History Characters / HollowKnightBosses

* SeldomSeenSpecies: She's a [[https://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/01/98/79/1987996_b2d6729a.jpg Puss Moth Caterpillar]]! Not as cute as the game makes it look!

* LeakingCanOfEvil: They ''are'' the leaking can! Some of their attacks even incorporate firing blobs of glowing liquid just like some other infected creatures do. Also, if one considers the logic that they are sealed within the Black Egg Temple (which itself is a leaking can near the end of the game), then the Hollow Knight is basically a leaking can inside of a leaking can.

* EarlyBirdBoss: To the point where Quirrel explicitly tells you to upgrade your nail before facing them. You can battle them as soon as you get to Mantis Village, but compared to all of the bosses you have faced up to Fungal Wastes, the Mantis Lords are ruthlessly fast and give you very few chances to attack them due to their rapid movement and aggression, all of which gets taken UpToEleven when you battle two of them at once. If you return to them after upgrading your nail and gathering a couple more charms and possibly another HeartContainer, they'll be a lot easier to manage, going from {{Lightning Bruiser}}s to {{Fragile Speedster}}s.

* TeleportSpam: Utilises this ''a lot.'' He often teleports away just before he the Knight can strike him, even teleporting in the middle of his own attacks to psych the player out. [[spoiler:Taken UpToEleven by the Soul Tyrant, who teleports to an insane degree, never staying still for more than a second.]]

* BossSubtitles: PlayedForLaughs. Grey Prince Zote gets more and more adjectives added to his name the more times you defeat him [[UpToEleven to the point the screen can't show them all!]]

* PlayingWithFire: As appropriate for someone requesting flames, a lot of Grimm's attacks are noticeably fire-based. [[spoiler:Taken UpToEleven with Nightmare King Grimm where all of his normal attacks leave trails of flame in their wake.]]

* PlayingWithFire: Taken UpToEleven with Nightmare King Grimm where all of his normal attacks leave trails of flame in their wake.

* BattleCry: Instead of the usual MightyRoar, he screams the [[SpeakingSimlish phrase]] "FAAAAAAARRRFFUUUUNNNDADDAAA!") when the boss fight starts.

** He has a larger variant of the "Cyclone Slash" that [he taught his student Mato.

* BossSubtitles: While all the bosses have these, the Radiance is a notable case due to her Boss Subtitle covering the entire screen in white except for the words "The Radiance". This was unique among bosses in the game until Nightmare King Grimm came along and used it as well. The ''Godmaster'' pack continued this trend with the "Absolute Radiance" variant.

* OneWingedAngel: It will start launching blobs of infection once its health reaches a certain threshold. An aerial attack would then horrificly show that its body would be bursting infection from multiple directions.

The final boss of the final [[BossRush pantheon]], whom the player must battle a harder version of every other boss in the game to reach, is an even harder version of the Radiance. Dying to her will send the player to the beginning of the pantheon, meaning they'll have to fight every boss all over again to get another shot at defeating her, and she isn't a slouch herself. [[HarderThanHard Defeating her is the greatest challenge]] ''Hollow Knight'' has to offer!

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: He's the only character with a HeavyMetal theme in contrast with the most classical or ambient ones of the majority of the cast.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see the Hollow Knight [[spoiler:in its young form]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hollow_knight_young.png]][[/labelnote]]]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_hollow_knight_shade.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The Hollow Knight's Shade]]

* NintendoHard: Nightmare King Grimm moves fast and has rapid attack patterns, is durable, and deals two masks of damage per hit, which make the boss fight more of an endurance test.

* ContractualBossImmunity: Thanks to the jelly layer protecting its core, Uumuu is normally invincible to your nail attacks or spells. You have to find a way to pop that layer and expose its core. [[spoiler:Quirrel will help you with this case in the Teacher's Archives]], and you have to use the Ooma's explosion to expose Uumuu in the Godhome.

* SeeminglyHopelessBossFight: In the Teacher's Archives, the membrane protecting the core of the boss prevents the Knight from attacking it with spells or the nail. [[spoiler:After a while of dodging, Quirrel will come in and pop it.]]
* ShieldedCoreBoss: You cannot damage Uumuu directly unless you pop out her jellyfish layer and expose her core first, something that can only be done via external means, like [[spoiler:Quirrel who can pop it with his weapon]] in the Teacher's Archives, or by playing [[TennisBoss aggro with the Oomas]] in the Godhome, using their explosions to target Uumuu.

* TacticalSuicideBoss: Several Ooma will only appear when fighting this boss in the Godhome. But since [[spoiler:Quirrel]] is not there to help you this time, you have to use the Ooma's explosion to your advantage and pop Uumuu's protective layer.

!!Final Bosses
[[folder:The Final Boss '''(SPOILERS)''']]

* BornOfHeavenAndHell: {{Invoked}}. All Vessels were "born of god and void", but the Pale King makes a special mention or monologue about this phrase when he talked to [[spoiler:the Hollow Knight]] in the past.

* PlayingTheHeartStrings: The game uses a strings-focused DarkReprise of its main theme during the [[spoiler:final phase of the battle with the eponymous [[TragicMonster Hollow Knight]]]].

[[folder:True Final Boss '''(MASSIVE UNMARKED SPOILERS)''']]

-->"Invincible, Fearless, Sensual, Mysterious, Enchanting,Vigorous, Diligent, Overwhelming, Gorgeous, Passionate, Terrifying, Beautiful, Powerful, Grey Prince Zote"

* GaryStu: Grey Prince Zote, in-universe. He's essentially Bretta's Gary Stu version of Zote, being much bigger, more muscular, and more dangerous than the real deal.

* KnightOfCerebus: Hollow Knight is never a cozy, fluffy journey to begin with, but before the Broken Vessel, it seems that the story's mostly about a mysterious little Knight on an adventure in a lost kingdom... The Broken Vessel shows that there's more to it all. Plague, gods, dreams and [[spoiler:the origin of the Knight itself.]] In a more literal sense, defeating the Broken Vessel is one possible trigger (the other one being killing a Dreamer) for the Infection spilling out of the Black Egg Temple and turning the Forgotten Crossroads into the Infected Crossroads.

* EmpathicShapeshifter: The bugs strung up in Nosk's lair aren't all Vessels like the Knight; a few are of different species, meaning that Nosk can improvise a convincing disguise tailored to its prey. In its Journal entry, it's [[InformedAttribute implied to have the ability]] to look at the memories of others, which help it disguise as one of its victim's loved ones

* BrokenAngel: The Pure Vessel fight against the Vessel in its prime shows how far it has fallen by the time you encounter it in the finale. It's missing an arm, ravaged by the infection, and by the end of the fight, barely able to swing its nail without collapsing.

* SpikesOfDoom: Their "pillar" attack gets changed into summoning multiple giant nails from the floor.
* StormOfBlades: One of their attacks has them throwing nails from multiple directions.

[[folder:True Final Boss '''(MASSIVE SPOILERS)''']]

* NintendoHard: The Absolute Radiance has rapid attack patterns, is durable, and deals two masks of damage per hit, which make the fight more of an endurance test.

* SoProudOfYou: His Dream Nail dialogue indicates that he desires approval from Queen Vespa.

* BonusBoss: Like all encounters in the Colosseum of Fools, the second two Gruz Mothers aren't necessary for beating the game.

* BonusBoss: The Failed Champion plays this straight, and can be fought by [[spoiler:striking his corpse with the Dream Nail]]. The first fight with the False Knight zig zags it a bit, though: [[spoiler: you have to activate the fight to go to the Snail Shaman, but you can break out of the arena once the second phase starts.]]

* BonusBoss: Only found in optional areas, and you can easily complete the entire game without fighting one.

* BonusBoss: The first encounter with this boss is part of the main progression path (although technically skippable), but a stronger variant can be fought by [[spoiler:striking its corpse with the Dream Nail]].

* BonusBoss: It is found in a side area, and beating it gives a map marker reward that shows all grubs that have not yet been found.

* BonusBoss: [[spoiler:As of the ''Hidden Dreams'' update, hitting him with the Dream Nail initiates a rematch with an upgraded version called the White Defender.]]

* BonusBoss: Its room lies off to the side, and you only need to fight it if you want the Flukenest Charm that it drops.

* BonusBoss: Defeating it once gives you access to the bench it was sitting on; defeating it twice rewards you with a Mask Shard.

* BonusBoss: Not the regular version, but they can be rematched by [[spoiler:striking its corpse with the Dream Nail. Curiously, this version of the boss has their name changed to Lost Kin]].

* BonusBoss: Found in a hidden area in the lower Deepnest. It isn't necessary for game completion but rewards the player with a Pale Ore if slain.

* BonusBoss: Only necessary for completion's sake, and can otherwise be skipped as they're otherwise only found in optional areas.

* BonusBoss: Awards the player with no items or upgrades upon her defeat, and is only a required battle in a [[HundredPercentCompletion completionist run]].

* BonusBoss: If you rescue Bretta and defeat Zote in the Colosseum, you gain the option to fight this much [[TopHeavyGuy beefier]] and [[TookALevelInBadass more lethal]] version of Zote as a dream boss.

* CameBackStrong: Every time you defeat Grey Prince Zote, he'll get stronger and tougher, a couple of times also gaining new attacks. By your 10th fight with him, he'll have 1500 health (for reference, that's the same as [[BonusBoss Nightmare King Grim]] and a little less than the TrueFinalBoss) and deal 8 masks of damage (most other enemies do one, and very few can do two).

* BonusBoss: As of the ''Hidden Dreams'' update, hitting the Dung Defender with the Dream Nail initiates a rematch with this upgraded version called the White Defender.

* BonusBoss: He is not connected to the main story.

* BonusBoss: He is a bonus boss within a bonus boss, as it's possible to banish Grimm and his Troupe [[SkippableBoss without ever fighting him]]; but doing so yields a different reward.

* BonusBoss: You can go through the entire game without ever fighting him, and the area he's in is [[GuideDangIt pretty out of the way.]]

* BonusBoss: They appear in the ''Godmaster'' update as the Hollow Knight in their prime in the dream world, uncorrupted by the Infection. They can perform some dangerous new moves and uses a [[YinYangBomb combination of soul and void]] elements for each.