Fridge / Super Mario Bros. Z

Fridge Pages are Spoilers Off, all spoilers below are unmarked!

The Original Run

Fridge Brilliance

• Besides being a reference to powering up in Dragon Ball, why do Mario and Luigi seem to get particularly powerful from a power-up? Cape Feathers and Fire Flowers have never led to glowing with energy or sudden extra-fast and powerful melee attacks. Well, in the games, being powered up is akin to a stage of health - when you have a Fire Flower and take damage, you become normal Mario rather than instantly dying, for example. Going by the inverse of that, the power-ups here could effectively be reinvigorating the Bros, restoring them back to full health and energy, allowing them to go all-out again.
• Each character's fighting style is actually very indicative of their personality and their gaming history:
  • Mario has the most balanced fighting style out of the entire cast, blending both power and agility flawlessly, and makes the most use of power-ups such as Fire Flowers and Cape Feathers. This is fitting, since he always has the most balanced stats in the sports and kart spin-offs, and his franchise has one of the largest arsenals of power-ups in any video game.
  • Luigi is the only one among the main team that's been relegated to the traditional Player 2 position in the past, rather than Player 1. He's by far the best team player among the group, and his most badass moments are when he comes flying in to back the others up. He is also often used by his teammates as a tool or a weapon, such as his Blue Shell or his Tanooki Suit statue.
  • Sonic's fighting style is, uh, fast. He peppers his foes with lightning-fast kicks and uses his insane momentum to hit them with devastating blows. It's like if Sonic Rush was a fighting game. He's also no stranger to teamwork and helps out his friends whenever he can, hearkening back to Sonic Heroes.
  • Shadow is easily the most aggressive fighter, fitting his Adaptational Jerkass characterization in SMBZ. He tries to break his enemies as quickly as possible with Lightning Bruiser blows, and uses his Chaos powers extensively, almost like a miniature version of Mecha Sonic. He is also very much a lone wolf and seems to avoid teamwork for the most part, even kicking his teammates as projectiles when they're getting in his way.
  • Yoshi has a fairly defensive fighting style, revolving around grapples with his tongue and bowling enemies with his giant egg barrier. This is reminiscient of how he is Baby Mario's protector throughout all of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.
  • The Koopa Bros are possibly the best-coordinated team in the series - just look at their special move! They also spend long periods of battles inside their shells. This may have initially stemmed from a lack of variety of poses in their sprite sheets, but it actually makes sense; in Mario games, Koopas are most dangerous when they're sliding around in their shells at high speeds.
  • The Axem Rangers X also make great use of teamwork. Additionally, it seems as though being upgraded into their "X" forms has given them greater physical power in exchange for taking some of their uniqueness - Green, Black, and Pink never use their special abilities such as magic, bombs, or healing, respectively. On the other hand, Red and Yellow were always the team's most competent CQC fighters and have benefited greatly from the upgrades.
  • Mecha Sonic/Metallix doesn't quite fit into this as well as the other characters. Instead, he fights like an especially brutal Dragon Ball villain, which is honestly quite fitting considering how different he is from his appearance in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. He's basically a new character!
• Remember how Mecha Sonic absolutely destroyed the Axem Rangers X? And how they did the "over 9000" joke beforehand? Well, aside from fulfilling the Memetic Mutation, the over-reaction to Mecha Sonic's power level indicated that the Axem rangers were outmatched...and this was BEFORE he transformed. The Axem Rangers' utter destruction is even less of a surprise in this light.
  • When you think about it, this really makes them Determinators. Very brave of them to put up a fight knowing how hopelessly outmatched they were.
• In Episode 7, Luigi jumps out of the water and accidentally hit Kolorado's stopwatch. This activates the negative energy in it. Luigi's Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. Brawl? Negative Zone.
• Smithy being resurrected actually makes a lot of sense when you remember that during the fight with his final form, the background has multiple Smithy heads as if to imply that his bodies are mass produced. So it's no surprise that Smithy just uploaded his consciousness to a new body after Mario and co sent him to the scrap heap the first time.

Fridge Horror

• Mecha Sonic destroying Yoshi's Island was unfortunate though at least he lost the Chaos Emeralds to the heroes. If Mecha Sonic had stayed super, getting the Chaos Emeralds would be effortless and he'd be god in no time, effectively leaving the world doomed to his mercy.
• Had the heroes and Mecha Sonic stayed trapped in the Minus World, the latter would've killed the heroes. After that, Mecha Sonic would've broken down eventually unless he was immortal and therefore able to kill anyone misfortunate enough to now access the Minus World through it's pipe. That's not even counting how Bowser would now be able to kidnap Princess Peach without opposition because the Mario Bros went missing one day.
• Had Mario been killed by Basilisx, that would mean that Bowser's forces had unwittingly doomed the world. The other heroes will stay in stone forever and Mecha Sonic would eventually re-obtain all the Chaos Emerald and achieve his final form before razing the Mushroom Kingdom like he did his home world.
• After Basilisx petrifies Luigi and uses his petrified body against his own brother, Mario hesitates, completely loses the control of the battle and gets poisoned and almost killed, only surviving because Luigi managed to break free with his Tanooki Suit, hammered Basilisx away and healed Mario back into shape with a 1-Up Mushroom. Why was he unable to focus? Well, remember the Bros Attacks and actions commands in the overworld in the Mario & Luigi series? That's the point. While Mario and Luigi hit each other when they use some of these techniques, including hitting each other with a hammer, Mario setting Luigi's butt on fire or Luigi electrocuting Mario, their bond is incredibly strong and they have full trust in each other, so if they have to use their syncronized moves like this, they allow each other to do this without getting too worried about the other, as if they give each other consent to do so. However, this situation is completely different, because not only Luigi has been petrified, but he's physically used against Mario and there's nothing that he can do to prevent it until he breaks free, and since Basilisx uses Luigi's body as a human shield like a coward, there is a much higher risk of friendly fire. Because his concern for his brother prioritizes everything and overrides his fighting spirit, Mario is unable to focus on Basilisx and fight as he usually does because he's scared that he might hurt Luigi by accident, and he doesn't want that. If he accidentally hurts or kills Luigi just because he messed up the timing of one single attack, Mario will never forgive himself.
• One of the components of Mecha Sonic was a robotized Sonic. Sure it could be chalked down to a Cowboy BeBop at His Computer, but the implications that a part of Mecha Sonic is a corrupted version of Sonic puts Mecha Sonic's character in a disturbing new light.
• Season 2 would've had Smithy create an Axem Blue from Mecha Sonic's remains. While it's possible that Smithy might be able to control them now, it's possible that Mecha Sonic would be able to return to life with a new vessel in which he can start again...

The Reboot

Fridge Brilliance

• Episode 1 perfectly displays the differences between the Mario Bros and Wario Bros and subtly showcases the value of teamwork. Mario and Luigi always look out for each other and will work as a team. As questionable as it might be, Luigi giving Mario the Invincibility Star to survive Wario's Fire Fart is proof of that. Wario on the other hand, seizes Waluigi by the throat and forcibly twists his body into the shape of a baseball bat. He clearly doesn’t care about injuring his brother by way of bludgeoning his opponents with Waluigi's body. Mario and Luigi are the epitome of brotherly love, while Wario will throw Waluigi under the bus if it means he’ll win.
• The added scene of Luigi standing up to Bowser and refusing to save himself is a hidden Meme Acknowledgement. In the original canon, Sonic and Shadow just so happen to teleport into the Mushroom Kingdom just as Bowser's about to finish off Mario; and their capsule lands on Bowser, incapacitating him. The same thing happens in the reboot. But Luigi stalled Bowser long enough for the hedgehogs to inadvertently save the Bros. If Luigi hadn’t stood in front of Mario, Sonic and Shadow would have been too late. That’s right. Luigi won by doing absolutely nothing!!
• There's definitely a good reason that Bowser thinks his soup is too cold even though it scalds Kamek when he throws it back. Bowser breathes fire intense enough to obliterate things and once walked on a sun. He probably considers anything less than "molten" to be lukewarm at best.
• If Episode 1 showcased the importance of teamwork, then Episode 2 is about what happens when it's not utilized. Sonic pairs up with Mario, whereas Shadow rebuffs Luigi, preferring to find the Chaos Emeralds by himself, leading him to pair with Yoshi, but the two of them don't have any knowledge of the artifacts. It didn't help that Sonic and Shadow neglected to tell Mario, Luigi and Yoshi that Metallix was also after them until after Yoshi was almost killed. If the hedgehogs had told their new allies the entire story, and Shadow had gone with Luigi and/or Yoshi, they would have had more of a chance of defending the Chaos Emerald.
• Its confirmed that Metal Sonic fuses with Mecha Sonic MK: I and Mecha Sonic MK: II to become Metallix. In other words, Metal Sonic ends up becoming Mecha Sonic MK: III.
• Yes, the game that introduced Emerald Powers came out after the release of the reboot, but the fact that the White Emerald that grants the Extra power (which depends on the character) is the one that was used is a nice touch, considering how we know that Mecha Sonic uses the emeralds simply for energy purposes and it appears as if Yoshi used the Emerald Power of the White Chaos Emerald to power up his innate natural capabilities, same as how happens in Sonic Superstars when you use the White Emerald.

Fridge Horror

• Metal Bowser only lost due to bad luck. What if Bowser simply reused this plan again, this time against Mario's new found party and without a means to crack his shell wide open?
• It's almost a good thing that Luigi got separated from Yoshi otherwise Metallix would've slaughtered two of the heroes before they become an actual threat; worse still, Mario, Sonic and Shadow wouldn't have known until it was far too later otherwise, as Yoshi only survives because Luigi saw the missiles attacking them and warned everyone else just in time to rescue him.
• What if Luigi had to fight Metallix instead of Yoshi? Even if Yoshi made it back, how do you think Mario would feel knowing his brother is currently being brutalized by Metallix and might die at any moment? To make it worse, while Yoshi is an old friend of Mario, Luigi is his little brother, so his bond with Yoshi is not the same as the one he shares with the man that has always been with him his entire life because he's a friend, not a relative. Would it result in an enraged Mario rushing in to avenge his brother and nearly getting killed himself too? Likely so.
• There's also how easy it'd be for Metallix to just slaughter the other heroes. Yoshi stood no chance and considering how Luigi takes it, it'd be easy for Metallix to get the jump on him first before killing the others. If it weren't for Metallix remembering he had Chaos Emeralds to collect, it'd be over for the heroes before they even realize what's actually happening.
• The fact that all it takes for Sonic to realize that Metallix has followed him and Shadow is Luigi's description of missiles hitting him, Yoshi and the Wario Bros, just how often did Metallix use them during his genocide on Mobius?
• In the original continuity, Turbo Mecha Sonic getting all 7 Chaos Emeralds would entail him transforming into Metallix. However, since he's already Metallix in the reboot... what would getting all the Chaos Emeralds transform Metallix into?
• Silver may not have been directly murdered by Metallix, but he almost certainly doesn't exist anymore after Metallix destroyed all life on Mobius, therefore erasing him from existence. His only hope is not being in the future as it changed, à la the IDW comics, but considering that Sonic never mentions him joining the fight against Metallix, we can only hope...