Wart (Nintendo)
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Wart as he appeared in a Super Mario Bros. 2 strategy guide in the premiere issue of Nintendo Power. |
is a
fictional character most commonly recognized from the North American version of the video game
Super Mario Bros. 2, which is known as
Super Mario USA in Japan. Wart is the game's final
boss and appears in the last room of the Level 7-2. Wart looks like a regal, fat
frog, with a
crown on his head and a robe that can scarcely conceal his big
belly. Technically, the character's first appearance was in
Doki Doki Panic, the Japanese game from which Nintendo created the American
Super Mario Bros. 2.
Wart is the only character besides
Bowser and
Bowser Jr. to appear as the final boss of one of the mainstream 2D sidescrolling Mario games — that is, within the main franchise, instead of the
Super Mario Land games or the
RPGs.
According to the
instruction manual to
Super Mario Bros. 2,
Mario has a dream in which a voice pleads for his help. The voice explains that Wart has taken over
Subcon, the land of
dreams, but that Mario can defeat him by taking advantage of Wart's severe
allergy to
vegetables. As the game progresses, however, Mario and his friends see nothing of Wart until the final room. There, Wart challenges Mario â€" or
Luigi or
Toad or
Peach â€" by moving back and forth on his small platform, occasionally stopping to spew forth
bubbles that can cause damage.
To Wart's detriment, the room also contains a strange
contraption that has three funnel-shaped pipes that shoot out vegetables â€" both
turnips that appear throughout the game, but also rare vegetables sprites like
tomatoes that Nintendo presumably created for this level alone. Mario â€" or whichever hero the player chooses â€" must catch the vegetables, then throw them into Wart's mouth. If the vegetable hits the bubble, it evaporates. Another trick easily exploited by Luigi and the Princess is to stand behind Wart (he won't do anything) and throw it when he opens his mouth.
Once Wart is force-fed seven vegetables, he will blow a few puffs of smoke, turns dark, then gets KO'd. In the game's finale, the player will see the freed denizens of Subcon â€" a small, red-suited, white-faced
fairy folk that the game's credits also refer to as "
Subcon" â€" pass his unconscious body off screen, presumably where he is disposed of, jailed, or otherwise exiled (see
Link's Awakening). In the
Super Mario All-Stars version, while Wart is being carried off, a strange, red liquid (possibly blood) has formed around his eyes.
Finally, the game ends with a shot of Mario sleeping, indicating that the entire adventure may have been a dream. The game's entire cast of heroes and villains then scrolls across the screen, ending on Wart, who laughs suspiciously before fading away. Despite that ambiguous exit, Wart never appeared again in a Mario game, excluding the
remake of
Super Mario Bros. 2, which was featured in
Super Mario All-Stars and also ported to
Super Mario Advance. In
Super Mario Advance, Wart spoke, and did so in an angry, grumbly voice (provided by
Charles Martinet). His introduction was "I am the Great Wart! Wah, ha ha
" and would croak "ribbit" when hit with vegetables.In Doki Doki Panic, Wart's name is Mamu, Japanese for wart. In this game's storyline, Mamu abducts the youngest brother and sister from an Arabian family by snatching them away through an enchanted storybook. This game's heroes â€" siblings Imajin and Lina and parents Mama and Papa â€" fight Wart in the same manner, however. And again, killing Wart frees the mysterious red fairy folk in this game as well.
Curiously, Wart appears as a helpful character in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, under the name "Mamu". The sprite is nearly identical, in fact. He teaches Link a new song to play on the ocarina, "Frog Song of Soul." Also note that Link's Awakening, like Super Mario Bros. 2, takes place inside what is presumably a dream.
Though quite possibly not related, a miniboss in the Nintendo 64 game The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask named Wart (who appeared in the Great Bay Temple) would spew damaging bubbles which the player would have to avoid to damage Wart's eye. However, this may more likely be a reference to the boss of the Swamp Dungeon in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, who looked, acted, and was defeated in almost the exact same way as the Wart in Majora's Mask.
In the Nintendo GameCube title Animal Crossing, one of the possible residents players could have live in their town is a frog named Wart Jr. The nod to this Wart is a small one, as they share the same name. Wart Jr. is however, very grumpy. In the Nintendo DS sequel though, Wart Jr. occasionally mentions his plan of conquering the world, but it is foiled by various jock characters. | Wart makes an appearance in the Super Mario Bros. comics. |
Strangely, Wart himself never appeared in the Super Mario Bros. television series, even though his many minions were regulars during the first season. It is possible that the producers merged Wart and Bowser into King Koopa for the animated series, especially since the latter's animated design borrows some features from Wart (most notably the crown on his head and the more crocodilian face).
However, Wart did appear in one comic story published for the Nintendo Comics System. Titled "Cloud Burst", this story has Princess Peach's father, King Toadstool, looking to buy a new mattress, as his current one is too lumpy. Disguised as a bed salesman, Wart takes the King up into the clouds and advertises a bed-shaped rain cloud as a Cloud Nine mattress. As the King rests up on that cloud, it causes rain all over the Mushroom Kingdom, but is quickly patched up by the Mario Bros. Although this was Wart's only comic appearance, one particular line of dialogue from Mario seemed to suggest that Wart frequently kidnapped the King in that continuity. Oddly, his character design resembled a crocodile rather than a frog.
Wart also appeared in book six of the Nintendo Adventure Books, titled Doors to Doom. There, though, he appeared as a skateboarder who ended up helping the Mario Bros. during their current plight. This cameo of his may have inspired how, in some fan-based material, he's actually a good king who may have been corrupted by Bowser.
He is said by fanon to be related to Bowser â€" perhaps due to the fact that some of Wart's own minions have been shown to be working for Bowser in later games. Some fans claim he is Bowser's older brother who was refused the Koopa Kingdom because he was turned into a frog due to a magical accident (for which Bowser may be responsible).
Like many seemingly forgotten Mario characters, Wart is a popular villain in fan fiction. One of Wart's most notable fan-made appearances was as the main antagonist of the Rise of the Mushroom Kingdom series. He is also one of the primary guests in the web comic Neglected Mario Characters, where he is often portrayed as a hitman for Bowser.
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