"The Doctor Is In... Over His Head" is a comic based on Dr. Mario, printed in Nintendo Comics System featuring Super Mario Bros. No. 9 as part of the Super Mario Bros. series of comics.
Plot synopsis
Mario is rushing to the Mushroom Kingdom General Hospital because he believes there is a plumbing emergency there. He has enlisted Princess Toadstool to carry his tools for him as Luigi is busy, but upon arriving, the team finds out there is no plumbing emergency, much to Mario's disappointment. However, the scatterbrained Dr. Waldo Bloom remarks that there is indeed an emergency here - he needs a new research assistant, and he has decided to give Mario that position. Mario is not keen on the idea (or on being called Dr. Mario), but the Princess insists.
Dr. Bloom shows Mario and the Princess through the hospital, showing off the room where they cure Mushroom People and enemies alike (they make enemies sign a contract to be good, though, as the Goomba in the room shows, it does not always work). Dr. Bloom then brings them to his laboratory, where he explains that he has recently discovered Viruses that have been multiplying ever since. He has placed the original specimens under a giant microscope and the multiples in a jar. Suddenly the original Viruses break loose from their container and land inside the giant microscope. Mario uses his plunger to open it up, releasing the now human-sized Viruses, who introduce themselves as Chill (blue), Fever (red), and Weird (yellow). After inflicting their respective sicknesses on Mario, the Princess, and Dr. Bloom, the three break their smaller kin loose and escape through a window.
Mario takes off after the Viruses, but not before Dr. Bloom lends him his coat (which turns Mario's hair brown). He soon catches up to them and tries fending them off. Eventually he discovers a supply of vitamins that Dr. Bloom had stored in the coat's pockets and finds that stacking Vitamins of a certain color on the same-colored Viruses eliminates them. He then proceeds to take out the Viruses. Afterwards, he returns to the hospital, only to find that Princess Toadstool, now in a nurse uniform, has suggested that Dr. Bloom take up golf. Dr. Bloom will not return until he is finished his game, but Mario notes that this could take a very long time: Bloom has made 456 strokes and is still on the first hole. Peach suggests that Mario stick around as the Mushroom Kingdom's doctor in addition to being a plumber, which he eventually agrees to do.
Characters
Notable mistakes and errors
- When Dr. Mario jumps out the window of the Mushroom Kingdom General Hospital, his hair changes from black to brown, which remains for the rest of the comic.
- When the Mushroom People congratulate Dr. Mario for curing everyone, a small portion of the latter's hair is the same color as his stethoscope.
Naming
The title is a portmanteau of the phrases "the doctor is in" and "in over one's head", the former of which refers to interjection used to announce a patient's arrival and the latter of which refers to something that is too much for one to handle.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|
| Finnish | Tohtori on... kurkkuaan myöten! | The doctor is... up to his throat! | | [1] |
| French | C'est dans la tête, docteur! | It's in the head, doctor! | | [2] |
| German | Wo ist bloß der Doktor? | Where's the doctor? | | [3] |
| Swedish | Doktorn har ordet | The doctor has the word | | [4] |
References
