Wingo

Wingo
Species	Bird
Eye color	Red
Debut	Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

Wingo is a giant bird who was featured as the main antagonist of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker.

Background

Wingo wasa gigantic bird with black feathers. He was always seen wearing a feathered turban and a necklace containing a Power Star. It was motivated by an attraction to shiny treasure and tended to clash with treasure hunters such as Captain Toad and Toadette. In battle, Wingo could flap his wings to create gusts of wind that knock back living beings and objects. He could also summon giant turnips, which could spell his undoing if thrown at him. He also had the ability to transform into and from a ball of light, which was used for quick travel around different sides of an arena.

In Episode 1 of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Wingo made his entrance at the end of the prologue. Captain Toad and Toadette had just discovered a Power Star, only for Wingo to swoop down to snatch it. Toadette grabbed onto the Star in an attempt to take it back from Wingo, but that resulted in her being carried off with the Star. He eventually grabbed Captain Toad as well after he found a Star at the end of Blizzard on the Star Express. Captain Toad was dropped at Wingo's Watchtower. As Captain Toad progressed through that level, Wingo kept conjuring winds to disrupt Captain Toad, but could be stunned by having turnips thrown at him. Ultimately, Captain Toad could take a Clear Pipe Cannon to the top of the tower, where Wingo had amassed vast riches. There, the first boss battle with Wingo ensued. After being hit with three Giant Turnips, Wingo was defeated. He accidentally swallowed the final Giant Turnip, which caused his stomach to bloat and made him fall from the heavens, leaving Toadette and the Power Star behind atop the tower. At the end of the episode's credits, Wingo's cry was heard, as a sign that he was still out there.

During the game's Episode 2, Wingo returned at the end of the prologue. The scenario played out similarly to the first episode, except that this time it was Captain Toad who was captured by Wingo. Wingo was also not battled at the end of this storyline. Instead, Toadette found Captain Toad by a pile of Wingo's riches at the end of Battle Tower Blitz. After Captain Toad was saved, Wingo revealed himself and captured Toadette again, while using a gust of wind to blow Captain Toad away. In Episode 3, Wingo eventually dropped Toadette in the Stumpy Springs Sanctuary. However, he recaptured her at the end of Scalding Scaffold Sinkhole. In the stage Wingo's Whackdown, Captain Toad once again scaled Wingo's tower while Wingo attempted to sabotage him, and he battled him again atop the tower. For the last phase of this battle, Wingo also summoned bolts of elecricity that formed electrical fields which he attempted to blow Captain Toad into. Wingo was once defeated by three Giant Turnips - he again became bloated and fell, while leaving behind Toadette and the Power Star. During the end credits, Wingo was seen struggling to fly in the background while still bloated.

In the game's Special Episode, Wingo could be battled again in a stage called Wingo's Double Trouble. For this battle, Wingo was accompanied by a copy that could not be harmed. Both of them would launch attacks at the same time. While the real Wingo had a Power Star necklace, the fake one had a clear version of the Star instead. The fake also turned into a blue ball of energy while transporting around, while the real Wingo became a ball of energy that was purple. The real Wingo had to be hit three times to defeat him.

Trivia

• His name is a simple play on "wing" and may also refer to the name of Klepto or his Japanese name of Jango.
• Wingo was conceived as the antagonist for Treasure Tracker because it was believed that a crow would make a natural enemy of a treasure hunter due to the misconception that those birds are drawn to shiny objects. This is combined with the legend of the giant bird known as the Roc, from One Thousand and One Nights.
• The feather in his turban is based on the [{Cape Feather]] from Super Mario World.
• In Super Mario Odyssey, Captain Toad references Wingo when encountered at the Lost Kingdom. He mentions having been dropped by a giant bird (in reference to Klepto, who appears at that kingdom) and then specifies that it's "a different giant bird than [his] usual one".