Dry Bowser

"Ggggrah! You shouldn'ta said that! Nobody makes fun of Dry Bowser! Nobody!"

- Dry Bowser

Dry Bowser (also known as Bowser Bones and Skeletal Bowser) is an undead, skeletal version of Bowser, debuting in New Super Mario Bros. Dry Bowser was accidentally created in New Super Mario Bros.'s first castle, when a short fight between Bowser and Mario ended with Bowser being dropped into a pit filled with lava. Unlike previous occasions, the lava reduced the once-mighty king to a skeleton, leaving his son, Bowser Jr., temporarily in command of the Koopa Troop. Dry Bowser is then fought in the first castle in World 8.

Since appearing as an unlockable driver in Mario Kart Wii, Dry Bowser has made recurrent appearances as a separate character from Bowser, notably in the latest Mario & Sonic games. Dry Bowser has an extremely horrifying howl combined with the rattling of bones from his entire body. This can especially be heard in the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games when the player faces him in Ice Hockey.

New Super Mario Bros.
In New Super Mario Bros., Bowser becomes Dry Bowser when he falls into lava after being defeated in World 1. He later appears as the boss of World 8's castle. He drops in from the ceiling and falls apart, but reassembles and is ready to fight.

To defeat Dry Bowser, Mario must dodge his attacks, which include breathing small flames and throwing his own bones, and wait for him to make a high jump. Mario must then run under Dry Bowser and hit the Skull Switch, destroying the bridge and throwing him into a very deep pit; when he finally hits the ground, his whole body falls apart. If Mario (or Luigi) has a Mega Mushroom as his backup item, then the player can use this item to simply jump on Dry Bowser, who then quickly crumbles in defeat.

At the final battle of the game, Bowser Jr. is present with the disassembled Dry Bowser. He tosses his father's skeleton into a cauldron, which causes Bowser to revert to his original form, albeit larger.

Oddly enough, if the player uses the Warp Cannon that leads to World 5 found in World 1 before taking on the castle, Bowser's demise will be unexplained as he was never seen falling into the lava and yet he still is in his Dry Bowser form in the first World 8 castle.

Super Mario 3D Land
Dry Bowser returns in Super Mario 3D Land as the boss in the castle stages of the Special Worlds. His battle tactics are similar to False Bowser, but they have several subtle differences. For example, he breathes blue fireballs at Mario while approaching him as opposed to the False Bowsers' method of breathing fireballs while stationary. He also attempts to hit the plumber with his skeleton tail and slam the ground (creating shockwaves). Once Mario hits the switch, the bridge collapses, sending Dry Bowser into the lava. Dry Bowser is fought in the castles of Special 1, Special 5, and Special 8, in the same worlds as his normal world counterparts.

New Super Mario Bros. 2
Dry Bowser reappears in New Super Mario Bros. 2 as the castle boss of the World Star, the final special world which is unlocked after beating the final boss. He behaves the same as his other counterpart in World 6, which marks the first time Dry Bowser becomes a larger size (excluding using a Mega Mushroom in Mario Kart Wii). The only difference in the two boss battles is that he is faster than Bowser and the platforms are smaller. Unlike the original battle, Peach's cage is nowhere to be seen. His eyes turn blue before he shoots his blue fireballs, and this is the only game where this happens.

Dry Bowser's face is used as the icon for the Impossible Pack, a downloadable course pack for Coin Rush mode, despite not appearing in any of its levels at all.

Mario Kart Wii
Dry Bowser makes his first playable appearance in Mario Kart Wii. He is a large-sized driver along with his living counterpart, Bowser. However, it seems more reasonable that Dry Bowser would be a lower weight class, as he lacks all matter other than bones. It is likely that his size qualifies him to be in that class, seeing that weight doesn't always matter when it comes to the large karts (for example, King Boo, Waluigi and Rosalina also look as if they should be in a lower weight class, but are too tall to fit in the medium size karts). He has a more terrifying roar than Bowser in this game, mixed in with several bone rattling sounds, which make up his sound effects throughout the game. He can be unlocked by beating all the Wii cups on 150cc with at least 1 star ranking. He is the Time Trial ghost of Grumble Volcano and GBA Bowser Castle 3.

Dry Bowser was the only CPU opponent in the second tournament of March 2009, where he attacked the player by firing fireballs at them throughout the race in the Mario Kart 64 version of Bowser's Castle. This competition has since been repeated twice.

Dry Bowser features a good off-road (tied with Toadette) and mini-turbo (tied with Wario, Koopa Troopa, and Dry Bones) bonus, which makes vehicles like the Flame Flyer and Phantom perform a bit better off the track, along with getting a slightly better mini-turbo after a drift.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Dry Bowser makes his second spin-off appearance in the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. He appears as the last rival character in the Festival Mode. Here he challenges the player to the Ice Hockey event, where he is the captain of a team of three Dry Bones while he participates as his team's goalkeeper. Once the player's team manages to beat him, he angrily chases his own team, likely blaming them for the loss. However, if the player loses, Dry Bowser and his team will do a victory dance and laugh evilly. There is also a purchasable Dry Bowser costume that the Miis can wear.

In the DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, Dry Bowser is seen working for Bowser and Dr. Eggman, who are trying to kidnap the Snow Spirits in the Adventure Tours mode. He appears as the boss of the Super Sonic Downhill event as well as in the Curling Bowling event, where he is encountered just as the player reaches Bowser and Eggman.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Dry Bowser returns as a rival in the London Party Mode of the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He is faced in the Dream Long Jump event. After the player beats him, they receive a Sticker. Also, the music that plays when playing against him is the same as in the previous title. The player can once again unlock a Dry Bowser suit for their Miis.

In the 3DS version's story mode, Dry Bowser appears at the beginning of the story for the second part of the Mario story. He and a Dry Bones challenge Mario and Luigi in the Sailing - 470 event. After their defeat, only Dry Bones is seen in the ending; Dry Bowser is for whatever reason absent.

Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
Dry Bowser appears as a boss in the Legends Showdown mode of Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. As all of the playable characters are about to claim the Legend Trophy, he ambushes them along with Eggman Nega and Rouge the Bat. The player must then face all three of them in the Winter Sports Champion Race event.

Mario Tennis Open
Dry Bowser appears as a playable character in Mario Tennis Open. Unlike his living counterpart, Dry Bowser is classified as a Defense-type player. He can be unlocked after the third difficulty level of Ink Showdown, Inksplosion, is completed.

Personality
Dry Bowser's personality is similar to his living counterpart, Bowser. He is a cruel and ruthless villain, and his roar is even more terrifying than the living Bowser's.

Physical Description
Dry Bowser is simply Bowser's skeletal form, though there are some significant changes in not only color but also in shape. The most noticeable feature is his nose, which has morphed into a beak-like shape. Dry Bowser's shell is a charcoal gray with dark red ridges, as opposed to his counterpart's standard green. His horns are longer and more curved and his eye sockets are more triangular with thick bone where Bowser's eyebrows used to be. Like Dry Bones, Dry Bowser's eyes are small glowing pupils. The once black and shiny collars around his neck and arms have been scorched and turned a dull dark red, and his hair has been taken up in a ponytail similar to the hairstyle of Bowser Jr.

Abilities
As an undead version of Bowser, Dry Bowser has largely the same abilities, most notably his fire breath, while also possessing the near-indestructible nature of other Dry Bones. His fire breath has appeared blue in some games. Dry Bowser also has the ability to throw bones at his foes and stomp on them with a high jump. Dry Bowser is also notable for his large howl that can raise lava in New Super Mario Bros. 2.

Mario Kart Wii

 * Size: Large
 * Stats:
 * Acceleration:*/***
 * Top Speed:***/***
 * Off-Road:*/***
 * Site Bio: "If the King of the Koopas wasn't scary enough already, his appearance as a surly skeleton should have the other drivers shaken in their seats!"
 * Prima Guide Bio: ''"After a little dip in lava, Dry Bowser, King of the Dry Bones, returns invincible! Fortunately though, he's driving the same karts and bikes as everyone else!"
 * Mario Kart Wii Card Bio: ''"Is this the result of Bowser taking a lava bath? Dry Bowser knows how to turn on the boost juice with effective Mini-Turbos and excellent Off Road handling. Unlock him if you're on a tight track & like to go fast!"
 * Actual Bonuses
 * Off-Road: +6
 * Mini-Turbo: +6

Mario Tennis Open

 * Type: Defense
 * Site Bio: He's a little slow, but Dry Bowser can cover a wide range with his big body. His specialty is powerful strokes and Drop Shots.
 * Bio 2: ''Though he is rather slow, Dry Bowser's huge body enables him to cover a large part of the court. He is capable of both powerful drives and delicate dropshots.

Trivia

 * Bowser has previously been seen falling in lava in Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels without showing his apparent demise. In Super Mario 64, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Mario 3D Land, and New Super Mario Bros. 2 however, Bowser wasn't affected when falling in lava.
 * It has been implied by dialogue in Mario Party: Island Tour that Dry Bowser is in fact a species, and not an independent character.