An Obscure Comic Revealed Why Wario Hates Mario

There are a few absolutes in this universe that will always be diametrically opposed. Good vs. evil. Light vs. darkness. Mario vs. Wario. Yes, ever since his first appearance in "Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins," Wario has been a thorn in the side of everyone's favorite plumber. Even an early attempt to make him into Donkey Kong's nemesis was eventually dropped, with Nintendo seemingly deciding that Wario simply works best as the wacky Bizarro to Mario's mustachioed Superman. But why are these two such bitter enemies?

Believe it or not, Nintendo actually addressed the origin of their rivalry over three decades ago, in an obscure short comic published in conjunction with the North American release of "Super Mario Land 2." As it turns out, Mario might be a bit more to blame than fans could have realized. Here's what an old issue of "Nintendo Power" has to reveal about the history between Mario and Wario.

The January 1993 issue of "Nintendo Power" contained "Mario vs. Wario," a comic that both hyped up Mario's latest enemy and cast the character in a bit of a tragic light. As the comic begins, Mario receives a letter from his old acquaintance, who has invited Mario to a party. Mario's excited by the prospect of catching up with Wario, fondly reminiscing about the times they used to play in the garden and pretend to be cowboys.

However, as Wario reveals in an impassioned monologue, these childhood games were quite literally his villain origin story. Though Mario remembers having fun with Wario back in the day, Wario only remembers how he got beat up during these games, from being bitten by a Piranha Plant in the garden to getting chased and lassoed during every game of cowboy. In one panel, Wario even claims that Mario mocked the young villain during the one and only time he got to play-act as the sheriff. 

Mario refuses to take responsibility when Wario calls him out for bullying, at the end of the story, instead essentially telling Wario he should get over what happened when they were kids. The story concludes with Mario once again terrorizing Wario with a water pistol in a game of cowboys. It's not the best look for Mario, all in all — no wonder why Wario's so competitive and petty now!