#bee mario

Name: Bee Mushroom

Debut: Super Mario Galaxy

You ever just, think about the Bee Mushroom? At all? We all know Mario has wacky powerups. It's so easy to make jokes about him eating something like the Spring Mushroom, which is blatantly made of metal. Bee Mushroom is not made of metal. It's made of bee!

So. Would you eat?

If you asked a Nintendo representative, they would probably say it tastes like honey, or something cute like that. And maybe it does... but I don't know. That's not the vibe I'm getting here. Bee stripes are always a cute aesthetic choice, but these ones are so visibly fuzzy. They look like they're really made of setae. This mushroom has a chitinous cuticle, and is possibly full of hemolymph. It would be like taking a bite out of an apple-sized bee abdomen. So, no. Would Not Eat!

And yes, Mario does indeed eat this! It's not a case of just touching a mystical item and gaining its power. The mission that gives you a choice of using the Boo or Bee Mushroom is called "Choosing a Favorite Snack". Sheesh. Only two options? I could have sworn there were more snacks than that. Would it kill them to add a nice Blueberry Muffin as an option here? It would turn Mario into Muffin-Muncher Mario, which is the same as regular Mario, but he is happier, because he just ate a nice muffin.

Boo Mushroom is probably weirder than Bee Mushroom, to be honest. However! Ghosts are not real, so I cannot imagine what biting them would be like. It's sooo easy to imagine biting a bee. I've never done it! I'll never do it! But I can imagine it. If I had to bite any bee, it would be a larva. That would be safest and easiest to bite. But I would never do it. Okay?

The Bee Mushroom turns the snacker into their Bee Form! You all know Bee Mario, so I'm showing you Bee Kinopio-kun instead. You've never played as him in a game, because he's never been in a game! And you can't play promotional art calendars.

Bee Mario (form) is silly. Mario can fly, of course, and climb on honeycomb walls. He can also stand on cloud and flower platforms, because I guess he is lighter now? What has this mushroom done to Mario's insides? Where have his organs gone? Thankfully, taking damage will make Mario a healthy mammal again!

You may notice I did not mention any stinging! Bee Mario does gain a stinger, and does a whole lotta nothing with it. Which is good, if he's supposed to be a honey bee! I'm sure you know honey bees readily die after stinging and losing their stingers, but did you know they are the ONLY ones? Even goofy little bumble bees can sting as many times as they please, as long as they have enough venom! But nothing, not even a wasp, WANTS to sting you and waste that venom. So be nice to them all! Especially to wasps! They need all the love they can get!

🐝👑🍯

Mario's Power-Up Reversal

In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, it is revealed that the fruit that resembles an elephant takes a different approach in powering up Mario. Instead of Mario wearing a suit resembling an animal, he instead turns into a real elephant, which is surprising because it was not precedented in the same way, except a few cases like Boo Mario.

Therefore, the art uses 10 different animals and reverse the trend. The first seven are straightforward since they all have existing powerups, but the mole is based on Super Mario-kun where Mario had a Monty Mole related power-up, while the Yoshi is based on those unlicensed plushies where Mario wore a Yoshi suit (even the concept art of Super Mario Odyssey had Mario wearing a Yoshi onesie!). Obviously, Elephant Mario is the reverse, where it's Mario wearing an elephant suit. Not as fun as if he's a real elephant, is it? Even Mario is visibly disappointed.