Someday, when I'm bigger... I wanna fight that Mario again!
„
~ Bowser Jr. to his father in Super Mario Sunshine.
“
Good and evil are outdated, simplistic terms! Everything is relative! Is it wrong for me to help my dad try to take over the Mushroom Kingdom?
„
~ Bowser Jr. in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey.
Prince Bowser Koopa Jr., otherwise 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 central antagonist while disguising himself as Shadow Mario.
He is Bowser's only true 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 also seems to be the direct superior to the Koopalings, even though they are older than him.
He was voiced by Dolores Rogers in Super Mario Sunshine, and currently is 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.
Bowser Jr's appearance is quite similar to that of his father when he was young: He has yellow skin, a white four-ribbed padded stomach and snout, a green forehead and red hair. He also has horns and spiked shell like his father, except that the horns are tiny and the spikes are stubbier. His eyes are small and black in color, and his mouth is wide, puffy, con-vexed and sports a single fang on the upper-right. He has thick eyebrows and his mane is in a ponytail. His hands and feet are tiny with white claws on them, he has padded feet and wears black wristbands. He also wears a bib with a drawing of a mouth with sharp teeth and red lips on it. He is sometimes seen riding is own variation of the Koopa Clown Car, which is smaller than his father's with smaller eyes and a smaller mouth.
In his first appearance, Bowser Jr. wears a blue bandana with a white outline of Mario's nose and mustache, which he used to disguise himself as Shadow Mario. In this form, he looked similar to his father's arch nemesis, but was completely blue and translucent and had glowing red eyes. In either of these forms, he is usually seen with his signature Magic Paintbrush.
Personality
Bowser Jr. seems to be very bratty, spoiled, and mischievous. He is like this because he is raised by his villainous father, who was more or less raised in the same manner by Kamek. He also shares his father's affection for Princess Peach and hatred for Mario, whom he aids in kidnapping and fighting respectively. Despite that, they seem to have a genuine father-son relationship and really care for each other, which is shown in Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle where Bowser calls Junior on the phone to make sure that he did his homework, implying that he does go to a school of some sort, and later on, Bowser Jr. asks for the heroes' help in saving his father when he was taken over by the MegaBug.
In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey, Bowser Jr. is initially shown to have very little respect towards the rest of the Koopa Troop and arrogantly believes that they must serve him regardless how he treats them due to his status as a prince. However, over the course of the game he learns that the troop serve his father through love and admiration; things that come from respect. After thinking back to how he treated the Koopalings up until that point, Junior felt sad and remorseful. But Bowser Jr. soon made amends for his past behavior and began showing his minions more care since.
The game also shows that Bowser Jr. does not apparently think about morality when he is helping his father in his goals and instead just does what he, himself, thinks is right.
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 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.
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..." (Bowser waits for answer) Bowser Jr: "...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!
