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Morton Koopa Jr. (known as Big Mouth Koopa Jr. in the cartoons) is a member of the Koopalings, a seven-member clan loyal to Bowser. In the Chinese cartoon series Super Brothers, Morton was known as Moroton with a purple uni-spiked shell, not having 'jr.' in his name. The Koopalings were originally depicted as Bowser's own children, however this idea was not explored in games released after their debut in Super Mario Bros. 3, and in a recent interview, Shigeru Miyamoto stated that Nintendo's current story is that the Koopalings are not Bowser's children[1]. Morton stood out because of his primarily darker skin colouration and his white head until New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which gave the Koopalings unique shell colours, his pale grey shell was also a point of interest. He also has a star-shaped birthmark on his face, although Larry now has similar markings. Although Morton is the largest of the Koopalings, he isn't as powerful in battle as some of his peers.
Morton is named after famed talk show host and singer-songwriter Morton Downey Jr. This is the reason for the "Jr." at the end of his name, which was a point of confusion when he was first introduced as one of Bowser's children. No in-universe explanation of his name was provided at the time, however the editors of the magazine Nintendo Power once claimed that when they asked Bowser why Morton Koopa was called "Jr.", he responded by pelting them with Bob-ombs.
History
Super Mario series
Super Mario Bros. 3
Morton made his first appearance was in Super Mario Bros. 3 where he, along with his siblings (minus Bowser Jr.) aided their father in an attempt to take over the Mushroom World. At some point, Morton discovered that Mario was capable of accessing transformations, which meant Mario might prove to be a challenge, and likewise reported the discovery to Bowser. Morton usurped the sultan of Desert Hill and took over. He used the same attack pattern as Larry, but in the end he was defeated by Mario.
Morton also uses his wand to shoot magical projectiles. Larry, fought previously before Morton Jr., barely used his wand, as what he mainly did was jump. Morton jumps also, and is a slight bit harder to defeat than Larry.
Morton also appears in Airship's Revenge, an optional bonus World-e level for the GBA remake Super Mario Advance 4. Besides Morton, only two other Koopalings are given e-Reader levels: Lemmy Koopa and Ludwig Von Koopa. In his level, Morton attacks Mario with a new Airship and fights the same way as he did in his original boss battle, complete with wand. After being stomped three times, Morton is defeated once more.
Super Mario World
Morton appeared again in Super Mario World helping his family in an attempt to take over Dinosaur Land. Artwork depicts Morton's shell as gray, but like the other Koopalings, the sprites are differently coloured: in-game, he's green. Morton's Castle is located in the second area, the Donut Plains. Morton attacks Mario or Luigi by climbing the walls and ceiling of his room and dropping down. Mario or Luigi needs to stomp on his head thrice or shoot a dozen fireballs at him to win.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Morton appears as a boss once again, this time in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. He is fought in World 6 on a platform with the ends of each side slightly raised up, set in a sea of lava. When Morton sees Mario, he stamps his foot and growls, then begins to fight.
Morton's main method of attack is shooting pink energy blasts that can be targeted in any direction. He can also do a Ground Pound move similar to that of Roy Koopa or a Sledge Bro, that will stun anybody who is on the ground. His pounds last for less time than Roy or a Sledge Bro. Also, Morton's casting speed is extremely slow compared to Roy, but his magic is the fastest in the game, along with Iggy. Whenever Morton is damaged, he will jump into his shell and spin to attack. This attack is the faster than the other Koopalings. Fortunately, it can be easily avoided if the player jumps on the raised ground. However, spiked pillars will come down from above and land on the two raised platforms, damaging anyone that they hit. Once Morton has been stomped on three times, he will retreat to his castle.
In his castle fight, it appears it is going to be very alike to the attacks Larry used. Then, Kamek flies in and sprinkles magic. At first, nothing looks different, except the ground has slightly lowered. Then, Morton will then use his immense weight to ground pound and cause the platforms on either side of him to rise up and hit the ceiling. He will jump around and repeat this tactic throughout the battle. Getting squished will defeat Mario and company in one hit. It is strongly noted that Morton never uses his magic in the castle fight, and he doesn't start spinning around as long as the pillars are up. Also, unlike his tower battle, Morton's Ground Pounds won't stun grounded players during the castle battle.
Morton survived the battle, however, and was seen along with the other Koopalings getting Bowser back up, only to have Bowser's castle fall on top of all of them.
On a side note, unlike in the past titles, players fight Morton after Roy in this game. Also, in Super Mario Bros. 3, he is the boss of a desert world, while another desert world (though still the second world) is given to Roy in this game, and Morton gets a mountain level instead. In addition, neither Roy or Morton get the cloud level, but it is rather given to Ludwig.
New Super Mario Bros. 2
Morton reappears in New Super Mario Bros. 2. This Koopaling is fought similarly to Roy in the predecessor. He is fought in the castle of World 4 and will stomp his foot and growl at Mario, like he did in the previous game. In his battle, he will create Spiked Balls using his wand during the battle and use Ground Pounds to stun all players that are on the floor. Just like the other battles with the Koopalings the player has to jump on him to defeat him. Unlike the other Koopalings, because of the nature of his "boss fight" with Mario, he doesn't spend a limited amount of time in his shell upon being stomped, as he requires a pipe upon being stomped on to return to his position. After three stomps, Morton is defeated, leaving the key to World 5.
Morton survived the encounter, and rejoined his comrades at Bowser's castle, where they attempted to petrify Mario with their Koopa Clown Car's petrification device. He also aided Bowser alongside the rest of the Koopalings by causing him to grow larger, but it resulted in him and the others being knocked into a lava pit by Bowser due to his increased size. He and the other Koopalings survived, however, and attempted to help Bowser by airlifting him with the Koopa Clown Car, but this resulted in it crashing due to it being unable to handle the combined weight of both them and Bowser. Morton ended up on his back, also attempting to get himself back up but couldn't due to his large size.
New Super Mario Bros. U
Morton returns in New Super Mario Bros. U as a boss. He is the boss of Layer Cake Desert, much like how he was the boss of Desert Hill in Super Mario Bros. 3. Like Wendy, Lemmy, and Roy, Morton's boss battle involve him using a weapon instead of a Magic Scepter. This time, it is a large hammer that's apparently filled with magic. He will once again stomp his foot at Mario when he sees him before battle. While he still shakes the ground by stomping on it, he'll use his Hammer to knock giant Pokey segments in the player's way. He can knock Pokey segments straight at the player or knock them in high arcs. In addition, like most of the Koopalings (except for Roy Koopa and Ludwig von Koopa), Morton also fought the Mario Bros. in the cabin of his ship. Three stomps will have him fall offscreen.
Despite this, Morton survived, and was later picked up along with the rest of the Koopalings by Bowser Jr., although they ended up escaping by hanging onto Bowser's tail after the latter inadvertently destroyed Bowser Jr's (already damaged) ship.
Morton has his own personalized airship, with his face on the bow, and his black-colored shell at the deck of the ship. The stern of his ship has a gray color design, similar to his former shell color from past appearances. Like most of the airships, his airship is equipped with a propeller at the back as well as another just beneath the crow's nest. Morton's airship is equipped with four cannons, two on each side, like Roy's ship except that the cannons are placed vertically from each other. There are also grey lids on top of the cannons used for opening and closing the cannons. His airship has the biggest build of all the Koopaling ships. The ship is also made out of a darker wood than the other Airships, a reference to his darker skin tone. The cabin of his ship contains gold-tinted windows, gold Moai statues at the top of the room and a sand pit elevated on a platform.
When Morton's airship appears at the roof of the castle, his voice sounds different from his usual voice. A similar oddity occurs with Roy's airship.
Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros.
Morton, along with the other Koopalings appeared in two of the Japan-only Super Mario anime videos. In Momotarō, they try to defend their king's castle, only to be defeated by Mario and his friends in their quest to rescue Princess Toadstool. In Snow White, Morton and the other Koopalings play a similar role, once again, being defeated by Mario as he attacks Bowser's Castle.
DIC Cartoons
In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World cartoons produced by Nintendo and DIC Entertainment, he was renamed Big Mouth Koopa Jr. (Although the "Jr." part was only mentioned on the bonus disc of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 DVD set released by Shout! Factory. Thus, he is commonly known simply as Big Mouth Koopa.), ostensibly because he was more talk than action. In fact, he talks so much that someone frequently has to step in to stop his speeches (usually King Koopa or Bully Koopa).
Aptly, in the Super Mario World cartoon, he occasionally served as an announcer in only three episodes: "Send in the Clown" (as a ringmaster), "Rock TV" (as a ring announcer), and "The Yoshi Shuffle" (as a football commentator). He appears the least out of all the Koopa Kids.
There are a few physical differences between Morton and Big Mouth: Morton's shell is gray and in the Super Mario Bros. 3 cartoon, Big Mouth's is purple. Big Mouth has much larger eyes and purple eyelids; the star-shaped birthmark on Morton's face is darker around the cheek, while it's just one solid color on Big Mouth. Lastly, Big Mouth is shorter and thinner than Morton.
Sometimes, Big Mouth's name is spelled as Bigmouth. He was voiced by Dan Hennessey.
Nintendo Adventure Books
In Leaping Lizards, Morton sneaks into Mushroom Palace, vandalizing the throne room and transforming the Mushroom King into a rabbit with his Magic Scepter. If Luigi decides to run ahead of his friends after hearing what Morton is up to, he can find the Koopaling in the midst of smearing peanut butter on the walls, and gets into a fight with him, acquiring his scepter before the Koopaling escapes if the reader makes the right choices. Due to not knowing how to use Morton's scepter, and thus left unable to change the king back, Luigi proceeds to track the Koopaling to his houseboat in Water Land and breaks in, prompting Morton to call Iggy and the Doomship for backup, only to be abandoned by his sibling when the bespectacled Koopaling spots Luigi. Forced to try and swim for it, Morton is eventually cornered and tipped onto his shell, leaving him helpless, on a small island by Luigi, who learns from Morton that the only way the king can be changed back to normal is with a special silver whistle, which Iggy is later revealed to possess.
Three weeks later, Morton and five of his siblings show up as competitors in the International Mushroom Games, where the first prize is Iggy's whistle, which he won by cheating in last years competition. What events Morton participates in besides the Beetlebowl (an all-team contest) are unspecified.
In Koopa Capers, Morton and his brothers have their wands stolen by Wendy, who disappears with them shortly afterward, intent on overthrowing their father with her own army, and a super wand she plans to create by fusing her own wand with her brothers'. If Luigi, who had been coerced by Bowser into searching for Wendy, tracks the female Koopaling down to her hideout, Bowser and the male Koopalings, who had been following him, will barge in after the plumber, but decide to stave off punishing Wendy for her mutiny if she helps search for the hiding Luigi. If Luigi had acquired Boom Boom's socks earlier in his adventure, he can toss them into Wendy's simmering wand combination potion, which will release fumes that knock the entire Koopa family and their minions out for at least a week. During a point where Wendy O. Koopa was about to attack Luigi, a small picture that was supposed to show an angry Wendy O. Koopa mistakenly had a picture of Morton Koopa Jr. instead, even thought he was not in that particular scene.
At an unknown point in Brain Drain, Morton's mind ends up in Toad's body due to Iggy's Synapse Switcher. When Luigi's mind is transferred to Princess Toadstool's body, Morton (who is unaware of the change) tries to trick Luigi into following him to a secluded houseboat by promising him "triple decker lasagna and chocolate chip raviolis". If Luigi tells Morton who he really is, Morton immediately tries to attack him, but Luigi escapes by using the princess's floating ability to cross the nearby Dinosaur Lake. If Luigi instead decides to pretend to be the princess and take Morton up on his offer of snacks, he will be taken to the houseboat, and be ambushed by a group of Koopa Troopas, leading to a Game Over.
Mario is Missing!
Though Morton doesn't appear in Mario is Missing!, his picture is used in the SNES version's manual, and the DOS manual explains that he did indeed travel to Earth with Bowser. In addition, unused quotes attributed to Morton can be found in the DOS version, suggesting that he was originally planned to be encountered in-game as well.
Yoshi's Safari
In Yoshi's Safari, Morton helped his family invade Jewelry Land and steal the jewels that maintain the stability in the kingdom. Bowser entrusted one of these jewels to Morton, who then watched over the area known as Spirit Mountain. He attacked in a giant, blue, mechanical frog, but Mario and Yoshi defeated him with the aid of the Super Scope.
Hotel Mario
In Hotel Mario, Morton was given the treetop WoodDoor-Hysteria hotel to run when the Mushroom Kingdom was once again taken over by Bowser. Here, he held Princess Toadstool captive for a short while, but soon became the first Koopaling battled. At Morton's Tree House o' Pain, he had little defining characteristics. He will wander around open any doors; however, if he finds Mario or Luigi inside an elevator, he will step inside for a moment, then step out and spit the ill-fated plumber's cap on the floor. Fortunately, the Mario Bros. were able to move on.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
The Koopalings reappeared in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga where they guard Bowser's Castle. Morton is the second Koopaling to be fought.
To get towards him, Mario and Luigi will have to dodge several shockwaves Morton sent towards the two by jumping over them. High Jumps and Spin Jumps will not work.
Here, Morton has two attacks, sending shock-waves and sending four fireballs at the target (like all the other Koopalings). Despite these new moves, Morton ends up being beaten.
Defeating Morton raises a platform, allowing the Mario Bros. to continue on towards Lemmy Koopa.
Other Appearances
Morton was originally going to appear in Super Princess Peach, although he was taken out of the final game with the rest of the Koopalings. In the unused sprites, his and Roy's shells are noticeably green instead of their usual black and pink colouration, respectively.
In Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, the player can unlock a Mii costume based off of Morton's design. Once the player dons it, he or she will inherit Morton's traits and stats. This is true for the rest of the Koopalings. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, one of Bowser's alternate colors is the same color scheme as Morton's original artwork from Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World (brown skin, silver shell, and yellow rims).
Character Description
Unlike the other Koopalings, Morton has a dark brown skin tone, except for his face, which is white. He also has a unique star mark on the left side of his face which is centered on his left eye and covers part of his snout and cheek. Morton has four, fang-like teeth in the upper corners of both sides of his large mouth; they are the same as Iggy's. He also has a four-ribbed, light, padded stomach and tan, padded feet. His shell is black, lined with a white encasing (formerly yellow), and the multiple, short, spikes are circled with white (formerly yellow) rings.
He has small, circular-shaped eyes, like Ludwig's. He has a round head and a large body, making him both taller and broader than most of his siblings. Morton appears to be relatively hairless, except for three, thin, long, black hairs at the top of his head. He also has three-haired black eyebrows that extend off his face like Wendy's. Morton wears the same metal, spiked, cuffs as the other Koopalings.
Personality and Traits
Like all the other Koopalings, Morton's personality and traits have been shrouded in mystery, even more so than compared to the other Koopalings. Although, according to the Nintendo Player's Guide for Super Mario Advance 4, Morton is a grouch with a cantankerous personality. The manual also implies that he is astute enough to realize whether there are any possible setbacks regarding defeating Mario and can likewise report the information to Bowser.
In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, all the Koopalings were given names to match the personalities they were given and such was the case with Morton, whose name was changed to Big Mouth Koopa. Big Mouth was extremely talkative, to the point of never seeming to know when to stop talking, which continuously forced Roy to interrupt him. According to the bio on the DVD set for The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, he was also extremely arrogant in regards to his intelligence, as well as exceptionally ignorant regarding the actual facts of the world, and he never accepts responsibility for being wrong, preferring to blame others instead. In addition, he was also known to make cutting remarks, which were severe enough to even make his father cry if directed at him. Very few actual Mario games ever gave Morton lines, although unused lines for Mario is Missing!, which would have been used for a planned boss battle against Morton, implied that he was largely sarcastic and wise-cracking.
Morton was known to be the favorite for his evil planning. Bowser admired Morton not only for planning, but for being just as greedy and evil in personality as his father. Morton Koopa Jr. is known as being obedient to his father and carrying out all of his orders.Template:Refneeded
Powers and Abilities
Morton usually uses his weight to try and crush Mario or paralyze him by shaking the ground, as in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Super Mario World, which even involved him running up the walls and dropping down from the ceiling. His debut appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3 did not involve his earthquake-causing power, however, and he relied on the standard abilities shared with his siblings to fight, such as jumping and shooting magic blasts, although he generally doesn't use his magical abilities as much as his siblings. In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, he tended to use his Magic Scepter once his enemies were already immobile, and the game also showed that he couldn't actually jump very high, unlike earlier depictions. He also has the ability to shoot spiked balls from his scepter, as shown in New Super Maio Bros. 2. In New Super Mario Bros. U, he has a magic hammer that he uses to knock giant Pokey segments at the player. Like the other Koopalings, Morton can breathe fire, and in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, he used some sort of sonic screech against the Mario Bros., which is like Bowser Jr.'s Sonic Roar! Super Ability from Mario Strikers Charged. His bio on the Japanese New Super Mario Bros. Wii website also implies that Morton's strength is dependent on his weapon.[2]
Despite his strengths, his size also resulted in him being unable to get up once he is forced onto his back, as evidenced by the ending for New Super Mario Bros. 2, where he ended up on his back as a result of the Koopa Clown Car crashing.
Sprites relating to his planned appearance in Super Princess Peach implied that he would have inflated himself like a balloon at some point during the battle, as well as spit objects out and charge at her.
Official Profiles and Statistics
Bio from The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 Writers Bible
Big Mouth just can't stop blabbing, and his twisted talent is insult. His cutting remarks can even reduce his father to tears. Big Mouth's got a chip on his shoulder the size of the Doomship. He would never admit he was wrong, even though he usually is. He thinks he knows everything about everything, but what he knows is all wrong, and he always blames the other guy for his mistakes. Big Mouth loves to stir up trouble, and has a needling probing attitude that always gets it. He holds grudges against the whole world.
List of Appearances by Date
| Title | Description | Original Release Date | System/Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario Bros. 3 | Boss NPC | Japan: October 23, 1988 |
NES |
| Super Mario World | Boss NPC | Japan: November 21, 1990 |
SNES |
| Mario is Missing | Boss NPC | North America: 1992 |
PC, SNES |
| Yoshi's Safari | Boss NPC | Japan: July 14, 1993 |
SNES |
| Hotel Mario | Boss NPC | North America: December 31, 1994 |
CD-i |
| Mario Golf | Name appears on score board | Japan: 1999 |
N64 |
| Mario Golf | Name appears on score board | Japan: 1999 |
GBC |
| Super Mario Advance 2 | Boss NPC | Japan: December 14, 2001 |
GBA |
| Super Mario Advance 4 | Boss NPC | Japan: July 21, 2003 |
GBA |
| Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga | Boss NPC | North America: November 17, 2003 |
GBA |
| New Super Mario Bros. Wii | Boss NPC | Australia: November 12, 2009 |
Wii |
| Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games | Mii Costume | North America: 2011 |
Wii, 3DS |
| New Super Mario Bros. 2 | Boss NPC | Japan: July 28, 2012 |
3DS |
| New Super Mario Bros. U | Boss NPC | North America: 2012 |
Wii U |
Gallery
Quotes
- "Grrrr. You're pretty tricky. With all of these new moves, Mario will be difficult to beat. I'd better report this to our Dad!" - The Super Mario Bros. 3 manual (page 9)
- "「フムフム。結構やってくれるじゃんか。マリオに変身されると、どーも手強くなりそうだ。よし、オヤジに報告だ。」(Hmmm. You're pretty tricky. If Mario transforms himself, he'll be difficult to beat. Well, I'll report this to our Dad.)" - The Super Mario Bros. 3 Japanese manual (page 8)
- "That's Prince Hugo the Huge! The new ruler of Giant Land! They say he's the biggest, toughest, bravest prince ever! Even for a giant, he's a giant." - Sneaky Lying Cheating Giant Ninja Koopas
- "Yeah, and they're gonna pick you to be their leader! Isn't that always the way? Treat people lousy, dump garbage on their heads and they'll follow you anywhere!" - Recycled Koopa
- "Have a good time! Have a nice day! Sayonara! So long! Ciao! See you later, alligator! Ciao! Bon voyage! Hasta la vista! Be sure to write!" - Send in the Clown
- "Let's do an ambush..." - Do the Koopa
- "You're a royal pain! And we need your cage for our prisoners!" - Sneaky Lying Cheating Giant Ninja Koopas
- "So you won't be lonely, here's a little something to keep you company!" - Crimes R Us
- "Go away, plumber's helper! The only place you'll see your brother's face is on a milk carton!" - Mario Is Missing! (unused)
- "Want an onion bagel with that lock? It's the only lock you'll ever see!" - Mario Is Missing! (unused)
- "Nanny, nanny, nanny! Luigi fell on his fanny! Try again some other time, pipe cleaner!" - Mario Is Missing! (unused)
- "Still burning to find silly ol' Mario? Huh? Oh no! It's a fire flower! Yikes!" - Mario Is Missing! (unused)
- "The gold truth of the matter is, this turtle is only afraid of one thing, and it's one thing you haven't got, buddy! Fire flowers!" - Mario Is Missing! (unused)
Names in Other Languages
References
- ^ Screw Attack reports that "The koopalings are NOT related to Bowser!!!" and provide a scan of a Game Informer interview with Shigeru Miyamoto. Posted September 12, 2012. (Retrieved September 19, 2012)
- ^ nintendo.co.jp - New Super Mario Bros. Wii character page (Click on the blue circle with the arrow to reach the Koopaling page and click on the pictures to see the short bio of each of the Koopalings). Translation (Retrieved November 13, 2011)