- “I'm the biggest, baddest brute around, and don't you forget it.”
- —Bowser, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
King Bowser Koopa (sometimes known as King Bowser, King Koopa, Lord Bowser or just Bowser) is the supreme leader of the Koopa Troop, king of the Koopas, and the arch-nemesis of Mario and Luigi. Repeatedly, he tries to kidnap Princess Peach and take over the Mushroom Kingdom. Occasionally, the Koopa King has attempted to conquer the entire Mushroom Planet.
Game Appearances
The Tiny Tyrant
Main Article: Baby Bowser
Bowser's first appearance chronologically was as a child in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. His baby form was quickly shown to have similar powers of his adult form. This was also his first meeting with Mario (as Baby Mario).
In Yoshi's Island DS Baby Bowser was abducted by Kamek where he met his older self a second time. Bowser from the future used a speter to bring him back to the past and invaded Baby Bowser's castle. Later Bowser kicked Baby Bowser out of the castle when he insulted him. Baby Bowser later teamed up with Baby Mario, Baby Wario, Baby Donkey Kong, Baby Peach, and Yoshi to save Baby Luigi and the other babies from the future Bowser. At the end of the game Baby Bowser turned on his team because he accused them of trying to steal his treasure after defeating him. Bowser grew in size when Kamek zapped him changing him to Giant Bowser ( similar to Giant Baby Bowser in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island ). Giant Bowser later is defeated and changed back to his normal self and went back to the present.
The First Mushroom Wars
Bowser's first appearance (release-wise) was Super Mario Bros.. In this game the now fully grown tyrant has fully emerged as the leader of the Koopa Troop, and is attempting to take over the Mushroom Kingdom. He turns many of the Kingdom's defenders into weeds, and kidnaps Princess Peach and her seven Mushroom Retainers, the only ones who know how to break the spell. He then turned seven of his minions into Fake Bowsers, and sent them to guard the Mushroom Retainers in seven different castles. He goes to an eighth castle where he hides the Princess.
Bowser had not counted on Mario and Luigi to show up. The heroes traversed through the Mushroom Kingdom, freeing the Mushroom Retainers and eventually reaching the eighth castle and fighting with Bowser himself. The Koopa King attacks by spitting Fireballs and throwing Hammers at the duo. He can be defeated by Mario or Luigi running under (or Jumping over) him and hitting an Axe behind him, taking away his platform and causing him to fall into the lava. At the end of the game, Bowser is defeated and the Mushroom Kingdom is saved.
Bowser does the exact same thing in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
The Conquest of the Lands
Bowser's second appearance was in Super Mario Bros. 3. This game gave gamers quite a surprise by introducing Bowser's children, Lemmy Koopa, Iggy Koopa, Ludwig Von Koopa, Roy Koopa, Wendy O. Koopa, Larry Koopa and Morton Koopa Jr. Bowser's children acted the same way that the Fake Bowsers did in Super Maio Bros., each one conquered a different land and turned the king of said land into a generic enemy, while Bowser resided in the eighth and final land. Mario and Luigi once again set out to defeat Bowser and his family. Throughout the game the heroes would receive helpful letters from Princess Peach, however after freeing the seventh land they get a letter from Bowser, which reveals that while they were saving the different lands Bowser had kidnapped the Princess. Mario and Luigi boldly make there way towards Bowser's Castle, for the final showdown. In the end the Koopa King is defeated once again and the Princess is saved.
The War for Dino Land
Bowser and the Koopalings reappeared in Super Mario World. Bowser kidnapped Princess Toadstool (who was on vacation there, along with the Mario Bros.( yet again, and he also kidnapped several Yoshis, friendly natives of the island who resisted his rule. Mario, Luigi, and a particularly heroic Yoshi (who was, oddly, named Yoshi) saved the princess and the captured Yoshis by defeating the Koopalings and King Bowser.
The boss fight in this game was unique in that Bowser and Mario battled on the roof of Bowser's castle while Bowser was in his Koopa Clown Car, throwing Mecha Koopas and Big Steelies at the hero. Mario could use the Mecha Koopas to his advantage by tossing them back at Bowser. After two hits, Bowser disappeared for a while, casting flames at Mario. However, his attack were countered by Princess Peach, who threw a Mushroom to Mario or Luigi After all this, Bowser would return and attempt to ram into Mario with his Koopa Clown Car. The cycle of attacks would then repeat. After this happened three times, Bowser was thrown off the roof of his castle, and the princess was rescued.
A Brief Alliance
Bowser actually served as Mario's ally in Super Mario RPG. He used Chain Chomps and his claws to attack, and his special moves often involved summoning his minions to attack.
At the beginning of the game, Bowser kidnapped Princess Toadstool as she was picking flowers at Mario's Pad. He flew her to his castle, Bowser's Keep, in his Koopa Clown Car. However, Mario was on his tail. The plumber burst into Bowser's throne room and fought him atop Bowser's chandeliers. But Bowser seemed to be unbeatable. Attacking with claws and spikes, Bowser was determined not to lose to Mario again. However, with some advice from the princess, Mario attacked the Kinklink chain holding up the chandelier. The chandelier and Bowser were sent plummeting to the ground below. However, Bowser threw Hammers at Mario's chain, sending him falling as well. On the ground, Mario Jumped on top of Bowser, giving him a boost up to the princess.
After the battle, a huge sword named Exor crashed into Bowser's Keep, sending Mario, Toadstool, and Bowser flying in different directions, scattering them across the world. Bowser's Keep was taken over by Exor and Smithy's gang. Bowser ended up near Rose Way. Once there, he decided to join forces with Mario, (even going as far as naming Mario, Geno and Mallow honorary members of the Koopa Troop) until his castle was won back. Even after his castle is rescued he helps Mario and his Party for a bit longer, because (as Geno points out) the castle will not be safe until Smithy was defeated.
The Attack on the Castle
In both of these games, Bowser did not technically "kidnap" the princess, but invaded her castle and trapped the princess, along with many Toads in the paintings of the castle. In this game, Mario defeated Bowser by grabbing his tail and throwing him into one of several bombs surrounding the battle arena. Mario had to fight him thrice in order to save the princess.
Paper Bowser
Bowser, aided by Kammy Koopa, second in command of the Koopa Troop, took control of the Princess's castle by lifting it into the air with the power of the Star Rod in Paper Mario. Mario, along with his friends Goombario, Kooper, Bombette, Parakarry, Bow, Watt, Sushie and Lakilester, had to rescue the Seven Star Spirits in order to use the Star Beam, which would deactivate the Star Rod. After the initial fight against Bowser, he retreated to the roof of his castle. Using the Power Platform Kammy Koopa built, Kammy boosted his size and power to ensue his victory. The Star Beam failed to work against Bowser. However, Princess Peach discovered that by wishing for Mario's strength to increase, and Twink granted her wish by giving Mario the Peach Beam.
Now that Mario was able to negate the Star Rod's effects, he had no problem taking Bowser down and returning everything to the way it once was.
Paper Mario was significant because it revealed another of Bowser's motives for kidnaping Peach; he has a crush on her and hopes to steal her away from Mario.
Bowser's "Sound" Defeat
Bowser didn't appear in Luigi's Mansion for the Nintendo GameCube - instead, King Boo used a Bowser suit. It is unknown if King Boo actually possessed Bowser's corpse (according to Madame Clairvoya, the fortune-teller ghost) - but Bowser was indeed "soundly defeated" before the events of Luigi's Mansion. Another possibility is that King Boo simply used a Bowser disguise. Information on this debatable subject can be found on the King Boo article.
During battle, the Bowser suit could only be defeated after a spiked ball was thrown at the Bowser head. Once that happened, King Boo would be exposed and Luigi could suck him up with his Poltergust 3000. When King Boo's energy got low and retreated to the body, he screwed the head on backwards!
Island Takeover
Bowser masterminded yet another evil plan to kidnap the princess in Super Mario Sunshine, this time stooping so low as to use his son, Bowser Jr., as a pawn. Bowser told his son that Princess Peach was his mother and that Mario was a bad man who stole her. He urged him to take Peach back. Bowser Jr. took on the disguise of Shadow Mario, filled Isle Delfino with graffiti, and framed Mario. Mario, determined to prove his innocence, cleaned up the mess with FLUDD. While Mario was washing away the graffiti, Bowser Jr. kidnapped the princess.
Bowser Jr. and Bowser fought together against Mario in the end, although they inevitably lost. Later, Bowser Jr. revealed to his father that he knew all along that Peach was not his mother, and that he couldn't wait for another chance to take Mario down. Bowser couldn't be more proud of his son.
The Journey to the Beanbean Kingdom
Bowser helped Mario again in the third Mario RPG, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga - but not for long. Bowser takes the brothers on the Koopa Cruiser to Beanbean Kingdom, but the Koopa Cruiser is brought down by Fawful. Bowser ended up falling in a large cannon, and a troublemaker named Tolstar of the Beanbean Kingdom promised to embarrass Bowser by telling the humiliating incident to the entire kingdom unless Mario and Luigi could provide him with a hundred coins. Eventually, the StarShade Bros. came along and shot Bowser out of the cannon.
Rookie
The next time the Mario Bros. see him, the great Koopa King has amnesia and is working for Popple, the Shadow Thief. While accompanying Popple, Bowser adopts the name 'Rookie'. Mario and Luigi fight Rookie and Popple twice in the game before Bowser regains his memory.
Bowletta
However, as soon as Bowser remembers who he is, Cackletta possesses his body and becomes Bowletta. Bowletta kidnaps Peach, which leaves Mario and Luigi with the task of rescuing her. Bowletta takes command of the Koopa Troop, including the Koopalings, and launches a massive military strike against the Beanbean Kingdom. After Mario and Luigi defeat Bowletta, the brothers are taken into her stomach to fight Cackletta's spirit for the final battle. When she is completely destroyed, Bowser returns to normal, only to be put in a package later on by Prince Peasly.
Crystal Stars
Bowser also appeared as a minor villain in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. In this game, Bowser had many cut scenes in which he was a playable character. These scenes were often quite humorous and involved Bowser traveling through a side-scrolling world similar to the ones in Super Mario Bros. Bowser tried to collect the Crystal Stars before Mario, but, ultimately, failed to find any of them.
Mario and his friends Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, a Yoshi Kid, Vivian, Bobbery and Ms. Mowz fought Bowser twice during the game; once in the Glitz Pit, and once before Sir Grodus woke the Shadow Queen in the Palace of Shadow.
Back To The Past
In the game Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Baby Bowser appears in the beginning, kidnapping Baby Peach. Baby Mario and Luigi fight and defeat him. Baby Bowser frequently returns (swallowing two Cobalt Star shards, stealing a huge pile of Yoshi Cookies, etc.). Eventually, after Princess Shroob (disguised as Princess Peach) is brought to the present, Bowser pops in, grabs Princess Shroob, and flees. However, he falls off the balcony and into a time hole, where he meets his younger self. (which he mistakes to be some bratty kid) They team up and fight Mario and Luigi inside Thwomp Volcano. When they're defeated, they all get abducted by Shroobs, but Bowser falls out and lands in a time hole back to the present. When Mario and Luigi defeat the Elder Princess Shroob, she turns into a small mushroom. Back in the present, Bowser eats it and becomes Shrowser, who fights Mario and Luigi (and doesn't allow them to attack). After this, the Elder Shroob is completely destroyed, and Bowser faints with the brothers doing a victory pose on him.
Back to his roots
Bowser and Bowser Jr. devised a new plan to kidnap Peach in New Super Mario Bros.. First, they distracted Mario by sending a thunder cloud to strike Peach's castle with lightning. (This may have been the doing of Lakithunder.) While Mario was taking care of the castle, Bowser Jr. made off with the princess. Mario fought Bowser as the first boss. This boss fight was similar to the one in Super Mario Bros. Shockingly, Bowser died in the first world when he fell into the lava, becoming an undead monster with an appearance similar to that of a huge Dry Bones. His undead form was the next-to-last boss. At the end of the game, Bowser Jr. revived his father in a giant pot of magic potion, and the duo fought Mario one last time.
Teaming with a Big Enemy... Again
Bowser latest appearance was in Super Paper Mario. During the beginning of the story, Mario and Luigi find Princess Peach missing and rush to Bowser's castle thinking that he was the perpetrator. Oddly, he is suprised as well, for he was only preparing to kidnap Peach and wasn't ready yet. While talking to each other, a mysterious figure named Count Bleck abducts the plumbers, Bowser, and his minions. Count Bleck then forces Bowser and Peach to get married in order to open The Void to end all worlds, unknowingly to Bowser. Later Bowser joins Mario, and Peach after learning the true purpose of him and Peach's marriage. Bowser can be playable when you either switch Mario, Peach, or Luigi with him.
Bowser fought many bosses if you put him playable. Bowser's main final boss is O'Chunks in Castle Bleck. At the end of the battle against Super Dimentio, Bowser witnessed the marriage of Count Bleck and Tippi in order to stop The Void.
Statistics
First Encounter
Unknown — Tippi was not present in this battle.
Second Encounter
HP: 80
Attack: 8
Defense: 2
Tattle: That's Bowser, the king of the Koopas and archenemy of Mario... Max HP is 80. Attack is 8. Defense is 2. He has spikes, so you can't stomp him. As you'd imagine, his fiery breath and stomp attack do a lot of damage. You'll need to use Pixls and items to win this battle...
Other Appearances
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Bowser is a playable character with three trophies. His moves are:
- B - Flame Breath
- B → - Koopa Klaw
- B ↑ - Whirling Fortress
- B ↓ - Bowser Bomber
Also, there are other trophies related to Bowser, such as Baby Bowser and the Koopa Clown Car.
Additionally, a character named Giga Bowser appears.
Bowser is a very big, strong, and slow character; making him a key character to deliver strong attacks, but even though having a shell, he has terrible defensive abilities. His amazing bulk allows him to do his somewhat signature move, the body crushing, belly-to-belly Body slam (Grab with Z, down).
Trophies
Regular Trophy
Description: Bowser has a long history of kidnapping Princess Peach to lure his nemesis, Mario, into traps. He leads an enormous group of mischievous creatures, not the least of which are his seven children. With outrageous strength, flammable breath, and more spikes than you can shake a Star Rod at, Bowser is a constant threat.
Unlock: Beat Classic Mode as Bowser.
Smash-1 Trophy
Description: In many ways, Bowser is the toughest character around. Not only does he have near-impervious hide, but his great mass makes him almost impossible to hurl offscreen. Of course, his weight also makes him rather slow to maneuver, so when facing him in battle, it's best to press your attack and not give him a chance to counter.
Unlock: Beat Adventure Mode as Bowser.
Smash-2 Trophy
Description: Bowser's Fire Breath strikes continually, but it grows gradually smaller over time until it's barely smoldering. The Koopa Klaw rakes enemies at a distance and pulls nearby foes in close for a good gnawing. Bowser's Whirling Fortress moves laterally over the ground; it works in midair as a recovery. The Bowser Bomb is powerful and paves the way for more attacks.
Unlock: Beat All-Star Mode as Bowser.
Mario Sports info
Mario Kart Series
Bowser has appeared as a playable character in virtually all of the games in the massive Mario Kart sub-series, including the original Super Mario Kart, to the more recent Mario Kart DS. In Mario Kart: Double Dash!! his partner was Bowser Jr.,his special item was the Bowser Shell, and his special Kart was the Koopa King. He is always a heavyweight character, and most of the Mario Kart games give him his own course, aptly named Bowser's Castle.
Mario Golf Series
Bowser is usually a default playable character in the Mario Golf games. But in Mario Golf: Advance Tour, he is unlockable and can only be unlocked by transferring data to and from Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour.
Mario Hoops 3-on-3
- Baller Name: The Big Shell
- Type: Powerful
- Special Shot: Bomber Dunk
- Letter to Tap: B
Mario Superstar Baseball Bio
"Mario's archival and the king of the Koopa Clan. He's challenged Mario and his friends to battles countless times, but his ambitions tend to get crushed every time. His lethal Killer Ball is powerful enough to drag anyone who catches it across the field!"
Mario Tennis Series
Bowser also appeared in the Mario Tennis Series where he was playable in every one there was.
Mario Party Series
Bowser has appeared as an enemy in the Mario Party series since the first game, causing chaos and coin-loss on the players. He is often given his own space, which when landed on by the Player will teleport him/her into bowser's presence. There are multiple mini-games based around Bowser, from blowing him up (and losing if you do), to a multitude of mini-games where if a character loses, Bowser takes his or her coins or a star. Throughout the series, Bowser has taken many forms, mostly in Mario Party 2
Black Hole Bowser
Black Hole Bowser is the villain terrorizing Space Land. He is always seen in a spaceship, which, strangely enough, is not similar to the Koopa Clown Car. At the end, the winner must battle Black Hole Bowser. Black Hole Bowser has an on-board tractor beam that takes all coins from whoever it hits. It fires every time the countdown goes from 5 to 0. This happens every time a player passes through the central part of the board, where there are four different ways to go.
Bowser Sphinx
The Bowser Sphinx is the villain of Mystery Land. He can be recognized by being a Bowser wearing an Egyptian-style collar. At the end, the Bowser Sphinx will challenge a Koopa Troopa to a game of riddles in order to win the aliens' gold statue, (the aliens are actually Bob-ombs). The Koopa succededs, but is punished anyway and put into a rock. The winner of the game then challenges the Bowser Sphinx to another game of riddles. The player guesses correctly, the Bowser Sphinx disappears and the statue breaks to reval the alien that was trapped inside. The other aliens come to take their rescued comrade away on their spaceship.
A similar entity appears in Mario Party 7 in Pyramid Park, but as a regular Sphinx, not Bowser himself.
A form of King Koopa similar to the Bowser Sphinx also appeared in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "The Ten Koopmandments / The Artist" as "Koop Tut".
Bowser the Brash
Bowser the Brash is the Old West-style alter-ego of King Bowser. He is the villain of Western Land. The outlaw wears a cowboy hat. At the end of the Western Land party, the winning player must save a Koopa Troopa banker from Bowser the Brash. A duel with cheap pop-cork guns is fought to save the money.
On three occassions, King Koopa dressed up as a similar looking cowboy with different alter-egos on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. Those being "Kid Koopa" from "Butch Mario & the Luigi Kid / All Steamed Up", "Claim Jump Koopa" from "The Great Gold Coin Rush / Game Show Host" and "Billy the Koopa" from "The Provolone Ranger / Goodbye Mr. Fish".
Cap'n Bowser
Captain Bowser is the pirate-style alter-ego of Bowser. He wears and eye patch over his left eye and his weapon, like the rest of the Pirate Land characters, is a saber sword. His appearance at the completion of a Pirate Land game sees him trying to prevent a Koopa Troopa from taking a bundle of treasure so he can take it for himself. The character who won the game would sword fight with Captain Bowser and defeat him to save the Koopa Troopa.
A form of King Koopa similar to Captain Bowser also appeared in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "Rolling Down the River / The Mario Monster Mash" as "Captain Koopa".
Wizard Bowser
Wizard Bowser is a vampire-style alter-ego of Bowser. He wears a long black cape and wields a wand that shoots red circles out of it. At the end of the Horror Land party, the winning player would use 'Magic of Truth' to defeat Wizard Bowser.
Mario RPGs Stats
Initial Stats in Super Mario RPG
- Level 8
- HP: 80
- Speed: 15
- Attack: 85
- Defense: 52
- Magic Attack: 20
- Magic Defense: 30
- Special Attacks:
- Terrorize
- FP Used: 6
- Magic Power: 10
- Description: Bowser summons a Big Boo to frighten enemies, cutting their attack and defense in half. Rotate the Control Pad to make the attack more potent.
- Terrorize
Super Paper Mario Catch Cards
First Card
Card Type: Rare
Card Description: Mario's mean-spirited rival needs no introduction. He's not too happy about having to help out Mario.
Second Card
Card Type: Uncommon
Card Description: There's Bowser looking dapper in a white tux! Pity the minion that had to wax his shell...
Portrayals
He is voiced/portrayed by:
- Harvey Atkin in the three Mario cartoons produced by DiC Entertainment:
- The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
- The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
- Super Mario World.
- Scott Burns in most of the video games.
- Dennis Hopper in the Super Mario Bros. movie.
Personality
Bowser's personality at first was like one of a stereotypical villain with no feeling. But more recently, Bowser has been a very humorous character. It is especially shown in the Paper Mario series where he has especially humorous quotes, such as "Nobody can capture the princess without my say-so!". In the Mario Party series he often wants to ruin the party in various ways, sometimes strange. One example is in Mario Party 7 where he gives the player ten coins so he can do something bad about them. He, overall has a very amusing personality that is easily noted about him.
He also recently was shown in many games that he is not very intelligent. One particular example is in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time where he doesn't recognize his past self and starts insulting him.
Physical Appearance
Bowser, as seen today is huge, burly, green-shelled Koopa with spikes, horns, and hair, which few other Koopas have. His bushy eyebrows and mane of hair are fittingly a bright, fiery orange which were actually not in his original game, Super Mario Bros., as at the time, it was extremely hard to animate hair. He also has two small horns, many spikes on his shell and a couple spikes on his tail, too. He has many spiked collars around his neck and arms, which add to his overall air of menace. He has three claws on each of his massive feet, which support his impressive girth. While his face and his shell are green, his underbelly and snout are flesh-colored, and his tail and limbs are an orange-tinged yellow. But in the original Super Mario Bros. his underbelly was green as well. His tan lips are extremely bulged, even up to having his nostrils on them. They hide Bowser's large, menacing fangs when the king's mouth is closed - the tips of the teeth are usually visible, however. On each of his hands there are four claws. His arms are noticably burly, indicating his vast physical strength. His bright red eyes are always a bit menacing, and this is heightened by his bushy, often-scrunched eyebrows.
In the Super Mario cartoons and Nintendo Comics System, Bowser was portrayed as being almost completely green in color and lacking hair, with a crown in place of it. Bowser's snout was also more crocodilian in appearance and the whites of his eyes were yellow and his stomach was a deeper yellow then portrayed in the games in these two aforementioned incarnations of Bowser.
Oddly, in Nintendo Adventure Books, Bowser's appearance seemed to vary between resembling his cartoon and comic depictions and his depiction in the games.
The Super Mario Bros. movie is often cited as having the most drastic changes to Bowser's physical appearance, with this version of him, named as King Koopa, being almost completely human in appearance, though possessing some reptilian traits, such as a forked tongue and slitted pupils in his eyes. Near the end of the Super Mario Bros. movie, King Koopa is forcibly transformed into a snarling green Tyrannosaurus Rex and eventually, a large glob of primordial ooze.
Roles Taken
Bowser has taken on various roles in the many games he has been in. In most games he is the main villain, such as Super Mario Bros. 3, in other games he is the secondary villain, such as in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. He is a notably good sports player and race car driver, known for being very aggressive and powerful in these games. In some games he is shown to love Princess Peach for the reason of his kidnapping. But recently he has shown that he just wants to be the villain, often breaking the fourth wall in these statements.
Powers and Abilities
Bowser has many Powers and Abilities, this lists quite a few:
- Fire. Flamethrowing is Bowser's trademark attack, in New Super Mario Bros., he is shown to be able to shoot blue flames as well as orange. He also occasionally emits fireballs in addition to the constant stream of flame breath (as seen in most early appearances) Fire is also one of his weaknesses.
- Hammers. Bowser is shown to have the ability to throw hammers at Mario with amazing speed, creating a hard-to-dodge stream of flying mallets. Strangely, Mario's Hammer is yet another one of his weaknesses.
- Swimming. In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Bowser is shown to have good swimming abilities, just like Mario. He apparently doesn't really like swimming though.
- Meat. Bowser apparently has a huge attraction to meat, as in the side-scrolling special levels of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Bowser will grow huge if he eats some meat.
- Magic. Bowser, according to the Super Mario Bros. instruction booklet, is very skilled in dark magic, although this attribute is very rarely (if ever) showcased these days.
- Brute strength. Along with Donkey Kong, the Koopa King is one of the burliest characters in the Marioverse, possessing a great deal of brute strength. He seems to take some pride in this attribute, as noted by some of his quotes in the RPGs.
Relationships with other Characters
Here is a list of the relationships Bowser has with other characters:
Mario
Mario is Bowser's arch-nemesis, as Mario continuously saves Princess Peach from him. They don't get along, but don't seem to really hate each other either. Mario and Bowser have put their differences aside to work together on a few occasions, such as Super Mario RPG and Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga.
Princess Peach
Bowser has expressed a romantic attraction to Princess Peach, though the feeling isn't at all mutual. Still, Bowser is typically more civil and less rough around the Princess, as seen in Paper Mario.
Luigi
Luigi's relationship to Bowser is similar to Mario's, just not as extreme. Luigi doesn't hate Bowser as much because he sees him less.
Koopalings
Bowser Jr. is Bowser's son, and so far the only child that's been shown to have any sort of interaction with him. From Super Mario Sunshine, it can be seen that Bowser is very proud of Junior, and cares a lot about him. So far, the games haven't shown any dialogue with his other kids.
Yoshi
Yoshi has also had many adventures with Bowser as the main villain too. Though he helped Yoshi when he was young, Bowser then betrayed Yoshi.
Toad
Toad has shown no real relationship with Bowser. Toad often tries to protect Peach from Bowser, but he gets kidnapped just as mercilessly as the princess. Luigi's Mansion showed that the mere mention of Bowser scared Toad.
Family
The first family member of Bowser's ever seen was not in the Mario video games, instead, it was in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "Do You Princess Toadstool Take This Koopa...? / Mario Hillbillies". This episode introduced Mama Koopa, King Koopa's (as Bowser was The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!) mother, who was a bossy and bullying woman. Additionally, King Koopa (as Kid Koopa) also mentioned a grandfather named Poppa La Koopa in an earlier episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! entitled "Butch Mario & the Luigi Kid / All Steamed Up".
The game Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced the first seven of Bowser's eight children, the Koopalings; who, after their first appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3, would go on to appear in several other games with their father, as well as in various other Mario-related medias, such as cartoons and publications.
In issues of Nintendo Comics System, Bowser would occasionally mention his father, who is heavily implied to be a criminal currently being chased by the authorities. Bowser and his children were also shown to have a pet, Pookie, in Nintendo Comics System, who was a rabbit who was often abused by his owners. Pookie eventually escaped from Bowser's Castle in the comic "Bowser Knows Best".
The Super Mario Bros. movie, two idiotic cousins of King Koopa, named Iggy and Spike, are introduced. Despite the presence of cousins though, a brother or sister of King Koopa is never mentioned in the Super Mario Bros. movie. Also, King Koopa's second-in-command in the Super Mario Bros. movie, Lena, is implied to have some sort of relationship with King Koopa, possibly being his girlfriend or wife.
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island introduced Kamek, a Magikoopa who is seemingly the caretaker and possible adoptive father of Baby Bowser, often shown to take care of him. The Mario Party series also introduced Koopa Kid who, despite having an uncanny resemblance to Bowser, seems unrelated to him; though Bowser acts somewhat like a father to Koopa Kid, doing things such as grounding Koopa Kid or banning him from playing with his toys when he fails.
The game Super Mario Sunshine introduced Bowser Jr., Bowser eigth and youngest child who, unlike the Koopalings, resembles him greatly.
In Super Paper Mario, Bowser and Princess Peach are forcibly wedded by the sinister Count Bleck and Nastasia. Though Bowser regards this wedding as official and Princess Peach as his wife, Princess Peach herself cites the wedding as a sham and disregards it as official.
The UK Nintendo Power once said that Bowser had a wife named Clawdia Koopa; however, as Clawdia is never referenced to again, neither in any games or later issues of Nintendo Power UK, it is often believed that Clawdia was simply a joke.
Future Appearances
Bowser's will appear in future Mario games. Bowser will appear in Mario Party 8 with his role the same as the previous Mario Parties. Bowser will also appear in Mario Strikers Charged as a playable captain. Bowser will also appear in Mario Kart Arcade GP 2.
It is currently unknown if he will appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a playable character or in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. It is also unknown if Bowser will appear in Super Mario Galaxy as the main villian.
Appearances in Other Media
Anime
Bowser, under his Japanese name of King Koopa, was featured as the main villain of the Japan-exclusive video The Great Mission to Save Princess Peach, which had King Koopa abducting Princess Peach, wanting to force her to love and marry him. Near the end of the film, King Koopa tries to forcefully marry Princess Peach, only for the wedding to be interupted by Mario and Luigi. After severally pummeling Mario, King Koopa is eventually defeated by Mario who, becoming empowered by a Starman, beats King Koopa and throws him over the horizon.
King Koopa was also featured as the main villain of all three of the stories in the Super Mario Amada Series anime, which had him taking on the guise of various fairy tale villains.
In the first story of the Super Mario Amada Series, Momotarō, King Koopa acts as the story's ogre, who kidnaps Princess Peach with the help of his henchmen, the Koopalings. King Koopa is eventually defeated and Princess Peach is rescued when Momotarō (Mario) defeats him with help from his allies.
In the second story of the Super Mario Amada Series, Issun-bōshi, King Koopa plays a somewhat minimal role, appearing to bully both Princess Peach and Issun-bōshi (Mario) during the story. While harrassing Princess Peach, King Koopa eats Issun-bōshi, who prods King Koopa's innards with a needle; this causes King Koopa to experience a horrific stomach ache and forces him to regurgitate Issun-bōshi and run away, yelling.
In the final story of the Super Mario Amada Series, Shirayukihime (Snow White), King Koopa, oddly, plays the role of the story's Wicked Queen, who wishes to steal the beauty of Princess Peach. After poisonoing Princess Peach, who is later cured, King Koopa tries to take her as a hostage, only to be defeated by Luigi.
Television
Bowser, though most commonly reffered to by the name of King Koopa instead of Bowser, was featured as the main villain of all three of DiC Entertainment's Super Mario cartoons, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.
In The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, King Koopa would often take on various aliases and costumes and try to inact a dastardly plot of some sort, most commonly trying to conquer a kingdom or steal an ancient treasure and/or artifact; aiding King Koopa in these plots were his Koopa Pack and also a sidekick of sorts.
In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, King Koopa, having seemingly been banished from the Mushroom Kingdom sometime after the events of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, returned to it to cause havoc, with the aid of his seven Koopalings. In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, King Koopa stopped his use of aliases and costumes and his plans became somewhat more odd in nature, such as turning his children into giant, ninja warriors for the sole purpose of kidnapping one Prince Hugo the Huge so he could simply transform him into a poodle.
In Super Mario World, which King Koopa made only somewhat infrequent appearances in, King Koopa, as revealed in the episode "Mama Luigi", had been once again been banished from the Mushroom Kingdom, was forced to move to Dinosaur World, which he began to cause trouble in as well. King Koopa's fate at the end of Super Mario World is never actually disclosed, as his final appearance in it (excluding the aforementioned, flashback episode "Mama Luigi") had him trapped in his bedroom, which was rapidly filling with lava.
Oddly, King Koopa was featured as the host of his own live-action, television series by the name of King Koopa's Kool Kartoons; King Koopa's Kool Kartoons had King Koopa giving Nintendo related merchandise to his child audience members, as well as showing them old, public domain cartoons.
Publications
In the Mario portions of Valiant's Nintendo Comics System, Bowser was once again featured as the main enemy of the Mushroom Kingdom, which he continued to try and cause choas in.
In Nintendo Adventure Books, also created by Valiant, Bowser was featured as the main antagonist of almost every story, where he often tried to commit somewhat bizarre and over the top deeds.
In Nintendo Power's Super Mario Adventures comic serial, Bowser, wanting to marry Princess Toadstool, abducts her from her castle after causing mass panic there by sending several monsters to attack it; after abducting Princess Toadstool, Bowser put her under the watch of his Koopalings, he also turned several Mushroom People into stone statues.
Bowser is eventually defeated in Super Mario Adventures when Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and the Yoshis Bowser had hypnotized into being his slaves, rampaged through his wedding to a brainwashed Princess Toadstool. Trying to escape from Mario, Bowser boarded his Koopa Clown Copter, only to lose control of it after being lassoed by Mario; Bowser was last seen having crashed into his gigantic wedding cake, which eventually collapsed after being half-eaten by Yoshis.
Movie
In the Super Mario Bros. movie, King Koopa was portrayed as the sadistic and tyrranical ruler of Dinohatten, an alternate universe version of Manhatten, New York which King Koopa had forcefully overthrown. Not content with simply rulling Dinohatten, King Koopa had planned on conquering Earth, which he needed a meteorite fragment owned by Princess Daisy to do.
After a brief invasion of Earth with his Goomba minions, King Koopa was brought back to Dinohatten were he battled Mario and Luigi. In the end, King Koopa was hit with his own De-evolution Gun and regressed to a Tyrannosaurus Rex form and later, a pile of primordial ooze.
Trivia
- Bowser's boss theme in Super Paper Mario is a remix of both the Super Mario Bros. 3 World 8 map music and his boss theme from his Dark World and Fire Sea fights in Super Mario 64.
- In Mario Party Advance, Bowser claims to have an IQ of 9,800.
- Bowser is the only member of the Big Eight as of yet to not star in a game of his own.
- In his first appearance in Super Mario Bros. Bowser never had any of his hair due to graphic limitations. His red hair was first seen in Super Mario Bros. 3. The hair was also absent when Bowser power ups in his Super Mario Bros. look when he got a Mega Star in Super Paper Mario. The hair was also absent in the Mario cartoons because they wanted to follow the graphic design and was replaced by a crown.
Alter-egos
On The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, King Koopa would often don a unique title and costume to go along with the setting of many of the episodes.
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Gallery
Kid Koopa
Captain Koopa
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Emperor Augustus Septembres Octoberus Koopa
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Moon Man Koopa
Koopa Khan
King-of-the-Road Koopa
Count Koopula
Blackbeard Koopa
King Goo Goo Ga Ga Koopa
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Professor Kooparity
Dr. Koopenstein
Koopfinger
King O'Koopa
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Red Baron Koopa
Koopa Klaus
Al Koopone
Rappin' Koopa
El Koopitan
Koop Tut
Redcoat Koopa
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Alley Koop
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Claim Jump Koopa
Kool Koopa
Karate Koopa
Billy the Koopa
Judge Koopa
Warden Koopa
Barra-Koopa
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Kolonel Von Koop
Kangaroo Koopa
- DarthKoopa.gif
Darth Koopa
Robo Koopa
Gallery
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Quotes
See Bowser's Quotes Page.
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