Wendy O. Koopa

Wendy in New Super Mario Bros Wii.
Wendy O. Koopa
Species	Koopa
Hair color	None
Eye color	Blue
Relatives	Koopalings (siblings)
Voiced by	Lani Minella (2009-2014) Ashley Flannegan (2014-Present)
Debut	Super Mario Bros. 3

Wendy O. Koopa is the third of the Koopalings to be introduced and the only girl among them. Together, they have acted as recurring boss characters under Bowser's command throughout the Super Mario series. In battle, her rings will often grow to act as weapons.

Background

Original Appearances

Wendy in Super Mario World.

In Super Mario Bros. 3 she was given her own airship and conquered the Sea Side kingdom, where stole the king's magic wand and used its power to turn him into an animal (a Spike in the original version and a Dino Rhino in remakes). Wendy acted as the game's third boss and fought by shooting rings at Mario and jumping around. Like all Koopalings, she took three hits to defeat, and after each hit, she would retract into her shell and spin around the room for a while. After her defeat, the wand was reclaimed and returned to the king.

Wendy next appeared during Bowser's scheme to conquer Dino Land in Super Mario World. Wendy was entrusted with one of Yoshi's friends to imprison and got her own fortress on the Chocolate Island. There, she acted as the game's sixth boss and battled Mario in a room of pipes above a lava pool, with her battle being a harder version of Lemmy's boss battle. Wendy and two decoys hid in the pipes and would pop out periodically to attack while a fireball also bounced around the room. Despite her attempt at trickery, Wendy was beaten a second time, and her fortress was mopped away in the aftermath. When Bowser stole the twelve magic crystals of Jewelry Land during Yoshi's Safari, Wendy was put in charge of the Light Blue Crystal in Pipe Land and was the third boss of the game. She attacked from pipes as earlier, and this time it was also possible to drop anvils on her.

Modern Appearances

After a long absence, the Koopalings returned when Bowletta called them into action to eliminate the Mario Brothers in Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga. She was the sixth Koopaling to battle the Mario Brothers. First, Mario and Luigi had to smack her one after another with perfect timing as she emerged from several Warp Pipes. This would then initiate the actual battle with Wendy, during which a Bob-omb was set to go off if the battle was not won in a set amount of turns. In this battle, Wendy also summoned several decoys of herself. In the original version of the game, the duplicates were Spinies in disguise, but the 3DS remake changed the duplicates into being legitimately made from magic. She also produced more clones in the remake and had a more powerful fireball move.

Wendy reappeared in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where she and the other Koopalings kidnapped Peach on her birthday and escaped in an airship. On their way back, Bowser Jr. dropped the Koopalings off at fortresses to slow down Mario and/or his friends. Wendy stayed behind at the World 4 fortress, where she greeted Mario by twirling her new magic wand in the air before attacking with bouncing yellow rings. After her first loss, she escaped to the World 4 castle for a second fight. For that battle, Kamek helped Wendy by causing the area to periodically flood with water. She was only vulnerable during the periods when the room was drained of water, unless someone could hit her with fireballs while underwater. After being defeated, she and the other Koopalings returned home on foot to find a beaten Bowser. They helped him get back up, but Bowser's Castle then fell on top of them.

In New Super Mario Bros. 2, the Koopalings worked together to kidnap Princess Peach for Bowser, and they took turns keeping her in a series of castles. Wendy was the boss of the third world's castle. Once again, the boss fight featured her ring attacks and shifting water levels, and she was also accompanied by Cheep Cheeps. Despite her efforts, she was beaten again. The Koopalings later turned at Bowser's castle in World 6, where they attempted to petrify Mario with a light emitted by the Koopa Clown Car and also used their magic to make Bowser gigantic after his first defeat. After the giant Bowser was defeated, the Koopalings attempted to tow him away with the Clown Car, only to accidentally crash it. The Koopalings made a final appearance in World Star's castle, where they once more attempted to petrify Mario and made Dry Bowser grow.

In New Super Mario Bros. U, the Koopalings each received their own personalized airship that featured giant likenesses of their respective faces as each airship's figurehead. Wendy's ship also had giant rings attached to the side cannons. The airships accompanied Bowser's airship when conquering Princess Peach's Castle, and the Koopalings' airships proceeded to scatter and occupy different kingdoms. Wendy ended up at the Frosted Glacier, which was one of the two options that could be chosen as the third world of the game. To battle her in her airship, Mario and/or his friends first had to launch themselves there from a cannon that was found at the end of her castle level (Wendy's Shifting Castle in the original game or Wendy's Thwomp Castle in New Super Luigi U). This battle took place in a room that was covered with ice and sported giant icicles on the ceiling. Wendy skated across the floor of the room while also releasing rings of magic that could drop the giant icicles from the ceiling. Once again, she was defeated through three stomps, and her airship was then sent off on a crash course. At the end of the game, the Koopalings engineered a failed escape attempt using Bowser's hastily-repaired airship, only for it to crash due to the weight of a giant Bowser. They ended up forming a human chain clinging to Junior's Junior Clown Car in order to escape.

Wendy also appeared in Dr. Mario World as Dr. Wendy, a playable character who could be unlocked through the game's staffing feature. Her unique skill in Stage Mode was to eliminate ten blocks at a time, while in Versus Mode, she could change two viruses on the opponent's screen into blocks. The Koopalings were also added to Super Mario Maker 2 in April 2020 and were available as enemies for stages made in any style, except for the Super Mario 3D World style.

Sports Appearances

The Koopalings later made their Mario sports debut when they all appeared as unlockable racers in Mario Kart 8, and again as default racers in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. In Mario Kart Tour, Wendy was potentially available in the beta version of the game and was made available for the final version of the game in October 2019. She had to be unlocked at random through the game's gacha feature or could occasionally show up for sale at the shop (which uses coins earned in-game).

Wendy also appeared as a guest character in Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, in which she was only playable for the 100m Freestyle Swimming event in the prior game and the 100m Freestyle event for the latter game. A Mii costume of Wendy was also available in all Mario & Sonic games starting in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• Wendy also appeared as a boss in the licensed games Mario is Missing! (the PC version only) and Hotel Mario. In Hotel Mario, she is boss of Wendy's Blitz Snarlton Hotel and attacks by summoning hearts that open doors and attack Mario.
• In the Super Smash Bros. series, Wendy (along with the rest of the Koopalings) has appeared in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a playable alternate costume of Bowser Jr.. Thus, she has the same exact moves as Bowser Jr. and only attacks from the confines of the Junior Clown Car. She has also been represented by a trophy in the 3DS/Wii U game and a Fighter Spirit (which has to be bought from the Vault's shop) in Ultimate. According to her trophy description, Wendy is "bold, bossy, big-headed" and a tomboy, who sees both Peach and Daisy as rivals.
• In Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, Wendy appeared as a boss at the World 4-Castle and World 4-Airship, and she could be unlocked as a playable character by defeating her in the latter level. She was a Water attribute character.
• In Nintendo releases of Minecraft, playable skins of Wendy and the other Koopalings are available as part of the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack.

Other Media

• Wendy and the other Koopalings appear in the "Momotaro" and "Snow White" shorts of Amada's Super Mario OVA, where they were quickly defeated by Mario on his way to fight Bowser.
• Wendy O. and the other Koopalings appeared in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World animated series, where her name was Kootie Pie Koopa. She was shown as spoiled and throwing temper tantrums whenever things did not go her way.
• Wendy appeared in the Super Mario comics of the Nintendo Comics System as well as the Nintendo Adventures books. One comic featured her on a misadventure with Stanley the Talking Fish.
• She appears in the Super Mario Adventures comic, where she appears to be the ringleader and most responsible of the Koopalings. At one point Princess Peach is able to defeat her and lock her in her own dungeon after holding her favorite dress hostage.

Canceled Appearances

• Unused sprites of Wendy and the other Koopalings were found in Super Princess Peach, implying that they were going to be included in the game as bosses and were removed at some point in development.

Trivia

• She was named after the punk rock singer Wendy Orlean Williams, better known as Wendy O.
• The Koopalings were originally believed to be the children of Bowser, and it was initially assumed that Bowser Jr. was their youngest sibling. However, Shigeru Miyamoto has since clarified that the Koopalings are not actually related to Bowser, and that Bowser Jr. is Bowser's only actual child.
• In Mario Kart 8, one of the advertisements that could be seen on racetracks (along with advertisements for businesses associated with other Koopalings) is called Wendy's Car Interiors.
• In Mario Tennis Aces, the Koopalings' personalized airships from New Super Mario Bros. U could be seen in the background of the Savage Sea court.