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Longtime Nintendojo readers likely know that this writer was a huge fan and advocate for the Sega and Capcom books Archie Comics used to publish. Sonic the Hedgehog was the flagship of Archie’s video game comic book imprint and had been published since 1992. For ten years (starting with issue #160 of Sonic) the series was penned by writer Ian Flynn, whose mark on the franchise was indelible and quite beloved by many a reader. Flynn’s penchant for world-building, great characterization, and fun, all-ages storytelling was an immediate boon to Sonic and extended into his work on Mega Man later down the road.
With video game industry mainstays like Sega and Capcom under Archie’s wing, it only makes sense that the publisher would try to snag one of the biggest properties out there— Mario. Now, a couple years on following the end of Archie’s days running Sonic and Mega Man, Flynn reveals that Archie did indeed make a pitch to Nintendo for a Super Mario Bros. miniseries! Flynn revealed all on his Twitter account; below is a transcription of his posts. Note that we’ve condensed the tweets into a more readable form, but that all content has been reprinted as originally typed:
“So since I can’t talk about unused Sonic plans (yet), and I’m 99.9% sure it’s dead, let’s talk about the Super Mario Bros. pitch I did for Archie Comics instead. The springboard was for a 4-part mini that would hopefully turn into an on-going. It had the same approach as Archie!Sonic & Archie!MegaMan at the time: narrative-driven adaptations of the games with stories bridging the canon. It would adapt the original Mario Bros. game. It started off with Mario & Luigi being summoned to Peach’s castle for a plumbing job. Luigi was excited for the career-defining contract, Mario less enthused – a job’s a job & he’s bored of their career. They arrive just after Bowser has ransacked the Mushroom Kingdom.
With literally no one left to save the princess, Mario jumps at the call to adventure. Luigi less so. They stock up on what power-ups are left after the invasion and embark on a journey through Worlds 1-8, burning through their provisions since they’re novice heroes. They reach Bowser’s Castle in W8-4 and Luigi calls it quits. This is suicide. They’re PLUMBERS, not heroes. Mario refuses to give up – too many are counting on them. They part ways, Mario storming the castle. Mario makes his way past the traps and firebars to his first showdown with Bowser. The King of Koopas wants to know who’s been causing so much trouble for his troops and it’s…this pudgy guy? Oh well. Anyone who challenges him meets the same fate.
It’s a knock-down, drag-out fight on the bridge over a magma moat. Mario is too nimble for Bowser to land a solid hit, but Bowser is too tough for Mario to actually hurt. They’re at a stalemate when a scream is heard, building from deep in the hall… It’s Luigi, screaming in blind terror, running thru the castle as fast as he can. Over the bridge. Past the baffled combatants. Into a wall. Which knocks loose the decorative axe. Which cuts the bridge. Mario bounces off the falling Bowser to safety. Mario and Luigi reconcile – yeah, Mario may have gotten in over his head, but Luigi could never abandon his brother. Together they rescue Peach who shares a bashful love-at-first-sight moment with Mario.
The trio returns to the Mushroom Kingdom and begin to rebuild. Peach names Mario & Luigi royal plumbers. Luigi is overjoyed – they’re set for life now! No more adventures! Cut to the stinger ending of Bowser crawling out of the magma moat. From what I heard thru the grapevine it was well received at NoA, but stalled out at NoJ. Looking back on it now it’s not how I’d approach a Mario project today – too much drama, not enough whimsy. Still, I thought some of y’all might get a kick out of it.”
It certainly sounds like this pitch had some potential! Sadly, it also sounds like Nintendo’s brass in Kyoto said no to the proposal, but who knows: with Flynn now working on Sonic the Hedgehog over at IDW, one can only hope that maybe Nintendo will some day return to him with a way to bring Mario to the world of American comics. Would you have read this miniseries? Share your take in the comments or on social media!
Source: Twitter
