Dasein’s Duelist, the Dread Turtle King – Bowser
https://wiki.wizard101central.com/wiki/Creature:Dasein_Duelist
https://wiki.wizard101central.com/wiki/Quest:Wowzer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowser
Mario di Mario, Don Manzana, and your wizard are attempting to understand Dasein’s desires and intentions for the citizens of the Spiral. Mario di Mario challenges Dasein to a duel. After defeating Aberrant Monquistans and Aberrant Valencians, Dasein picks the form of the Dread Turtle King. The Dread Turtle King is a worthy opponent for Mario di Mario, he threw hammers at the Valencian and nearly dropped him in lava. Unfortunately, Mario di Mario “twists” his ankle and your wizard must fight Dasein’s Duelist as Mario di Mario’s second.
Dasein: “Apologies. It took some time to find the perfect form. You do seem to enjoy fighting everybody. But this I think will do.“
Mario di Mario: “The dread Turtle King! Th-th-that is the form you chose? He threw hammers at my head and nearly dropped me in lava!“
Dasein: “A worthy opponent for you, no?“
Monstrology Tome Description:
Dasein’s reflection of the Turtle King. There’s a weak spot on the top of its head. You just have to jump on it.
Bowser, also known as King Bowser or King Koopa, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Nintendo’s Mario franchise. In Japan, he is titled Daimaō (大魔王, Great Demon King”). He is the arch-nemesis of the plumber Mario and the leader of the turtle-like Koopa race. Depicted as a fire-breathing monster with a tyrannical personality, Bowser’s ultimate goals are to kidnap Princess Peach and conquer the Mushroom Kingdom.
Bowser debuted as Mario’s opponent in the 1985 video game Super Mario Bros. Designer Shigeru Miyamoto initially conceived him as an ox based on the Ox-King from the Toei Animation film Alakazam the Great. However, Takashi Tezuka remarked that the character resembled a turtle more than an ox, leading them to redesign Bowser as the leader of the turtle-like Koopas. Since 2007, Bowser has been voiced by Kenneth W. James.
Following Super Mario Bros., Bowser has appeared in various genres, including role-playing games like Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi, sports games such as Mario Kart and Mario Tennis, and fighting games like Super Smash Bros. He has appeared in multiple animations, including three series produced by DIC Entertainment (voiced by Harvey Atkin) and was portrayed by Dennis Hopper in the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film. Jack Black voiced him in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023).
The current list of all the (known) Novus references are located here.
Although I am well versed in Pop Culture references but I do not claim to have caught them all. Let me know your favorites in the comments and if I’ve missed one you caught, let me know so I can add it to the list.
Text for this article is excerpted from the linked wiki pages
Dasein’s Duelist image is from Wizard101, and is copyright of KingsIsle Entertainment.
Boweser image is copyright Nintendo.
Image usage qualifies as fair use under US copyright law.
Vulcan Stev's Database 