King Dedede/Synopsis

The synopsis of Kirby's On & Off archenemy the greedy tyrant King Dedede from the Kirby Franchise

Kirby’s Dream Land
King Dedede and his minions stole all of the food from the people of Dream Land and, either to simply cause strife or demoralize the people, also made off with the Sparkling Stars, which he gave to his various servants to guard. However, Kirby set out to set things right, getting the Sparkling Stars back, before engaging Dedede himself. Despite the king’s efforts, he was beaten by Kirby and knocked flying through the ceiling of his castle.

Kirby's Adventure
After Lord Nightmare took over the Fountain of Dreams to spread bad dreams, King Dedede took the Star Rod that powered it and gave its pieces to his most trusted friends, trapping Nightmare in the fountain unable to do anything. But as Kirby saw Dedede swimming in the lake around the fountain, he thought that Dedede was up to his usual mischief. As Kirby recovered the Star Rod and replaced it (with Dedede trying to stop him), Nightmare was set free, so Dedede inhaled both Kirby and the Star Rod and spat them into space to take down Nightmare.

Kirby’s Dream Land 2
King Dedede ended up possessed by Dark Matter and it made him destroy the Rainbow Bridges connecting the Rainbow Islands so as to take over Dream Land. Kirby managed to defeat Dedede’s minions, before going to face the king himself, who fought him in a strange state of sleep. Kirby managed to win, before facing the Dark Matter that had possessed Dedede, which he destroyed with the Rainbow Sword.

Kirby Super Star/Kirby Super Star Ultra
King Dedede appears in three of the eight games of Kirby Super Star, "Spring Breeze", "Gourmet Race", and "The Arena". "Spring Breeze" serves as a simplified remake of the original Kirby's Dream Land, with Dedede following the same role as he did in the former. Dedede's boss fight in "Spring Breeze" appears in "The Arena". In "Gourmet Race", Kirby races against King Dedede across three levels whilst eating as much food as possible. The winner is decided by who earned the most points at the end of all three levels, with bonus points going towards whoever finished first in each race.

In the DS remake of Kirby Super Star, Kirby Super Star Ultra, in the added game "Revenge of the King", King Dedede plotted to destroy Kirby once and for all and again stole the Sparkling Stars, so as to lure him into fights with stronger versions of enemies that he had beaten before. When Kirby managed to beat them all, Dedede, calling himself Masked Dedede, took him on, wielding an upgraded mecha hammer. However, he was once again defeated and sent flying out of his castle. During the credit sequence, Dedede was last seen walking off sadly, with his Waddle Dees following behind him. Masked Dedede later appears as the third last boss of the "True Arena".

Kirby’s Dream Land 3
King Dedede once again ended up possessed by Dark Matter and fought Kirby and his friend, Gooey, at his castle in the Iceberg. After they defeated him in his normal state, the king developed darker abilities, including a Dark Matter eye on his body. However, Kirby finally managed to defeat Dedede and drive the Dark Matter out of his body.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
King Dedede came across one of the Crystal Shards and started looking at it. Kirby showed up and tried to take it so he could give it to Ribbon, but the king refused to give it up. At that moment, the Dark Matter showed up and, drawn to the Crystal Shard, possessed Dedede. He then attacked Kirby but was defeated and freed of the Dark Matter. Dedede then reluctantly gave up the Crystal Shard and Waddle Dee asks him to come with the group in their quest. Dedede refuses vehemently at first, but relents when realizes he does. Dedede eventually accompanied the group to Dark Star and helped Kirby reach 0² so he could defeat it.

Kirby: Squeak Squad
Kirby, thinking King Dedede had stolen his shortcake, went to confront the king and managed to beat him. But at that moment, the Squeaks led by Daroach attacked Dedede’s castle, stealing his treasure chest and making their getaway. Enraged, he threw Kirby at the thieves, knocking them into Nature Notch.

Kirby’s Epic Yarn
Dedede was bossing around his Waddle Dees as usual, when he noticed an odd-looking one. He was then attacked by Yin-Yarn, resulting in Dedede and all of his imposter Waddle Dees to be sucked into Yin-Yarns' magical sock, bringing him to Patch Land. Eventually, Dedede came across Kirby but suddenly found himself connected a bizarre marionette-like device that controlled him. Kirby managed to free the king, allowing him to get the sixth strand of Magic Yarn. Dedede later accompanied Kirby, Prince Fluff, and Meta Knight back to the yarn version of Dream Land to defeat the sorcerer.

Kirby Mass Attack
Kirby eventually found his way to Dedede’s hideout in Dedede Resort, where the king engaged him in a hot air balloon, throwing bombs at Kirby. However, Kirby bounced them back, sending him to the ground and finally defeated Dedede.

Kirby’s Return to Dream Land
Dedede, along with one of his Waddle Dees, was chasing after Kirby for a piece of cake he had, when they came across an alien named Magolor, who had crashed his spaceship. They agreed to help him by getting the missing pieces back and succeeded in doing so. Magolor then brought Dedede and the others to his home planet of Halcandra, where they were attacked by Landia. Magolor told them that the dragon was running rampant on Halcandra and Dedede and the others agreed to defeat it for him. But when they succeeded, Magolor revealed that he had been manipulating them to obtain Landia’s Master Crown so as to gain infinite power. He headed off to conquer Popstar and Dedede and the others followed with help from Landia, successfully defeating Magolor and making it back to Popstar.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe
When a massive Dreamstalk emerges from the ground, it lifts multiple chunks of Dream Land up to the top of the sky, including Kirby's house and Castle Dedede. Kirby reaches the castle and spots an arachnid creature known as Taranza defeat the Waddle Dee guards and capture Dedede, taking him to the top of a series of six floating islands, with the Dreamstalk growing to the next after Kirby defeats the boss of each island. Making it to the last island, Royal Road, Kirby confronts Taranza, who believes Kirby came to save "the hero of the lower world" (Dedede) and controls Dedede using a mechanical mask. Upon defeating Dedede, Taranza realized Kirby was the real hero of the lower world. Dedede awakens after Taranza's master, Queen Sectonia, is defeated by Kirby. However, the evil queen combines herself with the Dreamstalk to take over all of Popstar. Dedede and the People of the Sky use a cannon to fire Kirby through the vines to confront Sectonia. When Kirby ends up snared by Sectonia's vines, Dedede and a reformed Taranza arrive to free him and give him a Miracle fruit to become Hypernova Kirby and finish Sectonia in a final battle. The People of the Sky and Taranza bring Kirby and Dedede back down to the ground to witness the beautiful blooming of the Dreamstalk.

Dedede later becomes the playable character in the Extra Mode minigame, Dededetour, where Dedede (similar to Meta Knight in the Meta Knightmare mode in Nightmare in Dreamland, Super Star Ultra, and Planet Robobot) rushes through every level of the game with his mighty mallet, and faces off against Shadow Dedede and Dark Meta Knight in the Dimension Mirror at the end.

Kirby: Planet Robobot
The Access Ark, the mothership of the Haltmann Works Company, appears from the sky and terraforms Dream Land into a mechanical wasteland. Previously playing chess with one of his Waddle Dees, Dedede notices this and fires at the mothership with his castle's cannons, but is easily overpowered by the mechanical artillery and his castle is destroyed. It is later revealed by Susie that the alien invaders managed to collect some of Dedede's DNA and made deranged clones of him, which are promptly destroyed by Kirby. In the ending cutscene following the defeat of Star Dream, Dedede and the Waddle Dees emerge from the rubble of the castle and rejoice to learn that Kirby returned Popstar back to its natural appearance.

Kirby Star Allies
When Hyness fails to successfully revive his dark lord Void Termina, the shards of the Jamba Heart from the Divine Terminus scatter across the various planets in the galaxy, among them is Planet Popstar and one of them lands in Castle Dedede, taking possession of Dedede and his Waddle Dee army. Under the shard's influence, Dedede steals the food everywhere in Dream Land similarly to Kirby's Dream Land, and Kirby sets out to return it. Kirby and his group of friends eventually confront Dedede in his castle and battle him, and, during the fight, Dedede absorbs more dark energy from the Jamba Heart shard and becomes incredibly muscular. After his defeat, the Jamba Heart shard flies out of Dedede and he returns to normal. Similarly to Kirby's Return to Dream Land, he can join the Star Allies as a Dream Friend, recruited in the Dream Palace. Alternatively, Kirby can befriend Dedede right away by throwing a heart immediately after defeating him.

Super Smash Bros.
King Dedede, alongside Bowser and Mewtwo, was originally meant to be playable in the first Super Smash Bros. installment for the Nintendo 64, but was cut due to memory limitations. Despite this, he does appear in the Dream Land stage where he flies across the background.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Dedede again can be seen in the background for the Dream Land stage. He also appears in the game as a collectible trophy.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
King Dedede makes his debut as a playable character in Super Smash Bros Brawl. His Final Smash is the Waddle Dee Army, where he summons a huge horde of Waddle Dees, Waddle Doos, and Gordos to attack the opponents. He also appears as a false antagonist in the story mode; The Subspace Emissary.

In Subspace Emissary, Dedede mistakenly aided the Subspace Army in capturing the Halberd by attacking Meta Knight, not realizing he was keeping him from fighting off the Subspace forces.

Eventually, Dedede learned of Tabuu's plans and the power his Off Waves possessed. Worried that if everyone were to be turned into trophies, then Tabuu would easily take over, Dedede sought a means of stopping his plans. He created a special brooch that acted as a timer before turning heroes turned into trophies back to normal. Dedede ambushed Luigi and turned him into a trophy, apparently to lure Wario in. When Wario tried to take Luigi, Dedede stole Wario's bobsled with the trophies of Ness and Peach/Zelda inside, throwing Luigi in as well. Dedede then hid them inside his castle. He puts brooches on them, giving up his own to put on the princess while planning to make another later. However, Dedede was turned into a trophy by Bowser, who stole Peach/Zelda. After Tabuu turned all of the other heroes into trophies, Luigi and Ness were restored and Kirby was also revived, having eaten the brooch Dedede put on Peach/Zelda. They, in turn, brought back Dedede, who went to Subspace with the others to fight Tabuu, getting Bowser and Wario to help them along the way.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS
King Dedede returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U and 3DS. He is slightly faster and stronger than his Brawl counterpart. His side special was also changed, as in Brawl, Dedede would randomly throw either a Waddle Dee, Waddle Doo, or Gordo. In this game, King Dedede will only throw a Gordo. His Final Smash was also changed from the Waddle Dee Army, to the Dedede Burst. King Dedede inhales enough air, which results in the creation of a mini-tornado. Anyone caught in the mini-tornado will be sucked towards King Dedede. Dedede will then hit the opponent(s) with his hammer two to three times, while it is engulfed in fire. He then finishes the Final Smash by throwing a bomb at the opponent(s).

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
King Dedede returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. While his moveset and abilities remain the same compared to Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, he is slightly faster and heavier than before and his moves have larger hitboxes. His Final Smash has changed yet again, this time featuring Masked Dedede called "Dede-Rush". He will trap one player into a caged wrestling ring and fires missiles and jets from his hammer, before using his hammer to smack the opponent out of the ring.

Masked Dedede also makes an appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Primary Attack-type Spirit, who can be summoned using cores from Reporter & Wrestler and Hammer Bro.

Kirby: Right Back at Ya!


In the anime, King Dedede (with a more negative personality) was the tyrannical ruler of Dream Land, clearly disliked by the people of Cappy Town and aided by his right-hand man, Escargoon. When Kirby arrived on Popstar, Dedede feared he could threaten his rule and hated him for being more liked by the people. Thus, he continually ordered monsters from Nightmare Enterprises and employed them and various other schemes to deal with Kirby, only for each one to fail. Eventually, Dedede and Escargoon turned on Customer Service, who had manipulated Dedede in all of their dealings, as Kirby and his allies were battling Nightmare and took him down.