Super Mario (form)

Super Mario (simply called Mario in Super Mario 3D Land ) is a form of Mario which he assumes by eating a Super Mushroom. Super Mario is twice as tall as his non-powered up form, Small Mario. He is able to withstand being hit by an enemy without immediately losing a life, instead he shrinks back to Small Mario.

Recent games depict Super Mario as Mario's default form. In fact, Mario always appears as Super Mario in the endings of Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and the opening movies created for Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 depict Mario and Luigi's Super forms as their standard forms, and the opening of New Super Mario Bros. Wii depict Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad, and Yellow Toad starting out in their Super forms, only to revert to the Small form in time for the actual gameplay. The same goes for New Super Mario Bros., but while off-screen, Super Mario/Luigi is actually heard taking damage, and, when coming back on screen, is Small. This means that more lately, Super Mario is Mario in his regular form and he becomes small when hit by an enemy, not unlike Wario in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3.

In Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario 3D Land, should the player lose a life, they will come back in their Super form, regardless of what form they were in prior to dying.

In 3D Mario games (with the exception of Super Mario 3D Land and it's follow-up Super Mario 3D World), Mario Kart games, Mario Party games, and all sports games, Mario is always Super Mario.

Television Series
The term Super Mario was used to define what is otherwise known as Fire Mario on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. However, this was dropped for The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, which used the correct term.

Comics
Unlike the games, the Club Nintendo comic "Super Mario: Verloren in der Zeit" depicts Super Mario as much taller than other humans, similar to Mega Mario.

Trivia

 * In the Super Smash Bros. series, Mario's taunt (up taunt in Brawl) is to grow to Super Mario using the same sound and animation as changing from Small Mario to Super Mario in Super Mario Bros..
 * In Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, and Super Mario Bros. 3, if Mario or Luigi get a Fire Flower while in small form, they will turn into their Super form instead of their Fire form. This was changed in Super Mario World, and since then caught on with later Mario titles.
 * In New Super Mario Bros. and it's sub-series, getting hit by an enemy when powered up with the Fire Flower or any other power up other than the Super Mushroom will cause Mario to power down to Super Mario instead of powering down to Small Mario.
 * In Super Mario 64 DS, a Super Mushroom instead makes Mario big for a brief period of time (similar to the Mega Mushroom.
 * In Super Mario Galaxy a similar mushroom called the Life Mushroom appears instead. If Mario gets this power up, his health rises to 6, if it drops to 3, his health returns to normal.