King Boo

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King Boo, emerging from his Bowser disguise.

King Boo is the leader of the Boos and the main antagonist of the game Luigi's Mansion. He is also an ally of Bowser, King of the Koopas, and has aided the Koopa leader in his various schemes. However, King Boo has also enacted various villainous plans by himself, including the capture and imprisonment of the hero Mario. Although not the biggest Boo in the world, King Boo does wield a number of impressive magical abilities, including the ability to materialize objects out of thin air. Interestingly, King Boo’s magical power is directly proportional to the number of Boos in his vicinity.

Biography

The First Encounter?

Although unconfirmed, the Mario Bros. first run in with King Boo may have been during the events of Super Mario 64 DS. One of the Big Boos that infested Princess Peach's Castle wore a large crown and had a distant cackle, a laugh that would be heard later when Luigi faced the Boo leader during the events of Luigi's Mansion. Although King Boo assumes the name “Big Boo” in this adventure, it is likely these ghosts are one and the same.

Regardless, this Big Boo aided Bowser in his conquest of Peach's Castle by capturing Luigi and imprisoning him in Big Boo's Haunt. Specifically, the green-clad plumber was imprisoned behind a painting of himself inside the haunted mansion. Mario eventually fought King Boo in an effort to free Luigi. To defeat the ghost leader, Mario had to follow King Boo’s movements in the arena’s mirrors then stomp the ghoul when he came too close. Ultimately, Mario saved his brother from King Boo’s clutches and together (along with Yoshi and Wario) they defeated Bowser and saved Princess Peach.

The Capture of Boolossus

Prior to the events of Luigi's Mansion, the ghost hunter Professor E. Gadd managed to capture Boolossus, one of the biggest and strongest Boos in King Boo’s forces. Of course, this greatly angered the Boo leader, and the ghost orchestrated a rescue attempt. Professor E. Gadd had brought Boolossus to his lab in Boo Woods. Using a special device called a Portrificationizer, E. Gadd sealed Boolossus in a portrait and hung the new piece of art in his gallery.

Eventually, King Boo and his forces attacked the laboratory. The Boos reversed the settings of the Portificationizer and released Boolossus from his portrait prison. King Boo, in an act of revenge, then ordered that all the ghosts that E. Gadd had captured in his travels should be freed as well. After releasing all of the portrait ghosts (and reversing years and years of E. Gadd’s work), King Boo magically created a huge mansion out of thin air, and placed it right next to the professor’s lab. The Boo leader, his Boo minions, and the portrait ghosts recently freed from their prisons, decided to inhabit the mansion. With a new place to haunt (and an army of new ghosts courtesy of released portrait ghost Vincent Van Gore), King Boo decided to enact a new scheme. With his newfound resources, King Boo created a plan of revenge against old rivals of the Boos. King Boo was going to attempt to capture both Mario and Luigi, the defenders of the Mushroom Kingdom.

The Mansion

Hoping to recapture Luigi, King Boo sent the plumber a letter. The message stated that Luigi had won a mansion in a contest and provided the location of the prize. Of course, Luigi was skeptical of such a reward, as he did not recall entering any contest; however, he was excited nonetheless. He asked his brother Mario to investigate the mansion, and said he would arrive shortly thereafter. As such, Mario, along with a few Toads, ventured to the mansion. Unfortunately, Mario was instantly overwhelmed by King Boo’s forces and was captured. King Boo then imprisoned the great hero of the Mushroom Kingdom in a portrait, just like the Boo leader’s minion Boolossus was previously. The imprisoned Mario was placed in the Secret Altar in the basement of the mansion. Of course, King Boo wished to add another painting to his collection: the portrait of Luigi.

The Poltergust 3000

While waiting for the arrival of Luigi, King Boo and his Boo minions decided to rest behind a secret door in the floor of the Storage Room. When Luigi arrived in the room, and revealed the secret door, the Boos sprang out from the floor, enraged after being awakened from their slumber. However, the Boos (including King Boo) broke off their surprise attack when they noticed the Poltergust 3000 on Luigi’s back. The special ghost-capturing weapon was previously given to Luigi by Professor E. Gadd, who wanted the plumber to recapture the portrait ghosts. The Poltergust 3000 was one of the few things King Boo feared, and he, along with the other Boos, flew off in different directions and hid in the mansion. The Boo leader himself traveled to the Secret Altar in the mansion’s basement. While in the protected room, King Boo amused himself by watching Mario’s pathetic pleas for help.

The Secret Altar

The path to the Secret Altar was locked by a special key in the possession of Vincent Van Gore, who had locked himself in the Artist's Studio on the third floor of the mansion. After capturing the ghost and retrieving the key, Luigi discovered that he needed more than a key to access King Boo’s lair. If the green-clad ghost hunter attempted to enter the Secret Altar without catching a certain number of Boos, King Boo himself would materialize before Luigi and blow the plumber away to the Foyer, the entrance of the mansion. However, since King Boo’s power was directly related to the number of Boos in the mansion, Luigi could weaken the Boo leader by capturing the Boos hidden in the various rooms. After Luigi captured at least forty of the mansion’s fifty Boos, King Boo lost his ability to blow the ghost hunter away from the Secret Altar. As such, with his Poltergust 3000 in hand, Luigi entered King Boo’s lair and prepared for a final showdown.

The Final Battle

Upon entering the altar, Luigi noticed King Boo staring at his most prized possession: the Mario painting. However, King Boo turned to Luigi and stated his desire to complete his set and add a Luigi painting to the collection. After saying this, King Boo flew into the Mario painting hanging on the wall. Strangely, the figure of Mario transformed into the form of Bowser, and the new Bowser painting inhaled Luigi into the canvas. After entering the painting, Luigi was transported into a strange arena that resembled the mansion’s roof. The green-clad hero was in for an even bigger shock when none other than the colossal from of Bowser appeared before him.

In reality, King Boo, who was inside the hulking beast, was secretly controlling the Bowser figure from behind the scenes. However, it is unknown if this Bowser disguise was the actual body of Bowser of a convincing fake. According to Madame Clairvoya, the ghost fortune teller, Bowser was “soundly defeated” by Mario before the events of Luigi's Mansion. This defeat left Bowser is a state where he needed revival, either because he was unconscious or deceased. In fact, Madame Clairvoya suspected that King Boo may have revived Bowser, but did not know for sure. As such, it is unknown if the Bowser standing before Luigi was the actual Bowser, but at the very least it was a very convincing disguise.

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King Boo, trapped inside his portrait.

Regardless, King Boo used this Bowser disguise to immediately attack the heroic Luigi. Bowser shot flames at the green-clad plumber, and even tried to inhale Luigi into his mouth. After these attacks, the beast materialized three spiked bombs out of thin air and tossed the explosives at Luigi one by one. The hero knew he had to fight back, and as such he used his Poltergust 3000 to pull in one of the spiked explosives. When Bowser opened his mouth to either breathe more flames or inhale the plumber in, Luigi released the explosive into the beast’s mouth, blasting Bowser’s head off. This attack also knocked King Boo out of Bowser’s body, allowing Luigi to suck the Boo leader in with his Poltergust, slowly depleting the ghost’s five hundred hit points. Unfortunately, Bowser’s head would hover around the arena and shoot ice blasts at Luigi. If frozen, Luigi could shake himself free from the icy prison. Eventually, King Boo would fly back into the dormant Bowser body and the head would reattach itself. Resuming the fight, Bowser would once again spit fire and toss spiked bombs, allowing Luigi to repeat the same process of attack as before. Strangely, after King Boo had two hundred HP or less, whenever he returned to the Bowser body, the large beast would accidentally put his head on upside down. When this happened, Bowser would run around the roof arena aimlessly, causing damage to Luigi if the beast accidentally crashed into him. Eventually, Bowser would put his head on correctly and resume the fight. Ultimately, after a long and difficult battle, Luigi managed to completely drain King Boo’s HP and capture the ghost leader inside the Poltergust 3000. Without the presence of King Boo, the Bowser body fell lifeless to the ground.

After the battle, Luigi picked up King Boo’s crown, worth 5,000G, and added it to his treasure collection. Upon returning to the mansion, the green-clad ghost hunter also picked up the Mario painting and quickly traveled to Professor E. Gadd’s lab. In the lab, Luigi connected the Poltergust to the professor’s Portrificationizer, dumping its ghostly contents into the machine. Surprisingly, not only did the spirit of King Boo appear in the Portrificationizer, but what appeared to be the spirit form of Bowser also materialized. Although it is unknown what this spiritual entity actually was, it inevitably wound up trapped in the same portrait prison as King Boo. With King Boo (and possibly Bowser’s spirit) captured and imprisoned, Professor E. Gadd hung his new portrait in the most elegant room of his gallery. In the end, Mario was finally released from his portrait and Luigi emerged from his adventure a true hero.

The Return of King Boo

Although King Boo was imprisoned, he would not remain so for long. It is unknown how King Boo escaped his portrait prison or who released him. Regardless, by some unknown means, King Boo escaped the confines of his painting. After Bowser (who may also have been released) was returned to his normal state, he enacted a new plan to capture Princess Peach and destroy Mario. During the events of Super Mario Sunshine, Bowser and his forces (including King Boo) attacked the vacation paradise of Isle Delfino, home of the Piantas. King Boo and his Boo minions occupied Hotel Delfino, the five-star resort located on Sirena Beach. While Bowser Jr., in the guise of Shadow Mario, tarnished the real Mario’s good name, King Boo settled into his new house of haunts. The Boo leader and his forces even managed to capture a few Shine Sprites, the source of Isle Delfino’s energy. In fact, King Boo personally guarded one of these Shine Sprites.

As his Boo minions roamed the halls of the hotel, King Boo decided to make his new lair inside a secret area of the hotel’s casino. Ultimately, King Boo’s control over the hotel would not last long. Mario, armed with his new accessory FLUDD, fought past King Boo’s forces and discovered the entrance to the ghost leader’s hidden lair. To enter the secret area, Mario had to ground pound the purple space on the giant roulette in the center of the casino. This transported the heroic plumber to King Boo’s arena, where the two engaged in combat.

The battle took place on top of yet another giant roulette. During the fight, King Boo would attack Mario by spitting normal Boos to do their master’s dirty work. The ghoul would also spit bubbles at the plumber, although Mario could simply pop these to refill FLUDD’s water tank. However, the ghastly leader would also spice up the battle by taking out a large slot machine. When Mario sprayed the slot machine while King Boo was holding the device, the reels would begin to spin. If three question marks lined up, enemies would appear out of nowhere and instantly attack the heroic plumber. If three coins appeared on the reels, Mario would be rewarded with coins (and could thus refill his health meter). Finally, if three fruits lined up on the reels, a heaping amount of fruit would appear on the roulette battlefield. Noticing King Boo’s large, drooling tongue hanging out, Mario decided to pick up a red pepper (when available) and tossed the spicy fruit into the massive tongue. This would set the ghost royal’s mouth ablaze, immobilizing the large Boo as he attempted to put out the fire. Mario could then toss another fruit directly at King Boo to deliver damage to the ghost. However, if Mario sprayed King Boo instead of hitting him with a fruit, FLUDD’s water would cool the ghost’s tongue and the Boo leader would suffer no damage. After repeating the process of red pepper attack followed by a fruit strike three times, Mario defeated the King of the Boos and collected the ghost’s personal Shine Sprite. With more energy returning to the island, Mario continued to collect more Shine Sprites (and eventually defeated both Bowser and his son Bowser Jr.).

The Recapture of Mario

After suffering yet another defeat, King Boo greatly wanted revenge against the Mario brothers. As such, King Boo aided Bowser in another one of his schemes. During the events of Super Princess Peach, Bowser’s forces overwhelmed and captured both Mario and Luigi, along with a cavalcade of Toads. Although King Boo did not get to directly watch over Mario or Luigi, he was given a captured Toad to guard (Mario was Bowser’s prisoner, while Kamek protected a captured Luigi). Without the Mushroom Kingdom’s greatest heroes, it was up to Princess Peach, the leader of the Mushroom Kingdom, to take matters into her own hands.

After adventuring though Vibe Island, Peach discovered the location of King Boo and engaged the ghost leader in combat. During the battle, the Boo leader fired blue homing fireballs at the Princess. Toadstool could damage the King Boo with direct light, and after enough attacks, King Boo succumbed to Peach’s assault. With the threat of King Boo eliminated, Peach rescued the captured Toad and continued her campaign against Bowser’s forces. Ultimately, Peach defeated both Kamek and Bowser, and rescued the heroes Mario and Luigi.

Other Appearances

King Boo was an unlockable character in the racing game Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Strangely, despite being a ghost, King Boo was classified as a heavyweight driver. His partner was Petey Piranha, and both had the ability to use any other character’s special item. Of course, this means they possessed no unique special item of their own.

King Boo later appeared in Mario Superstar Baseball as a playable character.

In the game Mario Kart DS, King Boo had a second chance to battle against Princess Peach. As Peach, driving in her kart, attempted to collect fifty coins on a circular path, King Boo would circle around and attack the princess, stealing all of her coins. To steal them back, Peach had to drive into King Boo. After collecting fifty coins, King Boo would admit defeat and Peach would win the battle.

Traits and Abilities

Besides, possessing the abilities of other Boos, including the ability to teleport, King Boo has a number of other magical powers. Notably, it should be mentioned that King Boo’s power increases when he is in the presence of other Boos. For example, King Boo had the power to blow Luigi to the Foyer only when enough Boos were in the mansion. King Boo also has the incredible power to materialize things out of thin air, including highly detailed mansions. He has also shown the ability to create Boos, bubbles, and blue fire, which he spits out from his mouth.

Although King Boo is larger than regular Boos, he is not the largest of the Boos. However, even gigantic Boos like Boolossus follow King Boo’s leadership, despite their bigger size.

King Boo seems to have a passion for gambling, as the entrance to each wing in Luigi’s Mansion was modeled after a playing card suit (spade, club, heart, and diamond). The Boo leader also lived in a casino during the events of Super Mario Sunshine, using a slot machine to produce random events in battle.

Lastly, King Boo has a distinct cackle, which is significantly lower in pitch than other Boos.

Boo Leadership

Although he commands a large band of Boos, not all Boos call King Boo their leader. Some Boos have work directly for Bowser, while a small band of Boos are allied with Lady Bow. The later ghosts live peacefully with the other denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom (although they still like to scare other species, especially Toads, from time to time).