Boomerang Bro

The **Boomerang Bro** appeared in 1988 video game called *Super Mario Bros. 3*. The Boomerang Bro (or Boomerang Brother) is a type of Koopa that, like Hammer Bros., specialize in the use of a certain item as a weapon. Instead of throwing Hammers like the Hammer Bros., Boomerang Bros. use Boomerangs that move back and forth to them. They are not as commonly found in the *Mario* series as their Hammer Brother relatives.

The physical appearance of Boomerang Bros. has changed throughout the series. Early artwork depicts them identically to Hammer Bros. of that era, with orange skin along with black shells and helmets. The Boomerang Bros. in *Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door* and *Super Paper Mario* appear to be based on this coloration. In *Super Mario Bros. 3* and its remakes, they have green skin and striped underbellies. *Mario Superstar Baseball* started the trend of depicting Boomerang Bros. with yellow skin and blue shells and helmets. Most games since have retained this depiction.

Boomerang Bros. are virtually identical to Hammer Bros. in appearance, featuring the same colored skin, belly plate, nose, and eyes, though with differences, such as wearing dark blue helmets, shoes, and shells. In comparison to Hammer Bros., Boomerang Bros. have maintained consistent designs more often. Official artwork of *Super Mario Bros. 3* depicted Boomerang Brother with somewhat darker yellow skin than in recent games, while his shoes, shell, and helmet are black. In-game, they are depicted with light green skin and white belly plates instead, likely due to the NES's technical limitations; however, all other aspects of their design are faithful to their artwork. Boomerang Brothers' sprites in *Super Mario All-Stars* and *Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3* depict them with darker green skin, as well as tanned belly plates. *Yoshi's Safari* depicts Boomerang Bros. with off-white belly plates, green helmets and shells, darker yellow skin, and no shoes, while also being very large, in the vein of both Hammer Bros. and Sledge Bros.

*Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door* gave Boomerang Bros. altered designs, with them having rounder body proportions, wearing spiked armbands, and sporting black helmets, shells, and shoes, similar to *Super Mario Bros. 3*. From *Paper Mario: Sticker Star* onwards, they use their current designs, but with paper outlines around them.

## Powers and Abilities

Boomerang Bros. use boomerangs as weapons in all of their appearances. In *Super Mario Bros. 3*, Boomerang Bros. throw multiple boomerangs at once, which can quickly return to them. In the *New Super Mario Bros.* games, Boomerang Bros. throw their boomerangs at slower rates, but they can curve in different directions, or travel higher. In *Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions*, Boomerang Bros.' boomerangs are shown to pierce through multiple enemies.

Like their relatives, Boomerang Bros. are shown to have high agility, especially evident in the 3D platformers. Boomerang Bros. frequently hop, to the point of hopping while idling. Boomerang Bros. are shown to jump exceptionally high, quickly traversing many areas; they often do this in conjunction with throwing their boomerangs. The *Mario Baseball* series portrays Boomerang Bro as a power character, making him specialize in fielding and batting, but having poor pitching skills and running speed.