Mario vs. Wario
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Mario vs. Wario was a comic seen in Issue #44 of Nintendo Power (January 1993) and later reprinted in the Super Mario Adventures comic. It also appeared as a PDF file at the North American Wario Land 4 website. It contains characters from Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins and follows the same reason Wario is hostile to Mario (from having a rough childhood).
Mario receives a letter from Wario. Delighted, Mario has fond memories of playing with Wario twenty years ago and recalls picking turnips, experimenting with coins, and playing cowboys. Wario, however, recalls a much more negative experience and is seeking revenge. Wario believes Mario has tricked him onto pulling up Piranha Plants in the garden, Thwomping him, though in the images shown, Mario seems more oblivious than malicious. Wario has hated playing cowboys the most where, out of 1,256 times, Wario was the rustler 1,255 times. Wario was the sheriff once, but Mario made fun of him.
Mario sets out, but is confronted on the way by many of the bosses from Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. The first enemy he encounters is a Sewer Rat, but Mario quickly dispatches it by using its nose as a party favor. The Three Little Pigheads then attempt to roll into Mario, but Mario mistakes "rolling" with bowling. He grabs one Little Pighead by its nose and rolls it into the other two. A Witch then appears and throws fireballs at Mario. Mario dodges them, and the fireballs hit a bird in the bush. When the Witch then tries throwing lids at Mario, Mario catches them with his feet and thanks the Witch for helping him walk on the water. The octopus surfaces in front of him, threatening him. Mario wonders out loud why there is an octopus in fresh water when salt water is their natural habitat. The octopus realizes the fresh water is the one making it feel very sickly, and Mario tries to help by pouring salt in the water. But suddenly, he realizes that it was actually sugar, causing the octopus to faint, and Mario quickly escapes.
When Mario reaches Wario's place (which looks just like Mario's castle from the game), he finds a massive Wario waiting for him. After dodging his Wario's attacks, Mario notices a plug in Wario's overalls. He pulls it, shrinking the Wario back to size. Wario starts crying, calling Mario a "big bully". Mario cheers him up and convinces Wario that he should not hold grudges from the distant past. Mario, however, wants to play his old favorite with Wario by pulling out what they used to play - cowboys. Mario immediately christens himself Sheriff and begins hitting Wario with his toy gun, as Wario screams that he will soon get his revenge.
Changes as a graphic novel
When it was later reprinted in graphic novel form, some of the dialogue had been altered. These include the following:
- 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!"
Mario vs. Wario: The Birthday Bash
A second Mario vs. Wario comic was published in the magazine a year later, in issue #56 (January 1994). It is a completely original work and is independent of any game.
Story
Princess Toadstool's birthday is coming up on Sunday, so she sends an invitation to both of Mario and Wario. The two of them want to give her a perfect present for the special occasion. Suddenly, the two recall that while Toadstool, Toad, Luigi, Wario and Mario were on their way to the park, the princess noticed a Samus Doll in a store window and expressed it was cute. Mario and Wario both wanted to buy the doll and give it to the princess as a gift.
When Wario reached the store, he discovered that the doll was bought by a guy with a big black mustache. Wario was positive it was Mario and then, he bought a jack-in-the-box toy and asked the store owner to wrap it just like his present. The next Sunday, Wario and Mario went to Toadstool's party. While the Toads were decorating, Toadstool asked Wario to help her. When he did, she asked Mario to get the door. When Mario ran off, Wario swapped the two gifts. Then, he gave the princess "his" present. Upon opening it, Toadstool discovered a Jack-in-the-box with the toy inside of it popping out and scaring her. The same happened with Mario's gift.
The two started fighting and than figured out that the one who bought the gift wasn't one of them. While Toadstool was crying, Luigi calmed her down by giving her a gift. Upon opening it, Toadstool discovered a Samus Doll and said that it was the perfect gift and rewards Luigi with a kiss on his cheeks.
Trivia
- The Birthday Bash is the first instance in any English media where the Mushroom People are now referred to as "Toads", given the localized name of Toad uniformly. This later became a widespread practice after the release of Paper Mario.
