• Hey everyone, staff have documented a list of banned content and subject matter that we feel are not consistent with site values, and don't make sense to host discussion of on Famiboards. This list (and the relevant reasoning per item) is viewable here.

Discussion Who would be the Avengers of Nintendo Characters?

The Cornballer

The Cornballer

Raticate
By my lights, 5 of the 6 main avengers line up decently with Nintendo characters:

Mario - Iron Man, the red-clad leader of the group
Link - Captain America, the stoic shield-bearer
DK - Hulk, the brute powerhouse
Samus - Black Widow, the femme fatale
Pikachu - Thor, the wielder of electricity
???? - Hawkeye

It doesn't necessarily have to be a bow user, but who would be the 6th iconic Nintendo character?
 
0
Donkey Kong is actually a staunch critic of the artless monoculture.
 
0
Of the original Smash 64 roster

Mario - Iron Man
Luigi - War Machine
Link - Captain America
Samus - Black Widow
DK - Hulk
Pikachu - Thor
Yoshi - Hawkeye
Fox - Star Lord
Kirby - Captain Marvel
Ness - Doctor Strange

Don’t know where to put Jigglypuff and Captain Falcon lol.
 
Mario - Captain America
Link - Thor
Samus - Iron-woman
Pit - Hawkeye
Sheik - Black Widow
Donkey Kong - Hulk
 
0
I'd rather put Samus in as the Iron Man of the group, because the Black Widow slot implies Zero Suit. From there Captain Falcon is Captain America, Donkey Kong stays as Hulk, Sheik takes the Black Widow's spot, Pit wielding an Arm-type weapon plays Thor and Link can be Hawkeye.

Mario is more of a DC character.
 
Most of the cast of Arms plus Kirby, Rosalina, and Samus. One and done. Most powerful team right there.

Everyone else may as well be cannon fodder.
 
0
I drew this a few years back ...

captain_n_avengers_v2_by_n_zero_d93uhab-fullview.jpg
 
If we match the ascetics

Samus- Iron Man
Captain Falcon- Captain America
Link- Hawkeye
Donkey Kong- Hulk
Sheik- Black Widow
King Dedede- Thor
 
The Cornballer said:
These are all great comments aesthetics-wise, but I guess the main question is: Who are the top 6 mascots of the Nintendo-Verse? I think Mario Link DK and Pikachu are for sure there, but the other 2 give me pause.
Click to expand...
Kirby is definitely top 5 for mascots. I dunno who the 6th would be; Yoshi? Samus? Maybe Isabelle at this point?
 
0
Classic squad:
Mario
Link
Pikachu
Samus
Donkey Kong

Modern squad:
Mario
Villager
Pikachu
Inkling
Link
 
0
The Cornballer said:
These are all great comments aesthetics-wise, but I guess the main question is: Who are the top 6 mascots of the Nintendo-Verse? I think Mario Link DK and Pikachu are for sure there, but the other 2 give me pause.
Click to expand...
Without repeating series:

Mario
Pikachu
Link
Isabelle
Kirby
Donkey Kong

In that order
 
0


This reminds me of an old Nintendo/Avengers Endgame Mashup I made. I'll just share this as my answer.

(note: I used Ash Ketchum in parts so it's not 100% Nintendo "games". I think at the time It felt right since the anime closer matched the medium of the Avengers films).
 
0
Wait, how is Samus not iron man lol? They even have a similar color scheme.

Samus - Ironman
Mario Captain Nintendo
Link - Hawkeye
Kirby - Hulk (no, you don't understand, this thing is a freaking monster. Kirby is the strongest there is).
Zelda/Sheik can take the widow role.
Olimar is ant man.
Thor.... I dunno, I mean Pikachu is thunder, but Thor is more than just that, I want to say his weapon is a large part of it, but with the exception of link I'm failing to recall any Nintendo characters with a mighty enchanted weapon.
 
0
Based on the original Avengers line-up:

Iron Man: Sukapon
Captain America: Captain Rainbow
Hulk: Slowbro
Black Widow: Beady Long Legs
Venom: Master Belch
Hawkeye: Barker Bill
Dracula: Kurokyura

The Cornballer said:
These are all great comments aesthetics-wise, but I guess the main question is: Who are the top 6 mascots of the Nintendo-Verse? I think Mario Link DK and Pikachu are for sure there, but the other 2 give me pause.
Click to expand...

Well, if you're talking about the top 6 MASCOTS of Nintendo, instead of who matches each Avenger best, it's pretty easy. First, look at who has a statue at Nintendo's Tokyo store:

Mario
Link
Isabelle
Inkling

Then, look at who else is big enough to have their own stores. There's tons of Pokemon Centers in Japan, and Pokemon's mascot is Pikachu, so there's your fifth one. As for the sixth one; Kirby is popular enough to have a whole cafe in the Tokyo Skytree, and like Pokemon, has a division entirely dedicated to merchandising the franchise, so Kirby is our sixth.
 
The Cornballer said:
These are all great comments aesthetics-wise, but I guess the main question is: Who are the top 6 mascots of the Nintendo-Verse? I think Mario Link DK and Pikachu are for sure there, but the other 2 give me pause.
Click to expand...
At this point I would say Samus and Inkling.
 
0
Mario is Captain America, the traditional hero type and moral core
Samus is Iron Man, the practical minded cynical counterpoint
Link is Thor, the classic mythology warrior who's journey is about mastering himself
Kirby is the Hulk, the terrifying incomprehensible monster who operates on passion and instinct

Hawkeye and Black Widow could be basically anyone, so I'll go with Pit and Wii Fit Trainer
 
0
Clov said:
Based on the original Avengers line-up:

Iron Man: Sukapon
Captain America: Captain Rainbow
Hulk: Slowbro
Black Widow: Beady Long Legs
Venom: Master Belch
Hawkeye: Barker Bill
Dracula: Kurokyura
Click to expand...
This is probably the best, most accurate list of the thread, but if we're just talking about top Nintendo mascots we should examine marketing outside of games to see which series and characters Nintendo typically positions as the most important.


In their self description included in corporate news releases Nintendo mention the following IP:

Nintendo Co., Ltd., headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, has created franchises that have become household names worldwide, including Mario™, Donkey Kong™, The Legend of Zelda™, Metroid™, Pokémon™, Animal Crossing™, Pikmin™ and Splatoon™
Click to expand...

Nintendo's official website lists these five IP under the 'Characters' heading:

eSu2QXx.png


Elsewhere on the site, though, Nintendo has a list of featured categories where Splatoon and Pokemon also get special spotlight.

The Nintendo Tokyo Store branding is focused on Mario, Zelda, Animal Crossing and Splatoon; with a tiny bit of Pikmin. The store carries Kirby merch (and there's a Pokemon Center store a few steps away anyway).

Super Nintendo World currently has the Mario Land completed in Japan, with Donkey Kong Land on the way. TPC have announced a partnership with Universal Studios for Pokemon content at the park, a Zelda Land is known to be in the cards for future expansion and Kirby was part of the initial pitch. The Mario segment of the park also has minor Pikmin cameos littered throughout.

Finally, Sanei are Nintendo's go-to plush manufacturer (they have a Twitter account dedicated to their Nintendo products, cute profile banner below), so what characters and series are they currently working with? Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda, Kirby, Animal Crossing, Splatoon, Pokemon, Pikmin and Fire Emblem.

1500x500


That's five sources, five potential points for each IP. We'll say the minor roles Pikmin has at Super Nintendo World and Nintendo Store Tokyo only account for half a point each. What does the mascot of each series score?
  • Mario - 5/5
  • Link- 5/5
  • Pikachu - 5/5
  • Isabelle - 4/5
  • Inkling - 4/5
  • Kirby - 4/5
  • Donkey Kong - 3/5
  • Pikmin - 3/5
  • (Current FE Lord) - 2/5
  • Samus - 1/5
I think this is a fairly accurate representation of Nintendo's top mascots! If you've gotta limit it to the top 6 like the first Avengers film, then the first six listed there are the obvious picks; but Avengers teams can and have been far larger, so I say all ten deserve a spot at the top.
 
Last edited:
MondoMega said:
This is probably the best, most accurate list of the thread, but if we're just talking about top Nintendo mascots we should examine marketing outside of games to see which series and characters Nintendo typically positions as the most important.


In their self description included in corporate news releases Nintendo mention the following IP:



Nintendo's official website lists these five IP under the 'Characters' heading:

eSu2QXx.png


Elsewhere on the site, though, Nintendo has a list of featured categories where Splatoon and Pokemon also get special spotlight.

The Nintendo Tokyo Store branding is focused on Mario, Zelda, Animal Crossing and Splatoon; with a tiny bit of Pikmin. The store carries Kirby merch (and there's a Pokemon Center store a few steps away anyway).

Super Nintendo World currently has the Mario Land completed in Japan, with Donkey Kong Land on the way. TPC have announced a partnership with Universal Studios for Pokemon content at the park, a Zelda Land is known to be in the cards for future expansion and Kirby was part of the initial pitch. The Mario segment of the park also has minor Pikmin cameos littered throughout.

Finally, Sanei are Nintendo's go-to plush manufacturer (they have a Twitter account dedicated to their Nintendo products, cute profile banner below), so what characters and series are they currently working with? Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda, Kirby, Animal Crossing, Splatoon, Pokemon, Pikmin and Fire Emblem.

1500x500


That's five sources, five potential points for each IP. We'll say the minor roles Pikmin has at Super Nintendo World and Nintendo Store Tokyo only account for half a point each. What does the mascot of each series score?
  • Mario - 5/5
  • Link- 5/5
  • Pikachu - 5/5
  • Isabelle - 4/5
  • Inkling - 4/5
  • Kirby - 4/5
  • Donkey Kong - 3/5
  • Pikmin - 3/5
  • (Current FE Lord) - 2/5
  • Samus - 1/5
I think this is a fairly accurate representation of Nintendo's top mascots! If you've gotta limit it to the top 6 like the first Avengers film, then the first six listed there are the obvious picks; but Avengers teams can and have been far larger, so I say all ten deserve a spot at the top.
Click to expand...

Very good list! A great way to determine the few outside of the top 6. Personally I think I'd give FE another point for having a convention dedicated to it and concerts, but your rating is still fair.
 
0
My first thought was the original Smash Bros roster, but even that would have to be slimmed down, so probably:
Mario
Link
Samus Aran
Donkey Kong
Kirby
Pikachu

If additional room (and also for any semblance of gender balance)
Peach
Zelda
Captain Falcon
Fox Mccloud
Isabelle

Edit: On second thought I'm not sure if Captain Falcon and Fox McCloud shouldn't be replaced with an Inkling and some Fire Emblem rep to make the roster more "current".
 
Last edited:
0
Mario is more of a Captain America imo, the actual everyman leader clad in red white and blue. Link is more of a Hawkeye
 
0
MondoMega said:
This is probably the best, most accurate list of the thread, but if we're just talking about top Nintendo mascots we should examine marketing outside of games to see which series and characters Nintendo typically positions as the most important.


In their self description included in corporate news releases Nintendo mention the following IP:



Nintendo's official website lists these five IP under the 'Characters' heading:

eSu2QXx.png


Elsewhere on the site, though, Nintendo has a list of featured categories where Splatoon and Pokemon also get special spotlight.

The Nintendo Tokyo Store branding is focused on Mario, Zelda, Animal Crossing and Splatoon; with a tiny bit of Pikmin. The store carries Kirby merch (and there's a Pokemon Center store a few steps away anyway).

Super Nintendo World currently has the Mario Land completed in Japan, with Donkey Kong Land on the way. TPC have announced a partnership with Universal Studios for Pokemon content at the park, a Zelda Land is known to be in the cards for future expansion and Kirby was part of the initial pitch. The Mario segment of the park also has minor Pikmin cameos littered throughout.

Finally, Sanei are Nintendo's go-to plush manufacturer (they have a Twitter account dedicated to their Nintendo products, cute profile banner below), so what characters and series are they currently working with? Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda, Kirby, Animal Crossing, Splatoon, Pokemon, Pikmin and Fire Emblem.

1500x500


That's five sources, five potential points for each IP. We'll say the minor roles Pikmin has at Super Nintendo World and Nintendo Store Tokyo only account for half a point each. What does the mascot of each series score?
  • Mario - 5/5
  • Link- 5/5
  • Pikachu - 5/5
  • Isabelle - 4/5
  • Inkling - 4/5
  • Kirby - 4/5
  • Donkey Kong - 3/5
  • Pikmin - 3/5
  • (Current FE Lord) - 2/5
  • Samus - 1/5
I think this is a fairly accurate representation of Nintendo's top mascots! If you've gotta limit it to the top 6 like the first Avengers film, then the first six listed there are the obvious picks; but Avengers teams can and have been far larger, so I say all ten deserve a spot at the top.
Click to expand...
Very good list. I would say that Donkey Kong is a bit higher up. Animal Crossing and Splatoon are definitely more popular when it comes to their games series but I feel like that Donkey Kong is much more broader. There is a reason why the first expansion of Nintendo World is Donkey Kong and not Splatoon or Animal Crossing.
 
Yeah if we are talking an Avengers equivalent lineup...

Samus - Iron Man
Captain Falcon - Captain America
Kirby? - Thor
Donkey Kong - Hulk
Sheik - Black Widow
Link or Pit - Hawkeye

Fox can be Nick Fury.

For who are Nintendo's main 6 mascots, I'd say...

The 4 mascots of Nintendo Co., Ltd are:
Mario
Link
Isabelle
Inkling

Then for the final two add in their partner IPs.
Pikachu
Kirby

Those 6 IP plus Fire Emblem are the ones Nintendo promotes the most and what they likely see as their most important. Fire Emblem gets the short end of the stick here due to its revolving cast, so the closest thing it has to a mascot is Marth.
 
0
lexony said:
Very good list. I would say that Donkey Kong is a bit higher up. Animal Crossing and Splatoon are definitely more popular when it comes to their games series but I feel like that Donkey Kong is much more broader. There is a reason why the first expansion of Nintendo World is Donkey Kong and not Splatoon or Animal Crossing.
Click to expand...
If everything about the DK rumors are true (EPD in house dedication and movie or tv series), then DK will no doubt be a top tier franchise. Potentially a 5/5. It does feel like 3/5 franchise right now though.
 
0
Donkey Kong definitely isn't top 6 today. DK merchandise is virtually inexistant. There's a greater push for Pikmin or Fire Emblem than there is Donkey Kong in merch.

I feel like an argument could be made that DK was a top 6 mascot/franchise for them in any generation before the Switch. Even Gamecube/GBA which was DK's weakest generation before now, had a decent push with all the spinoffs it got back then.
 
Gartooth said:
Donkey Kong definitely isn't top 6 today. DK merchandise is virtually inexistant. There's a greater push for Pikmin or Fire Emblem than there is Donkey Kong in merch.

I feel like an argument could be made that DK was a top 6 mascot/franchise for them in any generation before the Switch. Even Gamecube/GBA which was DK's weakest generation before now, had a decent push with all the spinoffs it got back then.
Click to expand...
Don't think I've seen a single FE merchandise in any stores near where I'm at, but I've seen plenty of DK.

Also, despite lagging as of late, DK is still Nintendo's 4th biggest multimedia franchise above the likes of Zelda and Animal Crossing according to this:

List of highest-grossing media franchises - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org

Of course, even if the rumors are bs, this series will only grow going forward with the release of the theme park and the Mario film.
 
Nathan Little said:
Don't think I've seen a single FE merchandise in any stores near where I'm at, but I've seen plenty of DK.

Also, despite lagging as of late, DK is still Nintendo's 4th biggest multimedia franchise above the likes of Zelda and Animal Crossing according to this:

List of highest-grossing media franchises - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org

Of course, even if the rumors are bs, this series will only grow going forward with the release of the theme park and the Mario film.
Click to expand...

Anecdotally, I've hardly seen any DK merch. The only DK merch at Nintendo Tokyo are the DK and Diddy plushies that are part of the Mario line from Sanei. I haven't seen anything else anywhere here.

Meanwhile, Fire Emblem is getting new figures, acrylic stands, keychains, plushies, etc based on Heroes and Three Houses. Sanei, who I mentioned before, just announced about six plushies based on Three Houses characters, for example. While I'm sure there was a point in time where DK was getting more merch than FE, it's certainly not right now.
 
0
It's not surprising DK isn't getting much merch as of right now as there's no new game to coincide with it. But it won't be long now til that changes.
 
0
Nathan Little said:
Don't think I've seen a single FE merchandise in any stores near where I'm at, but I've seen plenty of DK.

Also, despite lagging as of late, DK is still Nintendo's 4th biggest multimedia franchise above the likes of Zelda and Animal Crossing according to this:

List of highest-grossing media franchises - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org

Of course, even if the rumors are bs, this series will only grow going forward with the release of the theme park and the Mario film.
Click to expand...
I love your dedication to Donkey Kong and I never want you to stop, but that Wikipedia article seems incredibly suspect. Out of the $4.962 billion it claims Donkey Kong has grossed in video game revenue, it says $4.4 billion of that came from the original arcade game and its ports. The source for that is a random article that doesn't provide any evidence, while also listing some pretty extreme numbers for other franchises with no proof. For example, the article claims Wii Fit made $5 billion. Wii Fit sold 22.67 million units. Let's say every one of those was sold at the full price of $90 at the time. That would be $2.0403 billion. Yes, Wii Fit was sold for different prices in different regions, but I doubt the regional price differences are enough to make up a nearly $3 billion difference.

The Wikipedia page for the Donkey Kong arcade game breaks down some of the numbers in the Commercial Performance section. For example, it says that Nintendo had earned $280 million in cabinet sales in the US by the end of 1982, with it selling slightly fewer cabinets overall in Japan. It also breaks down the sales of the ports and how much money those generated. All of it does not come close to $4.4 billion, but at the end of this particular section, it mentions the $4.4 billion number as well, but with the source being the same random article with no evidence as last time.

However, with an arcade game, of course most of the money grossed is going to be from people paying to play the game, but I could not find anywhere saying that the Donkey Kong arcade grossed anywhere close to $4 billion.

Again, I don't want to stop you. I support your love of Donkey Kong and only want to see you spread the love even more, but that Wikipedia is very likely wrong.
 
Last edited:
Well, I guess I'll go cry in the corner again. 😔

Edit: Wait, 65 million of the franchise units sold multiplied by 60 is 3.9 billion! 👀

Hehe, I win again. 😏
 
Last edited:
I think Mario as Iron Man and Link as Cap are pretty iron-clad choices. Donkey Kong as Hulk is the obvious choice, and probably the right one, but equally I could sort of see Kirby as Hulk? Given that he's this sort of powerhouse and could easily be the strongest one. Or maybe Kirby as Captain Marvel or Vision instead? Pikachu as Thor is also sensible, and would be able to bring the comedy too, but I'd actually quite like to have Samus in the Thor role instead, again as another powerhouse, with Sheik/Zelda taking the Black Widow role. Fox makes a good Hawkeye for me, Rosalina could fill in as Scarlet Witch. Captain Falcon as Falcon is a bit of a cheat but I'm ok with it, or maybe as Wolverine if we're going outside of MCU. And I think Pit as Spider-Man works well, since his humour and running commentary would fill that Peter Parker role well.
 
0
Nathan Little said:
Well, I guess I'll go cry in the corner again. 😔

Edit: Wait, 65 million of the franchise units sold multiplied by 60 is 3.9 billion! 👀

Hehe, I win again. 😏
Click to expand...
I mean, you're right, Donkey Kong is very popular and iconic. My point was just that the Wikipedia article was suspect. I don't think the number in that article is right, but it could be wrong by being too low. I am sorry, I should have said something in DMs instead of making it public. In fact, I'm on your side. Donkey Kong games review and sell really well, and they have their own segment of the market that they appeal to. They distinguish themselves from most platformers by being heavier. Each jump in a typical Donkey Kong game matters, and there is a lot of satisfaction in that. There aren't many replacements for that style of platformer on the market. The only reason Donkey Kong isn't more popular than it already is has nothing to do with the quality or desire for the games, it's because they haven't been making them recently. Donkey Kong deserves respect and I'm happy to see you fighting for that.
 
I feel the original 8 characters in Smash Bros are the best picks for an Avengers team. Fox is not doing much lately so you can swap him with Isabelle if you want. Throw Captain Falcon and Marth in there for some extra cool factor.
 
0
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top Bottom