Zip Toad
| Zip Toad | |
|---|---|
 Sprite from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door | |
| Species | Toad |
| First appearance | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004) |
| Latest appearance | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) (2024) |
- “You're cool, baby... but I'm cooler!”
- —Zip Toad, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Zip Toad is a famous movie star with an ego who is one of the suspects in the investigation on board the Excess Express in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Zip Toad's name is a pun on "ZIP code". He has a few parallels with Linda Arden, the fictional actress from the 1934 English detective novel Murder on the Orient Express, the novel which Chapter 6 is based upon. Both are celebrities, and both were involved with impersonation in some capacity. In Arden's case, she entered the Orient Express under a different name ("Mrs. Hubbard"). In Zip Toad's case, Doopliss disguised himself as him in order to subvert Mario's efforts to collect the Garnet Star.
History[edit]
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[edit]
During Chapter 6, Zip Toad is found in room 001 on the Excess Express. On the second day of the journey, Pennington tells Mario that someone may be using the Ratooey businessman's Nitro Honey Syrup recipe, the Excess Express waitress' Shell Earrings, and Toodles' Gold Ring to create an explosion. He finds a Vital Paper that belongs to the businessman in Zip Toad's room. He later finds another paper in his own room. After using Vivian's ability, Zip Toad comes out of hiding and Mario catches him. When he is apprehended, he gives the stolen items to Mario. However, it turns out that Zip Toad is actually Doopliss in disguise, hired by Beldam of the Three Shadows to bomb the train in a "sticky, yummy, gooey mess" in an effort to prevent Mario and his partners from reaching the Garnet Star in the Poshley Sanctum, and frame Zip Toad for the crime. He escapes when the train stops at Riverside Station.
When Mario and his team set out to find the last Crystal Star, the real Zip Toad sends him an email, containing a picture of himself in front of a window. In the email, Zip Toad commends Mario and his team for stopping the Three Shadows' plan and clearing his name, and tells him that he is going to film a movie in Toad Town called On Golden Toad 2. He also reveals more about his movie career by quickly mentioning another film that featured him: The Toad Warrior. The title of these films are likely parodies of On Golden Pond and The Road Warrior, respectively.
In the original game's end credits parade, Zip Toad's silhouette can be seen with the Poshley Heights characters. In the remake, he, Chef Shimi, the Excess Express waitress, Toodles, Heff T., and the businessman follow behind Pennington as he investigates the stage. This is until Ghost T. appears and spooks at them, resulting in them all fleeing in horror as Ghost T. ascends into a bright light.
Super Mario-kun[edit]
Zip Toad is briefly seen as one of the passengers onboard the Excess Express in volume 34 of Super Mario-kun. Unlike in the game, he is not replaced by Doopliss due to him having been reformed earlier in the story arc.
Profiles[edit]
Email[edit]
- ! (GCN)
What's up! (Switch)
What's up, super-sleuth! (GCN)
What's up, super sleuth! (Switch)I heard you uncovered my impostor! You're the best, man, seriously!
See, when you get to be as big a star as Zip Toad, these sorts of things happen all the time. It's the biz.
But, man alive! For a no-name like you to brave danger and find my impostor! Reminds me of a younger, yet less successful, me.
Yeah, so as for me, I'm headed to Toad Town to film my next leading role: The soon-to-be hit film On Golden Toad 2. It'll be huge. (GCN)
Yeah, so as for me, I'm headed to Toad Town to film my next leading role—the soon-to-be hit film "On Golden Toad 2." It'll be huge. (Switch)
I hear you're on an adventure or something, so I'll leave you with a line from my last flick, The Toad Warrior: "You're cool, baby...but I'm cooler!" (GCN)
I hear you're on an adventure or something, so I'll leave you with a line from my last flick, "The Toad Warrior." "You're cool, baby...but I'm cooler!" (Switch)
Best of luck, kid!
The Super Star (GCN)
The Super Star, (Switch)
The Real Zip Toad
Tattle[edit]
Goombella can use Tattle on Zip Toad only while he is Doopliss in disguise.
"I KNEW I knew him! That's Zip Toad, the movie star! Women go NUTS (GCN) / WILD (Switch) for him! Y'know, he's hot and all, but he seems pretty stuck up about being famous. I guess all celebrities are kinda like that. It's too bad, 'cause I kinda liked him..."
Gallery[edit]
Concept art of the Excess Express passengers and staff, including an early version of Zip Toad with blue spots rather than red
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ミスター トロン[?] Misutā Toron |
Mister Tron | |
| Chinese (simplified) | 特伦先生[?] Tèlún Xiānshēng |
Mister Tron | |
| Chinese (traditional) | 特倫先生[?] Tèlún Xiānshēng |
Mister Tron | |
| Dutch | Toadivo[?] | From "Toad" and divo ("VIP") | |
| French | Bolet Wood[?] | From boletus (a species of mushroom) and "Hollywood" | |
| German | Star T.[?] | From "star" and abbreviation of "Toad" | |
| Italian | Toadivo[?] | From "Toad" and divo ("VIP") | |
| Korean | 미스터 트론[?] Miseuteo Teulon |
Mister Tron | |
| Spanish | T. Zip[?] | Zip Toad |
