Mario trying to look LA-cool looks kind of funny...but the connection to Los Angeles fashion also hints at a rarely talked about aspect of his origin.

This is a thread.

Mario first appeared in Donkey Kong, a game that was originally designed to be Popeye. This makes sense when you realize the hammer = spinach.

Nintendo did release a Popeye arcade a few years later. But...why? Why the infatuation with Popeye?

Was it the failed 1980 movie? Or the '80s Hanna-Barbera cartoon?

That doesn't seem to be the case, because those two featured Bluto as Popeye's foe, while Nintendo's game featured Brutus (a look-alike created to get around temporary copyright issues in the '60s).

But there was something else going on in Japan in 1981: Popeye Magazine was about to celebrate its 100th issue.

Confusingly Popeye (subtitled "Magazine for City Boys") was a Japanese fashion magazine dedicated to American fashion -- more specifically LA fashion!

Now, I'm not positive that's why Nintendo was so keen on Popeye games, but it seems like the most likely cultural touchstone for Japan. Especially since the magazine spun off into titles like Olive and...Brutus!

Maybe in 1981 when thinking up an original character to replace Popeye, maybe Miyamoto wanted to go for a specifically American look, and maybe he paged thru the last years worth of POPEYE magazine for inspiration, and maybe one of the covers grabbed him...?

If you enjoy weird deep dives into geek history, you might enjoy my monthly newsletter, where I fill you in on my observations and links to other cool things I've seen online. https://criticalkate.substack.com/ 

And if you live in LA -- what do you think of Nintendo's representation of the city in their new "Los Angeles Tour" in Mario Kart?

Here's the official trailer: