Bowser???

"The sequel should be called "Paper Bowser"!"

- Koopa Bros.

Bowser??? is a boss in the game Paper Mario. It is a large, mechanical effigy of Bowser controlled by the Koopa Bros., but is actually weaker than the Koopa Bros. themselves. It only has one attack: hitting Mario with its hand. It has more defense than most enemies, but Kooper, Bombette, and Mario's Hammer attack can damage it.

Bowser??? seems to be made out of cloth and what may be cardboard or metal or maybe even wood, and his eyes are buttons. Its purpose was to fool Mario into thinking that it was indeed the Koopa King (to create the illusion that it was invincible, as the real Bowser was at the time). The fact that Bowser??? was false was revealed by its overall appearance, and was proven when voices were heard from inside its abdomen. They were arguing that someone was "being a hog" and should "move over", which clearly suggested there were multiple occupants inside, in a manner akin to a Chinese marching dragon or pantomime horse costume. After being defeated, Bowser??? breaks into pieces and falls into the prison cell used to hold the Bob-ombs (which the Koopa Bros. also fall into when they are defeated). A picture of Princess Peach can be seen inside Bowser???'s shell when it is defeated.

Trivia

 * The background music used in the fight with Bowser??? is a remix of Bowser's theme from Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
 * The Koopa Bros. break the fourth wall when they say that the next game should be called "Paper Bowser". In fact, this foreshadows the playable presence of Bowser in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
 * Bowser??? is comparable to the False Bowsers, King Boo's Bowser mech, and Mecha-Bowser, since all are based on the idea of other enemies using mechanical (or near-perfect) Bowser decoys to go after Mario and Luigi.
 * In the ending parade of Paper Mario, Bowser???'s remains have been transformed into a float for the Koopa Bros.
 * After Bowser??? explodes and the Koopa Bros. fall into the jail, a Princess Peach poster can be seen inside of the shell.