King Dedede

"King DeDeDe", also spelled "King De De De" is the first antagonist to Kirby in Nintendo and HAL Labs' long-running Kirby video game series, appearing in every game except Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. Although not necessarily evil, he does seem to have some level of malice, though most of his actions in the series have him causing easily correctable problems for the inhabitants of Dream Land, such as stealing their food or building a castle on top of the Fountain Of Dreams. His more heinous actions are more often due to possession by more sinister entity of Dark Matter, along with the rest of the usual franchise enemies. Despite this, he and Kirby have teamed up on occasions with the purpose of taking down a greater common foe.

Due to an ambiguous description of the geography of Pop Star, it is never made entirely clear how much of the planet Dedede assumes rulership of, though he seems to have castles and fortresses all across the planet. Even so, he seems to perform no administrative functions, and for the most part the planet seems to ignore any edicts that are issued by him. Some of his absurd behavior seems to be caused by an undescribed complex where he has a hatred for stars, which is inconvenient, considering the entire planet is shaped like a star, and a recurring motif of the many worlds in the series is a star.

King Dedede resembles a large birdlike creature, based either on a penguin or a duck, dressed in red royal finery, with his personal emblem embossed on the back of his robe. He also wears yellow gloves, and wields a large hammer as an offensive weapon. He is able to suck in objects and shoot them out in a manner similar to Kirby, and following Kirby's Dream Land, he apparently underwent a series of rigorous training to be able to use inhaled air to fly, in the same manner as his rival.

Video Games
Dedede first appeared in Kirby's Dream Land, where he and several thieves acting on his part stole the majority of Dream Land's food, and in either an attempt to crush morale, or simply to cause needless mischief, he stole the inhabitant's treasured Sparkling Stars. Appearing as the final boss of the game, his actions are reversed by Kirby upon his defeat, with a finishing blow sending him flying through the ceiling of his castle.

In Kirby's Adventure, he has broken up the fabled Star Rod from the Fountain of Dreams, causing the people of Dreamland to be unable to sleep, and Kirby is dispatched with the task of recovering all the pieces. In a key plot revelation, defeating Dedede makes it apparent that he was actually trying to protect Dream Land from the sinister Cloaked Nightmare who had taken residence in the fountain, and even goes so far as to spit out Kirby into outer space so Kirby can defeat Nightmare, one of the few instances where he is seen as helping Kirby as opposed to hindering him. Nonetheless, this started a popular trend in the main plot of the series where Dedede would serve as the apparent final boss, but collecting all the pieces of some key item would reveal the true instigator of Dream Land's problems, usually Dark Matter. In what is seen as one of the darker points of the series, a possessed Dedede fights Kirby in Kirby's Dream Land 3, his stomach tearing open and revealing a set of teeth with which he attempts to devour Kirby. Defeating Dedede once all 30 Heart Stars have been found reveals Dark Matter as the true final boss of the game, and the source of Dedede's surreal abilities.

In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Dedede is fought very early on in the game, and is possessed by Dark Matter once again. His attacks are similar to the ones from previous games; using his hammer and spitting out Dark Matter. After the Dark Matter is driven out, he allies with Kirby, allowing him to ride on his back in some areas. Interestingly enough, Dedede is also fought very early in Kirby: Squeak Squad, as he is actually the very first major boss in that game, making this the first Kirby platformer to place him in such a capacity. After his defeat, the Squeaks attack and take his treasure chest thinking it contains an ultimate power and begin to run off with it, but the furious King Dedede grabs and throws Kirby at them, knocking all of them in a rather large pit (which seemingly appears from nowhere).

King Dedede is widely recognized for the theme song that often plays during battles against him. The song was used for the Dedede battle in Kirby's Dream Land 1, 2, and 3, Kirby Super Star, and Kirby: Squeak Squad. Although it was not in the original NES version of Kirby's Adventure, it was added in the GBA remake, Nightmare in Dream Land, for the Boss Tower stage. A remixed version of the song was also used during the races against the Dedede Painting in Kirby: Canvas Curse. The version of the song from Kirby Super Star also appears in Kirby Air Ride, as an unlockable song for the FIRE track. Another theme associated with King Dedede is the theme from the Gourmet Race mini-game in Kirby Super Star. An orchestral version of this theme is employed during battle against him in Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, as well as the Fountain of Dreams stage of Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Playable Appearances
Though the villain of the series, Dedede has had a handful of playable appearances in some of the more recent games.


 * In Kirby 64, in addition to being a playable ally in some levels of game, King Dedede is a playable character in the minigames.
 * In Kirby Air Ride, King Dedede is an unlockable character, obtained after defeating 1000 or more enemies scattered across the game's racetracks.
 * In Kirby Super Star Dedede is playable in the two player version of quick draw.
 * In Kirby: Canvas Curse, he is a Medal Swap unlockable after obtaining Waddle Dee, and for a third time allies himself with Kirby in an endeavour to take down a common enemy. However, he also appears in that game as an enemy in the Truck Chase minigame.