American comic writer Ian Flynn might well be best known for his work with the Sonic the Hedgehog series, but if things had have happened slightly differently, he could have ended up working on some Mario projects, too.
Flynn was the chief writer of Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog series, starting the role in 2006 and seeing it through right up until the comic was cancelled in 2017. Now, he works as the head writer for the IDW Publishing Sonic series, and also writes for Mega Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and more.
It was with Archic Comics that Flynn's pitch for a Super Mario Bros. comic was born; the pitch was for a four-part mini with the hope that it would turn into an ongoing thing. He's shared how the comic would have gone down on Twitter, with events being based on the original Super Mario Bros.:
In the full thread, he goes onto explain that he believes the concept was well-received at Nintendo of America, but that it ultimately didn't successfully pass through Nintendo's head office in Japan. After reading through that, we must admit we'd quite like to sit and flick through the finished (but sadly not real) comic.
What could have been, huh?
[source twitter.com, via nintendoeverything.com]
Comments 30
Seems crazy that there aren't really any current comic book runs of Nintendo's major franchises. I would do bad things for a Metroid one.
That would have been a fun interpretation of Super Mario Bros to read.
I've always wanted to find out what this pitch would look like, this is a really solid story!
Ian Flynn is under appreciated.
his Sonic work at Archie and IDW is top notch fun.
But his run on Mega Man was one of the best comic series I've ever read. It was not only very faithful to the source material, but it did a marvelous job exploring subjects like A.I. rights, the folly of war, and questioning one's role in life.
Somewhere in an alternate timeline, I hope there's a Mario comic that's just as good.
@CharlieGirl Agreed, especially on the Mega Man front. While I think the Robot Masters were ultimately too weak to be intimidating in his run (I blame the made-for-trade nature of comics these days as well as wanting to get through the games as fast as possible), but it was probably overall Ian's best work. I hope IDW picks it up one day and Ian gets to take his time in telling the stories. Elec Man, Quick Man, Guts Man, Gemini Man, Needle Man, Metal Man, they shouldn't be beaten in a couple of pages. You could do a whole arc with them if you wanted.
There where some nice Mario comics (Manga) in Japan.... My user image is from a panel of one of them... Yea, that's naked Mario
"Looking back on it now, that's not how I'd approach a Mario project today - too much drama, not enough whimsy."
Pssh, if that were true, it would mean my idea for a SpongeBob movie where Mr. Krabs and Plankton reconcile their friendship by ultimately sacrificing their lives to save Bikini Bottom from Squilliam Fancyson, who is exploiting the town by aiding humans--who are drilling undersea for oil and disrupting the ecosystem--for his own financial gain, all the while Sqiudward learns the meaning of happiness when he falls in love with Sandy would be too serious for Paramount to ever greenlight.
Haha... that's ridiculous... right?
@Superzone13 A Metroid comic would be amazing.
@Not_Soos I get this is just a joke, but apart from the whole "Mr. Krabs and Plankton dying" thing that's nowhere near as dark as the first Rugrats movie.
I remember archie made the sonic comics really violent like wow sonic had an insane mental breakdown once and ran across the world breaking both his legs but kept going with a crack cocaine face the whole time. JFC. I loved it
Luigi running through scared, Bowser crawling out of the lava...this was ahead of Luigi's Mansion and Dry Bowser!
I want to see this!
Nintendo of America saw that this had good quality, however Japan has a far different view point and idea about how comics (mangas) should appeal, and this is greatly noticeable in how they greenlight those super wierd mangas of Mario and Kirby in Japan but did not saw this comic being worth giving a shot... is a real shame, honestly this comic series of the Mario Bros. would have been really epic considering it would mean bringing most of the Mario games into a much more vivid perspective, and maybe even potentially having a Mario & Sonic crossover at some point if it had been approved by Nintendo.
@Not_Soos that’s actually a feasible plot for a SpongeBob special and I love it
Thank God Ken Penders wasn't in on the project, he'd have tried to claim the Marios as his own creations.
@GameOtaku I was about to say.
@MH4 Haha, thanks! I've actually put quite a bit of thought into this plot. An idea for one part is that Squilliam is getting away, and SpongeBob has to pursue him in a death-defying boat mobile chase, which results in SpongeBob finally getting his license. Maybe I should actually start writing this stuff down, lol.
@Noid I didn't necessarily mean dark, just yoo serious. Like a Squidward/Sandy love connection would be more character development than I think Nick would care for, like what NoJ probably thought about the Mario comic. I've never actually seen all of the first Rugrats movie, though; I was never a huge fan of the show for some reason. Rugrats in Paris was really good, and I know it definitely had some pretty serious moments.
@Not_Soos If you ever write this as a story and post this online, @ me. I’d love to read it; it’s golden!
I used to love reading the bible
@MH4 You've given me enough motivation that I just might do that!
Wow, I feel like that's pretty accurate to the characters too. Was this really done back in the day? I thought the whole "Luigi is a coward" thing was only the last few years or so. Or I guess, since Luigi's Mansion (weird that I still think of that as not that long ago...)
@Not_Soos Might I suggest Squilliam taking advantage of Patchy by claiming to be friends with SpongeBob as a potential way he gains access to the human world? 😃
I would totally remake this if I could actually draw 😂
I think I can see a few reasons why NOJ ultimately turned it down. They probably didn't want to risk clashing with the Super Mario Kun series or they probably saw the stuff that was going on with Archie and Sonic at the time and probably wanted to stay as far away from their mess as possible
@chiefeagle02 So much potential to tell stories that take place in between the games. Or even a Samus origin story about her early days as a bounty hunter. I can't believe it hasn't happened yet.
@Superzone13 there’s a Splatoon manga and Pokemon ones currently going. Oh don’t think they’re new but there is definitely a lot of Zelda comics too for most of the games in the series. The old Super Mario ones are fun too!
A Metroid comic would be amazing though!
@GameOtaku You calling them the Marios reminds me of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show.
A least we got the Super Mario Adventures Nintendo Power comics and the mangas and stuff.
@Wagnarok
But they are officially Mario Mario and Luigi Mario. As far as Bowser goes I'm still going to give him the respect he deserves and call him King Koopa.
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