Skull Kid

Skull Kid wearing Majora's Mask.
Skull Kid
Species	Skull Kid
Base	Termina
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

This article is about Skull Kid character. For the species, see Skull Kid (species).

Skull Kid (often referred to as an imp) is a recurring character from several Legend of Zelda games who most prominently appeared as an antagonist of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

Background

The Skull Kid was an inhabitant of Termina who possibly resided in Hyrule as well. At one point in the past, he was friends with the Four Giants who created the four regions of Termina. Eventually, the Giants parted ways in order to act as the guardian deities of those areas, despite the Skull Kid's objections. The Skull Kid was left feeling abandoned and spiteful about this, and he began acting out across Termina, until the Giants banished him under the threat of death. He was also known to have acted as a member of the Bombers Gang at some point, but he was eventually voted out of the group for his mischievous deeds.

Sometime later, he met the fairies Tatl and Tael. He was outside Clock Town, huddled under a hollow log shivering. The two fairies, looking for a dry place to hide under, found him and the three kept warm together. They proceeded to spend time playing together and became close friends. Things started to change one day when they decided to rob the Happy Mask Salesman. The Skull Kid was drawn to a particular mask known as Majora's Mask and stole it. He began wearing it, and it started to warp his personality so that he became crueler. With the mask's influence and power, he began performing 'pranks' of a much deadlier nature. He attacked and injured the witch, Koume. He turned Kafei into a child. He split the Great Fairies into tiny little versions of themselves. He also had the Four Giants trapped by his minions as his revenge. And his greatest and most well-known act was giving the moon a face and causing it to begin falling towards Termina. This would ultimately result in Termina's complete destruction.

At the beginning of Majora's Mask, Skull Kid was in a forest in Hyrule somewhere near a connecting point between it and Termina. He found Link silently trudging through the forest and ambushed him. While Link was knocked out, he stole the Ocarina of Time. When Link woke up, Skull Kid rode off with Epona. When Link caught up with him, Skull Kid turned Link into a Deku Scrub and escaped, while leaving Tatl behind. Link still followed Skull Kid into Termina, arriving at the beginning of the three-day period before the moon would crash. After releasing Epona, the Skull Kid then spent the three-day period waiting atop the Clock Tower for the end of it all.

Link confronted the Skull Kid atop that Clock Tower on the final night, while the moon was in the process of falling. The Skull Kid taunted Link bout how ineffective he was, but Link was able to fire a bubble at the Skull Kid to make him release the Ocarina. With the power of the Song of Time, Link was able to return to the dawn of the first day in the three-day period. Link did not return to the Clock Tower until he had freed the Four Giants. At that point, Link summoned the giants using the Oath of Order, and the four of them were able to hold up the moon from falling. Tael tried to defend Skull Kid from Tatl's aggressive lecturing. At this point Majora's Mask started talking, saying that he no longer needed the 'puppet' and tossed Skull Kid aside.

After Link managed to defeat Majora, the giants, two fairies, and Link met with Skull Kid. The Skull Kid expressed his shock that the giants had not abandoned him and they still considered him a friend. He realized that having friends was a good thing and asked Link to be his friend, especially since he reminded him of the 'fairy kid' that he learned a certain song from.

In Other Zelda Games

In Hyrule Warriors, the Skull Kid appears as a playable character. He was available as DLC or through a download code in the original version and was part of the base game in Legends and the Definitive Edition. He was accompanied by Tatl and Tael for his attacks, and one of his attacks also involved summoning a puppet from Twilight Princess. In Legend Mode, he was featured as the opponent in one of the chapters of Linkle's Tale, "The Girl in the Green Tunic". He had stolen Linkle's compass and had to be defeated to retrieve it. The Skull Kid also appeared as part of Young Link's Focus Spirit attack, in which he would summon the moon, which would then be destroyed by Fierce Deity Link to create a powerful shockwave. Lana also had a DLC costume based on the Skull Kid.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• Within the Super Smash Bros. series, the Skull Kid (wearing Majora's Mask) appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as an Assist Trophy. When summoned, he uses the mask's power to perform a number of effects: flipping the screen upside down or sideways, turning the screen pitch-black, reversing controls or turning the fighters invisible. In Ultimate, there is also a Skull Kid costume set available for Mii Brawlers. He has also been represented as a sticker (wearing Majora's Mask) in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, as a trophy in the 3DS/Wii U game and as two stages of a Primary Spirit in Ultimate. The first Spirit is an Ace-rank Spirit of the Skull Kid as seen in Ocarina of Time. After that Spirit reaches Level 99, it can be enhanced into a Legend-rank Spirit of Skull Kid & Majora's Mask that comes with the Lifesteal ability.
  • When fought in a Spirit battle, the Skull Kid's Spirit would possess a Mii Brawler wearing the Skull Kid's outfit (with Majora's Mask) and fight alongside a pair of Meta Knight duplicates (acting as stand-ins for Tatl and Tael) in a foggy environment. The Assist Trophy of Skull Kid would also help in the battle.
• In Cadence of Hyrule, the Skull Kid was added as a playable character through a DLC pack that was made available in September 2020. His gameplay involved switching between different masks that could be unlocked, which would change up his abilities and the weapon he uses. Starting with the Deku Mask, the other masks that could be unlocked throughout the journey were the Skull Mask, Darknut Mask, Goron Mask, Zora Mask and the Mask of Truth. In addition to becoming unlockable in the main Story Mode (by clearing the Deku Hollow), he was featured in his own campaign called Symphony of the Mask which was set in the game's dark future. In that story, the Skull Kid was shown to be living at the Deku Village under the Deku Tree's protection, and the dying Deku Tree tasked the Skull Kid with a journey to save Hyrule from Ganon. In that quest, the Skull Kid defeated two bosses to gain their instruments before going to face Ganon. The Skull Kid's Skull Mask turned out to be a corrupting influence similar to Majora's Mask and it left the Skull Kid to bond with Ganon. After defeating Skull Ganon, the Skull Kid was tempted by the Skull Mask's power until he was interrupted by the arrival of Link, Zelda and Cadence. With the power of the Triforce, the Skull Mask was destroyed and its power sealed away, and the ending showed the Skull Kid celebrating peacefully with the Deku Scrubs at Deku Village.

Other Media

• He was featured in the manga adaptation of Majora's Mask.

Trivia

• In the ending of Majora's Mask, is implied that this Skull Kid is the one Link taught Saria's Song to in Ocarina of Time. He may also be the Skull Kid that appears in Twilight Princess.