Fighter

“	The Fighter ability is no joke, with tons of techniques to bring down the biggest baddies! Keep an eye out for opponents to knock out as you fight your way to the top!”
	— Fighter's Flavor Text • Kirby: Triple Deluxe

Fighter is one of Kirby's Copy abilities, first appearing in Kirby Super Star.

General Information

Fighter is certainly one of Kirby's most versatile abilities and he can execute many different attacks with it.

Fighter Kirby gains the abilities of a martial artist and boxer, along with being able to fire energy blasts like standard chi/aura fighters, and shows it all off while topped with a red headband. He gains this ability by inhaling enemies with a knack for fighting.

The red headband used by Fighter Kirby is near identical to the one Kirby used for the Backdrop ability in Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land. Embellishments were added to fighter's headband in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, where it obtained a subtle pink banding along the sides and a frontal yellow star.

Move Set

Move	Controls	Description	Element	Damage
Vulcan Jab	B/Y	Kirby fires many weak, fast punch waves. In Kirby: Squeak Squad and Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, an upperkick and a falling chop are thrown by pressing B consecutively.	None	10 (1st hit early), 5 (1st hit late)
Nonstop Vulcan Jab	B/Y/1 (repeatedly)	Kirby fires many weak, fast punch waves. No attack cooldown.	None	4 per hit
Smash Punch	B/Y/1 (Held)	Kirby throws a powerful punch wave. It is a one-hit KO on regular enemies.	None	20
Force Blast	Down + Button 1 (Held)	A variation of Smash Punch. Kirby can charge the blast up to three levels (Force Blast, Mega Force Blast, and Giga Force Blast). Kirby can also perform the Instant Mega Force Blast by pressing down, forward, and holding the attack button.	None/Fire	24 (regular), 36 (mega/instant mega), 42 (giga)
Leg Sweep	Dash + B/Y/1	Kirby slides along the ground, damaging enemies with his extended foot. Low damage, but quick. Kirby is invulnerable during the attack.	None	6 (1st hit), 5 (2nd, 3rd, 4th hits)
Spin Kick	Dash + B/Y/1 (Held)	Kirby gives a running kick to anything in his path. He is invulnerable during the attack. Kirby performs a whirlwind kick. He is invulnerable during the attack.	None	20 (1st hit early), 18 (1st hit late), 15 (2nd, 3rd hits)
Somersault Kick	Dash + B/Y	Kirby performs a running somersault kick to anything in his path.	None	-
Down Kick	B/Y/1 or ↓ + B (Midair)	Kirby performs a drop kick in midair, damaging enemies below him. A simple attack in midair with no special momentum, but Kirby can bounce off of certain targets. Same as before, but now Kirby dives downward with stars trailing him.	None	18
Sky Kick	Down + B/Y/1 (Midair)	Same as Down Kick, but Kirby drops down to the ground at a quick pace.	None	18
Moon Somersault Kick	Button 1 (Midair, Near Enemy)	Kirby performs a Somersault Kick in midair, damaging enemies. This kick renders him invincible for the duration of the move and leaves behind a crescent shaped flash.	None	16
Double Kick	B/Y/1 (Midair, Held)	As Kirby falls he preforms a kick and then he fires off a second kick, complete with an energy wave.	None	26 (foot), 18 (projectile)
Rising Break	↑ + B/Y/1 (held)	Kirby leaps up doing a large uppercut. Hits enemies multiple times. Kirby is invulnerable during the attack.	None	16 (1st hit), 8 (2nd, 3rd hits), 14 (4th hit)
Foe Grab	B/Y/1 (Near Enemy)	Kirby grabs a nearby enemy. Prerequisite move before Arm Throw or Juudou Throw.	None	36 (held object)
Arm Throw	B/Y/1 (Near Enemy)	Kirby grabs an enemy, stars, & mid-bosses (when defeated) and tosses them forward (or punches them), often into other enemies or mid-bosses. He is invulnerable as long as the enemy is being held. This move is derived from Throw.	None	46
Juudou Throw	B/Y/1 + Back (Near Enemy)	Kirby grabs an enemy, stars, & mid-bosses (when defeated) and throws them behind him, sometimes damaging other enemies & mid-bosses. He is invulnerable as long as the enemy is being held. This move is derived from Throw.	None	52
Aerial Spin Kick	→ + B or B in midair	Kirby performs a whirlwind kick forward a small distance. In midair, he performs it stationary.	None	-
Energy Blast	B (Held)	Kirby shoots an energy blast that requires less time to charge as his health depletes. The lower Kirby's health, the more powerful the blast. Kirby instantly fires the blast at max power if his health is dangerously low. The Copy Scroll makes the move achieve maximum power without being at low health.	None	-
Air Drop	←/↑/→ + B	Kirby takes the enemy or defeated mid-boss high up into the air, and then slams it into the ground. This move comes from Ninja and works exactly the same.	None	-

In the Super Smash Bros. series

Some of Fighter's attacks are used as part of Kirby's regular attacks, in particular the Vulcan Jab, Leg Sweep and Spin Kick. Fighter is one of the three Copy Abilities featured as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the others being Fire and Ball. Fighter also appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Kirby: Right Back At Ya!

The Fighter ability in Kirby: Right Back at Ya! is most similar to the version in Super Star. The look of it is the same, with a simple red headband. Kirby uses all of the same attacks as the Super Star version at some point in the series.

He most often gets the ability in episodes featuring Knuckle Joe, from inhaling one of his attacks. Fighter is one of his strongest abilities, used against powerful monsters like Masher, with the strongest attack being the Rising Break.

Fighter Kirby's abilities are best displayed in episode 53, where he participates in a battle royale against the Martial Arts All-Stars.

In the transformation sequence, a band of light forms into the headband. It comically comes off his head, but he catches it and puts it on. He then makes energy pulses with his hands and does a little spin.

Transformation Sequence

Fighter transformation
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Appearances

Fighter, along with Bomb, is the third most frequently used copy ability in the Anime, with six appearances in total. The only time he spin kicks without Knuckle Joe is during the battle with Teacher Creature.

Kirby GCN

Fighter is seen in a screenshot for this game. He looks similar to his previous appearances. In the screenshot, it is shown that he is able to use the Vulcan Jab move, but it is unknown what other moves that he can do.

Flavor Texts

Game	Flavor text
	Copy the abilities of Fighter and assume the role of a mighty karate expert. Increase your power with practice!
	(→ + B) (→ → + B) (B (Charge)) (↑ + B)
	Go for it! CHAMPION
	Hi-yaa! Hold the B Button longer for a stronger blow! That punch is an instant KO!
	I'm a brawling Copy Ability! How long you hold 1 determines how strong or weak my attacks are! And I have a ton of them!
	The Fighter ability is no joke, with tons of techniques to bring down the biggest baddies! Keep an eye out for opponents to knock out as you fight your way to the top!

Related Quotes

“	Kirby dons a warrior's headband and becomes a fierce fighter when he swallows an enemy skilled at physical attacks. Fighter Kirby uses many colorful punching and kicking moves as he overpowers his enemies with his sparring skills. The Vulcan Jab is just one of the many techniques Kirby can use thanks to his copying power.”
	— Trophy description • Super Smash Bros. Melee

“	Kirby when he is skilled in martial arts, especially close-quarters combat. Inhaling brawny challengers like Knuckle Joe will transform Kirby, allowing him to use a bunch of fight moves like Rising Break, the heroic uppercut. His Mega Power Shot in Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, which used charged energy to take out faraway enemies, is another Fighter Kirby highlight.”
	— Trophy description • Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Trivia

The red headband Kirby wears for this ability is said to be a homage to the Street Fighter character, Ryu, though it has been neither confirmed nor denied. Some say an even bigger reference to the series is that Fighter Kirby can fire energy blasts or "Hadouken." This also bears resemblance to a "Kamehameha" attack from the Dragon Ball series. In addition, his Rising Break bears distinct similarities to Ken's "Shoryuken" attack and his Aerial Spin Kick resembles the Tatsumaki Senpukyaku or "Hurricane Kick." Kirby's Spin Kick is also exactly like Guile's Flash Kick. These pyshical attacks also bear reference to Dragon Ball Z as they use both melee and energy blasts. The idea that the Fighter ability is a homage to the Street Fighter (or Dragon Ball Z) series is further evidenced by the fact that to do an attack, the Instant Mega Blast in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, involves the same button input as the Hadouken.
- The Non Stop Vulcan Jab could also be based off the Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken technique (Hundred Crack Fist) from the anime Hokuto No Ken (Fist of the North Star in the west). Kirby is able to perform many punches per second, similar to how Kenshiro does in the anime.
With the exception of Kirby: Triple Deluxe, when Red Kirby obtains the Fighter ability, he gains a white headband instead of the trademark red.
The Energy Blast attack for Kirby's Fighter Ability is a similar condition to the Aura Sphere attack of Lucario, a well-known Pokémon character playable in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

KNiD Boxart — Boxart for *Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land*

The artwork of Fighter Kirby in the anime can be seen on the front of the US and European box art of Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, despite Fighter not being in the game, though it could be Backdrop given the very similar headband, and that the headband itself also doesn't have the cut fraction seen in Fighter's anime artwork.
In Kirby: Squeak Squad, Fighter Kirby hops in place while putting his arms up, in a similar fashion to a street fighter.
The yellow star on the headband was first included in Kirby's Return to Dream Land only.
Fighter Kirby's flavor text in Kirby's Return to Dream Land appears to be Kirby talking, as the text speaks in first-person, similar to most flavor texts for the UFO ability.
This is one of the only four abilities in Kirby: Triple Deluxe that can break ice blocks. The others are Fire, Hammer, and Circus.
In Kirby Fighters Deluxe, Fighter's alternate costume is Knuckle Joe's headband.