Bumper

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Bumper
Official artwork of a Bumper.
Universe	Super Smash Bros.
Appears in	SSB Brawl SSB4 Ultimate
Item class	Throwing/Trap

“	Hit an opponent with this item for a little pinball action - but be careful, because the bumper just might bump you!	”
—Super Smash Bros.'s instruction manual

The Bumper (バンパー, Bumper) is an item in Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. 4, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It acts as a combination of a throwing item and a stage obstacle in most cases.

Origin

As outlined on its relevant trophies, the Bumper is based on bumpers found within real-life pinball machines. In these machines, pinballs that hit bumpers will be quickly sent in the opposite direction from where they hit it; a majority of such bumpers also have a "starburst" decal applied to them, which was carried over to their appearances throughout the Super Smash Bros. series.

Overview

As an item

The Bumper can be picked up and thrown by players; if it hits opponents, it deals some damage, with its knockback properties varying on the game. In Super Smash Bros., it deals weak, set knockback, but in Brawl and Smash 4, the item's knockback scales, and it can potentially KO opponents at mid-range percentages, at about 60%.

Upon being thrown, the item's behaviour varies on the game in question:

• In Super Smash Bros., the item will continue flying through the air until it lands on a floor; upon doing so, it will adhere to the surface, and any players who touch it will be sent back in the direction from which they hit the item, and also take 1% damage. In addition, every time the item is hit, it will move back away from the opponent, and it can potentially jump off platforms.
• In Brawl, Smash 4, and Ultimate, the item will either stop in midair or stop upon hitting a flat surface; in both cases, the Bumper will send players flying to either the right or left if they touch it, though it will stay in place when it does so. In certain situations, a character can be trapped between a Bumper and a wall get repeatedly pushed in-place until it disappears.

In all cases, the Bumper will disappear after about ten seconds have passed.

As a stage hazard

In Super Smash Bros., a floating Bumper appears above Peach's Castle, moving side to side. Acting as a dynamic barrier, it can KO or potentially prevent players from getting Star KOed. Floating Bumpers are also seen in Race to the Finish, and also Break the Targets and Board the Platforms, either as stationary or moving hazards. Of note is that in the game, Bumpers cannot be placed in the air, making the Bumper in all of these instances unique compared to the item. In Super Smash Bros. 4, the Castle Bumper keeps its old design and its property of dealing 1% of damage when touched, unlike the Bumper item. It does not, however, use the original sound.

Damage

Action	SSB	Brawl	Smash 4
Collision	1%	0%	0%
Stationary throw	6%	7%	6%
Forward tilt throw	6%	7%	7%
Up tilt throw	7%	8%	8%
Down tilt throw	1%	9%	9%
Dash throw	8%	9%	9%
Forward smash throw	9%	10%	10%
Up smash throw	9%	11%	11%
Down smash throw	1%	13%	13%
Aerial drop	9%	1%	3%
Aerial forward tilt throw	8%	7%	7%
Aerial up tilt throw	9%	8%	8%
Aerial down tilt throw	9%	9%	6%
Aerial forward smash throw	9%	7%	7%
Aerial up smash throw	9%	8%	8%
Aerial down smash throw	9%	9%	6%

Note: A Bumper cannot be dropped when on the ground; instead, the Bumper will be thrown by a standard throw.

Trophies

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

The Bumper item appears as a trophy in Brawl. It is received by hitting a total of 5,000 meters or 15,000 feet with all fighters Home-Run Contest records.

Bumper's trophy in Brawl

Bumper

An item that originally appeared in Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64. After many years, it now makes its triumphant return. Bumpers are used in pinball to send balls flying, and they perform the same role in Smash Bros. They react to anything that touches them, including the people who set them. As they can also be set in midair, using them requires good tactics.

: Super Smash Bros.

: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

In Super Smash Bros. 4

Bumper's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Bumper's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Bumper

Ah, pinball... What a fun game. And with this item, you can add a bit of pinball wham to the battlefield. Once thrown, this item will bounce anything that comes near it violently away. Just don't get careless and walk into a deployed one yourself, or you'll get bounced too!

: Super Smash Bros. (04/1999)

: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

You might recognise this from a pinball machine. Just like the metal balls do, touch one of these and you'll go flying! You can throw them, but we'd suggest affixing them strategically so that they hit just the right people and send them soaring into the distance. Job done.

: Super Smash Bros. (11/1999)

: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Gallery

• 

  Sprite from Super Smash Bros.

• 

  Toon Link and Olimar trapped between bumpers.

• 

  The bumper stationary, with Fox and Pit being knocked back.

• 

  Mega Man alongside the new Bumper.

• 

  The underside of the Bumper's new design in Super Smash Bros. 4.

• 

  A Bumper knocking Charizard and Greninja back in SSB4.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	バンパー	Bumper
English	Bumper	—
French (PAL)	Bumper	—
French (NTSC)	Champignon	Bumper (lit. "Mushroom")
German	Bumper	—
Spanish	Bumper	—
Italian	Respingente	Bumper
Chinese (Simplified)	反弹器	Bumper
Chinese (Traditional)	反彈器	Bumper
Korean	범퍼	Bumper
Dutch	Bumper	—
Russian	Бампер	Bumper

Trivia

• Super Smash Bros. Melee is the only game where the Bumper is absent, making it the only item from the original game not to appear in said game. However, its role appears to have been given to the Flipper, which serves a near-identical purpose. Furthermore, the Flipper's ability to be placed in midair was used for the Bumper since its return in Brawl and onwards.
• Set Bumpers can be reflected in Smash 64. As a result, if the platform is small enough (such as the top of the right structure on Hyrule Castle or the pipes of Mushroom Kingdom), Fox can reflect a Bumper repeatedly until his Reflector breaks, at which point the super-reflected Bumper will deal extreme damage (but still set knockback).
• When thrown on a platform that disappears or shrinks, the Bumper will bounce when the platform does either.
• In Brawl, when a Bumper is placed in midair, it can be picked up while rotating into place before it is fully set. With luck, a player can attack an opponent with a bumper and grab it again.
• When rolling around a Bumper, it may go off even though it may not affect the player.
• The Bumper can be moved around by Landmaster.
• Bumpers have strange effects on certain Assist Trophies:
  • If one of Dr. Kawashima's numbers collides with it, it will start repeatedly going off, causing the number to freeze. Even after the Bumper vanishes, the number will stay perfectly still well after the other numbers have stopped spawning, and will only leave the screen if it is attacked, which will cause it to regain its momentum.
  • If the Starman teleports onto a Bumper, it will stand inside of the Bumper, flinching but not being knocked back, rendering it useless until either it or the Bumper vanishes.
• The Bumper is the only normal item in the Super Smash Bros. series to return to an installment after being cut from a previous installment.
• Bumpers don't normally spawn on stages that travel across various areas or other moving stages (Delfino Plaza, Wuhu Island, Skyloft, etc.). This is possibly due to the stage's collision being affected by its mobility, which complicates stably placing a Bumper midair.
  • Oddly enough, if a player spawns them in Brawl or SSB4 through Training Mode, Bumpers can never be placed midair unlike other stages where it is normally available. In Ultimate, Training Mode completely removes the Bumper in those moving stages.

See also

• Flipper