Back aerial

File:BA.jpg

The back aerial (abbreviated as "bair", "BAir", "b-air" or "ABA") is an aerial attack that is performed in midair by pressing the A Button, and tilting the control stick 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 Super Smash Bros. Melee, and a "Back Air Attack" in Brawl. The majority of Bairs are kicks.

List of Bairs (SSBB)

Mario: A twizzle-kick of sorts, he kicks behind himself with both feet and spins.

Luigi: The same as Mario's.

Peach: Bashes her bottom backwards.

Bowser: Forces his shell backwards.

Donkey Kong: A simple backwards kick. Long duration.

Diddy Kong: A fast turnaround motion with his leg stuck out.

Yoshi: Flips his tail up and down. Lots of damage given if all hits connect.

Wario: Falls over in the air. Can be used to fly as Wario-Man.

Link: Two backward kicks. Relatively weak.

Zelda: The famous Lightning Kick. She jabs her heel behind her giving an extremely powerful initial, electricity-imbued attack for the first hitbox. The second hitbox is very weak.

Sheik: Extends her leg backward very fast. Sweetspot on her foot.

Ganondorf: Punches backward. Very similar to Captain Falcon's Bair.

Toon Link: Thrusts upwards with his sword.

Samus: A backward kick. Sweetspot on her foot.

Zero Suit Samus: Identical to Samus', but slightly faster.

Pit: Jabs his swords backwards. Good knockback, but hard to land.

Ice Climbers: Spin around with hammers slightly extended. Deceivingly strong.

R.O.B.: Pushes boosters behind himself. Moves him forward.

Kirby: Extends both feet backwards. Used for Fence of Pain. Often considered the best move in Kirby's arsenal by pros.

King Dedede: Very similar to Kirby's, but with one foot. Large hitbox.

Meta Knight: Slashes three times behind himself very quickly, slightly slower/more powerful than his forward aerial, which has the same properties.

Olimar: Swings a Pikmin backward.

Fox: A standard Bair kick, he spins with his leg outstretched. Horrible ending lag in the air that often causes suicide deaths.

Falco: The L&R kick from Melee.

Wolf: Jams his leg backwards with a deceiving range.

Captain Falcon: Punches behind himself.

Pikachu: Spins around for multiple hits.

Squirtle: Does an attack similar to Mario's Bair.

Ivysaur: Spins around with vines extended. Viable for worst Bair in the game; almost no knockback is given and only 2% damage per vine.

Charizard: Spins around surprisingly quickly with tail extended and wings slightly extended. 2 possible hits, one with wings and one with tail. Decent knockback on tail hit, wing hit will always link into tail hit.

Lucario: Punches backwards, Aura extends from palm.

Jigglypuff: Spins around with foot extended to about twice its regular size. Used for the famous Wall of Pain.

Marth: Similar to Toon Link's in animation, Marth thrusts his sword upwards. However, this Bair is notable because it turns him around.

Ike: A quick spin with sword extended.

Ness: Plugs backwards with both heels. Initial hitbox quite powerful with electrical properties, second hitbox fairly weak, although buffed from Melee. Very Powerful.

Lucas: Flips and hooks his foot downward. Can spike at a certain angle (just below Lucas as he hooks his foot down).

Mr. Game and Watch: The famous snapping turtle, hits for multiple hits.

Snake: Kicks backward with both feet, body becomes horizontal.

Sonic: Similar to Diddy's, he spins around with his foot extended. One of his few KO moves.

Notable characters' back aerials

• Jigglypuff's back aerial in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl, used for the highly effective "Wall of Pain".
• R.O.B.'s back aerial can aid his recovery, as his hover pad lets out a quick burst, moving him forward quite alot.
• Kirby's back aerial in Melee, an attack similar to Jigglypuff's back aerial but instead has no start-up lag. The move is dubbed the "Fence of Pain".
• Marth and Roy's back aerials, which allow them to turn around while still in midair. These are the only aerials able to do so in the Super Smash Bros series.
• Ness and Zelda's back aerials in Melee, which are powerful semi-spikes. Zelda's back aerial semi-spike can only be achieved from a hit with the sweetspot at her toe.
• Toon Link's quick back aerial, with minimal knockback in Brawl. The move is effective for positioning the opponent for an immediate down aerial.
• Pikachu's back aerial has extremely short range but the hitbox surrounds Pikachu.
• Mr. Game & Watch's back aerial is the feared Turtle, a five-hit combo with high priority and shield-destroying properties.