- "Rats, I missed! Ohh, I hate it when I miss!"
- —Thwomp
Thwomps (ドッスン Dossun?), also called Thwomp Traps, are a recurring enemy in the Mario franchise. They first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3.
Profile
Physical description

Thwomps are large stone face creatures usually having a cube-shaped body. While this part remains consistent, Thwomps have gone through a series of design differences throughout the years, a lot of which concerns the outer edge of their body, but Thwomps are usually either gray in color or, to a lesser extent, blue or turquoise. In various appearances, a Thwomp's eyes consist of glowing white dots in a dark space. Thwomps can sometimes vary in size, with the largest Thwomps appearing in Wario's Woods.
The outer edge of a Thwomp is often covered in blunt spikes. Super Mario Kart is the first game in which Thwomps lack spikes, and they are instead plain blocks of rectangular-shaped stones.
For their Super Mario 64 design, Thwomps have a blue body with smooth edges (although not as smooth as in the Super Mario Kart design), and they lack spikes of any sort. Their Super Mario 64 design went on to be reused in Mario Kart 64 (albeit with a different face), early Mario Party series games, and Mario Pinball Land. Not including remakes or ports, Mario Party Advance is the last game that depicts Thwomps with their Super Mario 64 design.
Games such as Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Party 7 use an updated version of their common rectangular-shaped stone appearance from games such as Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. Thwomps were given a chiseled-edge design in Super Mario Galaxy, also used in some other 3D Super Mario games like Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World. In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Thwomps were given another different design that covers their outer edge in spikes, and Thwomps with chiseled edges and metal spikes sometimes appear in the same game, such as with Super Mario Maker 2.
Behavior
In the 2D Super Mario series installments, Thwomps are usually on the ceiling, biding their time until Mario or another playable character runs underneath a Thwomp, upon which it falls down to try and crush the character. In Super Mario 64, Thwomps instead have a behavior of crashing down then moving up repeatedly, and this is the first time they make a grunting sound upon landing. In some appearances, Thwomps move either horizontally or diagonally.
In the Mario Kart series, Thwomps generally have a different behavior where they repeatedly slam onto the ground then travel back up to repeat the process again shortly afterward. This is unlike the Super Mario platforming titles, in which Thwomps only slam down when a character approaches. Upon crashing down, Thwomp either crushes a racer or just acts as a brief roadblock.
Despite being made of stone, which is not molten, Thwomps are shown to be invulnerable to lava.
Timeline
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For information on Thwomp's appearances, click here.
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Role | Year | Console | Notes |
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Super Mario Bros. 3 | Enemy | 1988 | Nintendo Entertainment System | Debut appearance |
Super Mario World | Enemy | 1990 | Super Nintendo Entertainment System | |
Super Mario Kart | Obstacle | 1992 | Super Nintendo Entertainment System | |
Wario's Woods | Enemy | 1994 | Nintendo Entertainment System | |
Wario's Woods | Enemy | 1994 | Super Nintendo Entertainment System | |
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars | Obstacle | 1996 | Super Nintendo Entertainment System | |
Super Mario 64 | Enemy | 1996 | Nintendo 64 | |
Mario Kart 64 | Enemy | 1996 | Nintendo 64 | |
Mario Party | Species | 1998 | Nintendo 64 | Appears as an obstacle on the board Yoshi's Tropical Island and in two minigames, Running of the Bulb and Skateboard Scamper |
Mario Party 2 | Species | 1999 | Nintendo 64 | |
Mario Party 3 | Species | 2000 | Nintendo 64 | |
Mario Kart: Super Circuit | Obstacle | 2001 | Game Boy Advance | |
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 | Enemy | 2001 | Game Boy Advance | Same as in the original Super Mario World |
Mario Party 4 | Species | 2002 | Nintendo GameCube | |
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour | Obstacle | 2003 | Nintendo GameCube | |
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! | Obstacle | 2003 | Nintendo GameCube | |
Mario Party 5 | Species | 2003 | Nintendo GameCube | |
Mario Pinball Land | Enemy | 2004 | Game Boy Advance | |
Mario Party 6 | Species | 2004 | Nintendo GameCube | |
Super Mario 64 DS | Enemy | 2004 | Nintendo DS | Same role as in Super Mario 64, but with a different design. |
Mario Party Advance | Species | 2005 | Game Boy Advance | Aside from a representative character, Thwomps appear in a few minigames, including Outta My Way, Chain Saw, and Chicken! |
Mario Kart DS | Obstacle | 2005 | Nintendo DS | |
New Super Mario Bros. | Enemy | 2006 | Nintendo DS | |
Mario Party 8 | Species | 2007 | Wii | |
Super Mario Galaxy | Enemy | 2007 | Wii | |
Mario Kart Wii | Obstacle | 2008 | Wii | |
New Super Mario Bros. Wii | Enemy | 2009 | Wii | |
Mario Party 9 | Species | 2012 | Wii |
Attention Mario Wiki users!: This section is short or lacks sufficient information. We would appreciate it if you help the Mario Wiki by expanding it.
Behind the scenes
Etymology
'Thwomp' is most likely the onomatopoeia for something large and strong hitting the ground with great force.
Gallery
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To view Thwomp's image gallery, click here.
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