Every great hero needs an arch-enemy. Where would Sonic the Hedgehog be without Doctor Robotnik? Mega Man without Doctor Wily? These nefarious villains become almost as iconic in their own right. Mario is one of the most recognizable mascots in the world, and you won’t meet many gamers who couldn’t instantly pick Bowser’s scaly face out in a line-up.
The Koopa King wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s angry, he wants to burn and/or smash Mario into a meatball. He’s kind of straightforward, for the most part. Nevertheless, he does have some surprising secrets. Here are some superpowers Bowser has that you may not know about, as well as some weaknesses that he wouldn’t want broadcast around the Mushroom Kingdom.
10 Superpower: Meowser
That’s right, friends. We’re kicking this party off the right way, with one of Nintendo’s most inexplicable and hilarious creations ever: Meowser. A very recent addition to Bowser’s repertoire, he chose not to display the fact that he could transform into a bizarre cat form of himself until 2013’s Super Mario 3D World. A turn up for the books, to be sure.
Quite an impractical choice of superpower, perhaps, compared to… well, anything else ever. Still, it’s not Bowser’s fault. All he did was nab a power-up for himself. We’re glad he did –and we’re glad Meowser returned for Mario Maker 2—because this is just solid gold.
9 Weakness: Weak-Willed
Now, you might not think this is a term you could ever use to describe Bowser. The guy’s been stubbornly devising doomed-to-failure schemes to thwart Mario for such a long time now. He’s certainly got some chutzpah.
What he does not have, sadly, is much mental resistance. On several occasions, he’s been controlled or outright possessed by outside forces with relative ease. Most notably, in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, his unconscious body is taken over by the spirit of the malevolent witch Cackletta. The result? Bowletta, a monstrous creature with a face only the mother of Pennywise from It could love.
8 Superpower: Dark Magic
That’s right. Casual dabblers in the Super Mario franchise may assume that Bowser’s just a brute force kind of guy. A you-can-get-a-square-peg-into-a-round-hole-if-you-use-a-sledgehammer sort of guy. Interestingly, though, he doesn’t just rely on his raw strength alone to solve his problems.
On rare occasions, he’s shown himself to be proficient in dark magic, transforming the hapless denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom into inanimate objects like blocks (according to Super Mario Bros’ instruction manual). He also has other magic-wielding abilities you wouldn’t expect, as we’ll see a little later.
7 Weakness: Lava
Now, if video games have taught us anything, it’s that fire-based creatures, on the whole, aren’t too fussed about fire. When it comes to the elements, things tend to be logical like that. The Final Fantasy series may have made fire weak to ice for some unfathomable reason (they have SHIVA!?), but we won’t go into that right now.
What we will mention, however, is the fact that Bowser, who’s best known for his fire breath attacks and his more-lava-than-stone castle design philosophy, cannot stand the heat and really should get out of the kitchen. Being dunked in lava once famously caused all of his flesh to burn away (don’t worry, it’s much more family-friendly than it sounds), resulting in the birth of Dry Bowser.
6 Superpower: Blockhead Bowser
No, we’re not adhering to the cheap stereotype that Bowser, as a huge, muscular type, is a little light in the smarts department. Blockhead Bowser is another obscure form the Koopa King has taken. It’s hilariously impractical and could only make any possible sense in this one context, but that’s why we love it.
Blockhead Bowser appears in Bowser’s Block Party, a boss minigame from Mario Party DS. The tyrant adopts this form by means of the Megamorph Belt. Using the device transforms him into a series of presumably sentient, mobile blocks. It’s as if Tetris suddenly got incredibly, incredibly real. Some of these blocks can breathe fire, because of course they can, but Blockhead Bowser is easily defeated by repeatedly striking his weak point: the golden Bowser block.
5 Weakness: Heights
You know what they say: the bigger they are, the more gross squishy mess their Koopa underlings will have to mop up when they fall.
What with Mario being a bastion of cutesy, colorful, Nintendo-tastic gaming, he doesn’t tend to beat Bowser into a pulp directly. Rather, he often lets gravity deal with the guy instead. In countless titles, such as Mario Bros. 3, New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. 2, Bowser boss battles end with an exaggerated comedy fall-and-thud, Wile E. Coyote style.
4 Superpower: The True Thunder God
Step back, Thor. Quiet down, Raiden. You might have a luxurious blond wig and a swaggy hat respectively, but as far as this article’s concerned, there’s only one thunder god who really matters. That’s right, friends, there’s more than one string to Bowser’s elemental bow.
Did you know The Prodigy’s classic anthem “Firestarter” was actually written about Bowser? That’s because it wasn’t. Never mind all of this fire talk, anyway, because the koopa King also has the ability to blast electricity at his foes.
3 Weakness: Juggling
Ah, yes. We’re not talking about an irrational fear of circus performers here, but a pain that anybody who’s played Bowser in the Super Smash Bros. series knows all too well: he’s a target the size of the Chrysler Building.
Typically, in Smash, heavy characters are big, slow and powerful. The reverse is true of lightweights. The fact is, though, the game is skewed towards quick, aggressive, combo-heavy play, which leaves the heavies at the mercy of aerial juggles and the like. Competitively, Bowser is faring much better than he has done, but sneaky little characters like Pichu are constantly exploiting his unwieldy size.
2 Superpower: Giga Bowser
Well, dang. We can’t mention Bowser in Super Smash Bros. without touching on what could well be his most intimidating form of all: the formidable Giga Bowser.
The Giga Bowser transformation made its first appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and has been making Godzilla look like an escaped, rampaging chihuahua puppy ever since. The form features in Smash Ultimate, both as a boss battle and as Bowser’s Final Smash. The latter is a more devastating attack than ever.
1 Weakness: Peach, Of Course
Well, let’s be honest with ourselves: what’s Bowser’s greatest weakness of all? His infatuation with Princess Peach. It reached a new level in Super Mario Odyssey, where he tried to stage an elaborate wedding for himself and the object of his affections, but this has always been the Bowser way.
Where would the franchise be if this wasn’t the case? It would need another flimsy, feeble plot to rehash, for one thing. The whole Peach kidnap malarkey is both Bowser and Mario’s raison d’etre, in a way, and long may it remain so.