Mario vs. Wario

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 is a very rough adaptation of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, giving its own humorous take on the event.

The plot was about Wario, seeking revenge for Mario's "dirty deeds" such as including tricking him onto pulling up Piranha Plants in the garden, Thwomping him, and always being the Sheriff in their games of cowboys. Wario was especially furious about when they played cowboys. In their youth, they played cowboys 1,256 times. Mario was the sheriff 1,255 times. Wario was the sheriff once. And the one time Wario got to be sheriff, Mario made fun of him. When Wario mails the letter, his revenge plan is set. Mario receives it and he, too, has flashbacks, remembering all the incidents Wario remembered, but his opinion is quite different.

Mario sets out, but is confronted on the way by many of the bosses from Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. A humorous (if morbid) incident, for example, occurs when the octopus boss from Turtle Zone in Mario Land surfaces in front of him, threatening him. Mario tells him that he should be in saltwater, not freshwater as he is now. The octopus sighs that he has, as a matter of fact, been feeling sickly, and Mario pours some salt in the water for him. But suddenly, he realizes that it was actually sugar, causing the octopus to faint. When Mario reaches Wario's place (which looks just like Mario's castle from the game), he finds Wario awaiting him. Mario realizes that Wario is a lot bigger than he is! After dodging his rival's enraged attacks, Mario notices a plug in Wario's overalls. He pulls it, shrinking the blown-out Wario back to size. Wario starts crying, calling Mario a "big bully". Mario cheers him up by pulling out what they used to play - cowboys. Mario immediately christens himself Sheriff and begins chasing Wario around the room, as Wario screams that he'll 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.