A 1-Up mushroom is an essential part of any Mario game, a literal pick-me-up in a fungal form that guarantees you an extra chance to complete a level. Green mushrooms that add a touch of resurrection to a Mario Bros. run, these power-ups are iconic and might harbor a dark secret that could rock Nintendo’s mega-popular franchise to its very core.
As noted by the Twitter account Super Mario Broth, a page from the Super Mario 64 manga all the way back in 1996 suggested that Mario was trapped in a grim cycle of eco-friendly life and death. Every Mario who died in the Mushroom Kingdom would eventually become one with the dirt, their bodies feeding the soil and producing 1-Up mushrooms that the next Mario could consume. This probably explains why a single 1-Up in Super Mario 64 was almost impossible to collect.
A 1996 Super Mario 64 manga suggests that 1-Up Mushrooms grow from the bodies of dead Marios, perpetuating the cycle of life and death. pic.twitter.com/KjGsnig3hB
— Supper Mario Broth (@MarioBrothBlog) March 23, 2023
Before an existential crisis about the state of Mario takes root, it’s worth noting that this is just an interesting idea from the manga authors. “Please note that these mangas are filled with jokes and eccentric theories such as this,” Super Mario Broth added. “This should be taken more as an interesting thought experiment than anything that would actually be endorsed by Nintendo!”