Nintendo renames controversial Mario character
For all of the things that Mario is, we weren't entirely sure that "controversial" was one of them.
After all, there aren't many holes we can poke in the portly plumber, unless you want to open the can of worms of the damage he does to the property and denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom.
Maybe it's time we consider Goombas and Koopas as victims of Bowser himself, recruited to work under him as mere cannon fodder for the incoming storm that is Super Mario.
But there are very real things to consider when it comes to the series, and it has now come to a head with a big decision.
Nintendo just renamed a famous Mario character
Click to enlargeOne of the characters in The Super Mario Bros. Movie was actually the subject of a name change, presumably for fears that his original name could be misinterpreted as a racial slur.
A new tweet from Nintendo in Japan confirms the change to Spike. The bearded bully had a side role in The Super Mario Bros. Movie but originally comes from the game called Wrecking Crew. In Japan, Spike's original name was "Blackie." Yeah, we get why they changed it.
"The name of the character 'Blackie' that appears in the family computer software Wrecking Crew will be changed to 'Spike', which is the same as the name in Europe and the United States," reads a translation of the tweet. "In addition, the name in The Super Mario Bros. Movie released on April 28, 2023 is also 'Spike.'"
Nintendo doesn't confirm why Blackie has been changed to Spike in Japan, but we're sure you can make your own guesses why that might not fly in 2023.
Who is Spike?
Spike is a sort of antagonist to Mario and Luigi when it comes to their plumbing business back in Brooklyn in the movie. He was their boss in construction before they decided to go it alone and take on the world with their own adventure.
In Wrecking Crew, though, he's just a foreman who tries to stop the pair from knocking things down. To be fair, we reckon it's probably a nuisance to have two strangers try to tear your hard work down to the pegs. Either way, those in Japan will have to get used to Spike just like Jumpman became Mario.
