Bowser/Synopsis

Biography
So far, Bowser appeared as the villain in many Super Mario games, but also made appearances as either a minor villain or even hero in several other games. As with most major Nintendo characters, he appears in most of the sport and party games of the Mario franchise. His stats in those games make him obviously destructive and powerful, but a little slow. In a few RPGs, he also sometimes team with up Mario and Luigi.

He is the main antagonist and final boss of most sidescrollers and all 3D platformers (although Bowser Jr. is the main antagonist of Super Mario Sunshine at first). At the end of a few of them he seems to die (such as Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 3D Land, where he falls into lava, Super Mario 3D World, where he explodes in a fireworks explosion, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, when a castle falls on top of him), one such death near the beginning of New Super Mario Bros. he is revived on-screen by Bowser Jr., but at the end of most, is shown to survive. The chronology of much of these games (if any) is unknown.

He is said to be "soundly defeated" (more than likely killed, given the way it was said) by Mario prior to the events of Luigi's Mansion, but was presumably revived by Bowser Jr. before Super Mario Sunshine.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
"I'm gonna do something I may regret later...! But I'm gonna let you join the Koopa Troop. You can thank me later..."

- Bowser joining Mario.

In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach in the opening of the game, taking her back to his Keep. Mario pursues Bowser, managing to defeat him and rescue Peach, however, a giant sword crashes into the castle, sending all three flying out of Bowser's Keep. Later into the game, while heading to Rose Town, Mario and Mallow spot Bowser rallying his troops to take back his castle. In Moleville, Mario spots Bowser again, although his forces have been since depleted, as they had no experience fighting with the tough members of the Smithy Gang and were scared off. Regardless, Bowser presses on, not wanting to let Mario see him in a weakened state and therefore lose his reputation.

At Booster Tower, Mario finds Bowser sulking at his forces' abandonment and his losses, until he realizes that he is being watched and feigns confidence. After he and Mario realize that Peach is being held at the top of the tower by Booster, Bowser walks off, but returns soon afterwards and helps Mario break down the tower door. Bowser then lets Mario "join" the Koopa Troop, and joins his party. Bowser subsequently assists Mario and his allies in their quest to stop Smithy and restore the Star Road, eventually succeeding.

Luigi's Mansion
Bowser makes an appearance as the "Final Boss" in the videogame Luigi's Mansion. Sometime before the events of Luigi's Mansion, it's been implied that Bowser was killed. When King Boo was about to confront Luigi, he decided to use Bowser's body as a vessel to destroy his rival. After King Boo was defeated, Bowser was "revived" and decided to continue his various schemes to defeat the Mario Bros., and kidnap Princess Peach. But it was revealed that it didn't was Bowser's body rather a costume.

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
In Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, Bowser does not appear for the majority of the game due to being on vacation, leaving Bowser Jr. in charge of his Kingdom in his absence. When Mario and his team encounter Bowser Jr. in Sherbet Desert, Bowser calls his son to check on how things are going, also revealing that he is likely unaware of the Rabbids infesting the entire Mushroom Kingdom. Towards the end of the game, Bowser returns from his vacation and is attacked by the MegaBug, who beats him to near unconsciousness before fusing itself with him and creating MegaDragonBowser; the true final boss. After a hard fought battle, Mario and his team manage to separate and destroy the MegaBug, leaving Bowser unconscious, as Bowser Jr. regrets his previous actions and prepares for his punishment once his father wakes up.

Super Mario Odyssey
"Time for my wedding with Peach! Jealous, Mario?!"

- Bowser after defeating Mario in the opening of the game.

Bowser appears as the main antagonist and final boss. In this game, Bowser kidnaps Peach again and plans to wed her. As a result, Mario teams up with a spirit named Cappy, who desires to rescue his sister Tiara, who Bowser also kidnapped. Preparing for his wedding, Bowser has his minions place posters for it around the world and begins stealing things such as flowers, food, musicians, and various other things from various kingdoms, also hiring a group known as the Broodals to keep his wedding plans on track.

Paper Mario
In the Paper Mario series, Bowser is the main antagonist of the first Paper Mario, using the Star Rod to become invincible. Mario rescues the Star Spirits and gains the power to counter Bowser's Star Rod and defeat him. He is sent flying into the distance when his machine explodes from the intensity of the battle.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, he plays a more minor role, with the player controlling him in an event after each chapter and he is always one step behind Mario. Bowser is fought as a boss in Chapter 3, but is eventually defeated by Mario.

Towards the end of the game, he inadvertently foils Sir Grodus' threats when he falls through the ceiling of the Palace of Shadows. He then attacks Mario without giving him time to heal. Here, he returns as the penultimate boss of the game alongside his assistant Kammy Koopa. However, Mario defeats him one last time, knocking both Bowser and Kammy out.

Super Paper Mario
In Super Paper Mario, Bowser is kidnapped by Count Bleck, who forces Peach to marry him to create the Chaos Heart. Bowser is presumably released by Dimentio soon after, and joins Mario's team, since he cannot rule the world if it is destroyed. He is one of the four heroes of the Light Prognosticus (other three being Mario, Peach, and Luigi). He is temporarily killed by Dimentio along with Mario and Peach, bur returns. Bowser seems to become more praiseworthy and noble when he apparently sacrifices himself to save Peach, Mario, Luigi, and his enemy O'Chunks (after beating him in a duel in Castle Bleck), and was supposedly crushed, but survived since his weight caused him to fall through the floor. Bowser helped Mario and Peach destroy Dimentio and save all worlds. He does not seem to turn evil again after this, as he returns to Flipside with Mario, Peach, and Luigi quite a while later. An interesting thing is that he is portrayed as an anti-hero in this game instead of the usual him being antagonistic.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
However, in Paper Mario: Sticker Star Bowser tries to steal the Sticker Comet, and ends up powered up by a Royal Sticker. Though oddly he has no lines in this game, he is the main antagonist. After being defeated by Mario, he later tries to steal the Sticker Comet again, to no avail.

Paper Mario: Color Splash
Another form of Bowser, known as Black Bowser, appears as the final boss of the game. At Port Prisma on Prism Island, Bowser invades the town and jumps into the color fountain created by the power of the Paint Stars and, with the intent to make his shell a rainbow hue, spins around in the fountain to mix up the colors, only for it to turn into malevolent black paint, which possess him and spreads across the island. After Mario and his companion Huey collect all of the Big Paint Stars stolen by the Koopalings do they have access to Black Bowser's castle, where they rescue Princess Peach and defeat Bowser, ridding him of the black paint and returning him to his normal self.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Bowser tries to help Mario and Luigi get Peach's voice back when it was seemingly stolen by Cackletta, during which Bowser quickly became an enemy of Cackletta's minion, Fawful. After a cannon blast, Bowser spent half of the game with amnesia as Popple's assistant Rookie, and the other half possessed by Cackletta as Bowletta. When the Mario Bros. destroyed Cackletta, Bowser was restored to normal, and dropped off at his castle on Peach's plane ride back to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Bowser kidnaps Princess Shroob, who is disguised as Princess Peach, but his weight causes him to fall through the floor and into a time hole, where he pairs with his younger self to fight the Mario Bros. As a result of the Bowsers' defeat, Bowser falls in a time hole and is knocked out, where he is powered up by the spirit of Elder Princess Shroob. Bowser is defeated when the Mario Bros. trick him into reflecting Elder Princess Shroob's attacks back at her, destroying her.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
"GWAHAHA! Great dark hurricane! Seriously, perfect backdrop for an awesome final battle! You really sweat the details! Listen up! You're saying the kingdom will vanish? NOT TODAY! THIS KINGDOM IS ALL MINE! SO YOU VANISH!"

- Bowser preparing to fight Dark Bowser.

In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Bowser is one of the main protagonists, fighting against Fawful (with the Mario Bros. powering him up from within after Fawful tricked him into eating a Vacuum Shroom causing him to inhale the Mario Bros., among others) to take his castle back and rule the Mushroom Kingdom himself. Eventually Bowser defeated the Dark Star, which had taken the form of Dark Bowser, and when Fawful self-destructed and forced Mario, Luigi, and the others out of Bowser, Bowser fought them but they defeated him and put him in the hospital.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
"I mean, you're an idiot! You thought you were using me?! ME?! Buddy, I was playing you like a bat fiddle!"

- Bowser betraying Antasma.

In Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, in contrast to the previous Mario & Luigi titles Bowser has a much larger role. He is actually the real main antagonist although he initially seemed to be the secondary antagonist. For the majority of the game, he works alongside Antasma, seemingly the main antagonist. They team up when Antasma offers to give Bowser power to defeat the Mario Bros. By stealing the Dream Stone, Bowser and Antasma gained a powerful fortress, Neo Bowser Castle, and Bowser kidnapped Peach.

Mario and Luigi tracked down Bowser and Antasma. They battled Bowser in his dream world, where he powered up to an enormous size only to be defeated by Mario and giant Luigi. Bowser was later found holding on to Antasma while Antasma gloated that this time the outcome of the final battle will be different, as Bowser is assisting him. Bowser unexpectedly flung Antasma to the ground, betraying him and showing off his more malicious side. He said that he had been "playing him like a bat fiddle" the whole time, and left him to be destroyed by the Mario Bros while using the Dream Stone for himself. When the Dream Stone was destroyed, Bowser inhaled its dust to transform, but the Mario Bros. defeated him, returning him to normal and sending him flying into the distance, although he survived, and remembered Luigi's name (all through the four Mario & Luigi games he calls him "Green Stache").

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
In Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Bowser and his Paper Mario counterpart share the spot as the main antagonists. After a magical book brings the Paper characters to the regular world, the two settle their rivalry over the rule of only one Bowser in the world and combine their armies to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom. Although they work together to kidnap both Princess Peaches and defeat the Mario Bros. and Paper Mario, they both find each other very irritating and secretly plan to betray one another once they have succeeded in their goal of getting rid of both Marios. After the Mario Bros. raid their castle once and save the princesses, the Bowsers attack Peach's castle in retaliation for Mario defeating their Juniors.

At the end of the game, the two face the Mario Bros. in their flying castle and combine with each other to create Shiny RoboBowser, although Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario are able to defeat it. Bowser is knocked back by the destruction of RoboBowser and plummets to the ground below from his castle, dropping the book in the process, while the trio use the book on Paper Bowser and return him to his world, much to his dismay

Mario Party series
Bowser has appeared in every Mario Party game as the primary antagonist. His motive for each game varies, but its mostly to cause misfortune to the players and prevent them from winning. In every game, he is given his own space, which when landed on by a player, Bowser appears and wreak havoc. There are also multiple minigames based around Bowser, where if a player loses, their coins, items, or stars will be taken. From the first Mario Party to Mario Party 7, Bowser was aided by a character named Koopa Kid, but he has since been replaced by Bowser Jr.

In Mario Party 9, his goals are a bit different than his past goals, he tries to collect all mini stars with a machine that he has in his secret base, so that he can decorate his castle with the stars. As usual, Mario and his friends notice his plans, and comes to the rescue, but this time Bowser has backup plans, he will send some of his most loyal minions (The Shy Guys and Kamek) to stop Mario from thwarting his plans. And if somehow that does not work, he will create one or two bosses with the mini stars to distract Mario.

Once Mario manages to come up to the castle, Bowser is the final boss again.

In almost every Mario Party game, he shows some sort of remorse, only to come back as the main antagonist again. He is a playable character in Mario Party 10 in the mode "Bowser Party".

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Bowser makes his debut as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee. His design resembles his appearance from the Nintendo 64 era. He also appears as the final boss in the game's Adventure Mode. After defeated, he reverts back into a trophy, however, if the Mode has been cleared in less than 18 minutes, the Trophy begins to fall apart, revealing a new form of Bowser; Giga Bowser.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Bowser returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. His depiction resembles his current design, and also gains a more serious appearance. He also gains the Final Smash, Giga Bowser. He also appears as a major antagonist and recurring boss in the game's story mode; the Subspace Emissary.

In Subspace Emissary, Bowser commands the Subspace Army alongside Ganondorf and both work for the Master Hand. He, along with Wario, set out to find and capture several of the Smash Bros. characters. Bowser first appears in the DK Jungle confronting Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. He has a special gun that will turn any character into a trophy. He aims it at Diddy but DK super punches him far away and gets turned into a trophy instead. After finding Fox McCloud, Diddy finds a Bowser trophy laying around but it was a fake and it dissolves into little shadow bugs. The real Bowser appears and attacks the two but they escape.

Later in the game, Bowser runs into Kirby and whichever princess he saved from Petey Piranha. Bowser turns that princess into a trophy and has the shadow bugs turn into a dark clone of that princess. He then takes the princess aboard the Halberd and leaves the clone to deal with Kirby and other characters. He then receives a transmission from Ganondorf to go to King Dedede's castle and retrieve the other princess trophy. Browser does so and with his Koopa troops, they storm the castle, knock out King Dedede and take the princess trophy. He is pursued outside the castle by Mario, Link, Pit, Kirby and Yoshi but he escapes and retreats to the Halberd.

With the princesses successfully captured, Bowser goes after Diddy Kong again and this time, turns him into a trophy. He goes after Fox but the fox is too fast for the ray gun. Bowser is then attacked and his gun is destroyed by Fox's ally, Falco Lombardi. The two then bring Diddy Kong back to life and Bowser flees but not before having the shadow bugs form a giant Subspace Diddy Kong and has it attack the trio.

Bowser is seen later aboard a giant subspace warship with Ganondorf. The heroes, all reunited, fly toward the ship and Ganondorf open fires on the ships but Kirby destroys the core of the ship; causing it to explode. Ganondorf and Bowser retreat into subspace in time. As the villains head to meet the Master Hand, Bowser is betrayed by Ganondorf and turned into a trophy by him and pushed aside. Ganondorf and Master Hand meet and are both betrayed by the true villain of subspace, Tabuu. Tabuu knocks the Master Hand unconscious and turns Ganondorf, along with all the heroes into trophies.

Miles away, King Dedede, Ness and Luigi are brought back to life and they enter subspace and bring the heroes back to life. Halfway through, they find Bowser's trophy and revive him. Bowser reawakens and attacks the trio and King Dedede engages in battle with him. Dedede wins and Bowser is turned back into a trophy. The same thing happens again but Dedede shuts him up and tells him that Tabuu is the real enemy. Bowser then reluctantly joins the groups of heroes. When the rest of the heroes are revived, Bowser finds Ganondorf's trophy and continuously beats it in vengeance and storms off. Bowser then joins the heroes in the fight against Tabuu and they defeat him.

Super Smash Bros. 4
Bowser returns as a playable character in the video game; Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. Unlike his more serious Brawl design, Bowser now more closely resembles himself from the Mario games, albeit a bit more feral/aggressive-looking. Bowser is shown to be more athletic and agile compared to his previous counterparts, as well as stand straight up as apposed to his slouching. He also transforms into Giga Bowser as his Final Smash.