Thanks to NantenJex, Wolfman, and Tris for helping with edits.
When it comes to platforming, practically no one has the highs attained by Nintendo’s principal plumber. Shigeru Miyamoto’s “fortune character” Mario frequently breaks new ground for the medium, and today we’re going to examine one of his more well-known alter egos.
Metal Mario, seen in 2011’s Mario Kart 7 (Image: Nintendo)
In a 1991 interview, Miyamoto joked how Mario “might wear metallic clothes” in the future. The earliest visual depiction of a metallic Mario occurred three years later through a Super Game Boy commercial. It took until 1996’s Super Mario 64, however, for that concept to be ardently explored. Mario’s pioneering 3D adventure introduced three new caps for him to wear, bequeathing upon him temporary new forms and abilities. Of those three forms, Metal Mario’s enjoyed the most enduring legacy, transcending 64 and becoming a fixture in the greater Mario universe.
Metal Mario’s History
Mario first encountered his lustrous headwear when he stumbled upon the Cavern of the Metal Cap. Nestled within the rusted cave was a green ! Switch; activating it made all translucent green ! Blocks populating 64 tangible, granting ready access to the Metal Cap. Upon donning one, Mario transforms into Metal Mario, becoming nearly invulnerable (replacing the Starman from prior games), immune to poisonous gas, and weighty enough to walk underwater unhindered. Notably, Metal Mario did not reappear in 64’s Nintendo DS revamp; it divided the three cap powers between Mario and interlopers Luigi and Wario, with the latter inheriting the Metal state.
Otherwise unrelated works, like the Pac-Man World trilogy and FlingSmash, give their protagonists similar metallic transmutations; Metal’s a trendsetter! (Image: Nintendo)
Mario Golf was the series’ first spin-off to include Mario’s ironclad incarnation, featuring him as its final secret character (interestingly, he was exclusive to the game’s North American and PAL iterations). Dr. Mario 64‘s marquee practitioner evolves into Metal Mario if certain conditions are met, serving as the culminating opponent in Wario’s campaign. Subsequent games – Mario Party 6 and 7, Strikers Charged, Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, and the Super Smash Bros. series from Melee onward – allow Mario to change back into Metal through various means. Super Mario Odyssey, meanwhile, draws from the merry mascot’s storied past to provide him a large wardrobe of alternate outfits, one of which recalls Metal’s blocky Mario 64 model.
However, other titles make an effort to differentiate Metal from Mario, presenting them as separate individuals. Smash Bros. prominently does so; Metal Mario is “an incredibly stubborn mid-level boss” in the first entry, and reprises that role in Melee’s Adventure Mode (where he’s joined by Metal Luigi once players unlock his namesake). After a hiatus from his home franchise, Mario’s denser derivative was reintroduced in Mario Kart 7 as one of his rivals. He’s remained a recurring force in Mario’s events since, returning for Mario Kart 8, Arcade GP DX, Tennis Open, and Sports Superstars. Mario Kart Tour‘s slated to be his next appearance, and the abundant amount of merchandise in his likeness further cements Metal’s place in Mario iconography. Both Marios are voiced by Charles Martinet, but contemporary titles apply a filter over Metal’s clips to distinguish him. To help portray him as a sort of Mario Bizarro – “Bizarrio?” – Metal sometimes has stiffer animations, is a tad cockier, and occasionally spouts “Mia mamma!” and “Papa,” corrupted versions of his counterpart’s catchphrases.
In the first Smash, Metal‘s fought atop his own stage and bears his own emblem, a stylized version of Mario’s Mushroom. In Ultimate, he returns as a Spirit and confronts Bowser in the climax of his “Classic Mode” scenario. (Image: Nintendo)
So, what’re my thoughts on Metal Mario?
If I were asked which version of Mario is my favorite, I’d pick Metal Mario. While some of that can be accredited to my nostalgia for Mario 64 and fondness for cold, chrome characters, a lot is owed to the striking complexion of Mario’s metallic metamorphosis. His earlier transformations (save for Statue Mario, an extension of Tanooki Mario) merely adjusted his palette, added an accoutrement to his design, or stuffed him in a suit, maintaining clear vestiges of his humanity. The Metal Cap rejected that stipulation, converting Mario’s entire body into steel and removing the irises on his eyes. Unlike fellow 64 proselytes Wing and Vanish Mario, the magnitude of Metal’s conversion was constantly felt audibly; he bore his own power-up theme while his coevals shared theirs, and his movement was augmented with metallic sounds.
His Smash depiction accentuated that latter element, eschewing Mario’s voice entirely in favor of emphasizing Metal’s booming footsteps. Smash speciated Metal Mario into a silent, nigh indomitable antagonist who seldom flinched and never ran after his targets, a demeanor more reminiscent of the Terminator or Halloween’s Micheal Myers than the warm altruist we’re well-acquainted with. It’s in Mario’s nature to be whimsical and fun, but there was a cooler, almost intimidating manner to how his clunkier counterpart could be rendered.
Metal Mario gained Gold Mario as an alternate costume in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, an extension of the original’s earnable Gold kart parts. (Image: Nintendo)
As someone who never took issue with Marvel vs. Capcom 2 hosting two Wolverines or seeing clones like Dark Pit crop up in Smash, it doesn’t startle me when Metal Mario exists independently of his organic self. Sonic’s Super alias appeared as an unlockable participant in titles like Sonic R and Shuffle, setting a precedent for Metal to occupy a similar position in Mario’s shindigs. However, others argue the iron imitative’s inclusion therein is superfluous. I appreciate him partially because he’s an easy extra; realizing him requires little beyond simply adjusting Mario’s model, voice, and stats (a unique racer like Diddy Kong or Waluigi wouldn’t have made Mario Kart 7 in lieu of Metal). Those who enjoy Mario as a character but prefer playing as characters in the heavyweight class, such as myself, even get to use a version of the star suited to their playstyle. And unlike Baby Daisy, Baby Rosalina, or his radiant female parallel Pink Gold Peach, Metal Mario wasn’t fabricated just for Mario Kart; he carries history. His presence in side games neither demands nor garners much excitement – regardless of how Metal’s presented, he’s still fundamentally Mario – but it’s perfectly kosher.
We’ve witnessed the portly plumber assume several different forms over the years, and who knows what new, bold power-ups he’s yet to discover? Some of Mario’s modern transformations, namely Gold Mario and Galaxy’s Ice and Boo Mario, visually deemphasize his human features not unlike his grayscale aesthetic, though none of them match his first monumental rejigging into Metal Mario. I enjoy playing as Metal when doing so is an option, I’m glad he’s had a resurgence, and I look forward to seeing him continue to prove he’s the preeminent Mario.
Congratulations, Metal Mario! The best!
After Rosalina, Metal Mario’s my go-to in Mario Kart, a series he shines in. He really is the best! (Image: Nintendo)
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I’m… neutral to Metal Mario. I think it’s weird that Nintendo’s treating him like a separate character, but they did that all the way back in Mario Golf, so I guess I can’t complain much. The same goes with Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, and Baby Peach, they were all in games before Mario Kart, so I’m okay with them. Characters like Baby Daisy and Pink Gold Peach, though, strike me as stupid, and I LOATH Baby Rosalina because her presence actively contradicts Rosalina’s backstory in Super Mario Galaxy, it’s like Nintendo has no respect for the characters they include in spin-offs, and not shame in making creatively bankrupt ones to fill out a roster!
Hey, Matt!
It’s absolutely weird that Nintendo’s spinning Metal Mario off as his own entity, but they do that sometimes in auxiliary games – IIRC, Mario Party: Island Tour billed Dry Bowser as “a close family friend” to his namesake, so Mario spin-offs have looser rules for this sort of thing. That said, I do appreciate how (depending on the game, anyway) Nintendo puts in some effort to sell Metal as his own man. I like Smash‘s cold characterization for him the most, but Metal’s Bizarro take on Mario is appreciated and helps distinguish him, even if only slightly. One of the responses I got on Twitter was a suggestion that Metal Mario the OC should become a recurring boss in the mainline series, and another posited that he could be the next guest star in the probably inevitable Switch Mario & Luigi sequel. If Nintendo wants him to be his own character, I’d be up for them going all the way with it.
I have more complicated opinions regarding the babies (a few of them are on my “Character Chronicle” idea list, so… look forward to that?), and, save for Baby Mario, I generally find them to be the least interesting inclusions in spin-off rosters. That said, I’m okay with most of them and the only one I outright dislike is Baby Rosalina, for the same reasons you do. I’m surprisingly neutral to Pink Gold Peach though – I wouldn’t exactly miss her if she never reappears and she’s transparently only there for the sake of padding rosters with a heavyweight Peach, but I think Peach is significant enough to justify a heavyweight flavor of her just as Mario apparently does.
So, in conclusion, Metal Mario for Smash!
I remember being a little sacred as a kid seeing Metal Mario in-game and also in promotional art (like the one at top) but at the same time being fascinated with the pretty 3D. 🙂 MM is a memorable form, not exactly one of my personal favorite forms but still a good one.
I also agree with Matt Bankey on disliking Baby Daisy and Baby Rosalina, honestly I hate all the Baby versions of the characters.
Hey, Greatsong!
As you may or may not know, the Metal Mario render used in this header was featured in Nintendo’s old Super Mario 64 player’s guide. As I told Voyager, it was my single favorite page in the magazine, I thought Mario looked so cool there. And then Super Smash Bros. and Melee came around and cemented Metal as my personal favorite form of Mario – the excited, surprised reaction I had first seeing him challenge me in Smash 64‘s single-player mode all those years ago cannot be understated. “Wow, it’s Metal Mario?! He’s so cool! But how am I supposed to beat him when he’s supposed to be invincible?! …And how do I unlock him and this cool stage?!”
I like a lot of Mario’s other transformations too, and I plan to cover a few of them down the road. Which take on Mario is your personal favorite, friend?
As I said in my replay to Matt, I have more complicated opinions regarding the babies (some of whom are on my idea list for this series, in fact) and I tend to find them to be the least exciting inclusions in spin-off rosters. But I genuinely like Baby Mario, and I’m personally okay with most of them popping up in side games; if I’m thankful Metal provides Mario’s fans, myself included, an alternative heavyweight version of him, I can appreciate that Baby Mario does the opposite for those who prefer playing as lightweights.
My personal favorite Mario form would have to be Tanooki Mario, mostly out of nostalgia. Good times…
Metal Mario has been pretty sweet over the years. They also changed the metal pallets since 4 to be a metallic hue instead of a full body color. So he does look different from the Metal power-up if he were to be separately playable in Smash. Besides that, the lack of irises is another difference.It’d also be interesting to see a metallic variant on FLUDD perhaps, or just a different Down B that isn’t necessarily the Mario Spin. You could also include other power-ups that Mario doesn’t use in general, maybe some from the Mario Kart games.
Hey, Irene. Sorry for the later than expected response, I’ve had computer troubles for most of the month.
Anyway, I knew this comment was yours immediately, since I’ve seen you talk about how the metal palettes have changed in the Smash Underdogs Discord. Metal Mario’s secretly been one of my most wanted Echo Fighters since the phrase “Echo Fighter” was coined, something owed to how much I loved and wanted to officially play as him in the first Smash. I’m not exactly a fan of F.L.U.D.D. in Mario’s moveset (which is something I’ll discuss another day) so I’d prefer the Mario Tornado if it’s a choice between the two, though there’s plenty of material for a new down special, yeah. I remember seeing some old moveset concepts way back for Toad being themed around that, they just lumped a lot of the unused Mario power-ups onto him.