When you think about great video game characters, Super Mario is often one of the first that will spring to mind with the legendary Nintendo character having been involved in over 150 different video games.
Mario might seem like the ultimate hero when it comes to the gaming world, with the popular plumber always coming to the rescue of Princess Peach, or helping to save the Mushroom Kingdom from whatever threat comes its way.
However, that doesn't mean that Mario is always perfect, as even the nicest characters can have a dark side, including Mario. With that in mind, we are going to take a look at 10 times Super Mario was actually evil.
10 He Doesn't Protect Princess Peach
Let's kickstart the list with a painfully obvious issue that highlights how terrible of a person Mario is, which is his treatment of Princess Peach and the fact he allows her to be kidnapped on such a regular basis.
The first couple of times, fair enough. Mario wouldn't be expecting it and Bowser can be quite inventive in how he goes about his business, but after the 100th time, you would think Mario might have clocked on to what is happening.
Sure, he is fantastic at saving her, but surely Princess Peach would rather just not be taken on a regular basis, which Mario could surely put a stop to if he really wanted to.
9 He Destroys The Mushroom Kingdom
Mario is supposed to be the main hero of the Mushroom Kingdom world, often coming to the aid of its inhabitants, making sure that everyone is as safe as possible but he isn't exactly careful about how he does that.
Mario isn't known for his stealth and that's why most of the time when he is saving the Kingdom, he actually destroys it at the same time, leaving a mammoth amount of carnage behind him.
From destroying whole areas to breaking as many brick blocks as humanly possible, Mario simply doesn't care about what happens to the area, as long as he gets the job done.
8 He Has No Issue With Killing Bowser
Despite the fact that Mario is involved in the ultimate family-friendly video game franchise, that doesn't stop him from being an all-out killer when it comes to his arch-nemesis, Bowser.
In most games like this, when the hero finally gets to the big boss they defeat them, but don't actually kill them with Sonic the Hedgehog being a perfect example of this as he only destroys the machine.
However, Mario simply doesn't care as he shows no issues in destroying Bowser as often as possible, whether it be dropping him into lava or booting him off a totally different planet, Mario has no chill in this department.
7 His Treatment Of Yoshi is terrible
Mario will always do anything in his power to achieve his goals and because he is such a nice guy, he always has different characters who try to help him, with Yoshi being a regular in that department.
Yoshi pops up in a variety of video games to help out Mario, being able to fly him around to go to different heights Mario would normally fail to each, or by eating different enemies that get in the way.
However, despite how loyal Yoshi is to Mario, the plumber doesn't always treat him with the same love, often deserting him when he has served his purpose or sacrificing him whenever he feels like it.
6 His Treatment Of Luigi isn't any better
It isn't just Yoshi that Mario treats quite poorly during his various adventures, as even his brother, Luigi, suffers the same fate of being left behind whenever Mario doesn't need him, despite the fact Luigi will do anything to help him.
It isn't often that Mario will pop up in Luigi's video games to offer help either, making him a terrible brother when you consider all the games that they have been involved in and how little Mario actually looks after him.
You would think that Nintendo would portray Mario to be a slightly better brother throughout the history of the games, but instead, they just prove that Luigi is great, while Mario doesn't really care about others that much.
5 He Invites Enemies To Party
While it is nice that Mario seemingly holds no grudges with the various Mushroom Kingdom characters that try to kill him, from Shy Guy to King Boo or even Bowser himself, it is always surprising that he decides to invite the characters to play.
When it comes to games such as Mario Kart or the Mario Party franchise, the game always has a bunch of Mario's biggest enemies involved, playing, laughing and having fun, despite the history they have.
But while he as a character might be fine with it, what about the others who have been tortured? What about Princess Peach? Does she really want to be partying with her kidnapper?
4 He Hates Animals
Throughout the history of Super Mario, the character has had one very common trait in each game, which is that he is happy to destroy any animal that comes in his way and he doesn't care about it either.
Whether it be the birds that he whips in the Donkey Kong series when he first debuts, or the countless Goombas he has destroyed over time, Mario has had no issues in being totally ruthless.
While it might seem like he is doing this for the greater good, or to save Princess Peach, the fact is that 90% of the time, he could actually avoid killing these animals.
3 He Promotes Bad Driving
Mario Kart is an insanely fun video game and is arguably the most popular of Mario's games, but within this world, the rules are complete carnage, with Mario not exactly promoting good clean driving.
Throughout the game, you use weapons to destroy other drivers in order to take over them while using any short cut possible to try and take advantage, which Mario even does in the opening video for the game.
Now, that is something you would expect from Wario or Waluigi, but not from someone as pure and supposedly as kind-hearted as Mario himself.
2 He Has Been Controlling People, Literally
In Super Mario Odyssey, Nintendo provided Mario with a new weapon, which allowed him to take control of any other character in the game if he threw his hat onto them, which caused a stir on social media.
While this was obviously just Nintendo trying to freshen up the character, some fans believed it was yet another sign that deep down, Mario is simply a bad guy, after all, why would he want to totally control other characters?
Nintendo then responded to some social media complaints by claiming he was 'capturing' them instead, which didn't really make him sound any better in all honesty.
1 He Has Been The Villain
While Mario officially made his video game debut in the original Donkey Kong as Jumpman, avoiding the various barrels that the ape would throw in his way, in the follow-up Mario had turned into a villain.
That's right, in Donkey Kong Jr, Mario is literally the villain, kidnapping Donkey Kong and locking him in a cage which ends up being the thing he desperately tries to stop when it comes to Bowser and Peach.
In this game, Donkey Kong Jr. is the one trying to avoid the obstacles to try and save his father, which shows a totally different side to Mario, and one that certainly isn't a hero.