Bowser

' Bowser, also called King Koopa or just Koopa''' (クッパ Kuppa) in Japanese, is the original and main antagonist of the Mario franchise. He rules over the turtle-like Koopa race and is constantly striving to expand his kingdom by conquering the Mushroom Kingdom, although his plans are always spoiled by his archenemy Mario. He's in love with Princess Peach, and his attempts of conquest always include kidnapping her in one form or another.

Characteristics
Bowsers looks and personality have, as with most early Nintendo characters, slowly evolved over time. Most of his defining characteristics have remained the same, though. His most recognizable features are his spiked shell, red mane and spiked cuffs, which except for the mane have been prominent features of Bowser in all of his appearances. One point of debate over the time has been Bowser's size, which seemed to vary in every of his appearances. Most of the time, he is about twice the size of Mario.

Abilities
Although the entirety of his abilities largely changed over time and varies a lot from game to game, mostly due to the magical artifacts he steals, most of his basic abilities remained the same, which would run down to fire breath and tremendous strength, due to his size. He's also able to use his spiked turtle shell for an effective combination of attack and defense. In his earlier appearances, he apparently also had the power to wield black magic, although this has largely been dropped from his later appearances. In Super Smash Bros Melee and Super Smash Bros Brawl he has also shown the ability to transform into a larger and more monstrous form of himself, called Giga Bowser, although this ability is likely not to be considered canon, due to the nature of the two games.

Actions
Throughout the series Bowser has always been seeking to expand his power, which he mostly tries to accomplish by acquiring magical artifacts and the resulting conquest of whatever it allows him to conquer. In addition to this he almost always kidnaps Princess Peach, whether she has any actual relevance to his plan or not. Although he often reaches his goal of conquest, he is always stopped by his archenemy Mario, which made him build both deep hatred, but also deep respect towards him. This respect mostly shows when he is forced to cooperate with him, which usually happens when a force more evil and more powerful than himself appears (as was the case with Smithy, Cackletta or Count Bleck). In those situations he usually swallows his pride and sacrifices himself to help the heroes and save what he intends to conquer.

Appearances
Bowser so far appeared as the villain in many 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 powerful, but a little slow.

Super Mario Bros.
Bowser first appeared in the game Super Mario Bros. as the main antagonist. He kidnapped Princess Peach and turned seven regular enemies (a Goomba, a Koopa, a Buzzy Beetle, a Spiny, a Lakitu, a Blooper, and a Hammerbro) into clones of him for each of the eight levels. Mario fought Bowser and defeated him, sending him falling into the lava.

To defeat Bowser, Mario or Luigi must shot him with five fireballs, or else grab the axe at the end of the bridge to chop it down and make Bowser fall into the lava.

Super Mario Bros. 3
Though he never appeared in Super Mario Bros. 2, where Wart was the main villain, he returned in Super Mario Bros. 3 as the main villain, with his seven children the Koopalings - Larry Koopa, Morton Koopa Jr., Wendy O. Koopa, Iggy Koopa, Roy Koopa, Lemmy Koopa, and Ludwig von Koopa - kidnapped Princess Peach and tried to take over Mushroom Kingdom, but was defeated by Mario, sending him falling down the hole and crashing into the basement of his castle.

To defeat Bowser, Mario or Luigi must trick Bowser into stomping through the bricks on the ground until he falls into the hole. Unlike in Super Mario Bros., he can be jumped on, but it does not affect him. He can also be killed by fireballs or hammers.

Super Mario World
After not appearing in Super Mario Land and Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Bowser again took the role of antagonist in Super Mario World. There, he and the Koopalings invaded Dinosaur Land, and kidnapped Peach and seven Yoshi eggs. Mario defeated the Koopalings, apparently killing them all this time, and fought Bowser on the top of his castle. Mario defeated Bowser, sending him spiraling into the distance, and rescued Peach.

To defeat Bowser, Mario must grab a Mecha Bowser toy (that Bowser tries to use to attack Mario with) and throw it upward so it comes down and hit Bowser (as Bowser is flying in his Koopa Clown Car). He also attacks with a bouncing ball that can damage or kill Mario, and by bouncing his Koopa Clown Car up and down. The propeller blade of the car is dangerous to Mario.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
For the first time, Bowser appeared and didn't take the role of antagonist in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. At the beginning, he kidnapped Peach and was defeated by Mario when he cut down the chandelier Bowser was on. Then, Bowser's castle was impaled by a sword named Exor, who works for the evil Smithy, who wants to take over the world. Bowser, Mario, and Peach were sent flying in different directions.

Bowser came in close proximity to Mario twice before meeting up with him at Booster Tower. He wanted to get his castle back and get rid of Smithy so he could continue his plans to rule the world, so he became Mario's third partner in the game, though he did not view it as joining their team, but rather them joining his. It is also revealed that he wants to marry Princess Peach, and tries to kiss her (shortly before she becomes Mario's fourth partner). In battle, Bowser has a high attack power but is fairly slow. He attacks with a Chomp, and later a spiked ball.

After defeating Smithy, Mario and his four partners went their separate ways; Bowser and his henchmen began rebuilding their castle, which was now back to normal as Exor was destroyed along with Smithy.

Super Mario 64
Bowser is the main villain of Super Mario 64, where he kidnapped Peach and Toad and imprisoned them in the walls. He also invaded the worlds inside the paintings on the wall of her castle. Mario came to stop him. He fought him three times. The first time in the Dark World, the second time in the Fire Sea, and the third time in the Sky, where he was finally defeated, returning Peach, the Toads, and all the worlds back to normal.

To defeat Bowser, Mario must spin him by the tail and throw him into one of the spikes on the outside of the arena. In the third battle, this must be done three times. The third time is difficult because after two hits, Bowser will make the arena shaped like a star.

Paper Mario
Bowser is the main villain of Paper Mario, where he placed Peach's castle on Bowser's castle and captured Peach and all the Toads. It is revealed that he is in love with Peach and wants her to like him, (in addition to kidnapping her as a hostage so he can defeat Mario). He also stole the Star Rod from Star Haven and used its power to make him invincible. He easily defeated Mario and sent him flying out the window of the castle, but he survived with help from the Star Spirits. Once Mario rescued all the Star Spirits, he fought Bowser and used Star Beam to negate his invincibility. After being defeated, Bowser used a power device to make him more powerful. Star Beam didn't work until Twink defeated his servant Kammy Koopa and upgraded the Star Beam into Peach Beam. Bowser was defeated, and along with Kammy Koopa was sent flying into the distance when his machine exploded.

Bowser attacks by breathing fire, clawing Mario to poison him, jumping on him to take away one of his abilities, striking him with lightning, using a shockwave to hit Mario and his partner, and also becoming invincible. Whenever he does this, Star Beam (or Peach Beam, depending on which battle) should be used to stop his invincibility.

He also appeared in the credits parade of Paper Mario, being caught in the crossfire of Jr. Troopa and Kammy Koopa's battle, and attacked them as revenge.

Super Mario Sunshine
Bowser's son Bowser Jr., or Shadow Mario, is the main antagonist of Super Mario Sunshine, writing graffiti on the walls and kidnapping Peach after Bowser told him (though it is not true) that Peach was his mother. Bowser himself appeared as the final boss. Mario fought him and Bowser Jr. at a hot tub in Corona Mountain, and defeated him by flipping the hot tub over. They were last seen in the middle of the ocean deciding to fight Mario again sometime, and Bowser confessing to his son that Peach wasn't his mother.

To defeat Bowser, Mario must use the rocket power, and then stomp when at the highest point to smash one of the five rocket platforms on the side of the hot tub. Bowser breathes fire (and can be tricked into breathing fire in the wrong direction) while Bowser Jr. sends bullet bills after Mario.

This is the first game where Bowser's voice can be heard when he talks.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Bowser is not the main villain of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, as Grodus is. After Mario beats a chapter, there is a Peach event, followed by a Bowser event where the player controls Bowser. After hearing of the Crystal Stars and Peach's kidnapping (which Bowser does not like anyone besides him to do), he set off to find both Peach and the Crystal Stars. He was always one step behind Mario. Some Bowser events are in Super Mario Bros. style. At one point, Bowser found Mario in Glitzville and fought him after one of his fights, but was defeated. Later, his weight caused him to fall through the ceiling of the Palace of Shadow and land on top of Grodus. He then fought Mario alongside Kammy Koopa, but they were both defeated.

Both times Mario fights Bowser is right after another fight with no chances to heal in between. To make the fight with Bowser easier, the player can make sure that Mario levels off Grodus (which will heal him and his partner) by having around 80 Star Points going into the battle. Bowser attacks by breathing fire, jumping on Mario to take away one of his abilities, and biting him to poison him.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Like most RPG's, Bowser is not the main villain. After Cackletta stole Peach's voice (or so she thought) Bowser attempted to kidnap her, but did not want her voice to destroy his castle, so he decided to help Mario get her voice back. However, they were attacked by Cackletta's servant, Fawful, who defeated Bowser and was in turn defeated by the Mario Bros., but he brought down their ship, resulting in Bowser being stuck in a cannon. After a Starshade Brother set off the cannon, Bowser got amnesia, and became Rookie, the assistant of the shadow thief, Popple. He later became possessed by the ghost of Cackletta (after her body was destroyed in battle by the Mario Bros., but thanks to Fawful her spirit survived), turning him into Bowletta. Mario and Luigi fought Bowletta, who inhaled them. Inside Bowser, the Mario Bros. fought and destroyed Cackletta's ghost, releasing Bowser from her control. Afterward, Prince Peasley blew up Bowser's castle, sending Bowser flying into the ocean where Peasley rescued him and sent him to the Mario Bros., who dropped him off at his castle.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Bowser mostly appeared as Baby Bowser in the past, as a minor antagonist who fought the Mario Bros. Eventually, Bowser appeared trying to kidnap Princess Peach, but fell into a time hole and, alongside his baby counterpart, fought the Mario Bros. and was defeated. He later reappeared after Elder Princess Shroob's defeat, completely knocked out, before Elder Princess Shroob (as a mushroom) made Bowser eat her, transforming him into Shrowser, Bowser possessed by Elder Princess Shroob. Shrowser was defeated by the Mario Bros., destroying Elder Princess Shroob and releasing Bowser.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Bowser appears as a protagonist in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Fawful made him inhale the Mario Bros. (though he was unaware of this throughout the game), and fought against Fawful and his minions, with the Mario Bros. (as the other protagonists) fighting other villains inside him, and helping him fight Fawful's minions. In the end, Bowser fought Fawful, who used the Dark Star to turn into Dark Fawful, and defeated him, but Dark Fawful took the Dark Star's core and went inside Bowser, where Mario and Luigi finished him off. The resulting explosion from Fawful's death forced Mario, Luigi, and everyone else out of Bowser, who was enraged to find out that the Mario Bros. were inside him all along. He battled them, but they easily defeated him.

Super Princess Peach
Bowser is the antagonist of Super Princess Peach. In a twist, he kidnapped Mario and Luigi, and Princess Peach set out to rescue them. She eventually defeated Bowser, knocking him into the distance.

New Super Mario Bros.
Bowser is the antagonist of, along with Bowser Jr., kidnapping Peach again. He was the first boss Mario fought, in a similar style to Super Mario Bros., Mario defeated him, sending him falling into the lava to his death, leaving him nothing but bones. He was later re-fought as Dry Bowser, and revived by Bowser Jr. Mario fought Bowser and Bowser Jr. at once, and defeated them, sending them falling over the edge. Both survived, though Bowser was knocked out from the fall.

Super Mario Galaxy
Bowser appears as the main antagonist of Super Mario Galaxy. He kidnapped Peach, and the battle with Bowser, Bowser Jr., and their forces took place in different galaxies. Bowser was fought a few times before the final battle, in which he was sent flying into his sun, which later collapsed. Bowser survived the resulting explosion, however, and was seen during the final scene at the end when peace is restored to Mushroom Kingdom.

To defeat him, Mario usually had to get him to stomp on lava, setting his tail on fire, then attack him and knock him around the arena.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Bowser is the main antagonist of New Super Mario Bros. Wii. He sent the Koopalings and Bowser Jr. to kidnap Princess Peach. Mario, Luigi, and two Toads came to stop him, defeating the Koopalings, Kamek, and Bowser Jr., before fighting Bowser himself. Again, Bowser was defeated when a switch was hit to knock him into the lava. However, he survived this time; Kamek cast a spell to make him bigger, but when Bowser came back up, he knocked Kamek into the lava before chasing Mario and the others through the castle, before they hit another switch, draining the lava and sending Bowser falling a long way down.

After the credits, Bowser was seen on his back as Bowser Jr. and the Koopaling helped him up, before Bowser's castle fell down and crushed them.

Super Paper Mario
Bowser appeared in Super Paper Mario, where he was captured by Count Bleck along with Peach, Luigi, and his entire army. He somehow got out of Bleck's castle (presumably Dimentio teleported him out) and made a lair in the Bitlands, until it was blown up by Mario, who then fought him and defeated him. Peach convinced Bowser to join forces with them, which he agreed to only so he could rule the world and get his minions back. Bowser has twice the attack power of Mario and can breathe fire. It was then that they discovered that Bowser was the third of four heroes (the other three being Mario, Peach, and Luigi) who would stop Bleck.

After collecting the seventh Pure Heart, Bowser was killed by Dimentio, along with Mario and Peach, sending them to the Underwhere, the land of ended games. However, he was only temporarily killed, as was Dimentio's intentions. Mario and Luigi found him in a dark room where he fought them and was defeated, and joined forces with them again. He returned to the world of the living with Mario, Peach, and Luigi after they defeated Bonechill and got the eighth Pure Heart.

While going through Castle Bleck, Bowser fought Bleck's henchman O'Chunks and defeated him. The ceiling fell, but Bowser and O'Chunks both held it up in order to save Mario, Luigi, and Peach. Bowser told O'Chunks to leave too, but both refused to leave the room and were supposedly crushed. However, once again his weight caused him to fall through the floor with O'Chunks, and he survived. Peach later fell into a hole with Mimi and landed on top of Bowser, which is how she survived. When they and Luigi returned to the battle, they destroyed Bleck's barrier and defeated Bleck. Dimentio then carried out his evil plan, combining with Luigi and the Chaos Heart into Super Dimentio. Bowser, Mario, and Peach defeated Dimentio, destroying him and releasing Luigi. The four of them, along with O'Chunks and Mimi, witnessed Bleck and Tippi's wedding to destroy the Chaos Heart.

Following the destruction of the Chaos Heart and the Void, Bowser was still traveling with Mario, Peach, and Luigi, and did not seem to terminate their alliance as he initially planned.

Fun and games
Bowser is a playable character in Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart Double Dash, and Mario Kart Wii.

Bowser is also the main antagonist in Mario Party 2. Whenever a player wins a game, a cutscene commences where the character defeats Bowser. In Pirate Land, the player defeats him in a swordfight. In Western Land, the player beats him in a cork gun fight. In Space Land, the player shoots him with a laser gun, sending him flying off into the distance. In Mystery Land, the player guesses his riddle right causing him to disappear. In Horror Land, the player beats him in a magic fight and turns him to a frog. In Bowser Land, Bowser transforms into Metal Bowser, but the player receives power from Toad, a Koopa, and the other characters, and spins Bowser by the tail, defeating him. His names in the various worlds are:


 * Pirate Land: Captain Bowser
 * Western Land: Bowser the Brash
 * Space Land: Black Hole Bowser
 * Mystery Land: The Bowser Sphinx
 * Horror Land: The Wizard Bowser
 * Bowser Land: Bowser

Bowser is also a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He attacks with his claws, by stomping on his enemies, spinning in his shell, and breathing fire. In Melee, he can be fought as Giga Bowser in certain levels, and in Brawl, his Final Smash allows him to transform into Giga Bowser.

In other media
Bowser appeared in the Super Mario Bros. movie, under the name King Koopa, as the main antagonist. He has a human appearance, and evolved from a tyrannosaurus rex. He kidnapped Princess Daisy to use her and the rock around her neck to merge two dimensions. In the end, his plan failed, and he was devolved by Mario and Luigi, turning him into a T-Rex, and then turning him into slime, killing him.

Bowser has appeared in many flash games, usually as a final boss. He also appeared in several flash videos. In one, Super Mario Mushroom Madness 2, he kidnaps Peach and Daisy. Luigi is killed by a Thwomp. Mario fights Bowser and knocks him into the lava, but Bowser turns big and defeats Mario. Luigi returns from the dead, gets as big as Bowser, and knocks him into the lava, defeating him. In Bowser's Minions, several enemies who work for Bowser complain about how hard it is for them to kill Mario because Bowser is making it harder than it needs to be (Green Koopas walk off cliffs, Hammerbros. throw hammers in Mario's direction rather than directly at him, Boos have to stop if Mario looks at them, etc.). When Mouser kills Bowser with a bomb, killing himself in the process, the enemies attack Mario as they want and brutally kill him.

Giga Bowser
In the Smash Brothers series Bowser had gained a new form of himself that grows 3 almost 4 times his normal size and his power is increased immensely. In Melee Giga Bowser appeared as the final Boss in event mode along with Mewtwo and Ganondorf. He can also be fought in Adventure Mode if it is beaten within a certain amount of time on Normal, Hard, or Very Hard. In smash brothers brawl Giga Bowser appears as the final smash move of bowser, and is therefore a playable character. He can receive damage but is otherwise unaffected by most attacks. He is extremely powerful, but is also slow.