Dharkon

Dharkon
Official artwork of Dharkon in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
A boss in	Ultimate
Universe	Super Smash Bros.
Console of origin	Nintendo Switch

Dharkon (ダーズ, Darz) is a god-like entity and one of the two main antagonists of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Adventure Mode: World of Light. He is described as the "Embodiment of Chaos and Darkness" in the World of Light. His goal, similar to that of his light counterpart Galeem, is to corrupt the universe in his own image.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Role in World of Light

After Galeem's first defeat, Dharkon appears from a portal in the sky, commanding an army of Crazy Hands. After the Crazy Hands briefly fight Galeem's Master Hands and win, Galeem proceeds to flee. Dharkon proceeds to take control of the remaining captive fighters and Spirits and creates a world of darkness.

Dharkon is summoned following the defeat of Ganon, Marx, and Dracula in the Dark Realm. Following Dharkon's first defeat, he proceeds to flee into the final world, with Galeem following soon after. In the final world, Galeem and Dharkon wage war against each other, but are also seeking to destroy the fighters.

If only Galeem is defeated during the Final Battle, Dharkon destroys Galeem's army, enchains and impales him and engulfs the fighters and the world in darkness. Mario also dies, resulting in one of two bad endings.

If only Dharkon is defeated during the Final Battle, Galeem turns into a black hole again and engulfs the fighters in a bright light. Galeem takes over the entire universe again.

If both Galeem and Dharkon are confronted, following Master Hand and Crazy Hand being freed from control and conquering the battlefield, the pair continue to battle each other along with their puppet fighters and bosses before turning their attention to the fighters in a three-way battle. Once both Dharkon and Galeem are finally defeated, they fall into the sea and explode, freeing all the spirits from their control.

Moveset

Dharkon's eye is the only place he can be damaged. He can be stunned, which drops the eye on the stage for several seconds. After his health falls below half, Dharkon's sclera color will shift to dark violet.

Note that many attacks' characteristics, such as a number of projectiles fired, vary depending on both Dharkon's health, which battles it is and the difficulty of World of Light. Also, certain attacks are never used in certain battles.

During the final battle with Galeem and Dharkon, both bosses will deliberately target the player. However, owing to their status as mortal enemies, they can also damage each other; if one is stunned, the other will seize the opportunity to take a potshot. Regardless, only the player can deal the final blow.

Move	Damage	Description
Crushing Shade		If Galeem is stunned, Dharkon turns his tentacles into a hammer that attacks Galeem's core and deals significant damage. The player will also be damaged if too close and got buried, who will remain submerged longer if the opponent has already dealt a fair amount of damage.
Electric Serpent		One of Dharkon's tentacles snakes around the arena while coated in dark energy, attempting to damage the player, with his eye trailing behind it. It will use a longer tentacle at low health, making it harder to avoid.
Photonic Wave		Dharkon covers two sides of the screen with wave-shaped lines of darkness that provide a small, ever-shifting gap of safety between them. The fighter will rapidly take damage upon touching the lines. This attack goes through shields. If Galeem is present, each will contribute one wave to the attack. If Galeem is stunned, only the bottom of the screen is covered.
Shadow Eruption		Dharkon creates beams of darkness that erupt from the ground. This attack is never used during his first battle.
Shadow Shape		Dharkon vanishes and his tentacles expand, producing two or three dark false characters to support him, which eventually self-destruct after a period of time and can inflict damage when they do so. If light false characters are present, they will fight each other.
Tangled Rush		Dharkon sends his tentacles through a series of portals, dealing damage as the tentacles pass by at multiple angles. His eye will hover in the middle of the stage.
Tentacle Pierce		Dharkon uses three to five of his tentacles to attack the player one after another. Dharkon's eye is exposed when the last tentacle strikes. This attack is never used during the first fight with Dharkon.
Thorn Spray		Dharkon shoots a barrage of small energy bullets from the top left corner of the screen. These do negligible damage from far away (shielding all of it while standing on the right of the stage is possible) but massive damage if the player tries to get close to Dharkon. If Dharkon has taken enough damage, it will end the barrage with a larger, more powerful blast. Neither type of projectile can be reflected, as these are actually disjointed hitboxes, similar to the Sheriff's bullets.
Temporal Rift		Dharkon performs a damaging slash that rips a large red line across the screen. The resulting line, which lingers for a while, will cause the player to be slowed while inside it. At low health (after the first fight), it creates two red lines in an "X" shape instead.
X Bomb		Dharkon creates three to six small objects that explode in X-shaped beams of darkness like X Bombs. These can be destroyed before their detonation to stop the attack. Dharkon is likely to create more in his second phase.

Spirit

No.	Image	Name	Type	Class	Slots	Base	Max	Base	Max	Base	Max	Ability	Series
1,106		Dharkon		★★★★	0	5456	13640	2480	6200	2480	6200	Bane of Light	Super Smash Bros. Series

Gallery

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  Dharkon invades with his army of Crazy Hands

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  Galeem and Dharkon waging war against each other with their armies of Master Hands and Crazy Hands

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  Galeem kills Dharkon

• SSBU Dharkon’s Destiny.png

  Dharkon corrupts the universe

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  The battle between Dharkon and the player.

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  Dharkon in the final world.

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  The final battle between the player, Galeem, and Dharkon

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  Galeem and Dharkon defeated

Trivia

• Dharkon's theme is mostly comprised of the fourth verse of Lifelight, the main theme of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
• Dharkon's name is a corruption of the word "darken", similarly to how Galeem's name is a corruption of "gleam".
  • It could also be a combination of the words "dark" and archon, which designates the demons of Darkness in Manichaeism, a religion based on the belief of eternal struggle between the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Darkness.
• Dharkon's appearance of being an organic mass of tentacles resembles Azathoth, a being featured in the Cthulhu mythos. Along with his single slitted eye, the boss could also be compared to Marvel Comics' Shuma-Gorath and Yog-Sothoth from the Cthulhu mythos.
  • Dharkon also bears resemblance to the Malice from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, possibly due to his color scheme.
• The Rage Blaster weapon bears a striking resemblance to Dharkon's tentacles.
• Interestingly, Dharkon's eye always follows the fighter during his battle. This makes him the only boss in the Smash Bros. series with this distinction, as even his light-themed counterpart Galeem (apparently) does not track the player.
• Dharkon appears in the Hero's reveal trailer, where Link and the four incarnations of the Hero battle his puppet fighters.
  • This marks his formal public reveal, as unlike Galeem, he didn't appear in any other trailers, the website, or the opening movie.
• Both Dharkon and its counterpart are the only two bosses not to appear in Classic Mode as bosses, since they are the antagonists of the World of Light.