The Trojan Koopa

The Trojan Koopa was the 36th episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, airing alongside "Texas Tea".

In the episode King Koopa has kidnapped Princess Toadstool again and is holding her in an island fortress. When the Mario Bros. repeatedly fail to penetrate the fortress's defenses, they trick Bowser into thinking they've given up and left a wooden statue of him as a testament to his greatness. Instead, they're actually hiding inside.

Once Bowser brings the statue inside to admire it the Mario Bros. sneak out but are quickly caught by the guards. Princess Toadstool is actually the one who saves the day by powering up with a Starman and fighting off the Koopa soldiers. They excape the island by using the wooden statue as a boat.

Trivia

 * This was the second episode (with Episode 19 being the first) where Mario mistakenly referred to King Koopa as "Kooper".
 * This episode makes a few obscure references to the rest of the Mario franchise, including Toad chastising himself for being a bad Mushroom Retainer and later complimenting the Mario brothers on their carpentry of the Trojan Koopa (Mario's experience as a carpenter in his earlier life may have contributed to the construction of the statue).
 * When Princess Toadstool used the powers of the Starman, her dress dressed turned red, white and blue, which are the three colors that symbolize the United States of America.