Power-Up #28: Poison Mushroom (Super Mario Bros. 2)

Here it is, the final episode of the 29 Questionable Power-Ups of Christmas! After weeks of terrible power-ups and one major computer outage, this holiday feature is done and in the books. Today's power-up is the most questionable of them all. It's the poison mushroom from Super Mario Bros. 2 (aka Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels). Find out why this is so bad in our final episode of the year!



Purpose: You don't know it at the time, but this mushroom wants to kill you. It looks and acts a lot like a normal mushroom, but don't be fooled, because one bite will send you six feet underground. This new item has no other purpose than to ruin your day, which makes its inclusion even more questionable.

Legacy: For years, most American gamers were completely oblivious to the poison mushroom. We knew about the 1-up and super mushrooms, but we didn't get a taste of their poisonous counterpart until 1993, when Nintendo released Super Mario All-Stars for the Super NES. Nintendo has done a good job of incorporating the controversial item into other Mario sequels and spin-offs, including Mario Kart, Smash Bros., Paper Mario, Super Mario 3D Land, Super Mario RPG and even Donkey Kong.

In Real Life: After four weeks and 28 episodes, I can safely say that most power-ups are full of crap. Don't believe me? Try skateboarding on the dirt like Master Higgins or tending to a zombie bite with green herbs. Believe it or not, today's power-up is surprisingly realistic. It's a mushroom that is poisonous. Thankfully, not all mushrooms are poisonous. But you can never be too safe, which is why I recommend you never eat mushrooms.