, also occasionally referred to as Lord Bowser, King Bowser, King Koopa, Koopa, or King of the Koopas, is a character and the main antagonist of Nintendo's Mario franchise."The Top 100 Videogame Villains". IGN. Retrieved October 8, 2010. In Japan, his title is established as ."Character Introduction". Nintendo Japan. Retrieved October 18, 2009. He is the arch-nemesis of Mario, and the leader of the Koopa clan. Depicted as a fire-breathing monster with a tyrannical personality, Bowser's ultimate goals are to kidnap Princess Peach and conquer the Mushroom Kingdom.Staff; designed by James Cheung (January 21, 2000). "TenSpot: Top Ten Video Game Villains". GameSpot. Retrieved December 31, 2008.
Bowser debuted as Mario's opponent in the 1985 video game Super Mario Bros.McLaughlin, Rus (September 14, 2010). "IGN Presents: The History of Super Mario Bros". IGN. Retrieved October 11, 2021. Designer Shigeru Miyamoto initially conceived him as an ox based on the Ox-King as depicted in the Toei Animation film Alakazam the Great. However, Takashi Tezuka remarked that the character should look more like a turtle, leading artist Yōichi Kotabe to redesign Bowser as the leader of the turtle-like Koopas. Since 2005, Bowser has been primarily voiced by Kenny James."Bowser Voice Actors". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
Following Super Mario Bros., Bowser has appeared in various genres, including role-playing games like Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi, sports games such as Mario Kart and Mario Tennis, and fighting games like Super Smash Bros."Bowser Character Profile". GameSpot. Retrieved October 11, 2021. He has appeared in multiple animations, including three series produced by DIC Entertainment (voiced by Harvey Atkin)"Harvey Atkin Filmography". IMDb. Retrieved October 11, 2021. and was portrayed by Dennis Hopper in the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film.Murray, Noel (December 12, 2008). "Random Roles: Dennis Hopper". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved April 16, 2020. Jack Black voiced him in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026).Gleiberman, Owen (April 30, 2023). "That Old Jack Black Magic". Variety. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
Bowser has received a mostly positive reception, with critics noting that he is one of the most iconic and recognizable video game villains.Sterbakov, Hugh (March 5, 2008). "The 47 Most Diabolical Video-Game Villains of All Time". GamePro. Archived from the original on October 1, 2008. Retrieved February 21, 2009. He was crowned the greatest video game villain of all time by the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition."Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2013". p. 193.
Development
Bowser was created by Nintendo designer and producer Shigeru Miyamoto for Super Mario Bros., the character's debut. Miyamoto had first envisioned Bowser as an ox, based on the depiction of the ox-like Gyū-Maō (called "King Gruesome" in the English version) in the Toei Animation film Alakazam the Great, an adaptation of the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West. Miyamoto contemplated commissioning the game's art to a manga artist or illustrator. However, due to a lack of time, he created the game's original box art himself. Due to this, Miyamoto's original artwork for Super Mario Bros features a design that is different from later renditions, more closely resembling his idea of an ox, with a gray-blue complexion and lack of horns.
However, shortly after this, artist and animator Yōichi Kotabe (who had worked at Toei himself) joined Nintendo to refine and standardize the character designs. Nintendo designer Takashi Tezuka pointed out that the character was meant to be turtle instead of an ox. Through discussions with Miyamoto and Tezuka, Kotabe then began to redesign his look to reflect a leader of the turtle-like Koopa Troopas. Kotabe based Bowser's final design on the Chinese softshell turtle, which he recognized as highly aggressive, reflecting Bowser's short temper. With Kotabe's final design, Miyamoto commented that he could make Bowser "look cool now". Kotabe's design forms the basis for most of Bowser's subsequent appearances in both video game graphics and other artwork.
Bowser's original working name was "Boss Creeper" ( Bosu Kurīpā), after the Shellcreepers, the predecessors to the Koopa race, from Mario Bros. Miyamoto then named him Daimaō Kuppa. Kuppa came from the Japanese name for , gukbap, a Korean dish. Miyamoto had also considered the names Yukke and Bibinba, also Japanese names of Korean dishes ( yukhoe and bibimbap respectively). For the later North American release of the game, which also introduced the anglicized spelling "Koopa", the character was named Bowser. His Korean name is not Gukbap, but Kupa, which is essentially a phonetic round-trip translation. The name was anglicized to Kuppa rather than Koopa in the Japanese versions up until the release of Super Mario World.
It is currently unconfirmed how the character received the English-language name "Bowser", or who gave him this name, although there are multiple competing theories. Matthew Byrd of Den of Geek noted that one theory comes from "Bowser" being a popular name for pets at the time, while another suggests that Miyamoto himself chose the name because both "Bowser" and Bibinba start with B. Another theory still relates to the origins of the surname "Bowser", derived from a Norman greeting meaning "good sir", and that it may be used ironically for the character given his diabolical nature.
Within early comics and potentially in the Super Smash Bros. series, Bowser has been compared to Gamera, the iconic fictional turtle kaiju with the abilities to breathe fire as well as fly by hiding in his shell and spinning it; Bowser's ability to perform the latter is called "Gamera Attack" (ガメラアタック, Gamera Attakku).Kazuki Motoyama, 1992, Super Mario, Vol.7, KodanshaYukio Sawada, 1994, Super Mario-kun, Vol.11, Shogakukanスーパーマリオワールド（本山版） (必殺技辞典) ●映画 か
Characteristics Bowser is the King of the Koopas, turtle-like species that inhabit the world of the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser differs greatly from the rest of the Koopa clan, which consists mainly of bipedal tortoises. He has a large, spiked turtle shell, horns, a draconic muzzle with fangs, taloned fingers, three clawed toes on each foot, red eyes, and a shock of red hair. He has immense physical strength, is nearly indestructible, can breathe fire, and can jump very high for his large size. He is accomplished in black magic for teleportation, summoning objects, flying, generating electricity, telekinesis, or metamorphosis.
Bowser's physical size varies and in most games, he towers over most characters. In Super Mario RPG, he stands only slightly taller than Mario. He changes his size at will or through others' sorcery in games including Yoshi's Island, Super Mario Galaxy, and Super Mario Galaxy 2.
Bowser aspires to take over the Mushroom Kingdom and merge it with his own realm. He is infatuated with Princess Peach, and routinely kidnaps her as part of his plans for domination. Sometimes, he kidnaps Peach simply to lure Mario into a trap, but occasionally he hopes to marry her, such as in Super Mario Odyssey. He is typically the central antagonist in the main series, but in the RPG series, he sometimes works with the heroes to defeat a greater evil. His personality is generally menacing and sinister, but he sometimes displays a more comical side as a blustering, buffoonish bully with some emotional vulnerability. He also cares for his minions.
Originally in Super Mario Bros. 3, Bowser was stated to be the father of the Koopalings with subsequent official sources adding that he is their biological father,"Bowser, King of the Koopas, and his evil offspring have invaded yet another kingdom. The Koopalings have seized the Kingdom's precious crystals. It's up to you, armed with your trusty Nintendo Scope, to ride Yoshi to the rescue!", back of the box of the North American and PAL versions of Yoshi's Safari. but since their return in New Super Mario Bros. Wii they have been referred to as Bowser's minions. Bowser Jr. was introduced as Bowser's son in the 2002 game Super Mario Sunshine. In a 2012 interview, Shigeru Miyamoto stated, "Our current story is that the seven Koopalings are not Bowser's children. Bowser's only child is Bowser Jr., and we do not know who the mother is."
New Super Mario Bros. marked the debut of Dry Bowser, a skeletal form of Bowser resulting from his being disfigured by lava. Dry Bowser also appears as a separate character in various spinoff games.
Appearances
Bowser debuted in the video game Super Mario Bros.. He then appeared through all Super Mario games (with the exception of games such as Super Mario Land), the Paper Mario series, the Yoshi series, and the Mario & Luigi series.
Other Mario games Bowser has appeared in nearly all of the Mario spin-off games, including in the Mario Kart and Mario Party series. Bowser appeared in multiple Mario sports games, such as Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, Super Mario Strikers, and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.
He appeared in Mario's Time Machine, Hotel Mario, and Mario Pinball Land. Bowser appears as a playable character in Itadaki Street DS and its Wii sequel Fortune Street. Bowser is also a Dark attribute character who appears as the main opponent in Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition.
Bowser appears in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. In Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, Bowser makes a cameo. He also reappears in the sequel Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope.
Other games Bowser is a playable character in every installment of the Super Smash Bros. series since 2001's Super Smash Bros. Melee. He was intended to be playable in the series' first installment, but was removed during development due to time constraints. Bowser is in Tetris Attack, a game based on the Japan-exclusive Super Famicom release Panel de Pon. All of the original cast members are replaced except for the non-playable Mr. Time, with characters from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, with adult Bowser, the sole character in Attack not seen in Island, taking on the role of Corderia as final boss. With the name Hammer Slam Bowser, Bowser debuts as a playable character in Skylanders: SuperChargers. He appears alongside Donkey Kong and comes with a Skylanders unique figurine. Dr. Bowser is playable in Dr. Mario World.
In other media
Bowser's first appeared outside of video games in the 1986 anime film Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach, based on the first Super Mario Bros., in which he was credited as "King Koopa" and voiced by Zainichi Korean singer and media personality Akiko Wada. In the film, he turns the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom into inanimate objects and plans to forcibly marry Peach on Friday the 13th as revenge for her rejection of his proposal. Using three Power-Ups collected on their journey to his castle, Mario and Luigi defeat him and return the Mushroom Kingdom back to normal.
The DiC Entertainment animated television series The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World feature a different version of Bowser, known as King Koopa and voiced by Harvey Atkin."Harvey Atkin Filmography". IMDb. Retrieved October 11, 2021. This version of the character was also portrayed in live-action by Christopher Collins, and later Patrick Pinney, in the related children's television series King Koopa's Kool Kartoons, and appeared in various print media such as the Super Mario Bros. issues of the Nintendo Comics System.