The Subspace Army's emblem, which appears on most of their soldiers and structures.
The Subspace Army is an evil force which is the main antagonist of the Subspace Emissary mode in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Headed by the Ancient Minister and under the guidance of Tabuu, its aim is to expand Subspace using Subspace Bombs and to pull areas of this world into it. Most of the enemies the player faces in the Subspace Emissary are members of the Subspace Army.
Commanders/Smasher Accomplices
- Tabuu is the true leader of the Subspace Army. He uses Master Hand (bound by Chains of Light) as a puppet to give orders. Only the Ancient Minister knows about Tabuu.
- Master Hand was bound by the Chain of Light and used as a puppet to control the army.
- Ganondorf is second-in-command of the Army, having technology to override the R.O.B.s' programming and holding dominance over a majority of the forces. He sought to usurp Master Hand's rule over the world but ultimately failed upon Tabuu's revelation.
- Bowser is the Army's third-in-command, and only takes orders from Ganondorf and Master Hand himself. In contrast to Ganondorf's more administrative role, Bowser prefers catching Smashers, as well as using his personal force of Koopa Troopas to take on large assignments, such as assaulting King Dedede's castle. He was the only Smasher to be truly loyal to Master Hand, expressing sadness to see him defeated. On the other hand, he dislikes Ganondorf-even moreso when the latter betrayed him.
- R.O.B. (SSBB), or Ancient Minister, is the field commander. He has a reluctant leadership role commanding the R.O.B. Squad. His main task is to deploy Subspace Bombs around the world. However, he is subject to Ganondorf, Bowser, and Tabuu. After being shot many times by R.O.B.s controlled by Ganondorf, his robe was burned, showing his true identity as R.O.B.
- Wario is the bounty hunter of the army, who works independently from the rest of the Army. He captures various Smashers for the fun of it. He did not care about the orders he received from Ganondorf or Master Hand, preferring to go his own way.
- King Dedede attacked the Halberd prior to the opening, at the same time Tabuu's forces did, preventing Meta Knight from defending the ship. It is confirmed on the official website that he led the Subspace Army in the takeover of Meta Knight's ship, but during that time, he learns of Tabuu's Off Waves. However, he worries that when Tabuu defeats the Smashers, who would be there to save him? Dedede then leaves the army to develop a brooch that could revive a trophy into their original state.
- Mr. Game & Watch (SSBB) was captured by Tabuu prior to the opening. Tabuu learns of his special abilities, and turns him into a trophy. Mr. Game & Watch cannot differentiate good from bad, and doesn't revolt or attack Tabuu. Tabuu extracts Shadow Bugs endlessly while he was unconscious in his trophy form, and used them to build his members of his army such as Duon.
- In the middle of he story, Snake (SSBB) was seen hiding in a cardboard box on the Halberd. It is unclear to the audience whether he infiltrated the Halberd as part of initial offense against Meta Knight, or he planned to fight the Subspace Army from within their base. Either way, he still joined the Smashers (like all the other Smasher accomplices of Master Hand) in their final battle with Tabuu.
Forces
The Subspace Army consists of a number of enemies, the Primids chief among them. These enemies are created from Shadow Bugs, which are dropped from the Halberd. The Subspace Army also controls the floating Isle of Ancients and the Subspace Gunship.
The army's weapons, equipment, and troops are almost all stolen or copied. Mr. Game & Watch was used to create Shadow Bugs, which were then used to create a massive army as well as False Characters. Samus's Power Suit was apparently stolen, and Pikachu was used as a power supply. The Dark Cannon is the most powerful handheld weapon used by the Army, and these were distributed among its Smasher leaders.
Major members
The following were deployed in areas where they could do maximum damage, and were used in cases where Primids would not be enough.
Primids
Primids being formed from Shadow Bugs.
Primids are the Subspace Army's standard troops. Their modest strength is made up for by large numbers. Specialization is also present, as there are:
- Normal Primids
- Scope Primids (Primids with firearms)
- Sword Primids (Beam Sword-wielding Primids)
- Boom Primids (armed with boomerangs)
- Metal Primids (covered in heavy, reflective metal)
- Fire Primids (can breathe fire)
- Big Primids (composed of more Shadow Bugs and are three times as large as normal Primids)
R.O.B. Squad
In addition to their role as workers and bomb detonators, multiple types of R.O.B. defend the Isle of the Ancients:
- R.O.B. Sentry
- R.O.B. Launcher
- R.O.B. Blaster
- Giant R.O.B. (Only seen in a cutscene. It killed dozens of Pikmin, but was destroyed by Captain Falcon, who killed even more Pikmin in the process.)
Koopa Troop
Bowser commands a group of creatures from his own universe, composed of:
Other Forces
Other enemies found throughout the game (often limited to two or three areas) include:
- Armank
- Armight
- Auroros
- Autolance
- Bombed
- Borboras
- Bucculus
- Buckot
- Bytan
- Cymul
- Feyesh
- Floow
- Gamyga
- Glice
- Glire
- Glunder
- Greap
- Mite
- Mizzo
- Nagagog
- Poppant
- Puppit
- Roader
- Roturret
- Shaydas
- Shellpod
- Spaak
- Ticken
- Towtow
- Trowlon
Traps
In addition to sending troops at their foes, the Subspace Army is more than willing to set up some devious devices in their bid to conquer the world:
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