Tutankoopa

Tutankoopa in Paper Mario
Tutankoopa
Species	Koopa
Affiliation	Koopa Troop
Eye color	Blue
Debut	Paper Mario

Tutankoopa is a boss character who appeared in Paper Mario.

Background

Tutankoopa was a servant of Bowser, who was assigned to watch over the Spirit named Mamar after Bowser stole the Star Rod and imprisoned the Spirits. With Bowser backing him, Tutankoopa made his base in the Dry Dry Ruins and became the self-declared ruler of the Dry Dry Desert. He seemed to enjoy holding power and scaring others, and he worked with a variety of Chain Chomps as his pets and minions. According to Goombario, he had a "pharaoh complex", implying he had no true claim to royalty.

Mario eventually came to face him during Chapter 2 of Paper Mario. From the moment that Mario entered the ruins, Tutankoopa began projecting his voice and attempted to scare Mario away with ominous warnings. Mario pressed on despite that and eventually confronted Tutankoopa in his chamber deep within the ruins. Tutankoopa was surprised that anyone would ignore his scary warnings and questioned Mario's common sense. He proceeded to engage Mario in a battle. He summoned a Chain Chomp to fight on his side (and a replacement each time one was defeated) and had an arsenal of three Buzzy Beetle shells to throw at Mario. He also had some magic-based attacks, which had a chance of backfiring and hitting him instead. During the battle, he spent most of his time standing on a raised platform, which protected him from ground attacks. However, it was possible to knock him down and make him temporarily vulnerable.

After Tutankoopa was defeated, his Chomp (referred to as Chompy) turned on him and began chasing him. The Chomp continued to chase him through the game's ending parade, where it was joined by several other Chomps.

Trivia

• Both his English and Japanese names are references to the famed Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen. His English name combined the name with "koopa". His Japanese name is simply "Kamen", which references the latter part of "Tutankhamen" as well as the Japanese word for "turtle", which is "kame". The Japanese name could also reference "Kamekku", which is the Japanese name for Magikoopas.
• The miniature Chomp head on Tutankoopa's hat sometimes moves its mouth while Tutankoopa is speaking.
• In Mario Pinball Land, there is a boss resembling him. They both are Koopa who are dressed as Egyptian pharoahs. However, their attire is different, and Tutankoopa resembles a Magikoopa, while the other boss looks more like a Koopa Troopa.