Luigi is an interesting, sad little creature. He has spent the large majority of his 30+ years living in his brother’s shadow. Everyone knows Luigi, but… no one seems to name him as their favorite plumber. Yet, slowly but surely, year after year, Luigi has started to form into his own, fully-fledged person. As he has done this, he has garnered a large amount of fans (definitely not me, the person writing an entire article about why he is better than his fictional brother) that identify with him.

To his beautiful dancing, his ability to conjure tornadoes to even a slight gambling addiction, there is a lot to love about Luigi. That’s why it is such a shame that Mario gets so much more recognition than his brother. Luigi, objectively, is just better than Mario in all aspects. Does Mario have an attack that opens a portal of despair that damages everyone? I don’t think so! In this list, we’ll be covering 25 things that the green plumber has over Mario (even though I could list several thousand) that make him the better brother. Without any further ado, let’s get into it.

25 Luigi Shows Human Empathy

Did you know that Mario is a monster?

Yes, you might be surprised to learn that it is a 100% factual statement, and not an opinion, to say that Mario is a monster that has no empathy toward other humans.

Besides being shown to condone animal harm (more on that in another article), Mario has also been shown to walk up on stage and grind in Luigi’s foot while our lanky little man was up accepting a tennis trophy. That is an actual canon thing that happens. Luigi, on the other hand, is shown to save his brother on multiple occasions and be nothing but wonderful to him, a true saint.

24 He Fights Ghosts

Luigi deserves his own TV show, this boy is out here fighting off ghosts left and right! How this man is getting into these ghostly situations so frequently I don’t quite know, but what I do know is that he handles them with absolute excellence. While Luigi is timid by nature, he manages to handle the situations that would normally terrify him with absolute grace, driven by his want to save his big brother. Would your brother dive head first into a ghostly mansion just to save you, his brother that’s kind of mean to him a lot? Doubt it.

23 Luigi Turns Into A Super Villain

Mr. L! One of the main villains of Wii title Super Paper Mario, Mr. L is a corrupted, brainwashed version of Luigi that uses his super-powered jumps and high powered robots to take on Mario and friends. He actually ends up being the final boss of the game after being fused with Dimento. Luigi goes from villain to playable hero to final boss supervillain in the course of a single game! What a multi-talented man he is!

22 He Can Jump Higher Than Mario

Unfortunately, what is likely Luigi’s most notable differentiator from Mario is his jumping abilities. In most games in which Mario and Luigi have differences in gameplay (nevermind those heathen-ous titles that don’t even include our green man), Luigi is shown to be a far superior jumper to Mario. While this is a simple difference between the brothers, it does show Luigi has a leg up on Mario. It is a shame that many think this is the only difference between them, though.

21 Turn Invisible

In Super Mario 64 DS, Luigi is one of the four playable main characters in the game, and through this, we learn a bit more about Luigi and his powers. When using a Power Flower, Luigi gains the ability to become invisible. This actually allows him to phase through different objects and is a major boon to his move-set, making Luigi a very valuable asset for the team. I mean, when you compare Luigi’s super cool vanishing ability to Mario turning into a literal balloon… I mean, come on.

20 He’s A Gambling Pro

Luigi also showcases that he’s a great influence for the kids in Super Mario 64 DS, as he is a host for some of the title’s minigames, namely, the gambling ones! Nine different card games appear in the aforementioned DS title, all featuring Luigi as a host, in a snazzy little outfit I might add.

The games all tend to be variations of actual card games that are so fun that they actually had my mom using my DS from time to time so she could play them sometimes when I was younger.

If this doesn’t prove the appeal of Luigi, I don’t know what does.

19 He Can Rescue Himself In Space

You think Luigi is anything but excellent?

Don’t speak to me until you’ve gone into space and rescued a second version of yourself.

That is exactly what Luigi is shown to do in Super Mario Galaxy. Once completing the game, you can play it again as Luigi, and the missions where you encounter Mario’s brother stay exactly the same, and Luigi encounters himself. Why exactly is Luigi able to this, you might be asking? Well, to answer that question, um… magic? Anywho, it is just another one of Luigi’s incredible abilities he has chosen to bless us with. Honestly, we should all fear the absolute power this man holds.

18 Creating The Negative Zone

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Luigi’s final smash attack was called the Negative Zone, in which Luigi creates a huge green circle. When activated, every color becomes inverted, and everyone inside of the circle receives some sort of negative effect besides Luigi. According to trophy data from the title, this ability comes from Luigi’s hatred for constantly living in his brother’s shadow. While it’s impressive Luigi has this ability, it is also sad that this is why he can perform it.

17 He Is A Published Author

Yeah, does Mario have a book deal that is flying off store shelves? I don’t think so. In Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door you can often find Luigi around Rougeport, and he will tell you about the adventures he has been on throughout the Waffle Kingdom, saving princess Eclair! However, his journey proved so heroic and awe-inspiring that he actually got not one, but five books published about his adventures. A plumber and an author? We do not deserve such an accomplished man.

16 Luigi Has A Year Dedicated To Him

The year of 2013, also known as The Best Year that has Ever Existed by many scholars, was The Year of Luigi! For the green-clad man’s 30th anniversary, 2013 was chock full of brand-new Luigi games, merchandise, and other content!

Yeah, some people like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln might have a day dedicated to them, but Luigi had a whole year!

And to think, we were all lucky enough to be alive at just the right time to observe that specific year.

15 He Has A Fan Club

Did you know that Luigi has a fan club (that I may or may not be the leader of)? In Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, a few Toads actually have a fan club for Luigi. While it is not known who is in the club besides the two Toads (the president and secretary) who mention it, I am confident that it numbers somewhere in the millions. In this game, a few different NPCs do mention that they really enjoy Luigi over Mario, so we can only hope the club is prosperous.

14 He’s Smarter Than Mario

According to Supper Mario Broth on Twitter, The original Mario Party manual states that Luigi is smarter than Mario. While we all knew this already, it’s nice to finally receive some canon evidence of this. We already helped Luigi gain an inordinate amount of geographical knowledge in Mario is Missing (more on this later), so his knowledge superiority over Mario isn’t surprising. If only the rest of the world could see this.

13 He Has A Mansion

While we often see Luigi living with Mario in their tiny little house together, I believe that this is just a front to make Mario feel less bad that he lives in a shack while his girlfriend rules over an army of fungus. I feel like this because depending on how much money you collect in Luigi’s Mansion, the mansion will be replaced with a new mansion for Luigi to live in. So, canonically, Luigi is a millionaire living in a huge green castle. Smart, rich and caring, Daisy has quite the catch.

12 He Saved Mario Many Times

If we’re being realistic here, Mario is definitely the #2 damsel in distress of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Peach barely beats him out, and no one really cares what Daisy is up to.

Luigi almost never needs to be saved by Mario, but Luigi has saved him on multiple occasions. Whether it be through fighting the Koopa Kids that can’t damage him, or through decimating a ghost baby, Luigi will always be needed to save his inferior brother Mario. Mario does not deserve such a caring brother.

11 Various Luigi Sightings

Another celebration for The Year of Luigi, in both New Super Luigi Bros. and Super Mario 3D World there are 8-bit Luigis hidden everywhere. In all levels of each game, along with the overworld of 3D World. Some were easy to spot, while others presented a bit more of a challenge. This was one of the smaller celebrations for Luigi’s big year, but it was still a nice way to honor the green plumber. More Luigi is never a bad thing!

10 He Can Walk On Water

In Super Mario 64 DS, Luigi is given the unique ability to walk on water for a short amount of time.

Yes, you heard that correctly, Luigi can walk on water.

He shares this ability with a certain notable figure from history that I think we all know. Why exactly Luigi can do this is pretty obvious, he’s Luigi. I’d be far more concerned if he wasn’t able to walk on water, as nature intended.

9 Electric Abilities

Did you know that Luigi has the ability to harness electricity? Yeah, I had literally zero idea that was a thing either. But he can! In the Mario and Luigi series along with the Mario Strikers franchise, Luigi has abilities that allow him to harness and use electricity to his advantage. Why he doesn’t use these abilities more often, especially in titles like Super Smash Bros. is a bit odd, but if I had to guess why I would assume that they’re so awesome that the public can’t be exposed to them too often.

8 His Geographical Knowledge

While we already covered that Luigi is smarter than Mario, we also know that Luigi is a geographical master, from his time saving Mario and learning about the world in Mario is Missing! In this title, Luigi had to retrieve stolen artifacts from Bowser and his Koopas, while also answering geographical trivia correctly to advance. While he is obviously a genius, was like, 80% of what Luigi learned on his journey incorrect because that game was an unfinished, unpolished disaster? I can neither confirm nor deny these allegations.

7 He’s A Better Dancer

This entry is subjective but also 100% factual. Luigi dances a lot. When something good happens, when he wins or to destroy everyone around him with the Negative Zone.

He is the best dancer in the Mushroom Kingdom and no one can tell me otherwise.

Granted, we don’t really see anyone else dance too much in the series, but I still know that he is the best dancer. Also, like, did you see his moves in DDR: Mario Mix? Incomparable.

6 He Is A Master of Disguise

In Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, another one of Luigi’s abilities is being able to disguise himself. He does this in the form of wearing Princess Peach’s dress, and it works. Mustache and all.

I can’t exactly tell you how or why it works, but that’s not we’re talking about here.

Fawful falls victim to his disguise, and once again Luigi proves just how valuable he is to have on your side.