King K. Rool

K. Rool, as his name, a pun on "cruel", may imply, is the ruthless and mentally unstable ruler of the Kremling race, who has on numerous occasions tried to steal his nemesis Donkey Kong's banana hoard and kidnap many members of the Kong family. He rules the Kremlings with an iron fist and usually shows no mercy to his subjects, similar to Bowser from the Super Mario series. The reason they follow him seems to be of the deep fear they have of him and his tremendous power, as shown by how bosses and even minor enemies interact with him. This is mentioned by Klubba in Donkey Kong Country 2, who explicitly states that K. Rool mistreats his minions. K. Rool's ruthlessness is shown in Donkey Kong 64, when he presumably executes a purple haired Kasplat via a giant Klaptrap for calling him "fatso" not realizing that K. Rool was listening. He does not seem to respect his henchmen, the Kritters, much better either. In Mario Super Sluggers, he refers to brown Kritter as "the dirty under-belly of the Kremling Krew". Not even his strongest underlings such the Krushas dare challenge him as K. Rool is the strongest of the Kremlings. He used his size, strength, and intimidation to rise in power before seizing the position of king since he doesn't actually have royal blood nor is he an heir that inherited a sovereign state/region/nation, as shown by statements pointing out how he is not even an actual king. Despite all of this, however, K. Rool and the Kritters have good chemistry with each other in Mario Super Sluggers, and the trophy bios of Kalypso and Kludge show he respects and trusts the former as a capable leader and is intimidated by latter's ferocious temper. He's been portrayed as a power-hungry tyrant, while games like Donkey Kong 64 and Super Smash Bros. Melee imply that he is also somewhat insane or demented.

K. Rool has the tendencies of a dirty fighter. He feigns defeat, often collapsing in the middle of combat and making it seem like he has been defeated, only to rise seconds later and begin fighting again. He is shown to be persistent and unrelenting in the game DK: King of Swing, where he refused to hand over the remaining DK Medals after he loses a race against Donkey Kong, and DK: Jungle Climber, in which he used any tactic to gain an advantage over the Kongs as they pursued for the Crystal Bananas. The final battle of Donkey Kong 64 also showed him to be somewhat of a showboater, constantly showing-off and making taunting gestures. K. Rool's greatest weakness is his own incompetence. It is very common for him to be defeated simply because he keeps making the same mistake in a fight, such as in Donkey Kong Country when he keeps throwing his crown allowing Donkey and Diddy to jump on his head and Donkey Kong 64 when he kept showboating, allowing DK blast him in the face.

K. Rool hates the Kongs with a passion, referring to them as "filthy apes" or "monkey brains", and obsesses over getting revenge on them whenever they defeat him. Often, he will do whatever it takes to destroy them once and for all. Despite his hatred of the Kongs, however, he is nevertheless willing to employ evil Kongs such as Manky Kong and Minkey, as well as being susceptible to Candy Kong's charm, as evidenced by his being mesmerized by Candy flirting with him in Donkey Kong 64, even going so far as to reach out to her from the ring in apparent infatuation (which was later revealed to be a diversion to distract the Kremling leader long enough for Funky Kong to literally "give him the boot" by firing a boot from his bazooka). He is also capable of commending the Kongs' skill, as shown when they first enter the Lost World in Donkey Kong Land III, where he also gives them six Watches and invites them to try Time Attack mode after he is defeated, as well as in Mario Super Sluggers where he joins Donkey Kong's team after acknowledging their skill. K. Rool also appears to have some respect for the oldest Kongs, as he had worked with Cranky Kong to steal the banana hoard in Donkey Kong Land and had taken classes from Wrinkly Kong in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.

Appearance: At the base, King K. Rool is a morbidly obese Kritter with rough green scales. He has a large bloodshot eye and jagged teeth. His stomach is golden in texture and color. He also has an outie belly button (a peculiar detail, considering crocodiles hatch from eggs). He usually wears a small golden crown on his head, a red cape that covers half of his back, and golden wrist cuffs.

An apartment building in a city.