Bowser Jr.

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. He typically wears a white bandana, decorated with a drawn-on mouth with fangs that is worn around his neck and occasionally over his mouth 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). Bowser Jr. also has two metal wristbands, while Bowser wears four that are all spiked. Bowser Jr. is not to be confused with "Baby Bowser", the infant version of his father, Bowser, that appears in games such as Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, and Yoshi's Crafted World or “Koopa Kid” from various games in the Mario Party series.

Like his father, Bowser Jr. can breathe fire and is physically powerful in spite of his small frame. He is also very agile. He is the prince of the Koopas, and next in line for the throne to be the future king. According to Mario Kart Wii, Bowser Jr. may have inherited his father's temper and bad attitude, evident in his motto ("Grin and bear it. When that doesn't work, grin and crush it."). He is also childish and mischievous yet revealed to be lonely. It is revealed that Bowser Jr. isn't truly evil, and is using his prodigal talents (such as his agility, strength, ingenuity, and mechanical expertise) for what he was raised to believe is good. This is illustrated when it is mentioned that he wants to "play hero", as said by Bowser in Mario Party: Island Tour. This is further shown in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey where Bowser Jr. claims he is on the side of the good guys and goes on to say "Good and evil are outdated, simplistic terms! Everything is relative! Is it wrong for me to help my dad try to take over the Mushroom Kingdom?". Bowser Jr.’s main interests shown throughout the series include painting, inventing and deploying mechanical marvels, and making his father proud.

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.[1]

Bowser Jr. in his "Shadow Mario" form as a doppelgänger of Mario in Super Mario Sunshine

Bowser Jr. first appeared in Super Mario Sunshine, where he disguised as Shadow Mario and disrupted Mario's vacation with Princess Peach by painting the island of Isle Delfino with goop and then kidnapping her by framing Mario,[2] after his father tricked him into thinking that Princess Peach was his mother whom he had to protect.[3] Eventually he found out that Peach was not really his mother,[4] but still wanted to get revenge on Mario.[5] 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,[6] 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.[7][8] 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 as well as the main ones. Bowser Jr. appears in Mario Kart: Double Dash, Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[9][10][11] 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.[12] 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.[13][14] Bowser Jr. made his Paper Mario (series) debut in Paper Mario: Sticker Star (as Paper Bowser Jr.) as one of the bosses, and appeared again in Paper Mario: The Origami King. 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.[15][16]

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. He also appears again in Super Mario Maker 2. Bowser Jr. appears along with his father in an official animated presentation video that promotes the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app.

In the 2021 enhanced port of Super Mario 3D World for the Switch, titled Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, Bowser Jr. becomes an ally of Mario in the titular add-on story, in which the two must form an uneasy alliance to confront Bowser after he becomes enlarged and uncontrollably enraged.[17]

Since Bowser Jr.'s introduction in Super Mario Sunshine, reception to the character has been positive. He ranked sixth on GameDaily's list of the top 10 Nintendo characters that deserve their own games.[18] They also listed him as the 18th best Mario enemy, calling him a "chip off the ol' block" from Bowser.[19] In a satirical article written by Kotaku writer Chi Lee, Bowser Jr. was compared to North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, and compared the relationship of North Korea and South Korea with the fictional Mushroom Kingdom and Koopa Kingdom.[20] Highly agreed upon comments from fans on The Top Tens say things such as "Bowser Jr. is one of my favorite Mario characters. He only one of a few characters on this list who still receive ongoing character focus despite being around for a decade and a half. Other characters appear in one game and are just left to rot (or be roster filler)." and "I'm glad Bowser Jr is NOT a Koopaling. The last thing we need is for him to be "generic koopa #8 who flings glitter from his pixie stick." Bowser Jr. is not only Bowser's right hand man, but he's [like] Eggman! He builds and uses machines against Mario" [21]. Australia's Official Nintendo Magazine listed Bowser Jr. as one of the characters they want in Super Smash Bros. 4, as he would be a "fantastic inclusion".[22]

• Bowser Jr. on Super Mario Wiki