Bowser

"Count Bleck, Floro Sapiens, whatever... Stomping fools is my business! Show me a fool, and I'll stomp it! I don't even need a reason!"

- Bowser

King Bowser Koopa (Japanese originally 大魔王クッパ Daimaō Kuppa "Great Demon King Koopa", in English also Lord Bowser, King Koopa commonly in other media) is the supreme leader of the Koopa Troop, King of the Koopas, and the arch-nemesis of Mario. Repeatedly, he tries to kidnap Princess Peach and take over the Mushroom Kingdom. The Koopa King has attempted to conquer the entire Mushroom World many times, as well as the entire universe.

Since his debut, Bowser has been in almost every Mario game, appearing in main stream, spin-offs and crossover games. Bowser is one of video games' most recognizable villains, and is known for his aggressive nature. Besides being a primary villain, Bowser is also at times an anti-hero, usually in the Mario RPGs.

Background
Bowser's first appearance chronologically was as Baby Bowser in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. His baby form was quickly shown to have similar powers of his adult form. Baby Bowser awakes from his nap, sees Yoshi, and decides he wants to ride the "green donkey." However he notices Baby Mario is riding Yoshi so he attacks them to get Baby Mario off. Yoshi ends up defeating Baby Bowser, even when Kamek turns him into a giant. Yoshi's Island was also his first meeting with Mario chronologically. Baby Bowser later stole the Super Happy Tree from the Yoshis and turned Yoshi's Island into a pop-up book in Yoshi's Story, but he was defeated again by a newborn Yoshi.

Super Mario Bros.
Bowser's first appearance (release-wise) was in Super Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., Bowser and his Koopa Troop took over the Mushroom Kingdom. He turned many of the Kingdom's defenders into inanimate objects, and kidnapped seven Mushroom Retainers and the only person who could undo his black magic, Princess Toadstool. He then turned seven of his minions into False Bowsers, and sent them to guard the Retainers in seven different castles while he personally saw to Toadstool's captivity in an eighth castle.

Fortunately for the Mushroom Kingdom, the Mario Bros. unexpectedly appeared, and immediately set out to end Bowser's reign of terror. The heroes traversed the Mushroom Kingdom, freeing the Mushroom Retainers and eventually reaching the eighth castle and fighting with Bowser himself. The Koopa King waited for them on a bridge, attacking by spitting Fireballs and throwing Hammers. But he was sent careening into the lava below when one of the brothers destroyed the platform with an Ax placed at the far end of the bridge. Toadstool was liberated and her kingdom restored. Undeterred by his preliminary defeat, Bowser did the exact same thing in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, only to be vanquished once more by Mario and Luigi.

Super Mario Bros. 3
In Super Mario Bros. 3, Bowser returned with his children, the Koopalings: Larry, Morton, Wendy, Iggy, Roy, Lemmy and Ludwig. Each Koopaling conquered a different land in the Mushroom World and turned the king of said land into a generic enemy while Bowser resided in his home territory Dark Land. Mario and Luigi set out to free the kingdoms, all the while receiving helpful letters from Princess Toadstool. After freeing the seventh land they got a letter from Bowser, informing them that he had kidnapped the Princess while they were on their quest. The Mario Bros. boldly made their way towards Bowser's Castle for the final showdown, defeating him once again and saving the Princess.

Super Mario World
Bowser and the Koopalings reappeared in Super Mario World in which Bowser kidnapped Princess Toadstool while she was vacationing in Dinosaur Land with the Mario Bros. He also captured several of the native Yoshis, turning them into eggs and giving one to each of the Koopalings, who guarded them in castles scattered around the continent. Predictably, Mario, Luigi and a particularly heroic Yoshi saved the princess and the imprisoned Yoshis by defeating the Koopalings and their father. The boss fight in Super Mario World was unique in that Bowser and Mario battled on the roof of Bowser's castle while Bowser was in his Koopa Clown Car, throwing Mecha-Koopas and Big Steelies at the hero. Mario could use the Mecha-Koopas to his advantage by tossing them back at Bowser. After two hits, Bowser disappeared for a while, casting flames at Mario. However, his attack was countered by Princess Peach, who threw a Mushroom to Mario or Luigi. After all this, Bowser would return and attempt to ram into Mario with his Koopa Clown Car before resting to throw things some more. Eventually he loses control of the Clown Car, allowing Peach to float down to the roof and her rescuers while Bowser himself spirals away into the distance.

Super Mario 64
In Super Mario 64 and its remake, Super Mario 64 DS, Bowser invaded Princess Peach's Castle and stole the Power Stars. He used them create little worlds filled with monsters for his army inside many of the paintings and walls in the castle. Peach and many of her Toads were also trapped in the paintings of the castle and required a certain number of Power Stars to be freed.

To ensure that Mario did not disrupt his plans again, Bowser sealed off the doors in the castle with the stars and even created doors that would only open with his keys. Unfortunately for Bowser, he forgot lock one door and this led to his undoing as Mario was able to collect stars from the painting beyond the door, thus opening other doors and systematically sweeping through the castle towards Bowser.

In Super Mario 64, Bowser was solely defeated by the efforts of Mario. However, the remake Super Mario 64 DS differed in that it took the combined efforts of four heroes - Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Wario - to overthrow the tyrant and free Peach, the Toads and the Castle from his scaly grasp. But, keeping true to his rivalry with the red-clad plumber, Bowser would not accept any challengers but Mario himself for the final battle (although a glitch allowed him to be fought by anyone).

In these games, Mario defeated Bowser by grabbing his tail and throwing him into one of several bombs surrounding the battle arena. In the third and final battle, Mario had to throw Bowser into a bomb three times before he was defeated. Bowser even managed to double Mario's load by breaking apart the vast platform they were on into the shape of a star, making tossing him a difficult venture. Bowser was able to escape, but Mario saved Princess Peach and restored peace to the castle with the power of the stars.

Super Mario Sunshine
In Super Mario Sunshine, Bowser stooped so low as to use his son, Bowser Jr., as a pawn in capturing Princess Peach. Bowser told his son that Peach was his mother and that Mario was a bad man who stole her. Bowser Jr. took on the disguise of Shadow Mario, graffitied Isle Delfino, framing Mario as a graffiti criminal. Mario, determined to prove his innocence, cleaned up the mess with F.L.U.D.D. Bowser Jr. kidnapped Peach during this time and was pursued by Mario. Bowser Jr. revealed his disguise, but Mecha Bowser distracted Mario so Jr. could get away.

Mario reached Bowser and his son at the end of the in a floating, sun-shaped, slime-filled bathtuub just above the peak of Corona Mountain. Bowser tried to kill Mario by breathing enormous gusts of flame at the plumber, while Bowser Jr. assaulted him with Bullet Bills. Mario used F.L.U.D.D's Rocket Nozzle to produce a few massive ground pounds that tipped the bowl over, sending Bowser and Bowser Jr. to fall to a miniature island adjacent to Isle Delfino. Bowser confessed to his son that he had used him as a pawn, but Jr. then revealed to his father that he knew all along that Peach was not his mother, and that he couldn't wait for another chance to take Mario down. Bowser couldn't have been more proud of his son.

New Super Mario Bros.
In New Super Mario Bros., Bowser and Bowser Jr. distracted Mario by sending a thunder cloud (possibly via Lakithunder) to strike Peach's castle with lightning. While Mario was taking care of the castle, Bowser Jr. made off with the princess. Mario fought Bowser as the first boss. This boss fight was similar to the ones from Super Mario Bros. Shockingly, Bowser died in the first world when he fell into the lava, becoming an undead monster with an appearance similar to that of a huge Dry Bones. Bowser Jr. then ran from Mario's pursuit for the rest of the game.

Dry Bowser, Bowser's undead form, was the next-to-last boss. At the end of the game, Bowser Jr. revived his father in a giant pot of magic potion, and the duo fought Mario one last time. During this battle, Bowser eventually started to shoot out multiple barages of blue fire, making it harder for Mario to dodge. Despite this, Mario triggered a Skull Switch, sending the dastardly duo into a pit. Bowser was later seen being dragged away by the tail by his disgruntled son.

Super Mario Galaxy
Prior to the events of Super Mario Galaxy, Bowser attacked Rosalina's observatory, and stole all the Power Stars and the Seven Grand Stars that powered the observatory. Bowser used these incredible stars to bring his entire fleet to the cosmos and took over many galaxies, planning to construct a galaxy reactor, powered by the Grand Stars that would make all the galaxies collapse upon themselves. This would give birth to a new cosmos in which he would use to rule and control all of the universe as a Galactic Empire that would last forever with Peach as his empress. Bowser then kidnapped Peach during the events of the Star Festival, and held her at the center of the universe where he was overseeing the construction of his reactor. During this time, Bowser Jr. led most of the Koopa Troop to conquer several galaxies. Mario, helped by Rosalina, collects many Grand and Power Stars and destroys much of the Koopa Troop, encountering and defeating Bowser twice in his attempt to rescue Peach. Regardless of these drawbacks, Bowser remains confident of his victory and his main goal of constructing his own galaxy remains mostly unhindered.

Mario eventually battles Bowser at the almost-completed galaxy reactor. During the final battle, Bowser Jr. held Peach captive while Mario fought Bowser on multiple planets. Despite his efforts, Mario defeated Bowser, and sent him into magma of his own sun. The final Grand Star was released from the galaxy reactor, which exploded and forming a humongous black hole that begins to suck up the cosmos. The Lumas use their powers to reverse the black hole, creating a new Big Bang and reforming the cosmos. Rosalina then appears to Mario in a vision, explaining to him that the nature and fabric of the universe is always unpredictable and always uses different patterns to sustain itself. Bowser tried to control this force for his own nefarious means and for that he almost paid the ultimate price. Mario, Peach, Bowser and Bowser Jr. are then shown back at a restored Toad Town. Relieved to be alive, Bowser left to plan further schemes.

The Great Mission to Save Princess Peach
Bowser, under his Japanese name of King Koopa, was featured as the main villain of the Japan-exclusive video The Great Mission to Save Princess Peach, which had Bowser abducting Princess Peach, wanting to force her to love and marry him. Near the end of the film, Bowser tries to forcefully marry Princess Peach, only for the wedding to be interrupted by Mario and Luigi. After severely pummeling Mario, Bowser is eventually defeated by Mario who, becoming empowered by a Starman, beats Bowser and throws him over the horizon. In the post-credits sequence of the movie, Bowser, as well as his Koopa Troopa minions, can be seen happily working at Mario and Luigi's grocery store.

Super Mario anime series
Bowser was also featured as the main villain of all three of the stories in the Super Mario anime series, which had him taking on the guise of various fairy tale villains. In the first story of the Super Mario Amada Series, Momotarō, Bowser acts as the story's ogre, who kidnaps Princess Peach with the help of his henchmen, the Koopalings. Bowser is eventually defeated and Princess Peach is rescued when Mario defeats him with help from his allies. In the second story of the Super Mario Amada Series, Issun-bōshi, Bowser plays a somewhat minimal role, appearing to bully both Princess Peach and Mario during the story. While harassing Princess Peach, Bowser eats Mario, who prods Bowser's innards with a needle; this causes Bowser to experience a horrific stomach ache and forces him to regurgitate Mario and run away, yelling. In the final story of the Super Mario Amada Series, Shirayukihime (Snow White), Bowser, oddly, plays the role of the story's Wicked Queen, who wishes to steal the beauty of Princess Peach. After poisoning Princess Peach, who is later cured, Bowser tries to take her as a hostage, only to be defeated by Luigi.

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Bowser, though most commonly referred to by the name of King Koopa instead of Bowser, was featured as the main villain of all three of DIC Entertainment's Super Mario cartoons, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. Like Princess Toadstool, King Koopa's appearance was based off of his Super Mario Bros sprite rather than official artwork from the title. His shell had yellow unsharp spikes rather than white pointy ones. His spiked collars also had yellow spikes and were colored green instead of white spikes and black collars.

In The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Bowser would often take on various aliases and costumes and try to inact a dastardly plot of some sort, most commonly trying to conquer a kingdom or steal an ancient treasure and/or artifact; aiding Bowser in these plots were his Koopa Pack and also a sidekick of sorts, most commonly Mouser. In several episodes, Bowser would capture Princess Toadstool and attempt to blackmail her into giving him the Mushroom Kingdom, although some other episodes implied he already had some measure of control over the kingdom.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Bowser, having seemingly been banished from the Mushroom Kingdom sometime after the events of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, returned to it to cause havoc, with the aid of his seven Koopalings. In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Bowser stopped his use of aliases and costumes and his plans became somewhat more odd in nature, such as turning his children into giant, ninja warriors for the sole purpose of kidnapping Prince Hugo the Huge so he could simply transform him into a poodle.

Nintendo Comics System
In the Mario portions of Valiant's Nintendo Comics System, Bowser was once again featured as the main enemy of the Mushroom Kingdom, which he continued to try and cause chaos in.

Nintendo Adventure Books
InNintendo Adventure Books, Bowser was featured as the main antagonist of almost every story, where he often tried to commit somewhat bizarre and over-the-top deeds.

Super Mario World television series
In Super Mario World, which Bowser made only somewhat infrequent appearances in, Bowser, as revealed in the episode "Mama Luigi", had been once again been banished from the Mushroom Kingdom, was forced to move to Dinosaur World, which he began to cause trouble in as well. Bowser's fate at the end of Super Mario World is never actually disclosed, as his final appearance in it (excluding the aforementioned, flashback episode "Mama Luigi") had him trapped in his bedroom, which was rapidly filling with lava.

Super Mario Adventures
In Nintendo Power's Super Mario Adventures comic serial, Bowser, abducts Princess Toadstool from her castle in an attempt to wed her. This causes a mass panic and Bowser turns several Toads into stone statues during the confusion. Bowser also hypnotizes several Yoshis into becoming his slaves. Bowser's plot was ruined when Mario and Luigi led the hypnotized Yoshis to rampage Bowser's wedding. Bowser boarded his Koopa Clown Car to escape, but Mario lassoed it, sending Bowser crashing into his wedding cake. To add insult to injury, the Yoshis then began eating the cake.

Mario Kart series
Bowser has appeared as a playable character in virtually all of the games in the massive Mario Kart sub-series, from the original Super Mario Kart, to the more recent Mario Kart Wii. In Mario Kart: Double Dash!! his partner was Bowser Jr., his special item was the Bowser Shell, and his special Kart was the Koopa King. In Mario Kart DS, Bowser's Koopa Clown Car cameos as his unlockable kart, the Hurricane. Bowser is always a heavyweight character in the Mario Kart games, and he usually has his own course, aptly named Bowser's Castle. In Mario Kart Wii, Bowser has the highest weight bonus for his class size, which makes vehicles like the Offroader and Piranha Prowler heavier than normal.

Mario is Missing!
Bowser caused much trouble on Earth during Mario is Missing!. Bowser planned to melt Antarctica, flooding Earth. Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi set out to stop him, but Luigi stayed behind with Yoshi because he was too scared to go into Bowser's Castle. However, Mario then got kidnapped, forcing Luigi to save Mario using skills of deduction. The Mario Bros. then launched Bowser to the center of Antarctica, defeating him.

Super Mario Bros. film
In the Super Mario Bros. movie, Bowser, only ever called King Koopa here, was portrayed as the sadistic and tyrannical ruler of Dinohattan, an alternate universe version of Manhattan, New York which King Koopa had forcefully overthrown. Not content with simply ruling Dinohattan, King Koopa had planned on conquering Earth, which he needed a meteorite fragment owned by Princess Daisy to do.

After a brief invasion of Earth with his Goomba minions, King Koopa was brought back to Dinohattan where he battled Mario and Luigi. In the end, King Koopa was hit with his own Devolution Gun and regressed to a Tyrannosaurus Rex form and later, a pile of primordial ooze. Interestingly, in the official novelization of Super Mario Bros. and the Goldenbooks adaptation, Princess Daisy's father is referred to by the name of King Bowser.

Mario's Time Machine
In Mario's Time Machine, Bowser built the Timulator, a time machine that he used to steal valuable artifacts from Earth's past and build a great Musuem, not realizing that messing with the past could drastically alter the present. Mario took back Bowser's stolen artifacts and used his own time machine to return them to their proper places, saving the timestream.

Yoshi's Safari
Bowser took over the kingdom of Jewelry Land and stole twelve magical gems in Yoshi's Safari. This caused a disturbance in the ground and caused Jewelry Land to split into the Light Realm and the Dark Realm. Mario, riding Yoshi, headed for Jewelry Land with the Super Scope Princess Peach gave them to defeat Bowser. Mario and Yoshi ended up fighting Bowser in a giant robot, Bowser fought Mario using many cheap tricks such as throwing bombs, but he was still defeated, ending his reign over Jewelry land.

Hotel Mario
In Hotel Mario, Bowser and the Koopalings turned the entire Mushroom Kingdom into their own personal resorts and retained Princess Toadstool as a "permanent guest" in one of his Koopa Hotels. Mario and Luigi destroyed the hotels of each Koopaling, but Toadstool evaded their possession. Mario fought Bowser in his own hotel and defeated him, rescuing the princess.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Bowser actually served as Mario's ally in Super Mario RPG. He used Chain Chomps and his claws to attack. His special moves often involved summoning his minions to attack.

At the beginning of the Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Bowser kidnapped Princess Toadstool as she was picking flowers at Mario's Pad. He flew her to his castle, Bowser's Keep, in his Koopa Clown Car. However, Mario, having heard Toadstool scream, was on his tail. The plumber burst into Bowser's throne room and fought him atop Bowser's chandeliers in what was their one millionth battle. Bowser seemed to be unbeatable, but with some advice from the princess, Mario attacked the Kinklink chain holding up the chandelier, sending it and Bowser plummeting to the ground below. However, Bowser threw Hammers at Mario's chain, bringing him down as well. On the ground, Mario Jumped on top of Bowser, giving him a boost up to the Princess.

After the battle, a huge sword named Exor crashed into Bowser's Keep, sending Mario, Toadstool and Bowser flying in different directions; Bowser ended up near Rose Way. Once there, he decided to join forces with Mario, (even going as far as naming Mario, Geno and Mallow honorary members of the Koopa Troop) until his castle was won back from Exor and the Smithy Gang. However Bowser helps Mario and his Party for a bit longer after his castle is won because (as Geno points out) it would not be truly secure until Smithy was defeated; though the King of the Koopas insisted he only did it because Smithy had insulted him.

In this game, whenever Bowser uses a Special Move a diamond is superimposed over his body. In the Japanese version, Bowser did a gesture similar to giving the middle finger for his victory pose. This was changed when the game was released in America.

Wrecking Crew '98
In Wrecking Crew '98, Bowser started the construction of many new fortresses, greatly deforesting the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario decided to save the environment by destroying all of Bowser's fortresses. Bowser sent many of his minions to stop the plumber, but they all fell, even Bowser's right-hand construction worker, Foreman Spike. Mario eventually destroyed Bowser's final fortress, saving the environment.

Mario Party series
Bowser has appeared as an enemy in the Mario Party series since the first game, causing chaos and coin-loss on the players. He is often given his own space, which when landed on by the player will teleport them to Bowser. There are also multiple mini-games based around Bowser, where a character's coins or star is taken if they lose. Throughout the series, Bowser has taken many forms, mostly in Mario Party 2. Bowser is only playable in the Beach Volley Folley mini-game of Mario Party 4.

During Mario Party 2, Bowser took over Mario Land and it's six sub-lands. The characters of the game had a contest on who could beat Bowser the fastest in order to prove themselves the best. Bowser eventually lost control of five of his lands. Desperate to hold onto the final land, Bowser Land, Bowser utilized his Metal Bowser power-up, but the player used the stars they obtained to defeat him. In Mario Party 3, Bowser attempts to become a Super Star by collecting the seven Star Stamps. However, he was always behind the player and never got any stamps. He attempted to steal the Mischief Star Stamp, but realized that Waluigi had stolen it. Bowser attacked Waluigi but was easily defeated. A weakened Bowser then begged the player to defeat Waluigi in his name. In Mario Party 4, Bowser claims that he stole the player's presents, and that he or she must go win his board to win them back. Upon defeat, however, Bowser admits that he didn't steal the gifts and grudingly gives the player a Bowser gift (although all of these gifts are virtually useless). In Mario Party 5, Bowser attempts to take over Dream Land and have his own dream come true. Once defeated, Bowser says that his dream did come true because his dream was to have a worthy opponent. In Mario Party 7, Toadsworth invites Mario and Co. to go on a vacation around the world. This causes Bowser to be filled with rage due to the fact that they didn't invite him. Bowser then tries to ruin everyone's fun, but in the end, the player ultimately triumphs over Bowser.

In Mario Party 8, Bowser steals the Star Rod again right as it is about to rewarded to the player for defeating all of their rivals. Bowser goes to Bowser's Warped Orbit, where he has either a Hammer Bro. or Blooper face against the player. They are defeated, but Bowser challenges the player to a battle in the mini-game Superstar Showdown. Bowser was defeated once again by the player and fled. In Mario Party DS, Bowser shows his less goofy and more sinister side when he captures the Mario gang and shrinks them down to the size of chess pieces with his Minimizer to get Mario's Sky Crystal. However, Donkey Kong breaks Bowser's Minimizer and the Mario gang return to normal size. After Bowser and Bowser Jr. are captured and bound tightly in ropes, he confesses that he only wanted the Sky Crystals to unlock Triangle Twisters, and that he got a little carried away. Mario understands, and unties Bowser and his son.

Mario Golf series
Bowser is usually a default playable character in the Mario Golf games, though in Mario Golf: Advance Tour, he is unlockable and can only be unlocked by transferring data to and from Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. In Mario Golf: Advance Tour, he was present to compete against the characters Neil and Ella. He was very rude towards them and almost got into a fight with Mario. It was interrupted by Peach who reminded them of their manners. Bowser has the longest hit ratio of all characters but has low control. He hosts a tournament like Peach in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour.

During the opening of Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Bowser is hit in the eye by one of Wario's golf balls. Enraged, he chases Wario and Waluigi across many golf fields. Eventually he traps them and prepares to throw a Bob-omb at them. However, one of Mario's golf shots knock the Bob-omb out of Bowser's hands and the three are caught in an explosion again.

Mario Tennis series
Bowser also appeared as a playable character in every title in the Mario Tennis series. He is a power character who can make service and return aces easily; he lacks speed, though. In Mario Power Tennis, Bowser uses his Fire Breath for his Offensive Power Shot and his Defensive Power Shot is Spinning Shell Dash, where, he ducks into his shell and spins around to recover the ball.

In Mario Tennis, Bowser is mistaken for causing trouble when he interrupts a tennis tournament. However, he innocently reveals he simply wants to play tennis, so Mario and the gang invite him in their new tournament. However, in Mario Power Tennis, Bowser has a more dastardly scheme. Bowser takes Wario and Waluigi under his wing after they lose in a tournament against the Mario Bros. Bowser trains the two to become better at tennis and ultimately the triumvate interrupts the final match of the tournament. Wario and Waluigi shoot Bob-ombs at the Mario Bros., but Mario hits it back with his racket. Bowser fire a Bullet Bill from his balloon, but Mario deflects it, causing Bowser's balloon to start to crash. Seeing that his balloon is full of explosive Bob-ombs, Wario and Waluigi attempt to run away, but the balloon crashes on them and the three villains are defeated in a massive explosion.

Paper Mario
"Oh, Princess Peach! Your cuddly old Bowser's here!"

- Bowser

During the events of Paper Mario, Bowser and his minion Kammy Koopa invaded Star Haven and stole the Star Rod, which could grant any wish of the holder. With this weapon, Bowser imprisoned the Seven Star Spirits in cards and then scattered them in various strongholds and fortresses throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. The next day, Bowser used his flying fortress to lift Peach's castle up into the sky. Mario attempted to stop him, but Bowser used the Star Rod to make himself invincible, and defeated Mario for the first time ever. Believing his rival to be dead, Bowser threw Mario's tattered body down to the kingdom, locked the party guests in the dungeons of his castle and put Peach under heavy guard in her castle. Bowser then used the Star Rod to create havoc throughout the kingdom; ravaging it with beasts and monsters loyal to him. Bowser gave each one of the Star Spirits to be guarded by his most trusted minions.

Mario eventually defeated Bowser's army and rescued the Seven Star Spirits. After storming through Bowser's and Peach's castles, Mario reached and battled with Bowser again. The Star Spirits used their power to create the Star Beam, making Bowser's invincibility useless. Shocked, Bowser retreated to the roof of Peach's castle. Kammy Koopa boosted Bowser's size and power with her Power Platform, thus preventing the Star Beam from working against the Koopa King. However, Princess Peach and the Star Kid Twink defeated Kammy Koopa and upgraded the Star Beam to the Peach Beam, which was able to make Bowser damageable once again. Bowser was defeated and the Star Rod was taken back by the heroes. After the battle, Bowser's device started malfunctioning due to the intensity of the fight and explodes, sending Bowser and Kammy flying away. The Star Rod was returned to the Star Spirits, Peach's castle was put back in place and peace returned to Star Haven and the Mushroom Kingdom.

Paper Mario was significant because it revealed another of Bowser's motives for kidnapping Peach: he has a crush on her and hoped to steal her away from Mario.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door


Bowser also appeared as a minor villain in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. In this game, Bowser heard from Kammy Koopa that someone else kidnapped Princess Peach, and makes it his mission to rescue her and kidnap her himself. Accompanied by Kammy, Bowser appeared in many cutscenes in which he was a playable character. These scenes were often quite humorous and involved Bowser traveling through a side-scrolling world similar to the ones in Super Mario Bros. (these levels partially inspired Super Paper Mario). Bowser also tried to collect the Crystal Stars before Mario, but always appeared to be one step behind his nemesis, and ultimately failed to find any of them.

Bowser finally catches up to Mario in the Glitz Pit, where the two enemies fight in front of a large audience, resulting in Bowser's defeat. He later attempts to return to Glitzville to search for one of the Crystal Stars, but refuses to take the Cheep-Cheep Blimp, and uses the Koopa Clown Car. Unfortunately for him, the the airborne vehicle breaks down during the flight, sending him into the ocean below, and forcing him to swim back to Rogueport. He later appears in Twilight Town where he questions Lord Crump about the whereabouts of the Crystal Stars. The reluctant X-Naut summons his army to deal with the Koopa King, but Kammy calls the Koopa Troop to do battle. The two armies prepare to clash, but Bowser's fire breath sets off a Superbombomb, forcing both armies into submission.

After Mario opens the Thousand Year Door, Bowser and Kammy Koopa enter the Palace of Shadow to take Peach and steal the treasure that is rumored to be held behind the door. Sir Grodus threatens to murder Princess Peach after his defeat at the hands of Mario, but Bowser's weight causes him to crash through the ceiling. He lands on the X-Naut leader, crushing him into the ground. Bowser looks around and admits he has no idea what is going on, but he's going to "end it right NOW!" Bowser and Kammy battle Mario, but are defeated. Mario leaves them passed out on the floor of the Palace of Shadow.

Super Paper Mario
Bowser joins forces with Mario in Super Paper Mario. During the beginning of the story, Mario and Luigi find Princess Peach missing and rush to Bowser's Castle thinking that he was the perpetrator. Oddly, he is surprised as well, for he was only preparing to kidnap Peach and wasn't ready yet. While talking to each other, a mysterious figure named Count Bleck abducts Luigi, Bowser, and his minions. He leaves Mario unconsious on the floor of Bowser's Castle, but Tippi finds Mario and takes him to Flipside. Count Bleck forces Bowser and Peach to get married in order to open The Void to end all worlds, although Bowser is unaware of his plans.

After the wedding, most of Bowser's minions are brainwashed by Nastasia, Bleck's secretary. Bowser is removed from Count Bleck's Castle and wakes up in a field in The Bitlands. With a handful of his few remaining minions, Bowser establishes a stronghold in an abandoned castle and fortifies the defenses by stationing his forces throughout the area. He eventually encounters Mario and Peach, and chooses to battle Mario one-on-one. Bowser is soundly defeated by the plumber, and he learns the true purpose behind his marriage to Princess Peach. While he intially refuses to help them, Bowser realizes that he can't take over the world if it is destroyed, and agrees to come with them.

Bowser, Mario, Peach, and Luigi travelled through many dimensions to stop The Void, eventually coming to Castle Bleck. Here, Bowser defeated O'Chunks in battle. However, the ceiling starts to fall and O'Chunks stops the ceiling from crushing the others by holding it up. Bowser helps lift the ceiling as well and he tells Mario and Luigi to take Peach to safety. Interestingly, this causes Bowser to be conveniently left behind during two scenes. The first one being the part where Mimi disguised herself as Merlee, and asked Mario and company about their weakpoints (just as Bowser and Kammy did to Peach in the first Paper Mario). The second scene is when Dimentio asked Mario and company to join him, stating that they could rule every world with the Chaos Heart in their hands. Chances are, if Bowser had been around for either of those scenes, then he would have caught onto Mimi's scheme right away, and/or he would have accepted Dimentio's offer. Bowser returned to help in the defeat of Super Dimentio and witnessed the marriage of Count Bleck and Tippi in order to stop The Void.

Luigi's Mansion
In Luigi's Mansion, King Boo fought Luigi in a giant Bowser Suit during the final battle of the game. During battle, the Bowser suit could only be defeated after a spiked ball was thrown at the Bowser head. Once that happened, King Boo would be exposed and Luigi could suck him up with his Poltergust 3000. When King Boo's energy got low and retreated to the body, he screwed the head on backwards. Eventually, Luigi captured King Boo, and the Bowser suit fell. It's interesting to note that while the original Bowser is not in the events of the game, he is mentioned. He is said to have perished at the hands of Mario by Madame Clairvoya, a fortune telling ghost.

Super Smash Bros. series
Bowser was originally going to be playable in Super Smash Bros., but was taken out of the final version due to data limitations. Bowser later was playable in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Bowser was very strong, making him a key character to deliver strong attacks. His massiveness makes him incredibly hard to launch out of the arena, though he is very slow as a result. However, his throwing ability is on par with the faster characters. He is also one of the few who can crawl and is also a good edge guarder. Melee also introduced Giga Bowser, a more monstrous version of Bowser. Bowser transforms into Giga Bowser with his Final Smash in Brawl.

The Subspace Emissary
In the Subspace Emissary storyline of Brawl, Bowser orders his minions to steal Donkey Kong's Banana Hoard. After Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have recovered it, he faces them himself. He reveals his Dark Cannon and turns Donkey Kong into a trophy, though not before Diddy is sent to safety with Donkey's Giant Punch. He pursues Diddy and Fox McCloud with the assistance of a shadowy clone, as well as capturing the princess rescued by Kirby, creating a false copy of her to assist in capturing heroes. It's later shown that Bowser is working closely with Ganondorf in running the Subspace Army, though he dislikes him and prefers Master Hand. He reluctantly follows his orders, however, and retrieves the princess not rescued by Kirby from King Dedede's castle, though he was briefly attacked by Mario's team as he is returning to the Halberd. He then attacks Diddy and Fox again, this time managing to turn Diddy into a trophy and cloning him. However, his Dark Cannon is destroyed as a result of Falco Lombardi's intervention, forcing him to retreat.

Eventually, Bowser and Ganondorf were able to fly a Subspace Gunship into the other world and start bringing pieces of the world into Subspace. They destroy the Halberd, but were unable to hit the smaller, more manuverable ships until the Subspace Gunship was destroyed by Kirby. Bowser decides to go into Subspace to report his failure. He is then betrayed when Ganondorf goes to see Master Hand as well, who turns out to be controlled by the being Tabuu. Upon being revived by King Dedede, Bowser fights him until he learns the truth behind the Subspace mission and joins the heroes in fighting against Tabuu and upon finding Ganondorf's trophy (just after Kirby's discovery of it), furiously attacks it, as retribution for the treason of which he was victim earlier.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Princess Peach's voice was replaced with literally explosive vocabulary by the evil witch Cackletta. Realizing that if he kidnapped Peach, her voice would destroy his castle, he and the Mario Bros. journeyed Beanbean Kingdom to recover Peach's voice on Bowser's Koopa Cruiser. On the way, the Koopa Cruiser was shot down by Fawful, Cackletta's minion. Bowser fell in a large cannon and was shot out by the Starshade Bros. Bowser ended up in the mountains with amnesia, where he was rescued by Popple, the Shadow Thief. Popple started training Bowser to become a Shadow Thief, renaming him Rookie.

As Rookie, Bowser fought the Mario Bros. twice, remembering nothing about them except that they enraged him for some reason. Rookie's attacks, which involve throwing hammers and breathing fire, is a reference to Super Mario Bros., where Bowser could perform both of those moves. Rookie ends up remembering who he is, but he is then possessed by Cackletta, becoming Bowletta. Bowletta kidnaps Peach, which leaves Mario and Luigi with the task of rescuing her. Bowletta takes command of the Koopa Troop and launches a massive military strike against the Beanbean Kingdom from Bowser's Castle. After Mario and Luigi defeat Bowletta, the brothers are taken into her stomach to fight Cackletta's spirit for the final battle. Bowletta's stomach is full of flames. When Cackletta is completely destroyed, Bowser returns to normal. Still a bit bedazzled, Bowser gets no break as his castle exploded shortly afterward.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
In the game Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Baby Bowser appears in the beginning, kidnapping Baby Peach. Baby Mario and Luigi fight and defeat him. Baby Bowser frequently returns (swallowing two Cobalt Star shards, stealing a huge pile of Yoshi Cookies, etc.). Eventually, after Princess Shroob (disguised as Princess Peach) is brought to the present, Bowser pops in, grabs Princess Shroob, and flees. However, he falls off the balcony and into a time hole, where he meets his younger self. (which he mistakes to be some bratty kid) They team up and fight Mario and Luigi inside Thwomp Volcano. When they're defeated, they all get abducted by Shroobs, but Bowser falls out and lands in a time hole back to the present. When Mario and Luigi defeat the Elder Princess Shroob, she turns into a small mushroom. Back in the present, Bowser eats it and becomes Shrowser, who fights Mario and Luigi (and doesn't allow them to attack). After this, the Elder Shroob is completely destroyed, and Bowser faints with the brothers doing a victory pose on him.

Mario & Luigi RPG 3
In the newest Mario and Luigi game, Mario & Luigi RPG 3, Bowser is a playable character. He tries to kidnap Peach, but fails. He then eats an item called the Vacuum Mushroom and becomes under Fawful's control. Afterwards he inhales every inhabitant of the Mushroom Kingdom, during that Fawful takes control of Peach's and Bowser's castles. Bowser, not aware that he has the whole kingdom in his belly, is very mad about it and chases Fawful. Not much else is known about his role.

Mario Pinball Land
In the begining of Mario Pinball Land, Mario, Princess Peach, and a group of Toads went to a fair and were enjoying a day of merriment. Princess Peach rode a special ride, the Air Cannon, made by Professor E. Gadd. The machine turned Princess Peach into a pinball and allowed her to play a special pinball game. Two of Bowser's Goombas took advantage of her pinball state and changed direction of the cannon, and shot her to Bowser's Castle. Mario used the machine to become a pinball and followed Bowser through five different worlds with some Toads trailing behind. Mario had to use the power of the Power Stars to pass each world. Mario used his pinball powers to defeat Bowser and save Princess Peach.

Yoshi's Universal Gravitation
Yoshi's Island would once again become the target of an adult Bowser's conquests during the events of Yoshi's Universal Gravitation. The Koopa King and his forces attacked the island, causing chaos and disorder. A spirit named Hongo encased the entire island in a storybook to contain Bowser and his armies, mirroring what Bowser did the to Yoshi's Island as a baby. Fortunately, Yoshi managed to convince the powerful spirit to restore Yoshi's Island if the green dinosaur could personally trap Bowser. If the threat of Bowser was contained, there would be no need to keep the island as an isolated storybook. As such, Yoshi set off through the chapters of the storybook version on Yoshi's Island.

Each course was controlled by a different spirit, and each demanded that the green dinosaur fulfill a specific task before he or she would allow Yoshi to move on. Ultimately, after satisfying the task of every spirit, Yoshi was allowed to confront King Bowser. Of course, the green dinosaur emerged victorious in the end, and Bowser was once again defeated. With the threat of Bowser eliminated, the spirit Hongo released Yoshi's Island, restoring it to its natural state.

Yoshi's Island DS
In Yoshi's Island DS, Bowser traveled to the past to find the Star Children, which were said to have the power necessary for Bowser to conquer the universe. Among the many children he took or attempted to kidnap are Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Peach, Baby Donkey Kong, Baby Wario, and even Baby Bowser. Bowser from the future used a scepter to bring him back to the past and invaded Baby Bowser's castle. Later Bowser kicked Baby Bowser out of the castle when he insulted him.

Baby Bowser later teamed up with Baby Mario, Baby Wario, Baby Donkey Kong, Baby Peach and Yoshi to save Baby Luigi and the other babies from the future Bowser out of revenge since his future self had betrayed him. Later in the game, Baby Bowser turned on his team because he accused them of trying to steal his treasure after defeating him. Outnumbered, Baby Bowser was defeated. Kamek then enchanted the future Bowser to become a giant in the final battle against Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Donkey Kong and Baby Wario. During the battle with the giant Bowser, the Yoshis must threw Giant Yoshi Eggs in such a way that they all collide and explode in front of Bowser's face. In the end, Bowser was defeated and it turns out the heroic babies were six of the Star Children, as well as a Baby Yoshi that was born soon after Bowser left the past.

Mario Baseball series
Bowser is a playable character in Mario Superstar Baseball and its sequel, Mario Super Sluggers. Bowser is a team captain and a very powerful batter. In Mario Super Sluggers, Bowser's special move is the Killer Ball, where he hit or pitched a Bullet Bill. In Mario Super Sluggers, Bowser Jr. is jealous that Mario and his friends have their own baseball stadium so he takes over the stadiums in Baseball Kingdom. After Bowser Jr. is beaten by Mario's team, Bowser faces Mario in a baseball game. Mario's team merges victorious and celebrates. Bowser and Bowser Jr. are invited to the celebration out of pity. Bowser refuses but goes anyways since Bowser Jr. wants to have fun, so Daisy lead's them to the table. To the dismay of Bowser and Bowser Jr., they only get a small portion of food. Wario and Waluigi attempt to take Mario out with a sneaked Bullet Bill in the Bob-omb Derby during the celebration, but Bowser jumps in front and deflects it back at them. The reason Bowser did this is unknown, though it is likely that either if it hit Mario, he would have no archrival, or that he thinks it is his job to take Mario out.

Super Princess Peach
In Super Princess Peach, Bowser built a villa on Vibe Island. There, his troops found the mysterious Vibe Scepter, which Bowser used to capture Mario, Luigi, and Toad. Princess Peach was out on a walk, and when she found out what happened, she went on a quest to rescue them. Bowser sent many of his minions to capture Peach, sure that she would be easy to capture with the Mario Bros. out of the way. Peach surprised everyone when she defeated Bowser's generals and rescued Luigi and Toad. Peach defeated Bowser when she reached his villa, but he grew bigger and attempted to defeat her. However, Peach used the power of her emotions to defeat Bowser again and she rescued Mario.

Mario Football series
Bowser makes brief appearances in Mario Smash Football as a hazard who interrupts gameplay by tilting the field or attacking the players. During the game he attempted to have his own robotic Super Team win a soccer tournament, but they were defeated. Bowser Mario Strikers Charged Football as a power type character who can tackle hard and make goals easily. His special ability is the Fire Storm!. When performing his mega shot, Bowser turns into a fiery monster and then hurls the ball at the goalie. Bowser wears metal claws to help him manage the ball, as well as to make himself look more fierce.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Bowser appears in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games as a power type character. He is the strongest character with a high level of stamina. Bowser does excellently in events such as the Hammer Throw or any events dealing with strength.

Different Characterizations
When Bowser was first made, he was a villain of pure evil with immense hatred and anger. Cruel and ruthless, he is typically portrayed as a power hungry tyrant who leads violent attacks that threatens the lives of hundreds. Bowser's ultimate goal is to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom, and eventually, the entire universe. His infamous plans and numerous crimes, ranging from kidnapping to terrorism, have earned him a reputation feared by the entire Mushroom World. While this status of evil is still very prevalent in the series, Bowser has recently had a humorous tone added to his personality and is shown to be more complex in terms of his relationship with Princess Peach.

Most games tend to embrace one characterization of Bowser for each game he is in. Some games only focus on his comical aspects, while others focus on a much more sinister aspect of him, making his role the same as his first ones in which he was simply pure evil. The games that mainly focus on his comical aspects are the RPGs, where his overall character has a very amusing personality that is blatantly shown. Bowser has also been known to break the fourth-wall and also feels the need to make sure that others know he's still evil even if he lends a hand to stop new villains.

While Bowser is primarily comical in RPGs, Paper Mario had him considerably more evil than when he's a secondary villain or character and combined both his evil nature with his comical undertones. Although the game still had a humorous tone to Bowser, he was also shown to be very cruel and sinister in certain scenes. Outside the RPG series, Bowser is not as comical, and in many instances is shown to be pure evil. The Mario Party series also has Bowser as more serious driven as well as angry, but does not perform very sinister actions, his only goal to ruin Mario and his friend's fun through comical methods. Super Mario 64, New Super Mario Bros., and Super Mario Galaxy remove Bowser's usual comical undertones completely and make him a much more sinister villain than he is found typically in the RPGs.

Common Sense
While Bowser has shown intellect and a sarcastic wit in many of the games, he can also been seen as very incompetent. The RPG's are primarily where his lack of common sense is shown. The height of this seen when he breaths fire on a Superbombomb when he sees that it doesn't explode in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and in Super Paper Mario when Bowser didn't realize that he couldn't rule the world if the world was destroyed until Mario told him.

While shown as lacking common sense, Bowser is shown to be on many occasions as highly intelligent. In Mario Party Advance, Bowser even claims to have an IQ of 9,800, but seems unlikely. Many of his plans often made use of high tech equipment and complicated machinery that were created by the tyrant himself. While his plans often involve a repetitive phase of abducting the princess, it has become apparent it has more to do with Bowser's attraction to Peach rather than an actual step in a plot. He is however intelligent enough to realize Mario is more than a formidable foe and takes measures to combat this. An example of this is in Paper Mario, where Bowser steals the Star Rod to wield against his eternal nemesis. This resulted in his first victory and allowed him to temporarily control the Mushroom Kingdom, proving that it is well within his abilities to do so. Bowser's plans are also sometimes complicated in themselves and involve numerous crimes such as abduction, theft, robbery, terrorism, abuse, harrassment, blackmail, arson, destruction, numerous attempts of mass murder, minion facilitation, child endangerment, assault, and even acts such as frame-up, fraud, and identity theft as evident in Super Mario Sunshine.

Emotions
While Bowser has been shown from pure relentless evil to a comical villain, there have been hardly any instances where Bowser has shown any form of emotion other than anger or hatred. Bowser has never shown any remorse for his actions, which have led to numerous atrocities and caused much destruction from the Mushroom Kingdom all the way to the outer reaches of the universe. Bowser also seems to lack sympathy and has disregard for any form of life. Bowser's many attacks on the Mushroom Kingdom could have easily taken many lives, but Bowser has never shown any remorse when doing these attacks, only focusing on obtaining power and ruling the Mushroom Kingdom with Peach at his side. In Paper Mario, Mario's defeat at the hands of Bowser, to which Bowser mockingly laughed at, could be considered murder as he is only able to rise up after the combined energy of the Star Spirits. In Super Paper Mario, Bowser has shown to have no problems killing his own minions when they attack. He has even on occasions abducted infants to fulfill his nefarious goal of conquest and did not care in the least for their well being. Perhaps Bowser's biggest demonstration for disregard for other lives is in Super Mario Galaxy, where his plot was to wipe out entire galaxies to create a cosmos he can control.

However, a more humane side of Bowser is sometimes seen, although rarely and in brief moments. In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, when Mario encounters Bowser in front of Booster Tower, the King of the Koopas is crying after the loss of his home to Smithy and his underlings. Also, at the end of the game, when Geno's body broke down, Bowser was just as saddened as Mario, Mallow, and Peach were. In Mario Party 4, Bowser was shown to be extremely upset when he was defeated and grudgingly gives the player a gift for their birthday. Disgusted with his defeat as well as his failure stop the player's birthday festival, Bowser leaves in shame. One of the Koopa Kids even goes as far as saying that maybe Bowser has more affection than others are led to believe, but then quickly says that it's not the case. Bowser is shown walking in the darkness, alone and miserable, but wished the player happy birthday. This may speak to how Bowser feels and why he is so determined to have Peach. Further, the fact that some of his minions mention that Bowser has affection hints that his closest subordinates see a side of him that no one else generally sees. His plot to ruin the player’s birthday may hint that such events are foreign to him and this makes him miserable as a result and decides to take it out on others during these events. The last occasion so far where Bowser shows emotion is in Super Mario Sunshine when Bowser tells his son, Bowser Jr., in sadness that Princess Peach is not his mother and seems to have guilt for lying to his own heir. Regardless of these rare emotions, Bowser never ceases to cause havoc and make plans at the expense of others.

Physical Appearance
Bowser is a huge, burly, green-shelled Koopa with spikes, horns, and hair, which few other Koopas have. His bushy eyebrows and mane of hair are fittingly a bright, fiery orange. He also has two small horns, many spikes on his shell, similar to a Spiny, and a couple spikes on his tail, too. He has many spiked collars around his neck and arms, which add to his overall air of menace. He has three claws on each of his massive feet, which support his impressive girth. While his face and his shell are green, his underbelly and snout are flesh-colored, and his tail and limbs are an orange-tinged yellow. But in the original Super Mario Bros. his underbelly was green as well. He also has a large tan muzzle which hides Bowser's large, menacing fangs when the king's mouth is closed - the tips of the teeth are usually visible, however. On each of his hands there are four claws. His arms are noticeably burly, indicating his vast physical strength. His bright red eyes are always a bit menacing, and this is heightened by his bushy, often-scrunched eyebrows. Bowser had green scales and skin in Super Mario Bros., but this has been changed to yellow scales and skin.

Bowser's appearance is based upon a combination of the many subspecies of Koopa, such as Koopa Troopas, Spinies, and Hammer Bros. Bowser and the Koopa species are also based on the kappa of Japanese mythology

Bowser's hair has changed in various games. In his first appearance in Super Mario Bros., Bowser never had any of his hair due to graphic limitations. His red hair was first seen in-game in Super Mario Bros. 3, although, he first had hair on the box for Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, however, it was yellow, instead of red. The hair was also absent when Bowser power ups in his Super Mario Bros. look when he got a Mega Star in Super Paper Mario. The hair was yet again absent in the Mario cartoons as the creators wished to follow the graphic design of Super Mario Bros.; as such, his bare head was covered only by a crown.

In the Super Mario cartoons and Nintendo Comics System, Bowser was portrayed as being almost completely green in color and lacking hair, with a crown in place of it. Bowser's snout was also more crocodilian in appearance and the whites of his eyes were yellow and his stomach was a deeper yellow then portrayed in the games in these two aforementioned incarnations of Bowser. Oddly, in Nintendo Adventure Books, Bowser's appearance seemed to vary between resembling his cartoon and comic depictions and his depiction in the games.

The Super Mario Bros. movie is often cited as having the most drastic changes to Bowser's physical appearance, with this version of him, named as King Koopa, being almost completely human in appearance, though possessing some reptilian traits, such as a long, pointed tongue and slitted pupils in his eyes. Near the end of the Super Mario Bros. movie, King Koopa is forcibly de-evolved into a snarling green Tyrannosaurus Rex and then into a large glob of primordial ooze.

Powers and Abilities
Since Bowser is the King of Koopas, he possess the powers of many of the Koopa subspecies, such as Fire Bros' fire breath, Spiny's shell spikes, and Hammer Bros' hammers. Bowser's signature ability is breathing fire. He can choose to either breathe a long breath of flame or shoot many fireballs. Bowser is quite advanced in his fire-breathing, he can shoot blue flames that follow Mario in Super Mario 64 and New Super Mario Bros. and can even breathe fire underwater in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Super Paper Mario. Another one of Bowser's most-often used abilities is his power and durability, something that Bowser prides himself in. Bowser is often the most powerful character in sports games and can create shockwaves by doing a simple ground pound in several games. Bowser's durable nature is evident seeing that he has fallen into lava, been blown up, etc., but has managed to survive all this many times. Bowser is also shown to have an extremely loud and powerful roar that often sends weak enemies running away before a battle even begins. In Super Mario Bros., Bowser also threw hammers like a Hammer Bro. but has rarely used the technique since, only to be used once again in Super Princess Peach and by his alter-ego Rookie in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. He briefly used it in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars when after battling him at the beginning, he throws a hammer at Mario's Kinklink.

Speed and Agility
Bowser's speed and agility are very inconsistent and they greatly vary from game to game. In some games Bowser is actually faster and more agile than Mario is, such as in Super Mario 64 where Bowser can jump hundreds of feet in the air if Mario tosses him off the platform. In that game for short distances, he can also run faster then Mario can. Despite his size, Bowser has demonstrated the ability to pull off a move similar to Mario's Star Spin during a boss fight in Super Mario Galaxy. However, Bowser is usually slower than Mario in playable appearances and sports games. In Super Paper Mario, Bowser is the slowest usable character and also has poor climbing abilities. If Bowser tries to climb a ladder, he would only move his arms a little bit and then say "Can't climb this"; however he can climb ladders in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Bowser is shown to have good swimming abilities, just like Mario, though he reportedly hates swimming.

Magic
According to the Super Mario Bros. instruction booklet, Bowser is a skilled user in dark magic. However, he rarely uses magical abilities, and Kamek and Kammy Koopa seem to have taken over most of this trait. One of the few times Bowser does use magic is in Hotel Mario, where he uses it to summon lightning bolts. Bowser's lightning ability is shown again in the beginning of Super Mario Galaxy when he uses it to summon a spaceship to lift Peach's Castle into space. Another magical ability Bowser uses is teleportation in Super Mario 64. If the player came too close to him, Bowser would disappear and reappear somewhere else, making it hard to get close to his tail. Bowser also teleported to escape after Mario defeats him in their first two battles in Super Mario Galaxy. Another magical ability Bowser uses is to transform himself into a giant boulder, during his final fights with Mario in Super Mario Galaxy. Bowser is also able to turn into many square stones in Mario Party DS.

Fire Breath
Main article: Fire Breath



Fire Breath is one of Bowser's special moves in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl. Bowser uses this move when the B Button is pressed. It is exactly the same as a Fire Flower, except that the flames get smaller the more it is used. The attack is somewhat of a long-distance move, and is usually best to use when the enemy is coming in for close-range combat. However, the move will leave Bowser motionless while using the attack, and will leave his back open for attack. If Kirby copies Bowser's abilities, he will gain the Fire Breath attack.

Koopa Klaw


Koopa Klaw is one of Bowser's special moves in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Bowser uses this move when the B button is pressed in conjunction with either left or right on the Control Stick. This move has two variations, based on Bowser's distance from his opponent. If the two are sufficiently far apart, he simply lashes out with his claws, leaving a visible trail in the air. If Bowser is near enough to his opponent, however, he will grab a hold of his foe, allowing him to either gnaw on them or execute a throw move. If Bowser grabs them, he will be able to bite them repeatedly, until they manage to escape from his grasp. Nevertheless, grabbing them is a great way to deal a mass amount of damage.

Flying Slam


Flying Slam is Bowser's Side Special Move in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, replacing the Koopa Klaw from Super Smash Bros. Melee. In essense, Flying Slam is essentially the same move as Koopa Klaw, with one fundamental difference: Bowser claws at his opponent and if he connects, he'll perform a flying suplex, rather than throw them over his shoulder as he did with the Koopa Klaw. Bowser's air movement can be controlled somewhat during this move. If connecting midair, Bowser will go down with the enemy, and can KO himself as well as the enemy. The enemy can, however, control the movement of the two, and fight back, depending on both the enemy's and Bowser's damage percentages. Bowser doesn't bite his enemy with this move, unlike with the Koopa Klaw.

Whirling Fortress
Whirling Fortress is a move that can only be used by Bowser in both Super Smash Bros. Melee and its sequel, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Bowser activates this move when a player presses Up and B simultaneously. Bowser conceals himself inside his shell, and spins around with it in the air. If it hits any of the other players, they take a relatively large amount of damage, depending on how long they are in contact with the spinning shell. The attack is a very useful move, as it acts as Bowser's third jump, and it does damage to any opponent it hits. The attack can also be used on the ground, instead of just in the air.

If the player pauses while Bowser is using the attack, and zooms in on the front of his shell, they can see Bowser's eyes inside the shell.

Bowser Bomb
Bowser Bomb is an attack that is used by Bowser and by extension, Giga Bowser in Super Smash Bros. Melee. It is executed by pressing the down+B button, however, there are several different control types for Super Smash Bros. Brawl (see here). Bowser jumps up to the right, and smashes down on the ground, damaging any players under him. It is called the Bowser Bomb because it is like a bomb coming down at a high speed, and when Bowser hits the ground, the move's power is quite explosive. This is one of the thing's that separates the Bowser Bomb from the Ground Pound move. Yoshi has a similar move called the Yoshi Bomb.

The move is a reference to one of Bowser's attacks in Super Mario Bros. 3, in which the Koopa King would Ground Pound where Mario or Luigi is standing. In fact, the position Bowser gets into when using Bowser Bomb is even borrowed from Super Mario Bros. 3.

Giga Bowser
Main article: Giga Bowser



Although not normally playable in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Giga Bowser appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as Bowser's Final Smash. He still takes damage from hits but won't flinch, making him impossible to KO. Because of his large size, he is able to easily attack and KO an opponent. The duration of this move is very short, however there is a glitch that allows the player to remain as Giga Bowser until they self-destruct (cause themself to be KO'd). While Giga Bowser is activated, Bowser's icon doesn't change. Additionally, Giga Bowser can be turned around with Mario's Cape attack.

Family
The game Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced the first seven of Bowser's eight children, the Koopalings; who, after their first appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3, would go on to appear in several other games with their father, as well as in various other Mario-related medias, such as cartoons and publications. The game Super Mario Sunshine introduced Bowser Jr., Bowser's eighth and youngest child who, unlike the Koopalings, resembles him greatly. Bowser Jr. has been featured in many games such as New Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Galaxy and is often Bowser's partner in sports games. The Mario Party series also introduced Koopa Kids who, despite having an uncanny resemblance to Bowser, seemsunrelated to him; though Bowser acts somewhat like a father to the Koopa Kids, doing things such as grounding them or banning them rom playing with his toys when they fail.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island introduced Kamek, a Magikoopa who is the caretaker and possible adoptive father of Baby Bowser. Kamek is shown to take great care of Baby Bowser and worries about him often. Besides Kamek, another father is mentioned by Bowser in a few issues of Nintendo Comics System. This father is heavily implied to be a criminal currently being chased by the authorities. Bowser and his children were also shown to have a pet, Pookie, in Nintendo Comics System, who was a rabbit who was often abused by his owners. Pookie eventually escaped from Bowser's Castle in the comic "Bowser Knows Best".

The first family member of Bowser's ever seen was not in the Mario video games, instead, it was in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "Do You Princess Toadstool Take This Koopa...?". This episode introduced his mother, who was a bossy and bullying woman. Additionally, King Koopa also mentioned a grandfather named Poopa La Koopa in the episode "Butch Mario & the Luigi Kid", with character's apparent motto being "Cheat, beat, and be merry!" In the song "Ignorance is Bliss", Bowser mentions a younger sister who is a bookworm.

In the Super Mario Bros. movie, two idiotic cousins of King Koopa, named Iggy and Spike, are introduced. Also, King Koopa's second-in-command in the Super Mario Bros. movie, Lena, is implied to have some sort of relationship with King Koopa. Yoshi was also portrayed as the pet of King Koopa, though the two seemed to have hatred for one another, with Yoshi, much like Pookie before him, suffering much abuse at the hands of King Koopa, who referred to Yoshi as a "throwback".

The UK Nintendo Power once said that Bowser had a wife named Clawdia Koopa; however, as Clawdia is never referenced to again, neither in any games or later issues of Nintendo Power UK, it is often believed that Clawdia was simply a joke. In Super Paper Mario, Bowser and Princess Peach are forcibly wedded by the sinister Count Bleck and Nastasia. Though Bowser regards this wedding as official and Princess Peach as his wife, Princess Peach herself cites the wedding as a sham and disregards it as official. Throughout the game Bowser calls Peach his wife, with her to refute his words each time he does.

Mario


While Bowser has many enemies, no one has caused him more anger than Mario himself. Bowser has had a deep-rooted hatred for Mario because he has continuously disrupted his plans and won the heart of Princess Peach. Though Bowser despises Mario with a passion, he has a grudging respect for him and sees him as a worthy opponent, although he's tried to hide this reluctant respect. This is shown most strongly in Super Mario Galaxy, where Bowser says that he picked the right guy to be his archenemy since Mario always puts up a fight, and even more strongly in Mario Super Sluggers where Bowser saved Mario from being hit with a Bullet Bill sent from Wario and Waluigi. Of course, Bowser only saved Mario so that he'd still have a rival to face off against. Mario himself seems to have some sort of sympathy for the villain, going as far as even letting Bowser go in Mario Party DS. Though this is most likely due to the fact that Bowser's scheme unintentionally led Mario and his friends to have fun and that his plans weren't nearly as brutal as past ones. Although it should also be noted that Mario celebrated after viewing Bowser's seemingly permanent destruction in New Super Mario Brothers, although he did eventually return. Their battle seems to be an eternal one as Bowser has survived numerous situations and even came back from the dead.

Princess Peach


While Bowser has much hatred for the kingdom's residents, this hatred apparently does not apply to Princess Peach. One of the most complex aspects of Bowser is his relationship with Peach. It at first seemed that he only abducted her for control of the kingdom and to use her as bait to lure Mario into danger. However, it is later revealed that Bowser is attracted to Peach and lusts for her to like him. While he has harmed her in many ways, Bowser will never go as far as killing her and treats her fairly nicely. Even though Bowser has an attraction to Peach, he in no way cares for perspective. He has ruthlessly attacked her kingdom, caused much destruction, and forced her to watch him nearly kill Mario, the person she truly loves, while tied up. In Super Paper Mario though, Bowser consistently showed concern for her safety. It seems that Bowser's attraction for Peach is mainly physical, but Peach is the only one in the whole series capable of showing that Bowser has affection somewhere deep in his evil heart. Peach herself is able to recognize Bowser's softer side towards her and often flirts with him to agree to help Mario, to which Bowser reluctantly agrees. It can be assumed that Bowser does not care for anybody or anything other than Princess Peach, his own children, and his army.

Children


Even though Bowser has shown less sinister aspects on rare occasions, he is still an evil villain with a lust for power. He does however care very deeply for his 8 children and is very proud of them for their loyalty towards him and the koopa army. Even though he cares for his children, he sometimes uses them as pawns and can treat them as simply minions rather than family. This is shown most strongly when Bowser lied to Bowser Jr. to give him motivation to embark on a scheme to abduct the princess and destroy Mario, although it is not known if Jr. needed that much motivation anyway. It should also be noted that in Super Mario Galaxy, Bowser grieved over the impending destruction of his galaxy rather than the welfare of his own son. It can be surmised that while Bowser does care for his children, he seems to care for his plans and himself just as much and this care may even overshadow his children.

Luigi


Another one of Bowser's odd, if not comical, interactions with other characters are his ones with Luigi. While Luigi has often helped Mario disrupt the Koopa King's plans, Bowser briefly forgets who Luigi is in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, showing how little Bowser thinks about Luigi. When Bowser kidnapped Mario in Mario is Missing! he thought he was unstoppable until Luigi stopped him. Since then, it seems he has realized Luigi's potential threat level, Bowser had Luigi captured in Super Princess Peach and in Super Mario Galaxy, Bowser apparently saw Luigi as so much of a threat that he placed him under heavy guard in a haunted mansion guarded by Boos. Even though he sees Luigi as a threat, Bowser holds Luigi in low esteem; he is shocked and disgusted at himself when he believes that he even lost to Luigi in getting a Crystal Star in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. On many occasions though, Bowser seems to hate Luigi mostly for the simple fact that he is related to the man who has caused so much harm to the king and his Koopa Troop. Regardless, Bowser and Luigi are considered enemies, but can get along when the situation calls for it such as in Super Paper Mario.

Koopa Troop


Bower’s relations with his army and underlings are usually held in good regards. Bowser has respect for all his underlings, but cares very little for them if they fail him. If they betray him however, Bowser sees them as enemies and will not hesitate to eliminate them. His minions also, surprisingly, hold Bowser in extremely high regard and serve him out of respect more than in fear. While many do fear his wrath, his minions believe Bowser to be the strongest and best suited to run the army. Nearly every single one of his henchmen, while failing numerous times, is a hundred percent loyal to their king and serve him faithfully. Kammy Koopa and Kamek are prime examples as they treat Bowser as a god and never complain about him, even when he's not around. This applies to most of his other troops with the only complaint being that Bowser may be overly nervous about Peach escaping, though this nervousness is rational.

Mushroom Kingdom
Bowser's relationship with the Mushroom Kingdom as a whole is generally one filled with lust and jealousy. He does not seem pleased with the land he inherently ruled and sought to take control of a kingdom with much more to offer. For this reason, Bowser sees the Toads as weak and pathetic inferiors who take what they have for granted. He has no respect in the slightest for the residents and has shown this by his various invasions and attacks, which have destroyed many areas and nearly slaughtered thousands. He will often do various things to the residents in each game such as locking them in dungeons, freezing them, and even trapping them within the walls of the kingdom's own castle. Bowser's hatred towards the kingdom's residents may also be a result of the Koopa Clan being mistreated over the years, as Kammy Koopa mentions in Paper Mario. Bowser's goal of conquering the kingdom has more to do with his lust for power however, as he has on occassions attempted to conquer other areas that he did not have a vendetta against, including other worlds and galaxies. So, while Bowser's motivation for taking control of the kingdom is mainly for his lust for power, it is also partially about obtaining revenge.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit

 * Speed: *
 * Weight: *****
 * Bio: With road rage pumping through his veins, Bowser is the biggest brute on the track. It's impossible to push him around, but his weighty shell makes his acceleration suffer.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

 * Kart: Koopa King
 * Partner: Bowser Jr.
 * Class: Heavy
 * Special Item: Bowser's Shell
 * Bio: Naturally, Bowser gives new meaning to the term road rage. His massive girth is matched only by his fierce temper.

Mario Kart Wii

 * Size: Large
 * Actual Bonuses
 * Speed: +2
 * Weight: +5
 * Drift: +3

Mario Hoops 3 on 3

 * Baller Name: The Big Shell
 * Type: Powerful
 * Special Shot: Bomber Dunk
 * Letter to Tap: B

Mario Superstar Baseball

 * Team Captain: Yes
 * Player Type: Power
 * Home Court: Bowser Castle
 * Star Swing: Killer Ball
 * Star Pitch: Killer Ball
 * Special Skill: Laser Beam, Body Check


 * Good Chemistry
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Koopa Paratroopa
 * Dry Bones
 * Bowser Jr.
 * Hammer Bro


 * Bad Chemistry
 * Mario
 * Daisy
 * Toad
 * Peach
 * Toadsworth
 * Baby Mario
 * Baby Luigi
 * Toadette


 * Stats
 * Batting: 9
 * Pitching: 9
 * Fielding: 1
 * Running: 1


 * Bio
 * "Mario's arch rival and the king of the Koopa Clan. He's challenged Mario and his

friends to battles countless times, but his ambitions tend to get crushed every time. His lethal Killer Ball is powerful enough to drag anyone who catches it across the field!"

Mario Strikers Charged Football

 * Type: Power
 * Super Ability: Fire Storm!
 * Deke: Hides in his shell to repel opponents.


 * Stats
 * Movement: 3
 * Shooting: 10
 * Passing: 3
 * Defense: 10

Solid Snake Codec Conversation

 * Colonel: Careful, Snake! That's the great and terrible Bowser!
 * Snake: Bowser? Looks like a cheap movie monster.
 * Colonel: Hardly. Bowser leads an entire army of monsters. But I'd worry more about his claws and fire if I were you.
 * Snake: Doesn't look that tough to me. Seems kind of slow, actually.
 * Colonel: Well, he is the king of Koopas. It's only natural he'd be slow. But that's only because he's the heaviest fighter here--by far. He's a powerhouse of destruction. Careful he doesn't flatten you.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Prima Rating

 * Offense: 7
 * Defense: 5
 * Projectile: 3
 * Final Smash: 7
 * Throwing Ability: 8
 * Speed: 1
 * Overall: 7

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Alter Egos
On The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, King Koopa would often don a unique title and costume to go along with the setting of many of the episodes. For instance, in a western-themed episode, he dressed up as a cowboy and took on the name of Kid Koopa. Whereas in a gangster-themed episode, he took on the role of Al Koopone.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 Writers Bible Bio
"Despite every devious and dastardly plot he hatches, Koopa has a certain Rodney Dangerfield-like vulnerability which makes him as loveable as he is hateable. Koopa is pure id. Unmitigated selfishness running rampant in an ugly green body. He will capture, trick, bribe, threaten, attack, cast evil spells, hurl malicious insults, throw temper tantrums and do anything else despicable and nasty to defeat the Super Marios. And he has so much fun doing it, we always want to see him try again. In Super Mario 3, Koopa fans can enjoy his humorous rantings and funny frustrations even more as he contends with his seven black sheep Koopalings. If reptiles had hair, Koopa would've pulled all his out by now."

Portrayals
Bowser is voiced/portrayed by:

The Great Mission to Save Princess Peach Mario Ice Capades The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World. King Koopa's Kool Kartoons Super Mario Bros.. 1996 - 2001 2002 - 2007, Mario Super Sluggers Super Paper Mario, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Mario Party 8 Super Mario Galaxy and Mario Kart Wii
 * Akiko Wada
 * Christopher Hewett
 * Harvey Atkin
 * Christopher Collins and Pat Pinney
 * Dennis Hopper
 * Isaac Marshall
 * Scott Burns
 * Eric Newsome
 * Kenny James

Names in Other Languages
Since Bowser's name is Koopa in Japan, in Super Smash Bros. Melee, if the player switches the language to Japanese, then instead of Bowser, Bowser's name is Koopa. Something similar can be done with Jigglypuff.

Nicknames and Aliases

 * King Bowser
 * Lord Bowser
 * Mr. Bowser (Merlon)
 * The Great Bowser
 * King Koopa (Cartoons)
 * Koopa (Cartoons)
 * His/Your Grouchiness (Kammy Koopa)
 * His/Your Gnarliness (Kammy Koopa)
 * His/Your Filthiness (Kammy Koopa)
 * His/Your Rancidness (Kammy Koopa)
 * His/Your Awfulness (Kammy Koopa)
 * His/Your Massiveness (Kammy Koopa)
 * His/Your Chunkyness (Kammy Koopa)
 * His/Your Ghastlyness (Kammy Koopa)
 * The Boss of Bwahaha (Nintendo)
 * King Dad (Koopalings)
 * Pop (Koopalings)
 * Daddykins (Kootie Pie)
 * Papa (Bowser Jr.)
 * Koopa Stoopa (Toad and Princess Toadstool)
 * Koopums (by his mother)

Trivia

 * In various games, a silhouette of Bowser's head indicates that he is about to appear or is present. The only major exception is the Super Smash Bros. series, in which he, like the rest of the Mario characters, is represented by a Mushroom.
 * In the "How to Draw Nintendo Heroes and Villains" book, Bowser is listed as Kerog. While it is unknown how this mistake was made, it should be noted that Kero is Japanese for "ribbit," and Nintendo has used the name Kerog before (as the Japanese name of Mega Man 2 's Croaker enemies).
 * In the SNES version of SimCity, one of the natural disasters is a giant Bowser attacking the city.
 * Bowser's Boss theme on Super Mario RPG is a remix of his battle theme on Super Mario Bros. 3. The song was also remixed in Paper Mario, when Mario is fighting a fake Bowser, controlled by the Koopa Bros.
 * Bowser's boss theme in Super Paper Mario is a remix of both the Super Mario Bros. 3 World 8 map music and his boss theme from his Dark World and Fire Sea fights in Super Mario 64.
 * Oddly, Bowser was featured as the host of his own live-action television series by the name of King Koopa's Kool Kartoons; King Koopa's Kool Kartoons had Bowser giving Nintendo related merchandise to his all-child audience members, as well as showing them old, public domain cartoons.
 * Bowser was featured as the main villain of the Ice Capades of 1989, which had him trying to cause worldwide chaos by spreading an electronics corrupting virus through Nintendo Entertainment Systems.
 * According to an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, Bowser Japanese name was either going to be Kuppa, Yukke, or Bibinbap. All 3 are Korean dishes.
 * In Tetris Attack (Panel de Pon in Japan), Bowser takes the place of Corderia.
 * In the Pikmin series, a matchbox with Bowser's face on it appears as a treasure.
 * super paper mario is the first paper mario title where jumping on bowser cause the player to take damage.

Quotes

 * For a full list of quotes, see Category:Quotes.