Dark Taranza

"When a troubled mage stood before the mirror, Dark Taranza appeared..."

- Dark Taranza Quest description

Dark Taranza is the secondary antagonist of Team Kirby Clash Deluxe. He is Taranza's Mirror counterpart, who he manipulated to release him into the real world, and later free his leader, King D-Mind, from the Mirror World.

Appearance
Compared to Taranza, his dark counterpart retains the same appearance, only different coloring, including purple skin and red eyes, as well as a bee-like pattern on his abdomen. However, there are notable differences that contrast Dark Taranza to the original Taranza, such as larger horns, a longer stinger, and his hat, which has a curved tip at his forehead and bulkier sides. Also, he wears what appears to be robes compared to Taranza's scarf and cape.

Role
Sometime after Queen Sectonia's defeat, her former henchman Taranza falls under influence of another mirror connected to the Mirror World, the Black Mirror. His wish to reunite with his fallen mistress corrupted his heart, allowing Dark Taranza to take control of his Floralian counterpart. Through the Black Mirror, Dark Taranza manipulates Taranza into releasing the Mirror World replicas of previous Kirby villains, such as Parallel Landia and Parallel Susie to spread chaos across the Kingdom of Dreamland, though are all defeated by Team Kirby.

After Kirby and his allies defeat Taranza, he once again turns to the Black Mirror and releases Dark Taranza from the Mirror World into the real world, much to his delight. Team Kirby fights against the evil creature and ultimately conquer him. To aid him in battle, Dark Taranza once again opens the Black Mirror and summons his leader, King D-Mind, to aid him in battle. However, in anger of failing to release him sooner, King D-Mind uses his hammer to shatter Dark Taranza to pieces.

Trivia

 * Dark Taranza is the only boss in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe who does not have a second phase.
 * Dark Taranza's theme, "Revenge of the Puppet Master", is a remix of Taranza's theme, "Master of Puppetry", and the main theme of Triple Deluxe.