Propeller Mario

Propeller Mario is a power-up in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Mario gets this form after using a Propeller Mushroom. Its power is to propel up. When the Player shakes the Wii Remote in their hand, the character flies vertically up to get to high places, or escape from enemies. It can even blow away thick fog which can interfere the player's view.

Another player can pick up the player with the Propeller suit and then use them to launch themselves into the air as well, similar to the functions of a Propeller Block. After propelling themselves into the air, the character can fall gently back to ground by spinning around several times. If a Ground Pound is used at the same as the recovery while falling, the character will perform a Drill Spin which will make him fall faster to the ground and also act like a ground pound.

While the Propeller Suit does have its uses, there is one flaw with it; it can't be used while the player is holding onto a Toad that they are trying to save.

The Propeller Suit returns in New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U, functioning identically to New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The suit can only be obtained in two types of places in New Super Mario Bros. U (only found in the Toad Houses of Superstar Road and in Challenge Mode), but the Propeller Mushroom is more common in New Super Luigi U, and can be found in most Toad Houses, as well as Enemy Courses. In these games, the player also can't spin in the air when shaking the controller as fast as in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

The Propeller Suit returns in Super Mario Maker, where it is exclusive to the New Super Mario Bros. U style, retaining its functions.

Appearance
When either Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad or Yellow Toad uses a Propeller Mushroom, they appear with a helmet that has a propeller on top. The side of the helmets shows the emblem of the specific character as seen by the red 'M' for Mario, green 'L' for Luigi, and the yellow or blue mushroom for the two Toads. They also wear a flight suit, and the color of both the suit and the helmet depends on the character.

In Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, although Propeller Mario himself doesn't appear in the game, there is a suit based on him that the player can unlock for their Mii to wear. It is one of the suits unlocked after paying 10 blank cards. The same costume appears in Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. In Mario Tennis Open, a Propeller Suit costume for Miis is unlocked after the player stars five characters. Additionally, the racket costs 1750 coins for Miis to use. A Mii costume based on the suit also appears in Mario Golf: World Tour, and is unlocked by clearing all 18 holes in the One-On, One-Putt Challenge for the Sky Island course.

Trivia

 * Coincidentally, in the Super Mario World cartoon episode Born to Ride, both Mario and Luigi wear helmets with M and L emblems on their sides. However, they were both colored grey, rather than red and green, respectively.