Archie Comics Nearly Published a Super Mario Bros. Comic

Welcome to Comic Book Legends Revealed! This is the seven hundred and eighty-seventh installment where we examine three comic book legends and determine whether they are true or false.

As usual, there will be three posts, one for each of the three legends.

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COMIC LEGEND:

Archie Comics nearly did a Super Mario Bros. comic book series.

STATUS:

True

One of the most famous licensed comic books in Archie Comics history was its Sonic the Hedgehog series, originally written for many years by Ken Penders (who wrote the series from Sonic the Hedgehog #11 through #159). Archie's Sonic series was the longest running comic book series ever based on a video game. When Penders left the book, Ian Flynn became the main writer.

Flynn was also the writer of another Archie Comics series that licensed another Sega video game, Mega Man. Even now, with IDW now having the Sonic license instead of Archie, Flynn continues to work on the character.

Amusingly, though, a few years back, Flynn nearly got Archie to license a video game from a whole other company - Nintendo and their world-famous Super Mario Bros.! Flynn described the whole thing on Twitter in a long thread. He noted that the plans were for a four part miniseries that, if it was successful, would turn into an ongoing (amusingly, that was precisely what happened with Sonic the Hedgehog. It stated as a miniseries before leading into an ongoing that lasted over 20 years!). Flynn noted that he using the same approach that he used with his Sonic and Mega Man work, namely, "narrative-driven adaptations of the games with stories bridging the canon. It would adapt the original Mario Bros. game."

The great Sonic the Hedgehog cover artist Ben Bates did some promo work for the proposed series.

The Bates images are courtesy of Power Up Nintendo. Mario had a long running manga series that lasted a full decade and there were a number of Super Mario Bros. Adventures comic stories in Nintendo Power in 1992. That followed some of the earliest Valiant Comics, which were also Super Mario Bros. comics. He even appeared in a story before then, which I wrote about in an old Comic Book Legends Revealed, in a little remembered Marvel project. The Bates drawings are gorgeous, right?

In that same Twitter thread from last year that Flynn told the story of the possible Super Mario Bros. comic book, Flynn went into detail on what the story would have been. These story ideas are interspersed with drawings by longtime Sonic the Hedgehog artist, Tracy Yardley, which was presumably also part of the failed pitch (the Yardley images are also courtesy of Power Up Nintendo).

It started off with Mario & Luigi being summoned to Peach's castle for a plumbing job. Luigi was excited for the career-defining contract, Mario less enthused - a job's a job & he's bored of their career. They arrive just after Bowser has ransacked the Mushroom Kingdom. With literally no one left to save the princess, Mario jumps at the call to adventure. Luigi less so. They stock up on what power-ups are left after the invasion and embark on a journey through Worlds 1-8, burning through their provisions since they're novice heroes.

They reach Bowser's Castle in W8-4 and Luigi calls it quits. This is suicide. They're PLUMBERS, not heroes. Mario refuses to give up - too many are counting on them. They part ways, Mario storming the castle. Mario makes his way past the traps and firebars to his first showdown with Bowser. The King of Koopas wants to know who's been causing so much trouble for his troops and it's...this pudgy guy? Oh well. Anyone who challenges him meets the same fate.

It's a knock-down, drag-out fight on the bridge over a magma moat. Mario is too nimble for Bowser to land a solid hit, but Bowser is too tough for Mario to actually hurt. They're at a stalemate when a scream is heard, building from deep in the hall.. It's Luigi, screaming in blind terror, running thru the castle as fast as he can. Over the bridge. Past the baffled combatants. Into a wall. Which knocks loose the decorative axe. Which cuts the bridge.

Mario bounces off the falling Bowser to safety. Mario and Luigi reconcile - yeah, Mario may have gotten in over his head, but Luigi could never abandon his brother. Together they rescue Peach who shares a bashful love-at-first-sight moment with Mario. The trio returns to the Mushroom Kingdom and begin to rebuild. Peach names Mario & Luigi royal plumbers. Luigi is overjoyed - they're set for life now! No more adventures! Cut to the stinger ending of Bowser crawling out of the magma moat.

Sounds really good, right? Flynn is a fine writer. Anyhow, as it turns out, the story was really well received by Nintendo's American headquarters, but when it was put to Nintendo of Japan, the reaction was not as strong and the project didn't move forward. Flynn noted that if he ever got a chance to do a Mario comic in the future, he would probably do it a bit differently, as he felt that this original pitch was perhaps a bit too serious. I can see his point, but I think the proposed story sounded really good.

Thanks to the great Ian Flynn for the awesome information!