I wasn’t sure what to expect out of the newest trailer for *The Super Mario Galaxy Movie*. I guess I expected to see Yoshi, learn more about the story, and catch references to the games that everyone grew up playing. All of that was there, along with a few surprises like the Frog Suit, Birdo, and… wait, who is that?
Enhance. Enhance. Enhance!
As I live and breathe, is that Mouser?
I haven’t seen Mouser in a dog’s age—several dogs’ ages, in fact. As happy as I am to see him, I imagine many younger readers (including adults under 30) might be asking: who the heck is Mouser? Allow me to explain.
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### Who is Mouser?
Mouser played a small part in the old redheaded stepchild of the Mario series, 1988’s *Super Mario Bros. 2*. It sounds ludicrous in this modern age of *Dark Souls* and *Super Meat Boy*, but in the ’80s, the original *Super Mario Bros. 2*—a direct sequel to the classic first game—was considered too difficult for American audiences.
Instead, American players got an adaptation of a game called *Doki Doki Panic*, with Mario character sprites used in place of the original cast. Narratively, it was presented as Mario and friends saving a literal dream world, and the entire story ends with Mario dreaming of the credits.
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### Mouser’s Role in SMB2
Mouser was *Super Mario Bros. 2*’s first boss. He was a pesky rodent who would toss bombs at players. The idea wasn’t just to avoid explosions, but to pick up the bombs and toss them back at Mouser, giving him a taste of his own medicine.
Mouser showed up twice—once in World 1 and again in World 3—never really changing his strategy. Like *SMB2* as a whole, the Mouser battles were totally different from anything else in the mainline Mario series.
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### Mouser in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show
The late ’80s also saw kids grow up with *The Super Mario Bros. Super Show*, a half-hour romp combining live-action skits and cheesy cartoon episodes. While Mouser was part of a completely different villainous troupe in *SMB2*, for the cartoon, he joined up with Bowser to try and take over the Mushroom Kingdom.
Mouser, along with the three-headed Tryclyde, was one of Bowser’s earliest generals.
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### Lost to History — Until Now
Of course, time passed, leading to the introduction of the Koopalings, Bowser Jr., and Kamek. There was simply no room for the *SMB2* bosses (outside of Birdo, who remains a prominent character in Mario lore to this day), so they were ultimately lost to history.
That is—until now, apparently.
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Seeing Mouser in the new trailer is a nostalgic blast from the past that shows how *Super Mario*’s rich and sometimes forgotten history still resonates with fans today.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/147565/who-is-mouser-super-mario-galaxy-movie-trailer