Bonechill
- “Brrrrooo ha ha ha ha... A touching scene, to be sure.”
- —Bonechill, Super Paper Mario
Bonechill is an enemy in Super Paper Mario and the boss of Chapter 7. He is a massive, undead dragon with a large, blue-scaled head, six small, white-feathered wings on his back, and a large golden cannon with two wheels for a lower body. He is the leader of the Skellobit army, and uses ice attacks in combat.
Before the outset of the game, Bonechill was stuck in an unknown prison in The Underwhere along with his army. Count Bleck set him free to defeat Mario (who was the hero of legend as told in the Light Prognosticus), and the presence of Bonechill's Skellobits in Castle Bleck support the idea that they had some sort of affiliation or agreement, although Bonechill claims to be seeking the Pure Heart in order to use its power for himself. Ultimately, Bonechill failed in his attempt to destroy the Heroes of Light and seize control of The Overthere and The Underwhere, as his army was defeated and he himself was shattered to bits by Mario and his companions.
Possible Origins
Several facts imply that Bonechill was once a Nimbi, including his eloquent speech, the small white wings on his back, and his tattle. This fits into the overall motif of The Underwhere/Overthere, which draws heavily from both Ancient Greek and Christian mythology. In particular, the concept of a fallen angel (Nimbi) is inspired by the Biblical story of Lucifer, who became the devil after betraying God. Furthermore, in Dante's Inferno (of the epic Italian poem, the Divine Comedy), Lucifer (now known as Satan) is depicted as a giant, six-winged beast imprisoned in ice in the deepest level of Hell.
Battle
In battle, Bonechill fires large ice bullets from his cannon and attempts to freeze the heroes with his icy breath. If he freezes one of the heroes, they will start taking 4 damage points a second, the highest amount of freezing damage in the game. Bonechill can also use his breath on the ceiling to create icicles that will fall and damage the player if they are standing underneath.
Bonechill's only vulnerable point is his head, which is out of range for most of the player's conventional attacks. However, Thoreau can be used to grab the ice bullets and icicles, allowing the player to throw them at Bonechill's head for damage. Bonechill can also be defeated by using Luigi's Super Jump technique below his head. If the characters are suitably high-level, or if an attack-boosting item is used, it is possible to defeat the boss with only one use of this attack.
Personality
Bonechill speaks eloquently (a possible hint of his former Nimbi status), and is somewhat affable and arrogant. He looks with disdain upon the Nimbis, and is quick to let loose with his signature "Brrrrooo ha ha ha ha..." laugh. He also openly acknowledges his villainous status, describing himself as "something of an evil celebrity" and "a master of the cold dark".
Catch Card
- Card Type: Uncommon
- Card Description: Tremble before the frosty lord of The Underwhere! Bonechill's minty-fresh breath will freeze you solid!
Names in Other Languages
Trivia
- According to The InterNed, Bonechill's theme is called "Bonechill Appears".
- In the Japanese version, Bonechill used the archaic zansu conjugation of the auxiliary verb gozaimasu at the end of each sentence, which is typically used to characterize older, snobby, social-climbing females in fiction.[1]
- Bonechill bears a similarity to Cortez; they both sit atop something (a cannon and a bone pile, respectively) and they both talk in a ghost-like manner.
- Bonechill is the only boss whose looks change as the player damages him; the blue scales on his head begin to fall off as his HP declines.
References
- ^ Forum post (second last on the page, posted at 1:01 PM, June 5, 2012) (retrieved July 2, 2012)
