King Dedede is the main antagonist of the Kirby franchise.
He is the self-proclaimed king of Dream Land and Kirby's prominent arch-nemesis, having appeared in (almost) every Kirby game to date. Despite making his debut as a villain and being the primary antagonist of most spin-offs, he eventually has begun helping Kirby and his friends in games ever since Kirby's Return to Dream Land onwards, which he does more often than not.
What Makes Him A Shonen Rival?[]
- Heroic/Anti-Villainous:
- After feeling remorse for his actions in Kirby's Dream Land, King Dedede tries to be a hero of Dream Land by stealing the Star Rod and splitting it amongst Whispy Woods, Paint Roller, Mr. Shine & Mr. Bright, Kracko, Heavy Mole, and Meta Knight to prevent the Nightmare from being released. He eventually helps Kirby defeat the Nightmare once it is accidentally released.
- After that game, he just fights Kirby in his adventures due to being possessed by a demon-esque creature.
- Though non-canon, Smash Brawl has to be brought up, because he was one of, if not the most crucial character in saving the world from Tabuu. This is another anti-villainous role, where he does capture the heroes, but it's all with the intent to help him stop Tabuu.
- It's debatable where he gets redeemed.
- In Kirby 64, where he joins Kirby, Ribbon, Waddle Dee, and Adeleine in their journey to stop the Dark Matter from terrorizing Ripple Star. Outside of just one adventure to help settle his rivalry with Kirby (specifically in KSSU's Revenge of the King), we don't see him do any evil deeds outside of maybe some spinoffs (even then, at worst, he seems to be a bad boss towards his Waddle Dees in Epic Yarn).
- In Kirby's Return to Dreamland, he willingly helps Magolor, along with Kirby, Meta Knight, and Bandana Dee in restoring the Lor Starcutter and helps the three defeat him once Magolor betrayed them.
- In Kirby Triple Deluxe, he helps Kirby in the final battle by saving him from one of
- I think he's been redeemed in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, where it's shown he is now willing to save one Waddle Dee and protect them from the Beast Pack instead of joining Kirby in fighting Leongar, and eventually, Fecto Forgo and Elfillis, showing he is now fully heroic.
- Honorable: Dedede, even when he's trying to defeat Kirby, gives the pink puffball a hammer in Revenge of the King.
- Naturally Talented: He's been shown to have natural talent in fighting with his hammer (and using his other abilities too). He was able to take out an entire army, after all.
- Arrogant/Jerkish: Has shown a lot of jerkish, arrogant, and straight-up egotistical moments throughout the series, especially as a villain. Even when he got redeemed and is not as jerkish anymore thanks to Forgotten Land, he still has a somewhat smug face when resting and hasn't fully subverted his arrogance and jerkish behavior.
- Pessimistic: At the end of Revenge of the King, he walked away in misery after being defeated by Kirby as Masked Dedede, thinking he may never ever beat him in a battle again. The spinoffs don't count as a subversion.
- Believes In The Power Of Individual Strength: Subverted traits count, if Amity being Arrogant/Jerkish by the standards of the wiki is anything to go by. This is why he fought Kirby by his own volition in the first game and KSSU.
- Redemption Arc: It spans throughout multiple games, from trying to do something heroic in Kirby's Adventure to joining Kirby in Crystal Shards to settling his rivalry with him in KSSU to joining him and playing major roles in his endeavors in RTDL and Triple Deluxe to finally showing he is a true hero by risking his life by fighting an army just for one Waddle Dee.
- Is A Serious Threat: Becomes probably one of the hardest bosses in KSSU as Masked Dedede, with his arena being full of electric fences and ceilings and having a hammer that can do multiple things like creating shockwaves and even shooting missiles. He's able to do a spin attack with it.
- Short-Tempered: Again, subverted traits count, and he shows signs of this in the first game after you beat the game on normal difficulty.
- Celibate: King Dedede shows no signs of having a single crush for anyone in the games.
- Is A Blood Knight: Just look at Revenge of the King from KSSU and tell me he isn't this. I dare you.
- Wears Blue/Red: He's blue himself and has blue outlines on his belly, and his robe and nightcap are red.
- Is A Delinquent: He stole all of the food in Dream Land in the first game, and this is why Kirby immediately puts the blame on him for stealing his strawberry shortcake in Squeak Squad, even though he didn't do it.
- Has Respect for the Shonen Hero: Starts to care a lot more for Kirby by Subspace Emissary (though non-canon), helps him in his journeys in RTDL and Triple Deluxe, and eventually reveals to have missed him in Forgotten Land.
External Links[]
- King Dedede on the Kirby Wiki
- King Dedede on the Heroes Wiki
- King Dedede on the Villains Wiki
- King Dedede on the Super Smash Bros. Wiki
- King Dedede on the Nintendo Wiki
- King Dedede on the Near Pure Good Wiki