The Original Comic That Started It All
If you want to know what spore of madness spawned Bowsette, the latest and weirdest fad on the Internet, look no further than ayyk92’s original comic. This Malaysian artist took the Super Crown powerup from the upcoming New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe to its logical conclusion: what if Bowser could use the crown. Behold, mortals, and tremble beneath the heels of the Internet’s newest flavor of “Why is this a thing?”
You Are Bad Guy, but This Does Not Mean You’re Bad *Guy*
After ayyk92’s first Bowsette image became more popular than Raptor Jesus, the artist felt the urge to follow it up with a cute little reference to the best video game movie ever: Wreck-It Ralph. We all remember the Bad-Anon scene where Ralph visits a meeting filled with iconic video game villains such as Dr. Eggman, Bowser, and M. Bison. It’s the one where Zangief tells Ralph that even though everyone at the meeting may be villains, they ain’t bad guys. Well, Bowsette takes that claim to its most literal extreme since she’s no longer a bad guy but a bad girl. Or is she still really a guy? It’s hard to keep your pronouns straight in this situation.
One-Punch Bowsette
Given Bowsette’s literal overnight success, of course, word of her existence would reach the shores of Bowser’s home country, Japan. And many a Japanese manga artist has taken a stab at Bowsette, including Yusuke Murata. As in the man who gave ONE’s webcomic One-Punch Man new life and received the acclaim of audiences worldwide. True to his style, Murata’s take on the new characater is epic and vicious, complete with an “if looks could kill” smile. I want this Bowsette to make a special guest appearance in the upcoming second season of One-Punch Man.
Genzoman’s Bowsette
While we are on the subject of professional artists, I have to mention Gonzalo Ordonez Arias, aka. Genzoman. The man has a portfolio overflowing with intricate and eye-catching drawings. If you’ve read UDON’s Street Fighter comics or own the special edition of Street Fighter X Tekken, you’ve seen his work. And since Genzoman loves drawing video game characters, of course, he would draw Bowsette. Granted, this version wears slightly less than most other Bowsettes, but you have to admit there’s something about Genzoman’s rendition that won’t let you look away. I think it’s the lovely shading.
Distracted Mario
Yo, dawg, I heard you like memes, so I put memes in your memes. Ah, the distracted boyfriend meme. Literally, everything goes with this meme, including other memes. It was only a matter of time before someone, specifically Twitter user Chira_573, had the bright idea of putting Princess Peach, Mario, and Bowsette in this meme.
Peach x Bowsette
Usually, Princess Peach wants nothing to do with Bowser, probably because he’s been kidnapping her on and off again for over thirty years. But, then there’s Twitter user’s konpeitopanic’s drawing of Bowsette, which features Peach actually clinging to Bowsette’s arm. It’s so at odds with the status quo that I can’t help but appreciate it.
A Quick Reminder She’s a Villain
It’s easy to forget that underneath Bowsette’s attractive exterior beats the mind, heart, and soul of a villain. Despite her new feminine physique, she still commands armies of Goombas, Koopas, Thwomps, Chain Chomps, Bullet Bills, Bloopers, and other nasties. She still controls several fleets of airships, owns countless castles, and conquers the various lands of the Mushroom Kingdom on a daily basis. And Twitter user kankan3333’s picture reminds of that inescapable fact. Nothing says evil more than using the world’s biggest and nastiest turtles as armrests. And sitting on a sentient meat tenderizer. And that smirk. Dear god, that smirk.
World’s Cutest Bowsette
Not much to say here. Twitter user mana_chan__ has drawn the cutest version of Bowsette ever. She might want to look angry, but that makes her even cuter. Seriously, what is it about those tiny proportions that transform even the most vile of characters into adorable widdle babies? I couldn’t get mad at this Bowsette even if she tried to conquer the world. She’s that darn hecking cute.
Beefy Bowsette
Dr. Crafty is not the only artist who thought Bowsette should be thicker than the other Mario princesses, but this takes the idea in a whole different direction. Gabriela Carolina Camarillo Gil, better known as Gabo, has worked at Pixar, Blizzard, and DreamWorks, and she believes Bowsette should be as intimidating as possible. This version of the character looks like Bowser and Ganondorf fused into a big female mountain of terrifying who lifts skyscrapers as a warm up exercise. As Gabo said, “It’s Queen Bowser,” and I believe it.
Epic Bowsette
If Bowsette were a Final Fantasy character, she’d probably look like this. Long, flaming hair; sweeping tail; epic horns; and a bustle in the shape of Bowser’s iconic spiked shell. I want to give the artist, Twitter user sinmay01, as much publicity as possible. Seriously, this is how you fan art.
Opening the Floodgates
Ayyk92 might not have drawn a proper followup to the original Bowsette comic, but RakkuGuy continued where ayyk92 left of with an answer to the question we all were too afraid to ask: what would happen if another Super Mario villain wore the Super Crown. This time it’s King Boo’s turn, and for some reason, Luigi offers him the crown after seeing what it did to Bowser. Given the number of other Mario and non-Mario characters who have donned the crown in the past few days, this comic and the original are required reading material if you plan on spending any amount of time on the Internet.
Miss Kobayashi’s Bowsette
As I already stated, ever since Bowsette found her way to Japan, tons of manga artists have drawn the character. Among the artists to jump on the bandwagon is the person only known as Coolkyoushinja, creator of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. And his interpretation of Bowsette is exactly what you’d expect. Coolkyoushinja made a manga about dragon girls with large horns and tails, for crying out loud. Bowsette was tailor-made for his particular proclivities, and this rendition does not disappoint.
DCWJ’s Bowsette
And here we have yet another gorgeous piece of Bowsette art, this time by artist Derrick Chew, aka DCWJ. Just like Genzoman, Chew has a portfolio full of immaculate and detailed art. However, Chew leans slightly more towards the realistic, and dayum does this realism fit Bowsette like a glove (that her nails would tear through). This is probably the closest we’re ever going to get to a cosplay Bowsette without looking at real cosplayers. And yes, people have actually cosplayed as Bowsette.
Crazy Bowsette Is Crazy
This rendition is catharsis made real. Twitter user kamizono144 has created a hilarious image of Bowsette chasing a veritable who’s who of pop culture villains because she wants to turn them into princesses with the Super Crown. Dr. Eggman, Megatron, Thanos, M. Bison, Darth Vader, and Frieza —all of them powerhouses who make most heroes quake in their boots (well, except for Eggman). Yet they are terrified by the prospect of having a magical crown forced on their heads. It’s just hilarious. I tip my hat to the artist. Just don’t you dare put that crown on my head!
Turnabout is Fair Play
Ok, this piece needs a bit of backstory. Basically, Twitter user revolcities decided if Bowser could turn into a princess with the Super Crown, Princess Peach could turn into a king with some other powerup. Revolcities invented an item called the Bowser Shell and combined it with Peach to create Prince Peacher, who basically looks like a royal elf wearing Bowser-themed clothes. And revolcities followed up that image with a picture of Bowsette doing what Bowser does best: kidnap Princess Peach. Except this time she’s kidnapping Prince Peacher. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Super Smash Bros. Style
If Bowsette were a playable character in Super Smash Bros., she would probably look like this. I don’t know how Twitter user Geo_Exe made this image, but I love it because I love everything Super Smash Bros. Odds are someone will probably release a mod that lets players use Bowsette in a Super Smash Bros. game, and I pray the mod looks even half as cool as Geo_Exe’s picture. The only question now is if Bowsette will use Peach’s, Daisy’s, or Bowser’s moveset.
Gamer Mom Bowsette
When Nintendo introduced the Nintendo Switch, the company created a little bit of marketing that has yet to leave our minds: Bowser playing on the console with Bowser Jr. And Twitter user NegaNeon has transformed the concept thanks to the Super Crown. Bowsette has gone from a princess/queen to a doting mom who loves to play games with her daughter. And again, this is another version that looks good without having a BMI of 17.9 (i.e., being dangerously underweight).
Bowsette Through the Ages
Let’s imagine for a second Bowser never existed and it was always Bowsette who kidnapped Princess Peach, fell into lava, was grabbed by the tail, and threw her weight around in Mario Kart. Oh, wait, we don’t have to imagine. Twitter user HunieLore did that for us. And drew an adorable picture based on that mental image.
Bowsette is the World’s Best Dad
I have no idea who made this image or where the person who posted it on a Nintendo Facebook group found it, but this is just…the feels, man, the feels. What this picture (technically pictures since it’s part of a comic) lacks in colors and shading more than makes up for with heart. We all know Bowser Jr. essentially comes from a broken family. He’s only got his dad (and seven adopted siblings), and while they all have fun terrorizing the Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser usually kidnaps Princess Peach for the purpose of giving his children a mom. We have no idea who the Koopalings’ or Bowser Jr.’s biological mothers are, so in this comic, Bowser takes the only rational course of action: use the Super Crown to transform into the most regal-looking version of Bowsette ever and pull a Mrs. Doubtfire to pretend she’s Bowser Jr.’s mom. Bowser may be an evil tyrant, but he’s still a loving father.
Bowser and Mario Reaction
Ok, this picture is cheating a bit since it doesn’t actually feature Bowsette, so just consider it an extra treat. Omega Mode has perfectly encapsulated the average viewer’s reaction to the character with Bowser and Mario staring uncomfortably at a computer screen. They have no idea what to think. Should they be worried? Should they be scared? But, before they can make up their minds, Sonic swoops in to remind them there’s always something more disturbing on the Internet. And indeed, that applies to Bowsette. The majority of the fanart is fairly tame and SFW, which is a rarity in this day and age.
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