Junior, Cody, & Joseph

Junior (formerly Bowser Junior / Baby Bowser)

Braxton Junior (commonly just Junior) is one of the main characters of the SML series and a student at Y U DUMB? Elementary School. He is the son of Braxton (formerly Bowser) and is voiced by series creator Logan Thirtyacre.

He was originally introduced as an extremely spoiled, bratty, demanding, and often cruel child who constantly bossed around and tormented Chef Pee Pee (believing he had authority because of his father). From roughly 2013 to mid-2016 he was at his most unhinged and selfish. After being sent to military school and as he aged, he became somewhat more mature, less purely bratty, and developed a closer (if still rocky) relationship with his father. He remains energetic, egotistical, impulsive, frequently dim-witted or hypocritical, and the ringleader of his friend group.

Appearance:

• Early plush form closely matched Nintendo’s Bowser Jr. (light green head, tan snout, single tooth, horns with orange rings, dark yellow body, and trademark bib).
• Current human puppet: A teenager with white skin, black eyes, orange eyebrows, a small clump of orange hair, fully white (sometimes glowing) horns, an orange t-shirt, a white bib with “JR” on it, green shorts, black wristbands, and orange shoes with yellow soles.

He is the core of many episodes, often starting them by asking his friends, “So guys, what do you wanna do today?” He hangs out primarily with Joseph and Cody (and sometimes Jeffy), and his antics drive a large portion of the series’ chaos.

Joseph (Joseph Hisfriendfromschool)

Joseph Hisfriendfromschool is a main character and one of Junior’s two best friends (alongside Cody). He is a student at Y U DUMB? Elementary School, frequently spends time at Junior’s house, and is voiced by Lovell Stanton.

He debuted as a minor friend in “Bowser Junior’s Cellphone” and rose to prominence during the Summer School series. Originally a relatively normal (if speech-impedimented) athletic kid who loved sports, his character developed a much darker and more unstable edge after events involving his mother and his rundown home. He is often homeless or lives in extremely poor conditions (a derelict trailer with no power or water in key episodes) and is later shown as the adopted son of the Huckerdoos in some continuity.

Appearance:

• Originally a green-shelled Koopa Troopa (later a red-shelled Koopa Paratroopa with temporary wings).
• Current human form: An African-American boy with braces, a dark green backward baseball cap (which he claims was worn by Michael Jordan), a light green T-shirt with a basketball on it, dark green shorts, and light green shoes. He is bald underneath the cap.

Personality: Athletic and often the “cool” one of the trio, but also arrogant, short-tempered, selfish, and frequently sadistic or bullying toward Cody. A major running gag is him yelling “He’s a doll, dude!” whenever Cody treats his Ken doll as a real person. He usually sides with Junior against Cody, has a tendency to flee with “I’m outta here, dude!”, and has shown extreme greed, disloyalty, paranoia (especially about race in later years), and occasional darker/creepy traits. Despite this, he remains a core member of Junior’s friend group.

Cody (Cody Dennis Nutkiss)

Cody Dennis Nutkiss is a main character, student at Y U DUMB? Elementary School, and the third member of Junior’s core friend group. He is Jewish, openly homosexual, highly intelligent (stated IQ of 169), and is primarily voiced/puppeteered by Chris Netherton.

He first appeared in the Bowser Junior’s Summer School series as a socially awkward, bullied nerd with numerous medical disorders. He has since become a permanent main character. He is the stepson/biological son of Judy (and associated with Tyrone in some continuity) and is famous for his obsessive relationship with a Ken doll, which he treats as a living boyfriend.

Appearance:

• Originally a Magikoopa (yellow skin, glasses, blue hat and robe, red-and-yellow wand).
• Current human puppet: A stereotypical nerd with messy long/clumped brown hair, glasses, black eyebrows, blue eyes, pimples, a large nose, and yellow teeth. He wears a blue plaid shirt (often with fake abs underneath), brown suspenders, a blue bowtie, blue shorts, white socks, and brown shoes.

Personality: The smartest and most logical of the trio (and often the voice of reason), yet also extremely delusional, arrogant about his “hunkiness,” short-tempered when ignored or mocked, and highly sexual/openly gay. He invents elaborate machines and gadgets, constantly defends Ken as a real person (“HE’S NOT A DOLL JOSEPH!!”), and is frequently the target of Junior and Joseph’s teasing. Over time his nerdiness has remained while his homosexuality and weirdness have become more exaggerated and central to his comedy.

These three form the classic “Skeeter Boys” / friend-group core of many modern SML episodes, with Junior as the impulsive leader, Joseph as the athletic sidekick who usually backs him up, and Cody as the intelligent but heavily teased outsider who still sticks with them.