Captain Falcon (SSBM)/Down aerial

Overview

Hitboxes of Captain Falcon's dair

Captain Falcon does a stomp attack. This attack has three hitboxes - the lower two on the legs, and the upper one in the torso region. The lower hitboxes have powerful meteor smashing properties (fourth strongest in the game) with some high hitstun as well, while the upper hitbox is an extremely powerful spike known as the Nipple Spike - it is the strongest spike in the game, but is also notoriously difficult to land (despite it also having a rather large hitbox). It can KO at low percentages, and can be combo'd into with moves such as a down aerial on a grounded opponent, Raptor Boost, a neutral aerial, or a down throw/up throw (depending on the falling speed of the opponent). When used on a grounded opponent, the move is also a great combo starter, being able to lead into an aerial, including a Knee Smash as a finisher or another down aerial to get the opponent back onto the ground, with potential to start a tech-chase. Due to the way the animation pulls Captain Falcon's hurtbox upwards during the move, it can often serve as a good option for countering grounded approaches and some low SHFFLd moves, which will often whiff underneath it/

Gallery

A still image of the Nipple Spike's hitbox.
A simple Nipple Spike combo, using grab -> b-throw -> Raptor Boost -> Nipple Spike
A more complicated Nipple Spike combo, using dair -> grab -> f-throw -> nair -> grab -> f-throw -> nair -> nair -> Nipple Spike