Doopliss

Doopliss in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
Doopliss
Species	Duplighost
Eye color	Red
Debut	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Doopliss is a Duplighost who acts as the boss of the fourth chapter in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and afterwards fights Mario again as part of the Shadow Sirens.

Background

Doopliss is a prank-playing Duplighost whose jokes sometimes go too far. Like the other Duplighosts, Doopliss can change his appearance, but unlike them he can also change someone else's appearance and their very identity. Doopliss keeps his own identity a secret even from Goombella's Tattle log. The only other confidant of his identity was his pet parrot, whom he locked away deep within the Creepy Steeple so that he wound not tell anyone. Using the power of one of the Crystal Stars, the Ruby Star, Doopliss cursed Twilight Town so that every time the Creepy Steeple's bell rang a villager would be turned into a pig.

Mario and company came to stop Doopliss in the Creepy Steeple, but the Duplighost pulled a special trick near the end of the battle- he used his powers to make himself look like Mario, make Mario look like a dark shadowy version of himself, and to make both of them switch places. To Mario's partners it looked like Doopliss had turned into a shadowy Mario impostor, so they accidentally defeated the real Mario, while Doopliss disguised as the real Mario returned to Twilight Town with the Ruby Star. His curse on Twilight Town was broken in the process, but now Doopliss had a new source of fun: being Mario. Mario's partners noted that "Mario" was a lot more talkative and bragged more, but otherwise suspected nothing. The only real obstacle in Doopliss's disguise was the real Mario.

Doopliss met up with the shadowy Mario whenever he had a chance in Twilight Trail by taunting and trying to fight him. Doopliss agreed to let Mario have his identity back only if Mario would first guess his name. Mario eventually discovered his real name from Doopliss's parrot with Vivian's help, but Doopliss went back on his word and attacked Mario with his former partners. However, Mario and Vivian were still able to defeat Doopliss, so he made Doopliss return to his normal form and surrender the Ruby Star.

As Doopliss fled from Mario, he wound up bumping into Beldam at Twilight Town. He was able to join the Shadow Sirens and took Vivian's place as Beldam's subject of abuse. He continued to trick Mario with his shape-chaging powers, disguising himself as Zip Toad on the Excess Express in the sixth chapter and, after Mario found all the Crystal Stars, became Professor Frankly to trick Mario into opening the Thousand-Year Door for the X-Nauts.

Doopliss battled Mario again alongside Beldam and Marilyn in the Palace of Shadows and suffered a second defeat. After the Shadow Queen's defeat Doopliss decided to reform. He now uses his powers as an actor, and his first role was playing Mario in a play based on Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, alongside veteran actor Flurrie.

Trivia

• His Japanese name is Ramperu, which is derived from the fairy tale character Rumpelstiltskin, who similarly engages in challenging others to guess his name.
• Apparently in one beta, Beldam and Doopliss appeared at Riverside Station as the bosses of Chapter 6 and were revealed to have summoned the Smorg that attacks Mario in the chapter.