SMG4

SMG4 is usually portrayed as either the only sane man at Peach's Castle or (in later seasons) as a stereotypical meme-loving addict. In earlier appearances, SMG4 was constantly annoyed with most of his friends' flaws and stupid behaviors; SMG4 dislikes Mario’s stupidity, Luigi's childishness, Toad's grumpiness, Steve's randomness, Peach Toadstool’s bossiness, Fishy Boopkins’ naiveté, and Bob Bobowski’s selfishness (which is he ironically responsible for). SMG4 was showcased as one of the few sane members in the castle, usually being shown as one of the more intelligent people in the room. In his earlier straight-man appearances, SMG4 was constantly being subjected to the antics of the people in the castle (mainly Mario, especially when he wanted spaghetti, as well as Steve's random, derpy antics whenever he came around to the castle), as well as the insanity and instability of the world around him. It seemed he was constantly being pursued by rapists, serial killers, and psychopaths (usually the psychotic teletubbies that he and Mario would often find themselves dealing with), as well as the law (usually while attempting to help Mario get spaghetti). He and Mario would also often find themselves saving the world (or just their lives) from supervillains like SMG3 and occasionally Bowser (though the latter was usually just faced by Mario), as well as destructive gods of power like Ztar and The Monster. When SMG4 wasn't dealing with all this chaos, however, he could usually be found in his room, making videos or looking at memes on his computer.

Despite normally being intelligent and sensible, SMG4 still had his many quirks. For instance, he was shown being terrible at dating, and would often get picked on by Mario for not having a girlfriend. There was also a running gag in the series which shows SMG4 having a similar relationship with his computer as Mario does with his spaghetti; treating it as his "wife" or "girlfriend" and going crazy whenever anything bad happened to it. He also takes part in and has a lot of girly hobbies (most of which he appears to be embarrassed by and tries to hide from others). This is mostly seen in the video that Mario secretly recorded of him, A Day In The Life of SMG4, in which he can be seen hopping around like a "pretty ballerina", playing with dolls, and being sad that Twilight was cancelled. Also, in SM64 Bloopers: SMG3's Gauntlet of Gloom, SMG4 was shown secretly wearing panties and, according to Mario, also apparently tried on Peach's dress. SMG4 was also shown to have a strange affinity towards old men, as he can be seen giving one a bath in his free time when nobody else was around in SMG4: Mario's Train Trip. In SM64: Bad Star's Back! 300k special, he was implied to be holding children hostage within his residence, as he was shown to mumble "Stay in the basement, kiddies" while sleeping. The reason for this is unknown, and it's unknown if he still takes part in those activities. In SM64 Guides: How To Get Dem Coins, he was shown to have an alter ego called the "Wallet Inspector." As this character, SMG4 would put on 19th century English gentleman attire before going around and stealing people's wallets. Also, despite usually being one of the smarter members of the cast, SMG4 still has his moments of stupidity. Going back to Mario's video, SMG4 was shown doing random stupid activities, such as screaming "pingas" on a flagpole and not being able to recognize his own reflection. The most iconic example of these moments happened in Super Mario 64 Bloopers: Who Let the Chomp Out, in which SMG4 throws a super star at the Chain Chomp, briefly making him invincible (which even Mario was baffled by, calling him stupid for it). SMG4's less intelligent moments are most prominent in Season 1, in which he is consistently shown to (almost) be as stupid and immature as Mario, with Nintendofan997 instead taking the role of the castle's straight man. This would lead to many conflicts between the two, which would eventually help in sparking the now iconic War Of The Fat Italians series. Despite these moments, however, SMG4 was still shown as the straight-man in the castle, being one of the most sane and intelligent cast members in the classic era (along with Toad, Peach, and eventually Meggy, who would arguably surpass him).

After Meggy was introduced, SMG4 became prone to a lot more goofier moments and stupid jokes. He would end up developing a meme addiction, which would become a defining part of his character. The biggest, earliest example of this obsession was in SMG4: Marioception, in which SMG4 can be seen dreaming about him being a "meme machine," singing about him eating, breathing, drinking, catching, spreading, and shooting up memes. While originally starting as just a hobby of him looking at memes in his free time and adding memes into his videos, he would eventually start taking part in activities such as meme dealing, as revealed in SMG4: MarioTube 2. In SMG4: The Melancholy of Fishy Boopkins, SMG4 was shown to own a meme box, which stored all of his spiciest memes, and would come back in various later episodes. In SMG4: The Splatfest Incident, when Mario and SMG4 are fighting, SMG4 gets distracted by and laughs at a meme, which allows Mario to get a fair shot on him. Arguably the biggest and most destructive example of this meme addiction was in 2 MILLION FAN COLLABERATION SPECIAL! (SSENMODNAR), in which SMG4 is shown capable of creating a meme bomb (which is arguably the first form of meme energy manipulation seen on the series), which he had apparently been forming for 5 whole weeks before that, and it threatened to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom. According to Peach, this wasn't even the first time he had done something like that. Another contender for this is in SMG4: Lord Of The Memes, in which SMG4 creates The Ultimate Meme: a meme so funny that whoever owns it controls the entire Internet. SMG4 is shown to go completely insane over this meme in the episode, attempting to rule the world with it, and even sending the Mario Head after his friends to get it back. SMG4 is also prone to a lot more moments of stupidity than before as well. For example, in SMG4: The Mario Hustle, SMG4 hilariously somehow idiotically fell for one of Wario and Waluigi's scams by buying one million rocks just because they told him that his videos would be funnier due to the rocks (to which Mario mocked SMG4 for), and is also seen kissing a rock while he's a hobo, before crying with the rock when he loses all the money again at the end of the episode. In SMG4: Mario Waits For Pizza, SMG4 even asked for pineapple on a pizza, to which Bowser claimed he has a mental disability to the pizzeria, much to SMG4's sadness. While there were still moments and episodes where SMG4 is seen as the straight man, such as SMG4: Lost In The Woods and SMG4: Mario Battle Royale, SMG4 was also depicted as a raving, meme addicted lunatic much more often than before, making his friends go through various strange situations for his gain. SMG4's meme addiction did seem to slow down in Seasons 10-12, as he was forced to go through serious situations and be the straight man in the YouTube Arc, and was the straight man once again in the Genesis Arc, as well as the SMG4 Movie: REVELATIONS. In fact, SMG4's "slacking" in regards to his meme guardian status actually kicked off the events of the first episode of the arc. However, SMG4 appears to have fallen right back into this addiction, even deeper this time, as of SMG4 Doesn't Meme For 1 Second. Instead of bloopers, memes are now a major part of his videos on YouTube, and he now spends most of his time in his room, on his computer, as of Season 14. In MEME HUNTERS, the memes appear to have taken a severe toll on his intelligence, as he once again appears to almost be as stupid as Mario, even going cross-eyed once. He is also shown once again making his friends go through strange situations, making Meggy help him find memes. Now that his memes are being used for his videos, it can be said that he's doing these things for both the memes and his channel, and in the entire storyline surrounding his Meme Factory, SMG4 can be seen forcing his friends to go through even stranger situations than ever before. However, starting around Season 15, SMG4 has appeared to have once again slowed down on his meme addiction just a bit, going back to being the straight man of the castle, albeit more open than he was before.

SMG4 (especially in older episodes) sometimes had a questionable moral compass. As mentioned previously, he would also often get into trouble with the law, committing various crimes and illegal activities, usually in attempts to get Mario his spaghetti. This is most notable in Super Mario 64 Bloopers: 0% of Spaghetti, in which Mario and SMG4 break into a guy's house and rob him of his spaghetti, before murdering him, blowing up the residence. He also did much more in Season 2. In Super Mario 64 Bloopers: Spaghetti Law., SMG4 lied to the judge about what caused a man to eat poisoned spaghetti (he put the poison into the spaghetti to prank Mario) out of fear of being arrested, then hijacked a truck full of the dish before smuggling it back into the kingdom with Mario, as well as becoming a meme dealer and doing other morally questionable things in other episodes.

SMG4 also has many other flaws. He could easily become overprotective of his work, sometimes refusing to hang out with his friends in favor of making bloopers. Despite usually having a brotherly relationship with his peer, Mario, the two were also prone to incessant fighting and conflicts. This was especially the case in the first two seasons, and especially in Season 1, in which he is shown to (almost) be as stupid and immature as Mario. He had a massive dislike of Mario, and was somewhat racist, as in Super Mario 64 Bloopers: Account Loss, SMG4 claimed he dislikes Italians (though this is debatable due to the fact that SMG4 himself was, presumably, Italian, as is implied by a certain series name). Mario and SMG4's conflicts would sometimes become very severe, such as in the original War Of The Fat Italians, in which they kicked off the series by literally trying to kill each other. Another example is in Super Mario 64 Bloopers: ੮Һ૯ ૯Ն૯౮ค੮૦Ր, where, after Mario and Luigi were accidentally killed trying to escape an elevator, he didn't mourn them and instead made fun of the Mario Bros. on their funerals (though, to be fair, Mario died all the time and always came back). Still, this shows early SMG4 greatly despised Mario, which ironically went against his role as Mario's guardian (though he didn't know about that at the time). SMG4, in general, could also be a bit harsh to his friends, even once striking them for touching his stuff.

After Season 2, he became more mature but also quite vain and boastful. Mario and SMG4 would develop a love-hate relationship, in which they'd help each other in dire situations and be friends, but would also often find themselves in many conflicts and rivalries. The two would often try to see who was better at the other in different random, trivial subjects. Again, this is most commonly seen in earlier episodes of the War Of The Fat Italians series. The two would also compete in other things, such as gaming (which would carry over to later seasons, as SMG4 would later mock Mario for losing for the 20th time in a row in Super Smash each other in the ass Brothers, claiming he is horrible at gaming), showing him to be a sore winner. SMG4 can also be very easily annoyed. For instance, the stupidity and antics of people like Mario and Steve sometimes drove him crazy. He was also annoyed by obsessed fans, or generally annoying people, like Frankie, Fishy Boopkins, SMG69 (who he got so fed up with that he ended up permanently killing him by flying and throwing him into the sun, once gain showing his criminal tendencies), and initially Bob, back when he was constantly asking to be in his videos. SMG4's ignorance and naiveté can also cause him to be careless about other people's situations, making him unintentionally be a bad friend. The best example of this is in SMG4: SMG4's Origins, where it is revealed that SMG4 was virtually careless and ignorant about the mental state of the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom, even tolerating Mario's stupidity. When he made his first video, SMG4 immediately became hooked to his newfound hobby and recorded everyone he came across, partially taming their stupidity in the process. When SMG4 realized that everyone was still stupid even though he got rid of the problem, SMG4 shrugged it off, thinking that there's nothing wrong with "a bit" of humor in everyone's lives. This is can be seen to a lesser extent in SMG4: If Mario Was In... Splatoon 3, in which he and Meggy are so tunnel-visioned on getting the stupid Mario back that they don't consider trying to befriend the normal Mario, and once again force the stablized plumber back into the bastardized, problematic shell of his true self (though, to be fair, their actions did lead to the Nintendo characters no longer being segregated by Lawyer Kong in that arc). SMG4 also somehow completely forgot about Princess Peach in the ruins of her castle and left down there for several months, then years, not even remembering until the events of SMG4: Let's Go Visit Peach!. However, he did eventually return to rescue her in SMG4: Saving Princess Peach.

SMG4 is also prone to being jealous and selfish (usually in regards to his YouTube channel). One of his biggest flaws (besides his meme addiction and carelessness) is his how worked up he can get over his videos. SMG4, in general, has always shown to take his YouTube channel way too seriously, which has caused problems numerous times in the series, and sometimes leads him to commit various morally questionable acts in the process of making them, usually due to jealousy. The first instance of something like this happens in Super Mario 64 Bloopers: The Blooper Competition, in which SMG4 becomes jealous of his fellow blooper maker due to his higher level of video making skills. This jealousy is seen on a greater scale in SMG4: Mario's Spicy Day🔥. After seeing SMG3's newly founded original production studio (Snitch Productions) he created for his channel, which was starting to become more popular, relevant, and well-received than SMG4's channel, SMG4 destroys the studio, along with SMG3's meme creations, justifying these actions to himself by stating that it was just one of SMG3's "evil" tricks. These actions forced the reformed villain back into evil, and directly led to the events of the YouTube Arc.

SMG4 also often stresses out and drives himself crazy over his videos. In Super Mario 64 Bloopers: The Blooper Competition, SMG4 would become very stressed out over the upcoming blooper competition against MarioMario54321, as he was very good at making videos and had won every competition up to that point. This led to SMG4 developing major self doubt over his video making skills, causing him stress. In SM64 Bloopers: The Idea Block, SMG4 is once again seen stressing out over not having an idea, not taking the suggestions from his peers as he believed the video had to be perfect (an ideology that would cause problems for him and the cast much later), and believing that his fans would turn on him and attack if he didn't get the video out in time (though, to his defense, he was proven right in this episode). Arguably the worst thing to happen to his channel happened in SMG4: The Day SMG4 Posted Cringe, in which SMG4 posts cringe and starts losing subscribers rapidly; and when he tries to delete the video, he gets logged out and can't log back in because SMG3 changed his password. This causes SMG4 to end up losing all of the subscribers he spent all of those years gaining. Because of this, SMG4 becomes very concerned about his sub-count, becoming desperate and crazy in attempts to keep it up. This causes SMG4 to develop the more selfish and apathetic side that was mentioned previously, even being willing to abuse his friends to make videos in some episodes. This is shown in episodes like SMG4: Mario Does Literally Anything For Views, in which SMG4 makes Mario do various trendy, clickbaity things to reach 6 million subscribers faster, only to lose them anyways because he had stopped putting the passion and effort that his viewers watched him for into the videos. He also does a similar thing in I Put Mario In Danger For Views, forgetting the lesson he learned, this time putting all of his friends in various dangerous, trendy, clickbaity situations for views in order to make the "perfect" video. However, the most notable example of this side of SMG4 is, without a doubt during the event of It's Gotta Be Perfect. Starting in SMG4: SMG4... Are You Ok?, SMG4 once again becomes jealous of SMG3, this time over getting a collab with Mr. Yeast, and once again suffers from major self doubt when realizing the YouTube superstar didn't want to collab with him as well. To overcome this, SMG4 tries to make his channel "more efficient" by enslaving a bunch of Toads and forcing them to make videos for him, making him vulnerable to becoming incredibly anti-social and apathetic if pushed too hard. While SMG3 does help him get back to being himself at the end of the episode, what happens next is far worse. SMG4, now dead-set on creating the "perfect" video, shuts himself away from his friends and delves into practicing various severely unhealthy physical and social habits, all while being very harsh and critical of himself and his ability, which slowly begins to take a toll on his mental health. In SMG4: Mario Goes To Ohio, SMG4 cancels his trip to Texas with Mario and Tari to work on his video. He grows increasingly frustrated and bothered by his friends' inquiries, despite them just being concerned about his declining mental state and looking out for his best interest. This all reaches a climax on Mar10 Day, when SMG4 had already driven himself completely insane, and while celebrating, one of the castle guests accidentally knocks out the Wi-Fi. This causes SMG4 to finally come out of his room, only to act uncharacteristically cruel and harsh to his friends, as well as all the guests at the castle; lashing out at them before going into his room and slamming the door, telling them to leave him alone. At this point, SMG4 was at a fragile enough mental state to be easily manipulated by Mr. Puzzles, and his careless, apathetic actions and attitude which he directed not only at himself, but to his friends as well, indirectly leads to the destruction of Peach's Castle, the near death of him and all his friends, and Princess Peach being left to rot in the castle ruins, eventually transforming into a monstrous, mindless beast doomed to wander the caverns of the capital of the (newly leaderless) Mushroom Kingdom for 2 long years. It was shown in the SMG4 Movie: IT'S GOTTA BE PERFECT that the reason he needs his video to be perfect was because he had doubts within himself, knowing that one mistake could make him lose everything he had, this would make him desperate to the point he would order a "Magical Keyboard" that would corrupt him from the inside out. It took some empathy SMG3 to turn him back to normal. SMG4 blamed himself of what happened so he was willing to pay the price of his desire, but a stubborn SMG3 begged to differ and helped him finish the video, which he dropped in the USB that contained it to save his and SMG3's life. He also has insecurities about not being good enough and his relevance as a meme guardian.

Despite his flaws, SMG4 has been shown to be a brave, compassionate, thoughtful, and loyal friend, and is genuinely a good person overall who truly does care about his friends, especially Mario. In SMG4: The Melancholy of Fishy Boopkins, SMG4 is the first one who notices that Boopkins is uncharacteristically sad when he states that he doesn't want to watch anime, and does his best to try and cheer him up. He is also seen playing games with Tari on multiple occasions, and attempted to warn her of Bob's lies in SMG4: Mario and the Bob Mansion. In SM64: Meet the Luigi, SMG4 feels bad about the way Luigi is always getting tormented and bullied, advocating against it and showing compassion towards the plumber. Also, in Super Mario 64: Meet the Toad, SMG4 conducts an intervention on Toad's candy addiction in attempts to better him. In the Anime Arc, SMG4 and crew drop everything, and even go to war to find and rescue Meggy, kicking Francis' ass when they do. SMG4, in general, is also prone to several heroic moments, such as in Super Mario 64 Bloopers: Bad Stars and SM64: Bad Star's Back! 300k special, in which he feels the need to try and save the world himself from the Ztar. He also tries to save his home, the castle, for him and his friends from Toad in Super Mario 64 Bloopers: President Toad Washington. After the events of the Genesis Arc, SMG4 tries to cheer everyone and lift his friends' spirits by hosting a BBQ. In SMG4 Movie: REVELATIONS, SMG4 is absolutely torn and livid when he thinks that Melony died to Niles, willing to "destroy it all" over the event of her death. However, the person SMG4 cares the most about is Mario. Throughout the series, the two have been shown to have a brotherly bond; and, despite their common rivalries and conflicts, and despite trying to kill each other every once in a while, have been shown to deeply care about one another, and would go to the end of the Earth for each other. In earlier seasons of the show, SMG4 was often shown doing drastic things for and with Mario, even going as far as committing crimes for the plumber. In Super Mario 64 Bloopers: 0% of Spaghetti, SMG4 was willing to rob a store and break into a guy's house to get his friend spaghetti. Again in Super Mario 64 Bloopers: Spaghetti Law, SMG4 hijacks a truck and smuggles spaghetti back into the Mushroom Kingdom (after it had been outlawed, with both of them getting 20 years of community service afterwards) just to get his friend spaghetti, showing his loyalty to the plumber. In SM64: Meet the Mario, after seeing a video of Mario stating how lonely he secretly is, SMG4 feels bad for Mario and tries to cook spaghetti for him to make him feel better. SMG4's care for Mario is especially the case in the Cosmology Lore, in which he most consistently shows care for the plumber. Even before discovering he was the avatar, he immediately tries to save him from Morshu and sticks by him in SMG4: Perfectly Balanced, and is absolutely distraught when he gets captured by the beast and presumably dies in SMG4 Movie: 10 Year Anniversary Special. After discovering Mario was the avatar, SMG4 does his best to do his job as a meme guardian and protects Mario to the best of his ability. This is especially true near the end of the Genesis Arc. In SMG4: The Final Piece, he shows visible and audible concern about Mario's well being, and is the only SMG to do so. In said episode, as well as SMG4: War Of The Fat Italians 2021, he even risks his life trying to hide and save Mario, and literally goes to the end of the universe to fight an ancient eldritch deity, again showing his bravery and heroism, as well as his undying loyalty to his friends, as he risks his life to save Mario, the universe, and the lives and happiness of his friends. Going back to REVELATIONS, near the end, when Mario and SMG4 think they're going to die, SMG4's "last words" to Mario were "Despite everything, you've been a good friend." Despite all of the, the rivalries, the competitions, the fighting; through the chaos, adventures, deaths, growths; despite everything, SMG4 still saw Mario as his best friend.

After the events of SMG4 Movie: IT'S GOTTA BE PERFECT, SMG4 feels terrible about all the loss that was caused, especially the loss of the castle. To make it up to his friends, he promises to build a new castle for them, The SMG4 Castle, in which a new era of adventures would be held. SMG4, in general, always had a tendency to feel really bad whenever he felt something was his fault. Another example of this is in SMG4: Deleted., in which, after failing to stop SMG3 and the Anti-Cast from replacing them in their older videos, SMG4 is just disappointed in himself for not being able to stop them, apologizing to Mario for not being able to do so before being transported to the Internet Graveyard himself.

SMG4's relationship with Mario is highlighted in and the main focus of the series' finale. SMG4 saves his video with the plumber for last, which was going to be one last road trip in the Mario-Mobile, showing how significant their relationship was to him. Not only that, but the events of the movie showcases Mario and an alternate version of himself going on an adventure together, which mirrored the countless journeys they had been on with each other throughout the years. In the end, Mario and SMG4 share one last hug and a handshake, before going their separate ways, marking the end of the channel, as well as the end of the chaotic, absurd, emotional, yet life changing journey the two had gone on together.