Antasma

Antasma is a sentient nightmare who is a major antagonist in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. He is an ancient enemy of the Pi'illo Kingdom.

Role
Antasma was once known to be just an ordinary bat until he consumed a Pi'illo's nightmare, thus, turning him into a demonic manifestation over time after consuming more nightmares. He got his hands on the Dark Stone, but was stopped by the Pi'illo Kingdom's citizens and the Zeekeeper. However, before he was banished, Antasma shattered the Dark Stone, causing it's chunks to petrify every Pi'illo in the Pi'illo Kingdom, including Prince Dreambert.

About 1,000 years later, Antasma returns to capture Princess Peach during her vacation at the Pi'illo Kingdom with Mario and Luigi. Although Mario failed to remove Peach from Antasma's grasp, he did free Dreambert from his slumber.

Later on, they find Antasma within Dream's Deep, but Antasma has then decided to establish an alliance with Bowser, who then teamed up to take down both Mario and Dreamy Luigi in battle. After that boss fight, both villains flee to Dozing Sands to acquire the Dream Stone for their nefarious purposes.

At the summit of Mt. Pajamja, Bowser and Antasma use enhanced speakers to put everyone in the Pi'illo Kingdom to sleep by using the Dreambeats in order to power up the Dream Stone. Once the stone was all powered up, Antasma and Bowser have made themselves a new impenetrable fortress and decimated a few islands with a large laser cannon to show off it's true power as a test drive.

Antasma does not show up again until Mario and Luigi access Neo Bowser Castle after summoning the Zeekeeper to destroy the castle's impenetrable barrier. Antasma helps out Kamek a few times by hiding him from Mario and Luigi within some dream portals. After Kamek is defeated for the third consecutive time, Antasma then recommends Bowser to fall asleep in order to power up their castle. Once Bowser starts dreaming, he becomes invulnerable to real world attacks, requiring Mario and Luigi to defeat Bowser in the Dream World in order to neutralize Antasma's power.

After Bowser is defeated in a difficult giant boss fight, Mario and Luigi corner him and Antasma at the summit. However, it is revealed that Bowser was using Antasma as a pawn all along, and leaves him at the mercy of Mario and Luigi. Antasma and Dreambert clash with each other, only for Antasma to overpower him in the Dream World. Dreambert requests Mario's assistance to defeat Antasma. Once he is defeated, Antasma will inflate and then explode right afterwards.

Reception
Antasma has received positive feedback from fans in spite of his scare appearances in the game. Many fans also appreciate his design and enjoy his Transylvanian accent.

However, some people are rather put off with the plot twist regarding his role as the main villain, while others mark it as Bowser's triumphant comeback against another Mario & Luigi RPG villain after three games of abusive shenanigans.

Some fans even compare him to Cackletta, another Mario and Luigi villain who shares similar abilities and motives with Antasma.

Counterparts

 * Dracula (Bram Stoker's novel)
 * Cackletta (Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga)
 * The Dark Star (Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story)
 * Fawful (Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga)
 * Pitch Black (Rise of the Guardians)
 * Bill Cipher (Gravity Falls)
 * The Nightmare King (Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland)
 * Him (The Powerpuff Girls)
 * Nightmare (Kirby's Adventure)
 * Dark Matter (Kirby's Dreamland)