Description: Wawario and Wawaluigi are fan-made challengers to Wario and Waluigi. Old character jokes gained fresh attention in 2026 through musical roll calls, TikTok edits and fan art.
Mario has Wario. Luigi has Waluigi. But who challenges those two? Wawario and Wawaluigi are an internet-made answer, as though adding another “Wa” to a name automatically creates another opponent.
Familiar outfits, deeply strange faces
Wawario is commonly drawn as a bulky orange-capped figure in green overalls, with an eyeless-looking face and a missing tooth. Wawaluigi is long, thin and unsettling, dressed in blue and black. They are creations by fans rather than characters introduced in a Nintendo game.
Their history predates the 2026 edits. A June 23, 2015 YouTube animation used the name Wawario. A Wawaluigi fan-wiki page appeared on September 19, 2016. Later artists developed the recognizable designs. These are separate fan contributions rather than one official character release.
Why did the joke return in 2026?
In 2024, RedMario posted a video presenting official and fan-made Mario-related characters in a line-up. On July 9, 2026, A.J.N. uploaded a musical roll call of the characters. An excerpt was reposted to TikTok on September 2. On September 9, an artist on X redrew the pair in a traditional Mario style.
Now creators place the characters into musical name lists, new drawings and short animations. The appeal is the logic taken too far: once Mario's rival gets a rival, that new rival ought to get one too. At some point, the letter W may need its own character select screen.
Sources: Know Your Meme entry (September 18, 2026); KYM explainer (September 21).
