Bowser


 * For fighter info, see Bowser (SR).

Bowser (クッパ) is the supreme leader of the Koopa Troop, King of the Koopas. He is the primary and most consistent antagonist in the Super Mario video game empire. Since his debut in the world-famous Super Mario Bros. for NES as the arch-enemy of main hero Mario, Bowser is easily one of the most recognizable of all villain figures in the game industry. He has therefore appeared in 4 games in the Super Smash Bros. series as a playable fighter. An alternative, powered-up and enlarged version of him called Giga Bowser also appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee as a final boss figure in Adventure mode and as his Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U.

Character description
Bowser was introduced in the seminal Super Mario Bros. for NES, with most of his traditional character traits introduced along with it: his storyline role as a comically monstrous villain who always goes out of his way to kidnap the Mushroom Kingdom princess, Peach Toadstool, his gameplay role as a boss enemy for Mario to defeat, his fire-breathing abilities, his immeasurable army of henchmen such as mushroom-headed Goombas and turtle-like Koopa Troopas, and so on. Super Mario Bros. holds the Guinness World Record for the best-selling video game, at 40 million copies, essentially guaranteeing worldwide fame for all characters who appeared in the game, Bowser included. He has appeared in some form in almost every Mario game to date, along with more members of his "family", mainly his son, Bowser Jr. and his minions, the seven Koopalings.

Like Bowser's Koopa Troopa underlings, he features elements of a tortoise, albeit a giant mutant tortoise with qualities of a fire-breathing dragon. His shell and tail are covered with spikes and has a pair of almost demonic-looking horns on his head. He also has a very distinctively-constructed face and red hair arranged like a mohawk, both very unlike a typical Koopa Troopa. To settle a common dispute, original game developers intended for Bowser to be more of a dragon instead of his common perception as a turtle. Bowser, at times, is depicted in vastly different sizes, somewhat resembling Mario's tendency to grow or shrink in size during games starring him; he's a colossus in his appearance as the final boss of Super Mario Sunshine, while in other appearances he is only slightly larger than the average person. The fact that Bowser has offspring would suggest he had a wife at some point, but this character has never been seen or referred to in the series, though the UK version of Nintendo Power magazine has stated that Bowser's wife is named Clawdia.

Bowser is the primary villain in many Super Mario themed platformers, and therefore usually not a playable character. Bowser has appeared as a playable character, however, in a large percentage of Mario games nonetheless, such as in the Mario Kart series with Super Mario Kart marking his first playable appearance. Whereas Mario is consistently the most balanced character in the character line-up of any competitive Mario-themed game, Bowser traditionally fits the "big, slow, and strong character" archetype to the extreme in any game he is playable. In the various Mario-themed sports games, for example, Bowser performs relevant actions more powerfully than others but more slowly as well, while in the Mario Kart games, Bowser as a selectable racer features the heaviest weight and the highest top speed of the racers, but who is offset by low acceleration and handling talent. This archetype is faithfully preserved in Bowser's appearance as a playable fighter in both Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl.

Since Super Mario games typically do not feature epic and emotionally involved storylines and character development like an RPG, opting for more straightforward, cheery, and colorful atmospheres whose starring characters are essentially meant to represent gaming personalities more than anything else, Bowser has not had much change in personality and role over the years: he is consistently shown to be brutish, oafish, and sarcastically witty at times. A "traditional" Super Mario game plot is usually some variation of him kidnapping princess Peach within one of his lava and trap-filled castles and Mario coming to save her from his clutches. It is indicated by several games that this is because Bowser may have genuine feelings for Peach. Bowser is generally a threat to Mario in games that place him in the role of a boss, though more recently he comes off more like a bumbling and comical character when trying to come across as "evil". There are Super Mario games, particularly the RPGs, that feature stories that showcase other Super Mario master villains who prove more of a legitimate threat to Mario and the land than Bowser can ever hope to achieve; Bowser grows very jealous whenever that happens, so in a few of the RPGs Bowser reluctantly allows himself to work with Mario and friends to battle the villain.

Bowser remains a "regular" in the Super Mario empire of video games, though he only really held the image of a consistently threatening menace in his early game appearances. Nowadays, when he is not on seemingly equal grounds with the other Super Mario characters in competitive games like sports and kart racing or even helpful to the characters in RPG roles, he is an antagonist who is depicted as bumbling, comical, and almost slightly incompetent, but he works hard to come across as "bad" and supposedly has been doing so from a young age as Baby Bowser (which is different from Bowser Jr., his son, though they look so similar their names are often confused).

His personality is different depending on which type of game. In the RPG games, he is dimwitted, goofy and sometimes nice. However, in the main platform games, he is an evil, sinister, brutal, and selfish villain who threatens millions of lives.