Dharkon
| Dharkon | |
|---|---|
 Official artwork of Dharkon inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.  | |
| A boss in | Ultimate |
| Universe | Super Smash Bros. |
| Gender | Unknown |
| Console of origin | Nintendo Switch |
| Location | The Dark Realm The Final Battle |
Dharkon (ダーズ,Darz) is one of the two main antagonists ofSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate'sAdventure Mode: World of Light. It is described as the "Embodiment of Chaos and Darkness" in the World of Light. Its goal, similar to that of its light counterpartGaleem, is to corrupt the universe in its own image.
InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
Role inWorld of Light[edit]
After Galeem's first defeat, Dharkon appears from a portal in the sky, commanding an army ofCrazy Hands. After the Crazy Hands briefly fight Galeem'sMaster Hands and win, Galeem proceeds to flee. Dharkon proceeds to take control of the remaining captive fighters and spirits and creates a world of darkness.
Dharkon is summoned following the defeat ofGanon,Marx, andDracula in the Dark Realm. Following Dharkon's first defeat, it proceeds to flee into the final world, with Galeem following soon after. In the final world, Galeem and Dharkon wage war against each other, but are also seeking to destroy the fighters.
If only Galeem is defeated during the Final Battle, Dharkon destroys Galeem's army, enchains and impales him, and engulfs both the fighters and the world in darkness. Mario also is shown collapsing, seemingly dead, resulting in one of two bad endings. Dharkon then stares at the screen as it fades to black.
If only Dharkon is defeated during the Final Battle, Galeem kills it before engulfing the fighters and the entire universe in a bright light once again.
If both Galeem and Dharkon are confronted in thefinal stage, following Master Hand and Crazy Hand being freed from control and conquering the battlefield, the pair continue to battle each other along with their puppet fighters and bosses before turning their attention to the fighters in a three-way battle. Once both Dharkon and Galeem are finally defeated, they fall into the sea and explode, freeing all the spirits from their control.
Moveset[edit]
Dharkon's eye is the only place it can be damaged. It can be stunned with sufficient damage, which drops its eye on the stage for several seconds. After its health falls below half, Dharkon's sclera color will shift to dark violet.
Note that many attacks' characteristics, such as a number of projectiles fired, vary depending on both Dharkon's health, the area it is being fought in, and the difficulty of World of Light. Also, certain attacks are never used in certain battles.
During the final battle with Galeem and Dharkon, both bosses will target both the player and each other, and are capable of dealing damage to each other; if one is stunned, the other will seize the opportunity to take a potshot. Regardless, only the player can deplete their HP to 0.
| Move | Damage | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Centipede (ムカデ) | One of Dharkon's tentacles snakes around the arena while coated in dark energy, attempting to damage the player, with its eye trailing behind it. It will use a longer tentacle at low health, making it harder to avoid. | |
| Torrent of Darkness (闇の奔流) | Dharkon covers two sides of the screen with wave-shaped lines of darkness that provide a small, ever-shifting gap of safety between them. The fighter will rapidly take damage upon touching the lines. This attack goes through shields. If Galeem is present, each will contribute one wave to the attack. If Galeem is stunned, only the bottom of the screen is covered. | |
| Pillar of Darkness (闇の柱) | Dharkon creates beams of darkness that erupt from the ground. The beams reach very far vertically, meaning the player could potentially beKO'd through the upperblast line by them if they aren't careful. This attack is never used during its first battle, however. | |
| Dark Fighter (闇のファイター) | Dharkon vanishes and its tentacles expand, producing two (three on Hard difficulty) darkfalse characters to support it, which eventually self-destruct after a period of time and can inflict damage when they do so. If Galeem's false characters are present, they will fight each other. | |
| Transdimensional Rush (異空間突進) | Dharkon sends its tentacles through a series of portals, dealing damage as the tentacles pass by at multiple angles. Its eye will hover in the middle of the stage. | |
| Pierce (突き刺す) | Dharkon uses three to five tentacles to attack the player one after another. Dharkon's eye is exposed when the last tentacle strikes. This attack is never used during the first fight with Dharkon. | |
| Gatling (ガトリング) | Dharkon shoots a barrage of small energy bullets from the top left corner of the screen. These do negligible damage from far away (shielding all of them while standing on the right of the stage is possible) but massive damage if the player tries to get close to Dharkon. If Dharkon has taken enough damage, it will end the barrage with a larger, more powerful blast. Neither type of projectile can be reflected, as these are actually disjointed hitboxes, similar toTabuu's Tabuu Shot. | |
| Tear Apart (引き裂く) | Dharkon performs a damaging slash that rips a large red line across the screen. The resulting line, which lingers for a while, will cause the player to be slowed while inside it. At low health (after the first fight), it creates two red lines in an "X" shape instead. | |
| Time Bomb: X-Type (時限爆弾Ｘ字タイプ) | Dharkon creates three to six small objects that explode in X-shaped beams of darkness likeX Bombs. These can be destroyed before their detonation to stop the attack. Dharkon is likely to create more in its second battle. | |
| If Galeem is stunned, Dharkon turns its tentacles into a hammer that crushes Galeem's core and deals significant damage. The player will also be damaged if they come too close, along with beingburied, remaining submerged longer if they sustained a fair amount of damage earlier. |
Spirit[edit]
Dharkon's spirit can be obtained after beating both Galeem and Dharkon in World of Light.
| No. | Image | Name | Type | Class | Slots | Base | Max | Base | Max | Base | Max | Ability | Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,106 |  | Dharkon |  | ★★★★ | 0 | 5456 | 13640 | 2480 | 6200 | 2480 | 6200 | Bane of Light | Super Smash Bros. Series |
Gallery[edit]
Dharkon invades with its army of Crazy Hands
Galeem and Dharkon waging war against each other with their armies of Master Hands and Crazy Hands
Galeem kills Dharkon
Dharkon corrupts the universe
Dharkon using Centipede.
Dharkon in the final world.
The final battle between the player, Galeem, and Dharkon
Dharkon defeated
Dharkon challengingSora.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese | ダーズ,Darz | From the wordダーク (Dark) |
 English | Dharkon | From "darken" and possibly "archon", demons who rule over darkness in the ancient religion of Manichaeism |
 French | Sumbra | From the wordSombre (Dark) |
 German | Dhars | Transliteration of Japanese name |
 Spanish | Lúgubra | From the wordLúgubre (Lugubrious) |
 Italian | Teneber | From the wordTenebre (Darkness) |
 Chinese | 达兹,Darz | Transliteration of Japanese name |
 Korean | 다즈,Darz | Transliteration of Japanese name |
 Dutch | Dharkon | — |
 Russian | Мурак | From the wordМрак, (Darkness) |
Trivia[edit]
- Dharkon's theme is mostly comprised of the fourth verse ofLifelight, the main theme ofSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.
- Dharkon's appearance of being an organic mass of tentacles resemblesAzathoth, a being featured in the Cthulhu mythos. Along with its single slitted eye, the boss could also be compared toMarvel Comics'Shuma-Gorath andYog-Sothoth from the Cthulhu mythos.
- Dharkon's color scheme also bears resemblance to theMalice fromThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
- TheRage Blaster weapon bears a striking resemblance to Dharkon's tentacles.
- Interestingly, Dharkon's eye always follows the fighter during its battle. This makes it the only boss in theSmash Bros. series with this distinction, as even its light-themed counterpart Galeem (apparently) does not track the player.
- Dharkon appears in theHero's reveal trailer, whereLink and the four incarnations of the Hero battle its puppet fighters.
- Dharkon and Galeem are the only two bosses not to appear in Classic Mode as bosses since they are the antagonists of World of Light.
