Editing Fake Bowser

{{about|the fake Bowsers from ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]''|other uses|[[Fake Bowser (disambiguation)]]}}
{{species infobox
|image=[[File:BowserMP8.png|250px]]<br>Artwork of a fake Bowser in ''Super Mario Run''.
|first_appearance=''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' ([[List of games by date#1985|1985]])
|latest_appearance=''[[Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros.]]'' ([[List of games by date#2020|2020]])
|variant_of=[[Koopa (Bowser's species)|Koopa]]
|variants=[[Tail Bowser]]
}}
A '''fake Bowser''' (known as '''Bowser's decoy''' in ''[[NES Remix]]'') is a standard enemy that was transformed by [[Bowser]]'s black magic into a copy of himself. They first appear in ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]''
==Background==
===Concept and creation===
The concept of fake Bowsers came about during development of ''Super Mario Bros.''. Since all enemies have their sprites flipped upside-down when they are defeated (except for [[Piranha Plant]]s, which simply disappear, and [[Bullet Bill]]s, which stay rightside up), one of the programmers accidentally inserted an upside-down Koopa Troopa shell when portraying Bowser's death animation as if he were defeated with fireballs. The developers liked this idea, and as a result, this idea was extended to most of the Bowser battles in the game.<ref>https://www.giantbomb.com/false-bowser/3015-8320/</ref>{{better source}}

==History==
===''Super Mario Bros.'' / ''Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels''===
[[File:Bowser_Impostor_All-Stars_Version.png|thumb|A fake Bowser in ''Super Mario All-Stars''.]]
In ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'', the seven fake Bowsers are placed in each [[castle]], with [[World 8-4 (Super Mario Bros.)|Bowser's Castle]] containing the real one. Defeating a fake Bowser with five [[fireball]]s reveals that they are really just common enemies disguised as Bowser. The enemies and their abilities are the following:
*'''World 1''': [[Goomba|Little Goomba]] - [[Fire Breath|fire]]
*'''World 2''': [[Green Shell|Green]] [[Koopa Troopa]] - fire
*'''World 3''': [[Buzzy Beetle]] - fire
*'''World 4''': [[Spiny]] - fire
*'''World 5''': [[Lakitu]] - fire
*'''World 6''': [[Blooper|Bloober]]<!--DO NOT CHANGE TO "BLOOPER". "Bloober" was the name at the time of this game and should be the name displayed here. --> - [[hammer]]
*'''World 7''': [[Hammer Bro]]ther - hammer
''[[Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels]]'' additional worlds (in the ''[[Super Mario All-Stars]]'' version, the final fake Bowser is now replaced with the actual Bowser):
*'''World A''': Goomba - fire ([[Family Computer Disk System|FDS]]) / [[Red Shell|Red]] [[Koopa Troopa]] - hammer (''All-Stars'')
*'''World B''': Green Koopa Troopa - fire (FDS) / Green [[Cheep Cheep|Cheep-Cheep]] - hammer (''All-Stars'')
*'''World C''': Buzzy Beetle - fire (FDS) / [[Bullet Bill]] - hammer (''All-Stars'')
*'''World D''': [[Spiny]] - fire (FDS)
The "You VS. Boo" challenge of ''[[Super Mario Bros. Deluxe]]'':
*'''1-4''': Green [[Cheep Cheep|Cheep-Cheep]]
*'''2-4''': [[Bullet Bill]]
[[File:SMBLL World D-4 Bowser Imposter.png|thumb|[[Mario]] facing the fake [[Bowser's Brother]] in [[World D (Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels)|World D-4]] of ''[[Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels]]''.]]
Like Bowser, the blue [[Bowser's Brother]] in World D-4 is also a fake revealed to be a Spiny when defeated with fireballs, and only breathes fire. In ''Super Mario All-Stars'', both of these fakes are replaced with the real ones that only throw hammers, although Bowser's Brother is now green and looks identical to his twin. Due to ''[[All Night Nippon: Super Mario Bros.]]'' also featuring Worlds A-D, all of the fake Bowsers from those worlds return, including the fake Bowser's Brother in World D-4.

===''Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3''===
In ''[[Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3]]'', a fake Bowser appears as a boss in the [[World-e]] level [[Classic World 1-4]], where it plays a similar role to that played in ''Super Mario Bros.'', though it looks identical to the game's real Bowser. It is revealed that the fake Bowser is a Goomba if it is defeated with fireballs.

===''Super Mario 3D Land''===
While typical fake Bowsers do not appear in ''[[Super Mario 3D Land]]'', variants powered by [[Super Leaf|Super Leaves]] known as [[Tail Bowser]]s make their first appearance.

===''Super Mario Run''===
In ''[[Super Mario Run]]'', fake Bowsers appear at the end of the [[fortress]] levels in Worlds [[World 1 (Super Mario Run)|1]], [[World 3 (Super Mario Run)|3]] and [[World 5 (Super Mario Run)|5]]. They are a Goomba, a green Koopa Troopa, and a Buzzy Beetle, respectively.

==Game appearances==
{|class=sortable cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 border=1 align=center width=100% style="border-collapse:collapse; font-family:Arial"
|-
!width=40%|Title
!width=20%|Description
!width=20%|Release Date
!width=20%|System/Format
|-
|''[[Super Mario Bros.]]''
|Boss
|1985
|[[Nintendo Entertainment System]]
|-
|''[[Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels]]''
|Boss
|1986
|[[Family Computer Disk System]]
|-
|''[[Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3]]''
|Boss
|2003
|[[Game Boy Advance]]
|-
|''[[Super Mario Run]]''
|Boss
|2016
|iOS, Android
|}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
SMB W1-4 Fake Bowser Screenshot.png|The fake Bowser from World 1-4.
SMB W1-4 Fake Bowser revealed Screenshot.png|The fake Bowser of World 1's true form: a Goomba.
SuperMarioRun - screen3.jpg|The first fake Bowser in ''Super Mario Run''.
</gallery>
{{br|right}}

==Names in other languages==
{{foreign names
|Jap=にせクッパ<ref name=SMBsite>[[Nintendo|Nintendo of Japan]]. "[https://www.nintendo.co.jp/character/mario/characters/smb/index.html CHARACTERS of ''Super Mario Bros.'' and ''Super Mario Bros. 2'']". [https://www.nintendo.co.jp/character/mario/characters/index.html CHARACTERS of the ''Super Mario Bros.'' series] (official Japanese character index). Published 2020. Accessed 20 Mar 2021.</ref>
|JapR=Nise Kuppa
|JapM=Fake Bowser; shared with [[Belome|Bowser Clone]]
|Spa=Bowser falso
|SpaM=Fake Bowser
|Fre=Faux Bowser
|FreM=Fake Bowser
|Ger=Falscher Bowser
|GerM=Fake Bowser
|Dut=Nep-Bowser
|DutM=Fake Bowser
|Rus=Поддельный Боузер<br>Лже-Боузер (''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'')
|RusR=Poddelny Bouzer<br>Lzhe-Bouzer
|RusM=Fake Bowser
|Kor=가짜 쿠파
|KorR=Gajja Kupa
|KorM=Fake Koopa
|Ita=Falso Bowser<br>Finto Bowser<ref>''[[Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia|Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia]]'', pag. 22</ref>
|ItaM=Fake Bowser
}}

==Trivia==
[[File:Superstarfalse.png|thumb|A cardboard Bowser in ''Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga''.]]
*The World 3 and World C (original) fake Bowsers are the only Buzzy Beetles that can be defeated by fireballs (outside of ''[[Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!]]''), and the World C (''All-Stars'') and "You VS. Boo" 2-4 (''Deluxe'') ones are the only Bullet Bills that can be defeated by fireballs.
**The World A and World C fake Bowsers in ''All-Stars'' are the only fake Bowsers whose true forms are right-side-up instead of upside-down. 
*In ''[[Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'' and ''[[Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions]]'', an exaggerated cardboard Bowser suspended by a pair of ropes over a bridge is seen at the end of a special area inside [[Bowser's Castle]], which is a side-scrolling level imitating a ''Super Mario Bros.'' castle. [[Mario]] must move underneath the stationary object and touch the [[axe]] to make it fall.
*If the player beats [[Bowser's Sky Scuffle]] with any character barring [[Bowser Jr.]] in ''[[Mario Party: Island Tour]]'', Bowser will reveal that the "Bowser" they defeated had been a decoy, which may have been a reference to the fake Bowsers.

==References==
<references/>

{{Koopas}}
{{SMB}}
{{SMB3}}
{{SMR}}
[[Category:Koopas]]
[[Category:Bowser lookalikes]]
[[Category:Shapeshifters]]
[[Category:Fire creatures]]
[[Category:Bosses]]
[[Category:Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 enemies]]
[[Category:Super Mario Bros. enemies]]
[[Category:Super Mario Bros. Deluxe]]
[[Category:Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels enemies]]
[[Category:Super Mario Run enemies]]
[[de:Falscher Bowser]]
[[it:Bowser Falso]]