Editing Bleak

{{character infobox
|image=[[File:DKC3 Bleak.png|200px]]<br>Artwork of Bleak from ''[[Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!]]''
|first_appearance=''[[Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!]]'' ([[List of games by date#1996|1996]])
|latest_appearance=''Donkey Kong Country 3'' ([[Game Boy Advance|GBA]]) ([[List of games by date#2005|2005]])
|species=[[Snowman]]
|latest_portrayal=[[Chris Sutherland]] (2005)
}}
'''Bleak''' is a large, sinister-looking snowman who appears as a boss in both ''[[Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!]]'' and ''[[Donkey Kong Land III]]''. He resembles a stereotypical snowman by having the traditional top hat, scarf, and carrot nose. In contrast, he has a very deranged and sinister look and is quite bulbous in appearance. He wears sleeve cuffs and fancy shoes.
==History==
===''Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!''===
In ''Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!'', Bleak is the boss of [[K3]] and is fought in a snow level, [[Bleak's House]]. The area takes place in a large snowfield where either [[Dixie Kong|Dixie]] or [[Kiddy Kong|Kiddy]] get in a snowball fight with Bleak. The gameplay is similar to [[Swanky's Sideshow]]. Bleak pops in and out of random locations behind the walls, trying to hit either [[Kong]] with a snowball. To attack Bleak, either Kong must throw a snowball at the amulet on Bleak's scarf, which appears to be the source of his power. After taking multiple hits, Bleak starts a different tactic of blasting giant snowballs from of his hat like cannonballs. Bleak shoots up to four at a time. After taking six hits in total, Bleak is defeated, and the Kongs win a [[Bonus Coin (Donkey Kong franchise)|Bonus Coin]].

In the Game Boy Advance version, Bleak's laughter was removed, and his new voice clips, which are shared with [[King K. Rool|Baron K. Roolenstein]], are recycled from [[Kudgel]]'s from the [[Donkey Kong Country 2 (Game Boy Advance)|Game Boy Advance version]] of ''[[Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest|Donkey Kong Country 2]]'', and [[Chunky Kong]] from ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]''. Bleak also now utters grunts when throwing snowballs, which are recycled from [[King K. Rool]] in ''Donkey Kong 64''.

===''Donkey Kong Land III''===
In ''Donkey Kong Land III'', Bleak is the boss of [[Primate Plains]] and the second boss overall. He is fought in another snow level, [[Bleak Magic]]. Bleak starts off by blasting snow boulders (which have the same sprite as [[Karbine]]'s fireballs and are purple in the [[Game Boy Color]] version) from of his hat at whichever Kong he is fighting. Instead of moving laterally, he stands in one place and stops to shoot his projectiles with various angles. To attack Bleak, the Kongs must throw a [[barrel]] at his amulet. After each hit, Bleak's attacks become more erratic. After four hits, Bleak is defeated.

==Gallery==
===Sprites===
<gallery>
Bleak DKC3 sprite.png|''Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!''
Bleak DKC3 Photo Album.png|[[Dixie Kong's Photo Album]]
Bleak DKLIII sprite.png|''Donkey Kong Land III''
DKLIII GBC Bleak sprite.png|''Donkey Kong GB: Dinky Kong & Dixie Kong''
Bleak DKC3GBA sprite.png|''Donkey Kong Country 3'' (Game Boy Advance)
</gallery>

===Screenshots===
<gallery>
Bleak's House SNES.png|''Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!''
Bleak Magic.png|Boss battle in ''Donkey Kong Land III''
Bleak's House GBA.png|''Donkey Kong Country 3'' (Game Boy Advance)
Bleak's House GBA 2.png|''Donkey Kong Country 3'' (Game Boy Advance) screenshot of Dixie, after defeating Bleak
</gallery>

===Scans===
<gallery>
File:NintendoPower90 cover.png|''[[Nintendo Power]]'' volume 90 cover
</gallery>

==Media==
{{media table
|file1=Bleak SFX 1.oga
|title1=Bleak's laugh
|description1=Bleak laughing when he stops shooting (sampled from the "{{media link|Low, Throaty Laugh, Human 1.oga|Male Low Throaty Laugh 1}}" track from the ''Best of Cartoon & Movie Sound F-X'' album)<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvpGN4hTlSo Male Low Throaty Laugh]</ref>
}}

==Names in other languages==
{{foreign names
|Jap=ブリーク
|JapR=Burīku
|JapM=Bleak
|Ger=Bleak
|Ita=Bleak
}}

==Trivia==
*The original laughter sound for Bleak is a pitched-down version of a stock sound effect, "Male Low Throaty Laugh". This same sound effect, pitched up, would later be used for [[King Boo]].<ref>[https://twitter.com/camreigle/status/1459587903298973699 Cameron Reigle on Twitter, retrieved November 16, 2021]</ref>
*In the Japanese version of the Super Nintendo version, the player can skip the boss fight against Bleak by dying and pausing just before the screen fades out to exit the level, which will cause the game to consider the boss beaten.

==References==
<references/>

{{DKC3}}
{{DKL3}}
[[Category:Snowmen]]
[[Category:Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! bosses]]
[[Category:Donkey Kong Land III bosses]]
[[de:Bleak]]