The Mario Bros. have proven they deserve a place in the pop culture pantheon by transforming from little moustachied plumbers to larger than life heroes.
Their exploits are legendary, and they embody many of the attributes found in a mythological hero, making them the perfect spokesplumbers for the thoroughly modern mythology created by video games.
Japanese artist Taro Yamamoto is paying homage to those video game icons in a medium worthy of their lofty status- by creating a traditional Japanese screen painting featuring the Bros as gods.
Mario is depicted as Raijin, god of thunder and storms, while Luigi is depicted as Fujin, god of wind, two deities who get their power from their hair, which is why they're not wearing their signature hats.
The screens will be put on display in Kyoto this fall, and hopefully the screen will inspire some game designers at Nintendo to create a game with this mythological theme because it would be super!
-Via Kotaku