Mushroom King
It has been requested that this article be rewritten and expanded to include more information. Reason: Describe his appearances in official manga (tagged on October 16, 2021)
| Mushroom King | |
|---|---|
 The Mushroom King, as he appears in the comics | |
| Full name | King Toadstool |
| Species | Human (and/or Toad) (comics and illustrations) Dinohattanite (Super Mario Bros. film) |
- “Excuse me, everybody! I just closed the peanut butter jar on my tie. Can somebody help me?”
- —Mushroom King, 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 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'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 mentioned on Princess Toadstool's profile in a 1993 character guide produced by Nintendo of America.
History
Super Mario Bros.
The Mushroom King is briefly mentioned in passing in English localizations of the manual.[1] With few exceptions such as Super Mario Bros. Deluxe,[2] this is generally not included in subsequent releases as the Japanese manual does not mention him.[3] The Official Nintendo Player's Guide mentions that he ruled the kingdom with a queen.[4] 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
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 that is often taken by Bowser's forces and being transformed into various animals). 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 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. After escaping from a whale, the king joins Mario and friends in their renewed quest to saving Mario Land. Near the end of the arc, Wario's dark power influences the king's 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.
Super Mario Bros. (film)
- “Trust the fungus.”
- —Luigi, Super Mario Bros.
The King (as his role is credited) appears as a character in the Super Mario Bros. film and was portrayed by Lance Henriksen. He served as royalty of Dinohattan, ruling with his wife. Then, General Koopa overthrew his government, setting himself up as dictator and turned the King into a sentient fungus using his de-evolution inventions. The "heart" of this fungus was situated above the King's throne in a room that became to be known as "Devo 4" in Koopa's Tower. This fungus slowly spread throughout the city in a matter described to by Toad and Koopa as "choking the city". Koopa, a germophobe, frequently expressed disgust at the expanding fungus throughout Dinohattan and instilled a Fungus Unit to "de-fungus" residents. This sentient fungus is able to manipulate itself in certain ways and is shown assisting the main characters throughout the film. Its central part located above the King's throne is shown to pulse like a heart, with a head-like ball that emerges in and out at will.
Early in the film, Toad explains his theory to Mario and Luigi that the fungus is a de-evolved version of the King. This sentient fungus form is shown helping the brothers in countless ways throughout the film, first offering them a Bob-omb in their escape from prison. A dismissive and skeptical Mario nudges Luigi away from the offer, and the two continue their escape. After the brothers drive off a cliff of an unfinished tunnel, the overgrown fungus takes hold of the police car they are in and gently takes it close enough to the floor for the brothers to jump off safely. Luigi mentions to Mario that the fungus saved them, but Mario arrogantly dismisses the claim, stating that it was his driving that saved them. At some points during the film, Lena and President Koopa allude to the King's fate to his daughter, without clarifying what they mean.
During the brothers' escape from the Boom Boom Bar, the King's sentient fungus form offers them a Bob-omb again and Luigi takes it this time. Back in Koopa's Tower, President Koopa has a short conversation with the King's fungus form in Devo 4, saying all of his rebellion will have been in vain once he successfully merges Dinohattan and Earth. A reformed Iggy and Spike encounter Daisy trying to escape from Koopa's Tower, and take her in to Devo 4 to properly explain and introduce her to her father. They leave the room to give her time alone with him.
Meanwhile, also at Koopa's Tower, Mario jumps into a seemingly bottomless pit after witnessing Luigi do it first and seemingly flying (he had actually been caught by an overhanging hook). As Mario falls, the King's fungus expands and takes a trampoline-type form, helping Mario bounce back up and down. Luigi catches him on his second jump and the two swing to safety. As they continue deeper into Koopa's Tower, Luigi believes that the fungus is trying to communicate to him, and picks a shiny, growing Mushroom off the fungus. Mario is still unconvinced at this point. The brothers' enter Devo 4 where Daisy is at, and Daisy properly introduces Mario and Luigi to her father. Luigi is taken aback but tells The King's fungal mass that it is an honor to meet him. The two brothers realize that Luigi had been right and the fungus is in fact trying to help them.
Later at Koopa Square, Luigi advises Mario to "trust the fungus". Mario takes note of this, and uses the fungus to help him climb up onto higher ground over Koopa Square to begin his fight with Koopa. After Koopa's defeat, and the removal of the meteorite piece from the meteorite to re-split the dimensions, the King is shown returning to his Dinohattanite form. He takes some time to cough, before stating that he loves the brothers. Daisy cites her father as her reasoning for wanting to stay in Dinohattan and not return to Earth, saying she wants to have time to get to know him.
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 exploding mushrooms, 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
Bandai's Super Mario Bros. board game artwork (Korean edition)
Kodansha manga (1993)
The king from the 1993 film
President Koopa talking to the King's fungus form
Mario and Luigi meeting the King in Devo 4 accompanied by Daisy
Trivia
- The king from the film is identified by Toad in an early draft screenplay with the name King Karma.[5] In a later revision, he was called King Murphy.[6] While the film was being shot, further rewrites renamed him King Bowser.[7] None of these names ever made it on screen.
- The Todd Strasser novelization of the film and other promotional material relied on the final drafts and identified the character as King Bowser.[8]
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| French | Roi Champignon (Nintendo Comics System)[?] | Mushroom King | |
| Italian | Re dei Funghi[9][10] (Super Mario Bros. and NES Classic - Super Mario Bros.) | King of Mushrooms | |
| Re di Mushroom[11] (Super Mario Bros. Deluxe) | Mushroom King | ||
| Re Bowser (novelization of the Super Mario Bros. movie)[?] | King Bowser |
References
- ^ "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." – 1985. Super Mario Bros. instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 2.
- ^ "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." – 1999. Super Mario Bros. Deluxe instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 2.
- ^ Super Mario Bros. Translation Comparison: Manuals. Legends of Localization (English). Retrieved June 26, 2024.
- ^ "The Mushroom people were ruled by a good king and queen." – Yamashita, Tatsumi (1987). The Official Nintendo Player's Guide. Tokuma Shoten. ISBN 999832369X. Page 28.
- ^ Johnston, Mark (July 10, 2011). 19th February 1992 draft synopsis. Super Mario Bros. Movie Archive (English). Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ September 13, 2011. 17th April 1992 draft synopsis. Super Mario Bros. Movie Archive (English). Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ April 29, 2018. Shooting rewrites 1. Super Mario Bros. Movie Archive (English). Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ Strasser, Todd (1993). Super Mario Bros.. Fantail (American English). ISBN 0-14-090037-3.
- ^ Super Mario Bros. Italian manual. Page 2.
- ^ 2004. NES Classic Super Mario Bros. European manual. Nintendo of Europe (Italian). Page 95.
- ^ Super Mario Bros. Deluxe European manual. Page 103.
| Super Mario Bros. film | |
|---|---|
| Protagonists | Mario • Luigi • Toad • Princess Daisy • The King • Daniella • Yoshi |
| Antagonists | President Koopa • Lena • Iggy • Spike • Sergeant Simon • Big Bertha • Anthony Scapelli |
| Minor characters | Angelica • Daisy's mother • Egon • Hat Check Girl • James • Old lady • Pizza Delivery Boy |
| Species | Dinohattanite • Fungus Unit • Goombas • Snifits |
| Locations | Dinohattan • Devo 4 • Devo Chamber • Koopa Square • Boom Boom Bar • Koopa's Tower • Koopahari Desert |
| Companies | Mario Brothers Plumbing • Scapelli Construction |
| Objects, items, etc. | Bob-ombs • De-evolution • Devolution Gun • Fireball gun • Meteorite piece • Sludge Gulper • Thwomp Stompers |
| Music | Original Motion Picture Soundtrack • Almost Unreal • Walk the Dinosaur |
| Manga | Super Mario: Makai Teikoku no Megami • Bakudan Kinoko |
| Miscellaneous | Deleted scenes • ERTL Merchandise • Gallery • The Making of... Super Mario Bros. • Staff • Trading Cards |
