Pronto
- Not to be confused with Prongo.
| Pronto | |
|---|---|
| |
| Species | Toad |
| First appearance | The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - The Provolone Ranger (1989) |
Pronto is a native Mushroom who appears in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. He lives in Sudden Death Valley and is gifted with the ability to run swiftly with little effort. Although Pronto is shown to live in a tribe with other native Mushrooms, no other members were ever seen or referenced. Pronto is a reference to Tonto from The Lone Ranger.
History[edit]
Mario, who had been kicked off his own stagecoach by Billy the Koopa and a Koopa Troopa, finds himself stranded in Sudden Death Valley nearly dying of thirst. Pronto overhears Mario's request for water and runs to him. Pronto and Mario introduce each other, and Pronto tells Mario that he can tap juice from a cactus if he needs a drink. After Mario quenches his thirst, he informs Pronto that he needs to stop Billy the Koopa, who has hijacked the stagecoach he and his friends were using to deliver Gold Coins to Mushridge. Upon hearing this, Pronto realizes that Mario would need his help in order to stop Billy the Koopa while in Sudden Death Valley.
Pronto brings Mario back to his tepee, where Mario dons a cowboy suit and a mask. Acknowledging Mario's disguise, Pronto goes on to teach him the ways of the west. He presents Mario with a revolver, but when Mario tries to shoot targets with it, his aim is off until he uses miniature silver plungers as ammunition. Pronto then tries to teach Mario how to use a lasso, but Mario endes up tangling the two of them until he uses a plumber's snake instead of a rope. Mario then manages to tame his Ostro by feeding it a submarine sandwich, and Pronto complimentes him on his fast learning. Mario then dubs himself as the Provolone Ranger, as the two heroes set off to find Billy the Koopa.
After exploring Sudden Death Valley, Pronto gets off his Ostro to search for a sign of Billy the Koopa, but comes up empty handed. Mario then sees a sign with King Koopa's picture that led into a canyon, and the two of them follow it. Walking into the canyon, Mario and Pronto come to a dead end and walk into Billy the Koopa's trap. Although they are surrounded by Billy the Koopa and his Koopa Troopas, Mario comes up with a plan to distract the Koopa Troopas while Pronto snatches all of the Cobrats. Although they are successful, Pronto fails to notice a Pokey, who catches and presents him to two Koopa Troopas, who proceed to tie him up.
Pronto is taken to the Double Cross Ranch, where Luigi, Princess Toadstool and Toad are also being held as Billy the Koopa's hostages. Tied to a chair, there is little that Mario's friends can do, even as Mario arrives and drives off all the Koopas from the ranch. However, they all cheer him on as best they can.
After Mario scares Billy the Koopa out of Sudden Death Valley, he frees his friends from the Double Cross Ranch and is able to deliver the Gold Coins to Mushridge. There, Mario says farewell to Pronto and proceeds to drive off with his friends on their stagecoach. An elderly citizen of Mushridge asks Pronto who the masked man is, and Pronto responds that he was the Provolone Ranger. The man remarks that they never even got a chance to thank him and invites him to dinner. Mario overhears the mention of dinner and comes running back to them at a high speed, stating that he ran faster than Pronto.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese (simplified) | 普罗托[1] Pǔluótuō |
Pronto | |
| French | Pronto[2] | - | |
| German | Pronto[3] | - | |
| Italian | Scheggia[4] | Speedy (it also means "splinter"). Coincidentally, it is also the name Tails received in the Italian dub in both Sonic the Hedgehog animated series from DIC. | |
| Spanish | Pronto[5] | - | |
| Swedish | Pronto[6] | - |
