Sir Grodus

Sir Grodus, also known as simply Grodus, is one of the main antagonists of . He is the supreme leader of the Secret Society of X-Nauts, a band of thugs determined to take the Crystal Stars to open the Thousand-Year Door. However, after kidnapping Princess Peach, who gave the map showing the locations of the stars to Mario, he unknowingly gets in the way of their plans, and becomes a target of their forces. Their true intentions aren't clear throughout most of the game, though as the story progresses, it is revealed that Sir Grodus wants to open the Thousand-Year Door to reawaken the Shadow Queen, and use her powers to destroy the world and create a new one in his image.
==History==
===Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door===
Before the events of the game, Grodus learns of the Shadow Queen buried beneath Rogueport and sealed behind the Thousand-Year Door from the Shadow Sirens. He soon begins devising a plan to claim the Crystal Stars so he can open the Thousand-Year Door and use the Shadow Queen's powers to take over the world, and in doing so learns of three Crystal Star locations (Rogueport Sewers, Hooktail Castle in Petal Meadows, and The Great Tree in the Boggly Woods). The Shadow Sirens also explain that a "pure maiden" is needed as a host for the queen. He eventually comes in possession of a treasure chest with the Magic Map that is supposed to lead to the Crystal Stars, but is unable to open it. Instead, he decides to use it as a lure for the "pure maiden" as only they can open it.
By the time the story starts, Grodus and the X-Nauts have already obtained the Crystal Star from Rogueport Sewers, which is then under security in their base of operations, the X-Naut Fortress. In Rogueport, the Shadow Sirens find Peach, a candidate to be a "pure maiden", and gets her to open the treasure chest and get the Magic Map, but are unable to take it due to there being too many witnesses. Losing his patience, Grodus sends a group of X-Nauts to abduct her and take her to the fortress. However, Peach already sent the Magic Map to Mario, making him annoyed. Hoping to gather more information, Grodus sends Lord Crump to Rogueport.
Grodus' first appearance in the game is during an interrogation with Peach, where he tries to find the whereabouts of the Magic Map. After it is reported that someone took the Crystal Star in Hooktail Castle, she accidentally reveals that Mario did it, letting Grodus know that he is the one with the map. He tells Lord Crump to go back to The Great Tree and speed up the search for the Crystal Star there, and sends the Shadow Sirens as backup.
Throughout the game, Mario and his allies continually beat his forces and keep collecting the Crystal Stars, infuriating Grodus. He instructs the fortress' main computer, TEC, to keep an eye on Peach, though he ends up falling in love with her and helps her foil Grodus' plans. It all culminates into Peach giving TEC a data disk with the full details of the plan, though before Peach can make her escape, Grodus learns of TEC's double-crossing and shuts him down. He then takes Peach to the Rogueport Sewers, leaving the fortress and the Crystal Star under Lord Crump. However, he planned for Crump's eventual defeat so Mario could open the Thousand-Year Door for him.
Mario and friends confront Grodus in the Palace of Shadow's throne room, planning to finish them once and for all. During battle, he has 50 HP and can summon Grodus Xs that increase his defense by one per unit, and if he has four, a shield forms around him that makes him immune to damage until the Grodus Xs are defeated. In addition to this, he has various magical abilities, such as striking Mario with lightning, replenishing himself, and giving him status ailments such as Payback or Dodgy. Grodus almost gets the upper hand before Bowser and Kammy Koopa fall through the roof and crush him.
While Mario is battling Bowser, Grodus escapes with Peach into the deepest chamber of the Palace of Shadow, and reawakens the Shadow Queen. He presents Peach as a host for her, which she accepts. In her new body, Grodus tries to command her to do his bidding, only for him to be zapped away by her. It is later revealed that the Shadow Sirens were using the X-Nauts as a ploy to reawaken her.
How Grodus survived after this event is unclear, though he is shown to be alive when Goombella tells Mario about everything that's happened since the adventure. He and the X-Nauts decide to take residence in Poshley Heights, and have seemingly changed their ways for the better. Humorously, Grodus' body is gone, presumably destroyed by the Shadow Queen, and he is now simply a bouncing head.
==Description==
===Appearance===
While Grodus shares similarities to his X-Naut henchmen, he differs very much from them. He appears to have a large, black mechanical head with what appear to be glasses or goggles covering his eyes. The head also has a glass opening, showing that he has many buttons, motherboards, and pipes in his head. The rest of his body is concealed by a dark-purple cloak with a black, purple, and yellow collar. The top of this cloak is white, similar to the suits the X-Nauts wear. Grodus also wears black and yellow shoulder pads, and the front of his cloak has a red banner with an "X" at the bottom. He is always wielding a scepter, which has a golden rod and a blue sphere with a design similar to his head.
In the battle against Grodus in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, it is shown that his eyes, glass head, and scepter can crack after taking enough damage. After the Shadow Queen attacks him, it is also shown that he is able to survive as just a head. Both of these imply that his entire body is mechanical.
===Personality===
While very little is known about his past, Grodus is presented as a serious threat, who is willing to carry out and accomplish his plans of world domination at any cost. He appears to be calm and collected on most occasions, though his desires to rule the world drive him insane, often breaking into maniacal fits of laughter, saying "GAAACK ACK ACK ACK ACK!". In spite of this, he is still shown to be an very cunning and capable of thinking ahead, as shown when he stations Lord Crump with the Crystal Star in X-Naut Fortress so Mario could open the Thousand-Year Door for him after defeating him.
He doesn't seem to care about anyone else but himself, as shown by his desire to create a new world in his image. He despises disobedience, especially from his minions, which is shown when he finds out about TEC helping Peach and shuts him down. He also suffers from overconfidence; he underestimates Mario's abilities throughout the game, and his attempt to command the Shadow Queen after she is awakened resulted in her almost killing him.
==Appearances==
===Koopalings: The Game===
Sir Grodus appears as one of the secondary antagonists of the first and last episodes of the game. 
===Super Mario Spikers===
Sir Grodus appears alongside Lord Crump as a duo of playable characters in Super Mario Spikers, appearing as a Power-type Captain. Grodus' head is mechanically fused to Lord Crump, allowing them to fight together. In their bio, Grodus is described as the brains while Crump is the brawn. Their emblem is the insignia of the Secret Society of X-Nauts, and their theme is Art Rock.
==Story Appearances==
===Super Mario Bros.: Legend of the Chaos Star===
While Sir Grodus has not made an appearance as of yet, he was given at least three mentions throughout the story. In the third chapter, while Flurrie was accidentally squeezing Jr. Troopa too hard, Goombella compared the choking noise the latter made to Grodus' laugh, much to the amusement of Mario and Bobbery. In the very next chapter, Grodus was mentioned by Francis. Just as he was about to charge Bowser head-on, he used his Super Paper Mario battle cry, "Feel the wrath of the jilted X-Naut from the season finale of The Grodus Chronicles!" Francis mentioned him again in the fourteenth chapter, where he compared Dimentia and Dimention's universal destruction plot to one that was in an episode of The Grodus Chronicles, and then went on to say that the DVD set had a "schweet cover illustration".
==Trivia==
*Sir Grodus is referenced in Super Paper Mario, apparently starring in a TV show called "The Grodus Chronicles". One of the game's bosses, Francis, is an avid fan of the show.
==Gallery==
PM TTYD Grodus Transparent.png|Sir Grodus in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
Lord Crump and Sir Grodus Spikers.png|Lord Crump and Sir Grodus in Super Mario Spikers
GrodusExoPainted.png|Sir Grodus by 
CrumpandGrodus.png|Lord Crump and Sir Grodus together by 
Category:Villains
Category:Mario Villains
Category:Mario Characters
Category:Aliens
Category:Cyborgs
Category:Villains Who Kidnapped Peach
Category:Paper Mario Characters
Category:Paper Mario Villains