It is a known fact that Mario and Luigi are plumbers.
But when was that defined, and did it ever have any effect on the plot of a game?
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2Yeah, at least in Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga, where they repair pipes in one area – Unionhawk Aug 05 '16 at 01:17
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58They regularly bring their plumbing expertise to bear when jumping down huge magical pipes. – DCShannon Aug 05 '16 at 01:20
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2@DCShannon : True enough. Perhaps especially in SMB3, when the screen scrolls according to the direction of the pipe (particularly in World 7, which is pipe-themed). Although your answer may sound overly simplistic, it is really quite true. And, for that reason alone, it actually deserves up-votes as an actual answer. – TOOGAM Aug 05 '16 at 03:28
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6@TOOGAM Indeed, the speed at which they move through the pipes makes it clear that they have cleared all the clogs along the way. – DCShannon Aug 05 '16 at 03:31
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1I'd rather believe they are gardeners. Makes much more sense, considering they're fighting turtles and carnivorous flowers all the time. – Diti Aug 05 '16 at 08:44
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1In the Super Mario Bros. Movie it was definitely relevant for the plot, that they were plumbers. Since it isn't a game i'm going to leave it as a comment. – YanBear Aug 05 '16 at 11:01
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@YanBear Is that movie considered canon? – Reinstate Monica -- notmaynard Aug 05 '16 at 18:01
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@iamnotmaynard i don't know... I haven't even really seen it either, because the movie is older than me, but i remembered some things from youtube videos so i wanted to add it as a comment. – YanBear Aug 05 '16 at 18:05
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The movie is frequently disavowed by fans. Also, I saw a question a while back about the brothers' last name, which referenced an official denial of the corresponding line from the movie as canonical. – Dan Henderson Aug 07 '16 at 22:54
2 Answers
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They were first shown to be plumbers in the original Mario Bros. game
(Thanks to Chase Sandmann for the box art correction.)
The original Mario Bros. game, first released in arcades in 1983, was the first game in which Mario and his brother were shown to be plumbers. In fact, the entire premise of the game was about their plumbing, in which they were attempting to eliminate strange creatures in the sewers of New York. During the game, enemies would come out of the pipes at the top of the screen and make their way down to the pipes at the bottom, which they would enter to loop back to the top.
This was a change from Mario's first appearance in Donkey Kong, where Mario (at the time called Jumpman) was instead a carpenter.
It was a plot point in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Relatively early on in this RPG for the Game Boy Advance, the Mario Bros. are required to fix the plumbing system in Beanbean Castle, supposedly to prove their identities. Having been explicitly called out in dialogue, this is likely the most well-known instance of the brothers' profession being relevant to the plot of one of the games.
Michaellogg
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7Not a bad answer at all. I would add that in Mario Bros., those pipes are not just background. They are the entry points and exit points of most threats. So they do, very much, impact the game. (As much as anything else in this rather simplistic game.) – TOOGAM Aug 05 '16 at 03:27
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@TOOGAM But doors may have been used instead, it wouldn't change the plot of the game, as the question ask. – A.L Aug 05 '16 at 15:43
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Note that it is possible that Mario previously worked as a carpenter before becoming a plumber. So there isn't a contradiction to the original Donkey Kong. – jpmc26 Aug 05 '16 at 15:52
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@jpmc26 The prevailing (but unproven) theory is that Jumpman is actually Mario's father/grandfather, since Donkey Kong from the same game is later revealed to be the much-older Cranky Kong in the Donkey Kong Country series. However, Mario has held quite a number of different jobs over the years. There's no contradiction implied by his original profession being that of a carpenter (if that's actually him), I'm simply stating the first time he was shown as a plumber, and why it's not his first appearance. – Michaellogg Aug 05 '16 at 16:04
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@Fredy31 Apparently, it's explicitly stated on the box art for the NES version. Most NES era or earlier games didn't have much plot in the games themselves, after all. – Michaellogg Aug 05 '16 at 16:22
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@Michaellogg that appears to be a fan art rendition in the 80's style. The actual cover mentions plumbing but not them actually being plumbers (though it is implied). – Chase Sandmann Aug 05 '16 at 16:36
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@MatthewRoh Mario was actually a circus animal trainer in the original TV show: http://www.mariowiki.com/Saturday_Supercade – Josh Aug 05 '16 at 18:34
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@Michaellogg I wasn't suggesting your answer accidentally implied a contradiction. I was merely pointing out that it didn't imply one at all, in case a reader hadn't thought of it. =) – jpmc26 Aug 06 '16 at 04:26
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2@A.L : The arcade's panel had written plot (by instructions) : "PESTS COME POURING OUT OUT OF THE WATERPIPES. MARIO CLEANS UP THE PLACE." This predates the NES cartridge. Saying pipes could have been doors is like: jumping in SMB could have used a jet pack instead, nets instead of bubbles in Bubble Bobble, a grappling hook with a rope in Bionic Commando, a sword as Castlevania's base weapon, human enemies instead of robots for Mega Man, & vice versa for Contra. These things could have been, but weren't/didn't (except Contra's). M.Bros's actual plot, which was really used, involved pipes. – TOOGAM Aug 06 '16 at 04:52
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In Super Mario 3D World for the Wii U, the intro shows the Mario Brothers stumbling upon a broken pipe and they set about fixing it with their plumbing powers. It's an extremely minor plot point but a plot point nonetheless.
Michaellogg
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It would be nice if the GIF had shown how they fixed it, it looks like they are just punching it. – A.L Aug 05 '16 at 15:45
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1@A.L Didn't see a GIF that did that, so I just added a picture of after they've fixed it. – Michaellogg Aug 05 '16 at 16:12
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7@MarkRogers Plumbers using a large mallet are totally a thing. There's even a stock photo and we know all stock photos are completely realistic, right? – Zach Lipton Aug 05 '16 at 21:51
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1Real-world plumbers did often use rubber or wooden mallets to help when loosening corroded joints back in the day. Some still do. – barbecue Aug 06 '16 at 22:31
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1@MarkRogers I have. They're the kind of plumber you don't want to upset. Seriously though, from the book Standard Practical Plumbing, as quoted on this website, The Plumber's Tools Part 3 states: "The hammer is a tool concerning which the plumber is usually very particular; especially in his use of it in calking cast-iron pipe." – Pharap Aug 07 '16 at 10:42
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6@A.L That's how most video game characters fix things. It's called Percussive Maintenance. – Pharap Aug 07 '16 at 10:50
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@Pharap - Sure a hammer, but have you ever seen a plumber use a large mallet? One that is apparently nearly as big as their own head. – Mark Rogers Aug 07 '16 at 15:37
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1@MarkRogers No. Have you ever seen a man with a nose the same size and shape of his eyeballs, a young-looking man who wears mushroom shaped hat and doesn't have any legs, or a reptilian turtle-dragon who likes kidnapping princesses? – Pharap Aug 07 '16 at 15:49
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@Pharap The point is, I said 'large mallet', no plumber regularly uses a larger than small mallet. – Mark Rogers Aug 07 '16 at 15:51
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@MarkRogers Well, apparently Mario's a bit of a rebel. Besides which, that pipe is larger than your average pipe, so he probably needs a larger than average mallet. – Pharap Aug 07 '16 at 15:52
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2It looks like Mario and Luigi have incredibly long arms in the "ta-dah" picture. They could probably touch their toes by leaning forward about 2 inches. – nailbones Aug 08 '16 at 06:26
