Nintendo Power in the US had a monthly comic called Howard & Nester. It was, with one exception, totally kid-friendly. Fairy floss and rainbows.
In Germany, however, two issues of the magazine went a little crazy. Like, Satan crazy.
The comic in particular — called Die Nacht des Grauens (The Night of Horror) — begins with Mario and Peach trying to get down to business. They’re interrupted by a lightning strike, which leads to Mario witnessing Wario making a deal with Satan.
Not a child-friendly approximation of the character. The real deal. There are pentagrams and everything. Jason and Chuckie were also there, just in case it wasn’t creepy enough.
Wario asks for a horde of demons to fight Mario, Satan agrees, Mario and friends fight the demons and win. What should have been the end, though, is not.
Mario heads back to Peach’s apartment to resume getting down to business to find…his love an eyeless, soulless monster.
The end.
A followup issue, released the next year, should have cheered things up, but it features Mario travelling to Hell to rescue Peach’s soul instead, only to be told by the Princess that his “mother scrubs toilets in hell”.
Don’t ever change, Germany.
You can download the comics here, if you feel like inviting horror upon yourself.
Super Mario – Die Nacht des Grauens [Classic-Zone, via Cracked & Go Nintendo]
Leave a Reply