Since I’ve already done an article on the Fire Flower, which is amongst the oldest and the power-up with the most changes, it won’t be included in this article which tackles the majority of other power-ups.
First of all is the only power-up other than the Fire Flower and the Super Mushroom that debuted in Super Mario Bros, the Starman. In the games the Starman allowed Mario temporary invincibility, which meant he could run into enemies unharmed, but also it allowed him to kill enemies by simply touching them. In the Super Mario Bros Super Show, the Starman would often turn Mario, Luigi or the princess into Super (Name) which gave them super strength, fire powers and even on one occasion the ability to fly. They were not completely invincible however and also unlike the games, they could keep the ability for a long time. When the Starman appeared in AOSMB3 and SMW it was exactly like the game version. Mario or Luigi would flash different colours whilst gaining invincibility (which usually consisted of the super strength to throw enemies like Koopa, Sledge Bros and even some Wrigglers into space). Appearance wise the Starman followed the original version perfectly, as did invincible Mario.
Next up we have what is many people’s favourite power-up, the Racoon Leaf, or as it’s called in the show, the Super Leaf. This power-up has only appeared in SMB3 (and remakes) and so it only appeared on TAOSMB3 too. It was probably the most common power-up on the show apart from the Frog suit, it also played a slight role as the mascot since Racoon Mario appears on the title screen for each episode and the DVD case. It was a perfect adaptation of the game version except they seemed to be able to fly indefinitely, whereas in the game it was only available after running and for a short time.
Next up and related to the Racoon suit is the P-wing. In the game this was the racoon suit, but with ability to fly constantly as opposed to having to gain speed. In the cartoon this wasn’t a factor with the Racoon Suit so there’s no real difference other than the P that appears on them. The P would appear on their chest in-game too, but only on the map screen.
Finally for SMB3, is the Frog Suit. Basically the suit is exactly the same as you can see above it’s a suit that allows Mario, Luigi or whoever else to swim far better. They even humorously talk about it as if it was a raincoat telling people to wear their Frog Suit out as it’s raining. You might be wondering why There’s a pic of a Blue Toad above? Well it’s because this is the closest the games have come yet to a Toad version of the Frog Suit. I can’t compare anything as they’re too different but I thought I’d put it here anyway.
Next up, a SMW exclusive, Cape Mario. Cape Mario in the show is practically the same as the game, in fact even more than the Racoon Suit as sometimes he does the open parachute move that you see above rather than hover on the spot. He also does the cape spin to attack enemies. Not much more to say, it’s probably the most true to the games power-up on here.
