| NOTE: This page is only about the Shadow Queen in the American and European translations, as her original Japanese version was not voted Pure Evil, and thus only the English version of the Shadow Queen's info and crimes should be put here. |
| “ | You are foolish to oppose me. Yes.... and that foolishness... will have to be punished... | „ |
| ~ Shadow Queen |
The Shadow Queen is the overarching antagonist and final boss of the 2004 video game Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and its 2024 remake of the same name.
She is an ancient demon who attempted to destroy the world before being sealed in the Thousand Year Door. 1000 years later, a secret cult known as the X-Nauts would set the plot in motion when they attempted to unleash the Shadow Queen for their own goals, kidnapping Peach in the process, with Mario embarking on an adventure to stop the X-Nauts from unleashing the Shadow Queen.
What Makes Her Pure Evil?[]
- Nearly destroyed the world to remake it in her image 1000 years ago before being stopped by four legendary heroes. However, before she was defeated, she destroyed a bustling city and sunk it into the ground, leaving it far beyond all hope of repair.
- Not only is it depicted in a storybook at the opening intro of the game, but the player can also explore Rogueport Sewers and the Palace of Shadow, both part of the ruins, so it doesn't count as offscreen villainy as we can still see the impact of her actions.
- Cursed the four heroes who imprisoned her to a fate worse than death for centuries, which corrupted three of them to the point they went crazy and believed the abilities they granted Mario with were curses, which they inflicted on him with delight.
- Regularly forces and coerces others to serve her. Unlike her Japanese version, she barely spares any superficial cordiality.
- Created the Pit of 100 Trials to throw anyone she despised in to be tortured or killed by the monsters living in it. She even put Bonetail in here out of fear she might find herself unable to pacify him/her.
- Unleashing the dragons onto the world and having them terrorize many populations.
- When awoken, she possessed Princess Peach to use her as a vessel; in the remake, it's made even worse as it's very heavily implied that it was extremely painful for Peach as she is heard screaming in sheer agony.
- This also caused the world to rumble and quake, terrorizing multiple populations across different places, as well as sending horrified shivers to those familiar with her legend.
- When awoken, she nearly kills Grodus by destroying his body, although Grodus attempted to exploit the Shadow Queen before she attacked him.
- While she keeps the promise to Mario and company that she will not harm them if they join her, the alternative ending implies that she allowed them to be killed off, and sinks the world into darkness using her magic. This betrays any honor this promise could grant. She only said she wouldn’t harm them, she never said she wouldn’t let it befall them.
- When low on health, she murders the entire audience by consuming them alive.
- While other villains like Cortez and Hooktail also consumed the audience, Cortez only consumed half, and Hooktail's victims also were saved by Mario in addition to only eating part of them. Compared to both, her act manages to stand out even more with her excessive measure.
- Was going to succeed in destroying the world if Mario and his friends didn't stop her in time.
- While the Shadow Queen is a demon made out of shadows, the Shadow Sirens, who are heavily implied to be made of the same essence as her, have Vivian becoming good and heroic, and Beldam and Marilyn turning good while resolving to live their normal everyday lives. Furthermore, Shadow Queen herself said she is willing to forgive Mario and his allies of the earlier rejection and fight, showing she is capable of being good but outright refuses to.
- While Dimentio and Count Bleck did do worse by attempting to destroy the multiverse, both had more resources because they had multiversal weaponry while nothing even remotely implies that Shadow Queen's darkness could target the multiverse.
- Besides those two, she is one of the most heinous villains in Paper Mario due to the impact of her destruction being heavily present in the game, the range of her destructive scope (she was planning to destroy the world, which surpasses beings like King Olly especially considering that she planned on killing all life within the world and wasn't just targeting a species), and her cruel methods of punishment.
- What sets her apart from her Japanese version however, is that this version of her lacks the honor and affableness that her Japanese counterpart showed to Beldam (sincerely thanking her), and Mario. Instead in this version, she arrogantly insults Mario and treats him like a lesser being, offering him to become her "servant".
Trivia[]
- Only the American and European versions of the Shadow Queen qualify as Pure Evil, since her original Japanese version isn't due to having a sense of honor displayed towards Mario.
- When awoken, she congratulates Beldam and seems to genuinely respect her. If this is confirmed to mean she has affability (or care) towards Beldam, this would strip her of her Pure Evil status. But due to the limited interactions between the two, it is unknown if she truly cares for her or is just happy Beldam freed her but still views Beldam as a pawn, so it is possibly up for debate.
External Links[]
- The Shadow Queen on the Villains Wiki
- Shadow Queen on the Mario Wiki
- Shadow Queen on the Super Mario Wiki
- Shadow Queen on the Paper Mario Wiki
- Shadow Queen on the Nintendo Wiki
[]
 Pure Evils
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