Subcon (species)
| Subcon | |
|---|---|
| |
| First appearance | Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (1987, overall) Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988, Super Mario franchise) |
| Latest appearance | Ultimate NES Remix (2014) |
- “Welcome to 'Subcon', the land of dreams. We have been cursed by Wart and we are completely under his evil spell. We have been waiting for your arrival.”
- —Subcons, Super Mario Bros. 2 instruction booklet, page 3
The Subcons are a peaceful fairy-like folk in Super Mario Bros. 2. They reside in and the dream world Subcon under the rule of a king who only appears in BS Super Mario USA.
Artwork from their original appearance in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic depicted each Subcon with a distinct design and seemingly no discernible wings.[1] Sprites and later artwork depict all Subcons wearing red or pink pajama-like clothing and having black or teal hair, as well as wings, similar to Beezos.
History
Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic
In Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, the game which Super Mario Bros. 2 is based on, the Subcons are called "Muu". In this appearance, they are fictional characters in the tale of the world of dreams, Muu Kai. The happy Muu people live in a land where the weather is decided by dreams. Happy dreams cause the weather to be bright and sunny, while bad dreams causes the weather to be stormy. The Muu invent the Dream Machine so they can always have good dreams and good weather, but a mischievous frog-like monster named Mamu changes the machine to produce monsters. However, Mamu hated vegetables, so the Muu fought Mamu by hurling vegetables at him until he was buried. Mamu surrendered and peace was restored to their world.
The twins reading the book containing the story, Poki and Piki, begin to fight and accidentally rip the final page of the book which describes the Muu defeating Mamu. This allows Mamu to kidnap them and imprison them inside the book. In the ending, the Muu carry Mamu's body off-screen and beat him up. This causes the key to Poki and Piki's cage to fly into the lock and open the cage. All of the Muu then cheer.
Super Mario Bros. 2
In Super Mario Bros. 2, the fairytale aspect was removed, and the land of Subcon is implied in Mario's subconscious. In this story, Wart and the 8 bits appear and takes over the land of Subcon and imprisons the Subcon people in a jar. For their last hope, the Subcons contact Mario in his sleep to ask for his help. They also give him a hint to beat Wart, which is his distaste for vegetables. Mario, believing the message to be nothing more than a dream, dismisses it and later goes on a picnic to a park with Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool. Mario then discovers a door in a cave leading to Subcon. Realizing that there may be some truth to his dream, Mario and his companions embark on a quest to save the Subcons. After Wart is defeated, the people are released. During their celebration, they pick up Wart's battered body, carry him off-screen, and beat him up.
Gallery
BS Super Mario USA
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ムウ[2] Muu サブコン[3] Sabukon |
Muu (Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic) Subcon (Super Mario Bros. 2) |
| Chinese | 萨布肯[4] Sàbùkěn |
Translated from the word “Subcon” |
References
- ^ Storyline of Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic explained in a guide, Panel 4.
- ^ Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic instruction booklet, pages 6-7.
- ^ Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten, page 133.
- ^ From the ending scenes of Super Mario Advance as localized by iQue. Reference: 无敌阿尔宙斯 (August 28, 2013). 神游 超级马力欧2敌人官译. Baidu Tieba. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
