Star Rod

"Oh, that old thing..."

- King Dedede, being asked by Kirby what he did to it

The Star Rod is a legendary item that acts as the power source of the Fountain of Dreams. Kirby wields it as a weapon during his battle with Nightmare at the end of Kirby's Adventure and its remake, Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land.

General Information
The Star Rod is a legendary artifact that powers the Fountain of Dreams and causes the magic waters to flow from it, giving good dreams and restful sleep to the people of Dream Land. When not there, people either have dreamless sleep, or nightmares, neither of which occur in Dream Land when the Star Rod is in its place. During the events of Kirby's Adventure, the Fountain of Dreams becomes corrupted by Nightmare so King Dedede breaks the rod into seven pieces and gives them to his strongest soldiers to hide. Kirby, believing King Dedede took the artifact for selfish reasons, retrieves the pieces and repairs the rod, inadvertently freeing Nightmare. However, in the ensuing fight Kirby is able to tap into the Star Rod's powers and use it to destroy Nightmare. It, along with the Fountain of Dreams, are symbols of hope and peace in Dream Land, and legends say the star at the tip of the rod is a fragment of a star that fell from the sky.

The Star Rod is considered a Copy Ability, though like other Final Weapons, it technically isn't as Kirby doesn't need to inhale it to gain its power and Kirby does not gain a hat with this ability. The Star Rod is a simple red and white swirled rod with a glowing star at the tip. It fires smaller stars to attack.

There is a similar item in Kirby: Squeak Squad, the Triple Star, but the Triple Star is slightly faster and has extra attacks.

In the Super Smash Bros. series
The Star Rod is a wieldable weapon that anyone can use. Attacking with it does damage comparable to hitting someone, however, when used as a strong Attack or smash attack, it shoots out a star that sends enemies flying. If Sheik uses it as a smash attack it shoots two stars and using a smash attack whilst Captain Falcon wields it shoots four. The Star Rod only has enough power for 16 stars, then all the player can do with it is hit people with the rod itself. When attacking, hitting an opponent with the rod itself does more damage than the stars, which is the opposite of the Kirby's Adventure/Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land incarnation of the item. The Star Rod is known for breaking many of the standard rules about reflecting items in Super Smash Bros. Melee. If it is thrown at Fox, Falco, Zelda, Mewtwo, Mario, or Dr. Mario's reflecting attacks, it will not be reflected. The star projectiles do reflect, but do no damage. In all four games, it has the property of launching enemies horizontally when thrown, regardless of what angle it hits at.

It appears as a trophy, like every other item in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

It makes a return in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, more or less the same as the previous incarnations, except it can now be reflected normally.

In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!
In the final episode of Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Nightmare confronts Kirby in his dreams. There, Tiff summons his Warp Star, but instead of riding it, Kirby inhales it, granting him the Star Rod ability.

In the transformation sequence,Kirby spins the Star Rod in an arc and unleashes a massive beam of stars which encircles Nightmare and destroys him. It remains unknown whether this incarnation of the Star Rod would have worked outside of a dream.

Transformation Sequence
In the transformation sequence, the Warp Star appears under Kirby and flies while transforming into the Star Rod. Kirby catches the Star Rod and holds it above his head as it glows.

Related Quotes
"This magic wand holds 16 star shots and sends foes flying at a low angle when thrown. It's most powerful when Captain Falcon or Sheik performs a Smash Attack while holding it. In Kirby's Adventure, the Star Rod is the secret power behind the Fountain of Dreams. King Dedede steals the Star Rod in order to seal away the nasty Cloaked Nightmare."

- Trophy description

"A magic wand. Perform a standard attack with it, and it's a battering weapon. Perform a strong or smash attack, and it fires a barrage of star shots. Throw it at a foe, and that opponent will get sent flying sideways. In the Kirby series, the Star Rod is the power source of the Fountain of Dreams. King Dedede once stole it to imprison the Nightmare Wizard."

- Trophy description

"Swung normally, this item will deal a regular physical attack. But if you charge up the blow, it becomes a magic wand that launches stars! The Star Rod is the source of power for the Fountain of Dreams in Kirby's Adventure. Using the rod, Kirby was able to defeat Nightmare."

- Trophy description

Trivia

 * An item of the same name exists in the Super Mario title Paper Mario, with similar functions and powers and was part of the main story. This time, it was used by Bowser to be invincible. Whether this was intentional or not is unknown. This happened again in Mario Party 8, and it was quite similar to the one in Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land; both were important items, they were taken at some point in the story, both were used against final bosses, they shot projectiles, and the fights they were used in took place in outer space.
 * In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Star Rod trophy lists its last appearance as Kirby Super Star. While the Star Rod did make a cameo appearance in that game (in Milky Way Wishes, Star Rods were seen in the Fountain of Dreams), its last appearance pre-Super Smash Bros. Brawl was Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land.
 * The Star Rod is the first Final Weapon in the Kirby series.
 * The icon in Kirby's Adventure shows Kirby wearing what resembles a witch's hat while holding the Star Rod, but he does not wear this in the game, nor in the remake.
 * A Star Rod stone appears as a form of Stone Kirby in Kirby's Return to Dream Land along with the Triple Star cane and the Magical Paintbrush. Magolor also mentions it as an ancient object the Halcandran ancients crafted and calls it "a mysterious item that brings dreams to life."
 * The first time Kirby is ejected up to battle Nightmare Orb with the Star Rod, his palette is pink. When he takes a hit, he reverts to the orange palette that he normally has when wielding a Copy Ability. This only occurs in Kirby's Adventure.
 * The Star Rod makes a cameo appearance in the background of the Fountain of Dreams stage in Kirby Fighters Deluxe. In addition, King Dedede's hammer in the final battle is based off of the Star Rod. He is said to be energized by the Fountain of Dreams, implying that his new hammer channels the Star Rod's power.
 * This hammer is called Star Rod Hammer Dedede Custom, which is a reference to the Wheelie Dedede rides in Kirby Air Ride, Wheelie Bike Dedede Custom.
 * The Star Rod appears as a collectible keychain in Kirby: Triple Deluxe.