outpost • Path to Shhwonk Fortress • Petalburg • Petal Meadows • Pianta Parlor • Pirate's Grotto • Pit of 100 Trials • Podley's Place • Plumpbelly Village • Poshley Heights • Poshley Sanctum • Pudding Continent • Pungent's Great Tree Shop • Rapturous Ruins • Riverside Station • Rogueport • Rogueport Underground • Rumblebump Volcano • Sales Stall • Shhwonk Fortress • Souvenir shop • Strudel Continent • Toad Bros. Bazaar • Trouble Center • Twilight Shop • Twilight Town • Twilight Trail • Waffle Kingdom • Westside Goods • X-Naut Fortress
Bowser levels World 1 • World 2 • World 3
Moves Action Command • Appeal • Art Attack • Boat Mode • Bob-ombast • Body Slam • Bomb • Bomb Squad • Charge • Clock Out • Dodgy Fog • Earth Tremor • Fiery Jinx • First Strike • Flee • Gale Force • Ground Pound • Guard • Gulp • Headbonk • Hold Fast • Infatuate • Jump • Kiss Thief • Lip Lock • Love Slap • Mini-Egg • Multibonk • Paper Mode • Plane Mode • Power Lift • Power Shell • Rally Wink • Shade Fist • Shell Shield • Shell Slam • Shell Toss • Showstopper • Smooch • Spring Jump • Stampede • Stylish move • Super Hammer • Superguard • Supernova • Sweet Feast • Sweet Treat • Tattle • Tease • Tube Mode • Ultra Hammer • Veil
Objects Badge • Big Bob • Black chest • Black Skull • Boat panel • Brick block • Candy Pop • Cheep Blimp • Chomp Rock • Cog • Coin • Coin block • Coral • Crystal Ball • Elevator • Flagpole • Flower • Heart • Hidden block • Koopa Clown Car • Meat • Metal Block • Pianta token • Plane panel • Power-draining machine • Recovery block • S.S. Flavion • Save Block • Shine Block • Star Piece • Stone Block • Stone keys • Switch • Teleporter • The Thousand-Year Door • Treasure chest • Warp Pipe • X-Naut ship • Yellow Block
Stats / statuses Allergic • Badge Point • Burn • Charged • Confused • Danger • Defense • DEF-Up • Dizzy • Dodgy • Electrified • Fast • Flower Point • Frozen • Heart Point • Huge • Immobilized • Invisible • Payback • Peril • Poison • Power • POW-Down • POW-Up • Prohibited Command • Regeneration • Sleep • Slow • Soft • Star Point • Star Power • Tiny
Miscellaneous 65th Trivia Quiz-Off • 66th Trivia Quiz-Off • Art Gallerya • Badges • Bestiary (Nintendo GameCube · Nintendo Switch) • Boom-bassa-boom Festival • Bingo! • Block locations (Hidden) • Enemy formations • Flash game • Gallery (Nintendo GameCube · Nintendo Switch) • Glitches (Nintendo GameCube · Nintendo Switch) • Goldbobbington's • Happy Lucky Lottery • Koopa Clan • Level up • Luigi Fan Club • Jazzafrazz Town Drama Slam • Mist • Parade • Partner Hintsa • Pre-release and unused content • Quotes (By character: A–F · G–K · L–R · S–Z) • Recipes • Rogueport Direct Mail Service • Rogueport Restoration Committee • Selling prices • Shine Sprites • Shops • Sound Gallerya • Staff (Nintendo GameCube · Nintendo Switch) • Star Pieces • Star Point amounts • Story predictions • Stump Petuni • Tattles (Nintendo Switch) • Treasure chest locations • University of Goom • Unnamed NPCs • X-Nauts
a Exclusive to the Nintendo Switch remake
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