Wario

The bad Mario who seeks treasure, laughs loudly, and thrives on greed.

Wario is a central figure in Nintendo's Mario franchise, designed explicitly as an antithesis to Mario. His name combines "Mario" and the Japanese word warui (悪い), meaning "bad," symbolized by a "W" on his hat that acts as an upside-down "M." Created by Hiroji Kiyotake and voiced by Charles Martinet from 1993 until 2023, Wario first appeared as the main antagonist in the 1992 Game Boy title Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. Usually portrayed as a selfish and greedy treasure hunter, he often loses his spoils by an adventure's end due to karmic irony. Beyond his role as a villain, he serves as the antihero protagonist of the Wario Land platformer series and the WarioWare party game series.

Quick Facts

Series: Mario
First game: Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1992)
Designer: Hiroji Kiyotake

Lore & Background

Wario's design emerged from Super Mario Land's team wanting their own character to symbolize their situation. He is a malevolent caricature featuring a large head, cleft chin, muscular arms, and a zig-zagging mustache, wearing yellow and purple plumber attire. While Nintendo originally considered making him German, he became Italian like Mario; voice actor Charles Martinet noted that while Wario is jealous and mean-gruff, he lacks any German influence despite early translation plans.

His relationship with Waluigi remains ambiguous; though early European material portrayed them as brothers, Martinet described them in 2008 simply as "two nice, evil guys who found each other." In his earliest appearances like Super Mario Land 2 and Wario's Woods, he was sometimes depicted with magical abilities, such as turning enemies into minions, but his size changes in those games are gameplay mechanics rather than consistent magical traits.

After Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (1994), garlic became a recurring health item, though mushrooms also appeared in that game; the shift to garlic as his signature item was gradual. Later entries in the WarioWare series depicted him as a smelly slob who transforms into "Wario-Man" via garlic, gaining powers related to flatulence and bad breath.

Reader's Guide

Wario is a playable character in Mario spin-offs including Mario Sports games, Mario Kart, and Mario Party, where he typically pairs with Waluigi as a comedy duo rivaling Mario and Luigi. He also appears frequently in the Super Smash Bros. fighting game series. His gameplay often emphasizes strength; for instance, in Mario Strikers: Battle League, his special shot involves smashing his butt into the ball before devouring garlic. In WarioWare: Touched!, he uses farts as a special attack, while bombs serve as visual motifs for microgame time limits.

Designers for Wario Land: Shake It! focused on his reckless behavior and masculinity, with design director Tadanori Tsukawaki describing him as "so uncool that he ends up being extremely cool." Although an early 1990s guide claimed they were childhood friends, this was later contested, establishing them instead as childhood rivals. Director Shigeru Miyamoto advised actors in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026) to avoid crude jokes for Mario but confirmed Wario's bodily function humor would remain intact.