Dry Bowser

Dry Bowser is an undead, skeletal form of Bowser, debuting in New Super Mario Bros. Dry Bowser was accidentally born in New Super Mario Bros. ' s first castle, when a short fight with Bowser ended with Bowser being dropped into a pit filled with lava. The lava reduced the once-mighty king to a skeleton, leaving his son, Bowser Jr., temporarily in command of the Koopa Troop. He is then fought in the first castle in World 8. He makes an appearance as a unlockable driver in Mario Kart Wii, classified as a Large-sized character.

New Super Mario Bros.
In New Super Mario Bros., to defeat the skeletal monster, Mario must dodge Bowser's attacks, which include breathing small flames and throwing his own bones, and wait for Bowser to make a high jump. Mario must then run under Bowser and hit the Skull Switch, destroying the bridge and throwing Bowser into a very deep pit. If Mario is in Shell Mario form, he can defeat him by performing the Shell Dash against him three times. As Mega Mario one stomp is enough. A very simple way is to at least have a Super Mushroom then run straight through him and hit the switch. This battle is very similar to the battles against Bowser in Worlds 6-8 of Super Mario Bros.; however, in that game he threw hammers instead of bones. He is also immune to fireballs.

At the final battle of the game, the remains of Dry Bowser were thrown in a cauldron (the contents of which were unknown, but they were most certainly magical) which turns Dry Bowser back into his original form, except much larger, as if he had used a Mega Mushroom.

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 that puts him in the class, seeing that weight doesn't always matter when it comes to the large karts (for example, 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 new cups on 150cc with at least 1 star ranking.

Dry Bowser was the only CPU opponent in the 2nd Competition of March 2009, where he attacked the player by firing fireballs at him/her throughout the race in the Mario Kart 64 version of Bowser's Castle.

Dry Bowser has a pretty good off-road and mini-turbo bonus, which makes vehicles like the Flame Flyer and Phantom perform a bit better off-road along with getting a slightly better mini-turbo after a drift.

Personality
Dry Bowser's personality did not change much from 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.

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!"
 * Actual Bonuses
 * Off-Road: +6
 * Mini-Turbo: +6

Trivia

 * Strangely, Dry Bowser's Japanese name (Honekuppa) is actually based on Dull Bones' Japanese name (Honenoko), Instead of Dry Bones' (Karon).
 * Bowser has previously been seen falling in lava in Super Mario Bros. and The Lost Levels. However, these appearances do not necessarily show Bowser dying, although it is possible that Bowser died in these fights since he could be resurrected. In addition, the second Bowser fight of Super Mario 64 shows him comically jumping out of the lava pit surrounding the arena, indicating no damage. Finally, in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Bowser makes a comment that he loves the smell of lava in his castle.