Bow

Bow as seen in Paper Mario.
Bow
Species	Boo Buddy
Weaponry	Paper Fan
Debut	Paper Mario

Bow is a Boo who acts as a playable partner character in Paper Mario. She is the fifth partner to be recruited within the game.

Background

Bow was the leader of the Boos who resided at the Boo's Mansion in Forever Forest and the adjacent Boo village at Gusty Gulch. She acted as a proper young lady, who was very confident and somewhat spoiled, as she often made remarks about her own beauty. She also had a butler named Bootler who was always at her beck and call. The Boos took advantage of the cowardice of one local, Tubba Blubba, and they used him as a frequent target of their scaring. However, Bowser later used the Star Rod to empower Tubba Blubba and made him seemingly invincible. Corrupted by his power, Tubba Blubba started to eat the Boos, and Bow sought a way to defeat him.

Her Boos managed to find Skolar, the Star Spirit that had escaped from Tubba Blubba's castle. Bow had Skolar captured and placed within a cage. When Mario arrived at her mansion and found her, she offered to release Skolar only if Mario defeated Tubba Blubba with them. Mario agreed to the deal, and Bow decided to accompany Mario in carrying out this task, despite Bootler's protests. Bow's ability would prove invaluable when it came to sneaking around Tubba Blubba's Castle and avoiding the invincible Tubba Blubba. They eventually managed to discover the secret of his invincibility and defeated him, at which point he released all of the Boos that he had eaten. Bow decided that she would tell the Boos to go easy on Tubba Blubba from now on, but she expressed no regret for scaring him in the past. She also honored her end of the deal by releasing Skolar. Bow found that she enjoyed the experience of adventuring and decided to remain with Mario for the rest of his adventure.

After Bowser was defeated, and the adventure came to a close, Bow returned to her life at Boo's Mansion. She still attended the ensuing celebration at Peach's Castle with Bootler.

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Bow and Bootler made a cameo appearance at Poshley Heights after the game was beaten. They were on vacation to visit the Poshley Sanctum, as Bow had not been away from the mansion in quite some time. She was happy to see Mario again.

Abilities

Bow uses Outta Sight to hide Mario from a Goomba.

Outside of battle, Bow can turn Mario transparent, so long as Mario refrains from moving during that time. While transparent, enemies will take no notice of either character and may actually walk through them. Mario can also pass through some walls in this state, provided that some other force moves him along.

In battle, Bow has the following attacks:

• Smack - Bow floats up to an enemy and slaps it repeatedly.
• Outta Sight - For 2 FP, Bow can turn herself and Mario transparent, making them immune to attack for one turn. However, she can't perform an action the next turn.
• Spook - For 3 FP, Bow will attempt to scare all enemies out of the battle.
• Fan Smack - For 5 FP, Bow will float up to an enemy and slap it repeatedly with her fan.

Trivia

• Her name is a play on "Boo" and "bow", as she wears a pair of bows. Her Japanese name is Resaresa, taken from "Teresa", the Japanese name for a Boo.
• Bootler was enamored with Bow's grandmother, which accounts for his devotion to her.
• Bow can receive two letters over the course of Paper Mario: one from Bootler and one from the Boos of Gusty Gulch.
• In The Thousand-Year Door, Bow as also mentioned by a Toad in Petalburg, who insisted that she was the cutest Boo of all time.
• In Super Paper Mario, Bow can be seen in a group picture of all of the original Paper Mario partner seen displayed in Mario's house, and she can also be seen on several posters in Francis's Mansion.
• Bow has a Catch Card in Super Paper Mario, found on the sixtieth floor of the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials. It can be sold for 385 coins.
  • #245 "This is Mario's good buddy Bow from Paper Mario. The mistress of Boo Mansion slapped foes with panache!"
• Bow also appears as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.