| “ | Someday, when I'm bigger... I wanna fight that Mario again! | „ |
| ~ Bowser Jr. to his father in Super Mario Sunshine. |
| “ | Hmph! This ship's pretty classy - you know, cool design and all that. Maybe I'll model my next mecha after it!
|
„ |
| ~ Bowser Jr. in Fortune Street. |
Prince Bowser Koopa Jr., better known as Bowser Jr. or simply Junior, is the secondary antagonist of the Mario franchise, having made his debut appearance in Super Mario Sunshine as the main antagonist while disguising himself as Shadow Mario.
He is Bowser's only son and heir, as well as the second-in-command of the Koopa Troop. He often aids his father in his plans to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom by helping to kidnap Princess Peach and fighting off Mario.
He was voiced by Dolores Rogers in Super Mario Sunshine, and is currently voiced by Caety Sagoian in the entire franchise since 2007. Both have also shared and reprised their roles in Mario Party 9 and Mario Sports Superstars.
Roles
Bowser Jr. serves as the main antagonist of Super Mario Sunshine, the secondary antagonist of New Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel Super Mario Galaxy 2, a major antagonist in New Super Mario Bros. Wii and New Super Mario Bros. U, the central antagonist turned anti-hero of Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, the titular anti-heroic protagonist of Bowser Jr.'s Journey, and the deuteragonist of Bowser's Fury.
He is also a playable character in various spin-off games such as Mario Kart and the Mario sports games.
Characteristics
Bowser Jr. is a yellow-skinned Koopa similar to his father with the same yellow and tan skin complexion, as well as a light green head and a top-ponytail of orange-red hair held by a black tie. He has one small tooth in his mouth and a large snout, as well as small circular eyes that are beady and black in color. His shell is lined with a green encasing with small white spikes. He is almost always wearing a bandana, usually around his neck, but sometimes covering his mouth. In his debut in Super Mario Sunshine, he wore a dark blue one with a graffiti of Mario's nose and moustache that he uses to transform into his alter-ego, Shadow Mario. As Shadow Mario, he looks exactly like Mario in form, but is dark blue and translucent. In all subsequent games, with the exception of Mario Strikers Charged, Bowser Jr. wears a white bandana with a graffiti of a colorful fanged mouth.
Despite his young age and size, Bowser Jr. is very skilled, powerful, and a formidable opponent to the Mario Bros. Since his first appearance,[1] he has shown remarkable talent with mechanics and computers, able to skillfully invent and pilot a variety of vehicles and giant robots[2] as well as hack computer systems.[3] He also appears to excel in magic as shown in Mario Super Sluggers where he turned Daisy into a stone statue, as well as in New Super Mario Bros. where he performs necromancy to revive his dad at the end of the game. He is just as acrobatic as Mario and can perform the same jump techniques. He also has excellent leadership, strategic, and tactical skills. However, Bowser Jr. is sometimes influenced by his father's temper and bad attitude, evident in his motto ("Grin and bear it. When that don't work, grin and crush it."), from Mario Kart Wii, which aligns with why he always cites his father as his motivation for performing any villainous acts. However, in Mario Party: Island Tour, it is revealed that from inside, Bowser Jr. would rather be a hero, but does not want to disappoint his father.[4]
As seen in the Nintendo Switch Online overview trailer, Bowser Jr. is a very skilled gamer, showing prowess across many games, such as his S+ rank in Splatoon 2. [5]
Powers and Abilities
- Fire breath: Like his father, Bowser Junior is capable of spitting fire in different forms. At first, he was not very good at breathing fire as Mario Strikers Charged shows, where he tries to breathe fire like his father in his entrance, only to breathe smoke and a small flame. That changes in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where he can breathe fireballs that can accommodate opponents, and creates a large flame of fire when the fireball is in contact with the ground. In New Super Mario Bros. U, he can breathe fireballs consecutively. In Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, he is able to breathe a stream of fire.
- Superhuman attributes: Like his father, Bowser. Jr. has superhuman abilities well beyond the average person.
- Superhuman strength: Despite his young age, Bowser. Jr. has superhuman strength, including a huge strike force. In Super Mario Maker, he has the ability to crush and paralyze remaining opponents on the field, a skill performed by most of the big and strong characters like Bowser, Morton, Roy, and Ludwig. He once again demonstrates his deceptive strength in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, where he can easily throw a giant cannonball several times his size at Mario Bros. and Paper Mario.
- Superhuman Durability: Bowser. Jr. showed high levels of durability to the point of being able to survive imminent death situations. This is evident in Super Mario Galaxy, where he falls into the gigantic sun after his father's defeat, and he is later shown to be back alive in the Mushroom Kingdom, as well as New Super Mario Bros Wii, where he survives after being crushed by Bowser's collapsed castle.
- Superhuman Agility: Bowser Jr., thanks to his small size, is very agile, able to make prodigious leaps.
- Magic: Bowser Jr. appears to excel in magic as shown in Mario Super Sluggers where he turned Daisy into a stone statue. This is also supported in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, where he can Paperize, create a defensive shield, and heal.
- Mechanics: From his first appearance, he has shown remarkable talent with mechanics and computers, able to skillfully invent and pilot vehicles and giant robots as well as hack emails.
- Shapeshifting: When wearing a bandanna imbued with magic, Bowser Jr. can transform and reshape the form of his body.
- Palletakinesis: While using the magic paintbrush, Bowser Jr. can create/generate, shape and manipulate paint.
Relationships
Family
- Bowser (father)
Friends/Allies
- Bowser
- King Boo
- Petey Piranha
- The Koopalings
- Goombas
- Koopa Troopas
- Boom Boom
- Pom Pom
- Eggman
- Metal Sonic
- Shadow (sometimes)
- Rouge (sometimes)
- Wario (sometimes)
- Waluigi (sometimes)
- Mario (sometimes)
Enemies
- Mario
- Luigi
- Peach
- Daisy
- Rosalina
- Toad
- Yoshi
- Birdo
- Donkey Kong
- Diddy Kong
- Fawful
- MegaBug
- Sonic
- Tails
- Knuckles
- Amy
- Blaze
- Silver
- E-123 Omega
- Eggman Nega
- Galeem
- Dharkon
Quotes
Super Mario Sunshine
| “ | Bowser Jr: "Leave my Mama alone, you bad man! I won't let you take Mama Peach away!" Peach: "Mama? Mama Peach? I'm your...Mama?" Bowser Jr: "Yeah, Papa told me all about it. He told me my Mama got kidnapped by a bad man named Mario." Peach: "So you're Bowser's son?" Bowser Jr: "So I came here to rescue her!" Peach: "So the graffiti... That was you?" Bowser Jr: (shows off magic brush) "This... is my magic brush! When I draw this, all my wishes come true! A strange old man in a white coat gave it to me." F.L.U.D.D.: "A strange old man... in a white coat?" Peach: "But why would you pretend to be Mario?" Bowser Jr: "Papa told me everything. He said, 'Mario's a bully, he never fights fair!' He said, 'Jr., you gotta try to outsmart Mario.' So I tried to get Mario sent to prison, but they didn't lock him up, and now he came to steal Mama Peach again! You... you pest! Stop following us!" |
„ |
| ~ Bowser Jr.'s first words after revealing his true identity to Mario and Peach |
| “ | Bowser: "BWAAAA HA HA! THE WATER'S GREAT! EH, JUNIOR!?" Bowser Jr: "Sure is, Papa! Come on in, Mama Peach!" Peach: "Ummm... I think not." (Mario and F.L.U.D.D. appear) "Mario!" Bowser Jr: "You again!? Don't you ever give up!?" Bowser: "MARIO! HOW DARE YOU DISTURB MY FAMILY VACATION!?" (roars) |
„ |
| ~ Bowser Jr. and his father before the final boss fight. |
| “ | Bowser: "Junior, I've got something... difficult to tell you about Princess Peach." Bowser Jr: "I know, she's not really my Mama." (Bowser is stunned silent) Bowser Jr: "Someday, when I'm bigger... I wanna fight that Mario again!" Bowser: "That's my boy! Well put, son! The royal Koopa line is as strong as ever! But for now, let's just rest a while." |
„ |
| ~ Bowser Jr. and his father after the final boss fight. |
Super Mario Galaxy
| “ | Wahahaha! You made it! But I won't need my dad's help to take care of you! Go at 'em, Megaleg! | „ |
| ~ Bowser Jr. before summoning Megaleg. |
| “ | You just don't give up! Fine, then. I guess I'll just have to whup you myself! You want this Grand Star so bad? You're gonna have to take it from me! | „ |
| ~ Bowser Jr. before fighting Mario himself. |
| “ | If I give you any more Grand Stars, my dad's gonna get MAAAAAAD! So this calls for my ultimate weapon! Give 'em some heat, King Kaliente! | „ |
| ~ Bowser Jr. before summoning King Kaliente. |
Audio
Vocals
Trivia
- The pads of Bowser Jr's feet are similar to Birdo's.
- Since his name is Bowser Jr., this would mean that his father's full name is Bowser Sr.
- Bowser Jr's biological mother is unknown.
External Links
- Bowser Jr. on Wikipedia
- Bowser Jr. on the Heroes Wiki
- Bowser Jr. on the Mario Wiki
- Bowser Jr. on the Nintendo Wiki
- Jr. Bowser Jr on Smashpedia
