The Interactions of Marx & Magolor
Some think I'm out of my mind thinking Magolor's castle (or “Magolor Land”) bears a resemblance to Marx, and even more crazy to think it will lead to an appearance by him in the remake.
...And maybe they’re right!
But I would just like to see these two who have been hinted at knowing each other for nearly TWELVE YEARS to finally interact on screen together. Canonically. (Not counting Star Allies. Great as it is.)
So, with that in mind, let’s take a look back at all the times Marx and Magolor have canonically (or canon-adjacent) been hinted at knowing each other or otherwise been seen together!
1) Magolor’s “somebody” in the "Return to Dream Land" script
<Screenshot from JO ThumbsUpMaster>
Full Text of the conversation from Wikirby:
(Bold text mine)
"By the way, I knew about you long before our fateful meeting."
"Kirby, the happy-go-lucky hero with the bottomless stomach."
"I even know somebody who knows you quite well!"
"Even on this world, you're incredibly popular!"
"There may even be some folks here who have fought with you before."
"If everybody would just get along, it would make things so much easier."
"Nothing good comes of fighting. Let's always stay friends, Kirby!"
<Bonus> My translation of those same lines:
"...The truth is, I already knew about you. The carefree and gluttonous hero, Kirby of the Stars, living on distant Popstar! Why, among my associates, there's someone who knows you all too well. That's just how popular you are; even on my planet. Heh heh heh!
And one of them seems to have fought with you but really, how dumb can you get? If we all became friends, everyone could be happy. That's why fighting's just no good. I hope you'll continue to stay my friend, Kirby!"
...I’m kind of sorry we lost out on hearing Magolor slyly call Marx an idiot behind his back in English! Maybe they’ll add it back in DX?
2) Marx shows up in RtDL’s Kirby Master cutscene
<Screenshot from flipswitch3111>
The rest of the audience is made up of duplicates of characters already in the game. Only Marx was included without having any other visual appearance in RtDL. Aka, he’s a new resource - for a half-second back shot in a 5 second movie. Now, he had a 3D model for the Super Star Ultra cutscenes, but that was years ago, and this still would have required porting him over.
There must be a meaning to all that effort...
3) They have a rare gold Rock transformation in Kirby Triple Deluxe
<Picture taken from Kirbypedia>
The game immediately after we learn they may have known each other, they appear together on a statue? Once again, this requires either making a new model for Marx, or carrying over his SSU model.
This rock transformation is used AGAIN in Planet Robobot, seemingly emphasizing that the two of them are linked in SOME way. The only difference is that the two of them have been downgraded to common granite...
I guess the gold foil wore off? Tee hee...
4) Marx appears again in TDX's Kirby Master scene. Only this time, he’s sitting next to Magolor! (And Galacta Knight, curiously enough.)
While getting the “somebody” line requires playing RtDL extensively, it really does seem that HAL were more open to the idea to revealing that the two had some connection by this point, thus, letting them sit together.
<Screenshot from Meteorz>
4) Magolor slips up, in talking about Kirby in a way he only could have known from talking to Marx in the text of “The Starcutter and the Lying Wizard” (an official novel adapting RtDL’s plot.)
The novel adaptation drops the “I know someone who knows you” scene, but it includes at least one line from Magolor hinting at the same idea...
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Now, the English text above is from my translation of the novel, but you can read my explanation of said translation and why I think it still supports Marx being the one here - if you’re concerned I’m biased. (I won’t deny the possibility exists, but it doesn’t completely invalidate the idea either.)
5) Official makers of Kirby Merch, Ensky, has the two of them talking!
Back in 2017, Kirby_Ensky ran a popularity contest, the goal of which was to decide which characters should get more merch. (Waddle Dee won, btw.)
Now, each candidate got a little shoutout tweet of their own. And Magolor's made special mention of Marx! (No other characters got this kind of call out btw.) The highlighted text says:
"He was seen talking with Marx in the waiting room. Are they up to some trouble again...?"
The use of “again” suggests they have a history of working together.
6) The official Kirby twitter portrayed them together multiple times!
Often, they’re planning mischief. In fact, three of the pictures create a little mini-story (stretching across several years!) where Marx and Magolor plot to play a trick on Kirby by telling the puff that circling those mysterious objects you see all over Popstar 25 times will turn them into chocolate.
They grin, seeing Kirby fell for it completely, with the puff eventually exhausting themselves (and all of Channel Dream Land) out with all that walking.
However, when the duo try again, this time telling everyone that the star blocks you see everywhere are actually made of cake, they're caught in the act and forced to make a huge pile of star block cakes for their lie.
7) Re-ment’s Kirby-themed Hanafuda cards.
Each card has a Kirby character or reference to something in Kirby on it. Marx and Magolor each have their own card and are part of the same "suit." What this means is they can be grouped together to create a match.
Not every familiar pairing is grouped together via suit like this, but it’s certainly interesting that they were. Especially as their art appears to almost fit together.
<Picture mine>
8) Re-Ment’s "Garden of the Stars: Afternoon Tea"
Re-ment is better known for their figures, and they released a sweet set that has Kirby in a little hat and Waddle Dee with a frilly headband enjoying tea and sweets in the garden of the stars! It even comes with a signboard that has Kirby and Waddle Dee welcoming guests to the party.
HOWEVER, the sign board actually has a secret reverse side which Re-ment later revealed on Twitter, featuring Marx and Magolor instead! It almost seems to suggest the two have teamed up once more and are planning some kind of prank to disrupt Kirby and Waddle Dee’s peaceful tea party!
9) The 30th Anniversary Music Fest
For the 30th Anniversary Music Fest, Marx and Magolor are paired together in both the merch (sharing a keychain design) AND the initial promo video. The promo video is interesting, because the only other characters to be introduced “in a set” like they are is the otherwise indistinct Waddle Dee trio.
They also play similar instruments: guitar and bass.
10) The Marx costume and Magolor costume interact in a humorous way in this Super Kirby Clash video!
This particular video was posted on the official Twitter to advertise Marx’s equipment, a late game unlock. In the end of the clip, "Marx" is seen playing a trick on "Magolor," causing him to get squashed flat by the Blocky.
Here’s my translation of Magolor’s commentary on said tweet!
"If you could wish on the milky way, what would you wish for? I'd wish for galactic conque....err, I mean, for my shoppe to thrive!
This equipment comes from a guy who tried to make a certain planet his own. It's incredibly powerful, but it'll make you want to play tricks on people! Hey, stop giving your friend trouble!"
...Similar to calling Marx an idiot early, he uses a rather dismissive form of address to refer to him here. He’s probably still upset about being smooshed. (Interesting too that said “friend” could very well be Magolor speaking on behalf of the Magolor-costumed Kirby. Aka, treating them as “friends.”)
11) Magolor's "Marx" outfit is "lovingly dedicated" to Marx.
Okay, okay. This sudden seeming evidence of a deeper relationship between Marx and Magolor coming out of nowhere in Super Kirby Clash isn’t exactly what it says in the original. (Gotta say, for whatever reason the original line turned out this way, I unabashedly love this version of it!)
Though I'd like to take this time to point out that there IS an interesting theory with decent evidence (in JP) that Shopkeeper Magolor in Super Kirby Clash is apparently Magolor from the main dimension, transported to the Dream Kingdom by some strange means...!
EDIT: Theory was apparently confirmed true in an issue of Nintendo Dream.
<Screenshot from まるピンクの��ービィ解説>
He's the only character to refer to Clash's Kirby as "Kirby of the Stars" - OUR Kirby’s nickname - and he makes a reference to his original villain speech, a reference no one but him could possibly get in this alternate fantasy world. (As you can see in the above tweet, Shopkeeper Magolor teasily mentions his ultimate goal in RtDL something that doesn’t mesh with his friendly, unassuming “shopkeeper” role in SKC.)
Meanwhile, Marx doesn't make an appearance anywhere in Dream Kingdom, meaning the costume and the jester's exploits the costume speaks of may be Magolor bringing information about Marx from the main timeline into the Dream Kingdom-verse.
So... Magolor knows Marx’s story AND what he wished for.
12) This official clip promoting Dream Buffet shows them interacting
Yet again, the two appear together in an official promo video. I heard it suggested this one could be "revenge" for the Super Kirby Clash clip, as it’s “Magolor’s” turn to interrupt “Marx” feasting on strawberries. This seems to imply that when they can't find other characters to troll, the two troll each other!
13) Lastly, the towers of Castle Magolor/MagoLand resemble Marx’s Wings
I initially thought that more of the castle’s design could be a reference to Marx, such as the shapes on the tower body resembling those on his hat, but as higher res pictures of the boxart have come out, that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. (There is a blue and red spot near the entrance that has a sun symbol on it. No telling if there’s another tower with a moon symbol...)
But we can see the colorful tiles much more clearly, and they and the flags do bear the same rainbow pattern as Marx’s wings are shown to have in his official art, a pattern that Magolor otherwise has no relation to.
Will this coincidence lead to anything? ...I guess we’ll find out!
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Phew! I do believe that's most all of it! You could also compare their attacks, which have some similarities, although that doesn’t say anything about them having met. Now, I may have missed some interactions elsewhere though, because as you can see, there are a few really obscure places where they show up as pair.
(And there some that are so tenuous I didn’t think they counted, like the two of them having their Poyo Poyo Cushions announced together, or both being on the “villain” side in the Kirby werewolf board game. There’s also some of the Star Allies celebration pictures and other group pics that have both of them, sometimes even in proximity to each other, but I left those out since the concept of the Dream Friends blurs the line of who knows who somewhat.
Only mildly related, there’s also this clip from a Nico Video stream about Kirby Clash that says nothing at all official about the two of them, but is completely hilarious as two men on the right come to the awkward realization that Marx and Magolor’s plushies have fallen down in a very “suggestive” manner and how are they going to adjust them without drawing more attention to it.)
...And there you go! They’re hardly inseparable (as the above video shows, they’re VERY separable! XD ) but seeing them hanging out causing trouble together is a strangely common sight. Whether or not they knew each other in the past, it’s safe to say they “know” each other now.
Here’s hoping that these two villains with a history stretching back for over a decade will someday enact their lovable mischief together on the same screen!!
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