Enter King Bowser

**Enter King Bowser** is the first episode of the series, and thus the first episode of the *Metal Sonic Saga*.

## Synopsis

Bowser attacks the Mushroom Kingdom Martial Arts Match-Up, prompting Mario to save the day. A new threat arrives in the Mushroom Kingdom...

## Plot

**Spoiler warning: *Plot and/or ending details follow.***

*Coming soon.*

***Spoilers end here.***

## Trivia

* The episode title is based on the title of *Dragon Ball* episode, "Enter King Piccolo".

* Kuribo, the Sockop that appears near the beginning of the episode, first appeared in *Bowser's Inside Story*. He was the Sockop who was holding the Attack Piece when Mario and Luigi venture into Dimble Wood to find the Snack Basket special attack. His selfish demeanour over the Chaos Emerald is a reference to how he is regarded as greedy by his peers.
* The time stamp reading "Mushroom City, Present Day" is based on similar time stamps from movies such as those from the *Marvel Cinematic Universe*.
	+ This particular time stamp is also a reference to *Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time*, where the first two levels are identified as "N. Sanity Island, Present Day". A similar reference occurs in *Turn Back the Clock*, where a flashback set in Crash's World reads "N. Sanity Island ...A Few Days Ago".
	+ More time stamps appear during *Turn Back the Clock*, the *N. Tropy Saga*, *Sol Chronicles* and *Rift Apart*.
* MC Ballyhoo's offhand comment about Wario's "dubious theme park license" is a reference to Wario owning WarioWare Inc., specifically its incarnation from *WarioWare: Snapped!*.
* Interestingly, all three of Mario's opponents have been rivals of his in the past.
	+ Wario first butted heads with Mario in *Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins*.
	+ Donkey Kong's family has been opposite Mario on occassion since *Donkey Kong* (the eponymous Donkey Kong canonically being Cranky Kong), while Donkey Kong himself appeared as a rival in the *Mario vs. Donkey Kong* games.
	+ Rawk Hawk is one of the bosses Mario must fight in *Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door*. His boss fight takes place in the Glitz Pit, another fighting ring.
* Rawk Hawk's "Megaton Punch" attack is derived from the *Dragon Ball* series. The attack comes from Hercule Satan, who Rawk Hawk is based on in the series.
* Bowser quotes Ripto from *Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage* upon his arrival at the tournament arena.
* Bowser breaks the fourth wall by mentioning he is already on his "reason I hate you speech".
* Bowser quotes Fawful's line from his first battle in *Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga*. This is intentional on Bowser's part, having been present during said battle in the game, acting as a tutorial to Tell attacks.
* Bowser references his own boss battles from *Super Mario 64*, after being swung around by Mario. This is the method required to defeat him in the game.
* Kamek's incantation is lifted from Babidi from the *Dragon Ball* series.
* Sonic's distraction dance is based on a scene from *Guardians of the Galaxy*, where Peter Quill distracted the villain Ronan under the guise of a "dance off".
	+ Sonic's distraction dance is the floss dance, which the character performed twice during the *Sonic the Hedgehog (Paramount Pictures)* movie.
* Kamek's threat to turn Princess Peach into a Fiery Drumstick is a reference to *Bowser's Inside Story*, where the Fiery Drumstick was a healing item exclusive to Bowser.
* Sonic quotes Jimmy Neutron's catchphrase from the *Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius* franchise before his departure from the tournament arena.

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