Super Mario Adventures

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The cover to the Super Mario Adventures graphic novel.

Super Mario Adventures is an anthology of comics, drawn in a Japanese manga style, that ran in Nintendo Power magazine throughout 1992, featuring the characters from Nintendo's Mario series and based loosely on Super Mario World. Charlie Nozawa, the artist who created the comics, is known in Japan by the pen name Tamakichi Sakura. Kentaro Takekuma was responsible for the story, which follows Mario and Luigi as they attempt to rescue Princess Peach after she is abducted by Bowser with intent to marry her.

It marks the first time the Mario universe is developed into a livable place, as the comic was made before Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars or any other story- or exploration-heavy Mario game. It's notable for its use of the many gameplay devices in the Mario series as elements of everyday life. For example, Mario plays a psychologist and treats the social anxiety of a Boo (a ghost enemy in the videogame series that covers its face whenever the player is facing it).

When the comic originally ran, it ran alongside a just-as-long serial based on The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Both serials were later reprinted in separate trade paperbacks published at the time of the magazine's fiftieth issue.

1 Synopsis
2 Dialogue Changes
3 Mario VS Wario
4 Links

[edit] Synopsis

The story opens in the Mushroom Kingdom with Mario and Luigi approaching the Mushroom Castle, singing a theme song about themselves and their occupation. Immediately following the song, the guard at the front door leads them to the basement, which they have been assigned to clean up for Princess Peach's party tonight (which isn't mentioned again afterwards). Luigi isn't in the mood for fixing the pipes and would rather eat, but Mario gets right to work, singing as he does so. Just then, gigantic pipes start popping up in the basement and in the courtyard. Various enemies from Super Mario World pop out of the pipes and attack the guards, but the Mario Bros. fight back. Following the scuffle, Bowser comes out of the largest of the pipes in his Koopa Clown Car. By way of rap, he introduces himself and proposes marriage to Princess Peach. Refusing to take no for an answer, Bowser threatens to turn her people to stone if she doesn't accept, and he demonstrates on the guards (as a visual gag, he freezes the letters in their scream as well). Though her servants fear they have no choice, Peach refuses to give in, especially when the guard captain remembers that they still have Mario and Luigi to help them. Unfortunately, Mario has also been turned to stone, and again the servants feel doomed. But Peach still doesn't let that stop her, and she demands Bowser to "put up his dukes". The Koopa King promptly leaves, giving Peach one week to decide on his proposal, but Peach rallies her troops and takes off after him.

Luigi can't revive the stone-turned Mario, so the servants call up the Minister of Massage, who begins massaging Mario in the manner of karate. One week later, the stone is melted off Mario and he wakes up. Upon hearing that Peach has taken action against Bowser, he grabs Luigi and they give chase. Meanwhile, in the desert, Peach's troops are whining about their lack of hydration, but Peach refuses to let that stop her. Just then, a pack of Lakitus show up and attack them with Spinys.

In the meantime, the Mario Bros. crash-land in the middle of a forest island and find a large egg, which they decide to cook. But then the egg cracks open to reveal a grateful Yoshi. Having never seen him before (keep in mind this was made before Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and, since they were newborns when they first met, they wouldn't have remembered him anyway), the Marios mistake Yoshi's attempted thankfulness for hunger (he can't speak English) and flee in terror from him. The Bros. then encounter a Wiggler, which Yoshi then saves them from. The dinosaur then has the plumbers get on his back, and he takes them to the nearby Yoshi Village, where they meet Friendly Floyd, who explains to them that Yoshi is the Chairman of the Dinosaur Chamber of Commerce, and he had gone looking for some missing villagers when Bowser trapped him in the egg. Mario asks Floyd if he can stick around to provide translation for Yoshi's language, but instead the salesman sells them an ACME Yoshi language translation book for ten coins (it usually costs 3,000 coins, but Floyd is willing to cheapen the price since they're friends of Yoshi). Shortly after Floyd leaves, though, the Marios discover that the book is useless - everything in it is simply translated as "Yoshi." Just then, Toad arrives to inform the Bros. that Peach has been captured.

In a nearby tower surrounded by a large lake, the Koopalings are contacted via their television by Bowser, who's having some difficulty with the transmission because Ludwig was playing a video game (that looked like a somewhat inverted version of Super Mario Bros., with a Koopa Kid-like main character and all enemies are Mario) at the moment. As the King informs his kids of his decision to make Peach their stepmother, a Magikoopa dressed as a chef (a possible precursor to Kamek) shows off the very large model of the wedding cake. Bowser clarifies that he wants the real thing to be 100 times bigger, and then orders the Koopalings to make sure Peach doesn't escape. The kids then check on Peach's cell and find that she seems to have disappeared. Once they investigate, Peach leaps down from the ceiling and brutally attacks them all at once. She locks the kids in there, but then Wendy shows up with an army of Koopa Troopas and gives chase. Peach dashes up to Wendy's bedroom, where she attacks the Koopa Troopas with Wendy's accessories and torments Wendy by threatening to destroy her clothes. The other Koopalings bust out and Roy charges at Peach, but she foils his effort using a nearby cape. The Princess then opens the window and unintentionally falls out, luckily discovering that the aforementioned cape gives her the ability to fly.

On the other side of the lake, the Mario Bros., Toad, and Yoshi are trying to figure out a way to get to the tower. Mario tries swimming through the moat, only to find that it's infested with all the aquatic enemies from Super Mario World. Luigi then sits down to rest on a Bill Blaster, which Mario then knocks him off, but a Bullet Bill shoots out of the cannon and right at the tower, taking Mario with it. In his flight over there, Mario zips right by Peach and causes her to lose control of her flight. The Princess lands unconscious at the feet of Luigi and the others, and Mario lands dazed in the clutches of the Koopalings.

Bowser is furious when the Koopalings inform him that Peach escaped and gave them such a sound beating (Roy remarks, "The Hulkster himself couldn't've stopped her!"), but Wendy tells him that they managed to capture some bait, and shows him the tied, gagged, and jailed Mario. Bowser then has the Koopalings send a pair of Mecha-Koopas over to Luigi, demanding him to give Peach back to the Koopas, or "[his] brother will pay" (they demonstrate their point by setting fire to a Mario doll). Luigi doesn't know how to handle this blackmail, but then Floyd reappears (he was selling lipstick to a Piranha Plant nearby), offering a makeup kit. Luigi refuses at first, but then gets an idea. After a brief moment in the bushes, Luigi comes out, disguised as Peach and wearing a mask over "her" face. The Mecha-Koopas deliver "the Princess" to the Koopalings, who promptly tie "her" up and present "her" to Bowser. Luigi then proceeds to fool Bowser even more by pretending to profess love for him and seduce him into letting the kids untie "her".

Over on the other side of the moat, Peach, who is now wearing Luigi's clothes, regains consciousness after a bad dream in which the Koopas invade her wedding to Mario, and then finds herself running from scared from everything until Toad shows up. Peach then recalls what just happened, and upon Toad telling her that Mario has been captured, she becomes determined to bust him out.

Over in the tower, Luigi, still disguised as Peach, finds Mario's cell and infiltrates some information from Wendy. Luigi offers to order the Koopalings a pizza, and then calls up Yoshi and Toad, who show up dressed as pizza delivery boys. But out of the boxes come Peach and Floyd, bearing a pack of bombs that Floyd had with him. Peach demands the Koopalings to set Mario free, or she will light the fuses. Wendy calls her bluff, but during the argument that follows, the now-exposed Luigi snatches Roy's keys and runs off to rescue his brother. Wendy traps the other good guys in one spot and unleashes on them a pack of Thwomps and a bunch of Chargin' Chucks. The heroes manage to avoid being smashed by the former, and then the now-free Mario and the still-in-drag Luigi show up to take out the latter. The Koopalings, growing angrier, proceed to dump all six of the good guys into the basement, which happens to house a pack of Reznors. Their fireballs happen to light the fuse on Peach's bomb, blowing up the tower and sending all the good guys flying back over to the other side of the moat.

Floyd parts ways with the heroes, who feel victorious due to Bowser's apparent defeat (which sounds ridiculous because Bowser was never actually in the tower). But just when the story seems to end, Mario suddenly remembers that the pipe from which they came is way up in the sky, and there's no ladder leading to it. Fortunately, Peach still has the cape from earlier, so Toad uses it to fly up to the pipe, planning to send for a rescue party. Shortly afterward, some odd-looking Mushroomites show up with a rope ladder. But Mario becomes suspicious when the leader of the pack stomps on his nose, and his suspicions are confirmed when the leader then cuts the ladder below him, sending the Marios plummeting back down. Bowser and the Koopas then ditch their disguises and reveal their cleverly-disguised flying saucer, and the now-captured Toad reveals to the now-recaptured Peach that "they've taken control of the Mushroom Kingdom!"

The Mario Bros. and Yoshi (who now seem to have forgotten all about Toad) give chase after the Koopas' saucer, but Bowser responds by sending down Koopa Paratroopas (which Luigi mistakes for Mecha-Koopas) to attack them. Mario fights back and Yoshi eats each Paratroopa until finally he swallows a Blue Koopa Shell and grows wings. The Marios take control of the now-flying Yoshi, but they lose sight of Bowser's saucer, and then Yoshi spits out the shell. The trio crash-lands in front of a Ghost House. Luigi figures this is some sort of vacation retreat, but Mario is paranoid about it. Unbeknownst to either of them, Bowser and his kids are watching them on TV, wanting them to go into that house. King Koopa figures that there's no way the Marios will resist going in there, but his plan seems to fail when he hears Mario telling Luigi that they'd better get out of there. Bowser then triggers a fan that sends the scent of cheese to come from out of the house, and Luigi, apparently starving for cheese, dashes right in. Mario and Yoshi try to follow him in and get him out, but Mario falls off Yoshi's saddle getting inside, and then a metallic door comes down, locking the Marios inside and Yoshi out.

Thinking he's gotten rid of "those meddling Marios", Bowser continues his wedding plans. He converses with Kamek (who's now in his normal outfit) about the moustached Magikoopa who has hypnotized the aforementioned missing Yoshi Villagers (whom he captured) into carrying his gigantic wedding cake and the progress of Peach's gown. Back in the Ghost House, Luigi finds the giant hunk of cheese whose scent he caught and chows down. Mario then runs in and alerts that they're surrounded by Boos. The plumbers start sliding against the nearby wall and back away, but then come face-to-face with the Big Boo. Our heroes are forced to stand together and stare the Boos down until Mario notices a door near where the Big Boo is standing. The Bros. break for the door and slam it behind them. When the Boos open the door and come in, they find Mario dressed as a psychiatrist, and Luigi as a nurse. Mario consults the Big Boo, who confesses that his fear of humans stems from bad childhood experiences. Luigi starts crying and Mario cheers up the spectre by telling him of the big wide universe he lives in. Now feeling better, the Big Boo and his buddies let Mario and Luigi out of the house and tell them how to get to Bowser's castle.

The Mario Bros. and Yoshi make it to the Koopa-conquered Mushroom Kingdom and find that security is tight at the castle, where practically every enemy character from the classic Mario games are gathering for Bowser's marriage (Shy Guys, Snifits, and Flurries from Super Mario Bros. 2 can even be seen in the crowds). The trio goes through a nearby pipe, believing it'll lead them into the castle, but instead it brings them to an underground chasm filled with lava. The heroes jump onto a crater sticking out, but then get separated trying to avoid an oncoming Thwomp. Even more unfortunate, Mario finds himself jumping on Blarrgs until he finally jumps into another pipe, seemingly leaving Luigi and Yoshi behind.

Meanwhile, Bowser has gotten all dressed up for his wedding, but Peach, still refusing to marry him, is attacking all of the Koopa Troopas who are attending to her. Ignoring the tradition that he shouldn't see her before the ceremony, Bowser tries to sweet-talk her, but she snaps back at him. Since he's not having any luck here, Bowser has the aforementioned moustached Magikoopa hypnotize the Princess into loving him. It works, and Bowser prepares to walk down the aisle with her. But just as another Magikoopa begins to perform the ceremony, Mario comes out (the pipe he went through directed him outside of the cake) and attacks Bowser. He is astonished to hear Peach declaring her apparent love for Bowser ("as you can see," Bowser remarks, "she has grown to love me!"), but he refuses to let that stop him, and he attempts to carry Peach out while Bowser orders his men to seize him.

Down in the basement, Luigi and Yoshi, who have somehow escaped from the aforementioned chasm, come upon the captured Yoshis, who are now all trapped in eggs. They get to work setting the Yoshis free, during which Bowser, "feeling generous", allows Mario, who's now tied to a column, to live long enough to witness his blessed event. But just when the ceremony gets underway again, Luigi and the Yoshis come stampeding in, trampling all of Bowser's minions, including the hypnotist Magikoopa. This breaks the spell on Peach, who then proceeds to untie Mario. Bowser tries to hide in his wedding cake, which the Yoshis begin devouring. Bowser climbs out onto the top, only to see Mario telling him "the party's over." Just then, the cake crumbles from the Yoshis eating it; Mario jumps down and lands safely, leaving Bowser to fall down with his cake. The Yoshis are freed, and peace returns to the Mushroom Kingdom.

[edit] Dialogue Changes

When Super Mario Adventures was reprinted in graphic novel form half a year later, some minor changes were made to the dialogue, apparently so the dialogue would make a bit more sense. Here is a list of the lines that were changed.

Part 2, page 8, panel 6: Luigi: "Tell my stomach that!" --> "Tell your stomach that!"
Part 3, page 4, panel 8: Luigi: "Yahoo!" --> "Yikes! What a fight!"
Part 6, page 8, panel 2: Toad: "Onto plan B!" --> "We have a delivery to make!"
Part 8, page 8, panel 7: Mario: "Quit clowning around, Luigi! Look!" --> "Look! I wonder if anybody's home..."
Part 9, page 1, panel 1: Mario: "Quit clowning around, Luigi! Look!" --> "I don't see any lights on..."
Part 9, page 5, panel 8: Koopa Kids: "He's off the royal rocker!" --> "I hate it when he's right!"
Part 11, page 4, panel 5: Mario: "Ow ow ow!" --> "Look out!"
Mario Vs. Wario, page 5, panel 3: Wario: "Phew! That was close!" --> Wario: "Blast! He got away!"
Mario Vs. Wario, page 8, panel 4: Mario: "Hello there... Wario! Are you home?" --> Mario: "Wario! Long time no see!"

[edit] Mario VS Wario

Immediately following the end of Super Mario Adventures, Nintendo Power concluded the epic with a ten-page story based on Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, which ran in their January 1993 issue and was later reprinted in the graphic novel. In this story, Mario receives a letter from his childhood playmate Wario, who is inviting him over to his castle to "catch up on things." What Mario doesn't know, though, is that Wario is secretly plotting revenge for how much of a bully Mario was to him in their childhood. In the road between his house and Wario's castle, Mario encounters several of the bosses from the game, but doesn't suspect that they're out to eliminate him. Eventually, he reaches the castle and finds a giant Wario waiting to pummel him. In the fight that ensues, Mario finds that Wario's new size is thanks to a plug on his overalls, which he then pulls off, deflating Wario to his normal size (which is apparently the same size as Mario). Wario is upset about Mario bullying him again, but Mario, realizing this, apologizes. The story ends on them playing cowboys again, with Wario once again vowing to get even.

A year later, immediately following a comic adaptation of Star Fox, another Mario VS Wario comic ran in the magazine, this one published in the January 1994 issue. Here, Mario and Wario (who is now drawn in his official size from the games) are invited to Princess Peach's birthday party, and they both recall of the Princess' infatuation with a super deformed doll in the likeness of Samus Aran (perhaps foreshadowing the Super Metroid comic adaptation that started in the next issue). Wario heads off to the toy shop, only to find that "some guy" with "a big black moustache" already bought the last Samus doll there was. Thinking it's Mario, Wario buys a jack-in-the-box and has it wrapped in the same packaging. At the party, Wario sees that Mario's gift looks just like his and switches his gift with Mario's when the plumber isn't looking. But when Wario presents Mario's gift to Peach, she opens it up to find it's a jack-in-the-box (which apparently scares her). Then, when Mario presents "his" gift, Wario claims it to be his gift, but it is also a jack-in-the-box. A big fistfight emerges between Mario and Wario until they finally realize that neither of them had the Samus doll, and it is revealed that Luigi was the one who bought it for Peach. This second Mario VS Wario comic is the only installment of Super Mario Adventures that has never been reprinted.