A panel from a classic 1996 Super Mario manga resurfaced online and raised some eyebrows over its depiction of the Mushroom Kingdom’s darker side (thanks, Kotaku). Twitter user Supper Mario Broth, who shares interesting and bizarre facts about Mario history, posted the panel, which, on the surface seems totally normal and Mario-like. The top half is dominated by a large Super Mushroom or 1-Up Mushroom. Nothing weird here – yet.
The bottom half shows the mushroom’s stalk snaking down below the earth and taking root in a corpse. Mario’s corpse. The same Mario you let fall off a ledge or miss a tough jump with. He’s dead now, but in his death comes new life, apparently.
Fans reacted with mock horror and disgust.
“Does the 1-Up Mushroom contain Mario’s consciousness,” one wrote “Does he remember every time he died?”
Another was less surprised. “Considering how strange the field of mycology is in real life… yeah this is believable.”
— Wesley Miller (@getwired) March 23, 2023
relevant pic.twitter.com/jHcrEITwc2
— Opera GX (@operagxofficial) March 23, 2023
Supper Mario Broth followed up with a tweet saying the manga in question was never officially endorsed by Nintendo and produced some bizarre Mario lore theories that Nintendo would probably never sanction.
Unlike Zelda, with its multiple timelines, and the lore-heavy Metroid series, Mario tends to be light on story in favor of action. That might change with the Super Mario Bros. movie when it releases in April, though.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
