Pauline

Pauline (, Pauline) is a character in the and  series.

Origin
Pauline made her debut as "Lady" in  as the first damsel-in-distress and love interest to Mario, then referred to as "Jumpman". In her original appearance, she is blonde with a pink dress.

The Lady is kidnapped by Donkey Kong and is dragged up a construction site, dropping her belongings along the way, including her hat, purse, and parasol (as well as a birthday cake sometimes). Jumpman pursues Donkey Kong higher up the construction site, dodging obstacles and collecting the Lady's belongings as collectible extra points along the way. As Jumpman continues to pursue him, Donkey Kong drags the Lady farther and farther up the building until he is defeated when Jumpman causes the girders supporting him to collapse, sending him plummeting to the ground.

In the  remake for Game Boy, the Lady returns under her new name, "Pauline" and her new appearance, featuring long brown hair and a long red dress. Her role in the game is largely the same, though Donkey Kong is now joined by his son,.

After over a decade of making cameos or appearing in minor ports of the original Donkey Kong game, Pauline made her return to the series in , where she joins Mario at the grand opening of his new theme park. As usual, Donkey Kong becomes infatuated with her, but she rejects him in favor of Mario, sending him into a rage and leading him to kidnap her; however, this time, Mario utilizes his toy s to rescue her. After she is saved, she and Mario make peace with Donkey Kong. In the following game, Pauline is kidnapped once more, but this time when Mario and the Mini Marios save her, it turns out that her kidnapping was a ruse she orchestrated to test the toys' skills.

In , a is added to the roster of toys, which Donkey Kong immediately becomes enthralled by. However, he becomes furious when they sell out before he can get one and resorts to kidnapping Pauline once more. Ultimately, DK lets her go once Mario gifts him with his own Mini Pauline. Pauline is not kidnapped in , instead running different arcade games alongside Donkey Kong peacefully. In , her apparent kidnapping again turns out to be a ruse, this time to lure Mario to a surprise party. The Mini Pauline also returns in the latter two games.

Pauline made her mainline Mario series debut on the Nintendo Switch in , where she is the mayor of the, the capital of which, , is based on the city setting of the original Donkey Kong. When Mario first arrives in New Donk City, it is under attack by Bowser's, with Pauline watching the destruction from afar, unable to do anything about it. After Mario defeats the Mechawiggler, Pauline is able to swiftly repair the city and plans a festival to celebrate things returning to normal. At New Donk City Hall, she asks Mario to help her gather a band so that she may perform a song at the festival, and Mario complies. However, before the festival can occur, Mario must investigate the power plant malfunctioning, and Pauline joins him upon realizing the sabotage is Bowser's fault. As thanks for helping make the festival possible, Pauline declares Mario the guest of honor. The song she and her band perform, , also serves as the game's main theme song.

Later, Pauline is among the guests kidnapped by Bowser to attend his and Peach's wedding, telling Mario he is just in time when he arrives. Pauline can be heard singing a second song, , as Mario and Peach escape the collapsing wedding hall at the end of the game. Once Bowser is defeated, Mario can visit Pauline in New Donk City, where she will reveal several facts about herself, including that her hat is her favorite possession, she loves eating cake, and that being kidnapped by Donkey Kong was "traumatic". Mario can also give Pauline a purse as a birthday gift, revealing that she lost her purse and never replaced it when Donkey Kong kidnapped her. Pauline also appears among other characters on the of the Moon, performing Jump Up, Super Star! and cheering Mario on as he enters the final challenge.

Following her appearance in Super Mario Odyssey, Pauline's renewed relevance was maintained in a few ways. She was added to ' and ' as a playable character via a free update, made her Mario Kart series debut in ', and is a part of the starting roster of '.

In Super Smash Bros.
's character description describes him as "kidnapping beautiful maidens", referring to Pauline.

As a stage element
appear on the 75m stage.

In Super Smash Bros. 4
Pauline appears as a trophy in both versions of the game and is mentioned in passing in the description for the Event Match 1988.

Trophy
In, Pauline's trophy is part of the Memorabilia Trophy Box.

As a background character
Pauline and the members of the appear as background characters on the New Donk City Hall stage though Pauline will only appear if the music track for the match is . Pauline and her band appear on floating platforms, and on the ground in front of City Hall. Interacting with the band members causes them to begin performing their signature song, "".

Spirits
Pauline also appears as a Legend-class support spirit and is featured on the Donkey Kong & Lady spirit, referred by her original name, "Lady".

In Adventure Mode: World of Light, Pauline is presumably one of the countless spirits captured by Galeem during his takeover of the universe. Pauline's spirit is located in the southern city section of The Light Realm.

In both spirits' battles, Pauline uses a puppet fighter and is fought on the 75m stage.

Pauline is fought along with the and the Giant  puppet fighters, referencing how Pauline, Mario (as Jumpman), and Donkey Kong all debuted in the original Donkey Kong arcade game. During the battle, the player must defeat Peach, who avoids the player, in one minute while Mario starting off with a Hammer and the Giant Donkey Kong appears.

In the Donkey Kong & Lady spirit battle, Pauline (as "Lady") is fought along with the player's fighter while battling the Giant Donkey Kong puppet fighter equipped with super armor. During the battle, the player's fighter must defeat Donkey Kong within one-and-a-half minutes and prevent Peach from be KO'd, referencing how Pauline must be rescued from Donkey Kong within the time limit and within three lives. Also, Barrels appear in numbers, referencing the barrels Donkey Kong throws during the first level of Donkey Kong.