Bowser

Bowser, alternatively referred to as King Koopa and known in Japan as Koopa, is a video game character in Nintendo's Mario universe.

Bowser is the primary antagonist and the archenemy of Mario in the Super Mario series of video games. He is the leader and most powerful of the turtle-like Koopa race. Although Bowser has joined forces with Mario in a few games, he never ceases to kidnap Princess Peach and [attempt to] conquer the Mushroom Kingdom since his first appearance in Super Mario Bros. As the central villain of one of the world's most popular video game franchises, Bowser is easily one of the most recognizable video game villains ever, though he has Comic-Relief roles in most of the RPGs. Though their origins are unknown, Bowser has eight children; the seven Koopalings and Bowser Jr..

Appearances
In his first appearance, Bowser appears at the end of each of the eight worlds (Level X-4). These areas are "dungeon stages" and are characterized by white brick platforms, ample lava and spinning sticks of fire that can burn Mario or Luigi. Bowser waits at the end, on a bridge over a pool of lava. By grabbing the axe at the right end of the bridge, Mario or Luigi can cut the rope at the end, making the bridge collapse and sending Bowser into the pit of lava below. Alternatively, Bowser can also be defeated by repeatedly shooting him with fireballs (jumps don't work on him thanks to the horn on his head). Due to graphic limitations, the in-game Bowser does not seem to have hair, although the official artwork for the game, as well as the remake in Super Mario All-Stars, depicted him with it. Bowser throws hammers in Super Mario Bros., similar to the Hammer Bros. (except thrown in volleys), but this ability has largely been dropped; exceptions being throwing hammers with magic in Super Princess Peach, and that he did throw a couple of hammers at the beginning of Super Mario RPG, and uses them as his primary attack in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga when he is teaming up with Popple, while the Dry Bones version of Bowser in New Super Mario Bros. throws bones in a similar manner.

Though Bowser appears in the Japanese sequel to Super Mario Bros. (a title known outside Japan as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels) he appears and behaves identically to his original incarnation. Only in Super Mario Bros. 3 did Bowser return with a new plot and a new look. For the first time in the games, players saw Bowser with a mane of red hair, a look that has remained with Bowser ever since. This time, Bowser only appears at the end of the final level: his castle at the end of World 8, where Mario and Luigi have to trick him into crashing through his floor in order to defeat him (although he could also be defeated with several fireballs or hammers.) This game also introduces Bowser's first seven children, the Koopalings. Despite the presence of offspring, no mate of Bowser has appeared in any story, and his only known relationship is his marriage to a reluctant Princess Peach in Super Paper Mario.

Bowser's next appearance in a standard 2-D Mario platform adventure was Super Mario World. There, Bowser appears only as the boss of the last level: his castle in the Valley of Bowser. Bowser's children, the Koopalings, again make an appearance. Here, Nintendo introduces something that would continue to be associated with Bowser through the rest of his video game appearances to date: Bowser riding the Koopa Clown Car. Fireballs now proved to be useless, and the player had to defeat him by stunning his Mechakoopas and tossing them back at him.

In Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS, Bowser invades Peach's castle and imprisons its inhabitants in the walls with the magic of the stolen Power Stars. Mario (and in Super Mario 64 DS, Mario, Luigi and Wario as well, the player starts off as Yoshi) tracks Bowser down by collecting the stars, one by one. In each of his three encounters with Bowser, Mario must defeat him by catching him by the tail and tossing him into the spiked bombs stationed around the ring in which the battle with Bowser takes place. In these games, Bowser appears noticeably larger and more menacing than in previous games.

In Luigi's Mansion, Madame Clairvoya tells Luigi that Bowser has been "soundly defeated" by Mario, and speculates that King Boo might have revived him, suggesting that Bowser was presumed destroyed following his latest clash with Mario. His demise is an unconfirmed event however, as the Bowser-like entity of Luigi's Mansion, although possibly Bowser, is never identified, and is merely piloted as a suit by King Boo, who is the final boss and ultimate villain of the game. Interestingly enough, at the end of the game, the Bowser-like spirit is also trapped in the painting with King Boo.

In Super Mario Sunshine, Bowser cons his newly-introduced son, Bowser Jr., into disguising himself as Mario and painting the resort of Isle Delfino with graffiti. The plot ultimately ends in Bowser Jr. kidnapping Peach. The young Koopa explains to Mario that Bowser told him Peach was his mother. In the end, Mario battles both Bowser and Bowser Jr., high atop Corona Mountain. When Mario wins, the father and son watch from a distance, and Bowser apologizes for his deception; his son dismisses it, saying he already knew and only wished to fight Mario again, which pleases Bowser. Once again, Bowser has grown much larger than he has been in previous games.

In Super Princess Peach, Bowser, after hearing about a mysterious and powerful artifact hidden on Vibe Island, decides to search for said artifact, and he consequently also builds his summer villa there. Eventually, Bowser finds the artifact, the Vibe Scepter, which is capable of controlling and manipulating the emotions of others. Bowser proceeded to entrust a Goomba with the Vibe Scepter and then ordered this Goomba to lead a brigade of Hammer Brothers to attack Princess Peach's Castle. Bowser's raiding party succeeds in capturing Mario, Luigi and several Toads. Unfortunately for Bowser, his Goomba minion proved incapable of handling the Vibe Scepter's power and ended-up casting a spell over Vibe Island, unleashing chaos throughout. After all of the Toads and Luigi are rescued, Princess Peach and her umbrella ally, Perry, can face Bowser who, with the power of the Vibe Scepter, can increase his power; regardless, Bowser is still defeated and Mario is freed by the princess.

In New Super Mario Bros., Bowser is the first boss. He is fought the same way as in the original Super Mario Bros. (except the axe is replaced with a generic switch which performs the same function), but this time, the lava he falls in disfigures him into a Dry Bones-esque skeleton. The reanimated Bowser skeleton, also called Dry Bowser or Skeleton Bowser, is later fought in the first World 8 castle, before Bowser Jr. resurrects his father in a potion-filled cauldron just in time for the game's final showdown. In this showdown, Bowser is a bit smarter, and will attempt to lunge at the player when the player gets behind him.

Bowser also appeared in the Nintendo DS game Yoshi's Island DS as the game's main antagonist. In this game, Bowser travels back in time in search of seven legendary stars that can apparently give him the power to rule the universe. The search for these stars lead Bowser to kidnap babies all across the planet thinking that the stars are located in the hearts of certain babies. Bowser appears as the game's final boss, right after his younger self.

Bowser's most recent appearance is in the Wii game Super Paper Mario. Princess Peach is forced to marry him by the mysterious Count Bleck and Nastasia. However, the union between them reveals the Chaos Heart, which would produce The Void that would threaten all of existence. He reluctantly joins up with Mario and Peach (as well as Luigi, who joins later on) to stop the evil Count Bleck and his minions.

Mario fights Bowser in Super Mario Galaxy. He is significantly larger than in Super Mario 64, but not as large as in Super Mario Sunshine. The Introduction Movie shows Bowser summoning a large UFO, which literally carves Peach's Castle from the earth, whilst his Airships (which make a return for the first time since Super Mario Bros. 3) lift the entire castle into Space - the setting for the rest of the game. His plan here is to create a Galaxy in the center of the universe as a seat of power for a galactic empire controlling them all.

Bowser is also a playable character in Super Smash Bros Brawl and Super Smash Bros Melee.