"Star" redirects here. If you were looking for the type of ranking, see Star Ranks.
A Starman (also known as a Star or a Super Star) is a rare item in the Mario Kart series that turns a racer invincible.
Uses
Stars as they appear in Mario Kart 8.
When a player is behind in a race, these items will appear, and if a player gets one, they will become temporarily invincible. The player's speed will also vaguely increase, helping to catch up with other drivers. However, you may be invincible, but you will die if you fall off the course, regardless if you have the star. If an impact is made with another kart, the kart will be knocked over. In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, the rear character will be knocked off the kart. Upbeat music will play as these items are used, and the player's kart will flash rainbow (or yellow if in Double Dash!!). While the Starman is a useful item, it is usually only given to characters who are in sixth place and below when they contact the item box, though in later games, karts with good item stats are sometimes able to get a Starman in 5th place.
Storing the Star can be a good defensive tactic as well, firing it off when incoming shells and POW blocks are on the verge of impact. The Star's speed boost makes it a viable means of reaching off-road ramps and shortcuts too though.
Mario Kart Trivia
- If you collide with the boat in DK's Jungle Parkway in Mario Kart 64 while you have a Star, you will still get hit before plunging into the water. This also applies to the Boo item.
- This item lasts the longest amount of time in Mario Kart 64 (effect remains about a second after the blinking stops) and lasts the shortest amount of time in Mario Kart: Super Circuit (the song barely starts its third repetition).
- They can hit anything out of your way and defend from anything, even Spiny Shells.
- If you hit a Bullet Bill with a Star, the Bullet Bill will be pushed aside.
- In Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart 7, an item box in DK Pass will always give you a Star, Mushroom or Triple Mushroom.
- The Star is used as the logo for the Star Cup, which is named after the item.
- In Maple Treeway, one of the leaf piles will give you a Star very rarely.
- It may be a reference to the Warp Star in the Kirby series of games, an item which, when swallowed by Kirby, causes him to become incredibly powerful. It is also an item in the Super Smash Bros. series.
Other Appearances
Stars debuted in Super Mario Bros., where they granted the player invincibility from all hazards except lava and falls. They have kept this general function in many subsequent appearances, sometimes adding a boost of speed as is done in the Mario Kart series. In the Mario RPGs, the Mario Party series, Super Mario 64, and Super Mario Galaxy, Stars are given more important roles as collectibles or characters.