~ Bowser's most famous quote from Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.
“
Dear pesky plumbers: The Koopalings and I have taken over the Mushroom Kingdom. The Princess is now a permanent guest at one of my seven Koopa hotels. I dare you to find her if you can.
„
~ Bowser's message in Hotel Mario.
“
Hear this! I will kidnap Peach over and over again until I pull it off! Failure isn't an option, and neither is giving up! I'll be back!Mario! Green Sta- I mean... Luigi!
„
~ Bowser in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.
“
Did somebody page the King of Awesome?
„
~ King Bowser (also known as the "King of Awesome" in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story).
King Bowser Koopa Sr. (in Japanese: クッパ, Kuppa, "Koopa"), known primarily in Western territory as either just Bowser or Koopa, is the main antagonist of Nintendo's Mario franchise.
Bowser first appeared as the main antagonist of the 1985 classic platform videogame Super Mario Bros., and he continued to serve as the primary antagonist of the entire Super Mario series. He is also a recurring character in the Super Smash Bros. series and is a character in the Skylanders series.
He is the tyrannical king of the turtle-like Koopa Troopa race who is constantly striving to expand his Koopa Kingdom by conquering the Mushroom Kingdom and defeat his archenemy Mario.
He is in love with Princess Peach, and his attempts of conquest almost always include kidnapping her in one way or another. He also has a young son named Bowser Jr., who aids his father in his plans.
He was voiced by the late Harvey Atkin in the DIC Mario cartoons from 1989 to 1991, Rob Wallace in Mario Is Missing!, Marc Graue in Hotel Mario, Bruce Robertson in Mario's Time Machine Deluxe, Scott Burns from 2002 to 2007, Eric Newsome in Super Paper Mario, and Kenny James since 2007.
Characteristics
Appearance
Bowser's 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 one of his appearances.
Most of the time, he is about twice the size of Mario.
Personality
King Bowser
“
I'm huge! Even scarier up close, huh?
„
~ Bowser
His personality varies depending on his role in the plot. In the main platformers, where he is the main antagonist, he has a very dark, brutal, merciless, destructive, cataclysmic and serious disposition. For years, it was also rumored by fans that while most other Koopas prefer vegetation in their diet, Bowser's sharp teeth, another common feature of his, were an indicator of him preferring meat, preferably from victims he hunts down and captures. Indeed, Bowser is shown quite often to be an expert hunter, and his carnivorous side is definitively confirmed by him devouring Mario and Luigi in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Despite being defeated for many years, he actually had learned his lesson and keep determined to defeat Mario, as shown in Paper Mario.
In the RPGs, he shows some more amusing and funny sides of himself, as he is shown to have a talent for sarcastic wit, works very hard to live up to the "evil king" image, and very often displays a shortsighted lack of common sense. However, the most prominent part of his personality is his confidence.
When he decides to help the other denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom against a common foe, it is mostly because of his own ego. In his mind, the only one allowed to kidnap Princess Peach, destroy Mario and/or conquer the world is himself, and he flies into a dangerous rage when other villains attempt to usurp his position as "the biggest, baddest brute around".
In the RPG games, he is shown to be a benevolent and philanthropic ruler towards his men. In Super Mario RPG, he found two of his men in Monstro Town who had happy lives there, and instead of getting angry and ordering them to return to his army, he was happy for their lives and wished the best for them.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story showed that while Bowser is mean with his troops, he cares about them. He rescued imprisoned soldiers who serve him, got extremely angry when he learned that Fawful had kidnapped his men and even forgave three traitors. In the Paper Mario games, it is shown that Bowser's troops follow him for respect rather than fear. In Super Paper Mario, a Hammer Bro told Peach that Bowser would fry him if he escaped without making sure that his companions are safe.
Powers and Abilities
Fire Breathing: Bowser's most prominent and consistent ability, appearing in nearly all games he has been featured in. Bowser can breath continuous streams of fire, or shoot blasts or flurries of fireballs at his foes. In some games, like Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. U, Bowser can make it "rain" fire blasts, and, in Super Mario 64 and New Super Mario Bros., can also shoot blue fire blasts that can home in on Mario. His fire breath is apparently so hot that it is also just as effective underwater as it is on land.
Superhuman Qualities: Over the years, Bowser has displayed countless feats that put him far above the average person.
Superhuman Strength: Bowser's raw physical strength is frequently seen as one of Bowser's main powers. He can smash through boulders, lift immensely heavy objects with relative ease, and topple enemies numerous times his size. In many of the RPG and sports games, Bowser is typically among the strongest characters in the game, like in Super Paper Mario, where his attack stat is twice that of Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach respectively. Much like with his fire breath, Bowser prides himself on his strength and frequently incorporates physical attacks into his fighting because of this.
Superhuman Durability: Bowser has proven time and time again that he is not taken down very easily by most foes. He can endure a seemingly endless amount of punishment, and somehow always returns from this in one way or another. He has been drenched in lava, electrocuted, blown up, crushed by objects as heavy as his own castle numerous times, fallen hundreds of feet, and even squashed by a T-Rex in Mario's Time Machine, and has inevitably survived each fate. In Super Paper Mario, after he seemingly sacrifices himself by holding up the ceiling of Count Bleck's Castle with O'Chunks, Luigi encourages the Princess and his brother to not give up hope on him by saying "Bowser's survived far worse".
Superhuman Speed and Agility: Although his speed is hardy consistent between games, in some of his appearances, Bowser is shown to be a capable runner and quite agile for his size. In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Bowser uses a treadmill placed by Fawful and Midbus to burn off thousands of calories gained by eating incredibly unhealthy food in only a few seconds.
Superhuman Stamina: Bowser's stamina is almost as limitless as his durability. He rarely ever shows signs of tiring, even when massively expending himself for hours on end. In battle, Bowser never slows down, keeping up with Mario and other enemies like his dark counterpart Dark Bowser blow for blow.
Dark Magic: While not as prolific in the use of it as Kamek, Bowser is well versed in using various forms of Dark Magic against his opponents. He apparently knows spells that can transform people into inanimate objects, as explained in the manual of Super Mario Bros. and has used different magical wands over the years for varying purposes (although this is more commonly seen in the cartoons and comics).
Teleporting: Bowser teleports into battle and after all his losses in Super Mario 64, and after his first two losses in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2.
Electrokinesis: In Super Mario Galaxy and Mario Party 9, Bowser proves himself capable of invoking lightning.
Flight: In Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Super Mario 3D Land, Bowser is able to fly at will.
Metamorphosis: An important ability of Bowser. In Super Mario Bros, he turns Toads into stone blocks. In Mario Party 2, he turns a Koopa troupe into frogs. Finally, in Super Mario Galaxy, he turns into a stone ball.
Shell: Bowser has an extremely strong shell, allowing him to run into his enemies and protect himself.
Size Manipulation: In numerous games, Bowser has the ability to transform himself to giant size to battle his enemies. Most of the time, Bowser is empowered by Kamek or somebody else, but, as seen in Bowser's Inside Story, if Bowser is supercharged with adrenaline, he can temporarily achieve his giant size naturally. In the Super Smash Bros. series, by breaking a Smash Ball, Bowser can become Giga Bowser, an alternate yet still effective version of his typical giant form. Regardless of how he gains it, Bowser's giant form massively increases his strength, durability, and other abilities, to the point where Mario and other characters cannot fight him directly and must find some other way to defeat him. In games such as Paper Mario and Super Mario Galaxy 2, Bowser can use the power of Stars to grow himself to immense size.
High Skill in Sports and other Activities: Like almost all Super Mario Bros. characters, Bowser is an extremely qualified player in numerous sports and physical activities. While not being particularly talented in any activity, he has been shown as a skilled tennis, soccer, hockey and basketball player, golfer, go-kart racer, Olympic athlete, wrestler (given some of his moves in the Super Smash Bros. games), and even a professional dancer.
Intelligence: Despite his brutal side, Bowser can occasionally be smart like when he cheats Mario with a wooden replica of Peach in Super Mario 3D Land or when he traps Mario with a trap in the ground in Super Mario Odyssey.
Relationships
Mario
Bowser's relationship with Mario is about as complex as it is long-standing. Bowser usually sees Mario as the greatest threat to him and the Koopa Troop, him being the one who consistently foils his plans, and, as such, almost all of his schemes include a way to destroy or at least distract his archenemy so he does not interfere.
Bowser also sees Mario as, more or less, the one thing that stands between him and Princess Peach, and although their love rivalry is fairly one-sided, it is never the less prominent, best shown in the ending of Super Mario Odyssey, where the two compete over Princess Peach's hand in marriage, only to both be rejected. However, despite the years and years the two have spent feuding, Bowser values Mario as an enemy, stating in Super Mario Galaxy that he "chose the right guy to be his archenemy".
Likewise, in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Bowser fears the idea of Mario seeing him in his position of weakness, not wanting to lose his reputation as a villain and acts tough in front of him to hide his insecurity. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, Captain Goomba almost immediately realizes that something is off about Bowser (who was really Bowletta in disguise) when he orders Mario to be outright destroyed, taking note of how harsh he was being, even with their history.
In many of the RPG games, it is shown that Bowser is willing to work with Mario if a bigger threat is on the rise, although he makes his reluctance to do so very clear. Regardless, he hates the idea of helping Mario without knowing it, as, in Bowser's Inside Story, he rages and tries to kidnap Princess Peach upon learning that Mario and Luigi had been secretly assisting him in fighting Fawful and Dark Bowser from inside his body.
While disliking Bowser for constantly trying to take over the Mushroom Kingdom and kidnapping the Princess, Mario does not possess the hatred for Bowser that he carries for him, and is almost always willing to work with him if it is necessary. In Super Mario Odyssey, after they are both rejected by Peach, Mario actually shows some sympathy towards Bowser, seemingly recognizing what it feels like to be rejected, albeit briefly. As a shown of their somewhat mutual trust, it is stated (or at least implied) in Paper Mario: Color Splash that Bowser and Mario arrange friendly go-kart races together from time to time.
Luigi
Like with Mario, Bowser dislikes Luigi and continuously plots his downfall, again seeing him as a dangerous and formidable opponent for him and the Koopa Troop. However, despite fighting with Luigi for as long as Mario, like many residents of the Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser underrates Luigi and sees him as inferior to Mario, not fully considering him, and yet not truly discounting him as a threat. As a show of his lack of respect for Luigi, in the Mario & Luigi games, Bowser almost never refers to him by name, often forgetting it, and instead just calls him "Green 'Stache". It is only at the end of Mario & Luigi: Dream Team that Bowser actually remembers to refer to Luigi by name, while declaring that he will never give up and swearing to fight the two brothers again.
Princess Peach
One of the most complex aspects of his personality, Bowser's relationship with Peach has developed far more than with any other character. In the original games and even some of the modern ones to certain degrees, Bowser sees Princess Peach as a tool which he can use to acquire her Kingdom. In the original Super Mario Bros., it is stated that Bowser kidnapped her purely because she could undo his spell over the Mushroom people using her magic.
In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, it is implied that Bowser kidnaps Peach simply because he enjoys the thrill of it, regarding holding Peach captive while Mario comes to save her as "the good old days".
Later into the game, when Geno suggests to Princess Peach that, if the Star Road is not fixed, she may never be saved from Bowser, Bowser is temporarily enthralled by the idea, before being forced to choose between capturing the Princess forever and getting his Keep back from the Smithy Gang. In many of the RPGs, Bowser seemingly possesses an odd obsession with kidnapping the Princess, always becoming enraged when another villain tries to do the same, declaring that he is the only one who gets to do so.
However, over the years, Bowser has been shown as having an unrequited crush on Princess Peach, which serves as the main reason why he constantly captures her, although it is unknown if this is something he possessed since the beginning or developed over time. At heart, Bowser actually does hold legitimate love for the Princess, writing in his diary in Paper Mario that he hopes the Princess will like him and trying to receive her affection after doing good deeds in games such as the aforementioned Super Mario RPG or Super Mario Power Tennis. In Bowser's Inside Story, it is shown that Peach is Bowser's most carefully preserved memory.
In Super Paper Mario, when Count Bleck and Nastasia force the marriage between him and Peach in order to unleash the Chaos Heart, Bowser is overjoyed, and later refers to Peach as his wife throughout the game, even though she points out the entire wedding was a sham. Despite his affection, Bowser rarely considers the Princess' well-being or happiness, constantly abducting her at any opportunity and endangering her people, friends and loved ones, and, if it comes down to it, Bowser is fully willing to personally harm or fight the Princess to get what he wants or if she gets in his way, such as in Super Mario 3D World, and, more notably, Super Princess Peach.
Peach has seemingly been aware of Bowser's crush on her since reading his diary in Paper Mario. Naturally, despite Bowser's efforts, Peach does not return his affection and makes her disgust very clear whenever Bowser becomes upfront about his feelings, although he never gives up regardless. Peach has often tried to use Bowser's feelings as a means of advantage, having sweet-talked him into helping out, and trying to convince him to stop his evil plans if he values her love more than once. Even with their awkward relationship, Peach does see good in Bowser and values it whenever shown, teaming up with him for the greater good on various occasions, baking him a cake for helping save the Mushroom Kingdom in Bowser's Inside Story, even after he tried to kidnap her again, and being hesitant to continue after his presumed sacrifice in Super Paper Mario.
Bowser Jr. is Bowser's son and only known family. He shares Bowser's hatred of Mario and company, and plots with Bowser to help defeat them and take over the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser loves and adores his son, and is shown to be overprotective and proud. In an advertisement for the Nintendo Switch parental controls, Bowser and Bowser Jr. are shown playing games, talking about hobbies (including clobbering Mario in Mario Kart) and otherwise enjoying each other's company. He bears a striking resemblance to a young Bowser.
While not as profound as an enemy as Mario and Luigi, Bowser still sees Yoshi as a threat and is not hesitant to eliminate him. In his childhood, Bowser possessed a bratty desire to ride Yoshi when he and Mario arrived at his castle to rescue Luigi, and, afterwards, would antagonize them on various occasions by stealing their cookies and even their Super Happy Tree. In the NES port of Mario's Time Machine, Bowser kidnaps Yoshi when he and Mario attempt to stop him. In Yoshi Topsy-Turvey, Bowser attacks Yoshi's Island directly and fights with Yoshi himself. On two different occasions, Bowser has traveled back to the past and fought with Yoshi, the first being in Yoshi's Island DS, and the second in Yoshi's New Island, where his intention was to directly stop Yoshi from saving Baby Luigi so that he would never be defeated.
Although their interactions are limited, Bowser generally dislikes Wario and Waluigi, and they find themselves opposing each other on various occasions. In the opening cutscene of Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Bowser suffers from a black eye after Wario unintentionally hits him with his golf ball, and tries to kill the two with Bob-ombs in response. In Mario Super Sluggers, Bowser prevents the two from attacking Mario with a Bullet Bill, knocking the bullet right back at them. In Mario Power Tennis, Bowser decides to employ Wario and Waluigi to help ruin the tournament, harshly training them to improve their tennis skills, before assisting them in trying to destroy the Mario Brothers with Bob-ombs, and being defeated by their own explosives.
Dr. Eggman
Bowser gets along well with Dr. Eggman, as the two of them have a lot in common. They share the same ideals of universal conquest and gaining ultimate power to become invincible. Plus, Bowser and Eggman like hanging out together like they are best friends and doing all kinds of evil and other hobbies. In fact, in Mario and Sonic: At the London 2012 Olympic Games, they both conspire to ruin the Olympics with a fog machine. In Wreck-It Ralph, they are members of Bad-Anon; who are a support group for bad guys of the arcade games at Litwak's Arcade.
Throughout the series, Bowser has always been seeking to massively 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. This is due to him being in love with her, and the fact that Peach possesses a unique ability called Heart Power that is a genetic mutation passed down by the royal Toadstool line that enables the possessor to channel their emotions into magical power.
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 eviler 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.
Bowser when he was younger. He has been the recurring antagonist in the Yoshi's Island series.
Giant Baby Bowser
After Baby Bowser has been beaten by Yoshi, Kamek would use some of his magic to make Baby Bowser grow to giant size.
Giant Bowser
Giant Bowser
Bowser's most recurring form, in many games Bowser will use different items, like the Star Rod in Paper Mario, in order to increase his size, the smallest is double his normal size and the largest is bigger than a castle.
Dry Bowser
An undead form of Bowser who first appears in New Super Mario Bros.. Another version of Dry Bowser appears in later games seemingly as his own separate character.
In Luigi's Mansion, King Boo used Bowser's body as a vessel, as well as to assist himself during his confrontation with Luigi. Fans often refer to this form as King Bowser. It was hinted that Bowser was killed sometime before the events of Luigi's Mansion, but ended up being revived after Luigi defeated King Boo.
Metal Bowser
Metal Bowser
A more durable form of Bowser used by obtaining a Metal Box. Bowser uses this form in the Super Smash Bros. series, and also in Mario Party 2.
Giga Bowser
Giga Bowser
In the Super Smash Bros. series, Bowser gained a new form of himself that grows about 3 times his normal size and his power is increased immensely. In Melee, Giga Bowser appears both as the secret boss of Adventure Mode and in the final Event Match along with Mewtwo and Ganondorf. In Brawl, For Wii U and 3DS, and Ultimate, Giga Bowser appears as the Final Smash move of Bowser. Giga Bowser also makes a reappearance as a boss in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, being able to be fought at the end of Mario and Captain Falcon's Classic Mode campaign. He also appears as a boss in the World of Light adventure mode, first as one of the bosses protecting Galeem's shield and before the final boss battle. He is located at the end of the Molten Fortress sub-world in the Light Realm.
Although he is officially a boss in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, if one were to hack and mod the game, it is possible to play as Giga Bowser. Because his moveset is copied and pasted from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he is fully playable, albeit his attacks are more sluggish due to his boss status. He can still perform taunts, but there are no sound effects when doing so.
In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga after the defeat of Cackletta, Cackletta's ghost ended up possessing Bowser, resulting in a hybrid known as Bowletta.
Shrowser
The Elder Princess Shroob who possessed Bowser, therefore, creating Shrowser.
Shrowser is Bowser with the power of the Shroobs infused, in the video game Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. He can still breathe fire in this form but this time he does not give the Mario Bros. and the little brothers any chance to attack. At the beginning of the Shrowser battle, Shrowser spews a purple gas out of his mouth which turns into the ghost of the Elder Princess Shroob.
The only way to defeat Shrowser since he does not let the Mario Bros. attack is to dodge his small fire attacks until they hit the Elder Princess Shroob's ghost and then to use hammers to counter the bigger flames he spews. The ghost princess has a health meter this time around, so the player does not have to keep guessing on whether or not she is close to being truly dead.
Dreamy Bowser
Dreamy Bowser
Bowser's currently strongest form, Bowser takes this form in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team after inhaling all the fragments of the shattered Dream Stone.
This form increases Bowser's size and makes his body glow and turn rainbow colors. Bowser gains many new abilities with this form and appears to be able to warp reality and make his wishes come true.
Shiny RoboBowser
Shiny RoboBowser
Shiny RoboBowser is an upgraded giant version of Bowser serving as the final boss of Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam.
In this form, Bowser is giant-sized and wearing armor made of Paper Bowser and his minions. He can use multiple paper abilities to fight against the Mario Bros. and even use his own Paperizer attack. As the boss takes damage, his armor breaks apart, allowing access to Bowser underneath.
Meowser
Meowser
After using the Super Bell on himself, his cat ego resembles more of a tiger than a cat, but still enables him to climb on walls with cat claws. On the second round in this form, he eats four Double Cherries to create four duplicates of himself. Meowser also appears as a spawnable enemy in the Super Mario 3D World theme in Super Mario Maker 2.
In Other Media
Other Videogame Appearances
Tetris series
In the original Tetris, Bowser makes a cameo appearance with Donkey Kong, Link, Pit, Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Samus Aran, playing in a band together to congratulate the player. For the band, Bowser plays the accordion.
In Tetris DS, during the standard mode, a Bowser sprite from the original Super Mario Bros. can be seen on the touch screen in stage ten. Additionally, if the player has between 8,000 to 8,999 Tetris points, and views their points, Bowser's sprite can be seen on the top screen.
The Legend of Zelda series
In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a portrait of Bowser and other Mario characters can be seen by looking into one of the windows of the Castle Courtyard. Also, the characters Malon and Talon (the latter bearing an ironic resemblance to Mario), both wear Bowser broaches.
In The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Romani and Cremia also wear Bowser broaches.
Miscellaneous
In F-1 Race, Bowser, along with various other Nintendo characters, waves at the player once they complete a circuit.
In the SNES port of SimCity, one of the various natural disasters the player can cause is a Bowser attack, in which they summon Bowser in the place of one of the various Godzilla-esque monsters. As such, Bowser will trample through and destroy the player's city.
In Pikmin 2, one of the game's many collectible treasures, the "Flame of Tomorrow" matchbox, is emblazoned with Bowser's face and is said to hold "Bowser's Breath" brand matches.
In the Wii U ports of Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2, the titular character can summon Bowser to attack enemies when wearing the Princess Peach costume, although only his legs and arms are visible.
Films
Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!
Bowser with Peach in the anime movie.
Bowser appears as the main antagonist of the 1986 anime film Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!, (Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! in English). In the film, which serves as an adaptation of the first Super Mario Bros. game, Bowser attempts to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom.
The attempt consists of turning its inhabitants into inanimate objects, even turning Princess Peach's fiancee Haru-ōji (Prince Haru in English) into a dog named Kibidango. Unlike in the game, Bowser also strives to marry Princess Peach, marking the first time any incarnation of Bowser ever had romantic feelings for her.
In the opening of the film, Bowser emerges from Mario's television in pursuit of Princess Peach. Both Mario and the Princess attempt to hold Bowser off, but Mario is easily swatted aside and Peach is captured and dragged back through the television, soon taken back to Bowser's castle.
Partway through the film, Bowser attempts to convince Peach to love him, and she tricks him into using his shapeshifting to transform into various different forms, only to lock him in a chest once he takes the form of a teddy bear. However, Bowser angrily transforms back to his normal self, escaping the chest, and locks Peach in her room.
The next day, Bowser and Peach's wedding commences, much to the latter's dismay. As Bowser anticipates Peach to say "I do", he spots Mario, Luigi and Kibidango outside the window, and grabs Peach, telling the minister Shishi that they will continue the wedding uninterrupted in the next room. Bowser attempts to present an oversized wedding ring to Peach but ends up watching in horror as the castle starts falling apart due to the flooding Luigi accidentally caused.
Bowser rises from the ruins of his destroyed castle with the Princess in his grasp and begins beating down on Mario after he consumes the Mushroom and the Flower power-ups, prepared to kill him with his next move. Peach begs Bowser to spare Mario, even offering to willingly marry him, although, while considering this, Bowser decides that it is more important to destroy Mario before he regains the Star and overthrows him.
Bowser crushes Mario with his foot. However, thanks to Luigi returning the Star to Mario, he gains super strength and pummels Bowser, throwing him away into the distance. Bowser's spells over the Kingdom are then undone, and Princess Peach (to Mario's immense disappointment) is reunited with Prince Haru. During the final scene, Bowser and three of his minions are found working in Mario's Grocery Store.
A much different interpretation of Bowser appears as the main antagonist of the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film, portrayed by the late Dennis Hopper. In this version, Bowser, or President Koopa, is the tyrannical ruler of Dinohatten, an alternate universe version of New York City in which humanity evolved from reptiles instead of mammals, who desires to merge the two worlds together and eradicate all mammals.
Wreck-It Ralph
Bowser makes several minor appearances in Disney's 52nd full-length animated feature film Wreck-It Ralph, as the story team could not find a way to properly utilize Mario. In the film, Bowser is a member of the "Bad Guys Anonymous" club, seen in the opening of the film sitting next to Zangief and Dr. Eggman. Bowser listens to Ralph talking about his problems; however, when he states that he does not want to be the bad guy anymore, he breathes flames in shock. Like the other villains, Bowser is seen performing the group's oath and leaves the club afterwards. After Ralph's adventure, Bowser and the other Bad-Anon members are seen at the end of the film listening to Ralph again.
In relation to the film, when Wreck-It Ralph lost the Oscar vote, Bowser apparently used Nintendo of America's Twitter account to tweet "RAWR! Wreck-It Ralph got robbed!". Later, during a San Diego Comic-Con interview, Mario expressed unsubtle jealousy in Bowser being in the film instead of him but stated he still wanted his enemy to be a star, because, that way, he would be less inclined to kidnap the Princess.
Illumination's Super Mario Bros.
While unconfirmed, it is more than likely that Bowser will appear in Illumination Entertainment's upcoming Super Mario Bros. film, presumably as the main antagonist.
King Koopa appears as the main antagonist of all three DiC Mario cartoons, voiced by the late Harvey Atkin. In all three series', King Koopa would enact various plots to take over the Mushroom Kingdom and destroy the Mario Brothers, only to be consistently foiled in the end. During the first series, The Super Mario Brothers Super Show, King Koopa had already conquered the majority of the Mushroom Kingdom, leaving Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool and Toad to search for ways to defeat him whilst liberating or saving different areas of the Kingdom from him.
Unique to this series alone, King Koopa would often adopt various aliases or disguises when executing one of his schemes, somewhat like King K. Rool. In the following series, King Koopa lost his control over the Mushroom Kingdom and plotted to regain it, now with the assistance of the Koopa Kids. King Koopa, in live action form, would also appear as the main antagonist of the short-lived spinoff series King Koopa's Kool Kartoons, in which he and his minions take over a TV studio and broadcast cartoons while giving out prizes to children.
How It Should Have Ended
Bowser appeared as the main antagonist in How Mario Should Have Ended and a minor character in most episode of HISHE series.
Memes
Bowsette
Bowsette or Koopa-Hime [(Japanese: クッパ姫 & English: Princess Koopa)], is a fan-made form of Bowser which was created by the internet.
On September 13th, 2018 Nintendo created their new trailer for the video game New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. In the trailer, a new power is seen for Toadette named the Super Crown. When Toadette uses this power-up, it makes Toadette turn into a hybrid of herself and Princess Peach called "Peachette".
After the trailer, On September 19th, 2018, an Malaysian artist known by the names Ayyk92 and Haniwa, posted a comic on Twitter, from which Bowsette originates. In the comic, Bowser and Mario both get rejected by Peach, which makes Bowser take the Super Crown and transform into Peach, After which Mario and Bowsette get together to make Peach jealous.
Despite being a fan-made character, it was Nintendo that has indirectly spawned the original character amongst the Nintendo community as their introduction of the “Super Crown” in New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe.
The popularity of the character also spawned new gender-bender characters like King Boo's Princess Booette, False Princess Peach and Chain Chompette.
Doug Bowser
After former Nintendo of America president Reggie FIls-Aime retired from his position, the next president hired was Doug Bowser. Nintendo fans quickly memed the fact that the new president of Nintendo of America is named "Bowser". Nintendo themselves also acknowledged this coincidence during E3 2019 when their conference began with a gag where Bowser crashed the event briefly before Doug Bowser appeared and told Bowser that "[He's] the right Bowser for this presentation", after which Bowser left confused.
Quotes
“
Princess Peach! You are formally invited... to the creation of my new galaxy! Gwahahaha! This festival's over!
„
~ Bowser kidnapping Peach in Super Mario Galaxy.
“
Finally! You got here just in time to see the creation of my galaxy in the center of the universe! WATCH AND WEEP! From this galaxy, I'll rule a great galactic empire with Peach by my side. It will last forever! I will rule every pitiful corner of the universe. So, Mario, as you can see, I got big plans. And stomping you is at the top of my list!
„
~ Bowser aspiring to take over the universe.
“
Bwa ha ha ha! You've come so far and worked so hard. I'm almost proud of you... Almost. But winning's no fun if it's easy, right?! So here comes a little challenge from me, free of charge! You chumps should THANK me! Gwah ha ha ha!
„
~ Bowser
“
Who doesn't love coins? Especially YOURS!
„
~ Bowser stealing a player's coins in Mario Party DS.
“
Here I was, thinking of a plan to get my castle back, and all of a sudden, Mario walks up to me and BEGS me to let him join the Koopa Troop! I had no choice BUT to let him in! It was so pathetic!
„
~ Bowser blatantly lying about how he joined Mario in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.
“
Oh no! I can't believe I left my secret diary lying out! It would be totally embarrassing if someone were to read that thing. Wuh... wuh... WHAAAT?!! What's the princess doing here?
„
~ Bowser finding Princess Peach reading his diary in Paper Mario.
“
That jerk Mario just beat the Koopa Bros. and Tutankoopa. Sure, they were complete wimps, but they were still loyal to me. I can't forgive Mario for disrespecting me!
„
~ Bowser
“
Under NO circumstances is ANYONE allowed to kidnap her without MY say–so!!! I will NOT stand for this! I'm going to Rogueport, NOW! I've got to kidnap her back!
„
~ Bowser refusing to let anyone but himself kidnap Peach in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.
“
Bah! Mario... AND Luigi?! How'd you get in here?...What? My front gate was open?! How many times have I told those idiots?! If you're the last in, LOCK THE GATE!
„
~ Bowser
“
Huuuuurgh! My brain hurts! I can't keep up with plot points this complicated!
„
~ Bowser
“
Oh, PLEASE! You know what you smell like, weirdo? FEAR. Stop crying and fight!
„
~ Bowser
“
Wha...? What's going on? MARIO?! What are YOU doing here? Do we have a kart race scheduled for today? WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BRAIN, CHUMPS?! And why do I feel like I just got hit by a bus?!
„
~ Bowser after breaking free from the Black Paint's control.
“
Huh? Mario and that green wimp are here? What are the odds? I'll admit, you handed me my shell before, but not this time! Oh yeah! My horoscope said so! Today's the day I win it all! Gwah ha ha ha! I RULE!
„
~ Bowser
“
This place is a pit! It's hot, stinky, dangerous, and one humongous fire hazard! I LOVE IT! Talk about a perfect place for me to build a second castle!
„
~ Bowser
“
Bwah ha ha! This little firebrand reminds me of a younger me. Look at him! The kid's got a flair of evil! I'm bringing him on board as my partner, and the two of us are gonna thrash you losers!
„
~ Bowser teaming up with Baby Bowser.
“
MAAARIO! Are you seriously trying to start with me again?! I hear about this big meeting, and I'm all ready to act nice... But man, the second I see your face, Mr. Nice Bowser is GONE. Yeah, forget your dumb meeting! I'll pummel you and grab Peach!
„
~ Bowser
“
Give it to me straight. Princess Peach is gone? Hello? That is MY thing! Only I get to kidnap her! TREASON!
„
~ Bowser
“
That Antasma guy just stunk it up! AND YOU GUYS! Actually...no. You did well by your normal standards.
„
~ Bowser complimenting the Elite Trio.
“
Time to give up hope, Mario! In my dreams, I fear nothing! I can crush even you like a little red bug!
„
~ Bowser confronting Mario in his dream.
“
Hmpf! Mario and his buddies... All up in my castle. Guy is probably patting himself on the back for knocking my pad down! What a JERK.
„
~ Bowser
Audio Files
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Samples
Themes
Track
Description
Album
His theme is played for the first time in this game.
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario All-Stars (Super Mario Bros. 3)
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3
His theme is played in his battle.
Super Mario RPG
His theme is played in his castle for second time.
His theme is played in his castle in 2nd part from Bowser Kingdom.
Super Mario Odyssey
His theme is played in his battle.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Trivia
Bowser is one of, if not the most popular and well-known videogame villains.
The World Bowser amusement park.
Bowser along with his own namesake theme park-like lairs, share similarities with Cartman (with Cartmanland) from the adult-animated series South Park and the mad scientist Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik (with Eggmanland/Robotnikland from the Sonic the Hedgehog universe.)
Bowser is one of two Nintendo characters to be a Skylander, the other being Donkey Kong.
In many Super Mario games, when Bowser joins up with Mario and other heroes against greater villains, such as Dimentio, Bowser never betrays the heroes, particularly his nemesis, Mario, most notably in Super Paper Mario, where he calmly addresses Mario to the Closing of the Void. Afterwards, he humorously remarks about being hungry and goes to Saffron's kitchen to have a meal and remains a playable anti-hero even after the player beats the game. On a side note, some players could say that Bowser turns against Mario in his titular game Bowser's Inside Story but in reality he never actually betrayed them on the grounds that he never verbally agreed to work with the Mario Bros. in this game and only worked alongside them (unknowingly) against a common enemy, Fawful.
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Villains
Villains
