False character: Difference between revisions

'''False characters''', also referred to as "puppet fighters", are enemies featured in [[Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary|The Subspace Emissary]] in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' and [[Adventure Mode: World of Light|World of Light]] in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''. They are, for all intents and purposes, false versions of [[character|fighters]] that are forced to do the bidding of the modes' respective main antagonists. In The Subspace Emissary, a false fighter is created when [[Shadow Bug|Shadow Bugs]] duplicate a fallen fighter by swarming over their [[trophy|trophy form]]; in World of Light, the fighters are captured by either [[Galeem]] or [[Dharkon]] and replicated through an unknown power, only for the replica to be possessed by spirits forced to fight.

Most false characters in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' retain the look and abilities of the original with the addition of a smoky purple aura, solid and glowing yellow irises and a matching darker tinge (outliers that do not entirely conform to these schematics include Samus and Mr. Game & Watch); in battle, they are simply rendered with a purple tint and constantly glowing eyes, lacking the auras. Like the original characters, they revert into trophy forms upon defeat, but these duplicate trophies quickly dissolve into Shadow Bugs afterward. Similar to [[Metal Box|metal]] fighters, they are voiceless. All false characters are slightly larger than their normal counterparts (or much larger in the case of the false Diddy Kong) and deal slightly more damage while having slightly more [[knockback resistance]].

False characters in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' initially appear as inanimate and colorless replicas, but once spirits are forced to animate them, the puppets gain color; said color represents one of the original characters' many costumes (typically their alternate costumes outside of a handful of exceptions)—sometimes colored similarly to the spirit possessing them or something else related to said spirit (e.g. the Yoshi puppet fighters containing Eevee's spirit are blue, yellow and red in reference to Vaporeon, Jolteo and Flareon—Eevee's original evolutions), and their eyes gain a distinct red glowing color (the color is instead purple for when Dharkon is controlling the fighters), though the color's pattern varies — the Mario puppet fighter containing a Smoky Progg's spirit displayed lighter red for his irises and darker red for his pupils during the opening cutscene, while outside of this the puppet fighters inverted this while also having pink sclera (in the case of the puppet fighters cloned from Samus or Dark Samus, their entire visor lights up, rather than their eyes simply shining through it); the Marth controlled by Dharkon in the {{SSBU|Hero}}'s reveal trailer displayed a dark purple pupil, even darker purple sclera, and almost white lavender irises while the other characters displayed darker irises and brighter pupils much like they do in gameplay. In gameplay itself, all fighters under Galeem's control (and later [[Dharkon]]'s) display glowing eyes while only the original fighters possess an aura during gameplay (they do display such a characteristic in the Hero's trailer).

[[File:Lakeshore Subspace Emissary.png|thumb|A false Bowser, next to the real {{SSBB|Bowser}}.]]

The false Bowser makes its first appearance in [[The Lake]], attacking {{SSBB|Fox}} and {{SSBB|Diddy Kong}} at the very end of the stage. Once being defeated by Fox and Diddy, its trophy dissolves and then the real Bowser makes his entrance in an attempt to capture the two. It is believed that Bowser ordered a swarm of Shadow Bugs to create his false counterpart, so he could use it as somewhat of a decoy.

[[File:FalseDiddy.png|left|thumb|A false Diddy Kong facing Fox, {{SSBB|Falco}} and the real Diddy.]]

As Fox and Diddy are walking through [[The Swamp]], they become ambushed by Bowser, with Bowser using his Dark Cannon against Diddy, turning him into a trophy. Bowser then orders some Shadow Bugs to swarm the trophified Diddy, creating the false Diddy. As it was starting to worsen, Falco then flies down in an Arwing and destroys the Dark Cannon, forcing Bowser to retreat by means of his [[Koopa Clown Car]]. Afterwards, the false Diddy gathers even more Shadow Bugs and grows to an enormous size, effectively making it a [[minor boss]]. Fox revives Diddy, who freaks out at the sight of his clone and the trio defeat it. Once defeated, the clone's trophy disintegrates into Shadow Bugs.

After {{SSBB|Pikachu}} and {{SSBB|Zero Suit Samus}} fought their way through the [[Research Facility (Part II)|Research Facility]], Samus located her Power Suit. Before she can retrieve it, however, a pair of False Samuses confront the duo. After defeating them, Samus donned her Power Suit and continued, destroying the R.O.B.s sent to attack her. The Samus suits are similar to the color scheme of the Samus' Gravity Suit.

It is implied that these false Samuses are duplicates of the Power Suit rather than Samus herself, as the in-game name of the cutscene in which they appear is titled "The Copied Power Suit", no purple aura surrounds these false Samuses and Samus is never seen as a trophy for any Shadow Bugs to duplicate before this point.

When {{SSBB|Snake}}, {{SSBB|Meta Knight}}, and {{SSBB|Lucario}} storm the bridge of the captured Halberd, they discover a quintet of false {{SSBB|Mr. Game & Watch}}es. Snake proceeds to knock them out of the window, onto the deck, and into the midst of the tea party held by {{SSBB|Peach}}, Fox, and {{SSBB|Zelda}} (disguised as {{SSBB|Sheik}} during that time). The clones then dissolve into Shadow Bugs and form into [[Duon]], a last resort to defend the Halberd which begins a boss fight. After the monster's defeat, it dissolves into Shadow Bugs and flies away, leaving behind the trophy of the real Mr. Game & Watch.

The story segment here changes depending on if the player (as {{SSBB|Kirby}}) saved Peach or Zelda in the beginning when fighting [[Petey Piranha]]. After the Shadow Bugs cover Peach/Zelda's trophy, they morph into a false Peach/Zelda. While {{SSBB|Mario}} and {{SSBB|Pit}}/{{SSBB|Link}} and {{SSBB|Yoshi}} are running, the false princess attempts to shoot them with a [[Dark Cannon]]. However, right before it is able to, the other duo arrives and Link/Pit destroys the Dark Cannon. The false princess glares at the arriving duo and they fight. The duo wins the battle, reducing the false princess to its trophy form as it dissolves. At the same time, Mario/Link mistakes the other character as having defeated the real deal and attacks. The previous duo then defeats the arriving duo, turning the two into trophies which are taken by King Dedede. Kirby saves the two and the princess's trophy is later taken away by Bowser when he and his Koopa Troop storm Dedede's castle.

Later on in the story, both Peach and Zelda's trophies are taken aboard the [[Halberd]], locked up in spare cages. When Snake, Meta Knight and Lucario enter the room where their trophies are, Shadow Bugs come in and form into new false versions of the princesses. The three newcomers battle the doppelgängers and defeat them before reviving the original princesses.

Unlike most false characters, the color of the false Zeldas' skin takes on a greyish tone. This may take some inspiration from when Zelda was possessed by Ganondorf in ''The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess''. This tone lasts for the length of the battle.

[[File:FalseDKfight.jpg|thumb|Kirby fighting a false Donkey Kong in The Great Maze]]

Different versions of false characters appear in [[The Great Maze]]. These versions of false characters are slightly larger than ordinary ones and sport a shining yellow-green look and white eyes. These characters also emit lower-pitched sounds. No reason has been given for the change in color compared to those found outside of Subspace, though it is speculated that this is their "natural form" while inside Subspace.

One duplicate of every character that has been seen so far in the plotline (therefore excluding {{SSBB|Sheik}}, {{SSBB|Zero Suit Samus}}, {{SSBB|Jigglypuff}}, {{SSBB|Toon Link}}, {{SSBB|Wolf}}, and {{SSBB|Sonic}}) appears in The Great Maze. Each duplicate is fought on a [[The Great Maze/Vs Stages|different stage]], though all of them share a similar background and platform design. Along with all of the [[boss]]es (except {{SSBB|Master Hand}} and {{SSBB|Crazy Hand}}), they must be defeated in order to confront [[Tabuu]] in the final battle.

During a battle with a false character, a music track, usually dark-themed and derived from the character's game series, plays in the background. However, some characters, such as Fox and Pit, have their battle themes taken from another character's game series.

|{{CharHead|Marth|SSBB|hsize=20px}}||rowspan=2|''{{SSBBMusicLink|Fire Emblem|Against the Black Knight}}''

False characters reappear in [[Adventure Mode: World of Light|World of Light]]. This time, instead of Shadow Bugs, they are formed by a strange glowing substance being poured over the trapped fighters, which forms into an inanimate replica. These "puppet fighters" are then animated by [[spirit]]s bound by [[Galeem]] or [[Dharkon]], which can be claimed by defeating the puppet fighters. They are also usually represented by the fighters' [[Alternate costume (SSBU)|alternate costumes]]. More information on these fights can be found [[Unlockable character#World of Light|here]].

During {{b|The Final Battle|World of Light}}, false characters appear as either light-blue silhouettes with red eyes, or red silhouettes with purple eyes. The former are created by Galeem and based on fighters found in [[The Light Realm]] or surrounded by Galeem's spirits in the final world. The latter are created by Dharkon and based on fighters found in [[The Dark Realm]] or surrounded by Dharkon's spirits in the final world. A gallery for those false characters can be found [[False character/Character gallery#World of Light|here]].