Tubba Blubba

Tubba Blubba in Paper Mario
Tubba Blubba
Species	Clubba
Affiliation	Koopa Troop
Hair color	Orange
Eye color	Orange
Debut	Paper Mario

Tubba Blubba is a a large purple Clubba who was featured as a boss character in Paper Mario. He was the boss of the third chapter and was known for supposedly being invincible.

Background

Tubba Blubba was a large Clubba who lived in a castle at the edge of Gusty Gulch. He was apparently a sensitive person and was known for his cowardly nature, which the local Boos exploited in order to scare him constantly. He wanted to get back at the Boos, which caused him to eventually deal with Bowser. Tubba Blubba agreed to guard one of the Star Spirits, Skolar, for Bowser. In return, Bowser used the Star Rod to make Tubba Blubba invincible. Tubba Blubba's heart was separated from his body and locked away with the Gusty Gulch's Windy Mill. Tubba's Heart was sentient and was able to control Tubba's body, which was referred to as just being "a shell", remotely from Windy Mill. Without his heart, Tubba Blubba's body was unable to be hurt, and he became known as the Invincible Tubba Blubba. He began attacking Gusty Gulch's village periodically and ate various Boos whole. This caused the Boos to fear him and hope for a way to defeat him.

Despite his newfound power, Tubba Blubba ended up accidentally losing the Star Spirit that he was supposed to guard. Skolar escaped and was captured by Lady Bow, the leader of the Boos. However, she used him as a bargaining chip to make Mario find a way to defeat Tubba Blubba, so he ended up having to face Tubba for the Star Spirit either way. During Chapter 3 of Paper Mario, Mario and his allies came to Tubba Blubba's castle in order to find a way to defeat him. With the help of Bow's invisibility, they were able to avoid detection by Tubba Blubba and his security drones. They eventually found the key to the windmill, Yakkey, while Tubba Blubba was taking a nap. But he quickly woke up and attempted to chase Mario. Mario was able to outrun him and arrived at Windy Mill, where he found Tubba Blubba's heart. In the following battle, Mario was able to severely wound the heart, at which point it retreated and reunited with Tubba Blubba's body. This deprived Blubba of his invincibility, at which point Mario was able to defeat him easily.

Tubba Blubba admitted defeat and released all of the Boos that he had swallowed. He claimed that he did not want to be invincible anymore if it meant facing enemies like Mario, and he ran away. Afterwards, Bow decided to tell the Boos not to scare Tubba Blubba anymore, although she had no regrets about the times they scared him in the past.

He made one more appearance during the ending parade, in which his heart was separated from his body again. Several Boos were carrying his body through the air and turned invisible to give the illusion of Tubba being a floating balloon. His heart was hopping after them in pursuit.

Trivia

• His name is a simple play on the phrase "tub of blubber", in reference to his weight.
• When fighting Tubba's Heart, it's helpful to use Bow's Outta Sight to avoid his "unavoidable" attack.
• Even when he's invincible, Tubba Blubba is constantly fretting, as he's afraid that he'll upset Bowser and have his invincibility taken away.
• Tubba Blubba is referenced in Super Paper Mario as the star of a show called "The Blubbening", which Francis is a fan of. There were apparently at least three seasons of it.
• In Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Tubba Blubba's name could appear on a score card.
• He is notably similar to Grubba, who similarly is a large Clubba acting as the boss of the third chapter of a Paper Mario game and with a secret involving his power, in addition to having a similar name.