Morton Koopa Jr., (モートン) (known as Big Mouth Koopa Jr. in the cartoons) or simply just Morton is one of the Koopalings, a clan of seven siblings that act as leaders of the Koopa Troop under Bowser (originally considered his children). Morton stands out because of his primarily darker skin coloration and his white head with a star painted on the left side. Morton is named after famed talk show host and singer-songwriter Morton Downey Jr. This is the reason for the "Jr." at the end of his name, which was a point of confusion when he was first introduced as one of Bowser's children. No in-universe explanation of his name was provided at the time, though the editors of the magazine Nintendo Power once claimed that when they asked Bowser why Morton Koopa was called "Jr.", he denied having any sons, then pelted them with Bob-ombs until they left.
General information[]
Physical appearance[]
Unlike the other Koopalings, Morton has a dark brown skin tone, except for his face, which is white. He also has a unique gray star mark (although Larry now has a similar marking) on the left side of his face which is centered on his left eye and covers part of his snout and cheek. This is evocative of the makeup of famous rock band KISS, specifically Paul Stanley, a.k.a. "The Star Child". Morton has four, fang-like teeth in the upper corners of both sides of his large mouth; they are the same as Iggy's. He also has a four-ribbed, light, plated belly and a single tan-colored pad on each foot. His shell is black, lined with a white encasing, and the multiple, short, spikes are circled with light grey rings.
He has small, circular-shaped gray eyes, like Ludwig's. He has a round head and a large and burly body, making him both taller and broader than most of his siblings. According to Bowser Jr., Morton was big-boned, thus explaining his more burly appearance. Morton appears to be relatively hairless, except for three, thin, long, black hairs at the top of his head. He also has three-haired black eyebrows that extend off his face like Wendy's. Morton wears the same metal, spiked, cuffs as the other male Koopalings. In the Super Smash Bros. series, Morton's appearance is unaltered compared to most Mario characters, including Bowser. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, however, Morton receives a slightly darker and subdued color scheme, while his hair, spikes, and shell receive simple detailing, though his scales remain undefined. This trait is shared with Bowser Jr. and the other Koopalings.
Personality and traits[]
Even though according to the trophy of the fourth installment in the Super Smash Bros. series Morton is proudly more brawn than brains, similarly to Roy, the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 3 manual implies that he is astute enough to realize whether there are any possible setbacks regarding defeating Mario and can likewise report the information to Bowser. Furthermore, in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, when Iggy and Lemmy are eager to fight the Mario Bros., Morton reminds them that they had just wiped out Wendy, Larry, Ludwig, and Roy beforehand. The English translation of the Super Mario Bros. 3 manual instead tones down his thoughtful wording and makes him seem angry, a trait confirmed in the Nintendo Player's Guide for Super Mario Advance 4, in which Morton is said to be a grouch with a cantankerous personality. Morton may have an interest in construction, as in Mario Kart 8, there are advertisements for "Morton's Construction" with Morton's face on it. In Ice Ice Outpost, many containers and machines present the "Morton" or "Morton Construction" logo on them, suggesting that his company is collaborating with the Toads of the "Toad Polar Expedition 2014-2015". Along with construction, one of his stunts include him flexing his muscles, which indicates that he likes showing off his strength. This latter trait, along with the preference of brawn over brains, is exacerbated in Paper Mario: Color Splash, in which he boasts about his strength and weight while talking in an unintelligent, loud and simple manner, such as saying "MORTON STRONG! MORTON MORE TONS!". This is likely imitating his talking style in the Japanese versions of Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam and Paper Mario: Color Splash, where he doesn't use particles in his sentence. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, Morton is always shouting and often speaks in the third person, but his sentences are more complete and concise. In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, Morton is again depicted as being unintelligent like in Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser, with the Best Fitness Friends jokingly stating that he has 10 brain cells. Regardless of his intelligence or lack thereof, however, he still possessed a strong will like the other Koopalings, as Fawful was forced to use a maximum dosage of his brainwashing spray to bring him under his command, and in Bowser Jr.'s Journey, he resisted the effects of Malatone:X long enough to attempt to warn Bowser Jr. to flee from him due to knowing he can no longer control himself. It's also implied that he was a bit of a bad cook, as when offering Bowser Jr. a piece of meat, he mentioned that while Morton was strong, "Fire stronger", and Bowser Jr. was reluctant to eat it.
In the Mario & Luigi series, Morton showed loyalty and protectiveness to his comrades and the Royal Koopa family. This was first shown in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, with Iggy and Lemmy left disabled from their own attacks on the Mario Bros. that backfired on them, and Morton declaring his intent on avenging them. It was explored further in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, particularly with his relationship with Junior. Upon given the order to look after Junior by Bowser, Morton took his role as a protector seriously, keeping the Koopa prince happy by feeding him his favorite food, and even one of his skills as First Officer is placing himself in front of Junior, acting as a shield. Morton puts Junior's safety as priority and would fight anyone who has intentions of harming him, even from one of his own siblings, shown when he got in between Roy and Junior when the latter two were arguing.
In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, all the Koopalings were given names to match the personalities they were given and such was the case with Morton, whose name was changed to Big Mouth Koopa. Big Mouth was extremely talkative, to the point of never seeming to know when to stop talking, which continuously forced Bully to interrupt him. According to the bio on the DVD set for The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, he was also extremely arrogant in regards to his intelligence, as well as exceptionally ignorant regarding the actual facts of the world, and he never accepts responsibility for being wrong, preferring to blame others instead. In addition, he was also known to make cutting remarks, which were severe enough to even make his father cry if directed at him.
Unused lines for Mario is Missing!, which would have been used for a planned boss battle against Morton, implied that he was largely sarcastic and wise-cracking.
Powers and abilities[]
Like Roy, Morton is one of the strongest Koopalings, using his weight to try and crush Mario or paralyze him by using a powerful ground pound, as in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Super Mario World, which even involved him running up the walls and dropping down from the ceiling. His debut appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3 did not involve his earthquake-causing power, however, and he relied on the standard abilities shared with his siblings to fight, such as jumping and shooting magic blasts, although he generally doesn't use his magical abilities as much as his siblings. In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, he tended to use his magic wand once his enemies were already immobile, and the game also showed that he couldn't actually jump very high, unlike earlier depictions. He also has the ability to shoot spiked balls from his wand, as shown in New Super Mario Bros. 2. In New Super Mario Bros. U, he has a magic hammer that he uses to knock giant Pokey segments at the player. Like the other Koopalings, Morton can breathe fire, and in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, he used some sort of sonic screech against the Mario Bros., which is like Bowser Jr.'s Sonic Roar! Super Ability from Mario Strikers Charged. His bio on the Japanese New Super Mario Bros. Wii website also implies that Morton's strength is dependent on his weapon.[13] In Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Morton also was demonstrated to have a degree of superhuman strength, as he was shown effortlessly lifting and hurling a massive Chain Chomp at the Mario Bros. in an attempt to avenge Iggy and Lemmy. In Super Mario World at least, he was also shown to be somewhat athletic, as he was able to run up a wall and on the ceiling before striking a pose when landing. In Super Mario Maker 2, Morton demonstrates the ability to smash blocks underneath him with a ground pound, similar to Bowser in Super Mario Bros. 3, only with the added twist of generating fireballs upon landing.
Despite his strengths, his size also resulted in him being unable to get up once he is forced onto his back, as evidenced by the ending for New Super Mario Bros. 2, where he ended up on his back as a result of the Koopa Clown Car crashing.
Sprites relating to his planned appearance in Super Princess Peach implied that he would have inflated himself like a balloon at some point during the battle, as well as spit objects out and charge at her.
