Mario: the history of a game

What most people don’t know is that Mario didn’t start out as Mario. Or even in a Super Mario game. When we first met him, he was actually a carpenter called Jumpman in Donkey Kong (1981). Jumpman treats his pet badly, so it escapes and kidnaps Jumpman’s girlfriend, Pauline. The game’s story is based on Popeye, with Donkey Kong playing the role of Bluto and Jumpman as the hero, Popeye.

Source: https://startselect.com/nl-nl/news/de-geschiedenis-van-mario