The Koopalings: Where Do They Come From?

Super Mario Bros. 3 is quite possibly my all-time favorite Mario game. It gave us far more power-ups than any game before it, eight huge worlds to explore, and tons of secrets to uncover. A plethora of new mooks for Mario and Luigi to deal with joined the Koopa army but the biggest addition to Bowser's troops would be the Koopalings. These seven kids had taken over one of the seven lands of the Mushroom Kingdom and awaited the plumbers at the end of each world. If Mario could have family in Luigi, why couldn't Bowser have family in the form of his seven children. At least, they were his children until Shigeru Miyamoto came out and said that Bowser's only child was an annoying little crap stain that goes by the name of Bowser Jr.

So what's the deal? The Koopalings obviously didn't pop out of thin air. Sure, it's already been established that magic is very real in Mario's world, but if Bowser Jr. (bleh) is the offspring of Bowser, then this kids have got to have a parent. But I'm mystified as to how these kids went from being the children of Bowser to being fatherless and motherless kids that are under the thumb of Bowser Jr. Was seven kids too much for one father to have? Heck, I'm sure there are people in the real world that have more than seven.

No matter what anyone says, there's no way Peach is the mother of these kids. I mean, look at them. Do you see one iota of Peach in these little ones? Obviously mama is of the same species as Bowser. Maybe the father of the Koopalings is someone Bowser used to know and he just decided to take them under his wing. Or maybe these are just some child soldiers that just happen to be of the same race as Bowser. Maybe he just found them and decided to train them.

It used to really bug me that the Kooplings are no longer Bowser's kids. But as I was writing this, I begin to look at it differently. The only family that lives close to me is my immediate family and my nieces and nephew. The rest of my family are miles and miles away. Growing up in church, I came to realize that family doesn't necessarily mean blood relation so in that respect, I have a lot of family near me and that has stayed with me long into adulthood. The Koopalings may not be Bowser's kids, but they do have a high standing in his army. They aren't enemies you encounter like the Hammer Bros and easily tossed aside with a well timed Fireball. They stand guard over entire lands. The amount of responsibility Bowser has issued the Koopalings is no small thing. Sure, Bowser Jr. may be their senior but they are still in close standing with the King of the Koopas.

We may never know where the Koopalings came from. They may never go back to being Bowser's kids by blood, but given the respect Bowser shows them in the games, they practically are family and not even the annoying presents of Bower Jr. can change that.