Bowser (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


 * This article is about Bowser's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Bowser.

Bowser (, Kupā: Koopa) is the primary antagonist of the "Super Mario" series. His SSB debut was in Melee and he returns in Brawl.

Attributes
In addition to being the largest character sprite in the game, Bowser is also the heaviest playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, making him difficult to KO, yet an easier target to hit. His recovery is aimed at catering to his weight, allowing for considerable horizontal recovery distance, but very little height. As with other large characters, Bowser's strengths lie in KO ability and not speed, sporting a wide variety of powerful attacks both in the air and on the ground. For example, Bowser's forward smash is a high-priority KO move that has such high knockback that it is able to eat through the super armor frames on Snake's recovery. Due to his lack of speed and reliance on power KOs, Bowser can struggle somewhat in the low damage game as he lacks diverse ways of racking up damage on the opponent. This can be remedied by using his neutral special, Fire Breath. The Fire Breath serves the dual role of racking up damage on the opponent as well as preventing his/her approach. Bowser's secondary way of KOing opponents is his Sacrificial KO, the Flying Slam (side special). This move allows Bowser to grab an opponent, but instead of throwing them, leap into the air and fall back to the ground with Bowser on top of them. If this move is used over the lower Blast Line (or through the side blast line), both Bowser and opponent will be KOed. Given Bowser's difficulty racking up damage, this can be a useful move when the opponent is far ahead of Bowser in the damage count.

Normal

 * Standard Attack - Two quick claw swipes. 5% damage each swipe (so up to 10%).
 * Dash Attack - Running headbutt. 11% damage.
 * Strong Side - Punches while leaning his body forward. 11% damage.
 * Strong Up - Swats the air above him. 12% damage.
 * Strong Down - Claw swipes while crouched. Does two hits.  First hit is 14% damage, second is 11% (total of 25% damage).

Smash

 * Side Smash - Rears back and then performs a very strong headbutt. Two hits.  Fully charged first hit does 14% damage, second hit right after does 32%  (total of 46% damage).If used correctly this can prevent shield grabbing. Portions some frames of Super Armor.
 * Up Smash - Pounces on all fours and jumps straight up, hitting with his shell. Opponents who only shield his jump will be hit by him landing.  Full charged does 28% damage.
 * Down Smash - Retracts into his shell and spins. Limited suction.  Multi-hit attack that does up to 29% damage fully charged.

Other

 * Ledge attack - Quickly spins onto the stage, then retreats back a bit. 8% damage.
 * 100% ledge attack - Slowly climbs onto stage, and does a quick claw jab. 10% damage.
 * Floor attack - Slams body forward, then back. Does two hits. Both hits do 6% damage.
 * Trip attack - Gets up while facing backwards, and does a claw swipe that brings him facing forward. 6% damage.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial - Spins around inside his shell. 13% damage.
 * Forward Aerial - Swats forward rather quickly. 13% damage.
 * Back Aerial - Thrusts out his shell behind him. 15% damage.
 * Up Aerial - Swings his head upward. 17% damage.
 * Down Aerial - Retracts into his shell and spins himself into the ground. Limited shockwave if hits the ground. Multi-hit attack that does up to 23% damage.

Grabs & Throws

 * Pummel - Hits foe with his head. 3% damage.
 * Forward Throw - Launches foe forward using his head. 10% damage.
 * Back Throw - Turns around, and tosses foe forward. 10% damage.
 * Down Throw - Sets opponent on floor, then flings himself forward, performing a body slam on his opponent. 13% damage.
 * Up Throw - Bowser tosses foe upwards, retreats into his shell, and spins, damaging the foe with his spikes. 10% damage.

Taunts

 * Up - Roars (same as Melee, but smoke comes out)
 * Side - Bites in front of him 5 times.
 * Down - Dances precariously on one foot, as if he's about to fall.

Role in the Subspace Emissary
Bowser first appears after Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong chase down his troops, who had stolen their bananas in order to lure them to him. Bowser confronts the two and transforms DK into a trophy with a Dark Cannon, but not before DK punches Diddy away. Bowser chases him down, and has a Shadowbug clone of him fight Diddy and Fox. After defeating the clone, the real Bowser attempts to turn them into trophies, but they manage to dodge the shot. Although Diddy is eager to fight Bowser, Fox knows that they're no match, so he grabs Diddy and makes their escape. While continuing his chase, he is told by Ganondorf to hunt down King Dedede, who had stolen Wario's trophies. He also transforms Zelda/Peach into a trophy, and after having another Shadowbug clone of him copy her, orders her Shadowbug clone to attack Mario and Pit/Link and Yoshi. Bowser and his troops attack King Dedede's castle, where Dedede is hiding. Bowser steals Peach/Zelda's trophy and evades Mario and Pit's attacks. After this, he returns to the jungle and transforms Diddy into a trophy and sends his Shadowbug clone to clone the trophy. He flees after Falco Lombardi attacks him and destroys his Dark Cannon. He is next seen with Ganondorf on the Subspace Gunship. They destroy the Halberd, but fail to stop Kirby from destroying the Gunship with a Dragoon. Fleeing into the Subspace, Bowser is betrayed by Ganondorf and turned into a trophy. He is eventually brought back to life, and after being defeated by King Dedede, beats up Ganondorf's trophy for revenge. Bowser then notices the downed Master Hand, then decides to help the heroes take down Tabuu. The sight of Master Hand lying on the ground seems to trouble Bowser, showing that he may respect Master Hand.

Trivia

 * In the Smash Bros. DOJO!! update of April 14, 2008, the last piece of trivia given was, "For the final portion of The Subspace Emissary, you’ll only be able to use the characters you’ve revived. If you don’t bother to save any characters along the way, you’ll have only five characters (King Dedede, Ness, Luigi, Kirby, and Sonic) at your disposal for the final showdown." In reality, Bowser is one of the characters that would have to join you. This was a minor mistake that was made by Sakurai.
 * Also revealed in the Smash Bros. DOJO!!, Bowser was actually loyal to Master Hand, unlike Ganondorf who was planning to betray Master Hand and Wario who just didn't really care about the Master Hand. Coincidentally, Bowser doesn't like Ganondorf.
 * If you jump and then land as Bowser, the screen shakes.
 * Although he doesn't take knockback as Giga Bowser, he still takes damage. However, if he jumps past the upper Blast Line and gets attacked, he still gets Star KO'd.
 * While using Giga Bowser Transformation on stamina mode, Bowser cannot die, instead his HP just reaches zero and he immediately changes back to normal Bowser. After transforming back, one hit will kill him, as if he had one HP.
 * Bowser's credits theme, Giga Bowser (Melee), is one of only two that are from Melee. (Marth, using Fire Emblem (Melee), is the other one.) Every other character has a theme from Brawl.