King Dedede

For fighter info, see King Dedede (SSBB).

King Dedede
King Dedede Official artwork of King Dedede.
Universe	Kirby
Debut	Kirby's Dream Land (1992)
Smash Bros. appearances	SSB Melee Brawl SSB4 Ultimate
Console/platform of origin	Game Boy
Gender	Male
Place of origin	Dream Land
Created by	Masahiro Sakurai
Designed by	Masahiro Sakurai
Voice actor	Ted Lewis
Japanese voice actor	Kenichi Ogata

King Dedede (デデデ大王, Dēdēdē Daiō) is the main antagonist from the Kirby series. He is a giant puffball-like penguin being who wields a hammer, and has been the main antagonist of the Kirby series since its beginning. His powers are vaguely similar to Kirby's; he is able to puff himself up and float (although he only got this ability through rigorous training after his first defeat at Kirby's hands), and suck up enemies and spit them out as high-speed projectiles (unlike Kirby, he cannot copy a foe's ability). He can use both of these abilities in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Character Description

King Dedede is the selfish, self-proclaimed king of Dream Land. He has appeared as Kirby’s rival and nemesis in every Kirby game (with the exception of Kirby and the Amazing Mirror) since Kirby’s Dream Land. He is a hammer-wielding penguin with fine robes and a greedy disposition. While his more heinous actions are influenced by being possessed by Dark Matter, he is usually considered to be the main villain of the Kirby series, although, like Bowser, he has taken a less evil and more comical role in more recent games. He seems to be more selfish than evil, and appears to otherwise have a good heart. King Dedede's actions range from stealing food from the Dream Land residents in Kirby's Dream Land to breaking the Star Rod, source of power in the Fountain of Dreams, into seven pieces in Kirby's Adventure (although this latter was to protect Dream Land from an evil it did not know about). However, he is not above teaming up with Kirby as a friendly rival on occasion, such as in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, or Kirby: Canvas Curse.

King Dedede also makes an appearance as a major character in the animated TV series, Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, once again as the self-proclaimed king. He is usually accompanied by his snail-like sidekick, Escargoon, and has an army of Waddle Dees at his command, akin to the games, with a single Waddle Doo as the commander. While he is the king, he appears to take no administrative role for the kingdom, and most of the characters simply ignore his rule. His role in the anime is much more comical, but also more mean-spirited and evil, than in the games, and his bumbling attempts to cause Kirby to become less popular usually end up failing miserably.

In Super Smash Bros.

In the original Super Smash Bros., King Dedede made a mere brief cameo in the background of the Dream Land stage. He was once planned to be a playable character, but time constraints caused him to only have the aforementioned cameo.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

King Dedede only reappeared in the Dream Land stage once again, and also making another appearance as a trophy.

As a trophy

King Dedede makes an appearance as one of the 100+ collectible trophies in the game that can be found by "typical" means - either through the Trophy Lottery or picking it up during one of the single-player Regular Matches. Its trophy reads like so:

Dedede is the self-proclaimed king of Dream Land. While he says he's king, Dedede prefers no administrative functions and the citizens of Dream Land continue to live as they always have. He's able to suck in air and fly like Kirby does, but only as a result of vigorous training he undertook after being bested by Kirby.

• Kirby's Dream Land 9/92

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Main article: King Dedede (SSBB)

File:DDD.jpg

King Dedede is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, making him the third representative playable character from the Kirby series. He wields his trademark hammer, swinging it in most of his standard attacks, like the Ice Climbers, and has very powerful hammer-based attacks. His special moves are Inhale (Neutral Special), Waddle Dee Toss (Side Special), Super Dedede Jump (Up Special), and Jet Hammer (Down Special). Inhale is very similar to Kirby's trademark move, but King Dedede lacks the ability to copy abilities. Waddle Dee Toss lets the king throw his minions at foes, sometimes producing not only Waddle Dees but also more deadly Waddle Doos and Gordos. Super Dedede Jump is an effective recovery move, sending King Dedede high into the air, then crashing into the ground to damage foes. He can also cancel out of doing this. Finally, King Dedede mechanizes his hammer with Jet Hammer. The hammer's power is charged up by holding the special attack button, and then released for a mighty swing. King Dedede incurs damage after charging for too long, however.

Like other playable characters, King Dedede appears visually similar to his canon incarnations, but greatly enhanced graphically -- for example, his usually uncovered girth (other than his patterned waistband, that is) is now covered by fine robes of a similar color, making his overall wear resemble a kimono. He also has several interesting costume colors, which not only change the color, but the design on his waistband too, including a sepia toned one. His voice is also provided by Masahiro Sakurai himself.

Trophy Info

The self-styled king of the amazingly peaceful Dream Land. He continually does things unbecoming a king, like stealing the kingdom's food supplies or all the stars from the sky. He's not all bad, though, and sometimes performs good deeds. While he and Kirby often battle, they've been known to compete good-natured at speed-eating contests and minigames.

• Kirby's Dream Land (1992)
• Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (2000)