Halberd



The Halberd is Meta Knight's airship/spaceship, used for combat.

Appearance
In it's debut (Kirby Super Star), anime, and Squeak Squad, the Halberd is known for the red glider on it's bottom like ships usually have. However, in later games (Kirby Super Star Ultra and Super Smash Bros. Brawl), the glider is multiplied to two and the tip, which is the front, is replaced by a gun, and the bottom of the ship has cannons instead of the glider itself. The Halberd of Kirby Super Star, it's remake, and Brawl has the same appearance of the Combo Cannon. However, in Squeak Squad and the anime, the Combo Cannon is attached on the second-to-top level of the Halberd. The Combo Cannon features firing lasers, a robotic arm, and shooting cannonballs. In Kirby Super Star, the remake, and Brawl has bat-like wings (in the anime and Squeak Squad version, there were rocket boosters that are wings). The wings appear by using some kind of teleportation power in Kirby Super Star and the remake, unlike in Brawl, where the wings unfold. The color of the lasers fired from Combo Cannon in both Super Star and its remake, and Brawl are blue, while the anime version is orange (The Squeak Squad version of the Combo Cannon wasn't used at all or in short all of the cannons).

Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra
The Halberd appears in the sub-game Revenge of Meta Knight. Most of the game is spent on the Halberd. Kirby fights his way through the ship, defeating the crew members and damaging the ship by destroying parts of the ship like the Combo Cannon, which is a double-barrel gun-turret. Kirby eventually destroys the reactor, causing the ship to lose altitude. Kirby and Meta Knight face off and Meta Knight loses; Meta Knight tries to stop Kirby from escaping and fails. As Kirby escapes, the ship is seen crashing into the sea.

Halberd Crew

 * Although Meta Knight is the owner and commander of the Halberd, there is also a hawk-like figure, named Captain Vul, who appears to be some sort of second-in-command. Captain Vul thinks of his soldiers rather lowly, pummelling them with various insults. He is obsessed with destroying Kirby, though he gets in a serious panic when he learns Kirby has set the ship to crash, so he leaves the ship.


 * A sailor-hat-clad Waddle Dee whose role is unknown. Even after all of Meta Knight's other crew evacuate the ship, the Waddle Dee stays by his side while Meta Knight duels Kirby, though his fate after Meta Knight is defeated is unknown. Presumably he must have stayed and sank with the ship or evacuated. This is not shown but when Kirby escapes from the Halberd, a light is seen leaving the ship before it falls into the Secret Sea. That light was probably Meta Knight, and the Waddle Dee might have been with him.


 * Some Ax Knights. One of them has a few lines, and participates in the evacuation.


 * Some Mace Knights. One of them has a few lines, and has, against the will of his superiors, attempted to store some food and 1ups for himself, and participates in the evacuation.


 * Some Trident Knights and Javelin Knights.

Combo Cannon
As mentioned above, the main cannon of the Halberd is a double-barrel gun-turret that fires cannonballs from its main barrel and also fires lasers from its smaller, secondary barrel. It also features an arm that will try to grab and throw Kirby, or drop bombs (giving the Bomb ability). The arm will also try to hold Kirby in the way of the laser cannon if it is about to fire. Also, if the Combo Cannon has low health, a platform will rise under Kirby when the laser is about to fire, moving him into the laser blast inevitably if he is on the ground.

Trivia


 * In Kirby Super Star Ultra and the Japanese version of Kirby Super Star, this boss was also known as "Main Cannon #2."
 * In the English version of Kirby Super Star, this was also known as the "twin cannon."
 * In the English dub of the anime, it was called the "Gravity Disruptor."
 * In Kirby Super Star Ultra, Kirby is no longer capable of standing below the firing spot of the top cannon, disabling multiple, very effective strategies to defeat the Combo Cannon.

Reactor
The Reactor is a vital part of the ship that is guarded by an auto-defence system. The reactor may be powered by Wheelies, evidenced in Kirby Super Star Ultra in the background during the fight. The auto-defense system will fire shots from a cannon and will create pillars of fire from the floor. It will also try to fire a laser at Kirby; however, it can be tricked into firing the laser into the reactor itself. This is actually the only way to damage the reactor, as it's impervious to all of Kirby's attacks. In Kirby Super Star Ultra, Meta Knight's Mach Tornado move destroys almost half of the reactor's health. It's known to be the second-best way to defeat the Reactor.

Kirby: Squeak Squad
The Halberd is still in the sea after the events of Revenge of Meta Knight. Kirby uses the power of the five star seals to penetrate the border against the Secret Sea, and journeys through the sea. Eventually, Kirby makes it to the still-sunken Halberd. As Kirby gets into the interior of the Halberd, Meta Knight awaits and duels Kirby. Meta Knight loses, and then the Halberd rises into the Gamble Galaxy. Kirby uses the Halberd to get further into the galaxy.

In the Super Smash Bros. Games
The Battleship Halberd is a location that combatants can fight on in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This stage begins in a hangar on the high seas. The platform follows the Halberd as it departs. Eventually, you land on the ship’s deck, where combatants will also have to worry about the Combo Cannon as well as other fighters. The Combo Cannon launches bombs, fires a laser, and even attacks with its arm. The Battleship Halberd appears not only in multiplayer Brawl stages, but also plays a very important role in The Subspace Emissary. It had been hijacked by the Subspace Army and used to spread Shadow Bugs. Meta Knight regained control of it after infiltrating it with Snake and Lucario, and used it to confront the Subspace Gunship. However, in a cutscene, Halberd is destroyed by a laser beam from the gunship.

One of Brawl's Events, called Pink Ball Repulsion, involves the player (playing as Meta Knight) trying to KO Kirby before the floating platform lands on the Halberd.

In Kirby: Right Back At Ya!
It appears late on in the Anime (specifically: Episode 098) to take Kirby and co. to NME. Meta Knight had been building it in secret since he arrived in Dreamland. Reason being that if anyone (more specifically Nightmare) discovered it, all would be lost.

The anime version sports a more sleek, streamlined appearance than the game version, but keeps many of the signature design features such as Meta Knight's mask, the bat-like wings and the Combo Cannon. The Combo Cannon, however, is changed to only firing lasers. It is capable of traveling using worm holes, reaching Nightmare's Fortress 900 light years away in a very short time. It's cannon's firepower can rip clear through a Destrayer, and its shield is durable enough to withstand a large amount of fire from them (a Destrayers weapons can destroy another on in a single shot). The wings can be retracted when the situation calls for it. Its size is never specifically stated, but it's about the same size as a Destrayer, it's much larger than even Dedede's castle.

Inside are long corridors with special trolleys to make travel faster, and many rooms including a kitchen, jail, training room, and the massive engine room. The bridge is made to be run by a small crew, specifically Meta Knight, Sword Knight and Blade Knight.

Meta Knight revealed this ship in the 3rd to last episode of the series when Nightmare sent six Destrayers to attack Dreamland. Dedede and Escargoon both tried to set off a timebomb in the ship in exchange for fixing Dedede's teleporter, which was wrecked when the Destrayers attacked, but they proved unsuccessful and were locked in the Halberd's jail. The Halberd was launched and then shot down the Destrayers. Meta Knight moved near Nightmare's main space fortress, but arrived at a distance that he hoped he wouldn't be noticed at. He was unable to as Nightmare still knew he was coming and sent out Heavy Lobster to destroy the Halberd, but Kirby was able to destroy Heavy Lobster. However, the defences of Nightmare's fortress were too much even for the Halberd and looked as if it would be destroyed until a trio of Destrayers that the other Star Warriors hijacked arrived to the rescue. The Halberd entered the fortress itself and attempted to attack Nightmare who assumed the form of a giant (or a giant illusion, since it never attacked them), but it's lasers had no effect. A number of Air Ride Machines attack and nearly destroyed the heavily damaged ship until Kirby fought them off. Eventually, a trio of Destrayers managed to make it past the ones the Star Warriors hijacked and attack the Halberd. Unable to fight back anymore, Meta Knight and the others abandoned the ship, which fell into a large trench. It exploded and destroyed the Destrayers in the process.

Trivia

 * After it sunk in the sea, it had remained there until it was secretly remodelled in Kirby: Squeak Squad. However, Meta Knightmare Ultra strangely shows the Halberd looking good as new in between appearances.
 * The anime version of the ship appears to be based on the battleship from the 1973 anime Space Battleship Yamato, sporting a similar look and even using the same sound effects for its weapons. The sound effects of those weapons used by the ship are changed and replaced in the 4Kids dub. It is assumed to be an homage to that series, as the show is known for doing such things.
 * In the anime, the Halberd flying around the surface of Nightmare's space fortress appears to homage to Star Wars: Episode IV, as it flies through a large trench on it. There are many other references to Star Wars, such as Meta Knight's saying that they were led into a trap in the English version, which is a homage to a famous line from Episode VI.
 * Strangely, the Combo Cannon's giant cannonballs can be eaten for the Yo-yo ability. In the DS remake, this was changed to the Bomb ability.
 * The Halberd is named after a weapon of the same name. A halberd is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 14th and 15th centuries. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft. It always has a hook or thorn on the back side of the axe blade for grappling mounted combatants.
 * The Halberd's name could also reference HAL Laboratory, the creators of the Kirby franchise itself.
 * In the Kirby Super Star Ultra sub-game Meta Knightmare Ultra, the player will still play Revenge of Meta Knight, despite being in control of Meta Knight, and he will still destroy the Halberd (minus the fight vs. Meta Knight). The reasons for this are completely unknown, as the only plot in Meta Knightmare Ultra is Meta Knight's quest to train himself to become the strongest warrior.
 * In the Kirby Super Star Ultra versions of the cutscenes in Revenge of Meta Knight and Meta Knightmare Ultra featuring the Halberd, the Halberd's 3D model is almost the exact same model seen in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, missing only the area where the floating platform drops down from. The original Halberd can still be seen in the bonus compilation of SNES-style videos.
 * In Kirby: Squeak Squad, the Halberd uses a similar design as the one in the anime.
 * In Kirby Super Star Ultra, the Halberd's wings are shown being formed by something that relates to solarpower. But in the game Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the wings unfold.
 * In Kirby: Squeak Squad, A faint outline of the submerged Halberd can be seen on the Stage Select screen of the Secret Sea. This becomes more noticeable to the player after finding the sunken airship in one of the later levels.
 * In the anime, due to the laser's firepower that is very strong, the Halberd can emit a powerful explosion, due to this, a trench of Nightmare's fortress is destroyed.
 * Strangely, the Halberd can survive the fireballs of a Destrayer bigger than it. However, it got easily destroyed when 3 small Destrayers came to the Halberd's last and first flight. Maybe it's easily destroyed because the fight in Episode 98 damged the Halberd's shield, as the red alarm was heard and seen.
 * The Halberd version of Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Kirby Super Star Ultra is the same. Only that the Brawl version is smaller.

Halberd 戦艦ハルバード