Mario is the main protagonist of the Mario franchise. He is a heroic plumber who lives in the fictional country known as The Mushroom Kingdom. He happens to be Luigi's older fraternal brother.
Hottie 3: The Best Fan Fic in the World[]
He appears in Hottie 3: The Best Fan Fic in the World where he, Luigi, Yoshi, Princess Peach and Wario are members of the Department of Hotness.
Daemon Rising with a...SMASH![]
Mario was fighting Bowser and saving Peach atop of her castle. He was successful, though his victory was interrupted by Samus. She alerted him, Luigi and the princess that a super virus, Daemon, will invade and infect the Smash System. Mario was one of the heroes chosen for the Net War. He fought gallantly to protect his dastard brother from Mike the TV, and he beat him seamlessly. The war itself was soon won over by Samus and Mewtwo.
Appearances[]
Donkey Kong. He was first seen as "Mario" in the following arcade game, Donkey Kong Jr. in 1982, where he was the enemy of the player. The following year, his brother Luigi was introduced in the arcade game, Mario Bros.. However, it was the release of Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System that sparked major popularity for the character.
Several sub-series have also been released. The successful Mario Kart series started with Super Mario Kart and has become one of the most successful kart-racing franchises, selling over 30 million copies worldwide. Other sports games in the franchise include Mario Golf, Mario Tennis and Super Mario Strikers. Role-playing games, such as Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario, and Mario & Luigi, have also been created, along with party games such as Mario Party which have popular mini games making Mario a well-rounded guy.
Personality[]
Mario is a simple character without a solid personality since he was meant for players to integrate their personality into his character. When his demeanor is shown, Mario is kind, smart, brave, heroic, generous, and optimistic. Mario is a brave and kind-hearted hero with a strong sense of justice, morality and righteousness. He puts, more often than not, other people's needs before his own and he is willing to risk his life to save millions of others from the forces of evil. Mario will never give up on anyone, ever. He will always be there no matter what, even if it's extremely dangerous.
Although Mario is generally a good-natured person, it seems he doesn't enjoy losing much, often when losing in spin-off games (i.e., Mario Party) he has a sad look on his face, but in Luigi's ending in Mario Power Tennis, he is shown congratulating his brother. However, the pats on the back turn into slaps and he intentionally stands on his brother's foot, showcasing jealousy.
When Mario talks, he talks heavy and harshly. In the cartoons, Mario speaks with a characteristic Brooklyn accent, but his current incarnation—voiced by Charles Martinet - has a blatant Italian accent. Mario is friendly, tenacious, and persistent, so he always knows what he is doing. Also, Mario is handsome, and many creatures have a crush on him. He has been shown at times to have a crush on Princess Peach.
In the Super Smash Bros. series and Mario Strikers series, he is shown to be very serious, as he is shown to always have a firm look on his face. He remained this role until Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where he is shown to smile in two of his new taunts. (One which shows him giving a thumbs up, the other showing him throwing Cappy)
Mario always retains a good heart and a love of adventure. He cares more about his friends and family and would do anything to protect them.
Relationships[]
- Luigi: Luigi is Mario's younger twin brother. Mario and Luigi are different when it comes to personality. While they both usually optimistic, cheerful, kind-hearted and retain a strong sense of morals and justice, Mario is much braver than Luigi. Despite Luigi being slightly jealous of Mario on rare occasions, the two brothers love each other and share a close bond. It's speculated that the reason Mario doesn't always bring Luigi with him on adventures is that Mario doesn't want him getting hurt and is protective of him. While Mario sees potential in Luigi, he can be protective of Luigi as shown in some of the games. Both brothers are a duo that while strong on their own their true power is shown as a team.
- Princess Peach: Sometime after his "break-up" with Pauline in the first Donkey Kong game, Mario has shown some interest in Peach sometime after he came to the Mushroom Kingdom. The two have a strong friendship and love each other. Despite having to rescue her almost twenty-four seven, Mario doesn't seem to mind as he cares more for Peach's safety. Mario loves getting affection from Princess Peach and is just as protective of her as he is to Luigi.
- Toad: Toad is one of Mario's close friends and the two seem to have mutual respect. In Super Mario Bros. 2, Toad adventures alongside Mario and his allies in saving the land of Subcon. However after Super Mario Bros 3, Toad has actively aided Mario, by giving him Power-Ups, and other good items, whenever Mario visits Toad's Toad Houses.
- Yoshi: Yoshi is Mario's best friend who saved Mario and Luigi from the Koopa Troop when they were babies. In the present day, Yoshi continues to help Mario against Bowser in several games, such as Super Mario 64 DS.
- Princess Daisy: Daisy is one of Mario's close friends who was rescued from the evil space alien, Tatanga and has shown some friendship ever since her return in Mario Tennis 64.
- Rosalina: Rosalina is a good friend and an ally to Mario when visiting the comet observatory. Rosalina first befriended Mario in Super Mario Galaxy when Mario recovers the stolen grand stars to power her Comet Observatory.
- Donkey Kong: Donkey Kong is the grandson of Mario's former nemesis, Cranky Kong. Although Mario did fight Donkey Kong's grandfather in the arcade games, the current Donkey Kong and Mario are on much better terms. In spite of their friendly rivalry in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, Donkey Kong is good friends with Mario, as evident in the Mario Party series and Mario Super Sluggers. Though the current Donkey Kong is large, he is actually quite a bit younger than Mario.
- Bowser: Bowser is Mario's arch-enemy and the two are shown to battle in many games. Bowser often tries to kidnap Peach and take over the Mushroom Kingdom, but Mario stops at nothing to defeat him to set things right. Despite their heated rivalry, both of them teamed up to take down greater threats, as shown in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and Super Paper Mario. Bowser also saved Mario from Wario and Waluigi at the end of Mario Super Sluggers, due to Bowser's desire to personally defeat Mario himself. While Bowser is shown to hate Mario, Mario does not have the same opinion as he has on Bowser and is more than willing to get along with him. This is evident in many spin-off games, in which Bowser peacefully participates with Mario and his friends in sports festivals (i.e Mario Kart or Mario Tennis).
- Wario: Wario is Mario's rival. Their relationship started to be violent in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, but the two patched things up in later games. Even though their rivalry continues in various sports titles, the two have teamed up occasionally in some games, including the Mario Party series and Super Mario 64 DS. Nintendo Power has also stated that the two are cousins, but this is unconfirmed.
- Waluigi: Waluigi and Mario don't interact with each other much. Waluigi does team up with Wario to defeat Mario, but Waluigi's main rival is Luigi.
- Sonic the Hedgehog: Sonic is both Mario's greatest ally, friendly rival and good friend as they have a lot in common as they are both the greatest heroes of their worlds and have pure hearts in doing what's right and always does what's best for everyone. They have a friendly competition in sports and like to test their skills to see who's best. Sonic and Mario see each other as the closest of friends and rivals in one and the greatest in partnership of heroics and all.
- Pauline: Pauline was Mario's fist girlfriend and first damsel-in-distress. Despite their breakup however, in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, the two are stated to be friends, with her attending Mario's Mini Mario business and theme park events. Pauline is also shown to be supportive of Mario in Super Mario Odyssey.
Physical Description[]
Mario appears as a short and portly adult man in most of his appearances. Most of the time, he is wearing his trademark outfit: his red cap (with the M symbol), blue overalls -with gold-coloured buttons-, red shirt, white gloves and brown shoes. He has short light brown hair, blue eyes, and a thick black mustache with six bumps. However, in his early games, he wore red overalls and a blue shirt, which is the opposite of what he wears now. Every part of his looks has had, at some point, a certain significance in plot and gameplay: the cap worked as a "shield" of sorts in Super Mario 64, and when he had his cap stolen, he'd lose 50% more the health with each hit, making its recovery a top priority. In the Mario and Luigi RPG series, the ´Stache stat is the equivalent of Charisma in RPGs, meaning that a high number here (a "well-groomed mustache") will translate to healthy discounts in stores. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, his overalls (and Luigi´s) appear to be made of denim. Mario´s looks were a product of the limited graphics technology of the time: his arms would vanish with a shirt of a solid colour, hair could not be properly drawn, detailed or animated; and the head could not host a proper mouth.
As the developing team, headed by Shigeru Miyamoto, wanted a properly detailed character, so they gave him overalls, the mustache, the cap and a big nose, to make a recognizable sprite. Mario's looks have been mostly unchanged for much of the franchise's history, except for the first games: in Donkey Kong, he had red overalls and a blue shirt, and in Super Mario Bros his sprite had red overalls and a brown shirt, while the artwork retained the original red/blue outfit. It wasn't until Super Mario Bros. 2 that Mario got his current clothes. Unsurprisingly, due to the notoriety of the first Mario games, his appearances in merchandising and the Super Mario Bros. Super Show cartoon segment, his clothes had the Donkey Kong palette. It's also worth noting that Lou Albano, Mario in the Super Mario Bros. Super Show live-action segment, often wore a plain white shirt. In addition to his trademark clothes, Mario has used several other outfits depending on the activities.
He has been seen with several sporting clothes (tennis, soccer, golf) and he wore lighter, more laid-back shirts in Super Mario Sunshine, in tune with the tropical vacation setting of the game. Although Mario's age is never really confirmed, Super Smash Bros. Melee says that Mario is 26 years old when reading the description of his trophy in the game.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Superhuman Physical Condition: Throughout the games, Mario showed physical abilities well above the human average.
- Superhuman Strength: Although he is not as strong as his archenemy, Bowser, Mario can lift and press objects that are several times his weight. The exact upper limit of his strength is unknown, but in Super Mario World, Mario can easily lift a castle. In Super Mario 64, Mario is shown to lift King Bob-omb. An even more impressive feat is during the fight with Bowser. Mario can lift him by the tail, spin him around and then throw him. Mario spins Bowser around faster and farther with more spins.
- Jump: Mario's incredible strength also extends to his legs, allowing him to perform his signature move, the jump. Mario is extremely good at jumping and is capable of leaping two stories high. He is the second-best jumper in the Mushroom Kingdom, bested only by Luigi.
- Superhuman Durability: Mario has a significant level of durability. He can endure great impacts, such as falling from a height of several stories or being struck by an opponent with superhuman strength. Mario can also endure extreme environments, such as volcanoes and tundras.
- Superhuman Stamina: Mario can maintain continuous physical activity for an indefinite time.
- Superhuman Speed: Mario is capable of running up walls in Super Mario World and is capable of outpacing sound in Super Paper Mario. Koopa the Quick has referred to Mario as a "human blur." Also, Mario can dodge lasers and lightning.
- Superhuman Agility: Mario has shown himself time and time again to be very agile and nimble. This has allowed him to survive many dangerous situations that a normal person would die.
- Pyrokinesis: Mario, in some games (eg. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, various sports installments, etc), can control and manipulate fire and is usually associated with the element.
- Solar Manipulation: Only seen in Super Mario Strikers Charged, Mario is able to manipulate solar energy via his Mega Kick and use it to kick the metal ball with force.
- Transformation: Like near Mushroom Kingdom habitants, Mario can use Power-Ups to transform and gain new abilities such as flight and invincibility. For example, in Super Mario Galaxy 2, Mario can collect a Rock Mushroom to turn into Rock Mario and bowl over his enemies by using limited terrakinesis to gather enough rocks to become a large, indestructible boulder.
- Flight: Using stars of different sizes in the Mario Galaxy series, Mario can fly in space at will.
Abilities[]
- Master Combatant: Mario has his own fighting style. However, he never uses it in his games, except in the Super Smash Bros series.
- Indomitable Will: Mario is shown to have a powerful force of will, completely free of evil or temptation. He is very optimistic and never gives up, even when things look bad.
- Hammer Skills: Mario can wield a hammer as a weapon and shows great proficiency with it.
- Leadership: Mario has proven many times to be a capable leader, inspiring others with his charisma, ardor and idealism.
- Expert Vehicular Driver: As shown in the Mario Kart series, Mario is skilled in driving vehicles, such as karts and motorbikes.
- Spin Jump
Cameos in Non-Mario games[]
He made a cameo in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in Princess Zelda's room in Hyrule Castle in a window, along with other Mario characters, such as Luigi and Yoshi. In The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, he appears in several portraits within NPC homes. Mario made a cameo in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask as a mask hanging in the Happy Mask Salesman's backpack. In Kirby Super Star, as well as its remake Kirby Super Star Ultra, he can be seen in the crowd when battling King Dedede, and Rock Kirby can transform into a golden Mario statue.
Mario makes a cameo in the Japanese-only Captain Rainbow as a portrait above Tracy's (from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening) throne. An empty portrait and Link are sitting to the left of his picture. The portrait is Mario's artwork from Mario Party DS. Mario makes a cameo as the referee in Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!. Mario also made a cameo along with Link and Yoshi at the end of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.
Trivia[]
- In the classic games and the DIC cartoons, Mario used to have red overalls and a blue shirt underneath. But it was later changed to blue overalls and a red shirt.
- In the 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros. movie, Mario wore a red jumpsuit with a blue-collar and blue long sleeves along with a red cap and mechanical jumping boots.
- Mario has always had his signature cap, ever since he was a baby.
- A "real-sized" Mario has confirmed Mario's height to be 155cm (5 foot 1 inch).
- Mario used to have a very low, Brooklyn accent instead of a high-pitched Italian accent.
- Mario is one of the very few Nintendo characters who talks in sentences.
- Mario's name before "Jumpman" was supposed to be "Mr. Video".
- In Mario Bros., Mario might have been a plumber but current games do not depict Mario as a plumber.
- He is also one of the good guys in Super Mario Bros. Z, a Flash series created by Mark Haynes.
- In Wreck-It Ralph, he was mentioned by Fix-It Felix, Jr. at the 30th anniversary party. However, he was originally supposed to make a cameo in the sequel but was scrapped to due to copyright issues.
- Mario is the main antagonist of Donkey Kong Jr. In fact, it could be considered that from the first Donkey Kong, even before this one, can be considered a villain, due in a Mr. Game & Watch game that could be considered The Donkey Kong prequel, Mario submits the Cranky Kong (then known as Donkey Kong) to very dangerous tricks, and every time something happens him, Mario laughs, and in a manual of Donkey Kong, Mario had almost always locked Donkey Kong Sr. and almost (In the worst case ever) gives him to eat, and that is why he kidnapped Pauline, not the kidnapping because he was in love with her, but because Mario mistreated him (at least the original).
- Normally voiced by Charles Martinet.
- Voiced by Owl City’s Adam Young in RollerCoaster Tycoon films.
- Mario was mentioned by K.O. in the episode Let's Meet Sonic, where K.O. made a fanfiction of Sonic beating him in the Olympics.
- Besides making a lot of friends along the way, Mario has also encountered a lot of rivals. To date, at least two crossover video game heroes have acted as Mario's rivals: Captain Falcon and Sonic the Hedgehog.
Gallery[]
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