Bob-omb

This was drawn for NinDB Collab 4, but I didn't finish it in time. It's a Bob-omb, a type of creature (most commonly enemy) in Nintendo's Mario franchise. Apparently, this poor little guy is afraid of exploding...

As their appearance implies, Bob-ombs hurt their victims by blowing up themselves after a certain amount of time. They can also be carried and thrown to damage enemies or to get rid of obstacles by explosion. Bob-ombs were first seen in the Japan-only Famicom game Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic (1986, originally not Mario-related) and its Western NES adaption Super Mario Bros. 2 (1987). Their Japanese name is Bob (ボブ) in those games, and my art is based on that version.

A different type (without arms, called ボム兵 Bomuhei in Japanese, but with the same name in English) debuted in Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988), and has become a common creature in the Mario universe since then (what can't be said about the original bomb enemy).

Bob-omb © Nintendo