The Most Terrible Things Kirby Has Ever Swallowed
Kirby is a gluttonous pink blob, and he's an adorable one at that. The character stands as one of Nintendo's most iconic mascots, but it's his trademark ability to inhale everything from copious amounts of food to entire enemies that truly stands out as a defining trait. Traditionally, the consumption of characters is reserved for some of Kirby's run-of-the-mill enemies, and grants him powers that he can then use to defeat even greater evils threatening Dream Land. There's a give-and-take to the whole thing that serves a greater good while still seeing to it that the baddies get what they deserve.
With that said, there have been times when Kirby's powers have been turned on innocents that simply get in his way. These terrible moments are often overlooked thanks to the character's adorable demeanor, which is why we've compiled a list to showcase the atrocities. With everything from indiscriminate suction strength to the downright villainous disregard for the lives of civilians, here's a look at the most terrible things that Kirby has ever swallowed.
Waddle Dee doom
One of the first enemies ever encountered by Kirby in his debut game on the Game Boy, Kirby's Dream Land, was the Waddle Dee. These hapless citizens of Dream Land are content to walk back and forth on any given stretch of land, but Nintendo's pink blob doesn't always care for creatures that get in his way. Kirby has inhaled countless Waddle Dees since the franchise debuted in 1992, and the worst part is that they provide him with absolutely no benefit once swallowed.
That's right, there's no greater good in swallowing a Waddle Dee. There's no power-up bestowed upon Kirby to aid him in his quest (barring the occasional Waddle Dee that happens to own a parasol, which they surely would rather surrender than be consumed for). These characters just happen to be in the way of the star warrior and are therefore consumed. It's a terrifying thing to think about in the grand scheme of things. That holds especially true in light of the knowledge that one Waddle Dee, known only as Bandana Waddle Dee, happens to be one of Kirby's most loyal allies.
Friends for dinner
Seeing Kirby eat a generic Waddle Dee can be unsettling enough, considering that a majority of them are innocent servants of King Dedede (Kirby's best frenemy). But then there's Chef Kawasaki, who is a known ally of Kirby's in the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! anime. The cook befriends Kirby in the show because the pink puffball is one of the few citizens of Dream Land to actually enjoy Kawasaki's meals. Tragically, in the games, Kirby prefers to swallow his friend whole rather than the food that Kwasaki is so passionate about preparing for his buddy.
Chef Kawasaki is a mid-level boss on occasion, and he will admittedly rush around and whip up food that can damage Kirby. This could be viewed as a struggle to escape from his starving former chum, however, and it leaves Kirby looking soulless in the eyes of anyone who's watched the cartoon. Upon eating Chef Kawasaki, Kirby is gifted the ability to cook his enemies and turn their corpses into consumable items, further perpetuating the unquenchable cycle of consumption.
An entire rooted adult tree
While the sentient creatures staring down Kirby's maw obviously face a horrible fate, the sheer power of what Kirby is capable of consuming is terrible in its own right. Smaller characters are often up for grabs for consumption — as is so often the case in the real-world animal kingdom — but Kirby's gluttony really does know no bounds. This is never more prevalent then when Kirby inhales an adult tree in 2014's Kirby: Triple Deluxe for the Nintendo 3DS.
After consuming a legendary fruit known as the "Miracle Fruit," Kirby gains a super suction ability to generate such an absurd level of suction that he can consume items much larger than himself. To showcase this power for the first time, Kirby inhales a fully-grown tree that's rooted into the ground. Truthfully, on a moral level there are fewer concerns to be had about the consumption of plant life, but the fact that Kirby is willing to inhale an entire tree just because it got in his way raises some pretty disturbing questions about how he views lifeforms across the galaxy.
A train in the neck
The ironically named "Miracle Fruit" can be used to nightmarish effect on more than just trees, and it continues to grow more sinister in use with every new stage. In one level, after Kirby has consumed the fruit, he'll be able to inhale entire passenger trains filled with Waddle Dees that were just trying to make their commute. Instead, they find themselves traveling to the endless black hole that is Kirby's stomach, as the Star Warrior inhales the entirety of the train, ripping these innocent creatures from the fabric of reality in a hopeless quest to appease his appetite.
It's an especially shocking act of terror perpetrated by the pink blob because of the fact that he's the one venturing onto these train tracks in the first place. Those trains and the Waddle Dees operating them aren't doing anything but trying to transport goods and citizens around Dream Land, but Kirby inhales them all the same.
Almost every beloved Nintendo character and other gaming icons
Kirby has and likely always will have a seat on the roster of the Super Smash Bros. franchise. The character has been present in the crossover fighting game since the franchise debuted on the Nintendo 64 back in 1999. Because fighters in this series are (usually) true to the source games in which they originate, each character has a number of trademark abilities. Naturally, Kirby's devour-and-copy strategy defines his moveset. The terrifying thing about this is that it means Kirby is capable of inhaling and consuming some of the most beloved mascots in all of gaming.
What started off as a smorgasbord of Nintendo's elite has since evolved into a buffet of gaming icons such as Final Fantasy VII's Cloud Strife, Metal Gear Solid's Snake, Castlevania's Simon Belmont, and even Pac-Man's ... err, Pac-Man. No hero or villain featured in the series is safe, and the list of devoured characters will only grow as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's roster continues to expand through DLC.
Gotta Master Hand it to him
Gamers may best recognize Master Hand and Crazy Hand as bosses from the Super Smash Bros. series. The former has appeared in every iteration of the series, while the Crazy Hand debuted in 2001's Super Smash Bros. Melee. However, fans may be surprised to learn that they've appeared in games outside of Smash Bros., as they made boss appearances in the Game Boy Advance title Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. Despite the fact that the disembodied hands aren't able to be devoured in the fighting game series in which they originate, Kirby has no problem consuming the intimidating Master Hand in its lone Kirby game appearance.
Doing so grants our hero the chance to utilize his Super Smash Bros. attacks within the core Kirby game, providing him with access to his Vulcan Jab, Hammer, Final Cutter, Twinkle Star, Hammer Spin, and Stone abilities. The fact that the hands have only appeared in this single Kirby game could mean that the pink blob put them out of commission for good. Despite being sinister in their appearance, Master Hand and Crazy Hand have often played the role of benevolent deities within Smash Bros. canon — even going so far as to attempt helping Nintendo's mascots in the story modes for Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Ultimate.
Not even an armored tank can protect the Waddle Dees
An armored Waddle Dee may sound like a serious enemy for Kirby, but its defensive capabilities are hampered by the iron-clad tank's lack of weapons. With three Waddle Dees occupying each of these vehicles, they simply wander back and forth like giant versions of the creatures they resemble. These mechs aren't the war machines that players may initially take them for — they were created simply to protect the occupants. That's where Kirby comes in to dash any hopes that the operators may have had of remaining unconsumed.
Kirby doesn't need the power of a Miracle Fruit to do this, either, as Kirby's Return to Dream Land for the Nintendo Wii gifted the supposed hero with the ability to "Super Inhale" larger obstacles and enemies. Holding the B button long enough would eventually turn Kirby's standard inhale maneuver into a Super Inhale, and with this triggered, the character can eat the entire Armored Waddle Dee.
Kirby will eat you and your family
This may seem like a joke, but it's a premise that Nintendo deemed appropriate enough to sell as merchandise. There is an officially-licensed Kirby plush that doubles as a pillow, clearly intended for children who adore the character. Appearing cute while hiding immeasurable power through his primal hunger, it's terrifying to know that this Kirby plush would have a literal head start on consuming a loved one if it were to ever spring to life in a fashion similar to Toy Story.
Forbes claims that the mouth of the collectible measures 21 centimeters high and 23 centimeters wide, which means that Kirby would have a tough time inhaling the entirety of an individual's body if the maw of the hero maintained its dimensions. Still, those adventurous enough to own one of these can purchase the Kirby plush for 9,500 yen (or roughly $85 USD as of this writing) from Bandai's premium online storefront.
Breaking the fourth wall by inhaling a boss' health meter
Kirby is capable of accomplishing many things with his unique powers, and shattering the the fourth wall is one of them. The puffball does this by inhaling and swallowing the health bar of a boss character, thanks once again to the power of Kirby: Triple Deluxe's Miracle Fruit. While it's a cute nod to the power of the pink hero at first, it's also a terrifying revelation when one takes into account that a UI component designed to benefit players can be ingested by Kirby. This ability to inhale items outside of his own existence is a dramatic thing to reckon with.
While the Kirby pillow is a harrowing vision of the character invading our three-dimensional existence, it's the ability to reach beyond his own world to actually eat other aspects of developer-designed displays that shatters the fourth wall. The most terrible part of all is wondering just how far Kirby's ability to devour things beyond the screen will continue to grow ... and how long it will take him to devour us all.