Wario and Waluigi

The Unsolved Mysteries

Most avid Mario fans know about the dastardly arch-rivals, Wario and Waluigi. However, little is known about these purple-clad plumber haters. All Nintendo has ever given us was small tidbits of info, such as Wario being jealous of Mario since they were young and Waluigi having the same anger toward Luigi. We can also tell that Wario's rather greedy, judging by his treasure collection in the Wario Land series. Wario's favorite item in Mario Party 2 and 3 is the Dueling Glove, which tells us that he likes to pick fights with others. And guessing by their partner match-ups in Mario Party 3, we can infer that Wario has a bit of a fondness toward Bob-ombs, while Waluigi prefers to be around Piranha Plants.

But that's just about it. Nintendo and co. are keeping a stiff upper lift on anything referring to the Wario Bros. past and such. Or have they?

Some games do leave subtle hints that could point to information on Wario and Waluigi, as well as leaving lots of ground for us Mariologists to infer upon. So let's begin.

First thing's first, are Wario and Waluigi even brothers? Most people immediately assume so much. But look at Mario and Luigi. They resemble each other very closely, where Wario and Waluigi are as different as pickles and peanut butter in most aspects. They do have similar mustaches, eye color, hair style, ears, noses, and fashion sense, but that's where the similarities stop. Are they really brothers?

To get a solid answer to the previous question, we need to look at the "subtle hints". If you've never played Wrecking Crew or Panic Restaurant, then you probably don't know who Foreman Spike (the villain of Wrecking Crew) and O'Dove (the villain of Panic Restaurant) are. Either way, Foreman Spike resembles Wario in several aspects, and Waluigi resembles O'Dove likewise. See these pics for comparison:

Here's Wario...

And Spike.

Waluigi...

And O'Dove...

Therefore, we can determine that their full names are Wario Spike and Waluigi O'Dove. That would point even further in the direction of them not being brothers.

Still, you can't deny those similar qualities, so we can actually infer who their parents are in two different ways.

First, we can assume that their mother married a man named Mr. Spike. They had a son named Wario, but got a divorce where Spike took Wario with him. Then their mother married a man named Mr. O'Dove, and they had a son named Waluigi. Under this theory, the Wario Bros. would be half-brothers.

The other theory is that their mother could have been named O'Dove, married Spike, had two sons, then got a divorce and separated the kids. This would imply that they're full-brothers, just separated from each other.

For the record, I personally prefer the first theory over the second. So I shall be applying that theory to the next. So, one mystery down, more to go.

Next we can assume the heritage of the Wario Bros. They both bear Italian accents. However, in Mario Tennis we hear Wario say "Ach tung!", a German phrase. We can also see that O'Dove is an Irish name. Since Wario and Waluigi share a common mother, it's safe to say that their mother was Italian, since that's the common trait of their heritage. And since Wario says the phrase instead of Waluigi, we can infer that Mr. Spike was German. Which leaves Mr. O'Dove to be Irish, because of his name.

Two mysteries down...

With family heritage down pat, we can ask why Wario and Waluigi have names so similar to Mario and Luigi's. It's probably not a coincidence... However, we do know that Mario and Wario knew each other from childhood, which means that Wario's parents must also be familiar with the Mario family. So perhaps Wario's mother was a good friend of the Marios and named her son after them, with a slight twist. Then, when she named Waluigi, she decided to name him after the Mario family's latest son (likely Luigi) and also mixed a bit of Wario's name in because she misses him.

We could also assume that the Wario Bros. were both born after Mario and Luigi, and named after the two as an homage. This theory doesn't work quite as well, since Waluigi is believed to be the same age as Luigi.

Once again, I prefer the former of the theories. And we're down to the final theory...

Which being, why do Wario and Waluigi look so odd (their ears and noses)? I'm not actually sure why their ears are so elfish, but it could be because of a mutation or such. But then, why do Mario and Luigi have those bulbous noses? The world may never know...

The Wario Bros. noses, however, can be determined. In the Japanese version of Wario Land 2, the penguins that turn you into Crazy Wario are actually throwing beer at you. And since one of the symptoms of alcoholism is a swelled nose, that could be just the case. They also bear light-blue sacks around their eyes, you may note.

So brings us to the end of this report. Remember, Wario Spike and Waluigi O'Dove really aren't evil, just greedy bullies.

As usual, if you have any comments or questions, e-mail me at yodarock@yahoo.com .

Thanks to Masamune and Ditto McCloaker for some elaboration on the theories, and Masa again for use of his pics.