Bowser Jr.

Bowser Jr. in New Super Mario Bros..
Bowser Junior
Species	Koopa
Hair color	Red
Eye color	Black
Relatives	Bowser (father)
Voiced by	Dolores Rogers (2002-2006, 2008) Caety Sagoian (2007-Present)
Debut	Super Mario Sunshine

For information on Bowser's youth, refer to Baby Bowser

Bowser Jr. is Bowser's young son who has appeared as a frequent foe of Mario since his debut. Junior has made many appearances since his debut as both a playable character in sports games and a boss in the mainstream games. Whenever he shows up, he usually tag teams with his dad whether it's to defeat Mario or just to win the Gold Trophy in the Star Cup.

Background

Bowser Jr. first makes his appearance in Super Mario Sunshine. His debut is not readily obvious however. Using a special Gaddbrush that he acquired, he took on the appearance of a watery-looking version of [[Mario[[ known as Shadow Mario. He then proceeded to cover Delfino Island in a slimy paint substance, prompting Mario to take the fall for his actions. He then proceeded to kidnap Princess Peach, since he had been told by his father that she was his mother. When confronted, he revealed his identity to the astonished Mario and Peach. Inside his giant Mecha-Bowser suit, he battled and lost to Mario. He then took Peach up with him to the top of Corona Island to meet with his dad. When Mario finally tracked them down and defeated them, the two koopas fell to the ground a distance away. Bowser Jr. knew that Peach was not his mother, but still wanted to fight Mario again someday.

From that point he started showing up more, in sports games as well as adventure games. While he is considered a villain by Mario standards, he is not quite as nasty as his father. His antics have suggested a more competitive spirit than being greedy or malicious. He traditionally wears a bandana of varying logos over his mouth. Originally it was of a Mario-like mustache and later as a mouth full of sharp teeth. There has yet to be anything involving him and his seven siblings, who may not even have the same mother.

In New Super Mario Bros., Bowser Jr. distracted Mario long enough for him to make off with Peach. From then on, he acted as the sub-boss for each world, in battles reminiscent of the Boom Boom battles fron Super Mario Bros. 3. While wearing his mask, he was more difficult to defeat, requiring Mario to grab the shells he threw and toss them back at him. At the very end of World 8, Bowser Jr. teamed up with his father to battle Mario. Bowser Jr. fought like he had before, only with the assistance of his father's fiery breath to make things more complicated. After he was defeated, he was last seen dragging his knocked out father back home.

Bowser Jr. later aided his father in his attempt at galactic conquest in Super Mario Galaxy, holiding three Grand Stars over the course of the game and confronting Mario at the end of every even-numbered set of galaxies. First he deployed the mechanical Megaleg to battle Mario. Then he commanded an airship armada in battle with Mario and piloted a miniature airship to more directly battle Mario. However, Mario shot down the airship with a barrage of Koopa shells, at which point Bowser Jr. escaped. The third time he instead deployed King Kaliente to fight Mario. He lost one Grand Star with each defeat until he had none left. During Mario's final battle with Bowser, he held Peach in his miniature airship. He was saved from the ensuing black hole by Rosalina and the Lumas, who teleported Bowser Jr. and his airship into the lake by Peach's Castle.

Bowser Jr. returned in New Super Mario Bros. Wii alongside the Koopalings. They kidnapped Peach on her birthday and made off in an airship, while Bowser Jr. dropped off the Koopalings at fortresses along the way to slow down Mario and/or his friends. After the second fight with each Koopaling, Bowser Jr. stood by long enough to taunt Mario before escaping to the next world. This worked against him after Wendy's defeat when the airship left him behind, giving the heroes enough time to board it while it waited to pick him up. Bowser Jr. appeared at the end of the ship riding in his own Koopa Clown Car and able to spit fire. After being beaten, Kamek rescued the young Koopa and dropped Mario from the ship. Bowser Jr. was left behind again after Morton's loss to the same result, only this time he engaged the heroes in a Clown Car vs. Clown Car ramming battle. Arriving at World 8, Bowser Jr. dropped Kamek off at the fortress and set the ship down at the edge of a cliff. When Mario arrived the final time, Junior kicked aside his own Clown Car and took Bowser's instead, which he used to shoot exploding mines into the arena. Losing a third time, Bowser Jr. headed to the castle, waited for the Koopalings to arrive and ordered them to help Bowser up after his own defeat. After they did so, Bowser's Castle fell on top of them all.

He once more acted as Bowser's lieutenant in Super Mario Galaxy 2, where he was the overall boss of all the odd-numbered galaxies. First at Bowser Jr.'s Fiery Flotilla, he flew away while leaving Mario to battle Gobblegut. The next battle was at Bowser Jr.'s Fearsome Fleet, where he piloted the robotic Megahammer. Mario was able to destroy it with Yoshi's help, as he was able to swallow the Bullet Bills that Megahammer fired and then spit them back at it. Bowser Jr. retreated after it was destroyed and showed up one last time as the boss of Bowser Jr.'s Boom Bunker, where he commandeered a Boomsday Machine against Mario. However, Mario was able to destroy it, putting Bowser Jr. out of commission for the game.

In Paper Mario: Sticker Star, he appeared as a recurring boss who sought to steal rare stickers from others and was apparently capable of sniffing them out. He first appeared at the Warm Fuzzy Plains, the game's first level, where he had tried to chase down a Toad in his Junior Clown Car and came across Mario instead. Smelling that Mario had a rare sticker, he proceeded to fight him for it. In battle, his Junior Clown Car allowed him to evade hammer attacks, and he could heal all damage delivered to him until Mario used the Scissors sticker to defeat him in one hit. Accusing Mario of cheating and using an overpowered sticker, Bowser Jr. proceeded to use Paperization to remove the bridge going forward, crumple it up and toss it to the side. He then moved along, confident that this would stop Mario, and he next tried to fight him for a rare sticker on a boat while Mario was going through the Decal Channel, where he employed the use of bob-ombs, but Mario could use them against him as well. Finally, he attacked Mario with his airship while Mario was on his way to Bowser's castle. He no longer cared about rare stickers and now only sought revenge against Mario. He was armed with a defensive shield and more weapons this time, but he was still defeated and sent flying off of the airship. Bowser Jr. wondered if this would be his end, but he was later seen with his father in the ending parade.

He had another recurring boss role in New Super Mario Bros. U, where Bowser Jr. operated out of the flagship of the airship fleet during the latest kidnapping of Princess Peach. He was first fought in the first level of the Soda Jungle, where he attacked underwater, using his Junior Clown Car as a submarine. He attacked with Torpedo Teds that Mario could trick into hitting him instead. In the end, Mario was able to escape, and they did not fight again until the seventh world, the Meringue Clouds. There, Mario and company battled Bowser Jr. on his airship. He attacked with Bob-ombs that could be thrown back at him, and after he was defeated, he accidentally destroyed his own airship in a final attempt to stop Mario. Escaping from this, he went on to play a role during the final battle, where he hindered Mario and company from his Junior Clown Car and also got Kamek to make Bowser into a giant. He could be knocked out of his Junior Clown Car, which could then be commandeered to attack Bowser with, although Bowser Jr. would then attack to attempt to force them out of it. After Bowser's ultimate downfall, Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings proceeded to drag the defeated Bowser back home.

Bowser Jr. had no storyline role in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, but he did make a surprise appearance as a bonus boss faced in the Battle Ring, after all of the other Battle Ring opponents had been defeated. He fought from his Junior Clown Car and also could use his Magic Paintbrush to steal some of Mario and Luigi's Bros. Attacks. It was also possible to chase him in his own Clown Car, after which it would be wrecked until a Monty Mole pit crew repaired it.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

Sports

Bowser Jr. has appeared in various sports games since his introduction.

• Golf: Bowser Jr. is playable in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (where he is unlocked by completing the Birdie Challenge) and Mario Golf: World Tour.
• Kart Racing: Bowser Jr. is playable in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (where he is paired with Bowser), Mario Kart Wii (where he must be unlocked by getting one star in all 100cc Retro Cups), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Mario Kart Arcade GP DX.
• Tennis: He is playable in Mario Power Tennis, Mario Tennis Open, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash and Mario Tennis Aces.
• Baseball: Bowser Jr. is a playable captain in Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers. His team is the Bowser Jr. Rookies.
  • Bowser Jr. also has a storyline role in Mario Super Sluggers, after being a wandering competitor in the previous game. In the Challenge Mode of Super Sluggers, Bowser Jr. stages an invasion of the Baseball Kingdom due to wanting to play baseball with others. He could be found and challenged in all five of the characters' stadiums, being driven out after losing in the baseball game. Eventually he could be challenged in Bowser Jr.'s Playroom, located on his aquatic block fort. After being defeated, Bowser would try to beat them instead. In the end, Bower Jr. convinced Bowser to accept Princess Peach's offer to play baseball with them.
• Soccer: Bowser Jr. has appeared as a playable captain in Mario Strikers Charged.
• Basketball: Bowser Jr. is also playable in Mario Hoops 3-on-3.
• The Olympics: Bowser Jr. is playable in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Winter Games, Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
• Other Sports: Bowser Jr. is playable in Mario Sports Mix and Mario Sports Superstars.

Within the Mario Party games, Bowser Jr. made appearances as an underling of Bowser in Mario Party DS, Mario Party 9, Mario Party 10 and Mario Party: Star Rush. In 9, he competes against the players in some minigames, while in Star Rush, he was a boss who was faced in a minigame where Kamek enlarged him. In Mario Party: The Top 100, he also appeared in an updated version of one minigame from the older games, where he replaced the Koopa Kids and attacked players from his Junior Clown Car.

He also appeared as a playable character in Mario Party: Island Tour (where he could be unlocked by beating Bowser's Tower) and Super Mario Party, as well as in the similarly board game-themed Fortune Street.

Abilities

Bowser Jr. has the following special moves in his Smash Bros. appearance:

• Standard Special Move: Clown Cannon - Bowser Jr. fires a cannonball from his Junior Clown Car.
• Side Special Move: Clown Kart Dash - With this move, Bowser Jr. revs up the Clown Car's kart mode and wildly veers across the area
• Up Special Move: Abandon Ship! - With this move, Bowser Jr. ejects himself from the Junior Clown Car, which explodes as he does so. Another Junior Clown Car will immediately spawn for him.
• Down Special Move: Mechakoopa - Bowser Jr. can deploy one small Mechakoopa at a time from a hatch on his Junior Koopa Clown Car.
• Final Smash: Shadow Mario Paint - When he uses a Smash Ball, Bowser Jr. will assume the form of Shadow Mario and paint a giant X across the screen. Anyone who touches the goopy X receives damage.

Confusions About Appearance

Due to Junior's appearance and Bowser's 'baby' appearance in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Bowser Jr. is often confused with Baby Bowser. This is because Baby Bowser in this game has an appearance identical to Bowser Jr., rather than his usual appearance in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.

Furthermore Junior is often confused with the Koopa Kids featured in the Mario Party games. These characters however come in multiple colors, have a marked difference in appearance, and lack Junior's 'trademark' bandana.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• Bowser Jr. appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a playable character. In the 3DS game, he is unlocked by either playing 100 Vs. Matches or by beating Classic Mode with Bowser on a difficulty level of 5.0 or higher. In battle, Bowser Jr. stays within his Junior Clown Car and uses it for a variety of attacks, many of which are weapons activated by the device. Additionally, all seven of the Koopalings appear as his palette swaps. He has two trophies in both games, and in the Wii U version there is also a trophy for his Final Smash.

Trivia

• He is most likely based on the popular 'Baby Bowser' of Yoshi's Island fame. He is, however, notably older as suggested by his more mature speech and horns.
• It was initially assumed that Bowser Jr. was the youngest sibling of the Koopalings, who were believed to be Bowser's children. However, Nintendo has clarified that the Koopalings are not actually related to Bowser, and that Bowser Jr. is his only actual son.
• A trophy of Bower Jr. appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as well as two stickers featuring artwork of him from Super Mario Sunshine and Mario Superstar Baseball.