King Dedede (Kirby)

King Dedede is the deuteragonist of the franchise. He is the self-proclaimed king of Dream Land and Kirby's friendly rival, having appeared in almost every Kirby game to date. Despite making his debut as a villain and being the primary antagonist of most spin-offs, he has begun helping Kirby and co. in games from Kirby's Return to Dream Land onwards, more often than not. 
==Overview==
King Dedede is an overweight penguin-like being and the self-proclaimed king of Dream Land. He commands a few enemies in Dream Land, such as Waddle Dees and Waddle Doos. King Dedede is a boss in many games from the Kirby franchise created by Masahiro Sakurai. Dedede is also a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
==Physical Appearance==
King Dedede resembles a penguin-like creature dressed in royal, red finery, with his personal emblem (either a picture of himself performing the peace sign, or, in the anime and later games, just the peace sign alone) embossed on the back of his robe, as well as most of the items or weaponry he owns and/or endorses. King Dedede himself is rather portly, is blue-skinned and has a yellow mouth (which has been depicted as more of a beak).
==Personality==
King Dedede initially came off as a very greedy, selfish, conniving and egotistical individual. Like most of the other inhabitants of Dream Land (with exceptions such as Meta Knight), Dedede is incredibly lazy as well and not very active most of the time.
Despite this, Dedede has become less malicious and more kind and caring over the years, and is usually a bully when at his worst. He has done his fair share of heroic deeds, such as trapping Nightmare in the Fountain of Dreams and helping stop other villains who threaten Popstar. One of his most kindhearted and selfless moments was in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, where after he, Kirby and some of the Waddle Dees were being ambushed by the incoming Beast Pack after he was freed of his brainwashing (again), he notices one of the Waddles Dees had fallen behind. Rather than escape with the others and ensure his own safety, Dedede helps the Waddle Dee and stays behind to stall the Beast Pack in order for Kirby and the others to escape.
===Relationship with Kirby===
Dedede is often pestered by Kirby, who broke into his palace and took back all of Dream Land's food, which the king once stole for himself. King Dedede is shown repeatedly to be an antagonist, but he is one out of greed rather than malice. In most of the games he is fought against, Dedede is controlled by a dark, malevolent force (such as being possessed three times by Dark Matter, and once like a marionette by Yin-Yarn and Taranza, and corrupted by the influence of a Jamba Heart) or it is merely a misunderstanding (like in Kirby: Squeak Squad or Kirby's Adventure/Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land).
Deep down, Dedede respects Kirby and views him as a hero, and can be friendly with him when they're not in conflict. He will even set aside his rivalry with Kirby and lend aid or team up with him when an evil entity is threatening Dream Land, Popstar, or all existence in general (such as Nightmare, Dark Matter, Zero, Tabuu, Magolor, Queen Sectonia, and Void Termina). Originally at odds as usual, Dedede begrudgingly joins Kirby's group in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, likely because a part of him wanted to help. In Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Dedede happily pitched in helping Kirby and Magolor fix the Lor Starcutter. In Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Dedede joins forces with Kirby and the People of the Sky without hesitation upon seeing the threat posed by Queen Sectonia to all of Popstar.
The description of his figurine in Kirby and the Forgotten Land states that he believes he and Kirby are "Destined Rivals". It also reveals that Dedede was upset that he initially couldn't find Kirby upon arriving in the Forgotten Land. This shows that, despite their feuds, Dedede enjoys having Kirby in his life and wouldn't have it any other way. Furthermore, after he was freed from the control of the Forgo Mask and noticed Kirby beside him, Dedede warmly smiled at him.
King Dedede can also inhale enemies like Kirby, but he cannot steal their powers. It is said that Kirby learned his Hammer Ability from King Dedede's skills with his.
==Biography==
===Kirby's Adventure/Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land===
Prior to the events of the game, King Dedede managed to stop Nightmare from invading Dream Land by sealing him within the Fountain of Dreams. To ensure the villain does not escape, King Dedede took the key required to free Nightmare, the fountain's Star Rod, and gave parts of it to each one to his trusted colleagues. However, Dedede's actions also stopped people from having dreams as they slept, causing Kirby to venture across the land to restore the Star Rod and return it to the Fountain of Dreams. After Nightmare is unwittingly freed and then defeated by Kirby, the misunderstanding over King Dedede's actions is explained as he and Kirby soared across the sky.
===Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards===
King Dedede is possessed by an incarnation of Dark Matter and forced to fight Kirby, but was defeated and freed of the Dark Matter. Dedede then reluctantly gave up the Crystal Shard and Waddle Dee asks him to come with the group in their quest. Dedede refuses vehemently at first, but eventually relents. Dedede eventually accompanied the group to Dark Star and helped Kirby reach 0² so he could defeat it. They all succeeded and were given medals by the fairies of Ripple Star.
===Kirby's Return to Dream Land/Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe===
The King joins forces with Kirby, Meta Knight and Waddle Dee to help Magolor. They agreed to help him by getting the missing pieces back and succeeded in doing so. Magolor then brought Dedede and the others to his home planet of Halcandra, where they were attacked by Landia. Magolor told them that the dragon was running rampant on Halcandra and Dedede and the others agreed to defeat it for him. But when they succeeded, Magolor revealed that he had been manipulating them to obtain Landia’s Master Crown so as to gain infinite power. He headed off to conquer Popstar and Dedede and the others followed with help from Landia, successfully defeating Magolor and making it back to Popstar.
===Kirby: Triple Deluxe===
King Dedede was kidnapping by Taranza at the start of the game, after he mistook him for the hero of the Lower World, causing Kirby to try and save him. He appears at numerous points in the game being carried by Taranza, only to have Taranza instigate numerous boss fights with Kirby. He appears at the end of the game and is forced to fight Kirby as Masked Dedede and later Masked Dedede's revenge. After Kirby defeats him, Taranza realizes Kirby is the hero of the Lower World and begs for help from Queen Sectonia but gets blasted into the distance and King Dedede hides behind Kirby. After Kirby defeats Queen Sectonia for the first time, she fuses with the Dream Stalk and tries to use Dream Land and Planet Popstar as sustinance for eternity. Kirby and King Dedede panic for a moment before the People of the Sky bring a cannon to shoot Kirby through 3 rounds of flowers before shooting Kirby into the distance to defeat Queen Sectonia once and for all. After a battle with Queen Sectonia, Kirby is caught by a vine from Queen Sectonia and is almost strangled, before King Dedede flies to the rescue with Taranza's help and he uses his hammer to free Kirby from her vine. He then throws Kirby to Taranza while he throws a Miracle Fruit, allowing Kirby to defeat her once and for all. After she was defeated, Taranza saved him and they all saw the Dream Stalk in full bloom, showing it would be a permanent landmark in Dream Land and a reminder of Floralia.
=== Kirby: Planet Robobot ===
He is first seen playing chess with one of his Waddle Dees and then look up into the sky to see the Access Ark crashing into Planet Popstar. He fires his Shotzos at it before his castle becomes decimated by its lasers. His DNA is extracted somehow and used to create a Dedede Clone Kirby fights later in the game. After Kirby defeats Star Dream, he ends up surviving and climbs out of the ruins of his castle, stretching with one of his Waddle Dees.
===Kirby Star Allies===
King Dedede was one of the people who were possessed by a Jamba Heart, after which he had his Waddle Deeds go around stealing all the food in Dream Land, which Kirby notices and decides to investigate. After he and his allies make it to Castle Dedede and fight their way to the throne room, they find him there with an enormous pile of food and a battle commenced. Partway through the battle after taking some damage Dedede transformed himself into a muscular brute using the Jamba Heart's power, which gave him increased strength and allow him to perform other moves like swinging around the pillars. Fortunately, Kirby and his allies manage to defeat him anyway and restore him to normal. Afterwards, he can be selected as a Dream Friend whenever Kirby goes to a Dream Palace or can be recruited as a friend immediately if he throws a Friend Heart at him right after his defeat. He is also seen right at the end of the main story among the many other friends who Kirby summons to defeat Void Termina in their final battle. 
===Kirby and the Forgotten Land===
King Dedede was one of the many Dream Land inhabitants pulled through a mysterious vortex into the Forgotten Land. He is possessed by an alien lifeform referred to as 'Specimen ID-F86' and is forced to assist the Beast Pack in capturing Waddle Dees. He also manages to kidnap Elfilin after Kirby defeats him in their first encounter in Winter Horns, whom the aforementioned alien lifeform wishes to join with to become whole again since it's revealed later that Elfilin is their missing half. However, he eventually regains his senses at Lab Discovera thanks to Kirby after he defeats him for the second time at the base of a volcano in the Redgar Forbidden Lands, and was about to follow him inside a nearby elevator to enter the facility, but instead decides to stay behind to fend off the Beast Pack pursuing them. After defeating the final boss, King Dedede will appear in Waddle Dee Town relaxing just outside of the Colosseum, and one of the Waddle Dees will give Kirby a Masked Hammer Blueprint on the king's behalf.
==Other Media==
===Super Smash Bros. series===
====Super Smash Bros. Brawl====
King Dedede is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl who is playable by default. King Dedede is classified as a heavy and slow character. King Dedede is known for his ability to chain grab many many members of the cast because of his long grab range and short knockback throws.
King Dedede also appears in the story mode The Subspace Emissary as the tritagonist. He obtains the fighter trophies of Ness, Peach/Zelda, and Luigi from Wario. King Dedede had witnessed the power and intentions of the evil Tabuu when the Battleship Halberd was taken, and worries that if there are no fighters left, Tabuu will take over the world. King Dedede then puts a Dedede badge on the three trophies, guaranteeing that if King Dedede was turned into a trophy, the three other fighter trophies would be revived into fighters, which comes in handy when Bowser invades his castle with his Koopa Troopas and he gets crushed/knocked out by a big piece of falling debris, turning him into a trophy as well, after which Bowser goes on to kidnap Peach/Zelda('s trophy). After time passes, Luigi and Ness turn back into fighters, spot Dedede's trophy and return him to normal as well. He thanks them both with a hug and several pats on the back before they set off to save the other fighters, who had all been turned into trophies by Tabuu. Later, they come across Bowser, who challenges them to a battle but gets defeated into a trophy, though Dedede turns him back into a fighter once more. He roars in another challenge, but Dedede simply swats him on the nose and gestures to Master Hand, who lay defeated on the ground due to Tabuu, and the stairs to the Great Maze. 
Bowser gives up and agrees to work with them to save the Smash universe. Eventually, they come across Kirby, who had eaten one of Dedede's badges and turned back into a fighter (either that or, judging by the cutscene's name, was awakened by his own hunger), and Ganondorf's trophy. Bowser attacks Ganondorf's helpless trophy, as he had been betrayed by the king earlier, and walks away while Dedede hugs Kirby out of relief to see the puffball. Returning to the staircase before the Great Maze, Wario spots Dedede and kicks him, knocking him over and laughing at him, because Dedede had stolen Ness, Peach/Zelda, and Luigi's trophies from him. Ness and Luigi immediately help Dedede up, shocking Wario, before explaining what's at stake. At first, Wario seems to not care, but when they start to go up the stairs, he darts onto his motorcycle and speeds ahead of them. Now having reunited with all the other fighters, they all encounter Tabuu and challenge him to a battle, which ended in the blue being's demise and the restoration of the Smash Bros. universe.
====Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Super Smash Bros. for Wii U====
King Dedede returns as a playable character, but his extraordinary chain grabbing ability has been removed, and his side special now always throws a Gordo, and his back aerial attack has been changed as well. His Final Smash has also been replaced with the "Dedede Burst", where he will inhale everyone around him and smash them with his hammer before launching a powerful bomb from his hammer.
====Super Smash Bros. Ultimate====
King Dedede returns as a playable character for the 3rd time and is one of the many unlockable characters in the World Of Light story mode. 
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