List of Common Misconceptions about the Mario Universe

The Mario series has its fair share of misconceptions by fans. The sheer amount of games make it difficult for any one person to get a full picture of the characters and lore. This page will correct some of the most common misconceptions and misinterpretations.

Birdo's preferred name is "Birdetta"

The North American instruction manual for Super Mario Bros 2 states that "[Birdo] thinks he is a girl and he spits eggs from his mouth. He’d rather be called 'Birdetta.'" However, this name is never mentioned in any other game, and she has introduced herself under the name "Birdo" before, meaning the name was either retconned out or that Birdo no longer prefers the name "Birdetta".

Bowser is dead in Luigi's Mansion

In Luigi's Mansion, it is believed that, because "defeated" is a common substitute for "killed" in the Mario Universe, the story takes place at the end of the Mario timeline and that fortune teller ghost Madame Clairvoya recalls Mario had previously killing Bowser, which is why she is shocked to see him "somehow revived" through a vision in her crystal ball. It is thus believed that the illusory suit-like replica of Bowser that King Boo uses to fight Luigi in the final battle is actually Bowser's perfectly preserved, hollowed-out corpse animated by King Boo from inside. However, since Bowser and King Boo appear as separate entities in subsequent games, it can be safely assumed that King Boo's nearly-invulnerable Bowser suit is part of the illusionary arena he traps Luigi in for their original final showdown. It's also more likely that Bowser is alive and was reeling from his last defeat before the story of Luigi's Mansion began, so Clairvoya may be assuming that King Boo healed him, as "revival" does not always mean bringing the dead back to life and "defeated" does not always mean the same as "killed".

A similar, perhaps parallel theory holds that King Boo is Bowser's ghost: during his pre-final battle monologue, King Boo alludes to Mario causing him trouble in the past, although it is more likely that this means Mario defeating members of King Boo's species in previous games, inconveniencing their monarch.

Era of Peace

The Era of Peace theory suggests that non-RPG spin-off games such as the Mario Kart, Mario Party, and Mario Sports titles are set at the end of the timeline, after Bowser decided to "give up" on kidnapping Princess Peach. However, there is evidence to prove that Mario and Bowser are still at odds with each other in these games.

1. Some of these titles still feature Bowser as the main villain, most notably the Mario Party series, where he is the main villain of every game except Super Mario Party.

2. Mario and Bowser aren't exactly working together in these games. Some of them clearly state that Bowser only joined to compete against Mario.

Jumpman is Mario’s father

After Nintendo confirmed that the Donkey Kong in the original arcade game is a younger Cranky Kong, this led people to theorize that Jumpman is not actually Mario himself, but rather his father. This theory is incorrect for several reasons.

1. The theory is implying that Pauline is a generation older than Mario, but she really doesn't look any older than most other adult characters in the Mario universe.

2. Mario has been referred to as Jumpman several times since the original Donkey Kong. The most recent example of this is in Super Mario Odyssey's Darker Side, where Pauline says "Go, Mario! Jump, Man!", referencing his old nickname.

3. The Classic Outfit from Super Mario Odyssey reads: “This outfit is still loved by longtime fans. DK has never been a fan though.” This is a clear reference to the original Donkey Kong, where Mario wore this exact outfit.

4. Kongs are also shown to age much faster than humans. This is most notably seen with Donkey Kong Jr. and Tiny Kong, who both made their debut as babies, but aged into adults within the span of a game or two.

5. In the Game Informer video "51 Rapid-Fire Questions About The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild”, Miyamoto was asked, “So there are multiple Links, but is it always the same Mario?” and he replied with a simple “yes”.

Mario abuses Yoshi

In Super Mario World, the in-game sprite of Yoshi sticking out his tongue makes it seem like Mario is punching Yoshi's face to get his tongue to stick out. In the official artwork, however, it is clearly shown that Mario is pointing his finger at the things he wants Yoshi to eat.

Mario destroyed the Sun

The Angry Sun in SMB3 is not the actual Sun.

Mario is from Brooklyn

Mario being from Brooklyn was never confirmed to be canon in the Japanese releases of the games. It was something made up by the American localization team to market the Mario series in the Western world. This may be in part due to Shigeru Miyamoto stating that the classic arcade game Mario Bros. takes place in New York City because of its "labyrinthine subterranean network of sewage pipes", although he never specified which borough(s) of the city, Brooklyn or not.

Even though the cartoons by DIC have Mario coming from Brooklyn, those cartoons are not canon and have nothing to do with the main series or its lore.

Mario is on drugs

The Super Mushroom's strong resemblance to the real-life amanita muscaria mushroom has led some to believe that it was inspired by the hallucinogenic effects of said mushroom. The actual inspiration for the Super Mushroom was the general association of Mushrooms with fantasy worlds, such as Alice's Adventure in Wonderland.

Mario kills Toads

The instruction manual of the original Super Mario Bros states that “the quiet, peace-loving Mushroom People were turned into mere stones, bricks and even field horse-hair plants”. This has led many people to believe that Mario is killing Toads whenever he breaks Brick Blocks.

However, in a later page of the manual, it states that “If you come across Mushrooms who have been turned into bricks or made invisible, they reward you by giving you a power boost". This means that all of the Toads transformed into Brick Blocks or Invisible Blocks that turn into Empty Blocks after they are hit.

Empty Blocks cannot be destroyed in Super Mario Bros, which means Mario is not killing Toads.

Even though Empty Blocks can be destroyed in later games, there is no mention of the Toads being transformed by Bowser, meaning Mario still isn't killing Toads.

Peach wears a Super Crown

This theory is based on a video by 'The Game Theorists' proposing that Peach's rule over the Mushroom Kingdom is similar to a bee colony. This is false based on the following.

1. Peach's crown is not a Super Crown. A Super Crown has a distinct look with pink material inside.

2. Peach has been seen without her crown in Super Mario Odyssey and Mario Kart Tour, proving that she doesn't need a Super Crown to maintain her human form.

3. Humans and Toads have been seen to co-exist with one another in games such as Yoshi's New Island and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.

3. The Super Crown is simply a power-up used by Toadette. Peachette is simply a transformation. When Peachette grabs another power-up, she will revert back into Toadette. Peach has been seen using power-ups in Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World, proving that her human form isn't just a transformation.

Peach secretly loves Bowser

This theory is a proposed explanation on why she keeps getting kidnapped.

However, it has been shown that Bowser can kidnap just about anyone such as Mario, (Super Mario 64 DS, Super Princess Peach) Luigi, (Super Mario 64 DS, Super Princess Peach, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario 3D Land) Wario, (Super Mario 64 DS) and the Sprixie Princesses. (Super Mario 3D World)

People also cite Super Mario Odyssey's ending as evidence, however both Mario and Bowser get rejected because they chose the worst possible time to propose.

Peach is Bowser Jr’s mother

People makes this claim usually based on the theory that Peach secretly loves Bowser.

As proven in the above section, this is false.

Additionally, Super Mario Sunshine's ending clearly states that Peach isn't really Bowser Jr.'s mother.

Rosalina is a goddess

People cite the Universe Reset at the end of Super Mario Galaxy as evidence to this claim, however it is simply the Lumas' doing. Rosalina is just the Lumas' caretaker.

Additionally, the fact that she was able to transcend the Universe Reset also applies to Mario, not just Rosalina.

Rosalina is the daughter of Peach and Luigi

According to a video made by 'The Game Theorists' Rosalina is Peach and Luigi's daughter based on real life genetics and an the way the Universe Resets work. Both of these claims are false.

1. Real life genetics shouldn not apply to Mario's universe because it is a world where people are usually born via stork.

2. Universe resets only occur during a Universe Collapse, as seen in Super Mario Galaxy.

Spin-offs aren’t canon

Mario & Luigi

This likely stems from the different tone in the Mario & Luigi series, as well as the series' greater focus on story and nature as a spin-off. Many people also think the series was never referenced elsewhere.

Evidence Mario & Luigi is canon

• The Ice Flower featured in Super Mario Galaxy and future games originated in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.
• In Luigi's Mansion 3, Gooigi's backstory links E. Gadd to both coffee and time travel, aspects of his character established in the Mario & Luigi series.
• In Yoshi's Crafted World, Starbeans brand packaging appears alongside brands from Mario Kart 8. Starbeans is otherwise exclusive to the Mario & Luigi series.

Super Mario Land is at the end of the timeline

Daisy gives Mario a kiss after he saves her at the end of Super Mario Land. This has led to a theory stating that Super Mario Land takes place near the end of the timeline, after Peach had supposedly dumped Mario. This theory is incorrect for two main reasons.

1. Daisy had just met Mario at the end of Super Mario Land. She probably had no idea that he already had feelings for another girl.

2. In the game's direct sequel, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Wario is shown to be a pure villain. While he is still a fairly naughty guy in his later appearances, he never goes to the extremes he went to in this game. It would be especially strange for him to suddenly become a pure villain after helping Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi save Peach in Super Mario 64 DS.

The Koopalings are Bowser’s children

In the instruction manuals for Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World, the seven Koopalings are referred to as Bowser's children. Super Mario Sunshine, however, introduces Bowser Jr, who is Bowser's son. In an interview with Game Informer, Miyamoto affirmed that the Koopalings are not Bowser's children and that Bowser Jr is his only child.

There are two King Boos

This misconception stems from the fact that King Boo's appearance in the Luigi's Mansion games is significantly different from his appearances in other games. This design change can easily be explained by the fact that Boos' faces often change color when they experience certain emotions (i.e. turning red whenever Mario is looking at them). King Boo also has bad chemistry with Luigi in the Mario Baseball games, further proving that he is the same King Boo from Luigi's Mansion.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is Canon

Many people believe that the 2023 Mario movie is canon, but it is not.

The movie was made as an adaptation of the games and is not taken as something canonical, especially because the writers drew a lot of inspiration from old Mario cartoons, which are not canonical either.

In addition, the movie has many differences with the games, one of the most notable being the totally different origins of the Mario brothers, another proof that the movie is not canon.

Mario is a bad person for mistreating Cranky Kong in the Donkey Kong games.

This needs to be explained piece by piece.

1. The reason why Cranky Kong kidnapped Pauline (Mario's girlfriend at the time) was because Mario had laughed at him in "Donkey Kong Circus", but obviously kidnapping someone in reaction to being laughed at is not right or fair.
2. Mario gave Cranky Kong his comeuppance by locking him in a cage (for kidnapping a person).
3. And even if you somehow believe that what Mario did wasn't deserved (for some reason), Mario didn't even get away with it in the end, Cranky Kong ended up escaping along with Donkey Kong Jr.