Luigi

**Luigi** (**ルイージ** *Ruīji*?, Luigi) is an Italian plumberwho resides in the Mushroom Kingdom. He is Mario's younger and taller twin brother. Luigi is the deuteragonist of the *Mario* franchise and the main protagonist of *Luigi's Mansion* series, Mario's Time Machine, and Mario is Missing. He is Mario's younger twin brother who first appeared as a palette swap of Mario in *Mario Bros.* for the Arcade (and later, for the NES). He wears green instead of red and is taller and slimmer than Mario. While Mario is everyone's favorite superstar, Luigi is not nearly as well known among the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom. Countless times, especially in the *Paper Mario*and *Mario & Luigi* series, he is shown to be a rather clumsy coward, although Luigi has been shown to put aside his cowardice when those close to him are in trouble People in the Beanbean Kingdom never recognized him in *Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga* and *Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions*, simply referring to him as "greenie" or "the other guy".

Several other games recognize that Luigi is rather cowardly and easily frightened. With his days on the NES as an exception, Luigi rarely goes on dangerous adventures when asked (fearing for his own safety), yet when Mario goes on one and nobody asks him, he is jealous. Despite Luigi not being as acknowledged as Mario, he does have his share of admirers as well, as he was shown to have a fan club in *Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door*, and Koopa Koot claims to be his number one fan (asking for an autograph) in *Paper Mario*. Additionally, a Toad in *Super Mario 64 DS* claims to be Luigi's biggest fan.

## Personality

Luigi is portrayed as timid, cowardice, worrisome, and self-conscious in many of his appearances, especially since *Luigi's Mansion*. In spite of these shortcomings, Luigi can be heroic and overcome these setbacks, such as in the *Luigi's Mansion* series, where he goes on various journeys to rescue Mario. In *Super Mario 64 DS*, a sign in Big Boo's Haunt also describes Luigi as "wispy."

Luigi's most apparent trait is his seeming cowardice, which he has exhibited as early as in the DiC Entertainment cartoons such as *The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!*, though it would not be shown in-game until *Luigi's Mansion* (aside from a few hints in *Paper Mario*). Since then, Luigi's cowardice has carried over to a majority of his subsequent appearances. Luigi's most overbearing fear is his phasmophobia, first shown in *Luigi's Mansion*. In addition, the endings for *Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon* and *Luigi's Mansion 3* also hinted that he overcame his phasmophobia, or at the very least takes exception to Polterpups and makes friends with the friendly ghosts of Evershade Valley and The Last Resort. In Simon Belmont's *Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* reveal trailer "Vampire Killer," Luigi is clearly scared of all the creatures in Dracula's Castle, and attempts to ward them off using his Poltergust 5000's flashlight, as well as a toilet plunger. Luigi can be sensitive when someone insults him, especially if the jab in question regards his mustache, such as during his showdown against Dimentio.

Although Luigi stars in the *Luigi's Mansion* series, some of his other appearances give him an apparent complex of being overlooked because of Mario. For instance, in *Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga*, even Bowser and the Koopa Troop have occasional trouble remembering Luigi's name. Although Luigi's biggest reactions to his frequent overlookings in the *Mario & Luigi* series are a few "…"s and face-faults, his inattention was played up for comic relief in *Paper Mario*, in which he complains about being left behind and perpetually trains for his elusive next adventure. Luigi's bio in *Mario Party 5* states that he has been gaining popularity in recent years.

Luigi's state of being in the shadow of his brother is shown in *Super Smash Bros. Brawl*. An example would be the way Luigi is almost never happy, how his commentary is very monotoned, and how one of his taunts is a bashful kick of the ground. Also, his Final Smash, Negative Zone, seemed to have developed because of living in his brother's shadow forever. Additionally, whenever the crowd cheers for Luigi, not too many people are heard cheering for him and when the announcer says Luigi's name, he sounds a little surprised. Solid Snake's codec conversation even has the Colonel refer to Luigi as the "kid brother" and "king of second bananas", despite Snake's protests. Despite this, however, Masahiro Sakurai did not intend to play up Luigi's overshadowed status, instead aiming to make him "everyone's favorite man in green." Luigi's state in the shadow of Mario is present in other *Super Smash Bros.*games, since the original *Super Smash Bros.* addresses him as the "eternal understudy" when he's unlocked; *Super Smash Bros. Melee* also refers to him in a similar manner, and his cinematic in the game's Adventure Mode shows him Footstool Jumping on Mario, signifying his tiredness of being number two. In *Super Smash Bros. for Wii U*, whenever a Palutena's Guidance conversation is activated when fighting against Luigi, Viridi and Palutena are quick to point out Luigi's status as "number two" in relativity to Mario, even though Pit held him in a higher regard.

In the *Super Smash Bros.* series, aside from being portrayed as a depressive figure, Luigi also has childish characteristics. These include: his dash attack, where he swings his arms aimlessly while keeping a humorous panicking expression; his neutral attack, where he hits opponents with his butt for the third hit; his up tilt, where he "paw swipes" the opponent with his fists while closing his eyes; the aftermath of his Super Jump Punch, where he falls upside-down; his idle poses, where he scratches the back of his head sheepishly or humorously pulls his nose before wincing in pain; and his victory poses, which have him do the following: breathing heavily with his eyes half-closed, falling stiff and planking on the ground (also one of his taunts), or childishly making finger pistols and pretending to shoot his opponents (which is supported by him saying "Bang, bang!").

In *Luigi's Mansion*, using the Game Boy Horror shows some of Luigi's other personality traits. Luigi is shown to be a bit of a neat freak, as there are several instances of him criticizing the dustiness of the mansion by examining certain objects. In the Laundry Room, he mentions that he hand washes his cap as opposed to using a washing machine like Mario does. Luigi also seems to have an eye for art, but does not appreciate many of King Boo's decorations. Luigi also shows his concerns over animal cruelty in the Safari Room, where he is horrified by the deer heads and leopard skin rugs, and declares that he will not stand for an animal being treated in such a manner.

When speaking, Luigi talks in a strong Italian accent like his brother. Whereas Mario rarely speaks in the video games aside from numerous yells and grunts, Luigi has proven to be a conversationalist in the *Paper Mario* titles. In *Luigi's Mansion*, both Luigi and Mario are capable of captioned speech, but Luigi is limited to ellipses and question marks when interacting with another character. Similarly, in the *Mario & Luigi* series, both Luigi and Mario talk in gibberish that can only be interpreted by other characters within the game.

Luigi is also portrayed as somewhat refined, leading the Luigi Gentlemen in *Mario Superstar Baseball*. He also seems to have an eye for art, but does not appreciate many of King Boo's decorations.

### Powers

* **Superhuman Strength:** Luigi can lift and press objects that are several times his weight, but not as much as Mario can. The exact upper limits of his strength are great. In *Super Mario 64 DS*, Luigi can lift King Bob-omb. Luigi showed an even more impressive feat of strength during the fight with Bowser. Luigi could lift him by the tail, spin him around and then throw him, but not as effectively as Mario and Wario. Luigi spins Bowser around faster and farther with more spins. Luigi's incredible strength also extends to his legs, allowing him to perform his signature move, the Jump Jump. Luigi is extremely good at jumping and is capable of leaping two stories high. He is the best jumper in the Mushroom Kingdom, even better than Mario.
* **Superhuman Durability:** Luigi has a significant level of durability. He can withstand great impacts, such as falling from a height of several stories or being struck by an opponent with superhuman strength, impaled, and explosions—Luigi can also endure extreme environments, such as volcanoes and tundras. Also, he can withstand fire, electricity, and ice.
* **Superhuman Stamina:** Luigi can maintain continuous physical activity for an indefinite time.
* **Superhuman Speed:** Luigi is capable of running up walls in *Super Mario World*, running across the surface of the water in *Super Mario 64 DS*, and outpacing sound in *Super Paper Mario*. Games display Luigi running faster than Mario.
* **Pyrokinesis:** Luigi can create and manipulate fire. This ability changes throughout the games he has appeared. In the platform games, such as *Super Mario Bros.*, Luigi needs a Fire Flower to gain pyrokinesis, but in the RPGs and *Super Smash Bros.* series, Luigi already has this power. Luigi is quite skilled at using fire like Mario is.
* **Electrokinetic:** Luigi has the power to mold lightning in his hand into a sphere, creating a powerful attack, called the Thunderhand, that can shock and damage enemies quite severely. Luigi only uses this move-in *Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga*.
* **Negative Energy:** As shown in *Super Smash Bros. Brawl*, Luigi's Final Smash (Negative Zone) is creating a field of Negative Energy while dancing to exotic music. Some of the effects of this Final Smash include putting opponents to sleep, dealing damage, and causing foes to move in slow motion. This move is fueled by the sadness he felt for constantly being in Mario's shadow.
* **Super Form:** Luigi can use a Super Mushroom to transform into **Super Luigi**.

#### Abilities

* **Master Combatant:** Luigi has his own fighting style. However, he never uses it in his games, except in the *Super Smash Bros.* series.
* **Indomitable Will:** Luigi is shown to have a powerful force of will, completely free of evil or temptation. He gets scared a lot, but with the help of his friends, he can gain the courage to take on and defeat any foe.
* **Leadership:** He has some leadership skills, acting as a second in command, and is very focused when there is a goal to achieve.
* **Expert Vehicular Driver:** As shown in the *Mario Kart* series, Luigi is skilled in driving vehicles, such as karts and motorbikes.

## Trivia

* Despite debuting as a playable character in Mario Bros. It is believed that Luigi made his cameo debut in the arcade version of Donkey Kong Junior because the intro of the game featured two Marios.
* Luigi was planned for *Super Mario 64*, but was scrapped altogether due to complications of camera angles and viewings angles in 2-player mode. However, he appeared in *Super Mario 64 DS* along with the previously unplayable Yoshi and Wario.
* In the classic games, Luigi used to have white overalls and a green shirt, while in *Super Mario Bros. 2* and in the DIC cartoons, it was changed to green overalls and a blue shirt, but it was later changed to blue overalls and a green shirt.
* Luigi is a villain in *Super Paper Mario* called Mr. L, though he eventually becomes a player character.
* Luigi along with Mario, has brown hair but a black mustache.
* Luigi is generally portrayed as a coward despite the fact that his name, in Italian, actually means "Famous Warrior" or "Renowned Fighter".
* In *Super Princess Peach*, after Princess Peach saved Luigi, though she apparently didn't remember his name, the dialogue called Luigi a "strange green man."
* In Chile, the Super Smash Bros community has called Luigi: "NT | Pipe" in honor of a legendary player, one of the best in the country.
* Despite his green colour scheme, Luigi's trail for falling into a Black Hole is red, just like Mario. Additionally, he retains Mario's cosmic clones.