Black Smoke

Warning: Game spoilers ahead!
This article contains spoilers related to crucial parts of the BOXBOY! series' plot. If you do not want to have the series' plot spoiled for you, you should come back to this article after having played the games.

The effect of the Black Smoke on Qbby.

The Black Smoke is a destructive element found throughout the BOXBOY! series. Not much is known about it, but it has been shown to render entire planets completely uninhabitable, and corrupt lifeforms, such as boxes. Once a planet has been infected with the black smoke, the black smoke can only be removed from the planet through the use of a machine. This requires the sacrifice of one or more boxes, turning them black and making them enter "a long sleep".

Throughout all the games in the series (with the exception of BOXBOXBOY!, the primary goal for the main characters is to stop the black smoke's destructive effects on planets.

Origin

Seemingly all the black smoke in the galaxy originates from the black smoke planet, a planet covered in the substance. This planet appears in both BYE-BYE BOXBOY!, and in a more powerful form in BOXBOY! + BOXGIRL!.

In Games

BOXBOY!

Qbby wakes up on a planet covered in Black Smoke at the beginning of BOXBOY!. Along with Qucy and Qudy he restores the planet to its original green state.

BOXBOXBOY!

While the black smoke is not prominent in this game, it does appear in the post-credit scene foreshadowing the events of BYE-BYE BOXBOY!.

BYE-BYE BOXBOY!

In BYE-BYE BOXBOY!, Qbby must travel across several planets that are covered with Black Smoke.

BOXBOY! + BOXGIRL!

In the first ending of BOXBOY! + BOXGIRL!, a meteor sent from the black smoke planet crashes into the planet, covering it in Black Smoke. This is prevented in the alternate ending by Qbby's fragments creating a second box who helps him activate the final machine on the surface of the meteor.

In A Tall Tale, Qudy uses lasers on the Box Planet to weaken the black smoke planet, eventually weakening it to the point that Qudy lands on the planet itself and uses the power gained from clearing Worlds to weaken the planet further. His attempt fails due to a warphole spawning, which sucks the entire planet inside. Qudy instead uses his newfound power to teleport outside the planet, where the Box Ship sucks him up - with two boxes resembling Qbby and Qucy inside.