Kamek

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“So long! Enjoy your flight!”

—Kamek, Super Mario Galaxy

Kamek the Evil Magikoopa, usually called simply Kamek; nickname Fang, is an old, yet powerful Magikoopa and apparent adviser to Bowser, or at least high-ranking member in the Koopa Troop. He first appeared in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. He is also Baby Bowser's apparent caretaker, and continues to look after Bowser, even in the present day.

Appearances

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

In the game Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, the apparent leader of the Koopa Troop and caretaker for the young Prince Bowser, Kamek had a vision saying that two babies would be born that very night and these two babies, Mario and Luigi, would cause havoc for the Koopa Troop in the future.

Attacking the Stork delivering the Baby Mario Bros., Kamek only succeeded in capturing Baby Luigi, Baby Mario having plunged to the ground below.

Somehow learning Baby Mario had survived and was being aided by the Yoshi clan, Kamek mobilized the forces of the Koopa Troop to search out Baby Mario and the Yoshis. Appearing to taunt a Yoshi every time they reached a fortress or castle, Kamek would also cause the resident creature there to turn gigantic or improve it in some way.

Kamek, sending out a magical blast from his wand.

Yoshi, having made it to Bowser's Castle, transformed into a helicopter and began to head to the castle's entrance; only to be attacked by Kamek, who, riding his broom, tried to knock Yoshi out of the sky.

Making it inside Bowser's Castle, Yoshi, making it passed all obstacles, was attacked by Kamek again. In a last ditch effort to beat Yoshi, Kamek began to teleport around, hurling spells at the dinosaur.

Making it through Kamek's room alright, Yoshi entered Baby Bowser's playroom. Groveling to Prince Bowser and threatening Yoshi, Kamek ended-up being crushed by the spoiled and angry prince.

After defeating Baby Bowser in combat, Kamek appeared before Yoshi and using his magic, managed to turn Baby Bowser enormous in size. Battling the colossal Baby Bowser, Yoshi managed to defeat him using his giant eggs. Regressed back to normal, Baby Bowser was picked up by Kamek, who, vowing revenge, rode on his broom into the night.

Tetris Attack

In Tetris Attack, acting on the vow of revenge he swore against Yoshi at the end of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Kamek, the now adult Bowser, and several other baddies placed a curse on Yoshi's Island and brainwashed several of the island's inhabitants.

It was up to Yoshi and Little Yoshi to lift the curse on the island and bring its inhabitants back to their senses. Defeating various characters, Yoshi and Little Yoshi ventured to Mt. Wickedness to confront Bowser. Before they could face Bowser, though, Yoshi and Little Yoshi had to face Hookbill the Koopa and Naval Piranha. Defeating the two, Yoshi was next confronted by Kamek.

Taunting the dinosaur, Kamek and his Toadies were sure of their victory. After a long puzzle battle, Yoshi defeated Kamek and moved on to battle Bowser, whom he defeated as well.

Yoshi Touch & Go

In Yoshi Touch & Go, a game of debatable canon (being a simple retelling of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island's events), Kamek once again attacks the Stork and steals away Baby Luigi; what happens next depends on the mode played, in some scenarios, the stork will get Baby Luigi back and in others, Yoshi must "battle" Kamek's Toadies to get Baby Luigi back. Generally regardless of all modes, Kamek will appear to kidnap Baby Mario if Yoshi is to befall one of his traps; it is worthy of note that Challenge Mode actually places Yoshi in a race against time as a meter (which can be expanded second-by-second with the destruction of an enemy or collection of any sort of Coin) counts off the moments before an invincible Kamek appears to attack Yoshi and steal Baby Mario.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

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The battle with Kamek in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.

In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, after his botched attempt to kidnap Baby Peach before the Shroob attack on Princess Peach's Castle, Baby Bowser, in desperation, called Kamek to pick him up in the Koopa Cruiser.

Rather than pick up the prince directly, Kamek instead sent members of the Koopa Troop. Kamek remained at Baby Bowser's Castle, perhaps for defensive measures. After Baby Bowser crash landed the Koopa Cruiser into the castle, Kamek despirately began to search for his charge. Before he found Baby Bowser, Kamek noticed the Mario Brothers and recognized the babies as those he had once tried to kidnap. Assuming they meant the worst, Kamek magically summoned Boos and Goombas to attack the brothers. The quartet quickly defeated the enemies, and in his haste to find Baby Bowser, Kamek was forced to let the leave the brothers undefeated.

Once Kamek found the Koopa's crown prince, the pair set out to reclaim the Cobalt Star Shard that the brothers had taken from the castle. While their tracking method is unconfirmed, Kamek and Bowser were able to find the brothers at the Vim Factory, where they stole back both their Shard in addition to one Mario and Luigi had stolen from Swiggler. The pair escaped to Yoshi's Island. However, Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi quickly discovered their hiding place and come to the island. Kamek was reduced to running errands for Baby Bowser, including the theft of Yoshi Cookies, at this time. Once the brothers attempted to stop him, the Magikoopa used his magic powers to deter them throughout their quest to defeat the resting Baby Bowser at the island's cliffs. In a last ditch attempt to stop the Mario Bros., Kamek directly faught the them.

In battle, Kamek utilizes a mixture of the Magikoopa attacks from Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, making multiple copies of himself and shooting fire. After his sound defeat at the hands of Mario and Luigi, Kamek declined to show his face again. After the defeat of the Shroobs, Kamek traveled back to Baby Bowser's Castle with Prince Bowser.

Kamek's sported an apron while on Yoshi's Island. However, he used it to store important items such as his wand and broom and was never seen cooking or cleaning. This use of an apron in Kamek's design poked fun at Kamek's dedication to Baby Bowser's contentment and implied an unseen facet of Kamek's role as as a henchman. Kamek's role as a parental figure was a primary source of comic relief whenever the Magikoopa appeared.

Super Princess Peach

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Giant Kamek.

In Super Princess Peach, Kamek reappears as Giant Kamek, working for Bowser once again. After the Mario Bros. and several Toads are kidnapped by the Army Hammer Bro, Kamek is trusted with safeguarding the captured Luigi. During his battle against Princess Peach and Perry in Giddy Sky, Kamek will turn gigantic in size and attack by shooting spells and summoning Magikoopas. After being defeated by Princess Peach and Perry, Kamek relinquishes Luigi.

In Super Princess Peach Kamek's appearance changes again; he now wore cyan robes along with a purple hat and cape. He also showed some level of control over the Gloom Vibe and had a weakness to wind-based attacks.

Interestingly, the glossary calls him "A Kamek made huge by magic." Because "Kamek" is the Japanese name of both the Kamek character and the species known as "Magikoopa" in Western localizations, Giant Kamek may actually be a generic Magikoopa and not the genuine Kamek due to translation errors (which would explain the seemingly improper adjective "a" being applied to him). However, because Giant Kamek is clad in robes that are not the same as the Magikoopas he summons, it is still likely that he is the true Kamek due to this form of distinction. The fact that Giant Kamek was guarding Luigi, a hostage of major importance, also supports the theory that he was indeed intended to be accepted as the Kamek character, as naturally Bowser's best wizard would be suitable for the job of guarding Luigi.

Yoshi's Island DS

The beginning cutscene of Yoshi's Island DS shows Kamek, along with several Toadies, kidnapping babies from all across the planet, though why he is doing this is only revealed later in the game. Like in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Kamek appears before every boss battle to give an enemy monster an advantage in battle, usually making them gigantic.

After Six-Face Sal is defeated, it is revealed that this Kamek is from the future. Kamek, along with Bowser, had traveled back in time in search of the Star Children, seven babies whose hearts possess unimaginable power.

After Bowser is defeated in combat by Yoshi, Kamek uses his magic on Bowser to make him huge. Despite this, Bowser is still beaten by a team of Yoshis and Kamek and his master are forced to retreat.

The Kamek of the past (actually the present setting of Yoshi's Island DS) makes a brief cameo in Yoshi's Island DS; when Baby Bowser is kidnapped by Kamek of the present, he can be seen yelling for Baby Bowser to be returned. This Kamek's palette seems based off of that of the original Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, while the Kamek from the future looks just like he did in Yoshi Touch & Go.

Super Mario Galaxy

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Kamek, preparing to attack Mario in Super Mario Galaxy.

In Super Mario Galaxy, Kamek makes a small appearance at the beginning of the game, being sent by Bowser to attack Mario as he chases after his Airship fleet; ultimately, Kamek's attack on Mario flings the plumber into Outer Space. He does not appear elsewhere in the game; the Magikoopa boss players face is instead Kamella.

Other Appearances

In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, an unnamed and brainwashed Magikoopa appears as a boss. It was thought by some that this Magikoopa may have been Kamek due to him apparently being old friends with Bowser and, if players read his mind with Mallow's Psychopath ability, the Magikoopa will state "That's... my child?", possible referring to Bowser, whom he raised.

In Mario Party 5, a Kamek Orb can be obtained; when used, this orb will summon Kamek who will proceed to shuffle around all the orbs of players. In Mario Party 6, the Kamek Orb will summon Kamek who will change other player's Character Spaces into Character Spaces for the player who summoned him. In Mario Party 7, Kamek's Orb can be used to make a Kamek Space. If a player lands on this space, three of their orbs are taken by Kamek and given to whoever owns the Kamek Space.

Kamek also appears as the famous Game Mage in Mario Party Advance; Monty Mole, Hoot the Owl, and Amp all mention him when their quests are cleared. If players can find Kamek's location, he will challenge them to a mini-game, the winner of that mini-game becoming the Game Master. If players defeat Kamek he will explain that he has left Bowser's forces due to Bowser simply taking the title of Game King instead of earning it. Interestingly, the end credits for Mario Party Advance say that Kamek had "forgiven Bowser and rejoined his side."

Kamek makes a small cameo appearance in both Mario Kart: Super Circuit and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. In the former, Kamek can be seen floating back and forth near the finish line at Bowser Castle 3. In the latter, a sign advertising "KAMEK'S MAGIC SHOW" with an animated image of Kamek above it can be seen in Baby Park. This Kamek sign can also be seen in the Mario Kart DS version of Baby Park.

Kamek may have been the unnamed Magikoopa seen delivering news to Kammy Koopa in Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door and/or the one standing by Bowser in the opening scene of Super Paper Mario, though as this Magikoopa isn't referred to by name and has no dialogue, this remains unconfirmed.

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Bowser and his unnamed Magikoopa second-in-command from Super Mario Adventures.

Kamek will also appear in the upcoming Mario Party DS, aiding Bowser in his scheme to shrink everyone to bug sizes. He will have his own board called Kamek's Library and appear as the boss of that stage in Story Mode.

Powers and Abilities

Kamek displays powers commonly associated with Magikoopas, including short range teleportation, creating beings from inanimate objects, pyrokinesis, firing magical blasts from his wand and the ability to create multiple copies of himself. These are assumed to be much more powerful than those of a regular Magikoopa, because of his top rank. Kamek is also capable of flying on a broomstick, being the first ever Magikoopa to display such an ability.

Aside from the aforementioned powers inherent to all Magikoopas, Kamek has portrayed as having powers unique to himself, the most prominent of which is his ability to shrink and grow other creatures (including himself) to extreme proportions. Kamek is also capable of psychic powers, such as divination, brainwashing dozens of individuals, foreseeing events in the future and manipulating objects with his mind.

Kamek also displays some expertise at mechanics, apparently building the time travel device he and Bowser utilize in Yoshi's Island DS. Kamek is also a master at various types of games, pertaining such skills at them that he has been given the coveted title of Game Mage.

Personality

Kamek is the sterotypical right hand man; he does what his master wishes, without question. This means that if Bowser gives an order, no matter how ridiculous or difficult, Kamek will follow it. He is also very evil, formulating diabolical schemes with little thought as to how they will effect innocent people, such as kidnapping the Baby Mario brothers and attemping to destroy his enemies without a second's hestitation and instead a feeling of joy (apparent in his speeches to the Yoshis befor setting one of his monsters on them).

From Mario Party DS, it would seem that Kamek is also quite an academic character, as the board that he owns is a library. This is reinforced by the fact that Kamek can build complicated machines, an ability obviously requires much skill and knowledge in the areas of Science, Math and Technology.

Trivia

• An unnamed Magikoopa character extremely similar to Kamek appears in the Super Mario Adventures comic, which was created at least four years before Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. This Magikoopa acted like a second-in-command to Bowser and was in charge of Bowser's wedding to Princess Toadstool, doing such duties as creating a giant wedding cake and acting as the wedding's minister.
• Some people have theorized that Kamek and Psycho Kamek are the same people (the latter being older), but this has been disproved because Kamek appears as young as he was during the events of Super Princess Peach and the Mario Party series.
• Many have theorised that Kamek may be related to Kammy, another of Bowser's highest ranking magikoopas, because of the similarities that their names share.