King Dedede

"I'll be the one to keep peace"

- King Dedede, Kirby Star Allies

Our Glorious Leader, King Dedede is the righteous self-proclaimed king of Dream Land. He is Kirby's arch-nemesis and either a villain or anti-hero. He has appeared in almost every Kirby game to date. In his more recent appearances, King Dedede has been a lot less villainous and appears more often as an ally to Kirby in games after Kirby's Return to Dream Land, making him become a deuteragonist in the Kirby series. He is more than an antagonist.

Overview
King Dedede is an obese penguin-like being and the self-proclaimed king of Dream Land. He commands a few enemies in Dream Land, such as Waddle Dees and Waddle Doos. King Dedede is a boss in many games from the Kirby franchise created by Masahiro Sakurai. King Dedede is also a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Relationship with Kirby
King Dedede is often pestered by Kirby, who breaks into his palace and takes back Dream Land's food, which the king often steals for himself. King Dedede is shown repeatedly to be an antagonist, but he is one out of greed rather than malice and appears as more of an anti-hero. In most of the games he is fought against, Dedede is controlled by a dark, malevolent force (such as being possessed three times by Dark Matter, and once like a marionette by Yin-Yarn and Taranza, and corrupted by the influence of a Jamba Heart) or it is merely a misunderstanding (like in Kirby: Squeak Squad or Kirby's Adventure/Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land).

Deep down, Dedede respects Kirby and views him as a hero, and can be friendly with him when they're not in conflict. He will even set aside his rivalry with Kirby and lend aid or team up with him when an evil entity is threatening Dream Land, Popstar, or all existence in general (such as Nightmare, Dark Matter, Zero, Tabuu, Magolor, Queen Sectonia, and Void Termina). Originally at odds as usual, Dedede begrudgingly joins Kirby's group in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, likely because a part of him wanted to help. In Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Dedede happily pitched in helping Kirby and Magolor fix the Lor Starcutter. In Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Dedede joins forces with Kirby and the People of the Sky without hesitation upon seeing the threat posed by Queen Sectonia to all of Popstar.

King Dedede can also inhale enemies like Kirby, but he cannot steal their powers. It is said that Kirby learned his Hammer Ability from King Dedede's skills with his.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
King Dedede is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl who is playable by default. King Dedede is classified as a heavy and slow character. King Dedede is known for his ability to chain grab many many members of the cast because of his long grab range and short knockback throws.

King Dedede also plays a role in the story of the one-player mode The Subspace Emissary, in which he obtains the fighter trophies of Ness, Peach/Zelda, and Luigi from Wario. King Dedede had witnessed the power and intentions of the evil Tabuu when the Battleship Halberd was taken, and worries that if there are no fighters left, Tabuu will take over the world. King Dedede then puts a Dedede badge on the three trophies, guaranteeing that if King Dedede was turned into a trophy, the three other fighter trophies would be revived into fighters, which comes in handy when Bowser invades his castle, turning Dedede into a trophy as well and kidnapping Peach/Zelda('s trophy). After time passes, Luigi and Ness turn back into fighters, spotting Dedede's trophy and returning him to normal as well. He thanks them both with a hug and several pats on the back before they set off to save the other fighters, who had all been turned into trophies by Tabuu. Later, they come across Bowser, who challenges them to a battle but gets defeated into a trophy, though Dedede turns him back into a fighter once more. He roars in another challenge, but Dedede simply swats him on the nose and gestures to Master Hand, who lay defeated on the ground due to Tabuu, and the stairs to the Great Maze. Bowser gives up and agrees to work with them to save the Smash universe. Eventually, they come across Kirby, who had eaten one of Dedede's badges and turned back into a fighter (either that or, judging by the cutscene's name, was awakened by his own hunger), and Ganondorf's trophy. Bowser attacks Ganondorf's helpless trophy, as he had been betrayed by the king earlier, and walks away while Dedede hugs Kirby out of relief to see the puffball. Returning to the staircase before the Great Maze, Wario spots Dedede and kicks him, knocking him over and laughing at him, because Dedede had stolen Ness, Peach/Zelda, and Luigi's trophies from him. Ness and Luigi immediately help Dedede up, shocking Wario, before explaining what's at stake. At first, Wario seems to not care, but when they start to go up the stairs, he darts onto his motorcycle and speeds ahead of them. Now having reunited with all the other fighters, they all encounter Tabuu and challenge him to a battle which ended in the blue being's demise and the restoration of the Smash Bros. universe.

Super Smash Bros. 4
King Dedede returns as a playable character, but his extraordinary chain grabbing ability has been removed, and his side special now always throws a Gordo, and his back aerial attack has been changed as well. His Final Smash has also been replaced with the "Dedede Burst", where he will inhale everyone around him and smash them with his hammer before launching a powerful bomb from his hammer.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
King Dedede, for the 3rd time, returns as a playable character Who is one of the many unlockble characters in the World Of Light story mode.

Kirby Star Allies
King Dedede is one of the people who are possessed by Jamba Heart, but is saved by Kirby by being defeated and being hit with a Friend Heart.