History Characters / KirbyKingDedede

* AmbiguousSpecies: He definitely looks like a penguin, but it's questionable if he's even a ''bird''. Unlike a penguin, he can fly, doesn't appear to have feathers, and his feet being attached to his body seemingly without legs may be because of art style more than anything. One official guide calls him a "regal eagle", but likely wasn't meant to be taken literally. As far as we know he's a [[ShapedLikeItself Dedede]]. In 2019, [[https://mobile.twitter.com/Kirby_JP/status/1154949993054134273 a Kirby Twitter post]] from [[CharacterBlog Zan Partizanne]] called him a "mouthy penguin", but since that's [[TheNicknamer in-character for her]], there is still [[UnreliableNarrator no definitive proof]].

** Both of his boss themes in ''Forgotten Land'' include a heavy emphasis on electric guitars. While "Roar of Dedede" includes electric guitar as a secondary instrument, [[spoiler:"Masked and Wild: D.D.D. includes this as the primary instrument. And with how insane he becomes in the Forgo Dedede fight, [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic it ''shows'']].]]

* FullBoarAction: Not him, but [[spoiler:his savage Forgo Dedede form wears an intimidating boar mask and he becomes savage, especially when he TurnsRed.]]

* GroundPunch: When he enters the second phase of his boss fight in ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'' he can slam the ground with his proportionally enlarged muscular arms. After taking enough damage, he'll perform an overhead axe swing that shatters the ground as the fight will transition through various floors, and he'll keep repeating that process until he's defeated.

* MindRape: In ''Forgotten Land,'' [[spoiler:when he is brainwashed by Fecto Forgo,]] he can clearly be seen trying to fight it off, but due to his WeakWilled nature, he ends up succumbing to it anyway. [[spoiler:And after beating Forgo Dedede the first time,]] the MindControl gets so bad that it [[VillainousBreakdown reduces him to a feral, bloodthirsty monster]], destroying his memories in the process.

** Finally, in ''Forgotten Land,'' King Dedede finally loses it [[spoiler:as Forgo Dedede]]; as [[spoiler:Fecto Forgo's]] MindRape grows stronger on Dedede, he is reduced to a feral, homicidal monster with his memories destroyed. He then starts RunningOnAllFours and resorts to [[ElementalPunch Elemental Punches]] after ditching his signature DropTheHammer tricks.

* LossOfIdentity: [[spoiler:As Forgo Dedede]] in ''Forgotten Land,'' [[spoiler:he forgets his true identity with the combined power of Fecto Forgo's MindControl and Leongar's [[EvilMask boar mask]] clouding his thoughts. By the second phase, this identity loss becomes so strong that he's reduced into a feral wild animal.]]

** Finally, in ''Forgotten Land,'' King Dedede finally loses it [[spoiler:as Forgo Dedede]] and lets out a loud, terrifying roar, and is reduced to a deranged, feral beast RunningOnAllFours and resorting to a fiery ElementalPunch with his own mind now gone.

* RunningOnAllFours: In ''Forgotten Land'' he starts running around on all fours during [[spoiler:the second phase of his Forgo Dedede boss fight]]. It's the first sign that Dedede's [[BrainwashedAndCrazy not himself]].

* ShadowArchetype: [[spoiler:His Phantom counterpart in ''Forgotten Land'' is suggested to be this, being an EmptyShell that has no memories of Kirby or any of the adventures that brought them closer.]]

* BadassBaritone: In games where he is voiced, Dedede is liable to have a bellowing, kingly voice. It's greatly emphasized by his tendency to [[RoarBeforeBeating roar]], and he indeed has the strength to back it up.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He may be [[AuthorityInNameOnly a self-proclaimed king]], but a good deal of games demonstrate he's not afraid to [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething prove himself to be deserving of such a title]], be it [[AntiVillain fighting against Kirby]] or [[AntiHero defending Dream Land]]. Especially seen in ''Triple Deluxe''[='=]s [[BonusDungeon Dededetour]] where he climbs up the dreamstalk and defeats [[spoiler:Queen Sectonia DX (a more powerful version of the original); Shadow Dedede (a dark doppelganger made by the Dimensional Mirror); and Dark Meta Knight -- (who defeated Meta Knight on his own but is now powered by the Dimensional Mirror with a plentiful supply of new abilities).]] '''ALL IN A ROW. ''BY HIMSELF.'''''

* BecomingTheMask: Despite Dedede largely initially just claiming kingship as an excuse to do whatever he wanted, he's actually surprisingly dedicated to the role of King in multiple series entries, even having shown signs as early as ''Adventure'' in making the [[IDidWhatIHadToDo hard choice]] of breaking up the Star Rod to protect Dream Land. His other feats in the name of acting as King include diplomatically aiding both Ribbon and Magolor of other worlds when they ended up stranded on Popstar, aiding the Floralians and later acting to free them of his own accord, and even his Guest Star mode in ''Star Allies'' is Dedede attempting to prove that he can protect his kingdom. Such actions might well be part of the reason why nobody has actually contested his claim of kingship and just sort of let him retain it. Accordingly, his descriptions start calling him a "self-''made''" king rather than a "self-proclaimed" king, probably on account that AuthorityEqualsAsskicking.

* TheHeavy: In ''Forgotten Land,'' he's initially shown leading the Beast Pack [[spoiler:and is the one who captures Elfilin after his first defeat. It then turns out that he's the second-in-command to Leongar.]]

* LazyBum: Downplayed. While he's a fat, greedy self-proclaimed king who's a BigEater who is on almost the same levels as Kirby himself, he has proven himself to be quite athletic in most games and will not hesitate to fight backa against whatever EldritchAbomination attacks Dream Land. [[spoiler:In ''Forgotten Land,'' he's seen lying down in his [[AscendedMeme iconic crouching pose]] from the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series after completing the game, but it's justified given how he just fought a horde of Beast Pack soldiers moments after Kirby [[BeatTheCurseOutOfThem Beats The Curse Out Of Him]] yet again.]]

* RunningOnAllFours: In ''Forgotten Land'' he starts running around on all fours during [[spoiler:the second phase of his Forgo Dedede boss fight]], showing that he's turned into little more than a wild animal.

* ADayInTheLimelight: ''Triple Deluxe'' is where he gets quite some spotlight. He gets kidnapped in the opening and becomes Kirby's motivation for the game. [[spoiler:He then gets BrainwashedAndCrazy and is fought as a ClimaxBoss. After Kirby BeatTheCurseOutOfHim, Dedede then helps Kirby reach Sectonia's OneWingedAngel form and then releases Kirby from Sectonia's clutch to save him. The final narration even notes Dedede's contribution to the whole story as it notes that the Dreamstalk (which, despite the People of the Sky expecting Kirby as their hero, lifts Dedede's castle as well as Kirby's house) works InMysteriousWays.]] He even gets his own extra mode, something that Meta Knight had done twice before, and there's an entire sub-game where you guide Dedede through four levels as he hops across drums with a tambourine.

* HulkingOut: ''Star Allies'' has Dedede's corruption turn him into a gorilla-like creature, complete with barrel chest and big, musclebound arms ([[TopHeavyGuy and with his legs still small]]). He throws food and climbs the columns of his castle like a gorilla as well. Hilariously enough, it's a direct reference to episode 93 of the anime, "Frog Wild".

** Finally, in ''Forgotten Land,'' King Dedede finally loses it [[spoiler:as Forgo Dedede]] when he TurnsRed, and is reduced to a deranged, feral beast RunningOnAllFours and resorting to a fiery ElementalPunch with his own mind now gone.

* VillainExitStageLeft: In the first game, after throwing a tantrum, Dedede runs off-screen in a huff. Later, after beating him and Meta Knight in his first legitimate battle in ''Fighters 2'', Dedede leaps off the arena after throwing a short tantrum. Finally, after his battle in ''Forgotten Land,'' he sneaks up on Kirby while the results screen is up and takes off with a captured Elfilin.

* ShadowArchetype: [[spoiler:His Phantom counterpart in ''Forgotten Land'' is suggested to be this, being an EmpytyShell that has no memories of Kirby or any of the adventures that brought them closer.]]

* LazyBum: Downplayed. While he's a fat, greedy self-proclaimed king who's a BigEater who is on almost the same levels as Kirby himself, he has proven himself to be quite athletic in most games and will not hesitate to fight backa against whatever EldritchAbomination attacks Dream Land. [[spoiler:In ''Forgotten Land,'' he's seen lying down in his [[AscendedMeme iconic crouching pose]] from the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series after completing the game, but it's justified given how he just fought a horde of Beast Pack soldiers moments after Kirby [[BeatTheCurseOutOfThem BeatsTheCurseOutOfHim]] yet again.]]

* ArtEvolution: His design has changed quite a bit over the years, but the 3D games in particular seem to update his design with each new console generation. ''Return To Dream Land's'' design was basically a 3D version of his old design from the GBA and DS games, his ''Triple Deluxe'' and ''Planet Robobot'' designs changed his facial structure with a differently-shaped beak and his eyes being further apart, while ''Star Allies'' changes his face again to be more expressive while modifying his proportions to resemble his appearance in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', and ''Forgotten Land'' changes his proportions again to resemble his design from ''The Crystal Shards''. In addition, the ''Forgotten Land'' design is reused for ''[[VideoGameRemake Return to Dream Land Deluxe]]''.

* RedEyesTakeWarning: Usually has these as MindControlEyes whenever he gets BrainwashedAndCrazy or undergoes DemonicPossession. When he gets possessed by the Jamba Heart in ''Star Allies'', his pupils turn pinkish-red as a visible sign of TheCorruption. He gains these back in ''Forgotten Land'' as a member of the Beast Pack. These also appear when he wears the Mask of Dark Bonds in ''Fighters 2''.

[-'''Main Series:''' [[Characters/KirbyHeroesAndSupportingCharacters Heroes and Supporting Characters]] ([[Characters/KirbyKirby Kirby]] | '''King Dedede''' | [[Characters/KirbyMetaKnight Meta Knight]]) | [[Characters/KirbyEnemies Enemies]] ([[Characters/KirbyMajorRecurringEnemies Recurring Enemies]]) | [[Characters/KirbyRecurringBosses Recurring Bosses]] | [[Characters/KirbyVillainousFactions Villainous Factions]] ([[Characters/KirbyDarkMatter Dark Matter]] | [[Characters/KirbyAnotherDimension Another Dimension]] | [[Characters/KirbyHaltmannWorksCompany Haltmann Works Company]] | [[Characters/KirbyBeastPack Beast Pack]]) | [[Characters/KirbyOtherMajorAntagonists Other Major Antagonists]] | [[Characters/KirbyOtherBosses Other Bosses]]\\

[-'''Main Series:''' [[Characters/KirbyHeroesAndSupportingCharacters Heroes and Supporting Characters]] ([[Characters/KirbyKirby Kirby]] | '''King Dedede''' | [[Characters/KirbyMetaKnight Meta Knight]]) | [[Characters/KirbyEnemies Enemies]] | [[Characters/KirbyRecurringBosses Recurring Bosses]] | [[Characters/KirbyVillainousFactions Villainous Factions]] ([[Characters/KirbyDarkMatter Dark Matter]] | [[Characters/KirbyAnotherDimension Another Dimension]] | [[Characters/KirbyHaltmannWorksCompany Haltmann Works Company]] | [[Characters/KirbyBeastPack Beast Pack]]) | [[Characters/KirbyOtherMajorAntagonists Other Major Antagonists]] | [[Characters/KirbyOtherBosses Other Bosses]]\\

* BigNO: Masked Dedede screams this as he flies out of his arena after his defeat in Revenge of the King.

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: In ''Kirby 64'', while he still joins Kirby and his friends on their adventure, it's clear by the name of his post-battle cutscene, "A Reluctant Ally", that he's only coming along for the ride for fear of Kirby's safety without him.

* VillainousGlutton: Again, his debut saw him abscond with all the food in the land for his own pleasure. This first impression has effectively colored all of his relations with Kirby since.

* FlunkyBoss: In ''Squeak Squad'' he can summon Waddle Dees from the monster teleporter in his boss arena. In ''Forgotten Land'', he is accompanied by a few Primal Awoofies. [[spoiler:Becoming Forgo Dedede gives him the ability to call Awoofies and Buffahorns to his side with a MightyRoar.]]

* HeelFaceTurn: ''Kirby's Super Star Ultra'' marked a permanent change in the status quo (an incredibly unusual thing for a series so light on continuity) by finally ending Kirby's rivalry with Dedede ([[FriendlyRivalry at least the genuinely hostile aspects of it]]) and changing them from "enemies" (and occasionally [[EnemyMine reluctant allies]] as in ''Kirby 64'') to "friends". ''Revenge of the King'' is the final game in which Dedede plays the role of an antagonist knowingly and cognizantly; after his defeat here, from ''Return to Dream Land'' onward Dedede has abandoned virtually all reluctance or hostility with Kirby and was thrust into the spotlight as one of the main protagonists in his own right.