Koopalings

The Koopalings (occasionally called Koopa Kids in the cartoons, not to be confused with the actual Koopa Kids) are the eldest seven of King Bowser Koopa's eight children. This makes all of them the heirs of the Koopa Kingdom. Oftentimes, the Koopalings act as high-ranking leaders of the Koopa Troop and mostly appear as bosses in the various Mario series games. The Koopalings are known for taking long hiatus between their appearances, but all most recently appear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Bowser also has an eighth child, Bowser Jr., who was introduced many years after the Koopalings made their debut. Bowser Jr.'s status as a Koopaling has not yet been completely clarified, as he has yet to be officially referred to as one, but associates himself with his siblings in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The official Prima Guide of said game refers to Bowser Jr. on one page as a "bothersome Koopaling." The Japanese version makes it clear, however, that the seven Koopalings are all one rank below Junior.

Names of the Koopalings
Not only were the Koopalings modeled after the design team of Super Mario Bros. 3, but they were all named after famous pop-culture icons: musicians (Iggy, Lemmy, Ludwig, Wendy, Roy) and talk show hosts (Morton, Larry). In the Japanese version, the Koopalings originally had no distinct names. The North American localizers of Super Mario Bros. 3 gave them names. In the Japanese version of Super Mario World, their first names were adopted, which is most likely why their full names were rarely mentioned again afterward. It is also likely why they had entirely different names in the American cartoon series.

The Koopalings are listed below in order from what is possibly, but not confirmed, to be their birth orders from youngest to oldest:

Larry Koopa
Larry Koopa has been stated to be the youngest of the Koopalings. He seems to have an interest in sports as seen in many games; oddly, he hasn't appeared in any sports game. Additionally, he doesn't possess a lot of stamina despite his liking of sports. Though he does play tennis with a fireball in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, he has also shown to be bad-tempered or bratty in New Super Mario Bros Wii. His main color representation is sky blue. Larry was known as Cheatsy Koopa in the cartoons, since if he can't win, he will try to cheat by any means to win.

Morton Koopa Jr.
Morton Koopa Jr. is the second youngest of the Koopalings despite his very large size. He seems to possess a cantankerous personality. He is also the only Koopaling to have a different skin tone rather than the yellow tone the others have, this could be because he normally rules a hot and dry area (Desert Land in Super Mario Bros. 3 and Donut Plains in Super Mario World). The Jr. following his name has sparked some controversy; this is due to the specific connection not being confirmed. The actual reason for the "Jr" is because he was named after Morton Downey Jr. His main color representation is black. Morton was known as Big Mouth Koopa Jr. in the cartoons.

Wendy O. Koopa
Wendy O. Koopa is the third youngest of Koopalings, as well as the only female. She is considered a spoiled brat with a quick temper, often going into a rage over little things. Instead of the spiked bands the other Koopalings have on their wrists and neck, she has a necklace and very large bracelets. Regardless of her feminine traits, as a female villain she is stated to be a tomboy. Even though she is female, she is one of the two Koopalings with no hair (the other being Roy). Wendy was known as Kootie Pie Koopa in the cartoons.

Iggy Koopa
Iggy Koopa is the middle child of the Koopalings. He is depicted as a demented, mechanical genius. His two outstanding characteristics are his glasses and his height; he is shown to be the tallest and thinnest of the Koopalings. The cartoons have also stated that he is the twin brother of Lemmy Koopa (Hip Koopa), but this is not followed in the game canon. His main color representation is yellow-green. Iggy was known as Hop Koopa in the cartoons.

Roy Koopa
Roy Koopa is the third oldest of the Koopalings. Roy is sometimes depicted as a typical bully who likes beating up others (mostly Iggy and maybe Lemmy) for his own amusement. However, he seems quite fond of the color pink; he has a pink head, pink sunglasses, and a purple shell. This is most likely a reference to the joke, "Real men wear pink." His main color representation is purple. In Japanese materals, Roy is shown to speak in a calm and collected manner, so he may have more of a laidback personality. Roy was known as Bully Koopa in the cartoons.

Lemmy Koopa
Lemmy Koopa is the smallest of the Koopalings, despite being the second oldest; he retains a childlike innocence about him. Because of his traits, Lemmy is exceedingly immature; he prefers clowning around rather than conquering. Already being clownish from his love of balancing on his rubber ball, it is stated he would rather join the circus than try to destroy Mario. His main color representation is yellow. Lemmy was known as Hip Koopa in the cartoons.

Ludwig von Koopa
Ludwig von Koopa has been said to be the oldest Koopaling and was Bowser's second-in-command until Bowser Jr. came along. He possesses a magnificent intelligence, most likely superior to that of his siblings and his father. He is presumptuous, arrogant, and the cruelest of his siblings, but is still very much into culture; he likes listening to classical music and he is a composer himself, as he apparently composes "Koopa Symphonies" (which are said to be terrible). His main color representation is deep blue. Ludwig was known as Kooky von Koopa in the cartoons.

Game
According to the Player's Guide for Super Mario Bros. 3, Larry is stated to be the youngest of Bowser's children, while Ludwig is said to be the eldest. As Larry is the first Koopaling of the game, while Ludwig is the last, it is strongly implied that all seven Koopalings are fought in order from youngest to oldest, provided the player doesn't warp. However, the birth order for the five middle children has never been officially confirmed. Bowser Jr.'s age in relation to the Koopalings is also unclear, though he is assumed to be younger as he not only appears much later, but is also very childish when it comes to his traits.

Other Media
In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, an alternate birth order was used; much of this information comes from the Writer's Bible included on the Shout! Factory DVD set. Bully (Roy Koopa) is regarded as the eldest, while Hip and Hop (Lemmy and Iggy Koopa) are six-years-old twins, as well as the youngest. While Hip and Hop are said to be six-year olds, the rest of their siblings are all teenagers. Although Kootie Pie (Wendy O. Koopa) celebrated her sixteenth birthday in "Reptiles in the Rose Garden", the specific ages of the others was never confirmed. However, in a behind the scenes clip of the cartoon, the koopalings were shown in the age order of Bully, Big mouth, Kooky, Cheatsy, Kootie pie, Hop and Hip being the youngest.

''Super Mario Bros. 3
The first appearance of the original seven Koopalings was in Super Mario Bros. 3. Here, the Koopalings were ordered by Bowser to use their airships and armies to conquer the various lands of the Mushroom World. Each Koopaling, after attacking a kingdom, would steal the magic scepter of the land's ruler and transform that ruler into an animal of some kind.

Mario and Luigi would encounter and battle a Koopaling every time they ventured through a heavily-guarded airship. The battle against the Koopalings would consist mostly of dodging the Koopalings' leaps and magical blasts from their stolen scepter. It would only take three jumps on the head in order to defeat a Koopaling. Once defeated, that Koopaling would retreat into their shell, fly to an unknown place and drop their Magic Wand. After Mario or Luigi picked it up, the airship would strangely vanish and that world's king would be restored.

''Super Mario World
In Super Mario World the Koopalings aid Bowser in his attack on Dinosaur Land. Each Koopaling was charged with guarding a fortress on each of Dinosaur Land's areas.

After traveling through a Koopaling fortress, Mario or Luigi would battle a Koopaling, who would need to be bashed on the head three times, or in Iggy and Larry's case, knocked into the lava to be defeated. After a Koopaling was defeated, a captured Yoshi egg would be rescued and the path to a new area would be opened.

Once defeated, Morton, Ludwig, and Roy went spiraling into the background wall (signified by a puff of smoke), while Iggy, Lemmy, Wendy and Larry all fell into the lava. Afterwards, Mario or Luigi would totally destroy their castle. The narration heavily implied their complete demise (in International versions, a rematch can occur by holding L & R at the rubble).

For some reason (likely technical restrictions), the Koopalings' in-game sprites have alternate color schemes from their artwork such as Ludwig with white hair and a yellow shell rather than blue hair and green shell.

''New Super Mario Bros. Wii
The Koopalings made a surprise return in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, serving as bosses in seven of the game's worlds. They also make an appearance in the game's opening sequence, hiding in a cake that the Koopalings presented Princess Peach with. Bowser Jr. also appears alongside the Koopalings, marking the first time that all eight of Bowser's children have appeared in the same game. The seven Koopalings all sport a replica of the Magic Wands from their first appearance, while Bowser Jr. has a miniature Koopa Clown Car of his own. In the first seven worlds, Mario and his friends would have to ascend a tower in the middle of the world, at the top of which the Koopaling of that world waited. When defeated in battle, the Koopaling then jumps away after their defeat, much like Bowser Jr. in the original New Super Mario Bros., setting up a rematch at the castle at the end of the world. Upon catching up with the Koopaling again, Kamek appears and adds a new element to the battle, such as replacing the floor of Larry's room with one that shifts up and down, or giving Lemmy an even larger ball than before. The Koopalings have been given voices for the first time in this game as well.

After the credits they are shown with Bowser Jr. summoning his siblings to help Bowser get back up. When he does, however, Bowser's castle falls on top of all nine members of the royal Koopa line. Bowser can be heard moaning in pain after that.

In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Larry is in World 1, Roy is in World 2, Lemmy is in World 3, Wendy is in World 4, Iggy is in World 5, Morton is in World 6, and Ludwig is in World 7.

It is interesting to note that, while in Super Mario Bros. 3 Morton was the boss of a desert level, Roy was the boss of a sky level, and Ludwig was the boss of a pipe level, these have all been slightly switched. Roy is the boss of a desert level, Ludwig is the boss of a sky level, and Morton is the boss of a mountain level (replacing the pipe level). Also, Iggy's giant level is replaced with a forest level. Larry, Lemmy, and Wendy each retain their level themes (grass, ice, and water, respectively).

Super Mario anime
The first appearance of the Koopalings outside of video games was in the Japanese-exclusive movie, Super Mario anime series, which was an adaptation of three fairy tales. In the Mario version of Momotarō, they appeared as Bowser's minions, who was portrayed as the stories' ogre. The Koopalings also appeared as minions of Bowser (now the Wicked Queen) in the adaptation of Snow White ("Shirayukihime").

Mario cartoon series
In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World produced by DiC Entertainment, the Koopalings (sometimes referred to as the Koopa Kids) were featured as recurring villains, replacing Mouser, Tryclyde, Fryguy and Clawgrip from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. Oddly, the names of the Koopalings were altered in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. This is probably due to the show's creators using the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 3 as a reference and as the Koopalings weren't named in that game, the show creators simply created names and gave the Koopaling's personalities to match these names. These names were presumably kept in the Super Mario World animated series, which was created after the Koopalings were officially named, so as not to confuse viewers.

Also in the show, the order of the Koopalings' ages were altered; see the section Birth Order for more information. Rather than acting as Bowser's highest ranking minions, the Koopa Kids acted directly as his children. They did things such as try to get his attention, gain his appreciation, and even plot against him. Cheatsy and Kooky (Larry and Ludwig) seemed to be Bowser's favorites out of the bunch, which somewhat follows the games. Lemmy, Wendy, and Roy were the only Koopalings who closely resembled their game counterparts, in both appearance and personality.

Nintendo Comics System
The Koopalings were recurring characters in Valiant's Nintendo Comics System imprint. Here, their personalities were somewhat similar to the animated series counterparts, though they had their original names and appearances. While Wendy and Lemmy each had solo appearances (the former in Fins and Roses, and the latter in The Buddy System and The Revenge of Pipe Ooze!) their siblings only appeared in the story Bowser Knows Best (where the group abduct Princess Toadstool for Bowser as a Father's Day present) and the short Get Kooped Up With the Nicest People! (where they and Bowser are shown vacationing in a resort called Klub Koopa).

In the Super Mario Adventures comic, the Koopalings acted as Bowser's henchmen in his plot to kidnap and marry Princess Toadstool.

''Mario is Missing!
In Mario is Missing!, the Koopalings travel to Earth with Bowser to aid him in his plan to melt Antarctica, thereby flooding the Earth. A Koopaling would guard the corridor of Bowser's fortress and battle Luigi, who was searching for his missing brother. All it would take are a few bops on the head to defeat a Koopaling in Mario is Missing!.

In the Super Nintendo version of Mario is Missing!, only Ludwig, Roy and Iggy Koopa appear; in the PC version of the game, Lemmy and Morton Koopa Jr. are the only ones not appearing, though they are mentioned in the game's manual. Also in the PC version, instead of stomping the Koopalings, Luigi defeats them with a single blast from a Fire Flower that he gains after locking each door on a floor.

''Yoshi's Safari
In Yoshi's Safari, the Koopalings once again aid Bowser in the conquest of a kingdom, this time the target is Jewelry Land. In this game, the Koopalings attack Mario by using weaponry (supposedly built by Iggy). It would take various shots from Mario's Super Scope to beat a Koopaling, thus forcing it to hold up a white flag of defeat.

''Hotel Mario
Hotel Mario was the last appearance of the Koopalings for several years. In Hotel Mario a Koopaling would guard a hotel which they had taken over. Mario would have to adventure through a Koopaling's hotel and reach their room to battle them. Their hotels were passed in this order:


 * Morton's WoodDoor-Hysteria
 * Roy's HardBrick Hotel
 * Larry's Chillton Hotel
 * Lemmy's High-ate Regency Hotel
 * Ludwig's Thump Castle Hotel
 * Wendy's Blitz Snarlton Hotel

Despite their efforts, and like in the previous engagements, the Koopalings were defeated. Iggy Koopa didn't have his own hotel, but he accompanied his father in the final battle.

''Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
"Koopalings! Your time has come!"

- Bowletta

After several years absence, the Koopalings make a return appearance in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. During the game, the witch Cackletta who had previously stolen Bowser's body takes control of Bowser's Castle and uses the fortress to attack Beanbean Castle Town. The Koopalings serve "Bowletta" and work to impede the Mario Bros.' progress.

After getting into Bowser's Castle, Mario and Luigi fight the Koopalings in their respective rooms, usually needing to complete some sort of challenge in order to battle them. Additionally, the last three (Roy, Wendy and Larry) use a special Time Bob-omb in battle. If the Mario Bros. failed to end the battle successfully in 9 turns, the Bob-omb's timer would reach zero and it would explode, resulting in an instant Game Over. While the Mario Bros. ventured through the castle they encountered Bowser's children in the same order as in Super Mario World (Iggy, Morton, Lemmy, Ludwig, Roy, Wendy and Larry). After being defeated, each Koopaling left a warp point for the Mario Bros. to enter. None of the seven Koopalings had any lines of dialogue.

Relationship with Bowser
In some of the Koopalings' appearances they were shown to act as his minions, though other depictions showed them acting as his children. It should be noted that the events of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World seemed more like giving his children gifts rather than simply using them as part of an evil plan. Bowser Jr. was shown to act like Bowser's child so it can be assumed he treats the rest the same way, as he has never explicitly stated Bowser Jr. is his favorite child and using his other offspring as minions does not fit the current characterizations of Bowser.

Trivia

 * The Koopalings were originally going to appear in Super Princess Peach as boss characters in the order of Super Mario World, though they were dropped from the final version of the game for unknown reasons.
 * The Koopalings are mentioned briefly in Bowser's trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
 * Iggy Koopa and Larry Koopa appear in Mario's Early Years. Iggy is in the alphabet, and Larry comes out of a pipe if the player chose the correct answer, saying 'I like your choice'.
 * While the Koopalings were fought on airships in Super Mario Bros. 3 and Jr. was fought in towers in New Super Mario Bros., they swapped roles in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where Jr. is fought only on the Airships and the Koopalings are encountered in the towers of each world.
 * When the Koopalings jump from the cake in New Super Mario Bros. Wii's opening sequence, they are lined up in the same order that they were fought in Super Mario Bros. 3.
 * For New Super Mario Bros. Wii, the boss music used in Towers, as well as Castles, when fighting them is a remix of the boss theme from Super Mario Bros. 3.
 * The word "Koopaling" is likely a portmanteau between the word "Koopa" and "fledgling" or "youngling", which is closer to the Japanese version since "Kokuppa" is essentially "Little Koopa". However, it can also envoke the words "underling" and "sibling", as they function as both Bowser's minions and his children.
 * The Koopalings don't have horns on their heads like Bowser Jr. and Bowser.

Screenshots
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Official Artwork
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