Donkey Kong Amiibo

Donkey Kong in the Mario Series wave is the Mario-line figure of gaming's most-rehabilitated former villain. Donkey Kong started as Mario's villain in the original Donkey Kong arcade cabinet (1981), where he kidnapped Pauline and Mario (then named Jumpman) had to climb scaffolding to rescue her while DK threw barrels at him. Forty years later DK is in Smash, on the same roster as Mario, fighting as a hero.

The figure: brown, red tie, mid-stance pose with one fist raised. You can almost hear him say "D.K.! DONKEY KONG!". He pairs with Smash DK, Diddy Kong, the Donkey Kong Country subcluster, and the broader Mario-line cluster.

The franchise spent forty years quietly pivoting DK into a hero without ever directly addressing the rehabilitation. Touche, Nintendo!