When it comes to iconic duos in gaming, the first ones that might come to mind are Mario and Luigi. But every protagonist needs an antagonist, Nintendo introduced Wario and Waluigi as the rival twins of the plumber brothers. If you haven’t played any of the spin-off Mario games like Mario Party, Tennis, Kart or others. Then you probably haven’t come across them yet. But if you have, then you must be confused as to who they are. So here’s what you need to know about the Wario Bros and whether or not they are actually brothers.

No, Wario and Waluigi are not bootleg characters, but are actually part of the Mario universe. Starting with Wario, he is supposed to be Mario's rival. He is a short, fat and greedy character whose appearance is quite similar to Mario's. With a yellow T-shirt, purple overalls and a yellow cap with a W instead of Mario's M. He first appeared in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, but later got his own games with the Wario Land and Wario Ware series.

As for Waluigi, he first appeared in Mario Tennis for the N64. Like Wario for Mario, Waluigi is Luigi's rival. He was introduced as Wario's partner. You can recognize him by his purple T-shirt, black overalls, and a purple cap with an upside-down L. Unlike Wario, Waluigi doesn't have his own games.

No, apparently Wario and Waluigi are not brothers. This might come as a surprise, but the reason Waluigi exists is to be Luigi’s arch-nemesis. But if that wasn’t enough, the biggest proof is this post here from @EdwardSabaVO. This screenshot is from the game Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. As you can see, they are not related. This was even confirmed by Charles Martinet: “I think they’re just two nice bad guys who found each other.”