Editing Mushroom King

{{rewrite-expand|Describe his appearances in official manga|October 16, 2021}}
{{character infobox
|image=[[File:ValiantComics-KingToadstool.JPG|120px]]<br>The Mushroom King, as he appears in the comics
|full_name=King Toadstool
|species=[[Human]] (and/or [[Toad (species)|Toad]]) (comics and illustrations)<br>[[Dinohattanite]] ([[Super Mario Bros. (film)|''Super Mario Bros.'' film]])}}
{{quote|Excuse me, everybody! I just closed the peanut butter jar on my tie. Can somebody help me?|Mushroom King|source=[[Cloud Burst]]}}
The '''Mushroom King''' (also referred to as '''King Toadstool''' or just '''Toadstool''' in the ''[[Nintendo Comics System]]'') is a seldomly seen ruler of the [[Mushroom Kingdom]] and the father of [[Princess Peach|Princess Toadstool]]. Although he is said to rule alongside the princess, he is a figure that is absent in the video game series. He resembles a human, with the top of his head resembling a [[Toad (species)|Toad]]'s. He does make somewhat notable appearances in other early media such as the ''Nintendo Comics System'', ''[[Nintendo Adventure Books]]'', and the strategy guide illustrations for ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' He is also [[List of Princess Peach profiles and statistics#Nintendo Character Guide (1993)|mentioned]] on Princess Toadstool's profile in a 1993 character guide produced by [[Nintendo|Nintendo of America]].

==History==
===''Super Mario Bros.''===
The Mushroom King is briefly mentioned in passing in English localizations of the manual.<ref>{{cite|quote=The only one who can undo the magic spell on the Mushroom People and return them to their normal selves is the Princess Toadstool, the daughter of the Mushroom King.|title=''Super Mario Bros.'' instruction booklet|page=2|date=1985|publisher=Nintendo of America|language=en-us}}</ref> With few exceptions such as ''[[Super Mario Bros. Deluxe]]'',<ref>{{cite|quote=It is said that only the daughter of the Mushroom King, Princess Toadstool, can break the evil spell and return the inhabitants of the Mushroom Kingdom to their normal selves.|date=1999|title=''Super Mario Bros. Deluxe'' instruction booklet|page=2|publisher=Nintendo of America|language=en-us}}</ref> this is generally not included in subsequent releases as the Japanese manual does not mention him.<ref>{{cite|url=legendsoflocalization.com/super-mario-bros/manuals|title=''Super Mario Bros.'' Translation Comparison: Manuals|publisher=Legends of Localization|language=en|accessdate=June 26, 2024}}</ref> ''The Official Nintendo Player's Guide'' mentions that he ruled the kingdom with a [[List of implied characters#Princess Toadstool's mother|queen]].<ref>{{cite|author=Yamashita, Tatsumi|title=''The Official Nintendo Player's Guide''|publisher=Tokuma Shoten|date=1987|isbn=999832369X|page=28|quote=The Mushroom people were ruled by a good king and queen.}}</ref> Although unmentioned in the games themselves and the Japanese manual for ''Super Mario Bros.'', he was mentioned in the Japanese guidebook ''[[How to win at Super Mario Bros.]]''

===''Hisshō Technique Kan Peki-ban''===
At the end of the ''Super Mario Bros.'' chapter, [[Mario]] takes Princess Peach back home and then departs on his way while the entire kingdom, including the Princess, the King, and the Queen, bids him farewell. The royals are depicted with the same appearance they had in ''How to win at Super Mario Bros.'': The King has a mustache, a goatee, and a Toad-like piece of headgear with the crown on it.

===''Nintendo Comics System''===
[[File:KingToadstoolComics.jpg|thumb|The Mushroom King in the ''Nintendo Comics System'' issue [[Magic Carpet Madness]]]]
In the ''Nintendo Comics System'', the Mushroom King is the de jure leader of the Mushroom Kingdom. However, he is depicted as scatterbrained and dimwitted, so his responsible daughter often performs his royal duties as de facto ruler in his stead. [[Wooster]], the "chief mushroom assistant" and the king's personal subject, is occasionally at odds with him due to his lack of intelligence.

Based on the Mushroom King's role, it is likely that he was based on the [[kings]] from ''[[Super Mario Bros. 3]]'' as he plays a similar role in the comic strips (having a [[Magic Wand|magic wand]] that is often taken by [[Bowser]]'s forces and being transformed into various animals). [[Cloud Nine (comic)|One story]] also implies that he is frequently kidnapped by [[Wart]].

===''Nintendo Adventure Books''===
The Mushroom King appears in most of the ''Nintendo Adventure Books'', continued from his depiction in the ''Nintendo Comics System''.

===''Super Mario'' (Kodansha manga)===
The king appears in the ''[[Super Mario Kart]]'' arc of the [[Super Mario (Kodansha manga)|''Super Mario'' manga]], which stretches from volumes 15 to 17. After Mario and [[Luigi]] accidentally break one of his items while on the job, he sponsors a tournament with the winner being made king for a day. Mario ends up winning the cup but has to do a mountain of paperwork for a day.

The king returns in the ''[[Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins]]'' adaptation, specifically in volumes 20 and 21. [[Princess Peach]] calls him with her cell phone, and he comes to pick her and Mario up in his royal submarine, but the submarine gets smashed by a giant hammer held by the [[octopus (boss)|octopus]]. After escaping from a [[whale]], the king joins Mario and friends in their renewed quest to saving [[Mario Land (Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins)|Mario Land]]. Near the end of the arc, [[Wario]]'s dark power influences the king's [[Toad (species)|subjects]] to stage a coup and hijack a missile to destroy [[Mario's castle]] so no one can have it. Upon Wario's defeat, the subjects regain their senses.
{{br|right}}

===''Super Mario: Makai Teikoku no Megami''===
In the manga adaptation of the ''Super Mario Bros.'' film titled ''[[Super Mario: Makai Teikoku no Megami]]'', The King is mentioned but never directly seen. A resident of the Koopa Kingdom city (the manga's equivalent of Dinohatten) mentions that there exists a theory that the fungus plaguing and spreading throughout the city is the revenge of The King for his dethronement by Koopa. It is never confirmed whether that is the case in this alternate storyline. The fungus growing throughout the city is capable of growing [[Bakudan Kinoko|exploding mushroom]]s, which Mario uses to defeat Koopa. The exploding mushrooms leave behind a residue of fungus which disgusts Koopa, much like his film equivalent. The King and Daisy are also not mentioned to be related in this alternate re-telling of the film events, and as such, Daisy returns to Earth at the story's conclusion unlike her film equivalent. 

==Profile==
===''[[Nintendo Comics System]]'' trading card===
''Royal Ruler and father of the kidnappable princess in Mushroomland''

'''''AS''' benevolent (and muddle-minded) leader of the Mushroom people, the King spends most of his time getting transformed into various creatures by his archenemy, King Koopa. That's when he's not busy getting his tie unstuck from the peanut butter jar.''

'''''HOBBIES''': Gardening, running the kingdom, asking nearby friends and enemies to help him run the kingdom.''

==Gallery==
<gallery>
HowToWin.png|''[[How to win at Super Mario Bros.]]''
SMBOriginalStory.jpg|[[Bandai Namco Entertainment|Bandai]]'s ''Super Mario Bros.'' board game artwork (Korean edition)
Toadstool family HTKP.png|''[[Hisshō Technique Kan Peki-ban]]''
KingToadstool coloringbooks.jpg|''[[Super Mario Bros. Paint 'n' Marker Book]]'' (1989)
KC King.jpg|[[Super Mario (Kodansha manga)|Kodansha manga]] (1993)
King film 1.png|The king from the 1993 film
SMB film Bowser fungus.PNG|President Koopa talking to the King's fungus form
TheKingDevo4.png|Mario and Luigi meeting the King in Devo 4 accompanied by Daisy
</gallery>

==Trivia==
*The king from the film is identified by [[Toad (film character)|Toad]] in an early draft screenplay with the name King Karma.<ref>{{cite|url=www.smbmovie.com/SMBArchive/preproduction/script/5_ParkerTerry_synopsis.htm|author=Johnston, Mark|date=July 10, 2011|title=19th February 1992 draft synopsis|publisher=Super Mario Bros. Movie Archive|accessdate=June 25, 2024|language=en}}</ref> In a later revision, he was called King Murphy.<ref>{{cite|language=en|date=September 13, 2011|url=www.smbmovie.com/SMBArchive/preproduction/script/13_Disney_Synopsis.htm|title=17th April 1992 draft synopsis|publisher=Super Mario Bros. Movie Archive|accessdate=June 25, 2024}}</ref> While the film was being shot, further rewrites renamed him King [[Bowser]].<ref>{{cite|url=www.smbmovie.com/SMBArchive/preproduction/script/14_Rainbow_Synopsis.htm|title=Shooting rewrites 1|publisher=Super Mario Bros. Movie Archive|date=April 29, 2018|language=en|accessdate=June 25, 2024}}</ref> None of these names ever made it on screen.
**The {{wp|Todd Strasser}} novelization of the film and other promotional material relied on the final drafts and identified the character as King Bowser.<ref>{{cite|author=Strasser, Todd|title=''Super Mario Bros.''|publisher=Fantail|language=en-us|date=1993|isbn=0-14-090037-3}}</ref>

==Names in other languages==
{{Foreign names
|Fre=Roi Champignon <small>(''Nintendo Comics System'')</small>
|FreM=Mushroom King
|Ita=Re dei Funghi<ref>{{cite|title=''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' Italian manual|page=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite|title=''[[Classic NES Series|NES Classic]] [[Super Mario Bros.]]'' European manual|page=95|date=2004|publisher=Nintendo of Europe|language=it}}</ref> <small>(''Super Mario Bros.'' and ''NES Classic - Super Mario Bros.'')</small>
|ItaM=King of Mushrooms
|Ita2=Re di Mushroom<ref>{{cite|title=''[[Super Mario Bros. Deluxe]]'' European manual|page=103}}</ref> <small>(''Super Mario Bros. Deluxe'')</small>
|Ita2M=Mushroom King
|Ita3=Re Bowser <small>(novelization of the ''Super Mario Bros.'' movie)</small>
|Ita3M=King Bowser
}}

==References==
<references/>
{{SMB}}
{{SMB film}}
[[Category:Parents]]
[[Category:Kings]]
[[Category:Allies]]
[[Category:Dinohattanites]]
[[Category:Brain Drain characters]]
[[Category:Double Trouble characters]]
[[Category:Leaping Lizards characters]]
[[Category:Monster Mix-Up characters]]
[[Category:Pipe Down! characters]]
[[Category:Unjust Desserts characters]]
[[Category:Super Mario Bros. (film) characters]]