50 Fun Facts About Bowser

In the original Super Mario Bros., what does Mario touch to collapse the bridge under Bowser?

An axe: touching it cuts the bridge and drops Bowser into the lava, though a Mario armed with fireballs can also finish him off without ever reaching it.

Bowser sits out Super Mario Bros. 2, where which villain takes his place?

Wart, a tyrant frog who has cursed the dream world of Subcon: the Western Super Mario Bros. 2 was a reworked version of another Japanese game, Doki Doki Panic, so Bowser is nowhere in it.

In which 1996 Super Nintendo game does Bowser join Mario's party after losing his own castle?

Super Mario RPG: with his castle seized and his army deserting him, Bowser saves face by declaring Mario an honorary member of the Koopa Troop and tagging along.

Which Nintendo designer pointed out that the early Bowser looked more like a turtle than an ox?

Takashi Tezuka made the point, and animator Yoichi Kotabe then redrew Bowser to look like the leader of the turtle-like Koopa Troopas.

Bowser was first drawn as an ox, after a demon king in an anime film of which Chinese novel?

Journey to the West: the Toei film, released in America as Alakazam the Great, features the Ox Demon King, the villain Miyamoto had in mind for Mario's enemy before Bowser became a turtle.

Yoichi Kotabe based Bowser's final design on the Chinese softshell turtle, a species he saw as what?

Highly aggressive, a match for Bowser's short temper: once Kotabe's turtle version was done, Miyamoto said he could finally make Bowser look cool.

In Paper Mario (2000), what does Bowser steal to make himself invincible?

The Star Rod grants any wish, so Bowser steals it, wishes to be invincible and beats Mario at the very start; Mario has to free seven Star Spirits to cancel its power.

Bowser's Japanese name, Kuppa, comes from the Japanese word for which Korean dish?

Gukbap, a soup with rice: Miyamoto was also weighing yukhoe and bibimbap, so the King of the Koopas came close to being called Yukke or Bibinba.

In Luigi's Mansion (2001), the Bowser of the final battle is really a suit worn by whom?

King Boo pulls Luigi into a painting and fights him from inside a flame-spitting Bowser suit, until Luigi forces him out of it and captures him.

In Super Mario 64, Mario beats Bowser by grabbing which part of him?

His tail: Mario swings Bowser round by it and lets go so that he crashes into one of the bombs ringing the arena.

In Super Mario 3D World, whom does Bowser kidnap in place of Princess Peach?

The Sprixies: Bowser seals the fairy princesses in jars, a switch that let the designers make Peach a playable hero for once and no longer the one to be rescued.

In the 2023 animated Super Mario film, which power-up does Bowser steal to hold over the Mushroom Kingdom?

A Super Star: Bowser takes it from the penguins of the Snow Kingdom and threatens to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom with it, but the Mario brothers grab it and turn its power on him.

Who voiced Bowser in the 2023 animated Super Mario film?

Jack Black also co-wrote and sang Bowser's piano ballad Peaches, which climbed to number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100, his first solo single to chart.

Which actor played King Koopa in the 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros. film?

Dennis Hopper called the shoot a nightmare; when his young son asked why he had played such a bad guy, he said "so you can have shoes", and the boy replied that he didn't need shoes.

In the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film, what does King Koopa devolve into during the climax?

A Tyrannosaurus rex: in the film's world people evolved from dinosaurs, so the brothers turn Koopa's own de-evolution technology on him, then fire again and reduce him to slime.

In Mario Party 10's Bowser Party mode, the player controlling Bowser uses which device?

The Wii U GamePad: one player takes its private screen as Bowser and hunts up to four others, who share the television as Team Mario.

Bowser's son made his debut in Super Mario Sunshine disguised as whom?

Shadow Mario: he smears Isle Delfino with graffiti so that the real Mario is convicted of the crime, all because Bowser has told him that Peach is his mother.

Long described as Bowser's children, the seven Koopalings are officially what, according to Miyamoto in 2012?

His minions: Miyamoto said the "current story" gives Bowser a single child, quietly undoing the early games, which had introduced the seven as his own kids.

When asked in 2015 who Bowser Jr.'s mother is, whom did Miyamoto jokingly name?

Himself, Miyamoto joked, three years after ruling that Bowser has only one child; officially, the mother of Bowser Jr. has never been identified.

Who voices Bowser Jr. in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie?

Benny Safdie voices the spoiled heir, who kidnaps Mario and Luigi while hunting for his missing father and then talks Bowser back into his old ways.

The fan-made character Bowsette imagines Bowser transformed by which power-up?

The Super Crown turns Toadette into a Peach look-alike in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, so in 2018 an artist drew what it might do to Bowser, and the result went viral.

Which composer gave the Koopaling Ludwig his name and his wild hair?

Beethoven: Ludwig von Koopa borrows his first name and his untamed blue hair; the TV cartoon, written before the English names reached its makers, called him Kooky von Koopa.

Roy Koopa's sunglasses and name were inspired by which musician?

Roy Orbison's ever-present dark glasses made him the model for the pink-headed bruiser; the Nintendo translator who named the Koopalings was a music fan, which is why most of the seven are named after musicians.

The only female Koopaling takes her name from which punk singer?

Wendy O. Williams fronted the punk band Plasmatics, an unlikely namesake for the Koopaling Wendy, who is known for her pink bow and jewellery.

Lemmy Koopa, the smallest Koopaling, is named after the frontman of which band?

Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister: the translator who chose the name said the little Koopaling struck him as someone who would do his own thing, adding, "I think it was those crazy eyes."

The largest Koopaling's name pays homage to which loud-mouthed TV host?

Morton is the largest Koopaling, with a star-shaped marking around one eye.

In Bowser's Fury, which power-up lets Mario grow as huge as Fury Bowser?

A Giga Bell makes Mario a giant the size of his enemy; in the final battle Bowser steals all three bells, and Mario wins them back to turn his dinosaur ally Plessie into a giant too.

Which sorcerer has looked after Bowser since he was a baby?

Kamek has served Bowser since Yoshi's Island, where he foresees that two babies will one day ruin his young master's plans and tries to snatch them from the stork.

In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, who tricks Bowser into eating a Vacuum Shroom?

Fawful, disguised as a merchant, sells Bowser the Vacuum Shroom, which makes him inhale Mario, Luigi and Peach and leaves the kingdom free for Fawful to seize.

In Super Mario 3D World, which power-up turns Bowser into the feline Meowser?

The Super Bell: Bowser clips one to his collar for the final battle and, as Meowser, claws his way up his own tower after the heroes.

What does Bowser plan to do with Peach in Super Mario Odyssey?

Forcibly marry her: Bowser has a dress, a cake and a bouquet stolen for a ceremony on the Moon, but once Mario has stopped it and both of them propose, Peach turns the pair down.

In Super Mario Odyssey, which companion lets Mario take control of Bowser's body?

Cappy, the living hat: when the Moon's caverns start to collapse after the final battle, Mario "captures" the knocked-out Bowser and smashes his way out as his own arch-enemy.

In Super Mario Galaxy, what does Bowser use to lift Peach's castle into space?

A flying saucer: Bowser crashes the Star Festival, held once a century, with a fleet of airships, and the saucer hauls Peach's whole castle off into space with her inside.

Where does Bowser hold Peach at the end of Super Mario Galaxy?

The center of the universe: Bowser is building a galaxy of his own there, and when Mario beats him one of its planets collapses into a black hole that starts to swallow everything.

In the first Super Mario Bros., what are the first seven castle Bowsers?

Minions in disguise: only the Bowser of the eighth world is the king, and a Mario with enough fireballs can unmask the decoys, which turn back into ordinary enemies when they fall.

In Super Mario Bros., what does Bowser's magic turn the Mushroom People into?

Bricks, stones and horsehair plants, says the game's manual, and only Princess Toadstool can undo the spell, which is the whole reason Bowser carries her off.

What does Bowser steal from Prince Florian's ceremony in the 2023 Switch platformer?

The Wonder Flower: its power fuses Bowser with Prince Florian's castle, turning him into a living flying fortress that looms over the Flower Kingdom for the rest of the game.

In Bowser's Fury, what transforms Bowser into Fury Bowser?

Mysterious black sludge: it turns Bowser into a rampaging giant, so his son Bowser Jr. has to turn to Mario, of all people, for help in changing his father back.

What body of water sits at the centre of Bowser's Fury?

Lake Lapcat: unlike the level-by-level 3D World it shipped with, its cat-themed islands form one open world, which Mario crosses on the back of the dinosaur Plessie.

Bowser first became a playable fighter in which Super Smash Bros. game?

Melee, in 2001: Bowser had been planned as a fighter for the 1999 original, the series' director later said, but he was cut during development.

In 2015 Bowser became a playable guest, with his own toy figure, in which toys-to-life series?

Skylanders: on Nintendo consoles, SuperChargers added Hammer Slam Bowser and a Donkey Kong, and their figures doubled as amiibo for Nintendo's own games.

Bowser was the final boss of which puzzle game based on Panel de Pon?

Tetris Attack reskinned Japan's Panel de Pon with Yoshi's Island characters and made Bowser its final boss; it has nothing to do with Tetris, and the man who licensed the name came to regret it.

In which animated film does Bowser attend a Bad-Anon support group for villains?

Wreck-It Ralph: Nintendo agreed at once, reasoning that any support group for video game bad guys must include Bowser, but Mario stayed out because the film-makers never found a scene that suited him as well.

What happens to Bowser at the end of the 2023 animated Super Mario film?

Shrunk and put in a jar: Peach force-feeds him a blue Mini Mushroom and Toad seals him in, a pocket-sized prisoner of the kingdom he came to conquer.

In The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which form does Bowser take after being dropped into lava?

Dry Bowser is the walking skeleton left when lava burns away his flesh, a form that goes back to New Super Mario Bros. in 2006, where a bridge gives way and drops him into a pit of it.

Which monstrous form of Bowser was created specifically for the Super Smash Bros. series?

Giga Bowser was designed as a throwback to Bowser's fiercer early look; he began as a hidden final boss, and in later games Bowser's ultimate move is to turn into him for a short while.

Charles Martinet said the Super Mario 64 line fans misheard as "So long, gay Bowser!" is really what?

"So long, King-a Bowser!", Martinet insisted in 2019; later versions of the game dropped the line, and Mario simply says "buh-bye!"

Which animal found in Russia in 2015 went viral as a real-life Bowser?

An alligator snapping turtle, a species from the south-eastern United States: it turned up half a world away in the Amur River, and its spiked shell and beaked jaws did the rest.

Bowser Jr. kidnaps Peach in Super Mario Sunshine using a paintbrush invented by whom?

Professor E. Gadd also built F.L.U.D.D., the water pack Mario uses to scrub the island clean, so both sides of the mess are armed by the same inventor.

In The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which hero from another Nintendo series hauls Bowser off to jail?

Fox McCloud of Star Fox: stranded in Mario's universe when his warp drive explodes, he is hired as Peach's pilot and ends the film dropping Bowser and his son at a distant prison.