10 Huge Unresolved Mysteries In Mario Games
3. Who / What Are The Koopalings?
Larry, Roy, Lemmy, Wendy, Iggy, Morton and Ludwig were introduced as the Koopalings back in Super Mario Bros. 3 in 1988 as the big baddies of each world the plumber dared to invade. They take over each kingdom in Mario Bros. 3 by transforming each region's kings into various animals, then take over Dinosaur Land in Super Mario World by enslaving the land's many Yoshi in their eggs.
What followed was long hiatus for the Koopalings, being subbed out for Bowser Jr as the bite-sized antagonist of the next couple Mario games until they were brought back in New Super Mario Bros Wii in 2009.
Whilst they were referred to as being Bowser's children in their first outing back in the '80s, Shigeru Miyamoto put the record straight by saying in 2012: "Our current story is that the seven Koopalings are not Bowser's children. Bowser's only child is Bowser Jr.".
So, the Koopalings aren't Bowser's children after all. We know that they are all still brothers and sisters however, and certainly bear the same kinds of appearances that you would associate with Bowser's Koopa Kingdom. But who are their parents? What are their motivations in trying to stop Mario and friends? We may never know.