Lemmy Koopa (known as Hip Koopa in the cartoons) is one of the Koopalings, a clan of seven siblings[1] that act as leaders of the Koopa Troop under Bowser (originally considered his children). Lemmy is the smallest of the group, and is often associated with childish traits due to his stature and personality. He is well recognized for his multicolored mohawk, crossed-eyes, and the rubber ball he balances atop in most appearances; his special abilities also deal with bouncy balls. Lemmy is named after Lemmy Kilmister, the founder of the heavy metal band Motörhead.
Role in the series
Personality[]
Lemmy is depicted as an immature, fun-loving child, and is said to retain a childlike innocence about him.[11] Lemmy is also known as the "Clown Prince of Koopas", and would apparently prefer to join the circus rather than commit crimes and conquest.[12] He is already somewhat clownish in how he loves balancing on top of his rubber ball. His love for the circus is also mirrored in New Super Mario Bros. U, as the interior of his airship resembles the inside of a circus tent and in Paper Mario: Color Splash, where he first appeared as the ringleader of the Emerald Circus. His childish and clownish traits are also evident in Mario Kart 8, where some of his stunts have him performing a hand stand on the handle of his bike or ATV, or jumping out of his kart and flailing his arms in excitement. When losing the race, he is seen crying while kicking his feet in frustration. He seems to have a passion for the cold and ice as he was the ruler of Ice Land, as well as guardian of World 3 of New Super Mario Bros. Wii. He tends to rely on tricks and gadgets rather than his own prowess, such as his helicopter pack from Hotel Mario. As of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, he is shown to have a squeaky, high-pitched voice. In the original Super Mario Bros. 3 manual, Lemmy also spoke in a manner similar to that of a young child. In an interview with Dayvv Brooks, it was revealed that Lemmy was named after Lemmy Kilmister because he struck me as being the kind of character who would do his own thing, no matter what anyone else thought. I think it was those crazy eyes..[13]
In Super Mario-Kun, Lemmy is silly and childish, just like in the games. However, unlike the games were he is loyal to Bowser, Lemmy willingly betrayed him in volume 44, due to the fact that he and Mario ended up becoming friends at the end of volume 41. The Koopaling even went as far as telling Mario the secret to Bowser's defeat and supplying the group with Fire Flowers. Though it seemed like Lemmy forgot about the friendship in volume 47 (with him happily greeting Mario before throwing a barrage of bombs at the beginning of the chapter), Lemmy assured Mario in the end that he had not forgetten the events from last time and they remained on good terms with each other.
In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, Hip is more mischievous than truly evil on most occasions, and preferred to simply play pranks instead of cause havoc; though several episodes, such as "Life's Ruff", showed him capable of causing real chaos.
In the Nintendo Comics System, Lemmy was somewhat childish and unintelligent, and seemed more keen on simply helping his father and trying to gain his appreciation then actually causing evil. The unintelligent aspect of his character in the Nintendo Comics System was such that when Bowser read the Koopalings the riot act in Bowser Knows Best for their letting Peach escape due to the latter tricking them, Bowser specifically exempted Lemmy from blame specifically because Bowser knew Lemmy was "a blithering idiot." Like Mario and several of Bowser's minions, Lemmy also had an obsession with the plumbing based hero Dirk Drain-Head and could somehow understand Larry's picture-only dialogue, while no one else could at all. In Nintendo Adventure Books, a continuation of Nintendo Comics System, Lemmy was portrayed as somewhat crazed in demeanor and much more menacing on some occasions.
In the Super Mario Adventures comics, Lemmy's personality was, more or less, identical to those of the other Koopalings, with no real differentiating quirks or attributes.
In the computer version of Mario is Missing!, the unused voices of Lemmy depicted him as being sarcastic, as he "pretends" to make Luigi join them.