Dry Bowser

Bowser jr (grandson)

Blue Bowser, and others two Bowsers in Smash bros (children)

Mario (enermy)

Koopalings (adoptive grandchildren)

Dry Bowser is the undead and skeletal version of Bowser, with his English name playing off of Dry bones. Despite not technically being one himself, he is closely associated with them and shares several traits with the species, like an immunity to Fireballs. He made his debut in *New Super Mario bros*, where he ascended as the result of Mario defeating Bowser by dropping him into lava at the end of *New Super Mario Bros.'*s first castle. Unlike previous occasions, the lava reduced the once-mighty king to a skeleton, leaving his grandson, Bowser jr, temporarily in command of the Koopa troop. Dry Bowser is then fought in the first castle in World 8.

Since his debut, Dry Bowser has made subsequent appearances as a separate character from Bowser, the first of which was as an unlockable driver in *Mario kart Wii*. Notably, he has appeared as an antagonist in the *Mario & Sonic series*. His appearance in both *New super Mario bros 2 and 3D land*is not due to Bowser falling in the lava, as in both cases he isn't turned into a skeleton after falling in the lava after the final boss battles.

## General information

### Physical description

Dry Bowser is simply Bowser's skeletal form, though there are some significant changes to his overall appearance. His snout is slightly morphed into a beak-like shape, while his chest and stomach are hollow due to consisting of five ribs. Dry Bowser's shell is a charcoal gray with dark red spike-rings and scarlet spaces between its plates, as opposed to his counterpart's standard green, red, and black coloration. His horns are longer and more curved, his eye sockets are more triangular, and he sports a bony brow mimicking the characteristically angry position of his living counterpart's eyebrows. Like Dry Bones, Dry Bowser's eyes are black and empty holes with glowing yellow pupils. However, his pupils have been shown to turn a light blue whenever he swipes at Mario during the second phase of his boss battle in *New Super Mario Bros. 2*. The once black and shiny collars around his neck and arms have been scorched and turned a dull, very dark red, and his hair has been taken up in a ponytail similar to the hairstyle of his son, and to a certain extent, himself as a youngster.

In addition to these vast physical changes, Dry Bowser's roar is also different from Bowser's, as his bones rattle when he roars. This can especially be heard in the Wii version of *Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games* when the player faces him in Ice Hockey. However, he sometimes uses Bowser's own roar in other games.

### Powers and abilities

Dry Bowser gains the fire resistant nature of Dry Bones, higher jumps, the ability to throw bones, and as a giant in *New Super Mario Bros. 2*, raise lava by roaring loudly. In addition to these new traits, he also retains his typical abilities, including his signature Fire Breath. However, unlike with his living counterpart, Dry Bowser's fireballs can sometimes be colored light blue.

### Speech

Dry Bowser has always had voice acting, though it is comprised of grunts, yells, and roars. The lone exception to this is *New Super Mario Bros.*, which gives Dry Bowser realistic roars. Dry Bowser's roar is significantly different from Bowser's, and his voice clips sound more menacing; this is especially evident in *Mario Kart Wii*. Games like *Mario Party: Island Tour* and the *Mario & Sonic* series give Dry Bowser in-game text so players can understand what he is saying.