Bowser

Bowser or King Koopa is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Nintendo's Mario franchise. In the U.S., the character was first referred to as "Bowser, King of the Koopas" and "The sorcerer king" in the instruction manual. Bowser is the leader of the turtle-like Koopa race, and has been the archenemy of Mario since his first appearance, in the 1985 video game Super Mario Bros.

His ultimate goals are to kidnap Princess Peach, defeat Mario, and conquer the Mushroom Kingdom. Since his debut, he has appeared in almost every Mario franchise game, usually serving as the main antagonist. Bowser is voiced by Kenny James. In addition to his usual animated and video game appearances, he also appears in the 1993 live-action film, where he is portrayed by Dennis Hopper.

Bowser was created by Nintendo designer and producer Shigeru Miyamoto. Miyamoto had first envisioned Bowser as an ox, basing him on the Ox King from the Toei Animation film Alakazam The Great. However, Nintendo designer Takashi Tezuka pointed out that the character looked a lot more like a turtle than an ox. Miyamoto and Tezuka then began to work together to define Bowser's appearance. Since the character was the leader of the turtle-like Koopa Troopas the two began to base his new appearance on them, creating a new illustration. In his final design, Miyamoto commented that he could make Bowser "look cool now".