Dimentio is the Master Magician's Son

## Claim

This popular theory posits that Dimentio is the son of the Master Magician mentioned in a few of Carson's stories.

## Evidence (WIP)

Let's go over the connections that exist:

* In the English version, the Master Magician is one of four characters referred to as a "magician", the others being Dimentio, Merloo, and the InterNed.
* The Master Magician held and read the Dark Prognosticus; Dimentio has *probably* read some of it, seeing as he has knowledge that is not at all possible for someone who hasn't read it to possess. The Magician's son could've had access to either the book itself or knowledge passed down from his father.
* Dimentio is a powerful magician, second to Count Bleck in strength; the Master Magician was probably, you know, fairly masterful with magic.

There are a couple of parallels between Dimentio, the Pixl Queen, and Shadoo, who is strongly implied to be the Pixl Queen, at least in some form:

* Both are adept at using magic to create illusions. This is actually one of a few reasons why Shadoo and the Pixl Queen are probably the same person; both are known for using magical illusions to their advantage. Similarly, Dimentio creates clones of himself, can hide from sight, and pretends to kill Mario and pals multiple times with his magical Explosion Box.
* It's superficial, but both have names ending in 'o' in the English version. If you believe that Merloo and Dimentio are connected, you may want to note that Shadoo and Merloo also have similar names.

There really isn't much else there; they're both villains who want to defeat the heroes, obviously, but that's not enough to establish a familial connection. These are fairly superficial similarities; Mimi also shares Shadoo's ability to mimic appearances. Finally, it's not confirmed that The Pixl Queen and Shadoo are the same individual, so these connections are further shrouded in doubt.

### How would this work?

The Magician's wife and son were thought to have died in an accident of some sort, but some say that the son miraculously recovered from this event. We are not given any information on the nature of this accident; the most we can extrapolate is that whatever happened was extremely dangerous. In the Japanese version of Carson's story on this, he adds that the wife and son "died in an accident and *never came home*", implying that the Magician was not present for this event and had nothing to do with it. Both versions include the ending where the son was said to miraculously recover.

It's worth noting that the Magician seems to have possessed the Dark Prognosticus by then, because his daughter passed away shortly after, and he had to transfer her soul into a Pixl vessel using its knowledge.

The takes I've seen on this generally follow three branches of logic:

1. The Master Magician intentionally kills his children and turns them into Pixls. Makes more sense via the English version's logic.
2. The Master Magician has nothing to do with the death of his children, but he revives them both anyway.
3. The Master Magician revives his daughter; his son survives independently.

The son, either due to malice of madness, always becomes Dimentio in these scenarios, much like how the daughter becomes the Pixl Queen. In the cases where Dimentio is interpreted as some form of Pixl, it would make sense that he is able to live so long (though there are other reasons to think that an ancient could survive for a long time).

Another observation (maybe more of a headcanon) that's popped up has to do with Dimentio wearing a mask, hat, cloak, and general attire that covers his entire body. While this serves to keep his true identity a mystery, it could doubly serve to obscure any scars or deformities caused by the "accident" that almost killed the Magician's son.

Finally, I feel that this theory is ultimately trying to connect two loose ends: Dimentio, arguably the game's most mysterious figure, has no real backstory, and the Master Magician's son is a mysterious character whose future isn't expanded upon beyond Carson's little story. In fact, just about every character Carson goes over in his stories is accounted for; they're mostly dead, like the Master Magician himself, his wife, and the Pixl Queen (as far as anybody knows).

Yet, for some odd reason, Carson makes a point to mention the Master Magician's bloodline living on through the son:

"Oh, and some say the son of the magician miraculously recovered from the accident. If so, the bloodline of the magician could endure... Did they find happiness? Or otherwise..." [English line]

It's a strangely poignant line, reflecting the very first warning we're given about the Dark Prognosticus in the game's intro. I think this is why it conjures Dimentio to mind for a lot of people; something so subtly powerful and mysterious must have something to do with the mysterious character we know the least about.

## Arguments and Counterarguments (WIP)

### Author Intent

Nintendo devs are apparently known for making mysterious characters with no relevant past. With that in mind, any theory regarding Dimentio's backstory can be handwaved, though I feel that this is a weaker argument even if we're viewing SPM as one piece in the entire Mario Franchise.

If we disregard the devs' intent, which we can only guess at, anyway, this theory becomes slightly more viable.

## Conclusion

1. ↑ https://www.mariowiki.com/Carson#The\_Pixl\_Queen