This is the third thread in Mama Robotnik's "Mario Multiversia" ResetERA series.
Mario Multiversia #1 – The tormented, twisted psyche of Bowser Koopa
Mario Multiversia #2 – Mario – The Makings of a Hero
Mario Multiversia #3 - Waluigi and the Wah that Saved the World
In the multiverse of Mario, there is no more enigmatic figure than that of Waluigi. Appearing out of nowhere in the Mario Party series, the character is supposedly a villain, but very rarely plays such a part. A damaged, gangly creatures, he is often regarded as a palette-swapped parody of Luigi, sometimes insulted as a low-effort character addition for multiplayer mini-games.
(Artist : JJdan )
He is, of course, more complex than this. By popular demand…. let's look at the story of Waluigi, from his cross-dimensional origins, to the pivotal moment in which he saved the entire Mushroom World.
Note : This article accepts this theory as to Waluigi's origins, which in recent times has been supported with strong hints by Nintendo. [See Speculation Note 1]
History
Waluigi's existence was of note millennia before his birth. In the dark times of the Mushroom World, sects of sorcerers battled demons for control over creation. The Ancients battled the Luff [Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door], the Shadow Queen and her bone-dragons terrorised the realms [Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door], and engineered Pixl creatures turned on their creators in a bloody war [Super Paper Mario].
Various small cults experimented in using magic to escape this pandemonium, the most secretive of whom were the Keymakers [Dance Dance Revolution : Mario Mix].
The Keymakers
(Artist : e-hima )
The Keymakers were gifted with incredible powers of prophetic vision and magical engineering, but lived in a dark and dangerous era. The cult concluded that there would be no future for them, unless they escaped to a better plane of existence.
They channelled their sorcery into the creation of a quartet of artifacts – the Magical Keys – which they hoped could be used to temporarily open up the barriers between dimensions, and facilitate their escape. They laboured for decades in secret, until finally the keys were made manifest.
The keys were indeed potent enough to open the dimensions, and the cult prepared for their exodus. But then, a complication became clear: The keys were far, far more powerful than had been expected – for they could do much more than open dimensional gateways; their power was so vast, that they could grant the wishes to anyone who held them.
They could not take the magical keys with them – the artifacts were required to remain on the Mushroom World in order to hold open the dimensional gateway. But to leave such powerful artifacts behind on the planet, exposed to the dark forces of the present and from ages yet to come, would be irresponsible beyond measure.
(Artist: NubbyBuns )
Their philosophers and prophets debated and discussed, until a perfect plan was conceived: They would use their powers of prophecy to gaze out into the far future, across all of possibility, and find the most buffoonish figure who would ever live on the Mushroom World. They would then leave carvings and murals to set prophecy in motion, manipulating the future so that this man – the supreme loser – would be the chosen one that would find the artifacts. The cult predicated that, in this man's idiocy, he would use the enormous godlike power of the Magical Keys in an entirely harmless way. [Dance Dance Revolution : Mario Mix]
Thus the cult made its attempt to manipulate the future, displaying the face of the future buffoon onto all relics that led to the magical keys. The man, if their predictions were sound, would find this power of godhood before anyone else, and render it inert.
With this completed, the cult of the Keymakers departed the Mushroom World for a better life across the dimensions, never to be seen again. [Dance Dance Revolution : Mario Mix] [See Speculation Note 2]
The Man that would be Waluigi
(Artist : BBBHuey )
Thousands of years later, the story takes us to the parallel universe of Earth in the year 1985. Foreman Spike was an ordinary human by most measures, through one particularly ruthless and cunning. He ran his own construction firm, monopolising the New York construction market by sabotaging and intimidating his rivals. This brought in much business, until a rival firm was eventually able to fully challenge him.
(Artist : Xiaorui )
The Mario Bros. Plumbing Company was well-regarded as a capable plumber operation, having supported the city in clearing out repeated infestations of the city sewer network [Mario Bros.]. The senior of the brothers – a war veteran by the name of Mario [Mario's Bombs Away] had also achieved some recent fame in rescuing his girlfriend Pauline from a rampaging ape [Donkey Kong]. He had decided to capitalise on the subsequent publicity and expand the Mario Bros. business into the construction sector. [Vs. Wrecking Crew]
Foreman Spike found the Mario brothers to be resilient. He couldn't intimidate them, and resorted to working with hired goons to damage their buildings as they were being constructed [Wrecking Crew]. His approach failed spectacularly, as Mario and Luigi were able to move at superhuman speed, repairing the damage as quickly as it was caused. Spike had no ideas as to their extra-dimensional origins [Yoshi's Island] or supernatural births [Yoshi's Island DS].
Suddenly, the Mario Brothers vanished. Their construction empire collapsed, and Foreman Spike was able to quickly reassert his monopoly. He was left wondering though, what had happened to his hated rivals? It was, he considered, as if they had disappeared off the face of the Earth. Little did the construction tyrant know how true this was [Super Mario Bros.].
The Other World Beckons
Thirteen years passed, and Foreman Spike had become bored. He was the magnate of a multinational conglomerate – his competitors either bought-out or bankrupt. He fondly remembered the thrill of being challenged, and while he still hated the Mario brothers, he yearned for the victory over them that had been denied when the two had vanished.
The Earth had seen some mysterious events over the last decade. A rampaging monster had attacked a number of cities, only to quickly vanish [Sim City SNES]. Strange activity by reptilian creatures had been reported in the Antarctic wastes [Mario is Missing]. There were even historical relics being unearthed that showed reptilian interference in key locations of history [Mario's Time Machine]. Spike had only a passing interest in such things.
Then his world changed completely.
(Artist : Joshua Dunlop )
Spike was approached by two alien beings: A towering gargantuan known as Bowser, and an old reptilian wizard called Kamek. They told him much – of the worlds of the multiverse, of the Mushroom Kingdom, and of most interest – of the Mario brothers. His hated rivals were living in a parallel universe, revered as heroes and champions, to Spike's disgust.
The Koopa King told Spike that the Mushroom World developing at an incredible pace. Settlements such as Diamond City [Wario Ware], New Donk City [Super Mario Odyssey] and Mushroom City [Mario Kart: Double Dash] needed construction services, and Bowser wanted to move into this industry in a clandestine approach to conquering the world. He wanted an alliance with Spike – for his construction expertise – but also for his support in tacking the Mario brothers, who would certainly interfere [Wrecking Crew '98].
With Spike's agreement, the three travelled to the Mushroom World to enact the plan.
Wrecked
The skyscrapers were quickly constructed, and Bowser's plan became apparent. The structures were raised at calculated angles to block the sun reaching forests, woods and agricultural developments. The Koopa Troop would see the fields and livestock of the surrounding kingdoms fade away, and starve them into submission.
(Artist : adisTM )
Mario and Luigi caught on quickly, and sought to demolish the towering atrocities with their mighty hammers. The heroes invaded each building, and were astonished to see Spike – supported by agents of the Koopa army – waiting for them. The Mario brothers charged around the foundations of each structure, demolishing key supports, while avoiding the attacks of the villains. The battles escalated as further Koopa soldiers entered the fray, with Bowser himself eventually joining.
The Mario brothers proved to be successful, and soon the final skyscraper began to crumble. As hero and villain alike began to evacuate, it was Spike – driven mad with rage - who could not accept defeat. He held off until the final moment, trying to keep the structure intact, determined to have his victory over Mario and Luigi. He watched as the plumbers evacuated – the last thing he saw was Luigi following Mario out of the chaos – and the tower collapsed onto Spike, burying him. [Wrecking Crew '98] [See Speculation Note 3]
(Artist : mjwills )
The Mushroom World was filled with resilient creatures, to whom such damage would be of little concern. Spike however, was the only participant in the battle of truly human origin. He lacked the incredible recovery powers that had been within Mario, Luigi and Bowser since their birth [Yoshi's Island DS], and suffered enormous injuries. His mangled body – barely alive – was dug out and taken to a nearby hospital. Foreman Spike was comatose with catastrophic head injuries, and the doctors concluded he would never regain consciousness.
The First Wah
(Artist : Bewheel )
The Mushroom Kingdom had seen a succession of pandemics over a short space of time [Dr Mario]. With so many heroes and villains travelling through time [Mario's Time Machine] and crossing dimensions [Super Mario RPG], foreign diseases came the Mushroom World to run rampant. In 1997, yet another illness was spreading [Dr Mario BS], and Mario was again required to use his military medical training [Mario's Bombs Away] and hospital experience [Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up] to adopt the persona of Doctor Mario. He prescribed various "megavitamins" – a powerful medication native to the Mushroom World - to contain this latest outbreak of the infamous tricolour virus. The battle against this disease and others lasted well into the year 2000 and beyond [Dr Mario 64].
(Artist : Gameweiver )
During these events, some of this medication made its way to the comatose Spike. Something astonishing happened. As a native of Earth and not the Mushroom World, the medication facilitated an accelerated recovery in the pitiable villain. His body – twisted and broken – healed itself around his deformed lanky state. His face was contorted, his vocal chords distorted, and something began to form in the mush that was his mind. The persona of Spike was gone, seemingly destroyed, and something else was coming into existence. The only thing the broken brain could recall was the last thing that had been seen – the figure of Luigi leaving the collapsing skyscraper. The reconstruction of his brain tissue – driven by the Mushroom World medicine – became fixated on this fragmented memory of the green-donned plumber.
Eyes opened, fingers twitched, and from his mouth came the famous warrior cry:
(Artist : AskWaluigiTime )
"…. WAH!"
Spike was destroyed, and Waluigi inhabited his corpse.
He would be a twisted mirror to Luigi, a dark reflection borne out of his only recollection. He would be selfish, petty, fiercely competitive, dishonourable, treacherous and utterly, utterly mad. Dressing himself in garish purple attire, the impossibly spindly man bound out of the hospital to wreck petty havoc on an unsuspecting world. To no one at all, in a nasal and brash voice, he chanted again and again: "its Waluigi Time!", IT'S WALUIGI TIME!" [See Speculation Note 4]
Early Rivalries
(Artist : Themrock )
Waluigi gravitated towards Wario's domain almost instantly, and as the two met they knew they were kindred spirits. Both mad and mischievous with tastes greedy and gross, the two loathsome beings cemented a friendship unlike any other in the multiverse.
The pair heard of a grand tennis tournament being organised by Mario and his friends, and submitted themselves as entrants - determined by any means fair or foul to prove their superiority. They travelled to the seat of the Mushroom Kingdom and were shocked to see that Bowser, Lord of the Koopas, also presented himself as a contestant. The Koopa King had not been seen in public since his devastating defeat at the end of the Star Rod crisis [Paper Mario], and despite the havoc he had unleashed, Princess Peach allowed his entry. Her diplomacy was a calculated gesture to engage Bowser - for if her enemy was trying to win the tournament – then he would be too occupied to unleash yet another war upon her peoples.
(Artist : MedriFogmatio )
During the games Luigi spotted Waluigi, and was puzzled by the demented doppelganger. But with all the strange things Luigi had seen in the Mushroom World – from talking mushrooms to living stars – he quickly accepted Waluigi's existence and tolerated his presence in the tournament. [Mario Tennis]
Reversion
(Artist : g-barbatus )
Waluigi experienced a mental breakdown in 2001 and the persona of Foreman Spike temporarily reasserted itself. Highly disoriented, he travelled across the dimensions back to Earth, and found himself wandering across a golf course. Mario, Peach and Yoshi were alerted to the incident, and felt that by duty of care, they were required to bring him back. The three heroes took part in a golfing tournament to monitor the confused Spike, who soon reverted back to Waluigi, and was no longer equipped to handle the ways of Earth. Mario and his friends guided him back to the Mushroom World, where his deformed and disturbing appearance would be better suited. [Mobile Golf]
(Artist : Charity Ryan )
The fragments of Spike's persona would serve Waluigi well. As Wario moved out of the tyranny business [Super Mario Land 2] and into business business [Wario Ware], he used Waluigi's corporate experience [Wrecking Crew] to drive his success. Waluigi was generously rewarded, and soon had enough money to purchase colossal structures, such as an enormous sports stadium [Mario Kart Arcade GP 2] and pinball theme park [Mario Kart DS].
The Wah That Saved the World
Waluigi was, by every measure, completely insane.
He was tremendously unstable. He referred to himself in the third-person, and would bluster out strange sounds of little meaning. He would commit petty acts of non-specific malice, such as stealing unattended signposts and vandalising grass, but lacked the focus to actually scheme something of significance [Mario Power Tennis]. Occasionally he would spend further time with Wario, and the two would steal and commit the pettiest of crimes for sheer fun [Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour].
Out of pity more than anything, the organisers of the Mushroom Kingdom's various sporting events invited Waluigi to partake. Though a cheat and a sore loser, the lunatic did involve himself with such events, hinting that perhaps one day, rehabilitation could be possible. After each tournament had come to a close, he would disappear into the wilderness, wandering without purpose, gibbering nonsense to himself.
(Artist : TheAnimationGod )
The wandering of a madman could not be predicted. His path through the Mushroom World eluded expectation, and in being so apparently random, he bypassed a number of invisible wards and powerful protection spells, set in place thousands of years ago. He came upon undiscovered ruins and murals that told of the Magical Keys, left by the obscure Keymaker cult in the distant past. The keys were the most powerful artifacts on the planet, able to grant a wish, no matter how twisted. Whoever held them could remake the whole of reality in an instant. They were a path to godhood. [See Speculation Note 2]
The ruined murals seemed to predict Waluigi's appearance, and in the year 2005 guided him to Truffle Towers, the sanctum of the Magical Keys. As he crossed the threshold into the tower, the ancient spell that concealed the structure from the world was shattered – and suddenly everyone knew what the Truffle Towers were, and feared the immense power within.
Waluigi approached the Magical Keys, which glowed before him with infinite power. They had been waiting for him for a very, very long time. [Dance Dance Revolution : Mario Mix]
(Artist : TheUnspokenProphet )
Waluigi stared into infinity, for the Magical Keys were indeed that – infinite power coupled with infinite possibility. With a single wish, he could reconfigure the multiverse to his whim. Gods and genies, shadows and spirits, none could compare to the sheer enormity of power that Waluigi now accessed. His wish could dominate all, and no one had the power to stop him.
The moment of prophecy arrived: Waluigi made his wish.
For a single moment in time, every facet of existence became suspended in time, as if braced for the onslaught of reality-warping horror that Waluigi's wish was to bring. But the ancient cult of the Keymakers had planned this moment, and had manipulated the future with incredible precision so that the multiverse would be saved. They had always known that someone would one day find the artifacts, and that it would be in the best interest of all of existence if this chosen one was utterly incapable of recognising the enormity of the keys' power. All would be corrupted by the enormity of the power, they had foresaw - all but one.
All ruins and murals had been in place to ensure that only Waluigi – the greatest buffoon the Keymakers foresaw that would ever live – would be the one to find the keys. For in his idiocy, in his incorruptible, impenetrable madness, they hoped his wish would do no harm. When faced with infinite power, only the greatest idiot in existence could be so ignorant as to be impossible to seduce.
Waluigi's wish became manifest. When faced with infinite possibility…
"WAH!"
… he had wished to be a good dancer.
In his head, it had seemed like a good idea at the time. [Dance Dance Revolution ; Mario Mix] [See Speculation Note 2]
(Artist : SaladTurtles )
The Magical Keys imbued Waluigi with the power of dance. Their intense, reality-bending magic was too much for the lunatic's gangly frame, and the energies leaked out, spreading dance power across the world. Creatures of all kinds began dancing uncontrollably, and were unable to stop. Chaos spread across the world, as civilisations were consumed by dance mania. [Dance Dance Revolution ; Mario Mix]
(Artist : Elvis Calhau )
Mario was quickly alerted to the developing crisis. Toads and Koopas, exhausted from dancing without rest, breathlessly told the hero of the strange events rumoured to be happening at Truffle Towers.
Mario confronted the madman Waluigi, the cause of the dance phenomenon now tormenting the entire planet. [Dance Dance Revolution ; Mario Mix]
(Artist : Sekhmet17 )
The villain was supremely confident that he was undefeatable. He proposed a dancing contest to Mario, with a promise that the magic would be relinquished should Mario beat him.
The two danced. Mario should not have stood a chance, for Waluigi's dancing prowess had been enhanced beyond comprehension by reality-changing magic.
But, despite the power of Waluigi's wish to be a competent dancer, the magic that now imbued him could only go so far. Waluigi was simply put, the least rhythmic entity who had ever, and would ever live. He was simply so useless, was such an incomparable loser, that even the supreme, reality-bending magic of the cult of Keymakers could not turn him into a fully competent dancer. His gangly frame, utterly unsuited to any form of musical movement, glowed with a powerful aura, as the magic of his wish tried to do the impossible, and make the man dance.
(Artist : MedriFogmatio )
Mario's versatility won the day, and Waluigi collapsed into a pile of misery and bitterness. He was so terrible at dancing that, even enhanced with the most powerful magic in existence, he was still defeated by Mario. Waluigi stormed out of the Truffle Towers, his dreams of glory shattered. [Dance Dance Revolution : Mario Mix]
Aftermath
(Artist : MedriFogmatio )
Waluigi continued to wander the Mushroom World, occasionally visiting his stadium and theme park, often partaking in the various sports and karting tournaments. [Mario Kart : Double Dash] [Mario & Sonic and the Olympic Games]
No one ever acknowledged the debt the planet owed him. He was the biggest loser of all time, consumed with such madness that when faced with a moment of eternal power, he used it to become a good dancer. The wish had been so impossible, so unachievable, that it had been the only event that could shatter the power of the Magical Keys, and ensured that none of the Mushroom World's corruptible populace could ever use them.
By being the biggest loser, he had had saved the world, and as befitting his status as a loser, no-one really knew it.
Speculation note 1 – Waluigi and Foreman Spike's similar appearance has long been noted, as has the fact that Waluigi appeared in the series at the time that Foreman Spike departed. In recent karting titles, Waluigi has been intentionally given Foreman Spike's vehicle and theme music, which evidences the character connection.
Speculation note 2 – The Keymaker cult's artifacts could grant wishes. Given how many evil forces on the Mushroom World would seek this out, from Bowser to the Shadow Queen, to Fawful and his ilk – this section seeks to explain how none of these evils had ever heard of this incredible power, and why Waluigi – of all people – was the one to reach it first. It could only have been by design, and given the outcome – the power is nullified, it must have been exactly what the Keymakers had wanted to happen.
Speculation note 3 – Something must have triggered Spike's obsession with Luigi to such a point that it redefined his entire identity. Having Luigi being the Spike saw before his "death" would make sense.
Speculation note 4 – This completely explains the transition between Spike and Waluigi, including the multiple Dr. Mario events happening at the same time.
Mario Multiversia #1 – The tormented, twisted psyche of Bowser Koopa
Mario Multiversia #2 – Mario – The Makings of a Hero
Mario Multiversia #3 - Waluigi and the Wah that Saved the World
In the multiverse of Mario, there is no more enigmatic figure than that of Waluigi. Appearing out of nowhere in the Mario Party series, the character is supposedly a villain, but very rarely plays such a part. A damaged, gangly creatures, he is often regarded as a palette-swapped parody of Luigi, sometimes insulted as a low-effort character addition for multiplayer mini-games.
(Artist : JJdan )
He is, of course, more complex than this. By popular demand…. let's look at the story of Waluigi, from his cross-dimensional origins, to the pivotal moment in which he saved the entire Mushroom World.
Note : This article accepts this theory as to Waluigi's origins, which in recent times has been supported with strong hints by Nintendo. [See Speculation Note 1]
History
Waluigi's existence was of note millennia before his birth. In the dark times of the Mushroom World, sects of sorcerers battled demons for control over creation. The Ancients battled the Luff [Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door], the Shadow Queen and her bone-dragons terrorised the realms [Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door], and engineered Pixl creatures turned on their creators in a bloody war [Super Paper Mario].
Various small cults experimented in using magic to escape this pandemonium, the most secretive of whom were the Keymakers [Dance Dance Revolution : Mario Mix].
The Keymakers
(Artist : e-hima )
The Keymakers were gifted with incredible powers of prophetic vision and magical engineering, but lived in a dark and dangerous era. The cult concluded that there would be no future for them, unless they escaped to a better plane of existence.
They channelled their sorcery into the creation of a quartet of artifacts – the Magical Keys – which they hoped could be used to temporarily open up the barriers between dimensions, and facilitate their escape. They laboured for decades in secret, until finally the keys were made manifest.
The keys were indeed potent enough to open the dimensions, and the cult prepared for their exodus. But then, a complication became clear: The keys were far, far more powerful than had been expected – for they could do much more than open dimensional gateways; their power was so vast, that they could grant the wishes to anyone who held them.
They could not take the magical keys with them – the artifacts were required to remain on the Mushroom World in order to hold open the dimensional gateway. But to leave such powerful artifacts behind on the planet, exposed to the dark forces of the present and from ages yet to come, would be irresponsible beyond measure.
(Artist: NubbyBuns )
Their philosophers and prophets debated and discussed, until a perfect plan was conceived: They would use their powers of prophecy to gaze out into the far future, across all of possibility, and find the most buffoonish figure who would ever live on the Mushroom World. They would then leave carvings and murals to set prophecy in motion, manipulating the future so that this man – the supreme loser – would be the chosen one that would find the artifacts. The cult predicated that, in this man's idiocy, he would use the enormous godlike power of the Magical Keys in an entirely harmless way. [Dance Dance Revolution : Mario Mix]
Thus the cult made its attempt to manipulate the future, displaying the face of the future buffoon onto all relics that led to the magical keys. The man, if their predictions were sound, would find this power of godhood before anyone else, and render it inert.
With this completed, the cult of the Keymakers departed the Mushroom World for a better life across the dimensions, never to be seen again. [Dance Dance Revolution : Mario Mix] [See Speculation Note 2]
The Man that would be Waluigi
(Artist : BBBHuey )
Thousands of years later, the story takes us to the parallel universe of Earth in the year 1985. Foreman Spike was an ordinary human by most measures, through one particularly ruthless and cunning. He ran his own construction firm, monopolising the New York construction market by sabotaging and intimidating his rivals. This brought in much business, until a rival firm was eventually able to fully challenge him.
(Artist : Xiaorui )
The Mario Bros. Plumbing Company was well-regarded as a capable plumber operation, having supported the city in clearing out repeated infestations of the city sewer network [Mario Bros.]. The senior of the brothers – a war veteran by the name of Mario [Mario's Bombs Away] had also achieved some recent fame in rescuing his girlfriend Pauline from a rampaging ape [Donkey Kong]. He had decided to capitalise on the subsequent publicity and expand the Mario Bros. business into the construction sector. [Vs. Wrecking Crew]
Foreman Spike found the Mario brothers to be resilient. He couldn't intimidate them, and resorted to working with hired goons to damage their buildings as they were being constructed [Wrecking Crew]. His approach failed spectacularly, as Mario and Luigi were able to move at superhuman speed, repairing the damage as quickly as it was caused. Spike had no ideas as to their extra-dimensional origins [Yoshi's Island] or supernatural births [Yoshi's Island DS].
Suddenly, the Mario Brothers vanished. Their construction empire collapsed, and Foreman Spike was able to quickly reassert his monopoly. He was left wondering though, what had happened to his hated rivals? It was, he considered, as if they had disappeared off the face of the Earth. Little did the construction tyrant know how true this was [Super Mario Bros.].
The Other World Beckons
Thirteen years passed, and Foreman Spike had become bored. He was the magnate of a multinational conglomerate – his competitors either bought-out or bankrupt. He fondly remembered the thrill of being challenged, and while he still hated the Mario brothers, he yearned for the victory over them that had been denied when the two had vanished.
The Earth had seen some mysterious events over the last decade. A rampaging monster had attacked a number of cities, only to quickly vanish [Sim City SNES]. Strange activity by reptilian creatures had been reported in the Antarctic wastes [Mario is Missing]. There were even historical relics being unearthed that showed reptilian interference in key locations of history [Mario's Time Machine]. Spike had only a passing interest in such things.
Then his world changed completely.
(Artist : Joshua Dunlop )
Spike was approached by two alien beings: A towering gargantuan known as Bowser, and an old reptilian wizard called Kamek. They told him much – of the worlds of the multiverse, of the Mushroom Kingdom, and of most interest – of the Mario brothers. His hated rivals were living in a parallel universe, revered as heroes and champions, to Spike's disgust.
The Koopa King told Spike that the Mushroom World developing at an incredible pace. Settlements such as Diamond City [Wario Ware], New Donk City [Super Mario Odyssey] and Mushroom City [Mario Kart: Double Dash] needed construction services, and Bowser wanted to move into this industry in a clandestine approach to conquering the world. He wanted an alliance with Spike – for his construction expertise – but also for his support in tacking the Mario brothers, who would certainly interfere [Wrecking Crew '98].
With Spike's agreement, the three travelled to the Mushroom World to enact the plan.
Wrecked
The skyscrapers were quickly constructed, and Bowser's plan became apparent. The structures were raised at calculated angles to block the sun reaching forests, woods and agricultural developments. The Koopa Troop would see the fields and livestock of the surrounding kingdoms fade away, and starve them into submission.
(Artist : adisTM )
Mario and Luigi caught on quickly, and sought to demolish the towering atrocities with their mighty hammers. The heroes invaded each building, and were astonished to see Spike – supported by agents of the Koopa army – waiting for them. The Mario brothers charged around the foundations of each structure, demolishing key supports, while avoiding the attacks of the villains. The battles escalated as further Koopa soldiers entered the fray, with Bowser himself eventually joining.
The Mario brothers proved to be successful, and soon the final skyscraper began to crumble. As hero and villain alike began to evacuate, it was Spike – driven mad with rage - who could not accept defeat. He held off until the final moment, trying to keep the structure intact, determined to have his victory over Mario and Luigi. He watched as the plumbers evacuated – the last thing he saw was Luigi following Mario out of the chaos – and the tower collapsed onto Spike, burying him. [Wrecking Crew '98] [See Speculation Note 3]
(Artist : mjwills )
The Mushroom World was filled with resilient creatures, to whom such damage would be of little concern. Spike however, was the only participant in the battle of truly human origin. He lacked the incredible recovery powers that had been within Mario, Luigi and Bowser since their birth [Yoshi's Island DS], and suffered enormous injuries. His mangled body – barely alive – was dug out and taken to a nearby hospital. Foreman Spike was comatose with catastrophic head injuries, and the doctors concluded he would never regain consciousness.
The First Wah
(Artist : Bewheel )
The Mushroom Kingdom had seen a succession of pandemics over a short space of time [Dr Mario]. With so many heroes and villains travelling through time [Mario's Time Machine] and crossing dimensions [Super Mario RPG], foreign diseases came the Mushroom World to run rampant. In 1997, yet another illness was spreading [Dr Mario BS], and Mario was again required to use his military medical training [Mario's Bombs Away] and hospital experience [Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up] to adopt the persona of Doctor Mario. He prescribed various "megavitamins" – a powerful medication native to the Mushroom World - to contain this latest outbreak of the infamous tricolour virus. The battle against this disease and others lasted well into the year 2000 and beyond [Dr Mario 64].
(Artist : Gameweiver )
During these events, some of this medication made its way to the comatose Spike. Something astonishing happened. As a native of Earth and not the Mushroom World, the medication facilitated an accelerated recovery in the pitiable villain. His body – twisted and broken – healed itself around his deformed lanky state. His face was contorted, his vocal chords distorted, and something began to form in the mush that was his mind. The persona of Spike was gone, seemingly destroyed, and something else was coming into existence. The only thing the broken brain could recall was the last thing that had been seen – the figure of Luigi leaving the collapsing skyscraper. The reconstruction of his brain tissue – driven by the Mushroom World medicine – became fixated on this fragmented memory of the green-donned plumber.
Eyes opened, fingers twitched, and from his mouth came the famous warrior cry:
(Artist : AskWaluigiTime )
"…. WAH!"
Spike was destroyed, and Waluigi inhabited his corpse.
He would be a twisted mirror to Luigi, a dark reflection borne out of his only recollection. He would be selfish, petty, fiercely competitive, dishonourable, treacherous and utterly, utterly mad. Dressing himself in garish purple attire, the impossibly spindly man bound out of the hospital to wreck petty havoc on an unsuspecting world. To no one at all, in a nasal and brash voice, he chanted again and again: "its Waluigi Time!", IT'S WALUIGI TIME!" [See Speculation Note 4]
Early Rivalries
(Artist : Themrock )
Waluigi gravitated towards Wario's domain almost instantly, and as the two met they knew they were kindred spirits. Both mad and mischievous with tastes greedy and gross, the two loathsome beings cemented a friendship unlike any other in the multiverse.
The pair heard of a grand tennis tournament being organised by Mario and his friends, and submitted themselves as entrants - determined by any means fair or foul to prove their superiority. They travelled to the seat of the Mushroom Kingdom and were shocked to see that Bowser, Lord of the Koopas, also presented himself as a contestant. The Koopa King had not been seen in public since his devastating defeat at the end of the Star Rod crisis [Paper Mario], and despite the havoc he had unleashed, Princess Peach allowed his entry. Her diplomacy was a calculated gesture to engage Bowser - for if her enemy was trying to win the tournament – then he would be too occupied to unleash yet another war upon her peoples.
(Artist : MedriFogmatio )
During the games Luigi spotted Waluigi, and was puzzled by the demented doppelganger. But with all the strange things Luigi had seen in the Mushroom World – from talking mushrooms to living stars – he quickly accepted Waluigi's existence and tolerated his presence in the tournament. [Mario Tennis]
Reversion
(Artist : g-barbatus )
Waluigi experienced a mental breakdown in 2001 and the persona of Foreman Spike temporarily reasserted itself. Highly disoriented, he travelled across the dimensions back to Earth, and found himself wandering across a golf course. Mario, Peach and Yoshi were alerted to the incident, and felt that by duty of care, they were required to bring him back. The three heroes took part in a golfing tournament to monitor the confused Spike, who soon reverted back to Waluigi, and was no longer equipped to handle the ways of Earth. Mario and his friends guided him back to the Mushroom World, where his deformed and disturbing appearance would be better suited. [Mobile Golf]
(Artist : Charity Ryan )
The fragments of Spike's persona would serve Waluigi well. As Wario moved out of the tyranny business [Super Mario Land 2] and into business business [Wario Ware], he used Waluigi's corporate experience [Wrecking Crew] to drive his success. Waluigi was generously rewarded, and soon had enough money to purchase colossal structures, such as an enormous sports stadium [Mario Kart Arcade GP 2] and pinball theme park [Mario Kart DS].
The Wah That Saved the World
Waluigi was, by every measure, completely insane.
He was tremendously unstable. He referred to himself in the third-person, and would bluster out strange sounds of little meaning. He would commit petty acts of non-specific malice, such as stealing unattended signposts and vandalising grass, but lacked the focus to actually scheme something of significance [Mario Power Tennis]. Occasionally he would spend further time with Wario, and the two would steal and commit the pettiest of crimes for sheer fun [Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour].
Out of pity more than anything, the organisers of the Mushroom Kingdom's various sporting events invited Waluigi to partake. Though a cheat and a sore loser, the lunatic did involve himself with such events, hinting that perhaps one day, rehabilitation could be possible. After each tournament had come to a close, he would disappear into the wilderness, wandering without purpose, gibbering nonsense to himself.
(Artist : TheAnimationGod )
The wandering of a madman could not be predicted. His path through the Mushroom World eluded expectation, and in being so apparently random, he bypassed a number of invisible wards and powerful protection spells, set in place thousands of years ago. He came upon undiscovered ruins and murals that told of the Magical Keys, left by the obscure Keymaker cult in the distant past. The keys were the most powerful artifacts on the planet, able to grant a wish, no matter how twisted. Whoever held them could remake the whole of reality in an instant. They were a path to godhood. [See Speculation Note 2]
The ruined murals seemed to predict Waluigi's appearance, and in the year 2005 guided him to Truffle Towers, the sanctum of the Magical Keys. As he crossed the threshold into the tower, the ancient spell that concealed the structure from the world was shattered – and suddenly everyone knew what the Truffle Towers were, and feared the immense power within.
Waluigi approached the Magical Keys, which glowed before him with infinite power. They had been waiting for him for a very, very long time. [Dance Dance Revolution : Mario Mix]
(Artist : TheUnspokenProphet )
Waluigi stared into infinity, for the Magical Keys were indeed that – infinite power coupled with infinite possibility. With a single wish, he could reconfigure the multiverse to his whim. Gods and genies, shadows and spirits, none could compare to the sheer enormity of power that Waluigi now accessed. His wish could dominate all, and no one had the power to stop him.
The moment of prophecy arrived: Waluigi made his wish.
For a single moment in time, every facet of existence became suspended in time, as if braced for the onslaught of reality-warping horror that Waluigi's wish was to bring. But the ancient cult of the Keymakers had planned this moment, and had manipulated the future with incredible precision so that the multiverse would be saved. They had always known that someone would one day find the artifacts, and that it would be in the best interest of all of existence if this chosen one was utterly incapable of recognising the enormity of the keys' power. All would be corrupted by the enormity of the power, they had foresaw - all but one.
All ruins and murals had been in place to ensure that only Waluigi – the greatest buffoon the Keymakers foresaw that would ever live – would be the one to find the keys. For in his idiocy, in his incorruptible, impenetrable madness, they hoped his wish would do no harm. When faced with infinite power, only the greatest idiot in existence could be so ignorant as to be impossible to seduce.
Waluigi's wish became manifest. When faced with infinite possibility…
"WAH!"
… he had wished to be a good dancer.
In his head, it had seemed like a good idea at the time. [Dance Dance Revolution ; Mario Mix] [See Speculation Note 2]
(Artist : SaladTurtles )
The Magical Keys imbued Waluigi with the power of dance. Their intense, reality-bending magic was too much for the lunatic's gangly frame, and the energies leaked out, spreading dance power across the world. Creatures of all kinds began dancing uncontrollably, and were unable to stop. Chaos spread across the world, as civilisations were consumed by dance mania. [Dance Dance Revolution ; Mario Mix]
(Artist : Elvis Calhau )
Mario was quickly alerted to the developing crisis. Toads and Koopas, exhausted from dancing without rest, breathlessly told the hero of the strange events rumoured to be happening at Truffle Towers.
Mario confronted the madman Waluigi, the cause of the dance phenomenon now tormenting the entire planet. [Dance Dance Revolution ; Mario Mix]
(Artist : Sekhmet17 )
The villain was supremely confident that he was undefeatable. He proposed a dancing contest to Mario, with a promise that the magic would be relinquished should Mario beat him.
The two danced. Mario should not have stood a chance, for Waluigi's dancing prowess had been enhanced beyond comprehension by reality-changing magic.
But, despite the power of Waluigi's wish to be a competent dancer, the magic that now imbued him could only go so far. Waluigi was simply put, the least rhythmic entity who had ever, and would ever live. He was simply so useless, was such an incomparable loser, that even the supreme, reality-bending magic of the cult of Keymakers could not turn him into a fully competent dancer. His gangly frame, utterly unsuited to any form of musical movement, glowed with a powerful aura, as the magic of his wish tried to do the impossible, and make the man dance.
(Artist : MedriFogmatio )
Mario's versatility won the day, and Waluigi collapsed into a pile of misery and bitterness. He was so terrible at dancing that, even enhanced with the most powerful magic in existence, he was still defeated by Mario. Waluigi stormed out of the Truffle Towers, his dreams of glory shattered. [Dance Dance Revolution : Mario Mix]
Aftermath
(Artist : MedriFogmatio )
Waluigi continued to wander the Mushroom World, occasionally visiting his stadium and theme park, often partaking in the various sports and karting tournaments. [Mario Kart : Double Dash] [Mario & Sonic and the Olympic Games]
No one ever acknowledged the debt the planet owed him. He was the biggest loser of all time, consumed with such madness that when faced with a moment of eternal power, he used it to become a good dancer. The wish had been so impossible, so unachievable, that it had been the only event that could shatter the power of the Magical Keys, and ensured that none of the Mushroom World's corruptible populace could ever use them.
By being the biggest loser, he had had saved the world, and as befitting his status as a loser, no-one really knew it.
Speculation note 1 – Waluigi and Foreman Spike's similar appearance has long been noted, as has the fact that Waluigi appeared in the series at the time that Foreman Spike departed. In recent karting titles, Waluigi has been intentionally given Foreman Spike's vehicle and theme music, which evidences the character connection.
Speculation note 2 – The Keymaker cult's artifacts could grant wishes. Given how many evil forces on the Mushroom World would seek this out, from Bowser to the Shadow Queen, to Fawful and his ilk – this section seeks to explain how none of these evils had ever heard of this incredible power, and why Waluigi – of all people – was the one to reach it first. It could only have been by design, and given the outcome – the power is nullified, it must have been exactly what the Keymakers had wanted to happen.
Speculation note 3 – Something must have triggered Spike's obsession with Luigi to such a point that it redefined his entire identity. Having Luigi being the Spike saw before his "death" would make sense.
Speculation note 4 – This completely explains the transition between Spike and Waluigi, including the multiple Dr. Mario events happening at the same time.
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