Bowser Jr.

Template:Fictional Characters InfoboxBowser Jr. (known as Koopa Jr. (クッパJr., Kuppa Junia) in Japan) is a video game character who appears in Nintendo's Mario franchise as an antagonist. He is the son of the series' primary and main antagonist, Bowser. Since his debut in Super Mario Sunshine, Bowser Jr. has been a recurring character in the Mario series and has been made playable in several spin-offs, such as Mario Superstar Baseball, Mario Strikers Charged, and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He shares his father's desire to kidnap Princess Peach and defeat Mario. Bowser Jr. is generally not considered one of the Koopalings.

Design and characteristics

Bowser Jr. is a yellow-skinned Koopa similar to his father with the same yellow and tan skin complexion, as well as a light green head and a Top-ponytail of orange-red hair held by a black tie. He has one small tooth in his mouth and a large snout, as well as small circular eyes that are beady and black in color. His shell is lined with a green encasing with small white spikes. Junior typically wears a white mask, described in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U to be a bandana, that's decorated with drawn-on fangs and worn like a mask (however it is absent in Mario Strikers Charged, and he wore a blue mask with Mario's mustache in Super Mario Sunshine).This bandana is also often worn over his stomach. Bowser Jr. also has two metal wristbands, while Bowser wears four that are all spiked.

Like his father, Bowser Jr. can breathe fire and is physically powerful in spite of his small frame. His exact size varies from game to game; though in general he gradually gets taller, from being the smallest in Super Mario Sunshine to being larger than Princess Peach in Super Mario Galaxy. According to Mario Kart Wii, Bowser Jr. inherited his father's temper and bad attitude, evident in his motto ("Grin and bear it. When that don't work, grin and crush it."). He is also bratty and spoiled yet revealed to be lonely, and wants to help his dad and "play hero", as said by Bowser in Mario Party: Island Tour. Bowser Jr. is not to be confused with "Baby Bowser", the infant version of Bowser as appears in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.

Bowser Jr. was voiced by Dolores Rogers from 2002 to 2007. Then, Caety Sagoian took over the voice acting role for him since Mario Strikers Charged.

Appearances

"Baby Bowser", the infant version of Bowser whose design bears a strong resemblance to Bowser Jr., had previously appeared in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Story, and the Mario Party series. Bowser Jr. himself first appeared in Super Mario Sunshine, where he disrupted Mario's vacation with Princess Peach by painting the island of Isle Delfino with goop and then kidnapping her by framing Mario, after his father tricked him into thinking that Princess Peach was his mother whom he had to protect. Eventually he found out that Peach was not really his mother, but still wanted to get revenge on Mario. Bowser Jr. later appeared in New Super Mario Bros., in a role similar to Boom Boom from Super Mario Bros. 3, as the boss of every tower, the midpoint in each of the game's worlds as well as in the final battle with his father. Bowser Jr. appears in Super Mario Galaxy, aiding his father in battle, as well as having three worlds of his own. Alongside the Koopalings, Bowser Jr. re-appeared in the New Super Mario Bros. sequel, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, appearing on an airship. He also appears in Super Mario Galaxy 2, in the same way as in the original Galaxy. Bowser Jr. also appears in New Super Mario Bros. U, New Super Luigi U and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe alongside his dad, the Koopalings, and Boom Boom.

Bowser Jr. is a staple character in the various Mario spin-off games. Bowser Jr. appears in Mario Kart: Double Dash, Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and also appears in the Mario sports games. He also appears as a mini-boss in Mario Party 9 and is the host of his own board space, where he challenges two players to play a minigame with him. He is also a playable character in Mario Party: Island Tour. He also appears in every entry of the Mario & Sonic series as a member of Team Mario, beginning with Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. Bowser Jr. made his RPG debut in Paper Mario: Sticker Star (as Paper Bowser Jr.) as one of the bosses. He also appeared in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team as a bonus boss in the Battle Ring. Bowser Jr. meets his paper counterpart, Paper Bowser Jr., in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. He also appeared in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey as a playable character in Bowser Jr.'s Journey, a side story of his adventure with the Koopalings. Bowser Jr. appears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, fighting from atop his Junior Clown Car with Shadow Mario as his Final Smash. Each of his alternate costumes replaces him with one of the Koopalings.

Bowser Jr. appears in Super Mario Maker not just as a boss that Mario can fight in all game styles, but also as a Mystery Mushroom costume in the Super Mario Bros. style. Bowser Jr. appears along with his father in an official animated presentation video that promotes the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app.