Bowser

"Hear this! I will kidnap Peach OVER and OVER until I pull it off! And no one can stop me! Losing is not an option! And neither is giving up!"

- Bowser

Bowser, sometimes known as King Koopa or King Bowser, is the main antagonist of the Super Mario franchise. He is a large, powerful, fire-breathing Koopa who leads the Koopa Troop, an evil kingdom of turtle-like creatures, and has been the arch-nemesis of Mario since his debut in Super Mario Bros. He has repeatedly kidnapped or attempted to kidnap Princess Peach with the ultimate goal of defeating Mario and taking over the Mushroom Kingdom.

Creation
Bowser was created by Shigeru Miyamoto as the villain of Super Mario Bros. In concept art, he tentatively had the name 「ボス クリーパー」 (Bosu Kurīpā, Boss Creeper), based on Shellcreeper. Miyamoto stated that they considered naming him either ' (국밥) (soup with rice), ' (육회) (raw meat marinated with raw egg), or  (비빔밥) (mixed rice), which are all Korean dishes as they are known in Japanese. In the end, "Kuppa" was chosen. Miyamoto mistakenly thought kuppa was grilled meat, or  (불고기), and that made it sound powerful and cool, but later learned that it was a rice soup. For the later North American release of the game, which also introduced the anglicized spelling Koopa, the character was named "Bowser".

The earliest known design for what would become Bowser depicted him as resembling an upright Koopa Troopa with spines on his back, and fangs. During the development of Super Mario Bros., Miyamoto considered asking a manga artist or illustrator to do the art for the game. However, time was running short, so he drew the game's original box art himself. This artwork included a depiction of Bowser that is significantly different than later designs, the most obvious anomalies being his gray-blue skin and lack of horns. For the character's appearance, Miyamoto drew inspiration from an anime film adaptation of the Chinese novel ', renamed ' during the film's American localization. He liked the film's main antagonist Gyū-Maō (lit. "Ox Demon King," King Gruesome in the dub), so he loosely based Bowser on an ox as a homage.

Yoichi Kotabe, an animation artist, later joined Nintendo and was asked to do new illustrations for the Super Mario franchise. His only reference was the package illustration for Super Mario Bros., so Kotabe asked Miyamoto many questions on how to draw the characters. However, designing Bowser caused problems, since Miyamoto had not drawn him often. He brought up that he liked the Ox King from the film, and this was how he imagined Bowser, but Kotabe thought Bowser's original design looked like a hippo and Nintendo designer Takashi Tezuka pointed out that Bowser should be a turtle. Through their discussions, Bowser's appearance gradually came together. Since he was in the same turtle family as the Koopa Troopas, they partly based Bowser's new appearance on them. Finally, the new design was created, and Miyamoto congratulated himself by saying "Wow, I can really make Bowser look cool now!"

For Bowser's finalized design, Yoichi Kotabe took inspiration from the, which he knew to be a particularly aggressive species of turtles, fitting of Bowser's fearsome nature.

History
As he is the main antagonist of the franchise, Bowser's appearances spans decades of Super Mario-related media, including television series and publications. Chronologically, his first appearance is in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island as a baby, where he kidnaps the infant Luigi, along with his bringer. This baby version of Bowser has encountered his older self in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. In his major appearances, he frequently kidnaps Princess Peach, with one instance even forcing her to marry him. However, in the sports and racing games, he is a playable character who is shown siding with the Super Mario allies. He has also played a part in the Mario Party series as a host of the Bowser Spaces, and as an antagonist.

Personality
Bowser in most portrayals is a persistent, threatening, and commanding villain who kidnaps Princess Peach, desires to defeat Mario and his friends, and runs an army to invade and take over the Mushroom Kingdom. In most games, he also revels in causing disorder and intimidating his enemies, such as in Mario Party and in various sports games. His portrayals in the RPGs range from starring villain to a minor comic relief villain who gets sidelined by the starring villain to a playable anti-hero.

Bowser is arrogant and selfish, being boastful when he is successful and focuses only on self-preservation when he fails. In Super Mario Galaxy, his only regret is his failure to create his own realm, and in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, he is dismayed at having to damage his own captured castle while he trying to reclaim it from Fawful. In Mario Party 4, Bowser grudgingly giving the player a present and wishing them a happy birthday as he leaves in shame, moving one of the Koopa Kids to wonder if there might be more to Bowser than he leads others to believe, as Bowser claimed to be somewhat happy. In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, he resents having to ask nicely for help from Starlow. Though he believes himself superior, Bowser can be acknowledging of his foes for their tenacity against him in fierce battles or competitive events, even engaging in casual banter. In Super Mario Odyssey, along with planning his forced wedding with Peach extensively, he even comments on Mario's costume before their final battle, prompting anything from a humorously scared response to a genuine compliment on his dress sense depending on the clothing before noting that Mario was not invited regardless.

Despite Bowser's role as an intimidating authority figure in the Koopa Troop, he can be quite amiable sometimes, especially to Bowser Jr., where he is depicted as a loving father figure. His harsh and raging demeanor sometimes softens somewhat towards his loyal minions, with his constellation in Mario Party 9 stating he is considerate of their well-being. He shows genuine affection and pride for his son and can be protective of him when Mario defeats him in battle. In games like Mario Tennis and Super Mario Party, he crashes the events but only for friendly competitions to let him and his minions participate.

While Bowser is regarded as a respected leader from his troops and as a feared invader from his enemies, Bowser's usual brashness and short-temper can often lead him to not think his actions through or be willing to compromise, such as in Bowser's Inside Story when he flies into a rage upon discovering that Mario and Luigi had been aiding him inside his body the entire time (believing they were partying around inside him) and attacks them mere moments after the three of them had saved the world.

For all his pleasure in villainy, Bowser sometimes remarks there are lines he would not cross. He appears to be as horrified as the rest of the party when witnessing the Sammer's Kingdom's destruction by the Void (deeming such an evil act as "overkill"), and when King Olly revealed his endgame to be wishing eradication of all Toads, Bowser vehemently called such a plan mad and made clear that, while he has done his fair share of evil, even he would never attempt to outright exterminate the Toads.

Physical appearance
Bowser is a huge, burly, green-shelled Koopa with spikes, horns, and hair. His bushy eyebrows and mane are fittingly a bright, fiery red-orange and has bright red eyes. He sports two small horns, many spikes on his shell (similar to a Spiny) with brown-orange spike-rings, as well as along his tail (minus the spike-rings). He wears several spiked collars around his neck and arms. His neck collar in some games such as Mario Kart Tour is also implied to be part of his shell. He has three claws on each of his massive padded feet, four claw-tipped fingers including a thumb on each hand, and his arms are noticeably burly, indicating his vast physical strength. While his face and his shell are green, his plastron and muzzle are beige colored (occasionally depicted as being closer to tan or even yellow), and his tail and limbs are an orange-tinged yellow. In his artwork for Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart: Super Circuit and the Paper Mario games, his limbs and tail are bright orange. The exact coloration of Bowser's head varies depending on the media: while official 2D artwork and most of his in-game appearances have his head and shell match in color, the majority of the official 3D artwork, trailers, merchandise as well as Mario & Luigi games show him with a light green head, similar to Bowser Jr.'s appearance. In his various appearances, his red/orange hair is depicted in a loose cockscomb, the only exception to this being in Super Mario Odyssey, where he instead has his hair groomed in a perm-like fashion for the wedding until he is defeated for the second time. Super Mario World reveals that his eyes present the tapetum lucidum, as eyeshine can be seen when he is in the dark flying around World of Bowser (excluding the occasional thunderclap briefly showing him in silhouette); this trait is also applied to his baby self in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, as seen when he is shown in the darkness before beating up Kamek and then confronting Yoshi and Baby Mario.

According to Prima's Super Mario Galaxy guide, the appearance of Bowser and the Koopas are also based on of Japanese mythology, although this has not been officially stated by Shigeru Miyamoto.

Bowser's appearance has evolved over time. In the box artwork for Super Mario Bros. he has an appearance similar to that of an ox in homage to antagonist Gyū-Maō ("Ox Demon King"), with bluish face and scales, yellow hair and black eyebrows, as well as a less reptilian face. With the contribution of Yoichi Kotabe, Bowser is redesigned between the release of Super Mario Bros. and the release of the Famicom version of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. During this redesign he is given blue eyes, as well as red hair and red eyebrows. Despite that, some artwork for Super Mario Bros. 3, while featuring Bowser's redesigned appearance as well as the blue eyes, retains the yellow hair and black eyebrows while also showing him wearing a cape. His eyes are changed to red again in Super Mario World. The brown rings around the spikes and horns are first seen in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven stars and are seen again in Super Mario 64, though in the latter game the horns and spikes are yellow. In Super Mario Sunshine, Bowser's appearance is very similar to the current appearance, with a few minor inconsistencies, such as his plastron traveling all the way up his neck.

Bowser's appearance does not always follow the design of the time, and the same illustrations were often modified when used in subsequently released material. Two illustration made by Yoichi Kotabe were slightly modified and colored with different colors. The first image is used in the manual of Super Mario Bros. 3, with Bowser having red hair and eyebrows and closed eyes, but also in Super Mario Bros. pinball machine, with him having blue eyes, and in Super Mario Bros. Mushroom World, with him having blue eyes and holding a wand. There is even a version of it in which he has red eyes. The second image is used in the promotional pamphlet of Super Mario: The Lost Levels, in which Bowser has yellow hair, yellow eyebrows and blue eyes, without rings around the spikes, and in other artwork related to that game, in which he has red eyes, hair and eyebrows, orange claws on the feet and with white rings around the spikes. Similarly, graphical limitations in the original Super Mario Bros. lead to Bowser not having hair. His in-game model in Super Mario 64 has feet which are not padded, although in artwork for that game, he has padded feet. Similarly, in Super Smash Bros. Melee, his feet are not padded, although in his Classic mode trophy he has padded feet. Furthermore, in the Paper Mario series and in artwork for the Mario & Luigi series, he has black eyes like the other characters, in the first three Mario & Luigi games he lacks foot pads and Paper Bowser's spike rings are absent until Sticker Star.

In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Bowser's appearance has been revamped, with a more detailed and stylized appearance. He has a slightly more muscular stature, a thicker, shorter snout, more teeth, a longer tail, a bigger shell, thinner armbands, and a smaller head. His yellow scaling gains a more greenish color in the upper part of his arms and torso. His eyes also glow whenever he is enraged.

The creators of the Super Mario cartoons wished to follow the graphic design of Super Mario Bros., and so their portrayal of King Koopa had him almost completely green in color and lacking hair, with a crown atop his head instead. His stomach was a deeper yellow than in later game depictions, and the whites of his eyes were also yellow; he also had a more crocodile/dinosaur-like snout, which was also colored green. He was also given a single pair of spiked bands on his wrists, with the spikes on said bands being yellow in color.

Nintendo Comics System used the same design as the cartoons for the Super Mario comics, and different installations in the Nintendo Adventure Books used either it or Bowser's game depiction, interchangeably. The cartoon, Nintendo Comics System and Nintendo Adventure Books designs were later reused to a certain extent for Bowser's green palette swap in Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS and Wii U (as well as being based on a palette swap for him in Mario Golf). By comparison, the two Super Mario anime (the three OVAs and Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!) are relatively true to the games' depiction of Bowser. Here, his eyes are blue instead of red, as in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels and Super Mario Bros. 3. Similarly, in the three OVAs he also frequently wears a cape, like he did in artwork for Super Mario Bros. 3. On the other hand, in Super Mario World: Mario to Yoshi no Bōken Land he has red eyes, and his appearance on overall is similar to the appearance of Bowser in artwork for Super Mario World.

In the Super Smash Bros. series, he had various palette swaps (4 in Super Smash Bros. Melee, 6 in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and 8 in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS / Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate). His red palette swap in Melee and Brawl, and to a certain extent 3DS / Wii U, was based on one of his palette swaps in Mario Golf (although the latter two games also had it resembling Bowser's in-game sprite from the NES version of Mario is Missing), while his blue palette swap was based on how he appeared on the Japanese box art for Super Mario Bros. His white appearance in Brawl and gray appearance in 3DS / Wii U was likewise based on Morton Koopa Jr. prior to his New Super Mario Bros. Wii redesign. His green appearance was based on one of his palette swaps from Mario Golf, his in-game sprite for Super Mario World, and to a certain extent his appearance in the DiC cartoons and Nintendo Comic Systems and his in-game sprite from the original Super Mario Bros. game. His blue palette swap in 3DS / Wii U was primarily based on the blueish Bowser's Brother from Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels, although it also to a certain extent resembles a palette swap of his from Mario Golf.

As another trait exclusive to the Super Smash Bros. series, Bowser's body has better defined scales and muscles; in Super Smash Bros. Melee, he has defined biceps, and his limbs and tail are a gold-brown color. Starting from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Bowser is less bulky and slightly scalier, better resembling his appearance in contemporary Super Mario games. Starting from Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, Bowser is also upright and even less detailed than before. In Ultimate, Bowser retains his upright posture, though his color scheme is darker and more monotone (traits taken from Melee), while his horns, spikes, hair, and scales feature simple detailing (traits taken from Brawl).

Although Bowser does not generally wear clothing, there are a few instances where he does: The Japanese artwork for Super Mario Bros. 3 depicts Bowser wearing a purple cape. In addition, Bowser, or rather, King Koopa, frequently uses disguises in the DiC cartoons (mostly based on pop-culture icons), and in Mario Party 2, similar to how the playable characters wore themed outfits befitting the various boards (ie, a Pirate for Pirate Land, a Cowboy in Western Land, a Space Cadet in Space Land, an archaeologist in Mystery Land, and a Witch/Wizard in Horror Land), Bowser wore various outfits and adopted aliases befitting the themes of all the game boards except for Space Land (as he instead just pilots a space vehicle without wearing an actual costume). In addition, in a few cases when he is about to marry Peach, such as Super Mario Adventures, Super Paper Mario and Super Mario Odyssey, he wears white Groom's outfits having each times different features such as the shoes, or lack thereof, and the bow tie. In Mario Tennis Aces, Bowser receives his own tennis outfit, which is a black T-shirt with orange flame designs on it, accompanied by red kneepads. In Mario Kart Tour, Bowser received a Bowser (Santa) variant as a High-End driver in the 2020 Winter Tour. For this variant, Bowser wears a Santa hat, a red and white collar, and has Christmas lights on his shell. He also carries a red and green present and a white sack for this variant.

Speech
In the NES and SNES Super Mario games, Bowser did not have voice acting, with the manual of Super Mario Bros. 3 nonetheless showing that he was able to speak. The 1986 Japanese Super Mario Bros. film gave Bowser voice acting for the first time in history, with the Amada Anime Mario Series (1987-1989) following in suite. Neither the movie nor the series were officially subtitled nor dubbed in English, thus the first time Bowser was heard speaking in English was in the 1989 DIC Entertainment Super Mario cartoon titled The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, in which he was portrayed by Harvey Atkin, giving him a Brooklyn accent. This trait was carried over in DIC's 1990 and 1991 cartoons titled The Adventures Of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. He utilizes tiger-like growls in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, and also has a screech that he utters when hit by one of the Mechakoopas in Super Mario World. He eventually received voice acting in the PC version of Mario is Missing!, although he would not receive full-fledged voice acting until a decade later. Afterwards, he received a limited degree of voice acting in the games starting with Super Mario 64, although it was for the most part limited to roars and occasional laughter, with in-game text describing what he is saying to Mario. He later received full-fledged voice acting in Super Mario Sunshine, where he was given a gruff, yet slightly goofy-sounding voice. In games released after this, his voice clips are generally the same mixture of both, recently being more frequently growling and roars with in-game text indicating what he is actually saying. A notable exception is the localizations of The Cat Mario Show, where Bowser speaks full sentences that were localized and dubbed in all the main European languages as well. Overall, Bowser has a bass voice.

Powers and abilities
Bowser's most prominent ability is breathing fire. He can produce continuous flares or flurries of individual fireballs, and as seen in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Super Paper Mario, he can even use his fire breath underwater. He has been shown to cause fiery rain in Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. U, while in Super Mario 64 and New Super Mario Bros., he can produce blue flames that home in on Mario. Bowser is very proud of his fire breath, and is immensely displeased to find himself temporarily unable to use his flames in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. In the PC version of Mario is Missing!, Bowser is said to be immune to fireballs, however this is not the case in most other games. Similarly, while lava defeats Bowser in many games, including the original Super Mario Bros., or New Super Mario Bros. (in which it transforms him into Dry Bowser), in other titles, he appears to be resistant to it, such as New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Bowser is also portrayed with significant physical strength. Bowser is often the most powerful character in sports games, and in Super Paper Mario, his attack stat as twice that of the other heroes. He can easily break through boulders and topple enemies many times his own size, and in Mario & Luigi Bowser's Inside Story, when Mario and Luigi stimulate his muscles with minigames, Bowser can move islands and lift giant stone statues, among other things. Like his fire breath, Bowser takes pride in his strength, and is quick to use punches, claw swipes, tackles, stomps, body slams, ground pounding, and other physical attacks in battle. In Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Bowser can attack his enemies using bites, with the latter game giving him the ability to poison others with his fangs, while the former gives him a poisonous claw attack.

Unlike his strength, Bowser's speed and agility is less consistent between games. Bowser is usually slower than Mario, like in Super Paper Mario, some Super Smash Bros. games and most sports titles, although despite being the slowest runner in the Mario & Sonic summer Olympics, with a 2/10 stat, in the winter games, he has an 8/10 stat. In Super Mario 64 Bowser can jump incredible heights and make short charges at Mario, and while he cannot climb ladders in Super Paper Mario, both this game and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door show him to be a good swimmer, although the latter reveals that he dislikes the activity. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Bowser has sluggish mobility and low jumps, but his dashing speed is exceptionally quick. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Bowser's mobility is faster, though still sluggish compared to the rest of the cast. Starting from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, Bowser is a speedy powerhouse fighter.

In the original Super Mario Bros., Bowser throws hammers at Mario, like a Hammer Bro, and this ability reappears in various games, including Super Princess Peach, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and New Super Mario Bros. 2. and he can also duck into his spiked shell and spin or roll around to attack. Another uncommonly seen skill is Bowser's lightning power, which only appears in Hotel Mario and the opening cutscene of Super Mario Galaxy. Both games also make use of Bowser's teleporting ability, as he uses it to bring Peach to his hotel in Hotel Mario and teleports away after his first two defeats in Super Mario Galaxy; he also teleports across the battlefield if the player comes near him in Super Mario 64.

According to the Super Mario Bros. instruction booklet, Bowser is a skilled user in dark magic, using it turn the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom into blocks and other items. While this aspect of Bowser's abilities is not seen in many other games, he makes use of similar magic, with a wand, to shrink players in Mario Party 4 and turn a Koopa Troopa into a frog in Mario Party 2. In Mario Party: Island Tour, he uses magic to create a 30-floor tower. He also teleports himself away after being beaten at the Bowser's Star Reactor and Bowser's Dark Matter Plant in Super Mario Galaxy. Bowser is also shown to be capable of flight, as seen in Super Mario 3D Land, where he flies away after being defeated in World 8-Bowser: Part 1. Finally, Bowser can transform himself, such as turning into a giant boulder during his final fights with Mario in Super Mario Galaxy, or changing into Giga Bowser in the Super Smash Bros. games, which grants him numerous new powers, such as the ability to freeze opponents. In the anime film, Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen! he has the ability to shapeshift into anything he desires, and he can drastically change his size in various games.

Size
Like his speed, Bowser's size changes between games, and often varies between or during battles in single titles. In Super Princess Peach, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, and various Mario Party titles, Bowser uses an assortment of magical artifacts and items to turn himself temporarily giant for his final showdowns with Mario, and starts out giant in Super Mario Sunshine, shrinking back down to regular proportions after his defeat. Kamek makes Baby Bowser giant in Yoshi's Island, and he and the Koopalings use spells to turn Bowser gigantic in New Super Mario Bros. Wii and New Super Mario Bros. 2, respectively. In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Mario and Luigi can make Bowser temporarily giant by supercharging him with adrenaline; Bowser X and Dark Bowser can become giant for a short while as well. Other games also show him to have modest increases in size from one boss battle to another, such as New Super Mario Bros. and Paper Mario. In the playable Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door intermissions, eating Meat gradually increases Bowser's size. He also grows via meat in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, though this was only shown to be possible in the Dream World. Like other Super Smash Bros. characters, Bowser can grow with the aid of Super Mushrooms and there are also Super Smash Bros. Events that feature Bowser as being larger than normal. While his "normal" size varies from game to game (ranging from slightly taller than Mario in Super Mario Bros., to being roughly five times his height in Super Mario Odyssey), usually he is about twice Mario's height, or a head taller than Peach, and is always much bulkier than the other characters. The only instances of any of his giant forms being officially named are in the Prima guides for New Super Mario Bros. Wii and New Super Mario Bros. U, where he is called Super Bowser, as well as Baby Bowser's giant form, named Mega Baby Bowser in Yoshi's Woolly World and Yoshi's Crafted World. Within the Super Smash Bros. series, Bowser's size changes.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Bowser is only slightly taller than Mario, rivaling the heights of Peach and Samus. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, Bowser is the tallest and largest character in the game, due to both his new upright posture, as well as the general proportional differences between the characters. Bowser's height carries over in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, although he is now the second tallest fighter, as Ridley is currently the largest playable character.

Relationships
Although technically a younger version of himself, Bowser has interacted with Baby Bowser during two occasions of time travel. In Yoshi's Island DS, Baby Bowser insults his future self, who then rashly blasts him out of the castle; later, however, Bowser becomes outraged when he discovers his younger self being bested by the Yoshis. In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the two Bowsers do not recognize each other and argue about the ownership of Thwomp Volcano, eventually putting their differences aside to work together to try and defeat Mario, Luigi and their own baby selves. After their defeat, Bowser's parting advice to Baby Bowser is to "Get stronger and more evil". In Yoshi's New Island, he also ambushes Yoshi and Baby Mario just as they were to save the Stork and Baby Luigi again in order to avenge his younger self's defeat.

Bowser's minions all hold Bowser in high regards and loyally serve him out of respect rather than fear, although many are mindful of his fiery temper. Bowser does not take betrayal well nor will he hesitate to attack deserters as enemies, although he has been shown to be forgiving at times, such as letting the trio of Corporal Paraplonk, Private Goomp and Sergeant Guy return to service after they betrayed him for Fawful in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Bowser, despite repeatedly downgrading their competence and intellect, has high faith and pride in his minions. While he is harsh, he does reciprocate their loyalty, notably shown in Super Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. The latter game's remake, or more specifically the tie-in story Bowser Jr.'s Journey, further reinforces his care for his troops, as it was revealed that a large part of the reason he was outraged at not being invited to the emergency seminar over the Blorbs virus outbreak at Peach's Castle was because his own kingdom was also suffering from the outbreak. In Paper Mario, while labeling the Koopa Bros. and Tutankoopa as weaklings, he acknowledged they were still loyal followers and takes their defeats as disrespect from Mario. Bowser has also been shown to treat minions in a fatherly fashion, namely towards the Koopa Kids in the Mario Party series (who, despite their similar appearances are not related to Bowser), although they treat him as a boss only. One minion who treats Bowser fairly informally at times is Kammy Koopa, who loyally and tirelessly puts up with his constant stream of derision when working together during the first two Paper Mario games. In her tattle, Goombella wonders whether it is harder for Bowser to put up with Kammy or vice-versa, but despite his verbal abuse, Bowser often takes Kammy's advice to heart.

Bowser often works together with Dr. Eggman during the Mario & Sonic series, often causing trouble to disrupt the Olympics or defeat their nemeses, Mario and Sonic. Bowser and Eggman mutually treat each other as equals in their partnerships as well as friends, which is prominently shown in London. In Tokyo, Bowser trusts Eggman's comprehension of Tokyo '64 when they end up trapped in the game so they can outwit Mario and Sonic and escape.

Family
Both the original Japanese and English versions of the game Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced Bowser's seven children, the Koopalings. They were also depicted as his children in Super Mario World, Yoshi's Safari, the first trophy of Bowser in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the DIC cartoons, and various comics released shortly after Super Mario Bros. 3. However, after Hotel Mario, the Koopalings went on a nine-year hiatus, and many years later, in 2002, Super Mario Sunshine introduced Bowser Jr., Bowser's youngest child who resembles Bowser greatly. Since the Koopalings have made a return to the series following New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Bowser Jr. is considered the heir to the throne and the only child in the current story. While the Japanese Nintendo Direct announcement for Mario Kart 8 referred to them as Bowser's kobun (which can mean either underlings or adopted children), subsequent games used less ambiguous wording referring to them as minions, with Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U and Ultimate having the Palutena's Guidance in which the Koopalings' similarity to Bowser Jr. is noted and in which it is stated that the Koopalings have a mysterious relationship to Bowser, although the Japanese version adds that it has been heard that they are minions. Something similar happened to Bowser's Brother from Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, who was later considered to be something akin to a fake Bowser and eventually a character of unknown identity.

Before the introduction of Bowser Jr., Ludwig von Koopa was once said to be Bowser's second in command in the Super Mario Bros. 3 Nintendo Power Strategy Guide, leader of the Koopalings in the Official Nintendo Guidebook of Super Mario Collection (the Japanese version of Super Mario All-Stars) and Bowser's comrade in the Perfect Edition of the Great Mario Character Encyclopedia. Bowser has always been very proud of the Koopalings' close loyalty to him, and while the dynamics between them was openly familial in the cartoons and comics, in the games the Koopalings were just main bosses and had no dialogue nor interaction with Bowser. On the other hand, in Super Mario Sunshine, he first tried to use Bowser Jr. as a pawn in his schemes, even going so far as to lying that Peach was the child's mother to give him extra incentive to defeat Mario for taking her away from their "family". However, after his plan failed, in a rare moment of humility and remorse, Bowser eventually decides to tell his son the truth about Peach, but Bowser Jr. had figured it out by then, and simply wanted to fight Mario to be like his father. Bowser does indeed care about his son, who often brings out his softer side, and at times obsesses over his well-being, such as in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, where he becomes infuriated after learning that the Mario Bros. had injured him. The two currently share closer ties than he and his Koopalings, with Bowser Jr. often acting as Bowser's default partner in sports and spin-off games. On a similar note, in the NES library portion of the Nintendo Switch online service trailer, Bowser when he realized that his son had been asking to play with him and had ignored him up to then had a guilty reaction and promptly offered a second Joy-Con so they would play together, and then proceeded to play Ice Climbers. Although genuinely caring for his son, even he has found Bowser Jr. difficult to raise largely due to the latter's hyperactivity as well as having access to his own army and flying car, admitting as much to Olivia when explaining how King Olly is trivial to him before the final battle, implying that Bowser Jr. was more difficult than King Olly ever was. As a result, he states that he tends to raise Junior with a free-range parenting style, letting him take risks and even insisting that he can handle himself while he's being overwhelmed by Paper Macho Goombas. On the Koopalings' end, the Koopalings were also shown to be extremely devoted to Bowser, with their loyalty to the Koopa King being immense enough that they are willing to serve Bowser even when the latter is not actually himself, as evidenced by their servitude to "Bowser" in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Paper Mario: Color Splash (who had actually been Bowletta and Black Bowser, forms taken when Bowser was possessed by Cackletta and corrupted by the black paint, respectively). Additionally, the side story of the former game's remake shows their loyalty was immense enough that they were resistant to Fawful's mind control spray before the Beanish added a stronger dose. Nonetheless, in a flashback the Koopalings had nearing the climax of the Bowser Jr.'s Journey story arc of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, Iggy is seen speaking out of line with the other Koopalings by denying that Bowser was at all smart or wise (and even implying that Bowser was even crazier than Iggy for thinking he was such), resulting in Bowser being implied to have hit him across the room. Bowser, Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings all have personal emblems with silhouettes of their faces, the silhouette of Bowser's face used in his emblem is also present in many buldings, machines and devices that he controls.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island introduced Kamek, the Magikoopa who raised Bowser from infancy and who has been seen interacting with him the most throughout the series. As seen in subsequent Yoshi series games and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Kamek takes great care of Baby Bowser and worries for his safety, with his devout loyalty continuing into Bowser's adulthood where he is often seen as Bowser's right-hand. Kamek's Psychopath line in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars even implies that he considers Bowser to be like a son to him, as despite his brain-washing by the enemies, he thinks "That's... my child?" when faced with Bowser in battle. The only time a rift has been shown between the two is in Mario Party Advance; after winning a minigame Kamek explains that he took leave of Koopa Troop when Bowser disappointed him by taking the title of "Game Master", rather than earning it, although the ending states that the two reconciled. Aside from that incident, the two get along well, and Bowser seems to show much more respect to his elderly guardian than to any other of his subordinates.

Various other relatives of Bowser's have been mentioned or shown in a minor capacity throughout the franchise. Bowser mentions a father in few issues of the Nintendo Comics System Super Mario Bros. series, with the implication being that he is a wanted criminal on the run. Bowser is first shown to have a mother in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "Do You Princess Toadstool Take this Koopa...?", which depicts her to be a bossy and bullying woman who resented her son for remaining a bachelor. Mario's Time Machine Deluxe for MS-DOS, however, shows another version of Bowser's mother, who is an elderly librarian, in the included Library program. Bowser also mentions a grandfather named Poopa La Koopa in the Super Show episode "Butch Mario & The Luigi Kid", saying his motto was "Cheat, beat, and be merry!". In the "Raiders of the Lost Mushroom", Bowser claims that his "great-great grandkoop" built the Temple of Koopa to hide the Lost Mushroom, which he left to Bowser. In an episode of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Morton brings up one of the Koopalings' great grandmothers. Bowser and the Koopalings are shown to have a pet rabbit named Pookie in the Nintendo Comics System series, which was often abused until its eventual escape in the comic "Bowser Knows Best". In the Nintendo Adventure Book Flown the Koopa, a Magikoopa stated to be Bowser's third cousin twice removed is featured as the main antagonist; this character also appears in the later books Unjust Desserts and Brain Drain, though he has only minor roles in both. Finally, in both an episode of the Super Show and the song "Ignorance is Bliss", Bowser mentions a younger sister who is, according to him, a bookworm.

Love interests
Bowser is typically shown as attracted to Princess Peach despite kidnapping her and showing open hostility to her kingdom and her friends. According to the manual of Super Mario Bros., Bowser initially started abducting Peach to prevent her from restoring the transformed Toads back to normal. Various media depict Bowser as wanting to marry Princess Peach, being central plot points in Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!, Super Paper Mario, Super Mario Odyssey, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. In the same The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode that featured his mother, Bowser has tried and failed to marry Peach, and his unrequited crush on her recurs in various games, starting with a diary entry he wrote in Paper Mario expressing his hopes that Peach would like him. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story revealed that Bowser's most carefully preserved memory was of Peach. Paper Mario: The Origami King further hints at his crush on Peach, as when he and Mario encounter Origami Peach for the first time, he quietly expresses embarrassment at her seeing him folded up, and when confronting King Olly just before the final battle against him, Bowser inquires of Peach's status and asks if she is safe, comfortable, and has something to read before claiming he was merely asking for a friend. In Super Mario Sunshine, he told Bowser Jr. that Peach is his mother to manipulate him into helping with the fight against Mario. In few cases, he can forgo abducting Princess Peach, usually if he is aiming for a more important objective. This bit is especially evident in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, as when Peach discovers Bowser's presence with Mario, she initially fears that he's going to abduct her again, only for Bowser to explicitly state he has no interest that time in doing so due to having "bigger fish to fry" (with his reluctantly explaining what he meant by that after returning her to the Mushroom Kingdom).

Despite his feelings for her, Princess Peach dislikes Bowser and has resisted him, most often by helping his nemeses including, but not limited to Super Mario World, Paper Mario, and Super Mario Galaxy, and she has fought him directly in some instances such as in Super Princess Peach, Super Mario 3D World, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. She is still willing to work with Bowser, however, only to help the protagonists, and will even sweet-talk, flatter or show him genuine goodwill or concern when they are acting as allies. The Nintendo Comics System single-panel comic "Koopa's High School Yearbook" shows Bowser to have had an admirer in high school: after he asked for her sandwich, the unnamed Koopa developed a crush on Bowser, forming the one-member "Koopa Fan Club" and joining the "Future Wives of Tyrants Club". A popular rumor also suggests that Bowser has or had a wife named "Clawdia Koopa", though there is no evidence to support her existence. In a September 2012 interview, Miyamoto simply stated that Bowser Jr.'s mother is unknown, which is supported by a question from the Snifit or Whiffit quiz show in Paper Mario: Sticker Star.

Foes
Mario is Bowser's arch-nemesis and greatest adversary. Mario constantly defeats Bowser, preventing him from holding Princess Peach hostage and taking over Mushroom Kingdom and other worlds. Despite the open hostility between the two, Bowser has occasionally been seen to hold a grudging respect for Mario, such as his statement in Super Mario Galaxy that he "chose the right guy to be his archenemy" for how he puts up a good fight. Defeating Mario is Bowser's greatest wish along with kidnapping Peach and taking over the Mushroom Kingdom, enough that he intervenes when other villains threaten Mario, such as in Mario Super Sluggers, where Bowser stopped an attack launched by Wario and Waluigi. Many of the RPGs involve Bowser teaming up with Mario to stop an emergent foe that poses a threat to both of them, such as Smithy, who took over Bowser's castle in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, or Count Bleck in Super Paper Mario, whose plot to destroy all worlds ran counter to Bowser's dreams of global domination. In the case of the former game, he even went as far as to name Mario, Mallow, and Geno "honorary members" of the Koopa Troop (although it was heavily implied that he did this solely as an excuse to "join" them to avoid the humiliation of having to ask for their help). While Bowser makes a show of his reluctance to team up, Mario seems more complacent with working with Bowser despite their history, and occasionally shows him some leniency, such as letting him go after his actions in Mario Party DS merely gave Mario and the others a fun experience.

In addition, it is implied that, despite his animosity to Mario, he would never attempt to actually have him destroyed and actually just wants the satisfaction of defeating him; as when Bowletta, while disguised as Bowser, ordered for the Koopa Troop to "destroy" Mario, Captain Goomba was suspicious of him since he knows that that kind of talk was extremely harsh even with Bowser's characteristic hatred towards Mario. Paper Mario: The Origami King further cements this, as in that game, Bowser insists that he and Mario would be nothing without each other. However, in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team he attempts to use the Dream Stone to make the Mario Bros. disappear, and in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, he plans to trap Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario in the empty book, throw the book in the garbage, and then light the garbage on fire.

Luigi often fights Bowser alongside Mario, and so Bowser also sees Luigi as another significant adversary. Like many other characters in the Super Mario franchise, Bowser is often depicted as holding Luigi in lower esteem than his brother, frequently forgetting his name and referring him as "Green Stache" in the first four instalments of the Mario & Luigi series. After his defeat in Dream Team, which Luigi had played a significant part in, Bowser now sees Luigi as a more legitimate foe, at least remembering his name. Baby Bowser and Kamek have also collaborated to kidnap Baby Mario and Baby Luigi throughout the Yoshi's Island games, succeeding with Baby Luigi, and they have also tried and failed to stop the Yoshis from foiling their plans. Bowser and Yoshi also have a mutual dislike; when he was Baby Bowser, he enjoyed stealing cookies from the Yoshis and even stole their Super Happy Tree and Sundream Stone at certain points.

Generally speaking, Bowser's enemies usually include Mario's allies, although Bowser has come into conflict with other villains, including the aforementioned Smithy, Count Bleck, Fawful, and King Olly (most of whom he collaborated with Mario to defeat). One of Bowser's few victories actually came out of his conflict with Fawful during Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, when the Beanish took over both Bowser and Peach's castles, brainwashed the former's minions, and kidnapped the latter. In that same game, Bowser also had an arch-rivalry with Fawful's minion Midbus. While Mario and Luigi were aiding Bowser against Fawful, he was unaware of this, instead communicating exclusively with their ally Starlow, who used the alias "Chippy". Despite their common goal, Bowser and Starlow spent the whole adventure trading barbs and occasionally refusing to cooperate, although Starlow sometimes expressed concern and sympathy for him and he eventually came to think of her as a loyal minion, and even complied to her demand to ask for her help politely at one point, only to become enraged when he learned the truth of who she really was. As of the game's two sequels, Starlow and Bowser are now complete enemies. Another "frenemy" situation is the one between Bowser and Wario, who have joined forces (along with Waluigi) against Mario in Mario Power Tennis, and worked together (albeit fractiously) as babies in Yoshi's Island DS. The ending of Mario Superstar Baseball shows Wario and Waluigi on Bowser's team. Most of the time they are on opposing sides, as in Super Mario 64 DS and the Mario Party series when Wario was on Mario's side. In Mario Super Sluggers, Wario helps in stopping Bowser's invasion of Baseball Kingdom, and in the ending, he and Waluigi are thwarted in their sneak attack on Mario by Bowser due to the latter's desire to be the one who defeats their shared adversary. In Paper Mario: The Origami King, Bowser also held a grudge against King Olly for reducing him to a folded face and turning his minions into Folded Soldiers, mocking the latter's hairstyle.

Impersonators
In several instances throughout the series, there have been characters who have imitated Bowser's appearance, generally for their own gain. There have been many impostors in some games who have tried to replicate or manifest him in varying ways, albeit perfectly or imperfectly:

Nicknames and aliases
In several of his appearances, Bowser has been known to use aliases, or is referred to through a self-given nickname or a nickname given by others. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show and Mario Party 2 mostly show him under an alias matching the theme of each location explored.
 * King of the Koopa / King of the Koopas / Koopa King (various)
 * King Koopa (Japanese name and other media such as cartoons)
 * Koopa (Japanese name and other media such as cartoons)
 * King Bowser (various)
 * Lord Bowser (Paper Mario series, Super Mario Bros. Virtual Console digital manual, Mario Kart 8, and Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games)
 * Master Bowser (Mario Party 4 and Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam)
 * Big dude (Baby Bowser)
 * Cap'n Bowser
 * Bowser the Brash
 * Wizard Bowser
 * Bowser Sphinx
 * Black Hole Bowser
 * The King of Awesome
 * Mr. Bowser (Merlon, Koopa Kid, Wendy O. Koopa)
 * The Boss of Bwahaha (Nintendo)
 * King Dad (Koopalings)
 * Pop (Koopalings, Bowser Jr.)
 * Big B (Iggy Koopa)
 * Daddykins (Kootie Pie)
 * Large Bowser (Morton Koopa Jr.)
 * Papa (Bowser Jr.)
 * Dad (Bowser Jr., Koopalings)
 * Koopums (His mother)
 * Rookie (Popple)
 * Monsieur Turtle Bits (Broque Monsieur)
 * Monster (Lubba, Rosalina, Lumas)
 * Sire (Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games)
 * Father of Name Withheld (Super Mario Maker 2, as evidenced by the adversity against Mario and speech manner present in his Story Mode level descriptions; "Name Withheld" refers to Bowser Jr.)

Profiles and statistics
Bowser's profiles usually discuss his antagonistic history with Mario, Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom, with his evilness, bad temper and impressive strength and power often being mentioned. In Mario Kart games, he is always among the heaviest players and in other sports games, he is a power player. His speed is highly variable, although when the stat is applicable, his acceleration is usually low. His HP and attack skills vary depending on when he is battled in the RPGs, and as a playable character, he is the powerhouse of the roster.

Portrayals
Over the years, Bowser has been voiced by several people, both in the games and in other media. They include:

Gallery


Trivia

 * Bowser's roar in the Nintendo 64 games up to the release of Super Mario Sunshine is a stock roar created by Sound Ideas for the Universal Studios Sound Effects Library. The roar was originally used in the 1957 film .
 * In the E3 2019 Nintendo Direct coverage, Bowser briefly appears only to be told he is "not the right Bowser", which was a pun on Nintendo of America's newly-made CEO Doug Bowser. The Japanese, Korean, and Chinese versions included on-screen text explaining the joke, due to Bowser having different names in those languages and thus the joke being untranslatable otherwise.
 * An officially licensed 3D magnet of Bowser from 1997 erroneously refers to him as "Bouser".