Not to be confused withBowyer.

This article is about the character King Bowser Koopa, the main antagonist of theSuper Mario franchise. For other uses, seeBowser (disambiguation).

"King Koopa" redirects here. For thekart in theMario Kart series, seeKoopa King.

"King of the Koopas" redirects here. For the musical theme fromSuper Mario Bros. 3, seeKing of the Koopas (theme).

Bowser
Artwork fromSuper Mario Bros. Wonder
Full name	King Bowser Koopa[1]
Species	Koopa
First appearance	Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Latest appearance	Mario Tennis Fever (2026)
Latest portrayal	Kenny James (2005,2007–present)
Member of	Bowser's Minions (leader)

“Hear this! I will kidnapPeach 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,Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

Bowser, also sometimes referred to asLord Bowser,King Bowser,King Koopa, or theKing of the Koopas, is the main antagonist of theSuper Mario franchise. He is a large, powerful, fire-breathingKoopa who leads a large army ofminions, and has been the arch-nemesis ofMario since his debut inSuper Mario Bros. He has repeatedly kidnapped or attempted to kidnapPrincess Peach with the ultimate goal of defeating Mario and taking over theMushroom Kingdom, though he has also appeared in other games as a supporting character.

Creation

Earliest known concept artwork for "Boss Creeper"

King Gruesome inAlakazam the Great. Bowser's original sprite greatly resembles him in this image, with similar features and stance.

Bowser was created byShigeru Miyamoto as the villain ofSuper Mario Bros. In concept art, he tentatively had the name「ボス クリーパー」(Bosu Kurīpā, Boss Creeper), based onShellcreeper.^[2] Miyamoto stated that they considered naming him eitherkuppa (국밥, soup with rice),yukke (육회, raw meat marinated with raw egg), orbibinba (비빔밥, mixed rice), which are all Korean dishes as they are known in Japanese. In the end, "Kuppa" was chosen.^[3] The "Bibinba" name was, however, briefly revisited in a Japanese Nintendo catalog, where it was used for a facetious portrayal of Bowser's wife in aMario Paint screenshot.^[4] Miyamoto mistakenly thoughtkuppa was grilled meat, orbulgogi (불고기), and that made it sound powerful and cool, but later learned that it was a rice soup.^[5] For the later North American release of the game, which also introduced the anglicized spelling "Koopa", the character was named "Bowser".

Bowser as drawn by Shigeru Miyamoto for the box art ofSuper Mario Bros. Kotabe compared this design to a hippo.

The earliest known design for what would become Bowser depicted him as resembling an upright Koopa Troopa with spines on his back, and fangs.^[6] During the development ofSuper 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 novelJourney to the West, renamedAlakazam the Great during the film's American localization. He liked the film's main antagonistGyū-Maō (lit. "Ox Demon King," King Gruesome in the dub), so he loosely based Bowser on an ox as a homage.^[7]

Yoichi Kotabe, an animation artist, later joined Nintendo and was asked to do new illustrations for theSuper Mario franchise. His only reference was the package illustration forSuper 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^[8] and Nintendo designerTakashi 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 theKoopa 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!"^[7]

For Bowser's finalized design, Yoichi Kotabe took inspiration from theChinese softshell turtle, which he knew to be a particularly aggressive species of turtles, fitting of Bowser's fearsome nature.^[8]

History

Main article:History of Bowser

As he is the main antagonist of the franchise, Bowser's appearances spans decades ofSuper Mario-related media, including television series and publications. Chronologically, his first appearance is inSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island asa baby, where his caretaker,Kamek, kidnaps theinfant Luigi, along with hiscarrier. This baby version of Bowser has encountered his older self inMario & Luigi: Partners in Time andYoshi's Island DS. In his major appearances, he frequently kidnapsPrincess Peach, and in a few instances even forces her to marry him. However, in the sports and racing games, he is usually a playable character along with theSuper Mario allies. He has also played a part in theMario Party series as a host of theBowser Spaces, in an antagonistic role.

General information

Physical appearance

The two main color patterns during the development of Bowser's design. Top: Bowser with yellow hair, black eyebrows inSuper Mario Bros. (left) andSuper Mario Bros. 3 (right); bottom: Bowser with red hair and eyebrows inSuper Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (left) andEncyclopedia Super Mario Bros. (right).

Bowser is a huge, burly, green-shelledKoopa 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 aSpiny) 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 asMario 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 forSuper Mario 64 andMario Kart: Super Circuit and thePaper 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 asMario & 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 inSuper 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 thetapetum lucidum, as eyeshine can be seen when he is in the dark flying around theValley of Bowser (excluding the occasional thunderclap briefly showing him in silhouette); this trait is also applied tohis baby self inSuper 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 toKoopa Capers, Bowser has 264 teeth.^[9]

According toPrima'sSuper Mario Galaxy guide, the appearance of Bowser and the Koopas is also based onkappa of Japanese mythology, although this has not been officially stated by Shigeru Miyamoto.^[10]

Bowser's appearance has evolved over time. In the box artwork forSuper Mario Bros. he has an appearance similar to that of an ox in homage toJourney to the West 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 ofYoichi Kotabe, Bowser is redesigned between the release ofSuper Mario Bros. and the release of the Famicom version ofSuper 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 forSuper 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 inSuper Mario World. The brown rings around the spikes and horns are first seen inSuper Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and are seen again inSuper Mario 64, though in the latter game the horns and spikes are yellow. InSuper 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 illustrations made by Yoichi Kotabe^[11] were slightly modified and colored with different colors. The first image is used in the manual ofSuper Mario Bros. 3, with Bowser having red hair and eyebrows and closed eyes, but also in theSuper Mario Bros. pinball machine, with him having blue eyes, and inSuper 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 ofSuper Mario Bros.: 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 originalSuper Mario Bros. lead to Bowser not having hair. His in-game model inSuper Mario 64 has feet which are not padded, although in artwork for that game, he has padded feet. Similarly, inSuper Smash Bros. Melee, his feet are not padded, although in his Classic mode trophy he has padded feet. Furthermore, in thePaper Mario series and in artwork for theMario & Luigi series, he has black eyes like the other characters, in the first threeMario & Luigi games he lacks foot pads andPaper Bowser's spike rings are absent untilPaper Mario: Sticker Star.

InThe 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.

Bowser from the DiC cartoons. This design is also used in other media such as theSuper Mario Bros. comics andSuper Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up.

TheDiC cartoons' 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 sclerae 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, which now match his shell's coloration. In "The Adventures of Sherlock Mario",Herlock Solmes claims that King Koopa (under thealias "Professor Koopa-arity") is not actually a turtle, but rather "a cross between a lizard and an inferior species oftoad" with a brain "smaller than a peanut."^[12]

TheSuper Mario Bros. comics used the same design as the cartoons for theSuper Mario comics, and different installations in theNintendo Adventure Books series used either it or Bowser's game depiction, interchangeably. The cartoon, theSuper Mario Bros. comics, andNintendo Adventure Books designs were later reused to a certain extent for Bowser's green palette swap inSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS /Wii U (as well as being based on a palette swap for him inMario Golf). By comparison, the twoSuper Mario anime (the three OVAs andSuper 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 inSuper Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels andSuper Mario Bros. 3. Similarly, in the three OVAs, he also frequently wears a cape, like he did in artwork forSuper Mario Bros. 3. On the other hand, inSuper 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 forSuper Mario World. In the pamphlet forSuper Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!, Bowser is stated to weigh 10 tons, which is 10,000 kg (22,046 lbs.).^[13]

In theSuper Smash Bros. series, he had various palette swaps (4 inSuper Smash Bros. Melee, 6 inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, and 8 inSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS /Wii U andSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate). His red palette swap inMelee andBrawl, and to a certain extentNintendo 3DS /Wii U, was based on one of his palette swaps inMario Golf (although the latter two games also had it resembling Bowser's in-game sprite from the NES version ofMario is Missing!), while his blue palette swap was based on how he appeared on the Japanese box art forSuper Mario Bros. His white appearance inBrawl and gray appearance inNintendo 3DS /Wii U was likewise based on Morton Koopa Jr. prior to hisNew Super Mario Bros. Wii redesign. His green appearance was based on one of his palette swaps fromMario Golf, his in-game sprite forSuper Mario World, and to a certain extent his appearance in the DIC cartoons and theSuper Mario Bros. comics and his in-game sprite from the originalSuper Mario Bros. game. His blue palette swap inNintendo 3DS /Wii U was primarily based on the bluishBowser's Brother fromSuper Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, although it also to a certain extent resembles a palette swap of his fromMario Golf.

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

Although Bowser does not generally wear clothing, there are a few instances where he does: The Japanese artwork forSuper 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 inMario Party 2, similar to how the playable characters wore themed outfits befitting the various boards (i.e., a Pirate forPirate Land, a Cowboy inWestern Land, a Space Cadet inSpace Land, an archaeologist inMystery Land, and a Witch/Wizard inHorror 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 asSuper Mario Adventures,Super Paper Mario, andSuper Mario Odyssey, he wears white Groom's outfits having each time different features such as the shoes, or lack thereof, and the bowtie. InMario Tennis Aces, Bowser receives his own tennis outfit, which is a black T-shirt with orange flame designs on it, accompanied by red kneepads. InMario Kart Tour, Bowser received a Bowser (Santa) variant as a High-End driver in the2020 Winter Tour. For this variant, Bowser wears aSanta 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.

President Koopa from the 1993Super Mario Bros. film is almost entirely human in appearance, with blonde hair he gels in the shape of a crown, and he frequently wears a black business suit and tie. Aside from this, he is also shown wearing a green military dress uniform with spikes as well as his left side featuring several ribbons in the prologue to the film, owing to how he had been a top general prior to usurping Daisy's father. Koopa constantly has his arms dangling limp at chest level in reference to his origins as a tyrannosaurus rex. However, after being briefly exposed to his own Devo machine by the Mario Bros., he started occasionally possessing some reptilian traits, such as a long, pointed tongue, slitted pupils, and in a few instances his entire face briefly morphing to become more reptilian. Near the end of the film, when Koopa is forciblyde-evolved, he becomes a grayish-greenTyrannosaurus rex, though he has a few differences when de-evolved such as having big arms instead of the small arms from the actual T-rex, though they become small before he turns into a large glob of primordial ooze.

Size

Bowser is usually larger than most other main characters.

Like his speed, Bowser's size changes between games, and often varies between or during battles in single titles. InSuper Princess Peach,Super Mario Galaxy 2,Paper Mario: Sticker Star,Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, and variousMario 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 inSuper Mario Sunshine, shrinking back down to regular proportions after his defeat. Kamek makes Baby Bowser giant inYoshi's Island, and he and the Koopalings use spells to turn Bowser gigantic inNew Super Mario Bros. Wii andNew Super Mario Bros. 2, respectively. InMario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Mario and Luigi can make Bowser temporarilygiant 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 asNew Super Mario Bros. andPaper Mario. In the playablePaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door intermissions, eating Meat gradually increases Bowser's size. He also grows via meat inMario & Luigi: Dream Team, though this was only shown to be possible in the Dream World. Like otherSuper Smash Bros. characters, Bowser can grow with the aid ofSuper Mushrooms and there are alsoSuper 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 inSuper Mario Bros., to being roughly five times his height inSuper 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 thePrima guides forNew Super Mario Bros. Wii andNew Super Mario Bros. U, where he is calledSuper Bowser, as well as Baby Bowser's giant form, named Mega Baby Bowser inYoshi's Woolly World andYoshi's Crafted World. Within theSuper Smash Bros. series, Bowser's size changes.

InSuper Smash Bros. Melee andSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, Bowser is only slightly taller than Mario, rivaling the heights of Peach and Samus. InSuper 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 inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, although he is now the second tallest fighter, as Ridley is currently the largest playable character.

Personality

Bowser's most visible trait is his aggressive, imposing nature.

In most of his appearances, Bowser is a persistent, threatening, and imposing villain who kidnaps Princess Peach, desires to defeat Mario and his friends, and runs an army to invade and take over the Mushroom Kingdom. Generally, he also revels in causing disorder and intimidating his enemies, such as inMario 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, boasting when he is successful and focusing only on self-preservation when he fails. InSuper Mario Galaxy, his only regret is his failure to create his own realm, and inMario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, he is dismayed at having to damage his own captured castle while trying to reclaim it fromFawful. InMario Party 4, Bowser grudgingly gives the player a present and wishes 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 had claimed to be somewhat happy. InMario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, he resents having to ask nicely for help fromStarlow. Though he believes himself superior, Bowser occasionally compliments his foes for their tenacity against him in fierce battles or competitive events, even engaging in casual banter. InSuper Mario Odyssey, despite planning his forced wedding with Peach extensively, he makes a comment on Mario's costume before their final battle, ranging from an uncharacteristically scared response to a genuine compliment on his fashion 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, particularly towardsBowser Jr., to whom he behaves as a loving father figure. His harsh and raging demeanor occasionally softens somewhat towards his loyal minions, with the description of hisconstellation inMario 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 certain games such asMario Tennis andSuper Mario Party, he and his minions crash the events simply to engage in friendly competition.

While Bowser is usually regarded as a respectable leader by his troops and as a fearsome invader by his enemies, Bowser's usual brashness and short-temper often lead him to not think his actions through or be willing to compromise, such as inBowser's Inside Story when he flies into a rage upon discovering that Mario and Luigi had been aiding him the entire time while inside his body, causing him to attack them mere moments after the three of them had saved the world.

In some games, Bowser will act jealous and angry when he learns of another villain committing an evil action instead of himself, such as Cackletta stealing Peach's voice inMario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, or Peach getting kidnapped by the X-Nauts inPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

For all of 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 theSammer's Kingdom's destruction by theVoid inSuper Paper Mario, and when inPaper Mario: The Origami King,King Olly revealed his end goal to be the eradication of all Toads, Bowser vehemently called such a plan mad, making clear that even he would never attempt to outright exterminate the Toads.

In Japanese material fromSuper Mario RPG onward, such asSuper Mario 64 and his message in Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge inSuper Nintendo World, Bowser refers to himself using the first-person pronoun "wagahai" (ワガハイ), an archaic term associated with nobility that is popularly used to convey self-aggrandizement.^[14]

President Koopa from the 1993Super Mario Bros. film has a similar personality to that of his game counterpart, Bowser. However, he also is shown to have an understandable motive in regards to remerging both dimensions, citing that he intends to use Daisy to merge them for the future of his species, especially since his species has to go through several hardships that stem from the parallel world being a near-complete wasteland. Despite this, Koopa still sees himself as an evil person; while pretending to be a lawyer for Mario and Luigi, he tells them that he "is one evil, egg-sucking son of a snake," and does not deny this after his true identity is revealed. Koopa is also shown to be very ruthless in the pursuit of his goals, as after "evolving" his cousins Iggy and Spike, he threatened to personally execute them if they fail to retrieve both the Mario Bros. and the meteorite, with Iggy and Spike earlier implying when trying to locate Daisy that, should they abduct the wrong girl yet again, Koopa may end up doing far worse to them than simply have them executed. Likewise, he also immediately ordered for Lena's arrest after deducing from her giving an order in his name to start the invasion without his knowledge that she had retrieved the meteorite and kept it for herself.

Speech

Bowser did not have voice acting prior to theNintendo GameCube era. The manual ofSuper Mario Bros. 3 nonetheless showed that he was able to speak.Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen! gave Bowser voice acting for the first time in history, with theAmada 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 EntertainmentSuper Mario cartoon titledThe Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, in which he was portrayed byHarvey Atkin, giving him a Brooklyn accent. This trait was carried over in DIC's 1990 and 1991 cartoons titledThe Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 andSuper Mario World. He utilizes tiger-like growls inSuper Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, and also has a screech that he utters when hit by one of the Mechakoopas inSuper Mario World. He eventually received voice acting in the PC version ofMario 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 withSuper Mario 64, although it was for the most part limited to roars and occasional laughter, with in-game text describing what he is saying toMario. However, starting inSuper Mario Sunshine, 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 ofThe 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.

Bowser's laughter is usually transcribed as some variation of "Gwahaha". The amount of times "ha" is repeated varies, but there is always at least one "ha" after the "gwa". "Gwahaha" is very often rendered with every letter capitalized. "Gwahaha" also appears in text that Bowser writes, reflecting his speech. The gamesSuper Mario 64,Mario Party 4,Mario Party Advance,Mario Party 6,Super Princess Peach,Super Mario Galaxy,Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story,Mario & Luigi: Dream Team,Paper Mario: Color Splash,Super Mario Odyssey,Mario Tennis Aces,Super Mario Maker 2,Super Mario Bros. Wonder, andMario & Luigi: Brothership all use this quirk, as does the amusement park rideMario Kart: Bowser's Challenge. The names ofMario Party 6's Bowserminigames,Dark 'n Crispy,Dizzy Rotisserie, andPit Boss, all include this laughter in the Japanese release. This is not retained in any of the game's localizations. Many games, such asMario Party 8,Mario Party 9,Mario Party: Island Tour,Yoshi's New Island,Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, andMario & Luigi: Paper Jam, use the less distinct "Bwahaha", with similar variations to "Gwahaha". Some games use both "Gwahaha" and "Bwahaha".

Powers and abilities

Physical prowess

Bowser pounding the ground

Bowser is portrayed with significant physical strength. Bowser is often the most powerful character in sports games, and inSuper Paper Mario, his attack stat is twice that of the other heroes. He can easily break through boulders and topple enemies many times his own size, and inMario & 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.

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. InSuper Mario RPG andPaper 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 inSuper Paper Mario, someSuper Smash Bros. games and most sports titles, although despite being the slowest runner in theMario & Sonic Summer Olympics, with a 2/10 stat, in the Winter Games, he has an 8/10 stat. InSuper Mario 64 Bowser can jump incredible heights and make short charges at Mario, and while he cannot climb ladders inSuper Paper Mario, both this game andPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door show him to be a good swimmer, although the latter reveals that he dislikes the activity. InSuper Smash Bros. Melee, Bowser has sluggish mobility and low jumps, but his dashing speed is exceptionally quick. InSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, Bowser's mobility is faster, though still sluggish compared to the rest of the cast. Starting fromSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS /Wii U, Bowser is a speedy powerhouse fighter.

Bowser's spiked shell is a physical feature that Bowser makes use of liberally. He can also duck into his spiked shell and spin or roll around to attack.

Bowser is strongly associated with fire.

Bowser's most prominent ability is breathing fire. He can produce continuous flares or flurries of individual fireballs, and as seen inPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door andSuper Paper Mario, he can even use his fire breath underwater. He has been shown to cause fiery rain inSuper Mario World andNew Super Mario Bros. U, while inSuper Mario 64 andNew Super Mario Bros., he can produce blue flames that home in on Mario. Like his strength, Bowser is very proud of his fire breath, and is immensely displeased to find himself temporarily unable to use his flames inMario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. In the PC version ofMario 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 originalSuper Mario Bros., orNew Super Mario Bros. (in which it transforms him intoDry Bowser), in other titles, he appears to be resistant to it, such asNew Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Object prowess

Bowser has shown proficiency in the use of items and tools. In the originalSuper Mario Bros., Bowser throws hammers at Mario, like aHammer Bro, and this ability reappears in various games, includingSuper Princess Peach,Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga andNew Super Mario Bros. 2.

Supernatural prowess

Bowser using electricity inSuper Mario Galaxy

According to theSuper 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 inMario Party 4 and turn a Koopa Troopa into a frog inMario Party 2. InMario Party: Island Tour, he uses magic to create a30-floor tower.

An uncommonly seen skill is Bowser's teleporting ability. He uses it to bring Peach to his hotel inHotel Mario, and teleports himself away after being beaten at the Bowser's Star Reactor and Bowser's Dark Matter Plant inSuper Mario Galaxy; he can also teleport across the battlefield in his second battle inSuper Mario 64.

Bowser is also shown to be capable of unpowered flight—without the use of wings or a power-up—as seen inSuper Mario 3D Land, where he flies away after being defeated inWorld 8-Bowser's Castle: Part 1.

Another uncommonly seen skill is Bowser's lightning power, which only appears inHotel Mario and the opening cutscene ofSuper Mario Galaxy.

Finally, Bowser can transform himself, such as turning into a giant boulder during his final fights with Mario inSuper Mario Galaxy, or changing intoGiga Bowser in theSuper 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.

Nicknames and aliases

See also:King Koopa's alter egos

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 andMario 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, andMario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games)
• Master Bowser (Mario Party 4 andMario & 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.)

Themes

Bowser has had a variety of musical themes throughout his history, commonly leaning intorock,heavy metal, andorchestral genres. They often feature prominent percussion, distortion guitars, pipe organs, or choirs. "King of the Koopas", fromSuper Mario Bros. 3, is the first theme to be directly associated with him, while his most recurring leitmotif is "Bowser's Theme", fromSuper Mario 64. Other recurring themes used to represent Bowser include "Calling All the Shots!" in theMario & Luigi series (starting withMario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story), and "The Giant Arises" in thePaper Mario series (starting withPaper Mario: Sticker Star).

King of the Koopas - Bowser's battle theme inSuper Mario Bros. 3

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Bowser's Theme - Bowser's theme inSuper Mario 64

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The Giant Arises - Bowser's theme inPaper Mario: Sticker Star

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Bowser's Coming! - Bowser's theme inMario & Luigi: Paper Jam, using his leitmotif fromMario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

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Relationships

Family

Bowser with theKoopalings

Bowser withBowser Jr.

Koopalings

Both the original Japanese and English versions of the gameSuper Mario Bros. 3 introduced Bowser's seven children, theKoopalings.^[15][16] They were also depicted as his children inSuper Mario World,^[17][18]Yoshi's Safari,^[19] the first trophy of Bowser inSuper Smash Bros. Melee^[20], the DIC cartoons, and various comics released shortly afterSuper Mario Bros. 3. However, afterHotel Mario, the Koopalings went on a nine-year hiatus, and many years later, in 2002,Super Mario Sunshine introducedBowser Jr., Bowser's youngest child who resembles Bowser greatly. Since the Koopalings have made a return to the series followingNew Super Mario Bros. Wii, Bowser Jr. is considered theheir to the throne and the only child in the current story. While the Japanese Nintendo Direct announcement forMario Kart 8 referred to them as Bowser'skobun (which can mean either underlings or adopted children), subsequent games used less ambiguous wording referring to them as minions, withSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS /Wii U andUltimate 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 toBowser's Brother fromSuper Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, who was later considered to be something akin to anImpostor Bowser and eventually a character of unknown identity.

Before the introduction ofBowser Jr.,Ludwig von Koopa was once said to be Bowser's second in command in theSuper Mario Bros. 3Nintendo Power Strategy Guide,^[21] leader of the Koopalings in the Official Nintendo Guidebook ofSuper Mario Collection (the Japanese version ofSuper Mario All-Stars)^[22] and Bowser's comrade in thePerfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten.^[23] 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.

The emblems of Bowser, Bowser Jr., and the Koopalings

Bowser Jr.

“All right,son... Let's see if you can stand up to your old man!”

—Bowser,Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey

On the other hand, inSuper 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 inMario & 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, while playingGhosts 'n Goblins, is shown to be ignoring his son, who has been asking to play with him, much to his disappointment. Feeling guilty seeing Bowser Jr.'s dejection, Bowser promptly offers a second Joy-Con so they can play together, and they proceed to playIce 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" inMario & Luigi: Superstar Saga andPaper Mario: Color Splash (who had actually beenBowletta andBlack Bowser, forms taken when Bowser was possessed byCackletta and corrupted by theblack 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 theBowser Jr.'s Journey story arc ofMario & 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 buildings, machines and devices that he controls.

Kamek

Kamek, Bowser's caretaker in theYoshi franchise, later a royal advisor in his adulthood

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 subsequentYoshi series games andMario & 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. The only time a rift has been shown between the two is inMario 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.

Other relatives

Various other relatives of Bowser's have been mentioned or shown in a minor capacity throughout the franchise. Bowser mentions afather in few issues of theSuper Mario Bros. comics, with the implication being that he is a wanted criminal on the run. Bowser is first shown to have amother inThe 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 namedPoopa La Koopa in theSuper 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 theTemple of Koopa to hide theLost Mushroom, which he left to Bowser. In the episode "Do the Koopa" ofThe Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Big Mouth brings up one of the Koopalings' great grandmothers, whom he refers to as their "great grand-Koopa-mama." Bowser and the Koopalings are shown to have a pet rabbit namedPookie in theSuper Mario Bros. comic series, which was often abused until its eventual escape in the comic "Bowser Knows Best". In the Nintendo Adventure BookFlown 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 booksUnjust Desserts andBrain Drain, though he has only minor roles in both. Finally, in both an episode of theSuper Show and the song "Ignorance is Bliss", Bowser mentions ayounger sister who is, according to him, a bookworm.

Friends and allies

Baby Bowser

Although technically a younger version of himself, Bowser has interacted with Baby Bowser during two occasions of time travel. InYoshi'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. InMario & 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". InYoshi'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

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 ofCorporal Paraplonk,Private Goomp andSergeant Guy return to service after they betrayed him for Fawful inMario & 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 inSuper Paper Mario,Mario & Luigi: Brothership, andMario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. The latter game's remake, or more specifically the tie-in storyBowser 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. InPaper 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 theMario 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 isKammy Koopa, who loyally and tirelessly puts up with his constant stream of derision when working together during the first twoPaper Mario games. In hertattle,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.

Doctor Eggman

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

Love interests

Princess Peach

Bowser holding Peach captive inSuper Mario 3D Land

LINE sticker showcasing Peach's feelings for Bowser.

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 ofSuper Mario Bros., Bowser initially started abducting Peach to prevent her from restoring the transformedToads back to normal. Various media depict Bowser as wanting to marry Princess Peach, being central plot points inSuper Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!,Super Paper Mario,Super Mario Odyssey, andThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, the last in which Bowser expresses his love for Peach in a song called "Peaches." In the sameThe 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 inPaper 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. InSuper Mario Sunshine, he told Bowser Jr. that Peach is his mother. In few cases, he can forgo abducting Princess Peach, usually if he is aiming for a more important objective. This bit is especially evident inSuper Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, as when Peach discovers Bowser's presence with Mario, she initially fears that he is 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 toSuper Mario World,Paper Mario, andSuper Mario Galaxy, and she has fought him directly in some instances such as inSuper Princess Peach,Super Mario 3D World,Super Mario Bros. Wonder, andThe 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.

Other love interests

The female Koopa fromKoopa's High School Yearbook

TheSuper Mario Bros. 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". In a September 2012 interview withGame Informer, Miyamoto simply stated that Bowser Jr.'s mother is unknown,^[24] which is supported by a question from theSnifit or Whiffit quiz show inPaper Mario: Sticker Star.

Foes

Mario

“Not bad! I guess I chosethe right guy to be my archenemy. At least you always put up a fight.”

—Bowser,Super Mario Galaxy

Mario and Bowser's battle inSuper Mario 64

Mario is Bowser’s sworn enemy. He constantly defeats him, preventing him from holding Princess Peach hostage and taking over the 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 inSuper 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 inMario 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 inSuper Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, or Count Bleck inSuper 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 inMario Party DS merely gave Mario and the others a fun experience. Additionally, there is a brief moment in the ending forSuper Mario Odyssey shows Mario patting a devastated Bowser on the back after Peach rejects both of their proposals, before Mario jumps on Bowser to get on board the Odyssey, leaving him stuck on the moon.

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 whenBowletta, 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, inMario & Luigi: Dream Team he attempts to use the Dream Stone to make the Mario Bros. disappear, and inMario & Luigi: Paper Jam, he plans to trap Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario inthe empty book, throw the book in the garbage, and then light the garbage on fire.

Luigi

Bowser fighting Luigi at the end ofBowser's Inside Story

Luigi often fights Bowser alongside Mario, and so Bowser also sees Luigi as another significant adversary. Like many other characters in theSuper 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 theMario & Luigi series. After his defeat inMario & Luigi: 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 theYoshi's Island games, succeeding with Baby Luigi, and they have also tried and failed to stop the Yoshis from foiling their plans.

Yoshi

Bowser and Yoshi also have a mutual dislike; as Baby Bowser, he enjoyed stealingcookies from the Yoshis and even stole theirSuper Happy Tree andSundream Stone in certain games. He also once requested Kamek to transform and reduce the Yoshis to material for the purpose of building his castle, akin to when he turned Toads into brick blocks.

Other foes

Generally speaking, Bowser's enemies usually include Mario's allies, although Bowser has come into conflict with other villains, including the aforementionedSmithy,Count Bleck,Fawful,King Olly, andZokket (most of whom he collaborated with Mario to defeat). One of Bowser's few victories actually came out of his conflict with Fawful duringMario & 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 minionMidbus.

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 three sequels, Starlow and Bowser are now complete enemies.

Another "frenemy" situation is the one between Bowser and Wario, who have joined forces (along withWaluigi) against Mario inMario Power Tennis, and worked together (albeit fractiously) as babies inYoshi's Island DS. The ending ofMario Superstar Baseball shows Wario and Waluigi on Bowser's team. Most of the time they are on opposing sides, as inSuper Mario 64 DS and theMario Party series when Wario was on Mario's side. InMario Super Sluggers, Wario helps in stopping Bowser's invasion ofBaseball 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.

InPaper Mario: The Origami King, Bowser also held a grudge against King Olly for reducing him to a folded face and turning his minions intoFolded Soldiers, mocking the latter's hairstyle.

InMario & Luigi: Brothership, Bowser fought against Zokket for control overConcordia to the point where Bowser was completely oblivious of Zokket's defeat and did not care thatReclusa was the real enemy.

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:

Profiles and statistics

Main article:List of Bowser 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. InMario 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.

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, seeGallery:Bowser.

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  Super Mario Bros.

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  Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels

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  Super Mario 64

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  Paper Mario

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  Super Mario Strikers

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  Super Mario Galaxy

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  Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

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  Mario Kart Tour

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  The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Portrayals

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

In addition, a number of stock sounds and voices have been used for Bowser:

Quotes

Main article:List of Bowser quotes

Voice samples

Super Mario 64 /Super Mario 64 DS - Bowser's laugh ("Comical Laugh" stock sound by Charles Martinet, pitched-down and played in reverse)[25]

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Super Mario Sunshine - "MARIO! How dare you disturb my family vacation!? (roars)" (Scott Burns, stock roar)

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Mario Party 8 - Bowser's laugh (Scott Burns)

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Mario Strikers Charged - Bowser's laugh (Scott Burns)

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Super Mario Galaxy - Bowser's laugh (Kenny James)

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Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - "Showtime!" (Kenny James)

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie - "Open the gates... or die!" (Jack Black)

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List of appearances

Names in other languages

Main article:List of Bowser names in other languages

Notes

• An officially licensed 3D magnet of Bowser from 1997 erroneously refers to him as "Bouser".^[87]
• In an instructional video posted by Nintendo for creating aNintendo Account, Bowser is used as an example for an account's personal information, with his birthday listed for February 5, 1989.^[88]

References

Bowser coverage on otherNIWA wikis:

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