Back aerial

Mario's back aerial in Melee.

Wolf's back aerial in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Olimar's back aerial in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

The back aerial attack (後空中攻撃, Rear/back midair attack; commonly abbreviated as bair or B-Air, and referred to as AttackAirB in Melee's Debug Menu and internal Brawl files) is an aerial attack that can be performed in midair by pressing the attack button and tilting the control stick or d-pad in the direction opposite to which the character is facing. Its official term varies between titles, where it is known as a back midair attack in Melee, and a back air attack in Brawl. The majority of these attacks are kicks, and tend to be considerably stronger and/or faster than a fighter's other aerial attacks; some are notable for being their fastest and most reliable KO moves, such as those of Zero Suit Samus and Mario, and can be used to approach or deny approaches with a technique known as a reverse aerial rush.

List of back aerials in Super Smash Bros.

In general, back aerial attacks in Super Smash Bros. are slow but with good range and good knockback. All except Link's are one-hit moves:

Character	Description	Damage
Captain Falcon	Punches backward with one hand. More of an advanced comboing move compared to his other aerials, more difficult to use in combos but overall better than up aerial against floaty characters.	16%
Donkey Kong	Kicks opponent with both feet. Too slow to be overly useful, but good for comboing against wall.	15%
Fox	Kicks opponent with one foot. A good aerial for Fox, as it is useful for edgeguarding Falcon's and Samus's recoveries, among others.	12%
Jigglypuff	Kicks opponent with one foot. An overall good move if it had more range, very quick, low power, virtually useless at low percents, can combo into itself at mid-percents.	13%
Kirby	Kicks opponent with both feet. The best example of a wall of pain move of SSB, good damage + good for combos, great edgeguard tool.	16%
Link	Kicks feet behind him one at a time. Very quick move usually used for combos, more of a backwards double kick. Good in almost all circumstances and overall Link's most useful aerial for comboing.	15% if both hits connect.
Luigi	Kicks opponent with both feet. Good range but slow, similar to Mario's but with more range and less speed.	16%
Mario	Kicks with both feet. Good KOing move, similar to Luigi's but with less range and more speed.	16%
Ness	Kicks opponent with both feet.	16%
Pikachu	Kicks the opponent behind it. The move is usually used either to start or finish a combo or to edgeguard.	16%
Samus	Raises her foot and then thrusts it behind her. Samus' overall best move. Huge range and power and Samus' main KOing/spacing move.	14%
Yoshi	Kicks opponent with both feet. Yoshi's overall slowest DJC aerial, good after up tilts, leads into other DJC aerials.	16%

List of back aerials in Super Smash Bros. Melee

Character	Description	Damage
Bowser	Throws his back out, extending the spikes on his shell. Can semi-spike. A good bit of ending lag if not l-canceled. This attack may be used as an edge-guard, though risky.	13% clean, 8% late.
Captain Falcon	A backhand behind him.	14%
Donkey Kong	Does a back kick like Mario, except with one foot.	13% clean, 9% late.
Dr. Mario	A short-duration back kick. Can semi-spike.	7-8%
Falco	A back kick, similar in appearance to Donkey Kong's. A sex kick.	15% clean, 9% late.
Fox	A back kick similar to Falco's.	15% clean, 9% late.
Ganondorf	A backwards punch similar to Captain Falcon's except it has consistent power throughout.	16%
Ice Climbers	Both climbers swing their hammers behind them.	12% (leader), 10% (partner), 22% (total).
Jigglypuff	A spinning back kick, similar to Samus. Can be used for Wall of Pain techniques.	12%
Kirby	A backwards kick. Can be used for Fence of Pain techniques.	14% clean, 10% late.
Link	Does a spinning double kick.	13% if both kicks connect.
Luigi	A short-duration back kick that has consistent power throughout.	6-11%
Mario	A backwards kick.	10%
Marth	A reverse aerial sword swipe. This move turns Marth around in the air.	10% untipped, 13% tipped.
Mewtwo	Lashes its tail behind it.	Up to 13%, depending on the distance from the opponent.
Mr. Game & Watch	Holds out a turtle behind him, hitting several times. This attack cannot be L-canceled.	18% if all hits connect.
Ness	A back kick dealing electricity damage. The initial frames inflict powerful knockback, and later frames deal less damage and knockback.	16% clean, 10% late.
Peach	Swings out her hip for 14% damage at the start. Can be used as a KO move.	14% clean, 5% late.
Pichu	Spins with its entire body horizontal. Only one hit.	9%
Pikachu	Spins like a frisbee. Only one hit. Some landing lag if not L-canceled.	12%
Roy	Similar to Marth's, except weaker. This attack turns Roy around in midair.	8% sourspotted, 9% at center of blade.
Samus	Does a spinning back kick. If the attack lands at her foot, it has good power, otherwise, it deals less damage and knockback.	14% at foot, 10% sourspotted.
Sheik	A simple back kick.	Landing the foot hitbox deals 14%; closer to the body does 8-10%.
Yoshi	Wags his tail several times behind him.	20% if all hits connect.
Young Link	Similar to Link's, where he does a double spin kick, though like Link's version it's also a weak air attack.	13% if both kicks connect.
Zelda	Does the powerful Lightning Kick behind her. Powerful knockback and damage when sweetspotted.	20% sweetspotted, 10% sourspotted.

List of back aerials in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Character	Description	Damage
Bowser	Thrusts out his shell behind himself.	15% (clean), 7% (late)
Captain Falcon	Does a quick backhand punch.	14% (clean), 8% (late)
Charizard	Quickly attacks behind itself with its wing, and tail. The wing can meteor smash, but it's weak and exists only to knock the opponent into the more-powerful tail swipe.	5% (wing), 7% (tail), 9% (flame)
Diddy Kong	Thrusts his foot behind himself and spins.	9%
Donkey Kong	A simple backwards kick. Very quick, moderately long duration, great range and powerful.	13% (clean), 8% (late)
Falco	Quickly kicks backwards. Has sex kick properties.	13% (clean sweetspot), 9% (clean sourspot), 7% (late)
Fox	Performs a slow back kick behind himself. The move's sweetspot is on his extended right leg with the sourspot being his left leg. The sweetspot will semi-spike opponents.	15% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot)
Ganondorf	Performs a backhand punch, similar to Captain Falcon. One of Ganondorf's fastest aerials and also deals good knockback.	16%
Ice Climbers	Turns around and quickly swings their hammers in a horizontal arc.	11% (leader), 8% (partner)
Ike	Quickly swings Ragnell behind himself. This is Ike's fastest aerial and has good KO potential.	14%
Ivysaur	spins around vertically and hits behind itself with two vines. Deals low damage with very low knockback, but has good range.	2% (hit 1), 3% (hit 2 tip), 2% (hit 2 base)
Jigglypuff	Spins backwards and performs a quick horizontal kick. Used for both wall of pain and stage spiking.	12%
King Dedede	Sticks his foot out behind himself, kicking with it. Has very fast start-up with far horizontal reach and strong horizontal knockback.	13% (clean), 9% (late)
Kirby	Extends both his feet backwards. Used for Fence of Pain. Often considered the best move in Kirby's arsenal.	12% (clean), 9% (late)
Link	Does a two kick combo behind himself. Deals low damage and knockback, but can combo into other moves if Link lands immediately after landing the first hit.	4% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2)
Lucario	Thrusts its arm behind itself, releasing aura. Has good horizontal reach and also deals great horizontal knockback. One of the strongest back aerials in the game if Lucario is at full power.	12% (clean), 9% (late)
Lucas	Backflips and hooks his foot downward. Can meteor smash if the move connects at Lucas's foot.	12% (meteor sweetspot), 10% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot), 7% (tip)
Luigi	Similar to Mario's, but has longer range.	12% (clean), 8% (late)
Mario	Spins and kicks backwards.	12% (clean), 7% (late)
Marth	Swings his sword in an upwards swipe behind himself. This attack is notable because it turns Marth around in the air.	11% (base), 14% (tip)
Meta Knight	Slashes three times behind himself very quickly, being slightly slower but more powerful than his forward aerial.	3% (hits 1-2), 4% (hit 3)
Mr. Game & Watch	Takes out a turtle and attacks behind himself, hitting multiple times. Originates from Turtle Bridge.	5% (hits 1-5)
Ness	Kicks out backwards with both feet extended. The move's clean hit has an electric effect and extreme power.	15% (clean), 8% (late)
Olimar	Swings a Pikmin backwards.	R: 13% (head), 11% (body) Y: 12% (head), 9% (body) B&P: 13% (head), 10% (body) W: 5% (head), 4% (body)
Peach	Bashes her hip backwards. One of Peach's good KO moves.	13-14% (clean), 7% (late)
Pikachu	Spins around in the air, dealing multiple hits. Has high ending lag if not autocanceled.	1% (hits 1-7), 4% (hit 8), 4% (landing)
Pit	Thrusts his bow backwards. Has good knockback, having the strongest out of all of Pit's aerials.	15% (clean), 7% (late)
R.O.B.	Aims his base behind himself and fires his boosters. Propels him forward and deals decent knockback.	11%
Samus	A backward kick. The sweetspot is on her foot, which deals slightly more knockback.	12% (clean sweetspot), 11% (clean sourspot), 6% (late)
Sheik	Quickly extends her leg backwards. Has sex kick properties with the sweetspot being on her foot.	12% (clean sweetspot), 11% (clean sourspot), 6% (late)
Snake	Kicks backward with both feet extended. Deals very high horizontal knockback if sweetspotted. Doesn't auto cancel in short hops, making it very punishable.	15-16% (clean), 10% (late)
Sonic	Spins around and performs a quick roundhouse kick. This is considered Sonic's best aerial finisher.	13% (clean), 9% (late)
Squirtle	Sticks its tail out behind itself. Has fast startup and a good edgeguarding move.	12% (clean), 6% (late)
Toon Link	Slashes backwards in an upward swipe with his sword. Can chain into itself at low percents and is a good KO move at higher percents.	10%
Wario	Throws his head backwards, hitting foes with it. Has more endlag and landing lag than his forward aerial.	10%
Wolf	Jams his leg backwards with deceiving range. Short duration, but very fast and powerful.	13%/11% (right leg), 10%/9% (left leg)
Yoshi	Rapidly flips his tail up and down, hitting multiple times.	4% (hits 1), 3% (hits 2-3), 4% (hit 4)
Zelda	Lightning Kick: Quickly kicks behind herself, dealing great damage and knockback if the opponent is hit at the beginning of the move at just the tip of her boot. Has less startup and ending lag than her forward aerial.	20% (clean foot), 4% (clean leg, late)
Zero Suit Samus	A backwards kick that deals high knockback. Can be used to bait at lower percentages and is a good KO move at higher percentages.	13% (foot), 12% (leg)

List of back aerials in Super Smash Bros. 4

Character	Description	Damage
Bayonetta	An extended kick behind her, similar to Zero Suit Samus' back aerial. High knockback and can KO starting at 110% near the ledge, along with low cooldown. The Bullet Art version fires one gun behind her at an upward angle.	13% (heel), 10% (leg)
Bowser	Performs a reverse dropkick. Very quick start-up. Extremely powerful, comparable to most other fighters' back aerials.	19%
Bowser Jr.	The Junior Clown Car swings a wrecking ball behind Bowser Jr.	14% (clean tip), 8% (clean base, late)
Captain Falcon	Does a quick backhand punch.	14% (clean), 8% (late)
Charizard	Swings its tail backwards.	10% (body), 13% (tail), 15% (flame)
Cloud	Similar to Ike's. Performs a spinning, two handed, outward slash behind him.	13%
Corrin	Sprouts wings from his/her back and thrusts them behind. Gives a slight boost forward similar to R.O.B.'s	11% (clean), 9% (late)
Dark Pit	Identical to Pit's.	8% (base), 12% (tip)
Diddy Kong	Thrusts his foot behind himself and spins.	9%
Donkey Kong	Quickly kicks backwards with one foot. Powerful, mostly being used for wall of pains.	13% (clean), 8% (late)
Dr. Mario	Identical to Mario's, though not as useful for chaining due to Doc's lower air speed.	13.44% (clean), 7.84% (late)
Duck Hunt	The dog swings the duck behind it, attacking with its beak.	10% (sourspot), 12.5% (sweetspot)
Falco	Does a backwards flying kick with one leg outstretched. Extremely fast and strong.	13% (clean), 7% (late)
Fox	Performs a slow back kick behind himself with one foot extended. A semi-spike.	13%
Ganondorf	Performs a backhand punch, similar to Captain Falcon. Very good knockback and speed makes it one of Ganon's more useful attacks.	17% (fist), 16% (arm)
Greninja	Performs three back kicks at a high angle, then a low angle, and then straight behind itself.	3% (hit 1), 2.5% (hit 2), 4% (hit 3)
Ike	Quickly swings Ragnell behind himself in a horizontal arc. One of Ike's fastest attacks, though it is a bit situational due to its short reach.	14%
Jigglypuff	Spins backwards and performs a quick horizontal kick. Powerful to the point of KOing reliably at 120%.	13%
King Dedede	Turns around and swings his hammer upwards. Can KO reliably below 130% and autocancels after a short hop. Very good range, and very effective against floaty opponents.	16%
Kirby	Extends both his feet backwards. Can KO at 131%. Useful for edgeguarding, and can also be used as a follow-up to back-throw at starting percentages.	13% (clean), 8% (late)
Link	Does a two kick combo behind himself. Deals low damage but has very little landing lag.	3% (hit 1), 5% (hit 2)
Little Mac	A swinging backhand punch behind himself. Has less startup than his forward aerial.	6% (hand), 4% (arm)
Lucario	Thrusts its arm behind itself, releasing aura. High horizontal knockback. It is the strongest back aerial and one of the strongest aerials in the game when Lucario is at full power, KOing opponents under 50%.	15%
Lucas	Backflips and hooks his foot downward. Can meteor smash if the move connects at Lucas's foot.	12% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot), 7% (late)
Lucina	Identical to Marth's.	9.975%
Luigi	Thrusts both his legs behind himself and spins.	14% (clean feet), 8% (clean legs, late)
Mario	Thrusts both his legs behind himself and spins. Useful for edgeguarding and can easily chain into itself.	10.5% (clean), 7% (late)
Marth	Swings his sword in an upwards swipe behind himself. This attack is notable because it turns Marth around in the air.	9% (base), 12% (tip)
Mega Man	Slash Claw: Quickly turns around and swings his arm, generating two crescent-shaped energy trails behind him. It is based on Slash Man's weapon from Mega Man 7. Has decent knockback and can surprise opponents when edgeguarding.	3% (hit 1), 4% (hit 2), 5% (hit 3)
Meta Knight	Slashes three times behind himself very quickly. Slightly slower than his forward aerial but is slightly stronger. Very good for edgeguarding.	2.2% (hits 1-2 for opponents on the ground), 1.5% (hits 1-2 for opponents in the air), 4% (hit 3)
Mewtwo	Whips its tail behind itself. Does more damage closer to Mewtwo's body.	13% (near), 11% (mid), 9% (far)
Mii Brawler	Performs a single swinging back kick.	10%*
Mii Gunner	Releases a burst of flames from its arm cannon behind him/herself.	12%*
Mii Swordfighter	Quickly swipes his/her blade behind himself/herself.	14%*
Mr. Game & Watch	Takes out a turtle that attacks behind himself, hitting multiple times. Originates from Turtle Bridge.	2% (hits 1-3), 3% (hit 4), 3% (landing)
Ness	Kicks out backwards with both feet extended with a small electric pulse. Deals electric damage and strong knockback if the move is sweetspotted.	15% (clean), 8% (late)
Olimar	Swings a Pikmin behind himself. Very quick start-up.	R: 13% Y&B: 10.8% W: 8.6% P: 15.1%
Pac-Man	Kicks the behind himself with both his feet extended.	11.8% (clean), 7% (late)
Palutena	Bashes her shield behind herself. The shield can block attacks due to the attack granting her invincibility frames (8 frames). Good for edgeguarding and can beat out most aerial attacks and certain projectiles.	12% (shield), 9% (arm)
Peach	Bashes her hip backwards. Has quick startup but as some ending lag.	12% (clean), 7% (late)
Pikachu	Spins around in the air, dealing multiple hits. Has high ending lag if not autocanceled.	0.8% (hits 1-7), 3% (hit 8), 4% (landing)
Pit	Thrusts both blades behind himself. Has the longest range and the strongest knockback of Pit's aerials.	8% (base), 12% (tip)
R.O.B.	Aims his base behind himself and fires his boosters. The move is notable for propelling R.O.B. forward during each use.	12% (clean base), 10% (clean tip), 6% (late base), 4.5% (late tip)
Robin	Thrusts his/her sword behind. Robin's strongest aerial attack, being able to KO as early as 100% with the Levin Sword.	Bronze: 9% Levin: 15% (clean), 5% (late)
Rosalina & Luma	Rosalina: Kicks behind herself, creating a miniature galaxy at her feet. Luma: Kicks straight back.	Rosalina: 11% Luma: 4%
Roy	Turns with a hard pivot to the left into an upward vertical slash to the left. The move turns Roy around in the air.	12% (base), 9% (tip)
Ryu	Performs a reverse roundhouse kick behind himself. Based off on Ryu's neutral jumping heavy kick from Street Fighter IV.	16% (leg), 13% (foot)
Samus	Kicks backwards with one foot extended. Deals more damage and knockback if the move connects at the tip of Samus's foot.	14% (clean foot), 12% (clean leg), 9% (late)
Sheik	Quickly extends her leg backwards. Has sex kick properties with the sweetspot being on her foot.	8% (clean sweetspot), 7% (clean sourspot), 5% (late)
Shulk	Holds the Monado backwards and thrusts behind himself. Has slow startup and moderate landing lag, but good range.	12% (clean), 8% (late)
Sonic	Turns back and performs a quick roundhouse kick. Sonic's best aerial finisher.	14% (clean), 10% (late)
Toon Link	Slashes backwards in an upward swipe with his sword. Good as both a surprise attack and a finisher.	11%
Villager	Turns around and fires a pellet from a slingshot. Slightly slower compared to his/her forward aerial but deals more damage and knockback.	9% (clean), 5% (mid), 3% (late)
Wario	Thrusts his head backwards in mid-air.	12%
Wii Fit Trainer	Performs the Cobra pose and kicks behind her/himself. Deals more damage if it connects at the feet.	13.5% (clean feet), 11% (clean legs), 9% (clean body),
Yoshi	Rapidly wags his tail, hitting three times.	2.5% (hits 1-2), 5% (hit 3)
Zelda	Lightning Kick: Kicks behind herself with an extremely powerful pulse from her extended foot with great knockback, yet a terrible sourspot. Has less startup than her forward aerial but has slightly more ending lag.	20% (clean) 4% (late)
Zero Suit Samus	A backwards kick that deals high knockback.	12% (foot), 10% (leg)

* This assumes the Mii is default height and weight.

Notable back aerials

Dr. Mario's back aerial attack in Melee can semi-spike while Mario's cannot.

• Jigglypuff's back aerial in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl is used for the highly effective "wall of pain". In Smash 4, its knockback has been drastically increased, losing its wall of pain ability, but KOing reliably at 120%.
• R.O.B.'s and Corrin's back aerials propel them forward. R.O.B. covers more overall distance while Corrin travels faster.
• Peach's back aerial has almost no landing lag, even less than its standard midair ending lag.
• Kirby's back aerial in Melee, an attack similar to Jigglypuff's back aerial but instead has almost no start-up lag. The move is dubbed the "fence of pain".
• Marth, Lucina, Roy, Chrom, and Jigglypuff's back aerials turn them around while still in midair. These are the only aerials able to do so in the Super Smash Bros. series.
• Dr. Mario's back aerial is a semi-spike with high base knockback, making it effective for edgeguarding.
• Zelda's back aerial in Melee is the strongest in the game if sweetspoted. Likewise, Ness's back aerial is among the strongest in the game if landed during the initial frames.
• Ganondorf's back aerial in Super Smash Bros. Melee is known for its tremendous range, duration, and a knockback only bested by Zelda's Lightning Kick. Such attributes make it one of, if not, the best back aerial in Melee overall.
• Toon Link's quick back aerial, with minimal knockback in Brawl. The move is effective for positioning the opponent for an immediate down aerial.
• Fox's back aerial in Brawl is a powerful semi-spike when sweetspotted, and is very safe to use from a short hop due to its nearly immediate autocancel window after its hitboxes cease. In Smash 4, the move has consistent power across its hitboxes and all of them semi-spike, but it is considerably weaker than in Brawl.
• Pikachu's back aerial has extremely short range, but the hitbox surrounds Pikachu.
• Mr. Game & Watch's back aerial is the feared Turtle, a disjointed five-hit combo. Like his neutral and up airs, it cannot be L-Canceled due to a programming error in Melee
• Lucas's and King K. Rool's back aerials can meteor smash.
• Samus's back aerial in Melee, one of her combo moves, which, when sweetspotted, is a very powerful low-percent killer, and when not sweetspotted, is a wall of pain on some fast and medium fallers.
• Lucario's back aerial in Smash 4, when it is in full power and sweetspotted, is very powerful KO moves as it can KO opponents under 50%. It is the most powerful back aerial and one of the most powerful aerials in the game.
• Bowser's back aerial in Smash 4 is not only very quick, but also one of the most powerful aerial moves in the game (about as strong as Ganondorf's down aerial), on par with most fighters' forward smashes.
• Palutena's back aerial is noted for its defensive capabilities, providing some intangibility and beating out certain projectiles.
• Villager's back aerial is the only back aerial that is a projectile.
• Shulk's back aerial, though slow, has exceptionally high disjointed range along with high power, making it a powerful finishing and spacing tool if spaced well. Its high landing lag makes it punishable, but it becomes very difficult to punish with Monado Art Landing Lag Canceling, and can even break full shields with Buster active if an Art-canceled back air to forward smash is landed.

Reverse Aerial Rush

The Reverse Aerial Rush, often abbreviated the RAR, is a technique in Brawl and Smash 4 that allows a character to use a back aerial in front of him or her. This is often used because the character has an inferior forward aerial or that a back air is simply more efficient than a normal attack at the time. It can also be used as an approach option. Many characters, such as King Dedede and Ness, can benefit from this technique.