Palutena

Palutena is the goddess of light and female lead of the Kid Icarus series. She is the damsel-in-distress in the original games, but takes on a more proactive role in Masahiro Sakurai's Kid Icarus: Uprising, providing protagonist Pit with guidance and powers from afar. In contrast to her serene, elegant appearance, Palutena has a playful "trickster" personality that she uses to tease Pit and other characters on occasion. Since Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Palutena has been a playable fighter in the Super Smash Bros. series.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Palutena is featured in Pit's Final Smash, Palutena's Army. Pit calls her forth to assist him in battle, to which she then appears as a giant (not her actual size, but her chosen manifestation for this appearance). She will then summon an army of Centurions to attack Pit's opponents, who attack by dive bombing at incredible speeds.

Palutena is also a supporting character in the Subspace Emissary. After witnessing the Subspace Bomb's effects, Palutena sends Pit to the World of Trophies to help stop the Subspace Army. Before he departs, she gives Pit her bow.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Palutena appears as a playable fighter and newcomer. Unlike most other fighters, though like the Mii Fighters, Palutena's custom special moves are not variations of the default moves but rather entirely different moves, and all of them are available from the start. For her stage entrance, Palutena emerges from a door that disappears afterward.

Unlike Pit and Dark Pit, Palutena is voiced by Brandy Kopp rather than Ali Hillis as in Kid Icarus: Uprising, while her Japanese voice actress, Aya Hisakawa, reprised her role from said game.

All of Palutena's custom moves are based on the Powers that appear in Kid Icarus: Uprising. Her standard special moves are Autoreticle, Explosive Flame, and Heavenly Light. Her side specials are Reflect Barrier, Angelic Missile, and Super Speed. Palutena's down special moves are Counter, Lightweight, and Celestial Firework, and her up specials are Warp, Jump Glide, and Rocket Jump. Finally, her Final Smash is the Black Hole Laser, a combination of the Black Hole and Mega Laser powers.

A statue of Palutena also appears in her temple. Pit can also contact her to talk about all of the fighters with her guidance during the match at her temple in the Wii U version.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Palutena returns in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, this time as an unlockable playable fighter. In this game, she has a set attack for each special move; her down special functions as both Counter and Reflect Barrier, possessing a similar property to King K. Rool and Joker's similar moves, while Explosive Flame appears as her side special. Generally, Palutena has been improved since the previous installment, having more speed and power in her attacks, while her mobility is increased. Palutena's forward and down smash attacks are both nicknamed Goddess Wings, while her down aerial's nickname is Purging Kick.

Palutena also makes an appearance in the World of Light's opening cutscene, where she tries to reflect Galeem's large laser attack while granting the Power of Flight to both Pit and Dark Pit, but fails and is eliminated, cutting off Pit and Dark Pit's flight and causing them to fall to Galeem's attack as well. The real Palutena does not appear until Galeem starts to confront Dharkon after the first defeat; she represents Galeem's side in the Final Battle area alongside Roy and Master Hand, and must be awoken to progress the story.

Classic Mode route
Palutena's Classic Mode route involves fighting characters associated with deities in some way. Its route title comes from a phrase Palutena says in her debut character trailer for the previous game.

Super Mario Maker
Palutena appears in Super Mario Maker as a costume available for Costume Mario. Her sprite is based upon her appearance in Kid Icarus: Uprising, rather than the one seen in the original Kid Icarus. All of her sound effects, including the transformation, jumping, and fanfare, are taken from the Famicom Disk System version of the original Kid Icarus. Pressing causes her to stand facing the player.

Palutena's Guidance

 * Pit: Wait a minute! Lady Palutena, you're fighting me?
 * Palutena: Don't sound so dismayed. Think of it more as a sporting event and less as...a massacre.
 * Pit: I really don't want to hurt you...
 * Viridi: That's awfully presumptuous of you, Pit!
 * Pit: Please! I know better than anyone else what Lady Palutena's capable of. After all, I fought her once before.
 * Palutena: Good luck, Pit. You're gonna need it. Of course, I won't be giving you any hints during this battle. And no powers or centurions, either!

amiibo

 * Palutena, the goddess of light and ruler of Skyworld, hails from the Kid Icarus series of games. She goes to great lengths to protect her people, and those who dwell on the surface lands below. She watches over Pit as he does battle, sending him messages telepathically and using her powers to help him.

Super Smash Blog bio

 * With her wings and staff, this goddess's attacks cover a wide range. With her up smash, neutral special, and side special, she can create a ranged attack in almost every direction except for directly beneath her! Keep the pressure on your opponents from a distance with ranged attacks!

Quotes

 * "Oh, no!" - When she is KO'd
 * "You shall be purified."
 * "Ready when you are."
 * "No one can hide from the light."
 * "Too bad for you."
 * "Oh, so sorry about that, Pit."
 * "Poor little Pittoo..."
 * "Don't get careless, Pit. A challenger approaches." (Bayonetta reveal trailer)

Trivia

 * As with Pit, Palutena's current design is taken from Super Smash Bros. Brawl and was revamped in Kid Icarus: Uprising for the Nintendo 3DS developed by Sora Ltd., who also developed Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
 * Palutena's newcomer artwork is the only one not to feature any Mario characters; it only features herself, Pit, Dark Pit, and Link. Consequently, her artwork is the one that features the second-fewest number of characters.
 * Palutena is the only character in the Subspace Emissary who is neither playable nor an enemy/boss.
 * Palutena makes a cameo in Cloud Strife's All-Star ending, where she is walking towards a blaze while Cloud glares at her. This was a reference to the Nibelheim Incident from Final Fantasy VII where the main antagonist Sephiroth proceeded to raze Nibelheim, Cloud's hometown, to the ground. Owing to the reference, Palutena's hair was colored gray in this instance rather than her trademark green.
 * According to Masahiro Sakurai, Palutena, along with Bayonetta, was considered to be the starter character for the World of Light; they were ultimately dropped for Kirby due to him being more beginner-friendly, and the fact that their presence would be implausible due to other similar entities from their home series not surviving Galeem's attack.