Boom Boom

Template:Character-infobox Boom Boom (sometimes stylized as BOOM-BOOM) is a henchman of Bowser who first debuted in Super Mario Bros. 3. He is a "mini-boss" that Mario or Luigi fights in fortresses, before the player fights a Koopaling in an airship.

History

Super Mario series

Super Mario Bros. 3

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Boom Boom fighting Luigi in the Super Mario All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 3.

Boom Boom made his first appearance in this game, where he helped Bowser and the Koopalings invade the Mushroom World's seven kingdoms. He appeared in the fortresses of each kingdom, fighting Mario and Luigi to prevent them from going any closer to the Koopalings. However, the Mario Bros. prevailed and his fortresses were destroyed. Boom Boom also appears in many levels in Dark Land. Specifically, he's found in all the battleships, airships, and tanks except for the first tank set, which is instead manned by a Boomerang Bro.

To defeat Boom Boom, Mario had to jump on his head three times to eliminate him, hit him with five fireballs from a Fire Flower, or score five hits with hammers from the Hammer Suit (which he could do with as little as one hammer if his aim was precise enough). Boom Boom could also temporarily crouch down and reveal his spikes, which would hurt Mario if he tried to jump on him.

Boom Boom would begin by simply walking left and right towards Mario. After being hit, he would either start to charge and jump very high or fly with his winged arms (he first did that in Seaside's first castle). After a second hit, Boom Boom would walk left and right again, but very quickly, possibly as a desperation tactic. After the third hit, he released a ? Ball, which destroyed the fortress Boom Boom was in and opened a lock or made a bridge appear elsewhere on the map.

Whether Boom Boom is a true species or just a recurring single character is unclear, but there are at least two Boom Booms in existence, as a few extra levels in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 will pit two Boom Booms against Mario simultaneously. However, Boom Boom may be only one character, with clones of himself. This is possible because the manual refers to Boom Boom as singular in the description: "Boom Boom, the faithful servant of Bowser."

Super Mario 3D

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Boom Boom fighting Mario in Super Mario 3D.

After a long hiatus, Boom Boom is set to make his return in this game for the Nintendo 3DS. Boom Boom here is much larger than he was in his last encounter with Mario and Luigi (where he was the same height as Mario). He no longer has spikes on his shell, which is now red, and has new attacks. He spins wildly with his arms and fists to hurt Mario, but if he does this too long, he becomes dizzy and vulnerable. When hit, Boom Boom can also attack by retreating into his shell and then moving fast in random directions, in a similar fashion to the Koopalings when they are hit by Mario in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. After taking three hits from Mario's jump, Boom Boom is defeated and will vanish while releasing many coins. This time around, Boom Boom seems to inhabit airships exclusively; his only known appearance is in an airship level, the fifth level of World 2.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3

Boom Boom from The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3.

Boom Boom also appeared in this cartoon series, where he was nothing more than a silent powerhouse. Much like in the game, whenever he attacked the Mario Bros., he was the only one seen at any given time. He has yellow teeth here. He made three appearances: Do the Koopa, Crimes R Us, and The Venice Menace.

Super Mario Bros. film

Boom Boom didn't make a physical appearance, but he is referenced: there was a place called the "Boom Boom Bar," which appeared somewhat prominently.

Nintendo Adventures

Again, he didn't physically appear, but he was referenced: in Koopa Capers, there was an item called Boom Boom's Socks.

Video Game Appearances

Title	Description	Original Release Date	System/Format
Super Mario Bros. 3	Boss	Japan: October 23, 1988	NES
Super Mario All-Stars	Boss	Japan: July 14, 1993	SNES
Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World	Boss	USA: December, 1994	SNES
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3	Boss	Japan: July 21, 2003	Game Boy Advance
Super Mario All-Stars - 25th Anniversary Edition	Boss	Japan: October 21, 2010	Wii
Super Mario 3D	Boss	TBA 2011	Nintendo 3DS

Trivia

• In Super Paper Mario, one of the Sammer Guys that can be fought is named Flailing Boom Boom, which is an apparent reference to Boom Boom and how he would flail his arms around in battle.
• Boom-Boom's Super Mario 3D appearance is slightly based on his The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 appearance, marking a rare instance in which cartoon canon has been absorbed into official video game canon. His appearance is also inspired by Ludwig von Koopa and Roy Koopa's redesigns in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.