Editing Spike

{{Creature
|name=Spike
|image=
|caption=
|bgcolor=#000066
|fgcolor=#FFFFFF
|type=[[Koopa]]
|debut=''[[Super Mario Bros. 3]]''
|}}

{{dablink|This article is about the recurring ''Mario'' enemy. For other uses, see [[Spike (disambiguation)]].}}

The '''Spike''' is a recurring enemy that has appeared in several games of the ''[[Portal: Mario|Super Mario]]'' series. It is typically shown as a small green enemy that specializes in throwing spiked balls at enemies.

=Information=

Spikes are typically depicted as small green-skinned Koopa enemies that typically appear to be chubby, with blue hair and large lips. They also have a black shell on their backs, similar to the shell of a [[Buzzy Beetle]], but the shell is too small for them to fit their bodies into. Thus, their shells never serve any purpose. They typically attack enemies by lifting spiked balls out from their mouths and throwing them forward while standing in place. 

Although a Spike can be defeated with one simple jump to the head, one must maneuver around their spiked balls in order to do so. A Spike will hold a ball above their head before throwing it, which temporarily lets it defend their heads from harm.

==Variations==

*'''[[Clubba]]''' - These are larger versions of Spikes that act as guards and wield weapons. They appear in some of the ''Paper Mario'' games.
*'''Mad Spike''' - An emotional variant from ''[[Super Princess Peach]]'' that is perpetually angry. They act similarly to normal Spikes, complete with throwing spiked balls, but the difference is that they will also jump up and down out of anger. They can be defeated with the Rage vibe or by a [[Perry]] attack.
*'''Snow Spike''' - This is a version of the Spike that has blue skin with a white stomach and typically wears winter gear. They are found in snowy habitats and throw large snowballs instead of spiked balls. They have only appeared in ''New Super Mario Bros.'' and ''Paper Mario: Sticker Star''.
*'''Stone Spike''' - This version bears colors that are inverted from the normal Spike, with blue skin and green hair. They are different from normal Spikes in that their spiked balls are specifically made out of stone, and they drop them downwards from high areas. They originally appeared in ''New Super Mario Bros. Wii'' and ''New Super Mario Bros. U''. They were also featured in a minigame in ''Mario Party: Island Tour'' as playable teammate characters in the soccer and baseball games of ''Mario Sports Superstars''.

=Appearances=

Within the ''Mario'' games, Spikes made their debut appearance in ''[[Super Mario Bros. 3]]''. They were mostly found in stages of the Iced Land as well as one stage of Sea Side. In the original version of the game, the king of Sea Side was also transformed into a creature that resembles a Spike. They also appeared in one stage of ''[[Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island]]'' (as well as one of the extra stages added in the [[Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3|GBA version) and the Jungle Hut stage of ''[[Yoshi's Story]]''. The latter game also had a boss named [[Don Bongo]], who resembled a giant version of a Spike without a shell. Spikes and Mad Spike variants also appeared in ''[[Super Princess Peach]]''.

They eventually started to return to appearing in ''Mario'' platforming adventures with ''[[New Super Mario Bros.]]'', where a variation called the Snow Spike appeared. The normal Spikes made their reappearance in ''[[New Super Mario Bros. Wii]]'' and continued to appear in ''[[New Super Mario Bros. U]]'', ''[[Super Mario 3D World]]'' (their first 3D appearance) and ''[[Super Mario Run]]''. Each of those games had a stage named after Spike: Spike's Spouting Sands, Spike's Lost City and Land of Spikes, respectively. In ''Super Mario 3D World'', they threw spiked rollers instead of spiked balls. Spikes also appeared in ''[[Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker]]'', where they were the same as in ''3D World''.

Within the RPG games, variations of Spikes called [[Clubba|Clubbas]] made appearances as enemies in the early  ''[[Paper Mario]]'' games. The normal versions of Spikes later appeared in ''[[Paper Mario: Sticker Star]]'' and ''[[Paper Mario: Color Splash]]''. There, they used their spiked balls as shields during battle. Spikes also appeared as recruitable minions in the extra modes added to the remakes of ''[[Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions|Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'' and ''[[Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey|Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]''. They were ranged troopers who threw their spiked balls to attack.

=Sports=

Spikes made non-playable cameo appearances as parts of crowds in ''[[Mario Golf: World Tour]]'' and ''[[Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash]]''. They made their first playable sports appearance as teammate characters in the soccer and baseball modes of ''[[Mario Sports Superstars]]'', alongside the Stone Spike variant. They were classified as power-type players. They also appeared as enemies in the game's Road to Superstar mode.

In ''[[Mario Tennis Aces]]'', Spike appeared as a playable character, and Stone Spikes appeared as spectators.

Within the ''Mario Party'' games, a giant Spike initially appeared in ''[[Mario Party 9]]'', as the miniboss of the Magma Mine. Spike was also featured as a playable character in ''[[Mario Party 10]]'', where it could be unlocked with 600 Mario Party Points. This marked Spike's first playable appearance, predating its sports appearances. Stone Spikes and Spikes also acted as enemies in individual minigames in ''[[Mario Party: Island Tour]]'' and ''[[Mario Party: Star Rush]]'', respectively. Spikes also made background appearances in ''[[Super Mario Party]]''.

=Other Appearances=

==Video Games==

*In ''[[Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle]]'', Spike did not make a direct appearance, but its weapons (the spiked balls and rollers) made background appearances. Additionally, one of [[Luigi]]'s Precision weapons is called the Spike Strike and has a design based on a Spike with a spiked bar.

==Other Media==

*In the Anime Amada OVA for the ''Super Mario Bros.'' games that was based on the tale of Momotaro, Spike appeared as the last of the allies recruited by Mario in his quest to rescue [[Princess Peach]] from Bowser. The Spike was apparently motivated by wanting to avenge his home world, which had been destroyed by Bowser, and he defeated [[Ludwig von Koopa|Ludwig]] during the final battle with a spiked ball. His role in this anime was based on the monkey from the original fairy tale.
*In the ''Super Mario Bros.'' movie, Spike is the name of one of Koopa's two dim-witted cousins who act as his minions for most of the movie, but ultimately turn good. Beyond the name and his association with the counterpart of Bowser, this character has no similarities to the Spike from the games.

=Trivia=

*Its Japanese name is "Gabon". This name was erroneously used instead of Spike in ''Yoshi's Story''.
*Clubbas are known as Gabon Hei (Soldier) in Japanese, which essentially emphasizes that they are soldier versions of Spikes. 
*In ''Super Mario Bros. 3'', the player can jump on Spike while it is holding the spiked ball without receiving damage. This is changed in Spike's later appearances so that it will actually hurt the player and defend Spike.
*Their sprites in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' (and its remakes) and the ''Yoshi'' games depict them without any hair.

[[Category: Mario Enemies]][[Category: Mario Creatures]]