Who is the Wizard on Mario?

The main magical characters in the Super Mario franchise are Magikoopas, a species of wizard enemies that serve Bowser using their magic wands and spells. Specifically, two prominent Magikoopas are Kamek and Kammy Koopa.

The Magikoopa Species – Bowser‘s Wizard Troops

Magikoopas made their debut in Super Mario World as elite Koopa Troop troops that attack Mario and friends with magical abilities. They have gone on to appear as recurring wizard foes across many Mario games.

As their name suggests ("koopa" meaning turtle), Magikoopas resemble bipedal turtles in appearance. Distinct traits include their blue robes, glasses showing their scholarly nature, and magic wands that channel spells.

Magikoopas specialize in different magical abilities depending on their colored robes:

• Red Magikoopas – Expertise in pyrokinesis with fire-based attacks
• White Magikoopas – Focus on affecting the environment, like manipulating blocks
• Yellow Magikoopas – Specialize in electrokinesis and electric strikes
• Green Magikoopas – Skilled in healing wounds and energizing allies

In battle, standard Magikoopa attacks involve waving their wand to fire magic blasts or summon enemies like Spinies and Piranha Plants to fight for them. They can also teleport around the battlefield making them tricky to counterattack.

According to the Super Mario Wiki, Magikoopas serve as "advisors, babysitters, and sorcery instructors" within Bowser‘s forces. This highlights their intellectual capabilities beyond just combat magic. Certain individual Magikoopas play more prominent roles which we‘ll expand on next.

Kamek – Powerful Magikoopa Antagonist and Bowser‘s Caregiver

The most significant Magikoopa is Kamek, a higher-ranking wizard who has a long history interacting with the Mario Bros and serving Bowser. He especially plays an adversarial role against Yoshi and Baby Mario.

Kamek‘s Backstory and Motivations

Kamek‘s first chronological appearance is in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi‘s Island where he served as the main villain. After foreseeing in his crystal ball that Mario and Luigi would become problems for the Koopa Troop in the future, Kamek attempted to kidnap the Baby Mario Bros from the stork delivering them.

While Kamek succeeded in taking Baby Luigi, Baby Mario fell onto Yoshi‘s island sparking Yoshi‘s adventure to rescue Luigi across the island‘s levels. This shows Kamek‘s schemes to alter fate by intervening in the Mario Brothers‘ childhood.

As the intro to Yoshi‘s New Island for 3DS reveals, after his initial failure Kamek continued constantly chasing down Baby Mario and Yoshi in order to kidnap the future hero. This persistent harassment against a baby shows Kamek‘s determination and ruthlessness.

Kamek‘s motivation stems from fiercely loyalty towards the Koopa Troop and a fatherly attachment to Bowser as his caretaker and mentor. This leads him to be proactively villainous attacking potential future enemies in Mario and Luigi.

Kamek‘s Abilities and Powers

As a high-ranked and elder Magikoopa, Kamek has impressive magical mastery exceeding that of generic Magikoopas. He is capable of wide-ranging spells including:

• Flight by broomstick allowing aerial movement and quick dodging
• Telekinesis to lift objects and creatures using psychic control
• Pyrokinesis by launching fireballs from his wand
• Transforming nearly any object into a living monster under his control
• Making himself and other gigantic to overpower foes with size
• Creating illusory duplicates to distract and outnumber opponents

This broad magical repertoire lets Kamek adapt on the fly based on circumstance. It also forces Yoshi and Baby Mario to contend with diverse attacks and obstacles throughout their journey.

Notable Appearances and Activity Over the Years

Since his major antagonistic role in the Yoshi platformers on SNES and DS, Kamek has continued appearing in Mario franchise games over the decades:

• 1996-97 – Was raceable driver in Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart: Super Circuit
• 2005 – Major role in Yoshi‘s Universal Gravitation game on GBA as driving force behind Bowser‘s plot
• 2013 – Appeared again as selectable racer with the Magikruiser bike in Mario Kart 8
• 2022 – Returned in recent Mario Strikers: Battle League soccer game as playable captain

Additionally, starting with Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time for the Nintendo DS in 2005, Kamek has been part of recurring boss fights in the Mario & Luigi RPG series. His magic provides a range of colorful attacks to counter.

Based on his continual prominence over 30+ years, Kamek remains an impactful fixture in the franchise. His history especially shines in Yoshi games for continually harassing Baby Mario. With magical talent and airborne mobility letting him anywhere, he is likely to keep appearing as a magical trickster thorn in Mario‘s side.

Kammy Koopa – Supporting Magikoopa Antagonist in Paper Mario

Another recurring Magikoopa is Kammy Koopa, an elderly witch who acts as a key ally to Bowser in Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64 and related sequels. She provides both her wisdom and sorcery in advisory and support roles rather than directly fighting Mario most of the time.

Kammy‘s Service to Bowser in Paper Mario

In her premier Paper Mario appearance, Kammy played a pivotal role backing Bowser‘s quest to obtain the powerful Star Rod from Star Haven and use it to defeat Mario. Her magical expertise helped locate the Rod and remove it from its protected location for Bowser‘s taking.

Later when Bowser is defeated by Mario and imprisoned in a toy box, it is Kammy who ultimately saves him from this fate. Her allegiance remains steadfast regardless of Bowser‘s failures.

Overall while not the main villain, she proves crucial in enabling and reviving Bowser as the key threat. This makes her an ever-present lingering force across Mario‘s adventure.

Kammy‘s Abilities and Spell Arsenal

As a skilled sorceress, Kammy Koopa can perform various enchantments:

• Thunder and lightning spells for electric strikes
• Turning invisible to evade and surprise enemies
• Create defensive shields against physical attacks
• Use clairvoyance for seeking objects and information
• Transformation magic like turning Yoshis into animals via magic
• Magical teleportation for herself and Bowser to escape

This wide-ranging magical command, especially her invisibility and teleportation, makes Kammy a slippery foe who rarely fights directly. She relies on cunning and spells from the shadows rather than brute force.

Kammy‘s Later Roles and Potential Future

Following her Paper Mario debut, Kammy has made minor appearances in other Mario games largely in cameo background roles. These include:

• Mario Power Tennis (Gamecube, 2004) – In audience as Bowser‘s partner
• Mario Superstar Baseball (Gamecube 2005) – Playable sidekick on Bowser‘s team
• Mario Hoops 3-on-3 (DS, 2006) – Playable unlockable character
• Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (3DS, 2016) – Recruits paper enemies

However, she has been somewhat dormant in major active roles in the last decade. What potential future activity remains for Kammy Koopa? As an iconic minion from a beloved Mario RPG, fan speculation hopes for the return of Kammy‘s magic in:

• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door remaster/remake – Restoring her role for modern consoles
• Mario RPGs for Switch – New Paper Mario or Mario & Luigi entry featuring her spells
• Expanded non-RPG appearances – Playable in more spinoffs like Mario Kart 8 and sports games
• Exploring backstory/relationships – What is Kammy‘s history with Kamek as fellow high-ranking Magikoopa?

No matter what the future holds, Kammy Koopa remains a memorable magical minion from a classic Paper Mario adventure.

Other Notable Magic Users

While Magikoopas are the predominant wizards allied with Bowser, a couple other enemies utilize magic against Mario:

So in summary, Magikoopas as led by Kamek and Kammy Koopa make up the major wizards affiliated with Bowser‘s forces. They have continuously leveraged their magical talents to impede Mario‘s progress across many games over 30+ years. Their spells and cunning will likely continue challenging players in future Mario franchise releases.