Cortez
Artwork fromPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
First appearance	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004)
Latest appearance	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) (2024)

“I'll turnyour mustache into a bone-polisher, amigo!”

—Cortez,Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Cortez is the holder of the fifthCrystal Star, theSapphire Star, inPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and itsNintendo Switchremake. He resides on theBlack Skull, a pirate-ship-like vessel, deep withinPirate's Grotto onKeelhaul Key. Cortez's name is presumably a reference toHernán Cortés, a Spanish conquistador most well-known for embarking upon an expedition that led to the downfall of the Aztec empire, as well ascortar, which is a Spanish word that means "to cut" (referencing Cortez's various weapons). "Cortez" itself is also a common Spanish-Portuguese surname.

Cortez uses Spanish words and phrases, which was expanded upon in the Nintendo Switch remake, where he does it more often than he did in the original game.

History[edit]

Background[edit]

As stated byWonky, Cortez often raided the ancient town located where Rogueport stands in the modern day around 1,000 years ago. According to Cortez himself, he robbed innocents of life and loot.

Eventually, he sailed of to Keelhaul Key with his crew shortly before his death. he hid his vast treasure hoard in his magical - and supposedly unstoppable - ship, the Black Skull, in Pirate's Grotto. According toGoombella, his ship was the first one to ever reach the deepest part of the cave system. In Pirate's Grotto, the pirates built a base, creating structures such as a sluice gate and bridges, and placingBill Blasters to keep out intruders.

As stated byGrifty, one day, the Stalwart Koopa came to Keelhaul Key to find a place to hide the Sapphire Star. Here he took a nap, during which Cortez would steal the Sapphire Star from him and thus turn him into ablack chest. The Sapphire Star was tossed into Cortez' vast treasure hoard, him not recognizing the gem's power or significance.

Eventually, Cortez would be betrayed by one of his crew members and theSkull Gem, which powers the Black Skull, would be stolen byFlavio's ancestor, causing his spirit to be stuck guarding his treasure on Keelhaul key. From this point onward, Keelhaul Key would be haunted by the spirits of Cortez and his pirate crew, sinking any ships that came near.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[edit]

Cortez tries to scareMario and hispartners away (in the same vein asTutankoopa inthe first game) when he thinks they are after his treasure; when his eerie messages fail, he drops the act in disgust and begins a battle. After his defeat, Cortez seemingly prepares to vanish, only to reveal that his state of undeath renders him effectively invincible. However, Mario is finally able to explain that he was not interested in Cortez's treasure, only in the Crystal Star. Somewhat bemused and asking why Mario "didn't just say so" in the first place, Cortez willingly hands over the artifact, offhandedly remarking that he never particularly cared for the Crystal Star anyhow.

When Four-Eyes revealed his true identity asLord Crump, Mario and Flavio return to Cortez, in order to request the use of his ship. Cortez was not particularly interested, spouting that he did not want the Black Skull to be used as a luxury liner. He also tells them that even if he wanted to lend them his ship, the ship is useless, as it will not operate, because of the loss of its power source, the Skull Gem. Flavio then reveals he has the gem, causing Cortez to be even more furious, and not wishing to help them even further. He eventually relents after Flavio reminded him that Mario defeated him once, and hints he will have Mario fight Cortez again for the ship. He also says that if Cortez does not help, he will throw the Skull Gem into the water where Cortez will never find it. Cortez relents, and proceeds to help Mario in battle against theX-Naut attack on Keelhaul Key. From then on, Cortez stays docked atRogueport, and would ferry Mario to Keelhaul Key and back whenever he wanted. Goombella's fieldtattle on Cortez is viewable after Mario returns to Rogueport from Keelhaul Key.

At the end of the gameGoombella saysBobbery, Cortez, and a few others went to sail the world.

In the Nintendo Switch remake, Cortez appears in the end credits alongside the other Chapter 5 characters, where he scares Flavio off the stage. He laughs with Bobbery at Flavio’s cowardice before he leaves in a tornado, taking Bobbery with him.

Super Mario-kun[edit]

Cortez inSuper Mario-kun

Cortez appears in volume 34 ofSuper Mario-kun, where he fights with Mario and his partners on their quest for the Crystal Stars. He is initially only able to speak in groans and exclamations. Before he deals what seems to be a finishing blow, Cortez carves a message in the stone wall behind them, thanking them for playing with him. Mario hears Cortez's voice as it is revealed that he was always lonely during his life as a pirate king, and he thanks the party before he seems to disappear as his soul is finally laid to rest. He reappears moments later as a gag. They take a commemorative photo before Cortez bids them farewell from Keelhaul Key. On the ship, Mario and the others realize in shock that many other creepy, undead spirits appear in their photo after its development.

Cortez reappears later in the same volume during a flashback whenBowser is telling the story of how he was chasing after Mario. After arriving at Keelhaul Key, Bowser makes his demands clear to Cortez, who engages Bowser in battle to protect his new friend. A punch sends Bowser flying, causing several objects stored in his shell to fall out, including a photograph of him and Mario fighting. Cortez picks up the photo, interpreting them as playing as he did with Mario earlier. He tells Bowser that Mario is headed toPoshley Sanctum. After the flashback, a panel shows Cortez apparently reading volumes ofSuper Mario-kun, stating that Mario and Bowser seem to be good friends.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons[edit]

Although Cortez does not physically appear, he is directly mentioned inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons by Captain Gullivarrr, who was added in the update released on July 3, 2020. One of his possible wake up quotes is "Arrr! Have at ye, Cortez! Three swords AND a hook? Let's make this a fair duel..."

Battle[edit]

Cortez in his basic form. TheSapphire Star is visible on the right.

First form[edit]

In battle, Cortez has three forms. His first form appears as a massive skeleton with four arms and no legs, his spine emerging from a spiky pile of bones on the ground. Cortez wields a different bladed weapon in each hand - a bronze sword, a cutlass, a rapier, and a rusty hook that can causepoison. Between his ensemble of weapons, Cortez can attack either one or both heroes every turn.

Second form[edit]

Once this first form is defeated, Cortez transforms into a serpentine state, trading his arms and weapons for an enlarged rib cage concealing a green gem. This form attacks with a headbutt, and cancharge before throwing a bone at either character, dealing great damage in the process. Attacking the pile of bones will cause Cortez to lower his upper half, and doing so twice will cause him to open his rib cage, exposing the green gem. This gem lacks Cortez's usual 1 defense, and additionally takes 1 more damage than usual from all attacks.

Third form[edit]

After his second form is defeated, Cortez abandons a body and returns to a simple floating head. Although he is limited to a simple bite attack, he compensates by animating his weapons from the first state, effectively giving Mario and his partner five opponents to worry about. The weapons have different properties to their attacks and are immune to frontal attacks due to their pointed tips. Using a moderately strong attack that strikes all opponents, such as aThunder Rage item andVivian'sFiery Jinx, can disable the weapons simultaneously. This effect is temporary, for they reanimate themselves after two turns.Flurrie'sGale Force, if successful (though it will not affect Cortez himself), can blow the weapons out of the stage permanently. If Cortez falls to 10 HP or less, he can absorb souls of theaudience to restore hisHP, similar toHooktail and theShadow Queen. The only difference is that Cortez can only absorb souls equal to half the current audience members, and the remainder will remain to support Mario; by contrast, theShadow Queen will absorb the entire audience, and Hooktail scares away the uneaten members. With good planning, it is possible to defeat Cortez with a swift assault before he gets a chance to absorb the souls of the audience.

Profiles and statistics[edit]

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[edit]

GameCube[edit]

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door enemy
Cortez
	Max HP	60 (has 20 HP per round)	Attack	4	Defense	1
	Location(s)	Pirate's Grotto	Role	Boss	Level	77
	Sleep?	40%	Dizzy?	50%	Confuse?	50%
	Tiny?	0%	Stop?	40%	Soft?	90%
	Burn?	100%	Freeze?	25%	Fright?	0%
	Gale Force?	0%	KO?	0%	Moves	'Stab (4; hits front character), Slash (4; hits rear character), Multi-Stab/Slash (2x4), Bone Throw (4), Headbutt (4), Charge (raises Atk. Power by 4), Bite (4), Recover (devours souls of audience)
	Exp. points	0	Coins	N/A	Items	None
Tattle Log #: 105	Log	A pirate spirit who stayed at Keelhaul Key to guard his treasure.
	Tattle	That's Cortez! He's the dreaded pirate spirit who haunts the island! Max HP is 20, Attack is 4, and Defense is 1. His HP may seem low, but he's a spirit, so even when his HP hits 0, he'll come back. Plus, he has tons of different attacks. He's as tough and scary as he looks. I'd say just keep damaging him, and sooner or later he'll go down for good! Let's give this tormented spirit some eternal rest!

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door enemy
Cortez's weapons
	Max HP	4	Attack	Hook: 2 Sabre: 2 Rapier: 3 Sword: 2	Defense	Hook: 1 Sabre: 0 Rapier: 0 Sword: 0
	Location(s)	Pirate's Grotto	Role	Support	Level	0
	Sleep?	0%	Dizzy?	95%	Confuse?	90%
	Tiny?	0%	Stop?	80%	Soft?	90%
	Burn?	100%	Freeze?	85%	Fright?	0%
	Gale Force?	90%	KO?	0%	Moves	Sword: Slash (2x2) Hook: Poke (2;Poison) Sabre: Slash (3) Rapier: Stab (2, hits both characters,Piercing)
	Exp. points	0	Coins	N/A	Items	None
Tattle Log #: 105	Log	N/A
	Tattle	N/A

Nintendo Switch[edit]

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door enemy
Cortez
	Max HP	60 (has 20 HP per round)	Attack	4	Defense	1
	Location(s)	Pirate's Grotto	Role	Boss	Level	77
	Sleep?	40%	Dizzy?	50%	Confuse?	50%
	Tiny?	0%	Stop?	40%	Soft?	90%
	Burn?	100%	Freeze?	25%	Fright?	0%
	Gale Force?	0%	KO?	0%	Moves	'Stab (4; hits front character), Slash (4; hits rear character), Multi-Stab/Slash (2x4), Bone Throw (4), Headbutt (4), Charge (raises Atk. Power by 4), Bite (4), Recover (devours souls of audience)
	Exp. points	0	Coins	100	Items	None
Tattle Log #: 109	Log	A pirate spirit who stayed in Keelhaul Key to guard his treasure.
	Tattle	That's Cortez! He's the dreaded pirate spirit who haunts the island! Max HP is 20, Attack is 4, and Defense is 1. His HP may seem low, but he's a spirit, so even when his HP hits 0, he'll come back. Plus, he has tons of different attacks. He's as tough and scary as he looks. I'd say just keep damaging him, and sooner or later he'll go down for good! Let's give this tormented spirit some eternal rest!

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door enemy
Cortez's weapons
	Max HP	4	Attack	Hook: 2 Sabre: 2 Rapier: 3 Sword: 2	Defense	Hook: 1 Sabre: 0 Rapier: 0 Sword: 0
	Location(s)	Pirate's Grotto	Role	Support	Level	0
	Sleep?	0%	Dizzy?	95%	Confuse?	90%
	Tiny?	0%	Stop?	80%	Soft?	90%
	Burn?	100%	Freeze?	85%	Fright?	0%
	Gale Force?	90%	KO?	0%	Moves	Sword: Slash (2x2) Hook: Poke (2;Poison) Sabre: Slash (3) Rapier: Stab (2, hits both characters,Piercing)
	Exp. points	0	Coins	N/A	Items	None
Tattle Log #: 109	Log	N/A
	Tattle	N/A

Field Tattle[edit]

• "That's Cortez, remember? The dread pirate ghost feared by all? Ring a bell? Boy, hard to imagine someone that scary would like us... But he's just a big sweetie! Plus, he's like our taxi service between Rogueport and Keelhaul Key! I love him!"

Gallery[edit]

• 

  First form

• 

  Second form

• 

  Third form

Names in other languages[edit]

Bone Pile

Cortez Hook

Cortez Rapier

Cortez Sword

Cortez Sabre

Notes[edit]

• Despite having only 20 HP, Cortez's recovery move will recover up to 100 HP, depending on how many audience members are present.
• If Cortez's Rapier misses the character in front (due to a Lucky), the character in the back will automatically perform aGuard.

• Pirates
• Skeletons
• Allies
• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door bosses
• Super Mario-kun characters

• Articles with unsourced foreign names