Boom Boom (species)
| Boom Boom | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 The eponymous character Boom Boom, as he appears in Super Mario Bros. 3. | |||
| First appearance | Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) | ||
| Latest appearance | Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (2021) | ||
| Species origin | Koopa | ||
| |||
Boom Booms (sometimes hyphenated as Boom-Boom) are a species of Koopa loyal to Bowser. In most appearances, the species is represented by a single character also known as Boom Boom, who first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3 as the guardian of the Fortresses. The English manual of SMB3 reads: "The Mini-Fortresses are guarded by Boom Boom, a tough servant of Bowser."</ref>. In the Game Boy Advance remake, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, two Boom Booms are simultaneously battled in two of the extra World-e levels, and in New Super Mario Bros. U, multiple Boom Booms are seen in the overworld, each one standing atop a different fortress. Super Mario 3D Land introduced a second, female Boom Boom named Pom Pom, and the official European website uses plural forms when discussing both enemies, while other sources use singular. This ambiguity is present in other games, as instruction booklets occasionally use language such as "a Boom-Boom (sic)" alongside the singular male pronouns, suggesting the use of words like "he" and "him" may just be a stylistic choice, as seen in numerous other enemy biographies.
History
Super Mario series
Super Mario Bros. 3
- Main article: Boom Boom#Super Mario Bros. 3
The character Boom Boom debuted as the only representative of his species in this NES game, as well as in the version of Super Mario Bros. 3 included in SNES compilation Super Mario All-Stars. The compilation itself was eventually ported to the Wii as Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition, but while the in-game material was not changed, the instruction manual was modified from saying "The Mini-Fortresses are guarded by Boom Boom, a tough servant of Bowser. to "Each [Mini-Fortess] is guarded by a Boom-Boom." This confirms that there is more than one Boom Boom, although the use of the singular "him" in the next line suggests that like the earlier releases of the game, only the one Boom Boom appears in this version of Super Mario Bros. 3 as well.
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
While the main part of this port is exactly the same as the Super Mario All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 3 (including the text in the instruction manual), the Boom Boom character is joined be a second Boom Boom in his boss fights in the bonus World-e levels Swinging Bars of Doom and Kōri no Toride, which are only accessible via e-Reader.
Super Mario 3D Land
The character Boom Boom returns in Super Mario 3D Land alongside the newcomer Pom Pom as recurring bosses. However, while the North American website suggests they are both singular characters, the European and Australian websites use the plurals "Boom Booms" and "Pom Poms", implying that Pom Poms are separate from Boom Booms, and that both species are represented by multiple individuals in the game. However, only one Boom Boom and one Pom Pom are seen on screen at a time, and as well as the North American website and Prima guide, the Japanese website even implies that at least Pom Pom is an individual by describing her as 「クッパ軍の紅一点。」 meaning "The Koopa army's lone female. Therefore, while it is ambiguous, the majority of the evidence suggests that only two Boom Booms are present in Super Mario 3D Land: Pom Pom and the character, Boom Boom himself. The two use airships to aid Bowser in his attempted takeover of the Mushroom World, and are battled separately most of the time, only teaming up for their final appearances in World 7 and Special 8-Crown.
New Super Mario Bros. U
Boom Booms return in New Super Mario Bros. U, where multiple individuals are shown on the world map. Whether the Boom Boom character is one of these Boom Booms is unknown. Unlike Boom Boom's design in Super Mario 3D Land, this game's Boom Booms once again posses spikes on their shells, as in Super Mario Bros. 3.
Just like the Koopalings in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Boom Booms stand on top of the fortress on the map and when the player enters, they'll cackle and then jump inside. They are the tower bosses for the majority of the worlds, with the exception of Screwtop Tower and Slide Lift Tower, where Boss Sumo Bro. and Kamek respectively, will act as the bosses in Boom Boom's stead.
Before each battle after Acorn Plains, the Boom Boom is assisted by Kamek, who will use his magic on it the same way he did with bosses in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Kamek will grant the Boom Booms these abilities:
- Layer-Cake Desert: Will grant the Boom Boom the ability to spin jump.
- Frosted Glacier and Sparkling Waters: Will grant the Boom Boom the ability to jump, similar to Super Mario Bros. 3.
- Soda Jungle: Will make the Boom Boom larger.
- Rock-Candy Mines: Will transform the Boom Boom's arms into wings, similar to Super Mario Bros. 3.
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
Boom Booms appear in four episodes of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, where their roles are limited to attacking Mario and Luigi in various locales and producing only roars as sounds. Unlike the games, their teeth are yellow, not white. The episodes are Misadventures in Babysitting, Do the Koopa, Crimes R Us, and The Venice Menace.
Super Mario Bros. film
In the Super Mario Bros. film, the Boom Boom Bar was a reference to the Super Mario Bros. 3 enemy.
Super Paper Mario
In Super Paper Mario, one of the Sammer Guys is named Flailing Boom Boom, a reference to how Boom Booms attack by flailing their arms.
General information
Physical Description
Boom Booms are Koopas that bear some resemblance to the Koopalings, in that they too have rounded snout with protruding teeth, padded feet and thick limbs. However, they differ in that their lower shell covers their entire body, like Koopa Troopas, Lakitus and other species, unlike Bowser and the Koopalings, whose ribbed bellies are separated from their carapaces by bare scales. Originally, Boom Booms had retractile spikes on their shells, however both Boom Boom and Pom Pom have smooth shells in Super Mario 3D Land (with Pom Pom's being spotted), and the spikes on the shells of the New Super Mario Bros. U Boom Booms are short and do not retract.
In Super Mario Bros. 3, Boom Booms had slightly darker colouration than the Koopalings, with yellow, tan and brown scales, and the Desert Hill Boom Boom was grey in the NES version. Super Mario 3D Land brightened the colouration and changed the shell colour from brown to red, and also made Boom Boom slightly taller and big-headed. Additionally, Pom Pom had pink skin, rather than orange like her male counterpart, as well as pink spots on her shell and a blonde ponytail. New Super Mario Bros. U only had male Boom Booms, and made their hands larger and with visible claws; it also dimmed the colours to slightly darker shades of yellow and orange, but retained the red shell colouration.
Abilities
Boom Booms are agile enemies that leap at their foes and flail their arms around to attack. In Super Mario Bros. 3, the Boom Boom character could also enlarge the spikes on his shell and transform his arms into wings to fly, however in New Super Mario Bros. U, the Boom Booms require Kamek's magic to jump and fly. In Super Mario 3D Land, the Boom Booms could ground pound and spin in their shells, with Pom Pom also having the ability to levitate in her shell and use a boomerang to attack, while Boom Boom spins with his arms extended, causing flames to appear but also leaving him dizzy and vulnerable afterwards.
Names in Other Languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ブンブン Bunbun |
Boomboom (「ブン」 bun is an onomatopoeia for "boom") |
| Italian | Boom Boom | - |
| Korean | 부웅부웅 Buung-buung |
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| Portuguese | Bum Bum | Bum is an onomatopoeia for slam. |
| Spanish | Bum Bum | - |
