Thwomp
- This article is about the recurring enemies in the Super Mario franchise. For the invincible variant from the Mario Kart series also known as simply "Thwomp", see Star Thwomp.
- Not to be confused with Whomp.
| Thwomp | |||
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  Artwork from New Super Mario Bros. U (left) and Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit (right) respectively | |||
| First appearance | Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) | ||
| Latest appearance | The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026) | ||
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- “Rats, I missed! Oh, I hate it when I miss!”
- —Thwomp, "Never Koop a Koopa"
Thwomps are sentient stone blocks featured in the Super Mario franchise primarily as enemies or obstacles in castles, fortresses and similar settings, first appearing in Super Mario Bros. 3. Their modern and most common form is that of spike-encrusted living stones, which are rectangular in shape. They typically remain stationary in midair until the player approaches the ground below them, at which point they drop down in an attempt to crush them before rising to their original position. In some titles, such as the Mario Kart games, Thwomps fall and rise regularly rather than being triggered by the players' behavior. Some Thwomps move horizontally or diagonally as well. They sometimes grunt when they land, and are often seen with an angry expression on their face. They can often only be defeated by strong attacks such as hammers thrown by Hammer Mario or from being touched while Mario is giant or invincible.
Thwomps have drastically changed appearances over the years, with some of their appearances ranging from being turquoise rectangles covered with blunt spikes as in their original appearance and in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, to blue cube-shaped stones that Mario can stand on in Super Mario 64. Currently, they alternate between two designs depending on whether or not they can be stood on safely: a chiseled-edge design first appearing in Super Mario Galaxy and a metal-spiked design first appearing in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, both derived from the dull-spiked design in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. There are cases where both Thwomp designs appear in the same game, like in Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario Maker 2.
History[edit]
Super Mario series[edit]
Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]
Thwomps, also known as Thwomp Traps,[1] first appear in Super Mario Bros. 3, first appearing in World 2-Fortress. They usually try to squish Mario under their weight whenever he passes beneath them. While most of them try to crush Mario below them, some try to crush him from the sides, and two in World 8-Fortress constantly move in a diagonal pattern. A Thwomp's slam can be easily avoided by using Statue Mario to render Mario invulnerable while underneath a Thwomp. They return in the game's remakes, Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, functioning the same. To defeat a Thwomp, Mario or Luigi either have to run into it while invincible, throw a Hammer at it with the Hammer Suit, or use the Tanooki Suit and turn into Statue Mario above a Thwomp. They give the player 100 points when beaten. In the Game Boy Advance version, Thwomps can also be defeated with a Goomba's Shoe, as shown in the World-e stage It's a Shoe-In.
Thwomps are depicted with a prominent spike separated from the rest on top, a detail that is absent from later titles. In Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, the top spike is given a golden trim around its base. In Super Mario Bros. 3, Thwomps are blue, while in subsequent releases, they are gray. In-game, Thwomps have both eyes as glowing dots in a shared black space instead of separated. In a French commercial, they are shown to have green eyes instead of black ones.
Super Mario World[edit]
In Super Mario World and its reissue, Thwomps function identically as in Super Mario Bros. 3. Their speed is nearly unaffected, and they usually take a few seconds to rise back up to their original location, giving the player a chance to run below them. Thwomps can be Spin Jumped on.
Thwomps have a new appearance, with symmetrical spikes and being colored gray, as well as being slightly smaller. Here, they now emote depending on proximity to the player, peering down at the player's character when he approaches, and then changing to an enraged expression when falling. Thwomps still have their eyes connected and their pupils being but small dots of glowing white, although the official art clearly shows their eyes looking different. This may be to familiarize players with their old physical appearance, though it might be due to graphical space issues.
Thwomps have their first derived species in Super Mario World with the inclusion of Thwimps. They are smaller versions of Thwomps that roam around in jumping arcs, usually in small hallways and often come in groups. Much like Thwomps, they are invincible and are usually only used as obstacles that slow the player down.
Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS[edit]
Thwomps, also referred to as Blue Thwomps[2] or Blue Whomps[2] erroneously, return in Super Mario 64. This time, though, Thwomps sport a different design, looking more like their Super Mario Kart look. These Thwomps are square-shaped and dark sky blue-colored with no spikes. Like Super Mario Bros. 3, their expressions stay the same when slamming on the ground. They, as before, are impossible to destroy and serve as obstacles throughout the game. Unlike in the previous platforming games, Thwomps constantly slam to the ground even when Mario is not around. This time around, though, Mario can use Thwomps to his advantage by jumping on top of them to reach higher areas or unreachable points. Thwomps in this game have the addition of their voices (a mad grunt) whenever they slam into the ground, which were provided by Charles Martinet originally and slowed down by Super Mario 64's sound designer Yoji Inagaki.[3] There are only three Thwomps in the game: two on the stairs in Whomp's Fortress and one at the very top of Tick Tock Clock, which is featured in the mission Stomp on the Thwomp.
Several Thwomp relatives make their debut in Super Mario 64. Whomps first appear in Whomp's Fortress as enemies that attempt to crush Mario by falling on top of him when he gets near. Also introduced in this course are Bomps, enemies that resemble walls with eyes (although the eyes were removed in Super Mario 64 DS) that protrude out from the wall and push Mario, sometimes sending him to his death. Tox Boxes make their debut in Shifting Sand Land. They roll around by falling on their sides, trying to crush Mario with one of their faces. However, the bottom of a Tox Box is hollowed, allowing Mario to stay safely inside. Grindels make their first appearance in the pyramid of Shifting Sand Land. They are huge metal blocks wrapped in what seems to be cloth. They attack in a similar manner to Thwomps by slamming into the ground, while others move horizontally by jumping back and forth. The pyramid also features an enemy similar to the Grindels, the Spindel, which rolls back and forth, trying to squish whoever passes near it.
In Super Mario 64 DS, Thwomps instead use their appearance from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, and their expressions change when slamming like in Super Mario World. Although the spikes are reinstated, they do not affect the player's ability to stand on top of them to reach higher points. This time around, however, Thwomps can be defeated with the assistance of a mushroom.
New Super Mario Bros.[edit]
Thwomps, also known as Thwomp Traps,[4] reappear in New Super Mario Bros., where they are found in World 4-
Castle, World 7-Castle, and World 8-
Bowser's Castle, and act as in Super Mario Bros. 3, sporting their Mario Kart: Double Dash!! appearance. Much like in Super Mario Bros. 3, these Thwomps can be defeated. Ways of defeating it included shell-dashing, Mega Mushroom, or Starmen. A bigger variety is also featured here, with extra weight to break certain blocks, but with the same weaknesses as a normal Thwomp.
Super Mario Galaxy[edit]
Thwomps appear in several galaxies throughout Super Mario Galaxy and its Nintendo Switch port, including the Buoy Base Galaxy, the Beach Bowl Galaxy (on The Cyclone Stone), the Dusty Dune Galaxy, and Bowser's Galaxy Reactor. This is the first game to feature Thwomps with two faces, one on both the front and back. In this game, Thwomps are much larger than in previous games, and cannot be defeated by any means. There are three subtly different sizes of Thwomps; the variation is most noticeable in the Dusty Dune Galaxy, where four larger ones appear near a medium-sized one.
Thwomps in this game are once again spiked, though the spikes are blunt at the end and appear to have been carved, unlike their previous incarnations. Due to this, the sides of a Thwomp can be touched without taking damage; in some cases, it is actually necessary for Mario or Luigi to Wall Jump off of them to reach certain platforms and areas. Additionally, if Mario stands on top of a Thwomp as it rises in the air, he can jump to carry the Thwomp's momentum into his jump and perform an extra high jump.
In Super Mario Galaxy, Thwomps generally act the same as they do in other games, with waiting until Mario gets close to them and then smashing to the ground in an attempt to crush him. Others act as they did in Super Mario 64, constantly slamming against the ground regardless of Mario's location. If Mario does get crushed, he instantly loses a life, regardless of how much health he had. Contrary to the Thwomps appearing in Super Mario 64 and the Mario Party series, Thwomps in this game do not emit low-pitched grumbles when they talk or hit the ground. Their expressions, however, do change as they rise and fall.
Thwomps appear in the following list of galaxies and missions. If no mission is stated, Thwomps appear during all missions:
- Bowser's Star Reactor (small, medium)
- Beach Bowl Galaxy ("The Secret Undersea Cavern", "Fast Foes on the Cyclone Stone"; large)
- Buoy Base Galaxy (small)
- Dusty Dune Galaxy (both medium and large in "Soaring on the Desert Winds", large only in "Blasting through the Sand" and "Purple Coins in the Desert")
- Dreadnought Galaxy ("Dreadnought's Colossal Cannons", "Battlestation's Purple Coins"; small)
- Melty Monster Galaxy ("Through the Meteor Storm"; large)
- Bowser's Galaxy Reactor
New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]
Thwomps later appear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, along with the Big Thwomp and act the same way as in New Super Mario Bros. In this game, their spikes are a lighter color and conical, unlike the blunt chiseled appearance in Super Mario Galaxy. Thwomps only appear regularly in World 1-
Castle. They also can appear in the Magikoopa boss battle in the World 8-
Tower; his magic can occasionally transform a platform into a Thwomp, which immediately smashes through any platforms underneath it and plummets into the pit below. In this game, Thwomps can only be defeated by the Star power-up or a Simultaneous Ground Pound, with everything else doing nothing to them at all.
Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit]
Thwomps reappear in Super Mario Galaxy 2 and its Nintendo Switch port, where they behave just like they did in Super Mario Galaxy. Their most notable appearance is in the Stone Cyclone Galaxy, where their behavior is exactly the same as in the mission "Fast Foes on the Cyclone Stone" in the Beach Bowl Galaxy. The size variation from the previous game reappears, along with an extra-large size in Fleet Glide Galaxy to act as an obstacle for Fluzzard. Two Big Thwomps far larger than even that appear in Supermassive Galaxy. Two enemies based on Thwomps make their debut in Super Mario Galaxy 2; the platform-like Flomps and the cylindrical Rhomps.
In the Nintendo Switch port, the storybook features a character simply called Pink comet.
Thwomps appear in the following list of galaxies and missions. If no mission is stated, Thwomps appear during all missions:
- Rightside Down Galaxy ("Breaking the Laws of Gravity"; small)
- Bowser Jr.'s Fiery Flotilla ("Gobblegut's Aching Belly"; medium)
- Space Storm Galaxy ("To the Top of Topman's Tower"; medium)
- Fleet Glide Galaxy (extra-large)
- Throwback Galaxy (medium)
- Stone Cyclone Galaxy (large)
Super Mario 3D Land[edit]
Thwomps reappear in Super Mario 3D Land with the same appearance as in the Super Mario Galaxy titles, except that now they show only one face like in previous games. Like in the 2D Super Mario games, they wait until Mario is near and attempt to crush him. They can be defeated if Mario is invincible, or by turning into Statue Mario above or beneath it; they try to crush Mario, and turn to rubble upon contact.
A variant of Thwomp known as Tail Thwomp is introduced in this game, created when a Super Leaf is given to a Thwomp. They move about a set area using their striped tail, then float in midair before slamming to the ground. Tail Thwomps attack in the same manner as the moving Grindel. If Mario jumps atop the tail, he will bounce slightly.
Although not the same species as a Thwomp, an enemy related to Whomp is introduced in the game called a Wallop. These enemies are a wall with feet and a mouth and black eyes with yellow pupil that, instead of attacking Mario and Luigi, walk sideways to stop Mario and Luigi from getting past.
New Super Mario Bros. 2[edit]
Thwomps appear in New Super Mario Bros. 2, retaining their design from New Super Mario Bros. Wii. They attack using the same method as before. Big Thwomps also appear in this game. They can be defeated by a Super Star, Invincibility Leaf or a Gold Flower.
New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe[edit]
Thwomps reappear in New Super Mario Bros. U, behaving just like in past titles of the series. Their tiny counterparts, Thwimps, also reappear in this game. In Boost Mode, Thwomps can be easily dodged by distributing Boost Blocks below them. They only appear in Wendy's Shifting Castle.
Thwomps return in New Super Luigi U. Like in the original game, they only appear in the Castle of Frosted Glacier, Wendy's Thwomp Castle.
Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury[edit]
Thwomps reappear as enemies in Super Mario 3D World and its port, mostly appearing in castle levels. They attack in the same way as in Super Mario 64 and can still be defeated in the same way as most previous Super Mario games.
As with Super Mario 3D Land, Whomps are absent from Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, but a variant of Wallop called the Walleye is introduced. This creature has hands and spikes on the front and sides and walks sideways to prevent Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad or Rosalina from getting past it. However, if the characters are powered up, they can stun the Walleye and get past before it recovers.
A species called the Grumblump makes its first appearance in the same game. These Tox Box-like blocks appear in Grumblump Inferno and are the player's main means of navigating the level. They have similar faces to the Rhomps from Super Mario Galaxy 2 and behave similar to Tox Boxes. When Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad or Rosalina step on a Grumblump, the smiling faces turn into frowning faces and it moves. If they ground pound the Grumblump, the faces will change to an angry face and it will temporarily speed up.
Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS[edit]
Thwomps are available to use in Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, including a retro-designed version for the Super Mario Bros. art style, resembling their Super Mario World version. Unlike in other games, Thwomps do not rise to the closest ceiling above them after falling down, instead stopping at the height they were placed at. While editing a level, using a Super Mushroom onto a normal Thwomp turns it into a Big Thwomp. Giving them wings will make Thwomps flutter left and right. Thwomps can also be placed on tracks, from which they can permanently detach when they attempt to fall onto the playable character.
Normal Thwomps can destroy Brick Blocks, although only one row at a time, unlike Big Thwomps which are capable of destroying a whole column in one smash. Thwomps are also able to press P Switches, and will activate POW Blocks and ? Blocks upon falling on them, which also defeats the Thwomp. The enemies can be stood on just as on a platform, though the player takes damage if they touch them directly. Conversely, the player can safely perform Spin Jumps on Thwomps.
The Super Mario Bros. 3 Thwomps have had their palette changed to be more consistent with other games, and are no longer cyan. In the Wii U version, Thwomps can be shaken to create Skewers, though in Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, Skewers are standalone course elements.
Super Mario Run[edit]
Thwomps appear in Super Mario Run in the Kingdom Builder mode. This game uses both of their designs, however, only the spiked ones are real Thwomps. Thwomps with spikes are obstacles which prevent players from placing buildings in their locations. They can be removed using a Hammer. Two Thwomps appear during Bowser's attack on the Mushroom Kingdom in the opening. Thwomp Statues, based on the blunt version of Thwomps, can be purchased from the Shop or obtained through Remix 10 and placed as buildings. When tapped, a Thwomp or Thwomp Statue hops up and then slams back down, shaking the screen. Sometimes a Toad can be seen examining a Thwomp or Thwomp Statue, occasionally lightly knocking against it.
Super Mario Maker 2[edit]
Thwomps reappear in Super Mario Maker 2 and now also have the ability to move horizontally, a throwback to their Super Mario Bros. 3 appearance. They are able to crush objects this way, similar to how they would with vertical movement. Thwomps are also given individual sprites for standing idle and charging at the player for both the Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3 styles, rather than using just the same sprite for both actions. In the night ground theme, Thwomps slowly move towards the player, and stop moving when they are looked at, much like a Boo. If a Thwomp is given wings, it flies slowly to the left of the screen, and then attempts to crush the player if the player is beneath it (or to the side, in the case of a sideways Thwomp). If a Thwomp is given a parachute, it first falls like a normal Thwomp, then its parachute deploys and it falls slower than normal.
In the Super Mario 3D World game style, Thwomps have the blunt carved spikes introduced in Super Mario Galaxy, and thus are safe to stand on, climb, and wall jump off. Additionally, when they fall onto a player, they can instantly defeat said player by crushing them (rapidly removing their power-ups and ignoring invincibility frames until the player loses their life).
Super Mario Bros. Wonder[edit]
Thwomps reappear in Super Mario Bros. Wonder as enemies. They have been slightly redesigned again, reverting to their turquoise coloration, having a flatter, cork-like texture to their faces, and rounder, more stylized eyes and spikes. They appear primarily in Sunbaked Desert Palace and Petal Isles Special Way of the Goomba. Two new subspecies of Thwomps make their debut in this game: Konks, rectangles with arrows on their faces which behave mostly the same except they move left and right as well as having a variation of their own trying to crush the player(s) from upside down; and Shoomps, baby Thwomp-like enemies which slide whenever the platform that they are on tilts, showing excitement as this happens.
DIC cartoons[edit]
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]
Thwomps make a few minor appearances in the The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 television show. They serve as guards in Kastle Koopa during the episode "Never Koop a Koopa", and several Thwomps are shown to inhabit the Underground Maze of Pipes in the episode "Misadventures in Babysitting". A Thwomp also appears in "Do the Koopa", trying to crush Mario when he has the Doom Dancer Music Box.
Super Mario World television series[edit]
Thwomps also make a few minor appearances in the Super Mario World television series, mainly serving as guards in the Neon Castle. In "Send in the Clown", Thwomps are utilized to prevent the Cave People from leaving Bowser's circus by blocking off the exits. In "The Night Before Cave Christmas", Thwomps appear much smaller, and they try to squash Mario and Yoshi. In "The Yoshi Shuffle", Thwomps are colored differently compared to previous episodes as their sclerae are pale yellow while their body is light blue-gray with dark blue spikes. A single Thwomp makes an attempt to squash Mario and Yoshi as they flee and as they run back to the football stadium, the first attempt causing a Koopa Football Player to crash into it.
Nintendo Adventure Books[edit]
Some Thwomps appear among the crowds present at the International Mushroom Games in Leaping Lizards, and two appear in Koopa Capers, both of them in the Fortress; if Luigi decides to continue to explore the Fortress, instead of going through a newly opened passageway, one crushes him in a particularly barren part of the structure, and if he chooses to try to get some coins that fall under some floating blocks sometime after entering the aforementioned passageway, he is crushed by another Thwomp, which is hidden among the blocks.
A group of Thwomps is guarding Magikoopa's fortress in Flown the Koopa, and depending on how the accompanying puzzle is solved, either the Mario Bros. are crushed by them, or the Mario Bros. make their way through the first three, and the fourth and final giant one by distracting it with some coins (which fall out of Mario's pocket when he tries to convince Luigi to use some of his cookies instead).
Super Mario Adventures[edit]
In Super Mario Adventures, Thwomps first appear in chapter 7 of the comic. They make only a very minor appearance. After Yoshi trips over Wendy's foot, he rams into Princess Peach, Toad, and Friendly Floyd. She then pulls a rope, causing several Thwomps to fall on top of them.
Thwomps later appear in chapter 11. Many of Bowser's minions are gathered at Bowser's Castle to witness Bowser's wedding with Princess Peach. Luigi eventually finds a Warp Pipe that he thinks might bring him, Mario and Yoshi inside the wedding area, but it instead warps them to a cavern filled with lava. The group jumps on a rock platform, but a Thwomp is above. The group is able to leap to another platform, before it falls on them.
Thwomp's appearance in Super Mario Adventures is similar to their appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3. They also have the prominent spike, and are a dark blue color.
Mario Teaches Typing series[edit]
In Mario Teaches Typing and Mario Teaches Typing 2, Thwomps appear as obstacles in the advanced level, Mario's Tunnel of Doom. They attempt to smash Mario and disappear after falling once. Mario's face calls them "rock heads" and "falling rocks".
Mario Kart series[edit]
At least one Thwomp appears in every Bowser's Castle course of the Mario Kart series.
Super Mario Kart[edit]
Thwomps make their first appearance in a spin-off game in Super Mario Kart as obstacles. They appear prominently in the Bowser Castle tracks, and a variant of them called Super Thwomps also appear in the track Rainbow Road. On the first lap of the courses they appear, they remain stationary in the air. On the second lap and so forth, though, they start to slam down to the ground. Furthermore, after landing on the ground, they move up to a height higher than the height they were at when they remained stationary on the first lap. Super Mario Kart is also the first game to not feature spikes on Thwomps. They are plain blocks of rectangular-shaped stones (setting them apart from the more modern square-shaped ones) and, once again, have their eyes as glowing white dots in a dark space. These Thwomps have cheeks, something that has not been readded to date.
Mario Kart 64[edit]
Thwomps reappear in Mario Kart 64. Just like in its predecessor, Thwomps serve as obstacles in the course. The Thwomps in this game take their appearance from Super Mario 64, being blue cubes that lack spikes, but unlike Super Mario 64, they have different faces. They appear in Bowser's Castle and try to flatten any player that races beneath them. They are often placed in strategic points so that the player is forced to pass under them in order to continue. There are also some Thwomps that move from one side to the other, trying to bump players on the ground and causing them to spin out if they are rammed at a high speed. This game may also be notable as the first time Thwomps have made any sound other than grunts, as the sliding ones laugh as the players race through the area they are in, while the stomping ones laugh if they manage to flatten a player. The laugh they produce is a slowed down version of Wario's laugh. There is also a slightly larger Thwomp (nicknamed "Marty" by fans) that has been locked up towards the beginning of the course; the light over it makes it appear green.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit[edit]
In Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Thwomps, also known as Block Statues,[5] appear with two different models: The predominant blunt ones act like they do in Super Mario Kart, though they always slam and rise to a consistent height. They appear in every Bowser Castle course barring those in the Extra Cups, while a spiked Thwomp appears only in multiplayer when Lakitu appears and drops one on the player in last place after every other player has finished the race, ending the race immediately.
Mario Kart: Double Dash!![edit]
Thwomp Traps,[6] as they are called, appear in Bowser's Castle in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, the first Mario Kart game to have them consistently appear with their spiked rectangular design, and also features the debut of their modern facial look. This design is a vibrant turquoise color, similar to their original artwork.
Mario Kart DS[edit]
Thwomps appear in Mario Kart DS in both its own Bowser Castle course and GBA Bowser Castle 2.
Mario Kart Wii[edit]
Thwomps appear in all three Bowser's Castle courses in Mario Kart Wii. Another Thwomp also appears in the battle arena called Thwomp Desert, hence the name. In this arena, a Big Thwomp is located in the center. It will fall down, causing a major shockwave that will hinder movement of the characters that get caught in it. It can also squish racers that are underneath it. Unlike the past Mario Kart titles (excluding Mario Kart: Super Circuit), players do not spin out by directly touching the Thwomps in this game. Going under the Big Thwomp in Thwomp Desert while it's up, players will fall into the quicksand. In the Bowser's Castle tracks, if a player gets flattened by a Thwomp, they will laugh similarly to the laugh heard in Mario Kart 64. The laugh is slightly different and higher pitched. Toad's Factory has hydraulic presses instead that function like Thwomps.
Mario Kart Arcade GP subseries[edit]
Thwomps appear in Mario Kart Arcade GP on t