King Dedede (Smash Bros.)

King Dedede is the self-proclaimed King of Dream Land and on and off ally and enemy to Kirby. Though he calls himself a king, it's unknown how much power Dedede actually holds though he does possess a few castles and an army of loyal Waddle Dees. While hugely arrogant and greedy, Dedede's motives are often unclear and has fought on both the side of good and evil in his many appearances.

King Dedede first appearance in Smash Bros. was in Brawl and he is a heavyweight character, meaning he hits hard and soaks up damage. Like other heavyweights he has a slow movement and attack speed but unusually for his type he also has an excellent recovery owing to his four midair jumps.

Battle vs Bowser (Smash Bros.) (by Wassboss )
Bowser sits in the throne room of his palace, his fingers of his right hand drumming on the armrests, his face contorted in anger. The various Koopa Guards are nervous, they've heard of the attempted invasion and they know to fear the fiery temper of their master. They have heard of this 'King of Dreamland' and the army he has brought into the kingdom, hoping to expand his own territory and power and they know that somewhere right now there is a battle raging on. Bowser keeps his eyes fixed on the door, waiting for any response but so far nobody has come back to report on the details of the battle, he knows nothing of the situation. Only his pride keeps him at the palace, not wanting to make this invader think he is considered a real threat. The doors open suddenly and a large man enters, his entire body covered by a large cloak, bearing the emblem of the Koopa army. He walks towards the throne and Bowser nods to his guards, who make their way forward to intercept.

"Who are you" he says with a growl and the figure doesn't respond but his pace increases and the Koopa guards surround him, hammers ready. One of them tugs at his robe and as he does he is struck hard across the face and goes sprawling. The others leap into action, tossing their hammers and launching themselves at the figure. This seems to have no effect on the man but he draws something from his cloak and swings it in a arc, knocking all the guards back, who instinctively retreat into their shells. Bowser raises to his feet and lets out a bellowing roar, causing the figure to stop in his tracks, his weapons till drawn. The Koopa King eyes the weapon and recognises it immediately; A Hammer. He chuckles menacingly and leaps down the small flight of stairs that lead to his throne, landing with a earth shuddering thud. The man puts his gloved hand on his cloak and tears it off, revealing his identity; King Dedede.

"I guess I should have suspected something like this," the King of Dreamland says "I figured you wouldn't come to meet me on the battlefield"

"Why would I waste my time on some pathetic usurper with his weak army" Bowser responds.

"I thought you were just a coward" Dedede replies and Bowser's anger spikes and he clenches his fist angrily.

"I'll show you whose a coward" he snarls and lunges forward with a drop kick, forcing Dedede to take a step back. He twirls his hammer in his hands and swings it, smacking Bowser on the side of the nose and making him stumble backwards. He follows up with several light swings but Bowser manages to block them with his arms and reaches out, grabbing Dedede by his coat and swinging him around, tossing into one of the pillars in his castle. He advances on his dazed opponent and picks him up, slamming him against the wall repeatedly before performing a flying slam. Dedede struggles to regain his composure after the vicious attack and leaps into the air to out some distance between the two of them, landing with a crack on the ground a few feet away. He takes out a Gordo and tosses it Bowser as he charges towards him and he doesn't have time to move out of the way and the spiked ball hits him full on, making him flinch.

Dedede takes advantage of this gather himself and ready his hammer for the next attack, ducking under a swipe and poking the hammer forward to jab Bowser in the jaw. He follows up the attack with several swinging arcs which pummel the Koopa King across the jaw, putting him on the back foot, focusing all his efforts and blocking or avoiding the blows from the hammer. A particularly accurate blow to the crown of his skull smacks his head into the floor and his eyes blaze with pure hatred as he sprays out a burst of flames, forcing Dedede out of the range of his mallet. He wastes no times in making the most of the opportunity and jumps into the air and swings his leg out to strike the Penguin King in the face. He is knocked to the floor and raises his hammer just in time to block a punch. Bowser grabs hold of the handle of the weapon and tries to wrench it out of Dedede's hand but he keeps a strong hold. He tries to keep hold of his hammer as he is dragged along the floor but in the end Bowser is just too strong for him and the hammer is tossed aside, leaving Dedede without his signature weapon. Bowser turns back to his opponent with a sadistic grin and Dedede licks his mouth nervously, his mind racing for options. "I'm going to have to take the initiative here" he thinks and takes a step forward, surprising the Koopa and slams his head into the Bowser's, making him grab hold of his head in pain. He then begins to inhale in his opponent, sucking him in and turning away from his Hammer, spitting him out into the steps leading to the throne. He then dashes over to the hammer and picks it up, turning just in time to see the rainbow glow of a smash ball.

Bowser pulls himself out of the indentation he has made in the step and throws himself forward at his opponent with a drop kick, spotting the smash ball as he leaps through the air. The kick makes a solid connection and slams Dedede back, giving Bowser the opportunity to go after the smash ball. His initial attack misses but a second swipe of his claws smacks the smash ball against a pillar, sending it bouncing away towards Dedede who has recovered from the drop kick. They both run towards the item, both of them reaching it at the same time. King Dedede throws himself forward in a body slam, crashing into both Bowser and the smash ball simultaneously. Bowser crashes into the floor but the smash ball surprisingly doesn't break, instead floating away further into the hall. King Dedede waddles off after it, cracking the downed Bowser over the head with his hammer as he goes past. Bowser's rage finally takes over his rational thought and he jumps to his feet, his eyes blazing and his teeth bared and runs forward, running on all fours in a primal charge. He gets within a few feet of Dedede and the smash ball before leaping into the air, soaring over the King of Dreamland and positioning himself over the floating sphere. He then performs a Bowser Bomb to smash through the fragile ball, narrowly missing Dedede as he lands with a crash. He lets out a bellowing roar as his transformation takes place, his size growing and his contorting his features as he turns into Giga Bowser.

His eyes lock onto the seemingly tiny Dedede and he roars again launching himself forward with a headbutt and sending him flying through the air and smashing into the castle wall, leaving behind a huge crack. Giga Bowser advances and scoops him up as he tries to scramble away, slamming him repeatedly into the wall with a sickening crack each time. He eventually punches him through the wall completely, the power making him drop Dedede on the other side. In his rage he throws himself at the wall to get to his opponent, completely destroying the wall. Dedede is barely conscious as he is lifted into the air and thrown with great force into the ground, leaving him lying a hole. Bowser feels the power begin to ebb out of him as he turns back into Bowser, the last of his rage dissipating with it. He looks down at his unconscious opponent, chuckling at the brutality of his attack. He snaps his fingers and a group of Koopa's rush forward, having fled from the throne room once the fighting started.

"I want you to get to work on fixing this wall " he orders and begins to walk back to the castle "and take this  'King' down to the dungeon," pointing back at Dedede. His underlings get straight to work, getting out their hammers to dig down to extract their prisoner. Bowser walks through his ruined west wall and towards his throne where a Hammer Bros waits, bowing as his master approaches.

"Do you want to send a messenger to the where the battle is happening, the King of Dreamland's army should surrender now that their leader has been captured" he says as Bowser seats himself at the throne.

"Yes" he replies "but first you must send some troops to check up on my son, he should have completed his mission by now." The Hammer Bros nods his head and walks away as his King drums his fingers on the armrest of his throne, ignoring the sounds of rebuilding behind him.

Winner: Bowser

Expert's Opinion
Both of these fighters were immensely powerful and as he was the stronger of the two, Bowser managed to come out on top in the battle as he could soak up more damage as well as dealing more out. King Dedede had the range advantage with his hammer as well as the quicker attacks but the voters felt this wouldn't be able to keep Bowser at bay long enough to land the finishing blow.

To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here.