Tatanga

Tatanga (also known as Tatanga the Mysterious Space Man) is an alien invader who once conquered Sarasaland. Although he is acknowledged as an invader, in appearance he looks like a meek purple alien. During the events of Super Mario Land, Tatanga captured Princess Daisy, the princess of Sarasaland, and ordered his armies to guard the land's four kingdoms.

Biography

Invasion

Tatanga was a mysterious invader from another unknown planet. He once invaded Sarasaland during the events of Super Mario Land, and captured Princess Daisy. Tatanga brought with him an army of creatures. He placed the best of his army to guard the four kingdoms of Sarasaland - Birabuto Kingdom, Muda Kingdom, Easton Kingdom, and the Chai Kingdom. When Mario defeated his henchmen and liberated all kingdoms, Tatanga and Mario went head to head in air combat.

During the climactic battle, Tatanga fought in his spaceship, the Pagosu, while Mario fought in his airplane, the Sky Pop. Mario had to fire his missiles at Tatanga's spaceship while dodging the war vessel's scattering rockets. After forty hits, the Pagosu was destroyed (and Mario gained 5000 points); however, the alien invader escaped. In the end, the heroic plumber rescued Princess Daisy and peace was returned to Sarasaland.

For Hire

Tatanga in a considerably weaker spaceship.

Tatanga reappears as a boss in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. Although his role in this game was not as significant, much of his backstory was revealed, included the motivation behind the invasion of Sarasaland. As it turns out, Tatanga was hired by Wario to invade the peaceful Sarasaland and kidnap Princess Daisy, just so Wario could conquer Mario's Castle. While Mario was distracted with Tatanga, Wario took over Mario Land and occupied Mario's Castle. After Mario defeated the alien invader, Tatanga fled to Wario's new castle. The spaceman was given one of the six golden coins needed to access Wario's Castle, and he set up base in the Space Zone.

During the events of Super Mario Land 2, Mario tracked down Tatanga and the two fought for a second time. However, in this battle, Tatanga does not fight in his war vessel Pagosu. This time Tatanga fights with a smaller space craft, capable of shooting energy weapons and dive bombing Mario. While descending in his dive bomb attack, Mario jumped on top of the space invader. After three hits, Tatanga was defeated and Mario recovered the golden coin of Space Zone. Ultimately, Mario uses the six golden coins to open the doors to his castle and kick Wario out.

Other Mentions

Tatanga, the Mysterious Spaceman, has not reappeared in games following Super Mario Land 2. However, Tatanga was mentioned in Princess Daisy's bio in the game Mario Superstar Baseball and her trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee and its sequel, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Appearances in Other Media

Tatanga and Princess Daisy, as they appear in the comics.

Tatanga appeared as a villain in the Game Boy comic books created by the company Valiant. In the comics, Tatanga lives in an alternate dimension that exists within a Game Boy. However, the evil alien hypnotizes Herman Smirch, a human from New Jersey, causing the man to release Tatanga from the Game Boy. Upon arriving on Earth, Tatanga hopes to conquer the planet and rule it with an iron fist. Each time Tatanga was released, he always tried to take over an Earth monument, such as Disney World or the World Trade Center. One time, Tatanga and his minions conquered the Great Wall of China. However, Mario is always released from the Game Boy, and the hero inevitably brings the evil alien back to the Game Boy dimension. As it turns out, Herman Smirch was merely hallucinating all these events. However, the comic series was canceled before this plot point was revealed.

Trivia

• Katsini, a boss from Wario's Woods resembles Tatanga, though with more pronounced mandibles and hair, leading to the possibility that he and Tatanga may be members of the same species.
• Unlike the other bosses featured in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Tatanga does not appear in Nintendo Power's Mario vs. Wario comic.
• Tatanga is the first extraterrestrial main villain to appear in the Mario series, followed by Smithy, Sir Grodus, Princess Shroob, and Elder Princess Shroob.

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