January 23rd - Wario

Wario

Japanese block figure by Nintendo

Add the Japanese adj., warui, meaning bad, and the name Mario, and you get 'bad Mario' or Wario. He just showed up one day with no point of origin, though I'd imagine he escaped from some strange 'mirror' universe into the Super Mario World. His brother, Waluigi, escaped many years later and has yet to do anything big other than be the nemesis of Dance Dance Mario Mix. It must be a big insult to Luigi when even your 'mirror' counterpart can't even match up to his brother.

January 3rd - LEGO Mario

LEGO Mario - Super Mario Bros.

LEGO blocks

I used LEGO brand blocks to make this Mario statue. He's about 7 inches tall and represents classic 8-bit Mario from 'Super Mario Bros', the 1985 Nintendo classic that just might be the greatest video game of all time.
HOT TIP: Other than a blocky appearance, you can spot old-school Mario by the fact that he's wearing red overalls and a blue shirt, as opposed to his modern look of blue overalls, red shirt...guess that really isn't a hot tip.

Here's the Youtube link I followed to make your very own Mario statue:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RynNYR-Xx_o