Lakitu (/ləˈki tu / or /ˈlækɪtu /), known in Japan as Jugem (ジュゲム Jugemu, dʑɯ.ɡe.mɯ), is a fictional flying character in the Mario franchise. Created by Shigeru Miyamoto, it first appeared in the Nintendo Entertainment System video game Super Mario Bros., where it dropped enemies called Spinies on the stage. It has a striped
green shell, wears aviator goggles, and rides around in a smiling cloud. He has since appeared in several main Mario titles since, as well as Mario spin-off titles, notably the Mario Kart series where he acts as the referee and a playable character in
Mario Kart 7 and
Mario Kart 8. He has appeared in non-Mario titles, including the Super Smash Bros. series, specifically Super Smash Bros. Brawl.