It was that moment when Goombella realised that they were all screwed.
Hello everyone, it’s been a while since I made a proposal on here, so I figured I should get cracking with another candidate. I have a weird candidate this time around, in fact, one that is actually approved as Pure Good, but after discussing it on the server, we decided it was worth a shot.
What’s the work?
Paper Mario is a series of video games based off the Mario franchise. Here, the series explores a paper version of Mario and his friends as they take care of any villains threatening the world. Yeah, I don’t think I need to make this section too long, because I’m sure you guys know what Mario is all about.
Who is the candidate?
Paper Mario is the series’ titular protagonist, a plumber who has a big appetite for food, is famous for his big jumps and hammer slams, and thwarts the world from those trying to take it over, such as Bowser or any of the one-off characters.
What might make him heinous?
So, there are multiple points in the games where you can be a jerk, or even a straight up villain. The two most notable examples of this being near the end of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and the start of Super Paper Mario. In the first example, the Shadow Queen, a Pure Evil villain, offers Paper Mario the chance to join her on her conquest to destroy the world, and the player is given the option to agree, which causes the Shadow Queen to do just that, leading to a Game Over. In the second example, supporting character Merlon asks Mario to take a Chaos Heart (one of the game’s MacGuffins) in order to stop the universe from being destroyed from Count Bleck, who also has a page here; the player can refuse, which also leads to a Game Over.
So basically, this gives the player the option to either not save the world/universe, or even go as far to destroy it. And after talking about it with the others on the Discord server, we decided it ahould be enough - the Shadow Queen destroying the world is done off-screen, but it only occurs after Paper Mario agrees to join her, implying that him becoming her servant was reasonably crucial to her doing so. As for rejecting Merlon’s request, it does show Paper Mario willingly letting the universe end for… basically no reason, with Merlon even going as far to call him out for refusing and ultimately losing hope in the end.
I would like to point out, however, that both of these endings are non-canon, so I don’t think we need to worry about his Pure Good status or reevaluating anyone else’s status because of these.
Work standards
I don’t think any of the other potential heinous villains can impact his chances of counting that much. The most heinous villains who tried to commit multiversal omnicide, Dimentio and Count Bleck, have much more resources, and I think these acts are unique to stand out compared to the likes of King Olly.
You could argue that Beldam playing a vital role in the Shadow Queen’s awakening could cause concerns, but considering that Paper Mario becoming the Shadow Queen’s servant is heavily implied to be what actually helped her destroy the world, I think he can stand out from her. And whilst he doesn’t directly try to destroy the universe in Super, he does directly refuse to possess the resources to save everyone for absolutely no reason at all, and given this leads to a Game Over where everyone is implied to be doomed, I think it is fair to say he stands out here too.
And no, Paper Bowser isn’t a concern either, as we already discussed earlier this year that his only significantly reasonable act relies on Fridge Horror.
What makes him inconsistent?
Ultimately he is a hero who mostly does heroic stuff, with his heinous acts only being done in non-canon endings. Even then, there is nothing to imply that he subverted all of his redeeming qualities and heroic acts when joining the Shadow Queen or refusing to save the universe from Bleck. In fact, his canon version is straight up Pure Good for lacking redeeming qualities and stopping many heinous threats such as the Shadow Queen herself, Grodus, King Olly and especially Dimentio.
Conclusion
It’s a weak yes from me, but as usual, it’s up to yous to decide.