POW Block



The POW Block is a weapon found in games featuring the Mario Brothers, Mario and Luigi. It's first appearance was in the original Mario Brothers game in which it would float near the bottom center of the screen and could be hit three times before it would completely dissapear. Hitting the Pow Block would count as one hit on every character on screen. Standing Shell Creepers would be knocked onto their backs, Side Steppers would either become agitated or fall over depending on how many previous hits they took, on, and Fighter Flies would be knocked over if they were touching the ground at the time. Any enemies laying on their backs would be flipped back to their feet and either Mario or Luigi would be forced to jump. Later levels in the game stopped having the POW Block appear.

POW Blocks didn't make an appearance in Super Mario Brothers but did return in Super Mario Brothers 2. In this game, the POW Block was an item that sat on the ground and could be picked up by the playing character. When thrown to the ground the POW Block would defeat every minor enemy on screen. Unlike in Mario Brothers, the POW Block only had one use before it would dissapear.

Super Mario Brothers 3 breifly has the POW Block appear in a mini-game mimicking the original Mario Brothers. In this game, the POW Block had the same abilities as the original game.

After its appearance in Super Mario Brothers 3, the POW Block didn't make another appearance in games until the introduction in Super Smash Brothers. This time it could be found in the special tribute stage Mushroom Kingdom. The POW Block abandones its traditional red edges and instead has blue edges. The POW Block would appear on-screen after a certain amount of time had passed. If a combatant hits the block it causes the screen to shake and 20% damage to all combatants on the ground. If the combatant is damaged enough the POW Block could throw them off screen.

Other Media
The POW block makes an appearance in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "The Pied Koopa." In this one time appearance the POW Block's effect is more like that of a Bob-Omb. Mario hurles it towards a castle wall and it explodes on contact. This is the only time the POW Block appears in any of the cartoon episodes of Super Mario Bros.

Games Featured
Mario Brothers

Super Mario Brothers 2

Super Mario Brothers 3 (Mini-game)

Super Smash Brothers