Super Star

Not to be confused with Power Stars.

Many Mario games, including the Super Mario Bros. series and the Mario Kart series, use Stars (AKA Super Stars, Starman, and Invincibility Stars). After picking up a Star, the user becomes temporarily invulnerable to all damage, except those of lava, deep water, falling, etc. Any projectiles or enemies that come into contact with the user of the Star while it is activated are either destroyed, damaged, or spun out (depending on the type of enemy and what game it is). The Star also increases the speed of the user substantially. The Star is undoubtedly one of the most powerful items in the Mario series. Most side scrolling Mario games feature Stars to grant temporary invincibility, including Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario Land, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Although traditional Stars did not appear in Super Mario Galaxy, an item known as the Rainbow Star was introduced, and could also grant Mario temporary invincibility by transforming him into Rainbow Mario.

In certain Mario Kart games, a Star is seen with a smiling mouth, and only Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is the one to reveal it. Stars were used differently in Yoshi's Island when they were smiley faced, with blue shoes. They can be found by the player by defeating certain enemies and hitting some ? Clouds. They were used when Baby Mario fell off a Yoshi's back. The Stars would somehow make a bubble around the screaming infant, protecting him from the evil Toadies until the power of the Stars ran out. Every Star collected would add one second to the Star meter, and collecting 30 of them was essential to get a Perfect on a level. Also, "Super Stars" found only in a few levels (they looked like an ordinary Starman, but with no eyes) would seal the Yoshi in a huge egg, and Baby Mario would become invincible, and somehow sport a Cape, which allowed him to glide long distances. After a certain amount of time, the Yoshi would return to normal and Baby Mario once again would seat himself on his back, losing his cape and invulnerability. There are also packs of Stars that come in 10 or 20.

Stars have made very few appearances in the Mario RPG series. Perhaps their only appearance as an item was in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, where Mario could occasionally find the rare item and use it to defeat enemies on the overworld (without having to go into battle with them). Doing this would, quite helpfully, still earn Mario Experience Points. Stars, despite being such rare items in the RPGs, are briefly mentioned in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, where they are said to be an ingredient of Invincishrooms, and in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, in which a camera-wielding Lakitu near the Glitz Pit remarks, "Stars make you invincible?". During the Mario Kart series, Stars give the character invincibility for a short time. Any item that hits the character using the star will be destroyed. Also a truck in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! in Mushroom Bridge and Mushroom City has "Star Travel" written on it. Its license plate is STR.

Stars appear in the Super Smash Bros. Series as well. If a player touches a Star, they will become invincible, allowing them to attack the foe, without worrying about damage. However, unlike the actual Mario games, the player will not be able to hurt them just by touching them.

In most games where stars appear as items, once collected a theme will play. This theme is just as famous as the Super Mario Bros. theme, leading to remixes and remakes into ringtones.

Appearances in Other Media
Starmen also made several appearances thoughout the various Mario animated series produced by DIC Entertainment. On The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, they did not grant invincibilty; they instead could power-up Mario and Luigi into Super Mario and Super Luigi, giving them increased strength and the ability to shoot fireballs. The person wielding the Starman, often Mario, would usually recite, "Starman, star bright, give me pasta power, give me pasta might," before powering up. This power would last until either a fair bit of time elapsed, or they were attacked by an enemy. However, Fire Flowers, along with other powerful artifacts such as Magic Pendants, could also be used in lieu of Starmen in order to power-up. In "Toad Warriors", Toad managed to transform into the Toad Warrior by using a Starman, although in the next episode, "The Fire of Hercufleas", he transformed into Super Toad by using a Fire Flower.

Starmen continued to make appearances into The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. In these appearances, they no longer followed the rules of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. Instead, they granted temporary invincibility, just like in the games.

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Trivia

 * The Starman theme in Super Mario Land is the chorus to the famous Can-Can music.
 * In the French version, Stars are named "Super Etoile" (meaning Super Star). For unknown reasons, the Super Mario Galaxy's Power Stars are named Super Stars in the French version.
 * In the DS game The Legendary Starfy the main character resembles a Starman. Also, the Main Villain is similar to a Blooper.
 * In the Wii game Animal Crossing: City Folk, the Starman is a furniture item found in balloon presents which can be shot down by a slingshot.