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weirdmarioenemies · 7 months

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Is King Bob-omb a robot?

Is he? Huh?

Recently I have been thinking about the nature of King Bob-omb, because I think it is more interesting than one may think upon first consideration! Yes, he is a big living bomb. But what does this mean for him? Let's discuss!

Bob-ombs

Bob-ombs! They are bombs. Even a dog could look at a Bob-omb and tell you "Rhat's a ralking romb! Hreeheehee!" What do we know about Bob-ombs? Well, they are very clearly artificially created entities. I mean, they're bombs. They're powered by wind-up keys! And they're mass-produced in factories. These are artificial, mechanical creatures. Automatons! The ones in Sunshine are very overtly robotic, and even if those ones are Bowser Junior creations, it may reflect how he views the real ones.

There is a history of sentient, talking Bob-ombs and Bob-omb society, so these are clearly rather advanced automatons. All the more reason for me to confidently declare them to be robots! It's weird to make a living bomb capable of thought and emotion, but as established by Origami King, the ones working for Bowser are intent on making their single blast really make a difference. So I guess making them sapient is ultimately helpful for Evil purposes, if unethical.

King Bob-omb

Now let's consider the King! That guy loves to be considered. He is NOT mass-produced. He does not have a wind-up key. He does not even have a fuse! And of course, he has arms. No Bob-ombs have arms...

...but Chuckyas do! Big, Bob-omb-like, with arms for throwing Marios. King Bob-omb seems like he could be a stronger, more refined model of Chuckya! Chuckyas are absolutely robotic, so this does make a good case for the King being such, as well!

Could a robot have such a magnificent mustache, though? Yes, a robot could. Even standard Bob-ombs are capable of having mustaches, as are creatures made of ice, and also this is a silly cartoon world. So yes, I think a robot could have a mustache.

Mecha King Bob-omb

Now HERE's the thing that got me thinking of this in the first place! Mecha King Bob-omb, from Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. This is a robotic version of King Bob-omb... hm. This IS obviously a robotic replica based on him, and there's no reason a robot based on another robot couldn't exist, but that WOULD make the "Mecha" title pretty weird! Is the original king mechanical or what? I guess the "Mecha" could also be referring to this version being a pilotable mecha, unlike the real version, which is a Guy. This brings up questions, and answers none!

The Big Dud

Finally, the last possibility of King Bob-omb's origins. If you are aware of the Super Mario 64 Iceberg, you are aware of the Big Dud theory! After Big Bob-omb (as he is known in 64) is defeated, an additional metal ball will be rolling around at the base of the mountain, and a Bob-omb Buddy will declare that the Big Bob-omb is nothing but a big dud now. This has led some to believe that the additional cannonball might be Big Bob-omb himself, made inanimate upon his defeat!

And then THIS gets me thinking about Power Stars. They do weird things to Mario creatures! I think it is likely King Bob-omb could have been created BECAUSE of the Power Star he holds. Maybe he was an ordinary Bob-omb enhanced into a new, regal form by the Star, or maybe he even was an ordinary inanimate metal ball, chosen to be extra resilient compared to his subjects! You know, in 64, he doesn't even explode like a Bob-omb. Is he a FRAUD? (No, he explodes in other games)

Final thoughts

So, after all this analysis, is King Bob-omb a robot or what? I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. No one knows. This guy is weird! He can fly with no effort if thrown off the mountain. When killed, he congratulates Mario for killing him and invites him to do it again sometime. If I HAD to come to a conclusion... I would say he is technically robotic, but that's not something the designers/developers actually ever have or had in mind, and is just a result of being a Bob-omb.

I don't mind that there is no concrete answer! I was not expecting there to be! This is Super Mario we're talking about. They're not going to expect us to analyze evidence about characters and come to conclusions. But it is so much fun to do! That's why we do it! Call this guy a robot if you want! Or affirm that he is not if you don't! I don't really care as long as you are nice!

#king bob-omb #bob-omb #chuckya #super mario 64 #mecha king bob-omb #mario + rabbids sparks of hope #analysis #mario #mod chikako #long post

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louivi · 5 months

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Some random Bob-omb characters ✨

#super mario #paper mario #bob-omb

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akfamilyhome · 4 months

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Happy "Steamboat Willie Enters Public Domain" Day

(old artwork from 2018)

#akfamilyhome art #steamboat willie #bob-omb

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retrogamingblog2 · 2 years

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Nintendo Sand Sculptures

#nintendo #mario #gaming #video games #art #crafts #sand #beach #summer #link #zelda #bob-omb #wind waker #gamecube #wii u #funny #lol #humor #sculpture #retro #legend of zelda #loz #cute #retrogaming

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n64retro · 11 months

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Bob-Omb Buddy Super Mario 64 (Nintendo EAD, 1996)

#super mario 64 #nintendo 64 #sm64 #bob-omb #N64 #bob-omb buddy

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ssksscrapboard · 5 months

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Felt like making a pastel circus Bob-omb named Illene!

#super #mario #bros #oc #bob-omb #bob #omb #bobomb #mario oc #mario bros oc #super mario oc #female #circus #clown #SSKOCs

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cartographers-office · 11 months

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Thwomps, Chomps and Bob-ombs, my theories on the artificial beings of Mario

Thwomps, Whomps, Bomps... The Mario universe has its fair share of sapient rock creatures. It has also many other artificial/metal creatures like Chain Chomps and Bob-ombs. I've often contemplated the nature of those mysterious beings, so here are my attempts at understanding them. This is a long one, so bear with me.

Now, before we start, I have a couple disclaimers to get out of the way that would help in understanding my ramblings:

1. There are a lot of speculative links between different "species": Many of the points I will bring up are only directly tied to one "type" of artificial being, e. g.: Bob-ombs having a spirit; seemingly lifeless Thwomps abandoned and overgrown, etc. I speculate that those characteristics can generally be applied to other types of artificial beings, e.g.: Bob-ombs having spirits means that Chain Chomps also have spirits, etc.

2. Possessed doesn't mean what you think it means: Simply put, I'll be using the word "possessed" or similar concepts to describe the way these spirits inhabit their artificial bodies. By that I don't mean possessor-type ghosts who jump in and out of furniture to create chaos. Imagine it as your own soul possessing your own body, the two being intrinsically connected since birth and mostly all the way up to death.

With that out of the way, let's start with their birth.

Thwomp birth: Thwomp Volcano

In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, one of the locations visited is the Thwomp Volcano, a mountain literally built out of unchiseled Thwomps of various sizes. We see those same unchiseled Thwomps being shot out of the volcano during its annual eruption.

“Own up! I mean, look at you! You're obviously all plumbers! Thanks to your meddling, my hubby's in a stone funk! Jumping into that volcano was his hobby, you terrible men! We've been waiting for the annual eruption all year!”

- Mrs. Thwomp, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

We also see a young professor E. Gadd studying the nature of the Thwomps and the mountain itself. That might not make much sense at first, given E. Gadd specializes in ghosts, but remember that Thwomps were literally described as ghosts in the English manual of Super Mario World.

A better translation of the Japanese manual (石のお化け “ishi no obake”) would be “stone spirits” or “stone demons”. I don’t mean to suggest they are literally undead people but more like a type of nature spirit in the world. E. Gadd is even described as an “obake researcher” (オバケけんきゅうか) in the original japanese version of Luigi’s Mansion.

“The name's Elvin Gadd. I'm studying the Thwomps and history of this here mountain. How'd all these stony fellers get here and why're they so darn angry about everything?”

- Young Professor E. Gadd, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

“Thwomp A nasty stone ghost that guards the castles and fortresses for the Koopas. If Mario comes close, Thwomp will try to crush him. The trouble is, if you don’t pass it, you can’t go on.”

- Super Mario World instruction booklet, page 25

I speculate that Thwomps are formed inside the volcano, where their spirits are born and gain a stone body from the cooled magma. I also believe that other similar species like Thwimps, Whomps, Walleyes, etc. are either born from the same volcano or from similar locations.

Chompworks Galaxy and the Bob-omb Factories

Although they might not initially look all that similar, Chain Chomps and Thwomps could have a lot in common, starting with their creation.

The Chompworks Galaxy is a location seen in Super Mario Galaxy 2, where Gearmos work to maintain a production line of Chain Chomps. The large bodies of lava present here might suggest that the creation of Chomps is tied to a foundry-like process, much like how the Thwomp Volcano would work in a similar manner, using molten rock instead of molten metal.

On a side note, Bob-ombs have also been shown to be factory-built, as we see in minigames such as Sort or ‘Splode from Super Mario 64 DS/New Super Mario Bros. or the Bob-omb Factory board in Mario Party 9.

Chomp Rocks and Stone Chomps

Another connection that can be made between Thwomps and Chomps comes not from the classic Chain Chomps, but rather a variant of them, the Stone Chomps. These stone variants are only found in Paper Mario, inside the buried temple of Dry Dry Ruins.

Given that the ruins themselves are very ancient and that the regular Chain Chomps in Tutankoopa's battle were brought by him, it stands to reason that these Stone Chomps are equally ancient and inhabitants of this tomb, unlike the Chain Chomps used by Tutankoopa, who was assigned by Bowser to guard the Star Spirit.

“This is a Stone Chomp, who guards the treasure in this room. He's made of stone. Duh!” “His jaws can supposedly crush a Coconut. I don't know about you, but I don't want to become a snack.”

- Goombario Tattle, Paper Mario.

Besides Stone Chomps, another hint at the true nature of Chain Chomps can be seen with the Chomp Rocks that are prevalent in the Yoshi series. These large round statues, placed across the island, might’ve once been living Stone Chomps (more on that topic in a moment). It would explain why they are so haphazardly placed, generally out in the wild.

My hypothesis on the nature of Chomps is that, like the Thwomps, Chomps were once naturally made out of stone. At some point in time, Chomps started being artificially built out of metal, with Chompworks being one such factory. These newer “models” were then named Chain Chomps.

Bobby, Chomp Shells and Thwomp Ruins

In Paper Mario: The Origami King, The Bob-omb Bobby shows us that they too have souls and can become ghosts, just like how Thwomps are “ghosts” (i.e. stone spirits). This means Chain Chomps likely have similar spirits too. Interestingly, while that shows us their spirit can linger on after their body is destroyed, there are cases where the opposite seems to happen.

The aforementioned Chomp Rocks might be empty husks of Stone Chomps, who have somehow left their bodies in the distant past. The same seems to be true for the Chomp Shell weapon from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (called ワンワンのぬけがら, Chomp Husks, in Japanese) as well as the motionless and cracked Thwomp husks found in places such as Thwomp Ruins from Mario Kart 8, Thwomp Desert from Mario Kart Wii and maybe even the Beanbean Kingdom in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.

Maybe this is as close to a natural death as these beings can get, or maybe they are able to separate from their physical bodies without the latter’s destruction. Personally I doubt the latter.

The Mario Party 2 board Horror Land features Whomps that become immobile stone statues during the night. Perhaps a similar effect is at play here.

Final Thoughts

Connecting all those dots, my theory is that Thwomps, Chain Chomps and Bob-ombs (and related species) all have/are spirits of some type. Thwomps and Stone Chomps are natural stone spirits, with Chain Chomps having come from Stone Chomps after they started being manufactured. It is unclear if Bob-ombs (and others like Bullet Bills) were once naturally occurring spirits like Chain Chomps or are fully artificially-made spirits.

When a Thwomp's, Chain Chomp's or a Bob-omb's body is destroyed, their spirit likely dies with it. But as shown with Bobby, there is a possibility that some of them linger on as ghosts. Perhaps the other ones return to their place of origin and receive new bodies. As I speculated in a tweet here.

It also seems like they might also "die" in some other way, leaving empty shells behind. Whether that is their way of dying from old age or possibly willingly is unclear.

Thank you for reading through the entire post! I'd like to thank @seandwalsh for helping put it all together. Make sure to check out the Marioverse Discord server and the Subreddit for more theories and discussions on Mario lore!

https://discord.gg/ARUSxjmcSS

#headcanon #fanon #super mario #thwomp #chain chomp #bob-omb

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2dmarioart · 10 months

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2017 japanese mario calendar

#princess peach #mario #toad #bowser #kamek #boo #hammer bros.#bob-omb #goomba

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oretalcam · 2 months

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Bob-omb plush my friend gave me for my birthday yeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaars ago!

Lil fellas sits on top of a shelf in my room :]

#gameboy #gameboycamera #gameboy camera #gameboycameraphotography #nintendo #gameboy camera photography #2bitphotographywebapp #gbprinterweb #2bitphotograph #2bitphotography #set 10 #oretal #plush #bob-omb #mario

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savedatateam · 10 months

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We need to talk about Bob-Omb...

#bob-omb #bobomb #bob omb #mario #mario bros #super mario #super mario bros #smb #mario kart #robert #bob

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mega-magolor · 5 months

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The bomb guys from Mario wonder are named "Hanabihei" internally. This means Firework Soldier. Compare this to "Bomuhei", the Japanese name for the Bob-Omb.

This leads me to believe the official English name for the Hanabihei would be something like a snappier version of "Firework-Omb" that rolls of the tongue better while still retaining part of the word "Firework" and the "-Omb" ending.

Also, look at this awesome and cute Hanabihei/ Firework Soldier/ Firework-Omb render from the Mario Wiki!