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At an unknown time, Archie Comics pitched a comic adaptation of Super Mario to Nintendo, written by Ian Flynn with art by Tracy Yardley and Ben Bates. The existence of the pitch was first discovered after concept art was released on the site Comics Art Fan in 2015. Flynn would later post a thread about it on Twitter in 2019, revealing it was planned to begin as a four issue miniseries that would have become ongoing had it been successful. It would have focused on "narrative-driven adaptations of the games with stories bridging the canon", similar to that of Flynn's previous work on Archie's Sonic The Hedgehog and Mega Man comics. However, while the pitch was apparently well-received by Nintendo of America, it was rejected by Nintendo of Japan. Flynn later felt that the pitch was not how he would approach a Mario project in the present day, as it had "too much drama, not enough whimsy".
In 2022, Flynn revealed that Archie Comics' editor at the time Paul Kaminski had hoped to include Mario characters in "Worlds at War", a planned third crossover between the Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man comics. The story (which was noted to be similar to the "Secret Wars" storyline by Marvel Comics) would have taken place on a "battle planet" within the multiverse's nexus, and the Mario cast's unfamiliarity with the other heroes would have been used to help explain the crossovers to newer readers. This idea would not come to pass either, as Kaminski left Archie shortly after the second crossover "Worlds Unite" wrapped up, before having a chance to pitch the idea to Nintendo.
In 2022, Flynn revealed that Archie Comics' editor at the time Paul Kaminski had hoped to include Mario characters in "Worlds at War", a planned third crossover between the Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man comics. The story (which was noted to be similar to the "Secret Wars" storyline by Marvel Comics) would have taken place on a "battle planet" within the multiverse's nexus, and the Mario cast's unfamiliarity with the other heroes would have been used to help explain the crossovers to newer readers. This idea would not come to pass either, as Kaminski left Archie shortly after the second crossover "Worlds Unite" wrapped up, before having a chance to pitch the idea to Nintendo.
Article about the pitch:
https://web.archive.org/web/20151106122349/http://www.gamnesia.com/news/archie-comics-pitched-a-super-mario-comic-but-nintendo-rejected-it
Flynn's Twitter thread:
https://twitter.com/IanFlynnBKC/status/1166822538242117633
Estimated pitch date (May 2011 - April 2013):
https://twitter.com/IanFlynnBKC/status/1171207122085978113
BumbleKast - December 5, 2022:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZzxzLFFU5U#t=1710s
https://web.archive.org/web/20151106122349/http://www.gamnesia.com/news/archie-comics-pitched-a-super-mario-comic-but-nintendo-rejected-it
Flynn's Twitter thread:
https://twitter.com/IanFlynnBKC/status/1166822538242117633
Estimated pitch date (May 2011 - April 2013):
https://twitter.com/IanFlynnBKC/status/1171207122085978113
BumbleKast - December 5, 2022:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZzxzLFFU5U#t=1710s
Comments (3)

Reply to comment by chocolatejr9 posted Jan 29, 2025, 8:17 PM
I am aware that that was mentioned and my reasoning wasn't, my reasoning was moreso just the reason the idea of putting Mario there appealed to me and how I would've created backups in that situation, moreso than speculative.

I imagine it had less to do with the fact that Mario isn't much of a fighter, and more about having a sort of "audience surrogate". According to the vid linked, while the Sonic and Mega Man casts would already be familiar with one another by that point, the Mario cast would have no idea about anything going on, and likely would have gone against the other two casts initially until things get cleared up (kinda like what happened in the first crossover, Worlds Collide). Since the Mario cast would be new to the whole thing, it'd also give the writers an excuse to explain the crossovers to any new readers that hadn't read them before.

Pac-Man or Crash Bandicoot would've been a decent fit for that role Mario was supposed to take in Worlds at War, given that like Mario they both have a sort of element of being "not really fighters", what with Crash being a stupid comic relief even in his own games and Pac-Man being typically personified as a white-picket-fence 50s dad.
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