Bowser Jr.

**Bowser Jr.**, sometimes simply known as "**Jr.**" or "**Junior**," is a recurring antagonist in Nintendo's *Mario* franchise. He is, as his name implies, the son of Bowser and serves as the heir to his throne. Bowser Jr. made his debut in *Super Mario Sunshine* and has since helped his father to kidnap Princess Peach and battle Mario and Luigi in many subsequent games. Bowser Jr. has also taken on playable roles in spin-off titles such as *Mario Superstar Baseball* and *Mario Strikers Charged*. Bowser Jr. wants nothing more than to do his father's evil will, and Bowser's rarely seen emotional side is often brought out by his interactions with his son. His alter ego is Shadow Mario. Bowser Jr.'s defining traits are his striking resemblance to his father, his hyperactive, mischievous and spoiled personality, his expertise in mechanics, his heavy uses of the Junior Clown Car and the Magic Paintbrush, and the bib-like bandana he wears.

## History

### *Super Mario Sunshine*

*“You again? Don't you ever give up?"*
—**Bowser Jr.**, *Super Mario Sunshine*
Bowser Jr. makes his first appearance in *Super Mario Sunshine*, almost always appearing using the disguise of Shadow Mario, where he serves as the game's main antagonist. Before the events of the game, Bowser Jr. somehow acquires the Magic Paintbrush, a special brush that can magically create sticky paint-like goop, from Professor E. Gadd. Bowser Jr. is also in possession of a blue bandana emblazoned with a white logo resembling Mario's nose and mustache that apparently lets him assume the appearance of a watery-blue Mario. Bowser Jr. uses this ability to assume the identity Shadow Mario. As Shadow Mario, Bowser Jr. paints magical graffiti all over the tropical resort Isle Delfino, in an attempt to frame Mario for the crimes.

At the same time, Mario, Peach and Toadsworth are heading to the island for a much needed vacation. However, as soon as the Toad Express lands at the island's airstrip, they see everything is covered in goop. Peach looks on top of a water tower and sees Shadow Mario, though when she tries to tell Toadsworth and Mario, who are talking to each other, she looks again to see that he is gone, and dismisses the sighting as a mirage. Mario then battles a Gatekeeper, using his new partner F.L.U.D.D.. Afterwards, the Isle Delfino Police arrest Mario. After his trial, Mario is found guilty of vandalizing the entire island and is punished with cleaning up the island with F.L.U.D.D. (which was also designed by Professor E. Gadd). As Mario begins cleaning Delfino Plaza by cleaning up the Grand Pianta Statue, Princess Peach is kidnapped by Bowser Jr. (in his Shadow Mario disguise). Mario manages to save Princess Peach rather quickly, and then chases Shadow Mario to Bianco Hills. His cleaning up continues through various regions of Isle Delfino, but after Mario gains 10 Shine Sprite Princess Peach is again kidnapped by Bowser Jr. (in his Shadow Mario disguise), this time while Mario is away from Delfino Plaza or buying a Shine Sprite at the boathouse.

As soon as Mario reaches Shadow Mario's boat, he leaps inside and takes Princess Peach to Pinna Park, the island's theme park, which is occupied by Bowser's forces. The young Koopa jumps into the cockpit of the gigantic Mecha-Bowser and waits for Mario's inevitable arrival. Like clockwork, Mario arrives, and Bowser Jr. lures Mario to a shallow pool, where he unveils the mechanical monstrosity. After a long battle, Mario overcomes the powerful Mecha-Bowser. Shadow Mario then reveals his true identity. As it turns out, Bowser Jr. is told by his father that Princess Peach is his mother and that she was kidnapped by the "evil" Mario. As such, Bowser Jr. tries to frame Mario by tagging the island as the Mario look-a-like Shadow Mario. Thus, Mario would be put in prison, and the young Koopa could rescue his "mama". With his origin revealed, Bowser Jr. escapes by converting what is left of Mecha-Bowser into a hot-air balloon and flying it, with Princess Peach in tow, to Corona Mountain, where his father is relaxing.

However, Bowser Jr. does not stay with his father at the volcano, continuing to harass Mario in his Shadow Mario disguise. In the seventh episode of each of the areas in the game, he runs around the area wreaking havoc. Mario must chase him and spray him down with F.L.U.D.D. until he gives up and leaves a Shine Sprite. At other points in the game, Bowser Jr. attempts to run off with Shine Sprites, F.L.U.D.D. nozzles (Rocket and Turbo), and even a Yoshi Egg, but he is stopped by Mario and F.L.U.D.D. every time. Eventually, after Mario defeats Shadow Mario in all of the main areas of the game, the path to Corona Mountain is revealed.

When Mario reaches the top of Corona Mountain, the final fight between Mario and Bowser Jr. begins. However, Bowser Jr. does not fight alone this time; he has his massive father fighting alongside him. The three fighters battle in a colossal bathtub full of green sludge high above the ground. As Mario and Bowser duke it out, Bowser Jr. aids his father by firing Guided Bullet Bills at their nemesis. Eventually, the father and son are defeated and Mario escapes the volcano with Princess Peach.

In the end, Bowser and Jr. are on the flipped hot tub, which is floating in the ocean miles from Isle Delfino, and in a rare display of emotion, Bowser remorsefully tells Bowser Jr. that Princess Peach is not his mother. However, Bowser Jr. admits that he knew this, and (although his father tricked him) says he wants to fight Mario again when he grows up. Bowser, seeing so much of himself in his heir, smiles. Together, the two plot their next plan to defeat Mario and capture Princess Peach after relaxing for a certain amount of time

### *Mario Kart* series

#### *Mario Kart: Double Dash!!*

Bowser Jr.'s first *Mario Kart* series appearance was in *Mario Kart: Double Dash!!* as his father's partner. Bowser Jr. is a lightweight, while his father is a heavyweight. The two make a deadly racing pair, as they can both use Bowser Shells to mow down opponents. Occasionally, this attack backfires, as the shell can ricochet backwards and hit the father and son team. His personal kart is the Bullet Blaster, which can be unlocked by winning the Special Cup in 50cc.

#### *Mario Kart Wii*

Bowser Jr. reappears as an unlockable character in *Mario Kart Wii*. He can be unlocked by getting at least one Star Rank in every Retro 100cc Cup or playing 3,450 races. Unlike in *Double Dash!!*, he is a middle sized character. Bowser Jr.'s stat bonuses boost both the off-road and the mini-turbo stats by a small amount and the speed while steering by a larger amount. Bowser Jr.'s emblem appears in several parts of the city in Moonview Highway. Due to the increase in off-road handling, he turns every corner pretty well. Visibly, Bowser Jr. unfortunately offers fewer stat boosts than any other character. He is the normal and expert staff ghost of N64 Bowser's Castle in Time Trials, with him riding the Standard Kart M as the normal staff ghost, and the Sneakster as the expert staff ghost. This is the only *Mario Kart* game where Bowser Jr. is a medium sized character.

#### *Mario Kart Arcade GP DX*

Bowser Jr. reappears as an unlockable character in *Mario Kart Arcade GP DX* for the arcade machine. He is a featherweight character.

#### *Mario Kart 8* / *Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*

*“Let's go!”*
—**Bowser Jr.**, *Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*Bowser Jr., along with Bowser and Dry Bowser, in *Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*.
While Bowser Jr. doesn't appear in *Mario Kart 8* as a playable character, he can be seen on Bowser's Ship in GCN Baby Park. Instead, he appears as a playable character in the Nintendo Switch port, *Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*. Unlike *Mario Kart Wii*, he is a lightweight character, like in *Mario Kart: Double Dash!!*. He is also the staff ghost for Cloudtop Cruise.  He is in the same subset as Koopa Troopa and Lakitu.

#### *Mario Kart Tour*

Bowser Jr. appears in *Mario Kart Tour* as a playable character. His special item is Bowser's Shell and he has Super rarity. The Pirate Tour introduced a pirate costume for him named **Bowser Jr. (Pirate)**, who is classified as a High-End character and has the Bob-omb Cannon as his special item.

#### *Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit*

Artwork of Bowser Jr. in *Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit*
Bowser Jr. appears alongside the Koopalings as one of the racing opponents in the augmented reality game *Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit*. He is seen using his personalized Koopa Clown from *Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*. This also marks the first game that Bowser Jr. appears without his father.

## Trivia

* While the Koopalings are fought on airships in *Super Mario Bros. 3* and Bowser Jr. is fought in towers in *New Super Mario Bros.*, they swapped locations in *New Super Mario Bros. Wii*, as Bowser Jr. is fought on airships, whereas the Koopalings are fought in the towers and castle of each world.
* In the *New Super Mario Bros.* games, Bowser Jr.'s actions, such as running and jumping, create sound effects with a high pitch unique to him. This distinct sound effect was mimicked by Bowser during the ending of *New Super Mario Bros. U*.
* In the Collector's Edition of Monopoly Gamer, Bowser Jr. is the "Final Boss" in the Boss Card deck. He replaces his father, Bowser, as "Final Boss" from the Standard Edition, as Bowser is instead a playable character in the Collector's Edition.