Bullet Bill

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A bullet-bill as seen on New Super Mario Bros..

Bullet Bill (called Killer in Japan) is an enemy character from the Mario video game series. It is a huge, slow-moving bullet that is fired from a cannon. Bullet Bill first appeared in Super Mario Bros. The only way it could be destroyed was by jumping onto it or running into it after obtaining the star power up. Using fireballs has no effect on it and there is no way to destroy the cannon that it is fired from. Generically, "Bullet Bills," are used to refer to the plural. Bullet Bills generally have beady eyes and a fierce scowl painted on them, a clear reference to the shark-faced Flying Tigers of World War II. In most games, Bullet Bills are depicted with arms instead of a mouth, and sometimes they are depicted with both. As of New Super Mario Bros., only arms are exclusive to Bullet Bills, while mouths are only used for Banzai Bills.

[edit] Game appearances

Super Mario Bros.: Bullet Bill first appears in World 5-1. It is usually discharged from a large cannon, known simply as a Bullet Bill Blaster (or, rarely, a Bullet Bill Dispenser). On occasion, Bullet Bills will be shot from random locations somewhere offscreen.

Super Mario Bros. 2: Bullet Bills did not appear in the American version of Super Mario Bros. 2 by name, but there are similar missile creatures that are shot from Autobombs, which are ridden by Shy Guys. However, Bullet Bills were abundant in the Japanese game that was later released in the U.S. as Super Mario Brothers: The Lost Levels.

Super Mario Bros. 3: Bullet Bills did not appear as much in Super Mario Bros. 3 as they did in previous games, mainly appearing in later worlds and on the bosses airships. A new type of Bullet Bill appeared in this game, the red Missile Bill, that follows Mario rather than flying in a straight line.

Super Mario Land: Starting in the third world, Bullet Bills appeared and acted in the typical manner, although the manual calls them "Gira" (which is probably a corruption of kiraa, its Japanese name).

Banzai Bill from Super Mario World

Super Mario World: This game features the first appearance of Torpedo Ted (Torpedo in Japan), which is a Bullet Bill that is launched underwater. Banzai Bill (Magnum Killer in Japan) also makes its first appearance, which is a larger version of a Bullet Bill. The Pidgit Bill replaces Bullet Bill once the Special World is completed.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: This game introduces a yellow Bouncing Bullet Bill that bounces and ricochets off walls after being fired. In the Game Boy Advance incarnation there are red Bullet Bills with gnashing fangs that home in on Yoshi.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars: In this game, Bullet Bills are fired by cannons or Snifits as an attack.

Super Mario 64: Bullet Bill was only found in one location in the level Whomp's Fortress. In the levels after the player defeats the big Whomp, a Bill Blaster will appear at the top of the fortress. The Bullet Bills shot out would home in on Mario. Bullet Bill can be defeated in the DS remake, but only by Mario (or any other character) eating a mushroom, becoming bigger and invincible , and able to kill him by running into him.

Paper Mario: Gold Bullet Bills known as Bombshell Bills are introduced in Paper Mario, and appeared again in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door they also have upgraded cannons of the same colour being gold called B. Bill Blasters.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: The Bullet Blaster, which is the shape of a Bullet Bill, is Bowser Jr.'s Kart.

Monty Mole with a Bullet Bill and Bob-omb from Super Mario Sunshine

Super Mario Sunshine: This game contained a Monty Mole that manned a cannon, firing Bullet Bills at Mario. These Bullet Bills are purple, with a red nosecone. They homed in on Mario and exploded after a short time. They could be destroyed with a burst of water from FLUDD. Rarely, Monty Mole would fire a golden Bullet Bill, which when destroyed, would yield extra coins. Bullet Bills were also fired by Mecha Bowser, one of the bosses at Pinna Park. Finally, in the final battle against Bowser and Bowser Jr., Bowser Jr. would fire regular black Bullet Bills and the occasional blue Bullet Bills, which when jumped on, gave Mario a 1-Up Mushroom or a water bottle.

Super Smash Bros. Melee In the Peach's Castle stage, Banzai Bill would randomly shoot at the castle tower with a timer. It would explode, hurting players in a large radius. Bullet Bills were also present in the background of the Yoshi's Island stage but did not affect players within the match. There is also a Banzai Bill trophy which is found randomly within the game.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga: Bullet Bills and Bill Blasters returned as enemies at Stardust Field. The game also featued Sniper Bill, a large Bullet Bill that uses a Super Scope as a weapon. It is found in Bowser's Castle.

Mario Kart DS: Bullet Bills appear as items in this game, and would transform drivers into a large Bullet Bill, careening drivers through the course and into other characters for 4 to 7 seconds, but can only be obtained when the player is in 6th, 7th, or 8th position. They are also obstacles on the Airship Fortress level.

New Super Mario Bros.: Bullet Bills appear in some stages in this game as enemies. Banzai Bills also appear, slowly spinning as they are shot out of huge cannons.

Super Mario Galaxy: Bullet Bills (Although with red eyes) appeared in the demo playable at the E3 2006 Demo.

[edit] Cameo and other media appearances

Bullet Bill has not appeared in many spinoffs, other than occasionally as an enemy in a Mario Party minigame, or in the form of a baseball bat in early screenshots for Mario Superstar Baseball (note that Bowser's Power Shot is also a Bullet Bill). He also appeared in Mario Power Tennis in a mini-game, fired by a giant Bowser robot. There is a Bullet Bill shaped hole in the Nintendo 64 version of Mario Golf.

Bullet Bills sometime appear in some Super Mario cartoon episodes, and a Banzai Bill in the background of a Wii tech demo. Bullet-bills are related to Bob-ombs. Bullet Bill also can be seen on the shirt of Fyer, (From Twilight Princess) the man who operates the cannon in Lake Hylia.

In Super Mario Bros. (film), the cartridges used to operate the "Thwomp Stomper" jumping boots are made to resemble Bullet Bills. In addition, one of the more prominent signs in the city of Dinohattan is for an establishment known as "Bullet Bill's."