Ludwig Von Koopa
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| Ludwig in Super Mario World. | |
| Ludwig von Koopa | |
| Species | Koopa |
| Hair color | Blue |
| Eye color | Black |
| Relatives | Bowser (father), Koopalings (siblings) |
| Voiced by | Mike Vaughn (2009) |
| Debut | Super Mario Bros. 3 |
Ludwig Von Koopa is the oldest child of Bowser. He looks quite terrifying with his wild blue hair and single tooth. Like his young siblings Morton and Roy, Ludwig could create small tremors whenever he slammed the ground.
Background
In Super Mario Bros. 3 he invaded the Pipe Maze kingdom in an airship and stole their king's magic wand. He could not use it for much malevolence (aside from turning the king into a Piranha Plant) before the Mario Brothers came and stopped him.
During Super Mario World, Bowser conquered Dino Land, and Ludwig got his own fortress atop Cookie Mountain along with a friend of Yoshi's to hold captive. Ludwig hopped and blasted fireballs at his intruders like his father before him, and there was no axe at the end of the bridge this time. Mario managed to conquer Ludwig with a few good old-fashioned bounces on the head.
When Bowser stole the twelve magic crystals of Jewelry Land during Yoshi's Safari, Ludwig was given the Green Crystal to watch over in Mushroom Land. There he piloted what looked like a giant mechanical Spiny. This was trashed by Mario and Yoshi, however.
After a long absence, the Koopalings returned when Bowletta called them into action to eliminate the Mario Brothers in Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga. Ludwig was fourth in line to take on the brothers. Ludwig only battles them if they successfully leap over his shell as he slides around the room in it. He was defeated in the ensuing battle.
Ludwig and the other Koopalings return for New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where he now has a blue shell. He and the others kidnap Peach on her birthday and escape in an airship. While returning to their kingdom, Bowser Jr. drops the Koopalings off at fortresses along the way to slow down Mario and co. Ludwig remains at the World 7 fortress; he chuckles to himself when Mario arrives, then attacks with homing spells from a new magic wand and by fluttering overhead (though he lacks his paralyzing stomp). Upon losing, he escapes to the World 7 castle. Kamek aids Ludwig during his second fight by creating three small platforms that ascend the castle's tower. After his second defeat, Ludwig returns home on foot along with the other Koopalings. There they discover a fallen Bowser and help him back up, after which Bowser's Castle falls on top of them.
Other Appearances
Video Games
- Ludwig also appeared alongside the other Koopalings as bosses in the licensed games Hotel Mario and Mario is Missing!. In Hotel Mario, he was the boss of Ludwig's Thump Castle Hotel and displayed the unusual abilities to teleport and shoot lightning.
Other Media
- Ludwig and the other Koopalings appeared in the Momotaro and Snow White portions of Amada's Super Mario OVA as minions of Bowser whom Mario defeated to reach Bowser.
- Ludwig and the other Koopalings appeared in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World animated series, where Ludwig was called Kooky Von Koopa. In this version, Bully was instead the oldest Koopaling.
- The Koopalings also appeared in the various comic adaptations of the Mario games such as the Mario comics of the Nintendo Comics System (where Ludwig's personality was based on the cartoon version), the Nintendo Adventure books and the Super Mario Adventures comic series.
Canceled Appearances
- Unused sprites of Ludwig and the other Koopalings were found in Super Princess Peach, indicating that they were intended to appear in the game as bosses but were removed at some point in development.
Trivia
- The most obvious Koopaling name reference, Ludwig's name comes from the classical composer Ludwig van Beethoven, who also had crazy hair.
- In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Ludwig has 550 HP.
- A sticker of Ludwig appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.