Morton Koopa Jr.

Morton in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Morton Koopa Jr.
Species	Koopa
Hair color	None
Eye color	Black
Relatives	Koopalings (siblings)
Voiced by	Lani Minella (2009-2015), David Cooke (2014-Present)
Debut	Super Mario Bros. 3

Morton Koopa Jr. is the second-youngest of the seven members of the Koopalings, a group of recurring boss characters acting under Bowser's command throughout the Super Mario series.

Background

Original Appearances

Morton in Super Mario World.

In Super Mario Bros. 3, he appeared as the game's second boss. He was given his own airship and attacked Desert Hill, where he stole the magic rod of its king and turned him into an animal (a seal in the original and a Monty Mole in the remakes). He had a simple attack pattern that consisted of jumping and shooting magic blasts from the wand. Mario was able to defeat him and retrieve the wand. In the special e-Reader levels available in the GBA remake, he also appeared as the boss of one of the bonus levels known as Airship's Revenge. He used the same battle strategy as in the original game.

His next appearance was during Bowser's invasion of Dinosaur Land in Super Mario World, where he once again acted as the second boss. He was based within a castle in the Donut Plains and guarded one of Yoshi's captured friends. His battle strategy involved walking up the walls and onto the ceiling, then dropping down when he was directly above one of the Mario brothers in an attempt to crush them. After being stomped several times, he was defeated. Morton also appeared in Yoshi's Safari, where he helped in the invasion of Jewelry Land as well as the stealing of the seven magic crystals. He acted as the boss of Spirit Mountain, the fifth boss of the game, and he protected the Purple Crystal. He rode a giant blue frog-like robot that was destroyed in battle with Mario and Yoshi.

Modern Appearances

The Koopalings went for a long time without appearances until they returned in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, where the possessed Bowletta dispatched them throughout Bowser's castle so that they could defeat the Mario brothers. Morton was the second Koopaling that they could battle. Prior to the battle, Morton sound out shockwaves as an obstacle for the brothers as they crossed a bridge. Once the battle began, he used both shockwaves and fireballs during the battle, but he was defeated once again. His role was mostly the same in the 3DS remake, but with some added attacks and dialogue.

Morton returned again in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where the Koopalings' appearances were revamped. He was now shown as the largest of the Koopalings and had black shell instead of a gray one. He kidnapped Peach along with the other Koopalings and flew away in an airship. Bowser Jr. dropped him and the others off at fortresses along the way to slow down Mario and/or his friends. Morton was left at the World 6 fortress. There, he encountered Mario on a platform surrounded by spiked pillars and stomped his foot with a grunt before attacking with a new wand and paralyzing stomps. After falling the first time, Morton escaped to the World 6 castle for a rematch. Forgoing his wand, he instead took advantage of help from Kamek, who used a spell to make pieces of the floor smash into the ceiling after a stomp. Beaten again, Morton and the other Koopalings returned home on foot to find Bowser also defeated. They helped him up, but Bowser's Castle then fell on top of them.

In New Super Mario Bros. 2, Morton appeared as the boss in the World 4 castle. He used his wand to create spiked balls and again attacked with paralyzing stomps. Mario had to jump on him as usual, after which point he withdrew into a shell, and then Mario had to stomp on a pipe to return him to normal. After three hits, he was defeated. The Koopalings turned up again 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. Morton was shown to be stuck on his back afterwards. The Koopalings later made an 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 (as well as New Super Luigi U), the Koopalings each had their own personalized airship which featured a giant likelness of the Koopaling's respective face as the figurehead. The Koopalings' airships aided in Bowser's takeover of Princess Peach's Castle, and they went on to occupy different nearby worlds. Morton was the boss of the second world, Layer Cake Desert. To reach his airship, Mario and/or his friends would have to fire themselves from a cannon found at the end of his castle level (known as Morton's Compactor Castle in the original version or Morton's Lava-Block Castle in New Super Luigi U). For this battle, Morton wielded a hammer that he used to launch segments of a large Pokey at his opponent and also utilized powerful stomps whenever he had finished with his current Pokey. He was still able to be defeated through normal means, and his airship was forced to retreat and crash. At the end of the game, the Koopalings tried to help a giant Bowser escape on a hastily-repaired airship, only for it to crash due to Bowser's size. They ended up forming a human chain dangling from Bowser Junior's Junior Clown Car as their getaway.

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

Morton and the other Koopalings later made their spin-off debut as playable racers in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, being unlockable in the former game and immediately playable in the latter one. In Mario Kart Tour, Morton was potentially available in the beta version of the game and was made available for the final version of the game in October 2019. He 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).

A Mii costume of Morton was also available in each game of the Mario & Sonic series starting with Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• Morton appears as a boss in the licensed games Mario is Missing! and Hotel Mario. In Hotel Mario, he is the first boss running the treetop WoodDoor-Hysteria Hotel.
• In the Super Smash Bros. series, Morton (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, he has the same exact moves as Bowser Jr. and only attacks from the Junior Clown Car. He 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. His trophy refers to him as the biggest of the Koopalings.
• In Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, he appears as a boss in the World 3-Castle and World 3-Airship, and he can be unlocked by defeating him in the latter level. He is shown to be a Fire-attribute character.
• In Nintendo releases of Minecraft, playable skins of Morton and the other Koopalings are available as part of the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack.

In Other Media

• He appears in the Momotaro and Snow White shorts of Amada's Super Mario OVA, where he and the other Koopalings were quickly defeated by Mario on his way to defeat Bowser.
• Morton appeared in the Adventures of the Super Mario Bros. 3 cartoon series and its sequel series Super Mario World, where he was known as Big Mouth Koopa, due to being known for his talkativeness.

Canceled Appearances

• Unused sprites of Morton and the other Koopalings were found in Super Princess Peach, implying that they were intended to appear but were removed at some point in production.

Trivia

• He was named after talk show host Morton Downey Jr. (allegedly because he "looks like a loud mouth"), and that is the real reason why he has "Junior" in his name. From an in-universe standpoint, it would imply that his father or one of his ancestors is also named Morton, although "Junior" is notably absent from his Japanese name.
• The Koopalings were initially believed to be the children of Bowser, and Bowser Jr. was assumed to be their youngest sibling. However, Shigeru Miyamoto later clarified in a 2012 interview that the Koopalings are not actually related to Bowser, and that Bowser Jr. is Bowser's only actual child.
• Mario Kart 8, in which Morton debuts as a racer, also features various signs for a "Morton Construction" company bearing his image.
• In Mario Tennis Aces, the Koopalings' personalized airships from New Super Mario Bros. U can be seen in the background of the Savage Sea court.