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Marx (マルク) is one of the major antagonists of the SNES game Kirby Super Star, as well as its Nintendo DS remake Kirby Super Star Ultra.

He joined Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as one of the bosses in World of Light, as well as in certain routes in Classic Mode.

Character Description[]

Marx in Kirby Super Star

Marx as he appears in Kirby Super Star

Marx is a mysterious alien with a deceiving appearance. At first glance, he looks to be a friendly face with the dress and mannerisms of a court jester. However, he will take on a far more terrifying look when he transforms into his True Form, brandishing multi-colored wings and a more demented demeanor as well as gaining a bit of size.

Marx Soul in Super Star Ultra

Marx Soul in Kirby Super Star Ultra

Marx made his debut as the main antagonist of the Milky Way Wishes sub-game in Kirby Super Star (and later its Nintendo DS remake), as well as the final boss of another sub-game, The Arena. In the story of Milky Way Wishes, he asks Kirby to stop a fight between the Sun and the Moon; to do so, he must collect a star from each of the planets surrounding Popstar to summon the Galactic Nova, a special comet that can grant wishes. Kirby immediately and naively agrees, unaware that Marx is planning on using the opportunity for his own evil ends. After Kirby has collected all of the stars, Marx immediately boots him and sends him adrift in space, stealing his wish and requesting Nova grant him the ultimate power to rule over Popstar, transforming into his True form. Kirby then obtains the Starship ability and destroys the Galactic Nova's heart, stopping its movement dead and preventing Marx's wish from being fully realized. Kirby then battles Marx directly on the same moon he fought Nightmare prior. After a lengthy fight, Kirby eventually perseveres and launches Marx right into the Galactic Nova, causing both entities to be obliterated and restoring peace to the Milky Way. In The True Arena mode of Kirby Super Star Ultra, Marx is revealed to have barely survived but has now been horribly mutated into a zombie-looking monstrous and ultra-powerful creature called Marx Soul, serving as the ultimate final boss of the mode. If Kirby manages to defeat him again, he will split in half while screaming and explode, destroying the arena in the process.

Outside of Kirby Super Star, Marx returns as the boss of Kirby Mass Attack's Kirby Brawlball mode, now becoming a giant and having the ability to produce smaller clones of him called Minimarx. Marx makes his playable debut in Kirby Star Allies as a Dream Friend, added to the game for free with v2.0.0 released on March 28, 2018. According to the in-game flavor text, Marx seems to have turned over a new leaf and has willingly assisted Kirby and his allies; however, he does make a surprise appearance as a boss during the end credits of the Heroes in Another Dimension mode, where the player can defeat him before the credits finish. Outside of these two games, Marx has only made very minor appearances, usually as one of the possible statues Stone Kirby can produce, or as collectible stickers or keychains.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U[]

While Marx makes no physical appearance of any kind in either games, a new arrangement of his boss battle theme song, "Vs. Marx", is available. It was composed by Yasunori Mitsuda and can only be played on Halberd.

Vs._Marx_(Kirby_Super_Star)_-_Super_Smash_Bros._Wii_U-2

Vs. Marx (Kirby Super Star) - Super Smash Bros. Wii U-2


In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]

Marx-SSBU

Marx in his original form

Boss[]

Marx appears as one of the ten bosses that can be fought in World of Light, specifically in The Dark Realm's Mysterious Dimension sub-area, as well as during the True Final Battle against Galeem and Dharkon. Outside of Adventure Mode, Marx is also one of the bosses of Classic Mode, specifically in Kirby, Rosalina & Luma, Inkling, and Sephiroth's routes. He is fought in an area that closely resembles the Moon from Kirby Super Star.

Moveset[]

Marx True Form SSBU

Marx in his true form

Marx keeps most of his attacks from Super Star such as teleporting and creating a black hole. However, he has a few attacks made exclusively for his appearance in Ultimate.

  • 4-Way Cutter Attack: Shoots out 4 crescent-shaped projectiles from all sides of his body that work similarly to Kirby's Final Cutter ability, which then return back to him. Like his Soul Marx form, he will do this move twice if at low health. They can be reflected, eaten, or pocketed.
  • Marx Cannon: Teleports to the players' y-coordinate and fires a laser that covers the stage, dealing Darkness-effect damage. Cannot be blocked by a Shield, but can be armored against or ducked under.
  • Ice Bowl: Teleports to the top of the stage, then spits out a ball of ice, which splits into two shockwaves that can freeze when reaching the ground relative to the player's current position. The shockwaves can he reflected, eaten, pocketed, or absorbed.
  • Seed Attack: Flies offscreen and drops five to seven seeds that immediately grow into thorny vines. Like 4-Way Cutter, the attack changes when Marx has low health, as he will drop more and they will grow much faster. Unlike in Kirby Super Star, shielding will not destroy the seeds.
  • Shadow Upper: Similarly to Shadow Sneak, Marx flies out of a shadow from wherever the player is after following them for a bit. Marx will have an increased tendency to perform this attack if he is either off-screen or at low health.
  • Black Hole: Marx will teleport three times before stopping at the very center of the screen. He then splits in half and opens a Black Hole that will try to consume the player. If the player gets caught, they will take excessive damage and get spiked into the ground. Marx can be damaged prior to splitting but is intangible afterwards.
  • Tracking Eye: Marx's eyes will turn completely black, which afterwards black balls will fall out of and start bouncing around the stage for some time, dealing darkness damage to the player if they are hit. At low health, Marx will spawn up to six black balls.
  • Capillary Expansion: Marx will teleport to the center of the screen, where he will then retract his wings and replace them with several branches that sprout from his body resembling blood vessels that deal Fire damage. The branches cover much of the area, but can leave gaps that the player can take cover in.
  • Compound Eye Laser: Grows large bug-like compound eyes that fire several lasers at the player in a randomized rotation pattern, dealing Electric Attack damage. More lasers are fired when Marx is at low health.

Mii Fighter Costumes[]

Marx-2

The Marx hat

Headgear for the Mii Fighters based on Marx's hat is available in the base game. It must be purchased from the Shop for 450G.

Music[]

His theme song "Vs. Marx" once again returns for Ultimate, now having the option to be played on Battlefield, Final Destination, Big Battlefield, Small Battlefield, and all Kirby stages. It also plays on his boss battle with the exception of his appearance in Inkling's route in Classic Mode, where it plays "Calamari Inkantaion" instead.

List of spirits (Kirby series)[]

A Spirit of Marx is available in the base game. It is a Primary Grab Spirit under the Advanced class. It has no traditional Spirit Battle; instead it can be acquired after defeating him in his boss battle in World of Light. The Spirit can also be enhanced to Level 99, which will then transform it to Marx's True Form, a Primary Grab Spirit under the Legendary class.

No. Spirit Name Artwork Origin Type Rating Effect Cost
347 Marx Spirit Marx Kirby Super Star Grab Spirit ★★ Enhanceable 3
348 Marx True Form Spirit Marx (True Form) Kirby Super Star Grab Spirit ★★★★ Magic Attack ↑ 3

Trivia[]

  • Marx is one of two bosses to not have appeared in any videos or trailers prior to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's release, the other being Dharkon.
    • Following Dharkon's brief appearance in Hero's reveal trailer, Marx is the only boss to not have appeared on any promotional material for the game whatsoever.
  • According to Masahiro Sakurai during the "Mr. Sakurai Presents 'Sephiroth'" demonstration, Marx was originally going to look creepier but the design was deemed not suitable for general audiences, so it had to be toned down - however, it is not clear if he meant as he was originally intended for Kirby Super Star or for his boss battle in Ultimate.
  • Marx is the smallest boss in the game, as he is even smaller than certain fighters as well as lacking a hitbox on his wings.
  • Marx's arrow attack from Kirby Super Star is the only move in his repertoire to not be a part of his moveset for Ultimate.

Navigation[]

SubspaceSymbol Bosses WorldOfLightSymbol
Introduced in
Smash 64
Master Hand  · Metal Mario  · Giant Donkey Kong
Introduced in
Meleelogo
Crazy Hand  · Giga Bowser  · Metal Bros.
Introduced in
Brawllogo
Petey Piranha  · Rayquaza  · Porky Statue / Porky Minch  · Galleom  · Ridley  · Duon  · Meta Ridley  · Tabuu
Introduced in
Super Smash Bros. for 3DS & Wii U
Master Core
Introduced in
Smash Ultimate logo glow
Rathalos  · Ganon  · Dracula  · Marx  · Galeem  · Dharkon
Mii Fighter Costumes
Mii Brawler Akira Yuki  · Builder Mario  · Bomberman  · Callie  · Captain Falcon  · Creeper  · Flying Man  · Heihachi Mishima  · Iori Yagami  · Jacky Bryant  · King K. Rool  · Knuckles the Echidna  · Martial Artists  · Nia  · Ninjara  · Pig  · Ribbon Girl  · Ryo Sakazaki  · Shantae  · Skull Kid  · Spring Man  · Team Rocket  · Tifa Lockhart  · Toad  · Toy-Con Robot  · Yarn Yoshi
Mii Swordfighter Aerith Gainsborough  · Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad  · Ancient Soldier Gear  · Arthur  · Ashley  · Black Knight  · Chrom  · Dante  · Diamond Armor  · Dragonborn  · Dunban  · Erdrick Equipment  · Gil  · Goemon  · Isaac  · Link  · Lip  · Lloyd Irving  · Monster Hunter  · Nakoruru  · Protagonist (Persona 3)  · Protagonist (Persona 4)  · Rex  · Takamaru  · Travis Touchdown  · Veronica  · Vince  · Viridi  · Yiga Clan  · Zero
Mii Gunner Barret Wallace  · Chibi-Robo  · Cuphead  · Doom Slayer  · Fox McCloud  · Geno  · Inklings  · Isabelle  · K.K. Slider  · Marie  · MegaMan.EXE  · Proto Man  · Ray MK III  · Saki Amamiya  · Samus Aran  · Sans  · Tails  · Vault Boy  · X
Headgear Arcade Bunny  · Barbara  · Cappy  · Chain Chomp  · Chocobo  · Daisy  · Dixie Kong  · Felyne  · Judd  · Luigi  · Majora's Mask  · Mario  · Marx  · Meta Knight  · Morgana  · Mr. Saturn  · Octoling  · Princess Peach  · Princess Zelda  · Rabbids  · Red Shell  · Sheik  · Shy Guy  · Slime  · Spiny  · Super Mushroom  · Teddie  · Waluigi  · Wario
KirbySymbol Kirby universe
Characters Kirby (64  · Melee  · Brawl  · 3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
Meta Knight (Brawl  · 3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
King Dedede (Brawl  · 3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
Side Characters Boss Marx
Assist Trophies Knuckle Joe  · Nightmare  · Chef Kawasaki
Mii Fighter Costumes Meta Knight  · Marx
Background characters King Dedede
Stage Hazards Whispy Woods
Enemies Bonkers  · Bronto Burt  · Gordo  · Parasol Waddle Dee  · Plasma Wisp  · Shotzo  · Tac  · Waddle Dee  · Waddle Doo
Stages Dream Land  · Fountain of Dreams  · Green Greens  · Halberd  · Dream Land GB  · The Great Cave Offensive
Items Bomber  · Dragoon  · Maxim Tomato  · Parasol  · Star Rod  · Superspicy Curry  · Warp Star
Music List List of Music (Kirby series)
Song "Gourmet Race"
Collectibles Trophies Melee Trophies  · Brawl Trophies  · 3DS Trophies  · Wii U Trophies
Stickers List of Stickers (Kirby series)
Spirits List of spirits (Kirby series)
Masterpieces Kirby's Dream Land  · Kirby's Adventure  · Kirby Super Star
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