Hammer (item)

Hammer
Hammer artwork from Brawl.
Universe	Donkey Kong
Appears in	SSB SSBM SSBB SSB4
Item class	Duration/Battering
Article on Super Mario Wiki	Hammer

“	A favourite of Mario's in his younger days, the Hammer enraptures any character that grabs it and sends them into a clobbering frenzy!	”
—Super Smash Bros.'s instruction manual

The Hammer (ハンマー, Hanmā) is a close-range item that appears in all Super Smash Bros. games, which sends any character that grabs it into a clobbering frenzy for 7.5 seconds. It is one of the most "feared" weapons in the game, as it often KOs a player instantly. It hails from the original Donkey Kong game, the first appearance of both Mario and the original Donkey Kong, and plays the Hammer music from said game while a character is holding it. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Super Smash Bros. 4, there is a chance that the hammer head will fall off. This forces the character to walk around swinging the hammer handle for the remaining duration, but without doing any damage, making them vulnerable to an attack. The hammer head can be picked up and thrown for a very strong projectile attack.

Origin

Mario using the hammer in Donkey Kong.

The hammer comes from the arcade game Donkey Kong. In Donkey Kong, when Mario obtains the hammer, he is unable to stop swinging until the hammer disappears. He also is unable to climb ladders while swinging the hammer. The hammer can be used to destroy barrels that are being rolled down towards Mario, and can be used against other enemies, though it does not grant invincibility. In the Super Smash Bros. series, the hammer acts similarly to how it behaved in Donkey Kong as the player cannot stop swinging or drop the hammer until it disappears. The hammer is also a powerful item that can be used against other players to get a KO.

Use

Bowser swings the Hammer in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

The Hammer deals 22% damage and high vertical knockback per hit, outside of Super Smash Bros., where it dealt 30% worth of damage and had even higher knockback. Characters cannot do anything while holding the Hammer except move and do a single jump, which can cause a lot of SDs for even level 9 CPUs. It is possible to drop the Hammer, but the user must do it while being hit. Despite being one of the most powerful items in the game, there are still several ways to survive and possibly counter a Hammer-wielding player.

As an invincible player isn't affected by knockback, it is an obviously excellent way of fighting back against a Hammer using player. Kirby's Stone special in particular is easily usable at any time and is a great choice for countering the Hammer. Explosion-based projectiles or thrown item attacks can disrupt someone with a Hammer, such as Link's bombs or Zelda's Din's Fire, enabling characters with such attacks or items to thwart a foe with a Hammer from afar, and possibly knock it out of their hands. Hammers can also be Countered. Since Counter always does more damage than the attack it blocked, this can be extremely devastating. Attacking from below or using ranged grabs are also effective ways to defeat a Hammer user. As long as the user wielding the Hammer gets knocked offstage, there's no way to get back. In Brawl, getting stuck in hitstun can "waste" a Hammer, as in running down its countdown timer. In Melee, the timer pauses when the user is hit, so one cannot make the user "waste" the Hammer in the same way.

Hammer head

There is a small chance of the head of the hammer falling off, where it then functions as a normal item. This has a 12.5% chance of happening in Melee. It can be thrown for powerful damage and extreme knockback. It deals 35% when Forward Smash Thrown and up to 37% when Up Smash Thrown. In Melee, the bonus Headless Hammer is awarded if the Hammer Head falls off the player's Hammer.

Damage for Hammer Head

Action	Melee	Brawl
Throw	32%	32%
Dash attack throw	32%	34%
Up tilt throw	31%	31%
Forward tilt throw	32%	32%
down tilt throw	34%	27%
Forward smash throw	33%	35%
Up smash throw	28%	31%
Down smash throw	38%	30%
Air throw	32%	32%
Air up tilt throw	29%	31%
Air down tilt throw	34%	31%
Air forward smash throw	35%	32%
Air up smash throw	31%	31%
Air down smash throw	34%	31%

Trophies

Melee trophy

Hammer

If you grab the Hammer, you'll run across the screen swinging it back and forth nonstop. In Donkey Kong, Mario used the Hammer in exactly the same fashion. It's an extremely powerful item, but you have no recovery move when carrying it. Every now and then, the mallet head will fall off, and you'll end up completely vulnerable, swinging just the handle.

• Donkey Kong, Arcade 1981

Brawl trophy

Hammer

An item that, once grabbed, makes you swing nonstop. It's a powerful attack item that does terrific damage and sends opponents sailing. Once in a great while, the hammer's head will fall off, leaving you nothing but the handle. Of course, you can't tell whether the head is securely fastened just by looking. Hammer heads that fall off can be picked up and thrown as weapons.

: Donkey Kong

Trivia

• When King Dedede grabs the Hammer, he will also swing his own hammer back and forth. In spite of this, he will not do damage if the Hammer head comes off.

Gallery

• Hammerssb.jpg

  Hammer artwork in Smash 64.

• 

  Hammer in Smash 64.

• 

  Hammer in Melee.

• 

  The hammer malfunctioning and losing its head, leaving just the handle.

• 

  A Hammer head in Melee.