Rocky Wrench

Rocky Wrenches are enemies employed as crewmen on the Koopa Troop's vehicles. They pop out of manhole covers and attack by throwing their namesake wrenches. They have been described as mole-like turtles, but from New Super Mario Bros. Wii onward they lack shells (with the exception of the "classic" styles of Super Mario Maker and other games using older sprites), which, along with other changes in design, has resulted in them resembling Monty Moles, which have made several more appearances than Rocky Wrenches. Rocky Wrench's original description has not been applied to the redesign, and they have since been called moles instead of mole-like on at least one occasion.

Super Mario Bros. 3
Rocky Wrenches first appear in Super Mario Bros. 3 as enemies on airships, tanks, and ships belonging to the Koopa Troop. Upon sighting either Mario or Luigi, a Rocky Wrench will pop out of its hole on these vehicles and throw wrenches at them before descending back into its hole. They first appear in, and return in most airship levels afterward. Rocky Wrenches are common throughout the final world, Dark Land.

In most cases, a defeated Rocky Wrench reappears, even if it was defeated by a stomp. However, some levels in Dark Land have red Rocky Wrenches that are defeated entirely upon being attacked. In the Super Mario All-Stars remakes and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, all Rocky Wrenches are red, but still act like in the Nintendo Entertainment System version between the various levels.

A Rocky Wrench appears on the cover and title screen for the Game Boy Advance remake. Rocky Wrenches also appear in a few World-e levels.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
After 21 years of not appearing in a Super Mario series installment, Rocky Wrenches return in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, in which they only appear on the airship of World 6. Their behavior is largely unchanged from their first appearance, though the potential initial vertical movement of their wrenches is lessened. Aside from being susceptible to stomps, Rocky Wrenches can also be frozen by Ice Mario. Unlike Super Mario Bros. 3, Rocky Wrenches do not respawn after being defeated. Since New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Rocky Wrenches had a major design change in which they look almost the same as Monty Moles, but with added goggles and a manhole lid; this would be their design in most of their later appearances.

Super Mario 3D Land
Rocky Wrenches reappear as enemies in Super Mario 3D Land, being their first appearance in a 3D Super Mario series title. Like their previous appearances, Rocky Wrenches commonly appear in the airship levels, but also appear in several levels aside from it. A Rocky Wrench has the same appearance as in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Aside from throwing a wrench, some Rocky Wrenches throw either Bob-ombs or even coins. Some Rocky Wrenches are guarding a Warp Pipe, and Mario or Luigi has to defeat it in order to enter the pipe. Unlike other games, Mario or Luigi can stomp on a wrench thrown by a Rocky Wrench without taking damage, although this still destroys the wrench.

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
Rocky Wrenches reappear in New Super Mario Bros. U, and use the same attacks and design as in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Rocky Wrenches only appear in one level, Boarding the Airship of Meringue Clouds, and are one of the few enemies who do not return in New Super Luigi U.

Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS
Rocky Wrenches reappear in Super Mario Maker and its Nintendo 3DS remake Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, and are featured in all four game styles. They were given unique sprites in both Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World-styled courses, as they did not originally appear in either of those games; the former game goes on to remove their goggles. If the Rocky Wrenches are winged, they hop out of their manhole cover before throwing their wrenches, making their lower bodies more visible. This also occurs if they are enlarged, but they temporarily revert to their original size in order to hide. On certain platforms such as Semisolid Platforms, Donut Blocks, and Cloud Blocks, Rocky Wrenches fall through them when they attempt to hide in them. Rocky Wrenches wear a shell in the Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World styles, but not the New Super Mario Bros. U style. In addition, a Rocky Wrench's appearance has been slightly revised; they have a less plain palette and appear to lack tails in the Super Mario Bros. 3 style, and now have stubbier limbs and a slimmer, shorter body shape compared to a Monty Mole in the New Super Mario Bros. U style. In Course Maker, shaking a Rocky Wrench changes it to a Monty Mole and vice versa.

In the Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. U-style levels, Yoshi can use his tongue to eat a wrench thrown by a Rocky Wrench and spit it back out. If the Rocky Wrench or any other enemies get hit by the wrench, they are defeated.

Super Mario Run
Rocky Wrenches reappear in Super Mario Run, appearing only in Throwing It All Overboard in the main game. Additionally, they can occasionally appear in the Airship courses seen in Toad Rally and Remix 10. Rocky Wrenches retain their behavior and design from New Super Mario Bros. Wii, though they can also sometimes throw coins instead of wrenches like in Super Mario 3D Land. Rocky Wrenches also come back out of the ground much quicker than they do in most games, almost immediately after they go down. Additionally, Rocky Wrench has a statue that can be purchased in the Kingdom Builder.

Super Mario Maker 2
Rocky Wrenches reappear in Super Mario Maker 2, functioning like they did in Super Mario Maker, though they now occupy a separate slot from Monty Moles. Like Monty Moles, Rocky Wrenches only appear in the original four styles and are absent from the Super Mario 3D World style. One of the Mii outfits is a Rocky Wrench lid.

Super Mario Kodansha manga
Rocky Wrenches make various appearances in the Super Mario Kodansha manga.

They first appear in the Super Mario Bros. 3 volume, appearing in an adaptation of.

Rocky Wrenches return in the third Super Mario Land volume, in which one is part of Bowser's baseball team when he challenges Mario to play alongside his other minions.

They make a minor cameo in the Super Mario All-Stars chapter from the second Donkey Kong volume. They appear in the background alongside several of Bowser's and Wart's minions.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
On the television series The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Rocky Wrenches appear in several episodes, most commonly as the guards of Bowser and the Koopalings' Doom Ship, although they are also shown to work on tanks and the Doom Sub as well.

Rocky Wrenches first appear in the episode "Princess Toadstool for President." When Mario and Luigi enter Dark Land, they are ambushed by two Rocky Wrenches driving Tanks, with one Rocky Wrench attempting to throw a wrench at them before Mario and Luigi escape through a pipe.

Rocky Wrenches make a brief cameo in Mush-Rumors where they throw wrenches at the real-world family.

In "The Ugly Mermaid," King Koopa calls some Rocky Wrenches to attack Mario and his friends when they are approaching the Doom Sub, but Mario then throws the wrenches back at the Doom Sub, causing it to spin out.

Lastly, a Rocky Wrench (referred to as Mr. Rocky Wrench by Mario) has a somewhat major role in "Up, Up, and a Koopa" in which he guards the cage Emperor Ed is in, growling at him when he attempts to threaten King Koopa. Later, when Mario and Luigi get trapped in the cage, they attempt to bribe Rocky Wrench with a Fudjie chocolate bar, which makes the Rocky Wrench growl at them. When Luigi asks to borrow the wrenches, the Rocky Wrench throws them at Mario and Luigi (with the wrenches coming back to him like boomerangs, which never happens in the actual Super Mario Bros. 3), with Mario then saying that he will not invite Rocky Wrench to his next plumbing job. Later on, Toad arrives with a giant magnet that he throws onto the ceiling, causing the Rocky Wrench to stick to it due to its wrenches (it shouts "Whoa!" in the process, which is the only time they vocalize in the episode outside of growls).

They also are referenced in the writer's bible from the DVD releases, being called sneaky turtles with severe overbite that hide in manholes to ambush unsuspecting plumbers. Several pieces of concept art can be seen, first being a Rocky Wrench in an airship similar to that of the World 8-Airship level despite not appearing in any episodes, second showing full-body artwork, and finally showing artwork of the Rocky Wrench tank mainly seen in "Princess Toadstool for President."

Super Mario Bros. Print World
Rocky Wrench appears in Super Mario Bros. Print World as one of the printable characters.

Nintendo Adventure Books
"Hey! Something's stuck to the side of the bowl!"

- Rocky Wrench

In the Nintendo Adventure Books, a Rocky Wrench that carries a handbag around competes in the International Mushroom Games as a member of a team called the Sneaks in Leaping Lizards. True to his team's name, he uses underhanded tactics in the events, cutting a hole in Roy Koopa's flying carpet during the obstacle course and throwing ink in his face during the Beetlebowl. Rocky Wrench is also very skilled at most of the sports, winning a majority of them. Rocky Wrench's name also appears in a crossword puzzle (though it is shortened to "Rocky"). The artwork used in said puzzle is reused from Super Mario Bros. Print World. Rocky Wrench is also called a rodent in this book and the following one.

A Rocky Wrench appears as the guard of the Monster Mixer in Monster Mix-Up. They first make a brief cameo spotting Mario and Toad on the side of the bowl that is carrying the Monster Mixer. Later on, if Mario uses a Koopa Shell to hit a Starman Block, he will miss the block and the shell will hit the Rocky Wrench on the head. This causes the Rocky Wrench to get knocked out, making them drop their wrench into the Monster Mixer. The Monster Mixer proceeds to blow up, leading to a Game Over.

Super Mario 4koma Manga Theater


Rocky Wrenches appear in volume 2 and volume 6 of Super Mario 4koma Manga Theater. In volume 2, they appear in the "Dismantling Rocky Wrench" (解体屋プー) strip, where they throw several random objects and parts of the airship after running out of wrenches to throw at Luigi.

Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up
A Rocky Wrench cameos in Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up on the Race Car Driver and Mechanic page. The description reads as follows:

"Race car drivers Mario and Luigi had better make a pit stop right away. Their tires are almost worn out from the first leg of the road rally. Rocky Wrench is ready to change two tires."

Super Mario-kun
Rocky Wrenches appear in various volumes in Super Mario-kun.

In volume 5, they make a small cameo when Luigi crushes a Rocky Wrench and other enemies with a Warp Pipe.

They reappear much later in volume 30, in which Larry commands several Rocky Wrenches to throw wrenches at Mario.

In volume 31, a Rocky Wrench named Mogura Kong is shown on a poster held by a Noki.

They reappear again in volume 45, in which Boom Boom pushes a button to have several Rocky Wrenches come and throw wrenches at Mario.

In volume 46, Pūko takes the appearance of a Rocky Wrench when she is first shown alongside the other members of AKG48.

Mario Kart DS
In Mario Kart DS, Rocky Wrenches appear as obstacles on the airship portion of Airship Fortress. Popping out of their holes at random, these Rocky Wrenches can cause a kart to spin out of control if it runs into them. In Mission 6-2, Wario has to use a Star to defeat fifteen Rocky Wrenches within 55 seconds.

Compared to Super Mario Bros. 3, Rocky Wrenches more closely resemble Monty Moles, having seemingly been edited from their appearance in this game, but are further from Monty Mole than the design used in following games. They have brown upper lips, four pointed fangs, and large goggles in front of glowing pupils that seem to be based on their Super Mario Bros. 3 sprites. Due to the Rocky Wrench graphic being a flat texture that always faces the camera, it is not possible to tell whether they were intended to have a shell on their back.

Mario Kart 7
In Mario Kart 7, Rocky Wrenches return in Airship Fortress, a Retro Course from Mario Kart DS, and in Battle Course 1. They act the same as in Mario Kart DS, and were given their updated design. A Rocky Wrench can also be jumped on safely, and racers can even perform a trick off them. Rocky Wrenches also reuse voice clips of Monty Mole in Mario Kart Wii.

Mario Kart Tour
Starting with the Pirate Tour in Mario Kart Tour, Rocky Wrenches return again in Airship Fortress, where they act the same as before, and reuse their design from Mario Kart 7, this time in the form of a 3D model instead of a single-layer sprite. Rocky Wrenches also appear in the marketplace section of Bangkok Rush T and in Twilight House.

Unlike previous Mario Kart games, driving into a Rocky Wrench knocks it back into its hole and grants the player bonus points instead of causing them to spin out. If the player drives over a Rocky Wrench while it is peeking out, they perform a Jump Boost.

Aside from appearing as obstacles, Rocky Wrenches are the basis of a Mii Racing Suit added in the second Peach vs. Bowser Tour.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Rocky Wrenches make their Paper Mario series debut in the Nintendo 3DS game Paper Mario: Sticker Star, in which they only appear on Bowser Jr.'s Flotilla.

Outside battle, they throw wrenches at Mario. In battle, a Rocky Wrench will either hide inside their manholes or have their heads peeking from the manhole. If they are hiding inside the manhole, they cannot be attacked and Mario's attacks will miss. Rocky Wrenches, just like in previous games, throw their wrenches to attack. They also have bigger wrenches that deal more damage to Mario, and mostly use this attack when they are attacked. A Rocky Wrench may sometimes drop a Wrench sticker after battle.

Uniquely, Rocky Wrench's body is fully rendered and animated, but it cannot be seen in-game because they never appear out of their manholes.

Paper Mario: Color Splash
Rocky Wrenches return in Paper Mario: Color Splash. They can be fought in the levels Toad Trainworks and Sunset Express. Outside battle, they throw wrenches at Mario, like in the previous game. Once more, in battle they attack by throwing at Mario a normal wrench or a bigger one. The manhole cover they wear on their head is yellow in this game, and has a more cardboard-like appearance due to the game's theme.

Rocky Wrenches also have a Battle Card that they can occasionally drop. When the card is used, a Rocky Wrench will be summoned to throw a wrench at a single enemy. Like the other enemy cards, the Rocky Wrench will be defeated if it takes too much damage.

Paper Mario: The Origami King
Normal Rocky Wrenches reappear in Paper Mario: The Origami King as NPCs. One Rocky Wrench appears in Toad Town in a port behind the red warehouse which sells Mario the Legion of Stationery collectible treasures. Another Rocky Wrench NPC is found on Picnic Road, outside the Sensor Lab talking about how strange the Toad Researcher is. To interact with them, Mario must hammer their lid. If Mario hammers the lid while standing on top of it, the Rocky Wrench looks around briefly before returning underground.

Rocky Wrenches also have an origami variant that appears as enemies in the Spring of Rainbows.

NES Remix series
In NES Remix 2 and Ultimate NES Remix, Rocky Wrenches appear in some of the Super Mario Bros. 3 challenges, appearing in levels in which they originally appeared. In one specific challenge, the player must defeat one Rocky Wrench in.

Mario Golf: World Tour
In Mario Golf: World Tour, Rocky Wrench is one of the names that can appear on the tournament scoreboard.

Mario Golf: Super Rush
In Mario Golf: Super Rush, Rocky Wrench's name appears on the Bonny Greens Open scoreboard.

Nintendo Badge Arcade
Rocky Wrenches appear in Nintendo Badge Arcade as part of the Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Bros. arcades, with their Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros. style sprites.

WarioWare Gold
Rocky Wrenches appear in WarioWare Gold in the microgame Super Mario Bros. 3, despite not appearing in the original version of the microgame in WarioWare: Twisted!. They serve as one of the enemies that try to attack the player. Uniquely, the Rocky Wrenches throw their wrenches towards the player, rather than the wrenches being thrown in a straight line like in most of their appearances.

Other appearances
A Rocky Wrench appears in LEGO Super Mario as part of the Bowser's Airship set.

Super Mario World
Sprites found in development materials of Super Mario World include sprites for Rocky Wrench meant for the Sunken Ghost Ship, suggesting that they would have appeared as enemies in said level. These sprites heavily resemble Rocky Wrench's Super Mario Bros. 3 sprites, though they have a separate color scheme compared to that game. Furthermore, the Super Mario World-style sprites of Rocky Wrench in Super Mario Maker are originally designed and not based on the unused Rocky Wrench sprites from Super Mario World.

Super Mario Odyssey
One piece of concept artwork for the Broodals from The Art of Super Mario Odyssey labeled "Powered-Up Regular Enemy Designs" depicts a Powered-Up Rocky Wrench boss. It is based on the original design for Rocky Wrench, as it has the shell, a taller orange body, white-rimmed sunglasses, round snout, and sharp teeth.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Sprites found in development materials of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island include sprites and animations for Rocky Wrench as well as potential log vehicles, but they were again removed. Their head shape and sunglasses is reminiscent of Monty Moles' designs for Super Mario World, though they are still taller and lack some of the white patches. Uniquely, Rocky Wrenches also seem to have originally been planned to walk inside logs, as well as riding log cars similar to the from . Rocky Wrenches would still have retained their wrench-throwing tactics. Only their wrench and possible lower body exist within unused graphics in the final release. Snifits were also alternately considered to utilize the vehicles designed for Rocky Wrenches, but this was also scrapped.

Paper Mario
Rocky Wrench is shown in concept art for Paper Mario, back when it was titled Super Mario RPG 2 during development. This suggests that Rocky Wrenches would have possibly appeared as an enemy, as one is alongside some other enemies in the artwork, but Rocky Wrenches are entirely absent from the final release.

Physical appearance
Rocky Wrenches originally looked like red or tan moles, with either a snout or an overbite, having a pair of goggles (which varied in design depending on the media or game), and a turtle shell (which varied in color depending on the media). Despite being called turtles during this time, Rocky Wrenches looked more like moles, with the only turtle thing about them being the shell on their back (suggesting that they were a hybrid of a mole and turtle).

Some later appearances like their unused appearance in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and in Mario Kart DS made Rocky Wrenches have some more design similarities to that of Monty Mole. The former game having the sunglasses and snout of older Monty Mole depictions, and the latter having a similar body type and mouth to the modern design for Monty Mole.

Since New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Rocky Wrenches have be redesigned to no longer have a shell from their older designs and have nearly the same appearance as a Monty Mole except for wearing goggles and having a lid on their head. From this game onwards, Rocky Wrench would keep this look (outside of retro appearances and the older styles in the Super Mario Maker games).

Characteristics
Rocky Wrenches are both engineers, crew members, and guards of the various Koopa Troop vehicles such as airships, tanks, and battleships. Rocky Wrenches help fix these vehicles while keeping away intruders such as Mario to help protect them. According to their Nintendo Super Secret Card, Rocky Wrenches work extremely hard on their job, with at least 80 hours per week doing work. They also seem to guard other stuff, such as the Monster Mixer in the Nintendo Adventure Book Monster Mix-Up and in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode "Up, Up, and a Koopa" where they guard the cage that Emperor Ed (and later Mario and Luigi) are held in.

Rocky Wrenches usually hide in manholes and throw their namesake wrenches at foes as their main attack, though these wrenches can usually be jumped over. In both Paper Mario: Sticker Star and Paper Mario: Color Splash, Rocky Wrenches can be seen throwing much larger wrenches, which do more damage but are much heavier to throw. Sometimes, Rocky Wrenches can be seen throwing other items such as coins and Bob-ombs (as seen in Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario Run).

Alignment
Rocky Wrenches are seen as minions of Bowser like most enemies throughout the series. Rocky Wrenches seem to be the Monty Mole species most loyal to the Koopa Troop, as they are primarily seen on the vehicles of the Koopa Troop or in places filled with Koopa Troop vehicles such as Dark Land with very few exceptions to where they live (with one of these exceptions being a few levels in Super Mario 3D Land). Rocky Wrenches seem to respect Bowser and his vehicles greatly as they work hard just to make sure they are safe. The only known instance of Rocky Wrenches not working for Bowser are the Origami Rocky Wrenches, who were originally regular Rocky Wrenches, but were brainwashed and folded into origami by King Olly or other Folded Soldiers.

Like most enemies, Rocky Wrenches have a hatred towards Mario, as he usually is the primary intruder to the vehicles that Rocky Wrenches protect. In the writers Bible for The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Rocky Wrenches also seem to have a hatred towards plumbers in general, as it implies that they also attempt to ambush other plumbers as well from their manholes. Despite this, on a few occasions Rocky Wrenches seem to sometimes be allies towards Mario such as in Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up when a Rocky Wrench attempts to fix the Mario Bros. tires on their car, or in Paper Mario: The Origami King, where normal Rocky Wrenches are friendly NPCs (with one even making collectible treasures of the Legion of Stationery each time Mario defeats one of the members).

Paper Mario: Color Splash
Usual:
 * "Ugh, this lid is heavy."
 * "Gut wrencher!"
 * "It's too bright outside!"
 * "Nyah nyah! Can't get me!"

While under lid:
 * "I need more wrenches..."
 * "This hole is too small!"

Super Mario Bros. 3 / Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3

 * Super Mario Bros. 3 English instruction booklet: "Rocky is a turtle who kind of looks like a mole. He will suddenly appear and start to throw wrenches from his fingers at Mario or Luigi."
 * Super Mario Bros. 3 Japanese instruction booklet: モグラようなカメ族. 穴からニョキッと出てきてスパナを投げてくる. 飛行船の乗組員だ. ("Mole-like members of the Turtle Tribe. They will pop out of a hole to throw their spanner. They are the maintenance crew of the airship.")''
 * Nintendo Power Volume 13: "These turtles often serve as crew of Koopaling Airships and military vehicles."
 * Nintendo Power Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 Player's Guide: "As the crew of the Koopalings' airships and Bowser's fleet, Rocky Wrenches defend their vehicles by throwing tools."

Super Mario Run

 * Notebook bio: "This guy serves as an engineer on an airship. It'll pop up and throw a wrench at you from time to time."

Item description

 * Rocky Wrench Statue: "Rocky Wrenches are often found guarding airships. Don't you just want to stomp on this statue?"

Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten
''' プー 　カメ族 　やんちゃ ゲーム　3 ''' スパナを投げてくるカメ 飛行船の中のマンホールみたいな所から顔を出し、スパナを投げてくるモグラのようなカメ. スパナを投げる前に踏んでしまうか、顔を出す前に通り過ぎてしまおう.

 Rocky Wrench  Tribe: Turtle clan Disposition: Mischievous Game appearances: 3 ' Spanner throwing turtle ''This mole-like turtle emerges from a manhole-like place in the airship and throws spanners at you. Step on it before it throws a spanner, or walk past it before it shows its face.''

Trivia

 * In official artwork for an airship in Super Mario Bros. 3, Roy Koopa hides in a trench and throws wrenches in a manner very similar to Rocky Wrenches.
 * In early Nintendo Power volumes, Rocky Wrench is likened to ninjas, with one reference alluding to .
 * A Sammer Guy by the name of Spanner of Rock appears in Super Paper Mario; his name and speeches including references to Rocky Wrenches.
 * An image in the files for Nintendo of America website shows a picture of Rocky Wrench's New Super Mario Bros. Wii artwork titled "Morty Wrench". This was likely a typo, although it could have also hinted at an unused or unseen enlarged variant of Rocky Wrench likely having similarities to Morty Moles from Super Mario 3D Land.