Its definitely his fist, its just slightly higher than his head every time he jumps.

Just like in the picture for the character here on GB

I know it's meant to be his fist, but his head seems like the more effective, if dangerous, part of his body.

I don't care what anyone says: Mario is head butting that ? block.

Both

I'm more curious about what the hell a question mark block actually is. Like, is it really a block, like a block of cement or bricks or something, or is it like a crate? The fact that it's snuggled in with a bunch of bricks would seem to imply that it's a part of a wall or ceiling or something. And Mario is clearly strong enough to break bricks with his fists/head, so maybe he's breaking a part of some building and finding sweet mushrooms inside? But if that's what he's doing, then why doesn't the block disappear when you hit it, like the brick blocks? So maybe it's a crate, and he's finding stuff inside. But if that's it, why is it inside a ceiling?

At first I thought it was his head, but later on you can tell it's his fist.

I don't think about it that much. You press A, he jumps into the block, and what happens from there is between Mario and God.

Well he is a plumber, so can't be the smartest head on the block. (bad joke sorry to all plumbers)

It never even occurred to me that he could be hitting the block with anything other than his head.

My brain knows its his fist, but my heart always goes for his head.

Heart.

what about the hat?

somewhat unrelated, but I remember when game informer decided to investigate marios abilities, they asked a doctor what kind of dangers and harm mario would cause to himself if he tried to ground pound a turtle in real life, I think they determined Mario would run the risk of fracturing his tail bone. As far as your question though I would say it's his fist.

In that level in Mario 3D Land he gets the block stuck on his head and not his fist, so I'm going with head.

Boom! End of discussion.

The immense power of his chi.

I chose other by which I meant who gives a shit. When I found out it was technically his fist, I shrugged my shoulders and continued playing not caring about the minutia.

Yeah, yeah that's probably it!

If you listen closely, he says hadouken right before he hits the block.

Fist, obviously

Head. There's pure steel under that hat.

I know it's his fist, but screw that. Head.

@endaround said:

So now the question is, does that make Mario a wizard?

It also makes us question his ethnicity: is Mario a Japanese plumber? Or simply an Italian plumber that happens to speak Japanese?

He shoots fireballs and is a plumber. He's a toilet wizard.

I read that in the instruction booklet for Super Mario Bros. it explains that the blocks in the game are the residents of the mushroom kingdom transformed. So really every block that Mario breaks is another victim of his quest to save Princess Toadstool. I'm sure that got retconned real quick though.

Edit: I forgot to say my piece about the block breaking.

I think that it's a little more complicated than breaking a block with his fist or head. Hitting solid brick with his head or fist would cause serious trauma. I think that he jumps with such force that he creates a pocket of air between him and the object that explodes when the two bodies are about to collide sending a shockwave of force through the block shattering it before any part of Mario makes contact. Think about it he is Jumpman, not Super Fist Man.

I always thought it was his head and I'll continue believing that, thank you.

Head. Made for better Mario vs Sonic arguments back as a kid.

No, that doesn't. The fact that he shoots actual fireballs does.

Well, he did appear in The Wizard...

For some reason I thought the title was alluding to him hitting it with his dick or something... I don't know, ellipsis can be confusing sometimes... DON'T HATE ME FOR HAVING A DIRTY MIND.

I really need to read this article.

Neither, he just flash kicks it and creates a sonic boom using science and he's just too fast for us to see.

In the fiction of the first game...everything is actually transformed citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Head. There's a reason why Mario's vocabulary is very limited.

@turambar: Myth confirmed by Nintendo themselves. IT IS CANON

Not many people know that Mario hits the block with his telekinetic powers. Unfortunately, his telekinesis has a range of 0.7091981mm, hence why he has to jump so close to the block in order for him to "hit" it.

If it's any consolation I went through the same thought process. :)

In 1985 on CRT with a resolution of 256 x 240 it sure looked like his head, and that's how I'll feel until I die. I remember buying my NES as a kid and showing the game to my father and sister. They were laughing their assess off when Mario was hitting the blocks.

Definitely his head. Why else would keep rescuing the princess after she gets "kidnapped".

@naru_joe93: You sick fuck.

It's his head. He raises his hand not to punch, but to pump his fist in victory. Because he just broke a block of bricks by headbutting them.

@naru_joe93: Yea, the head of his penis.

a world where there are eyeballs on the mountains.

I still believe in the instructional manual, that each of the toadstool citizen got turn into blocks and mario is just mass murdering.

Originally the head but as more concussion research has come out Mario has adapted his style to use his fist.

SO....Mario is NOT A WIZARD is what you are trying to say, yes?

Anyone who thinks he uses his head is a heathen, and when Judgement Day comes you will be punished

Actually Nintendo hired researches stated that the data is inconclusive and that more research needs to be done on the subject. This news came much to the dismay of disgruntled former plumbers.

Yes, it's all about that mushroom kingdom chi energy.

@markini6: I just want to let you know that I think it's fantastic that Mario's head appears dangerous to you.