The Universe Theory

[BuzzyBeetleLover]

So we all know the Mario series is pretty big, from games to Movies, From Board games to literal Amusement Parks so we know that some things won't be Canon.
One of my favorite games, Mario & Rabbids Sparks of Hope (#RabbidMechaKoopaForLife) was confirmed to be Non-Canon which made me so sad I sold my Baby Brother on eBay. Other people (not me) Think the Super Mario Bros Super Show isn't Canon either, but I think Most (not all) Mario Media is Canon, but not Canon to the regular universe we know and love. So Grab a Snack and a nice Canister of Copium, let's dive into The Universe Theory.



So we all know the most of the Yoshi's Island games are sure as hell not Canon, like how Mario and Luigi were born in the Mushroom kingdom and not Brooklyn. But in Yoshi's New Island there's a character named Mr. Pipe who was actually the Adult Mario who traveled through time to help his baby self (and Yoshi) save Luigi. In that same game Bowser also traveled through time to help his Baby self out. This shows how time traveling is a c'mon Mario trope, which also leads to my next point
The Babies from Mario & Luigi partners in time aren't actually the bros. They say that the Baby versions of them traveled from the future but that's clearly not true considering Baby Bowser is still fighting them and even Baby Peach being a thing. This is One instant of the bros traveling to another Dimension, this one just so happening to be the Baby universe. Another being the time they met Paper Mario.

Now most people say that Paper Mario is Canon but I think.... Yesn't. Yes I do believe Mario does infact know who a Goombario and a... Vivian... Ew... This was proven even more when paper Mario characters appeared in games outside of Paper Mario such as, Whacka, Goomba King, Koopatrol, and even Para Spiketops! Maybe that's why Paper Mario is so similar to the Regular Mario in M&L Paper Jam.

This also allows me to say with a big smile on my face that the Mario & Rabbids games are canon but not main universe wise. In that universe everything before Odyssey already happened in that game so if it existed before Odyssey it's definitely in that universe.

Other universes are different like the Mario Movie universe which had Luigi getting captured instead of Peach, I guess that's why Peach is so different.

The Other Mario Movie universe (1993) Confirms this theory even more when the bros travel to a different dimension where the dinosaurs survived the meteor.



So is your favorite Non-Canon character actually Canon? Yes.
(But idc what any of y'all say, the DIC Mario cartoons are canon to the main in my opinion, it's called Retconing certain facts like Toads head not being removable, at the time no one could even explain it. Half of the things Mario Odyssey did Nintendo did years later like putting Mario in a wedding suit.)
#BuzzyBeetleForSmash

 

[Captain Lumacey]

In Super Mario Galaxy, there is what can be seen as one possible explanation for the inconsistencies in games within the Mario series.

Spoiler: Spoilers for a game that's old enough to vote in the U.S.

The universe is reset at the end, and Rosalina explains that the universe goes through an eternal cycle of death and rebirth, where each time is different in it's own way.

 

[Fawfulthegreat64]

Vivian... Ew...

you take that back this instant, we stan Vivian in this house

My take is that every mainline and RPG story driven game is "canon" unless stated otherwise (like SMB3 is canonically a play for example). Though I'm iffy on games that make sweeping changes to the fundamental properties of the world, such as modern Paper Mario actually building its world up AS canonically made out of paper as opposed to just being the same Mario world, visualized to the player that way.

Trying to craft a Mario timeline however is too absurd a task to take seriously in my book. The way people bend over backwards to make clear contradictions make sense, and usually for the end goal of saying something stupid like "and here's why Fawful could never work in Mario Kart but every inclusion they've done so far makes perfect sense canonically," is silly to me, especially since most of the time they use it to be vocally dismissive of anyone who has ideas that would go against their theorized timeline. Certain games clearly take place in certain orders, like the first four M&L games and the first three Paper Mario games clearly lead into one another with callbacks and continuity. But the entire series? Nah.

 

[BuzzyBeetleLover]

Thats perfectly fine, I see how trying to connect alot of things could be a bit too much for a series about a man on mushrooms. I also said the Paper Mario is it's own world, not just some paper story told representation

Also I am a certified Vivian hater and NO ONE will ever convince me to like her

 

[Troy McClure]

"Uh, what universe does this even take place in? Everything needs to take place in a universe."

"It's a warehouse with ladders where a monkey took a girl."

 

[LuigiFan24]

I heard someone on YouTube say that Luigi was captured in the Mario movie instead of Peach because, since this is the origin story, Mario doesn't know Peach well enough to have the desire to save her. But Luigi is his brother. I'm sure future movies will have Peach being kidnapped and Luigi will help Mario save her. I agree with this YouTuber's opinion (I don't remember the person's name ) and I think it seems reasonable.