It's-a meme, Mario.

Out of all the gaming heroes to survive the '80s, who would've guessed the biggest icon would be… a short, mustached plumber in overalls? If you'd asked me back then, I'd have bet on a space marine, a lone soldier, maybe an Indiana Jones knock-off. But Mario? The guy who unclogs pipes? Unlikely.

And yet, 40+ years later, Mario is the most recognizable video game character in the world. He's been everywhere - platformers, kart racing, tennis, golf, RPGs, party games, even the Olympics (with Sonic). His design is so simple and bold you can recognize him in 30 pixels or 30,000.

Part of his magic is flexibility: he's whatever the game needs him to be - adventurer, doctor, galaxy traveler - but always Mario. Nintendo's kept him fresh without losing his charm, so every generation has "their" Mario, from Super Mario Bros. to Odyssey.

He is also a meme-king! There is so much lore and history to him that there is an entire meme-y Universe around him and his friends.