Dark Star

The Dark Star is the overarching antagonist of and its remake . It is a sentient artifact of incredible power that Fawful seeks to aid in his quest for world domination, with the second half of the game focusing on Mario, Luigi, and Bowser trying to stop both him and the Dark Star. Its main appearance is a medium-sized violet orb with red eyes and a black star symbol on the front.
==History==
===Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story===
Long before the events of the game, the Dark Star was discovered by Toad archaeologists in the Mushroom Kingdom. Shortly after it was discovered, it began attacking the kingdom, though it was sealed away by the Star Sprites and kept beneath the depths of Toad Town. It is said that if a great evil managed to break the seal and release the Dark Star, they would be granted enormous power and plunge the world in darkness.
Fawful steals the Dark Star from Toad Town Caverns in order to help fulfill his plans of world domination. He then extracts Peach from Bowser's body and kidnaps her, intending to use her to break the Dark Star's seal. After this, he barricades the entrance to Peach's castle, allowing him to use it as a stronghold. Peach is then hooked to a machine designed to transfer her power to the Dark Star and awaken it. Just before Fawful can use it, Bowser confronts him and punches him away. Bowser laughs in victory, but the Dark Star awakens and enters Bowser's body. Mario, Luigi, and Starlow then chase it through the Airway.
Mario and Luigi try and fail to capture the Dark Star, as it starts copying Bowser's DNA in order to enhance its powers. Eventually, the Mario Bros. confront the Dark Star at the very back of the Airway, and battle it. In battle, the Dark Star is completely invincible and cannot be damaged normally. In order to expose is vulnerability, Mario and Luigi must defeat the Dark Satellmites it summons. To do this, they must counter their attack with their hammer, where the Dark Satellimite tries to attack Mario and Luigi with a bomb and its own body. Normally, both will miss, though the Bros. can hit either projectile with their hammer. If they hit the bomb, it will explode and damage either Mario or Luigi. However, if they hit the Dark Satellmite, it is launched at the Dark Star, piercing its defenses and damaging it. This must be done twice to make it vulnerable, where it will enter a much more dormant state. During this time, Mario and Luigi can damage it normally. Eventually, it will regain its strength and the cycle must be repeated.
The Dark Star has several attacks. One sees it cover the arena in purple mist, then split into five or seven clones. These will then fly at Mario and Luigi, who must strike them with their hammers to avoid damage. The clones will also disappear in the mist to make hitting them more difficult. Another attack has it cast bright light, causing Mario and Luigi's shadows to come to life. They will walk in a circle around the Dark Star as it fires beams of electricity at them. The Bros. must jump just as the electricity hits the shadows, as any damage done to them will damage the Bros. as well. A third attack sees it launch red and green beams, which will target Mario and Luigi respectively, and they must dodge them by jumping over them. Finally, after taking enough damage, the Dark Star can use another attack where it fires a laser that covers the entire screen. In order to dodge it, Mario and Luigi must grab onto Starlow, who will carry them above the laser's range. They must also let go of her just as the laser ends before the Dark Star tries to ram into them. In its dormant state, the Dark Star's sole attack is firing a laser at either Mario or Luigi, which must be jumped over.
Once defeated, the Dark Star escapes Bowser's body, and becomes a Bowser-like apparition known as Dark Bowser thanks to the DNA it copied. It then goes in search for the rest of its power, which was partially absorbed by Fawful, now becoming Dark Fawful. After Bowser defeats him, Dark Fawful and Dark Bowser merge, completing its Bowser form. Bowser then chases his dark counterpart around the castle until they reach the top, where the final battle takes place. After fighting Dark Bowser, Bowser must inhale Fawful so Mario and Luigi can battle the Dark Star, now becoming the Dark Star Core, inside his body.
Once Fawful is defeated once and for all, Bowser coughs up the Dark Star, which flies into the air and explodes, turning the Mushroom Kingdom back to normal. This also reverses the effects of the Vacuum Shroom Fawful gave Bowser in the beginning of the game, causing him to expel everything he inhaled from his body, including Mario, Luigi, and Starlow.
==Appearances==
===Super Smash Bros. Charged===
The Dark Star appears as a newcomer in Super Smash Bros. Charged. It represents the Super Mario RPG series, which collectively has characters and elements from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the Paper Mario series, and the Mario & Luigi series.
The Dark Star has a unique mechanic based off of its boss battle, where at the start of every stock, it has very high defense and taking little knockback. This allows it to tank attacks without much risk, which makes it an extremely aggressive fighter when paired with its powerful attacks, multiple jumps, and great air mobility. However, once it reaches 130%, it enters a dormant state, similar to its origin game. In this state, Dark Star's attack power will decrease significantly, its special moves will weaken, and its defenses are negated. Because the Dark Star is normally a lightweight character, this can make it extremely easy to KO at this stage.
Many of the Dark Star's attacks are based on its boss battle. Its neutral special will summon a Dark Satellmite, which will stand in place and fire lasers like a sentry, disappearing after a short time. Any player can attack it, which turns it into a ball and sends it flying forward, exploding on impact and dealing heavy damage. This move is completely disabled in its dormant state. Its side special is Dark Laser, where it fires a beam of electricity that automatically targets the nearest opponent in range, and when not dormant, the move can inflict paralysis and follow-up into other moves. Its up special is Dark Void, where it enters a void and appears from one of three other voids. It is vulnerable, though the fake voids will deal heavy damage to opponents trying to punish its recovery if they guess wrong. In its dormant state, only one void appears. Finally, its down special is Vacuum, where it creates a silhouette of Dark Bowser that starts inhaling. A command grab, it creates vacuumboxes in front of Dark Bowser, drawing opponents into his mouth, who are damaged before he spits them out. The vacuumboxes and damage output of this move are both weaker in its dormant state.
Dark Star's Final Smash is Dark Star Finale, where it flashes white before creating a void around itself. It will drag opponents into it, and will be repeatedly damaged before launched.
==Gallery==
DarkStar.png|The Dark Star in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.
Dark Star.png|The Dark Star and Dark Bowser in Super Smash Bros. Charged.
Category:Mario (series)
Category:Mario Characters
Category:Mario Enemies
Category:Stars
Category:Villains
Category:Mario Villains
Category:Bosses
Category:Mario Bosses
Category:Artifacts
Category:Mario & Luigi (series)
Category:Mario & Luigi Characters