King K. Rool

King K. Rool (often shortened to K. Rool), who has gone under many aliases, is the king of the Kremlings, the leader of the Kremling Krew, and the main antagonist of the Donkey Kong Country series, being the arch nemesis of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. His name is a pun on the words "cruel", which describes his personality, and "rule", as he is the king of the Kremlings.
Similar to Bowser in the Mario series, King K. Rool serves as the final boss in the Donkey Kong Country series. He has repeatedly tried to steal Donkey Kong's Banana Hoard. The reasons behind this are unknown, though it has been suggested that he does it to starve the Kongs, as well as personally liking bananas himself. He has also kidnapped members of the Kong Family on occasion, such as in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest where he kidnaps Donkey Kong.
K. Rool has since gone on to become one of the most iconic villains not just within the collective Mario series, but also among Nintendo's other franchises. This popularity led to his inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a playable fighter, where he utilizes weapons and attacks from his various boss fights in the Donkey Kong series.
==History==
===Donkey Kong Country===
King K. Rool made his debut appearance in Donkey Kong Country as the main antagonist. Though he is unseen for most of the game, he is the one who commanded the Kremlings to steal Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong's Banana Hoard and scatter them across Donkey Kong Island. It is also implied he had a hand in starting the mining facility on the island, Kremkroc Industries, Inc. As the Kongs journey through the island, his ship, the Gang-Plank Galleon, can be seen getting closer.
After beating the world Chimp Caverns, the Kongs battle King K. Rool on Gang-Plank Galleon. His main attack involves throwing his crown, which comes back to him like a boomerang. The Kongs would have to jump on his head when the crown is thrown to damage him. After this, K. Rool will run from one end of the arena to the other, picking up speed as the battle progresses. After three hits, instead of running, he will jump to the other end of the arena, causing a tremor that makes Kannonballs fall from above. The Kongs would need to doge these before they can hit him again.
After taking six hits, King K. Rool will fake his defeat, and the "kredits" will begin rolling. He will then rise back up and attack the Kongs again by making leaps across the arena. Three more hits will defeat him for good, finishing the battle.
===Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest===
Following his defeat in Donkey Kong Country, King K. Rool decides to rebrand himself as Kaptain K. Rool to regain his lost reputation. Under this new persona, he and the Kremling Krew kidnap Donkey Kong and hold him hostage, leaving a letter for Diddy Kong, telling him to bring the Banana Hoard to him if he ever wants to see DK again. Wanting to rescue their friend, Diddy Kong and his girlfriend Dixie Kong travel to the Kremlings' homeland, Crocodile Isle.
When the Kongs reach Donkey Kong and Kaptain K. Rool in K. Rool's Keep, he whisks DK away and holds him hostage in the Flying Kroc. When Diddy and Dixie board the ship, K. Rool is seen taking his anger out on Donkey Kong for not being able to defeat them, and tortures him by shooting Kannonballs at him and smacking him with his Blunderbuss, leading into the battle.
K. Rool will use his Blunderbuss to fire Kannonballs at the Kongs. These must be picked up and thrown back at him while he is using the Blunderbuss' vacuuming capabilities, causing it to explode on him and damage him. The Blunderbuss is also able to fire spiked balls, barrels, and gases that can affect the Kongs in various ways. He can also use it to dash across the arena at high speeds, turning invisible while doing so later in the fight. After being damaged nine times, he will fall from the Flying Kroc and into Krem Quay, where he is chomped on by sharks.
However, Kaptain K. Rool manages to recover, and retreats to the Lost World where he is sure the Kongs cannot find him. However, after paying a toll to Klubba, Diddy and Dixie enter the Lost World, and K. Rool challenges them to a final battle in Krocodile Kore. This time, he is only defeated after one hit, which results in the Blunderbuss exploding and sending him into an energy-supplying geyser powering Crocodile Isle. Due to him clogging up the geyser, Crodocile Isle sinks into the ocean. A ship, presumably Gang-Plank Galleon, can be seen sailing away from the island as this is happening, implying he survived the explosion.
===Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!===
In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, the Kremling Krew has seemingly replaced King K. Rool with a new ruler, a mechanical entity known as KAOS. Under his rule, the Kremlings take over the Northern Kremisphere, imprison the Banana Bird Queen and her children, the Banana Birds. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have also been kidnapped, leading Dixie Kong and her cousin Kiddy Kong to search for them.
After encountering and battling KAOS in Kastle KAOS, it is revealed it was simply a puppet controlled by King K. Rool, this time going by the entity Baron K. Roolenstein. After this reveal, K. Rool begins battling the Kongs.
In this game, K. Rool will use his Propellerpack to fly around the arena, using a remote to try and damage the Kongs with electricity. To defeat him, Dixie and Kiddy must pull on pipes on the ceiling to release barrels, and throw them at Baron K. Roolenstein. After his defeat, the body of KAOS is destroyed, revealing Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, who were trapped in there to be used as batteries.
Baron K. Roolenstein can be battled again if all the cogs in Kremtoa have been collected. He is found in a submarine in the volcano's lava, the Knautilus, after it is awakened. In this battle, he simply stays at the far end of the submarine and attacks with cannon fire and electric shocks. Dixie and Kiddy must damage him by throwing Steel Kegs through the use of a cute in the ceiling. After taking enough hits, his helicopter pack malfunctions and is left spinning in the submarine.
If the Banana Bird Queen is rescued, an additional cutscene plays where she lays an egg on Baron K. Roolenstein while he is trying to escape, trapping him.
===Donkey Kong 64===
In Donkey Kong 64, King K. Rool returns with a large mechanical island. As an act of revenge for his previous defeats, he aims to destroy Donkey Kong Island with his new weapon, the Blast-o-Matic. To do this, the island is driven within range of Donkey Kong Island. However, after crashing into a rock, the Blast-O-Matic is damaged, and to distract the Kongs while repairing, the Kremling Krew kidnaps Diddy Kong, Tiny Kong, Lanky Kong, and Chunky Kong.
Throughout the game, K. Rool appears in several cutscenes, either monitoring Donkey Kong's progress or berating the Kremlings for their incompetence. Eventually, the Kongs manage to reach him in Hideout Helm, just as repairs to the Blast-o-Matic are complete. Despite warnings that it hasn't been fully tested, K. Rool orders to fire it anyway. However, before it can destroy Donkey Kong Island, the Blast-o-Matic is destroyed by the Kongs.
K. Rool attempts to escape in an airship, but it ends up being crashed by K. Lumsy after his release. Inside the wreckage, the Kongs find a boxing ring set up, complete with spectators and King K. Rool, under the boxing alias King Krusha K. Rool, ready to battle. In a tag team-style final battle, the Kongs take turns battling K. Rool, using their unique abilities to their advantage. After Chunky Kong lands the final blow, he is defeated by a rocket launched by Funky Kong. When K. Rool lands in his dungeon, he meets a very unhappy K. Lumsy, who proceeds to beat him up for locking him up before the events of the game.
===Super Smash Bros. Ultimate===
After a decade of absence following his appearance in Mario Super Sluggers, King K. Rool appears a playable character for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In his reveal trailer, King Dedede pranks Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong by putting on a King K. Rool costume, only for the real K. Rool to smack Dedede away. The Kongs and K. Rool are then seen fighting, with K. Rool and Donkey Kong punching each other with boxing gloves, causing a rumble in the jungle.
He is a heavyweight fighter, but differs a lot from other fighters in his weight class; in addition to having high weight and powerful attacks, he also has two projectiles in his Crownerang (referencing his boss battle in the first game) and Blunderbuss (referencing his boss battles in the second game), a good recovery with Propellerpack (referencing his boss battles in the third game), and a counter / reflector hybrid with Gut Check.
Additionally, he possesses unique super armor centered around his golden stomach; certain belly-based moves grant him super armor, allowing him to plow through attacks. While this armor is better than regular super armor, as damage is split 50/50 between K. Rool and the belly, if his belly tanks enough damage, it will crack. If it is damaged enough, K. Rool will enter a pseudo-shield stun animation, leaving him vulnerable to attack. If his stomach is cracked, it will regenerate gradually as long as K. Rool is not using any super armor-oriented moves.
His Final Smash involves him using the Blast-o-Matic to destroy Donkey Kong Island, and the opponent with it. This is a recreation of the game over screen in Donkey Kong 64. He also has three dedicated remixes in the game's soundtrack - Gang-Plank Galleon from Donkey Kong Country and Crocodile Cacophony and Snakey Chantey from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. These tracks can be played on any Donkey Kong stage.
==Description==
===Physical Appearance===
King K. Rool, being a Kremling, has a scaly, green body with claws, resembling a reptilian creature. He has a rather small head compared to his body, with a long, protruding snout and sharp teeth. One of his eyes is bulging, as if he popped a blood vessel in it. He also has a golden stomach, which as shown in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, can act as a plate of armor, but will crack if it is damaged enough. In earlier games, this stomach had an indentation near the middle, though he lacks it in his later appearances. He also has a comically small tail, although older appearances depicted it as longer. Interestingly, he has no tail at all in some games.
In his most common appearance, King K. Rool wears a red cape with yellow markings near the bottom, held with a blue jewel, and has a golden crown and gauntlets. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, his cape is tattered and ripped near the bottom.
As Kaptain K. Rool (pictured left) in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, he wears a red trench coat with gray accessories and lighter-red outlining. He also wears a brown belt, with a skull and crossbones on the buckle. Lastly, Kaptain K. Rool wears a pirate hat, with gold rimming and the Kremling Krew's emblem on it; a Kremling skull with crossbones. King K. Rool wears the pirate hat while using his neutral special, Blunderbuss, in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
As Baron K. Roolenstein (pictured right) in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, he wears a white lab coat and black gloves and a matching belt. His coat has a pocket, which holds pens in it. His cranium is also taller than in other appearances, and he wears a black wig, resembling the common depiction of Frankenstein's monster (hence his name). He also wears a headlight around his head. The Propellerpack he uses is green, has black propellers, and has a small exhaust pipe at the bottom, which constantly releases smoke while in use. King K. Rool only dons this Propellerpack when using his up special in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, instead of the full costume.
===Personality===
King K. Rool, as his name, a pun on "cruel", would imply, is brutal and rules over the Kremling Krew with an iron fist. He often mistreats his henchmen and punishes them harshly for failing. This is first implied in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest by Klubba, who says that K. Rool mistreats the Kremlings. In Mario Super Sluggers, he also calls the brown Kritter the "dirty under-belly of the Kremling Krew". In Donkey Kong 64, he also seemingly executes a Kasplat for calling him "fatso". Even the most powerful members of the Kremling Krew fear his wrath; in Donkey Kong 64, Army Dillo, one of the bosses in the game, faints at the mere sight of danger after his defeat, and Dogadon, another boss, is seen begging for mercy after the Kongs defeat him. Despite all of this however, he still shares good chemistry with the Kritters in Mario Super Sluggers, and the trophy descriptions for Kylapso and Kudgle in Super Smash Bros. Brawl state that K. Rool respects the former's leadership skills and is intimidated by the latter's strength.
K. Rool is a dirty fighter. In addition to using his brute strength, he tries to outsmart the Kongs using cheap tactics, such as faking his defeat in Donkey Kong Country, only to rise up seconds later. Donkey Kong 64 and his trophy description in Super Smash Bros. Melee imply that he is demented and insane, which most likely drives his evil nature. This is further hinted in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where his running animation has him running on all four limbs like a real-life crocodile. The final battle of Donkey Kong 64 also portrays him as a show-off, making taunting gestures to the Kongs throughout the fight, while also posing for the crowd.
He hates the Kongs with a burning passion, even going out of his way to kidnap them in some of his schemes. Despite this, ironically, he is on Donkey Kong's team in Mario Super Sluggers along with the Kritters, though he makes it clear he is only teaming up with the Kongs for baseball.
==Appearances==
===Donkey Kong Racing===
King K. Rool appears as a playable character in the multiplayer Wii racing game Donkey Kong Racing. He appears as part of the Kremling category.
===Mario Rugby League===
King K. Rool is a player on the Donkey Kong Wilds team on the multiplayer Wii Sports game Mario Rugby League. He is a strong and skillful character with terrible speed. His special skill is to throw his crown as an extended tackle.
===Captain N: The Game Master===
King K. Rool appears in Captain N: The Game Master he like the other servants under Mother Brain serves purely for his own reasons. He is again trying to take over Donkey Kong Island for himself and extract revenge on the kongs that have plagued him since childhood. He is the strongest member of Mother Brain's team and works as a balance to his partner Vaati.
Vaati and K. Rool are constantly at ends and seemingly hate each other working only because Mother Brain assigned them together. Once they are defeated and expelled from Mother Brain's gang however they decide to stay together for their own gain.
===Donkey Kong Country: The Movie===
King K. Rool will appear as the main villain and antagonist of the upcoming movie based off the first Donkey Kong Country game. In this movie, K. Rool will be voiced by Jim Cummings, and he'll have a new design that will make him more threatening. On his new design, his non-bulging eye has no iris or pupil, he has glitter and jewels on his crown and cape, he has paint on his claws, and there are two spikes on the tip of his tail. He also has a new personality that makes him a much more sadistic, cruel, scary and ruthless villain than his video game and television series counterparts. At the beginning of the movie, he and the Kremling Krew arrive at Kongo Bongo via oversea transport, and he orders the finest Kremlings in his army to steal Donkey Kong's precious banana hoard for an unknown purpose. Soon after, he takes over Kongo Bongo in less than a day, polluting and corrupting the whole island and banishing most of the wildlife to the ocean. He rules with an iron fist and commands various evil animals, including his fellow Kremlings. He is the highest authority and he relies mostly on his toughest Kremlings to get the job done, which include his charming but vile second-in-command, Kalypso, his ground force general and weapon builder, Klump, his main body building muscle, Krusha, and his butler, cook and medic, Kritter.
===Mario Country===
King K. Rool appears as the 2nd/1st main antagonist of this game. King K. Rool was busy inventing Poison Bananas in Gangplank Galleon; after Donkey Kong Island was clashed, Gangplank Galleon was sucked in a portal that leads to the clashed Mushroom Kingdom. Gangplank Galleon lands on Peach's Castle by accident. Peach demands what crushed her castle. K. Rool wakes up from being unconscious: He finds some hills, he finds no water on land, and he thinks he is in an alternate universe. He begins attacking Toad Town. After attacking the town, Silver Kong appears from the sky and attacks K. Rool. K. Rool thinks that Silver kong is Corrupted, Bowser gets swapped to Donkey Kong Island, K. Rool was soon kidnapped by a mysterious person, and so is Bowser. They were teleported to a unknown dimension and aren't seen for the remainers of the game.
===Ice Climber 2===
If a Donkey Kong amiibo is used in Ice Climber 2, the player will unlock Sun Sun Island Mountain, where King K. Rool can be fought upon reaching the summit.
===Dangerous Wilds===
King K. Rool is one of the official characters who can appear randomly within the game world of Dangerous Wilds.
===Mushroom War===
In this platformer MMO, an information broker named Squid Vicious who has surprising information the various heads of state. Through him, the player can learn that K. Rool is indirectly related to the Koopas. King Bowser's father, Morton Koopa, bore an illegitimate child with K. Rool's mother who would come to be referred to as the Usurper King Bibinba, known to his allies as "King Koopa" or to his enemies as "False Bowser".
===Ultimate Showdown===
King K. Rool is one of the thousand+ characters to appear in this battle royale title. In it, he is able to switch "personas" to become King K. Rool, Kaptain K. Rool, and Baron K. Roolenstein. His abilities are dependent upon which personality he is switched to at the time.
===Super Mario Spikers===
King K. Rool appears as a payable character in Super Mario Spikers, appearing as a Power-type Captain. His has red and yellow shoulderpads under his cape, and additionally has blue tribal markings on his arms and feet. His emblem is his crown and his theme is Symphonic Rock.
===Super Smash Bros. Charged===
King K. Rool returns in Super Smash Bros. Charged. He is once again a heavyweight fighter, and his moveset is more or less the same. However, his stomach armor is now more resilient, Blunderbuss can now be aimed in more directions and holding the special button allows him to use its vacuum function even without a Kannonball, and Propellerpack now explodes at the peak of his height, damaging any opponents in the blast radius. He additionally has a new down special replacing Gut Check where a Kannonball drops on opponents, which can then be picked up and thrown as an item. Gut Check is also moved to his new counter, which has identical functionality to its appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
King K. Rool also has two character Trophies, unlocked after beating Classic and All-Star Mode as him.
===Mario Kart: Infinity Remix===
King K. Rool appears as a playable character in Mario Kart: Infinity Remix. He is a heavyweight character, meaning that it he among the highest speed and weight stats in the game, though his acceleration and handling can dip into the lowest levels. He also has good traction and poor mini-turbo.
King K. Rool is an unlockable character, and is unlocked randomly after winning a gold trophy on any cup on any engine class. He also has three alternate costumes based on his different aliases from the Donkey Kong Country series; Kaptain K. Rool, Baron K. Roolenstein, and Korporate K. Rool from Donkey Kong Country: Jungle Fever. These costumes are all unlocked after winning a gold trophy as King K. Rool.
Additionally, King K. Rool's Blunderbuss and Propellerpack also appear as items, albeit the latter is exclusive to the game's Battle Mode.
===Super Mario Bros.: Legend of the Chaos Star===
Although K. Rool has not made an on-screen appearance as of yet, he was given a mention in the fourth chapter. According to Donkey Kong, he and the other Kongs had a confrontation with K. Rool as they were on their way to Mario and Luigi's surprise birthday party at Princess Peach's castle.
In the eleventh chapter, Cranky commented on how unoriginal he considered Lord Fredrik to be, due to the latter's strong resemblance to K. Rool.
===Nintendo & Fantendo Play: Dodgeball!===
King K. Rool appears in Nintendo & Fantendo Play: Dodgeball! as part of the Red Faction, the team consisting of Nintendo characters.
===TPXZF1997's Super Smash Bros.===
King K.Rool returns as an unlockable character.
===St. Clair Publications===
*K. Rool was a major character on The World of Nintendo, acting pretty much how he did in the Donkey Kong games, and often teaming up with Bowser. However, he died partway through Season 15, in a story arc made to set up the events of DK Country Returns and put the Tiki Tak Tribe on DK Island.
**Naturally, this means that K. Rool appears in all TWoN-related games. He serves as a villain in the first game, but something of a background character in both sequels.
*For what should be obvious reasons, K. Rool appears in Donkey Kong 64 DS, a remake, in the exact same role he had in the original game, albeit slightly adjusted to account for Krusha being the "sixth Kong".
*K. Rool is also a playable fighter on Super Smash Stadium. He debuted early in 1976 here, alongside his ship, and functions similarly to how he does in the canon Smash Bros. games. Notable for the fact that his neutral special became his side special when the show upgraded to Mêlée specs in February 1981, shared with Ness and Jigglypuff. Also, he does not have a distinct victory theme here.
== Quotes ==
* If you allow me to rule your island to be the new ruler of DK Isle, you idiot monkey, I promise I will return your bananas!
*My soldiers are complete idiots, even if my evil plans aren't being interfered with by those furry monkeys!
*Shut up, you old monkey! You're trying to make me lose my patience with your pathetic comments!
*Gwahahahaha!! Soon DK Isle will finally be mine and no one will stop me, least of all those annoying monkeys!
== Gallery ==
KingKrool SSBUltimate.png|King K. Rool in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
File:King K. Rool Charged Alt 1.png
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File:King K. Rool Charged Alt 14.png
File:Orange king k rool by daxegana dg4tks5-414w-2x.png
KingKrool SSBUltimate (Mario Super Sluggers).png
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File:King K. Rool Alt 12.png
King K. Rool - Sidewards Artwork - Donkey Kong Country.png|King K. Rool in Donkey Kong Country
Kaptain K Rool.png|Kaptain K. Rool in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Baron K. Roolenstein.png|Baron K. Roolenstein in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
King K. Rool.png|King K. Rool in DK: Jungle Climber
KINGKROOL.png|King K. Rool in Mario Super Sluggers
K Rool SSB4.png|King K. Rool in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
K.Rool Assemble.png
King k rool larger render by wilttilt-d7qbl0n.png
KRool Smashified.png
K Rool Smashified Remade.png
King Krusha K. Rool JoeTERender.png|King Krusha K. Rool by Joe T.E.
0.1.CSSB King K.Rool Artwork 2.png
2.1.King K.Rool Standing.png
2.2.King K.Rool Chomping.png
2.3.King K.Rool patting his Belly.png
2.4.King K.Rool Kicking.png
2.5.King K. Rool on all fours.png
2.6.King K.Rool Boxing.png
2.7.King K.Rool preparing to fight.png
2.8.King K.Rool's Belly Strike.png
2.9. King K.Rool Shooting.png
2.10. King K.Rool's vacuum blunderbuss.png
2.11.King K.Rool's throwing his crown.png
2.12.King K.Rool Flying.png
2.13.King K.Rool preparing his Belly Armor.png
2.14.King K.Rool's Belly Strike.png
King K. Rool Spikers.png|King K. Rool in Super Mario Spikers
Kommander Krudd.png|original "Krudd" concept
SSBU Kaptain K. Rool.png
SSBU Baron K. Roolenstein.png
File:King K. Rool - MTUD.png.png|Mario Tennis Ultimate Deluxe
== Trivia ==
* As revealed by Donkey Kong Country Gregg Mayles via Twitter, King K. Rool was originally conceptualized to be a military general by the name of Krudd.
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