Mario first appeared in Donkey Kong, named Jumpman, or, as commonhly called, Mr. Video Game in Japan. Due to graphical limitations at the time, Miyamito (Creator) Gave him Red overalls and a blue to contrast, and white gloves to show his arms. His cap was added to avoid drawing his hairstyle, which would have to move when he jumped, ran etc.
Timeline: 1981-1990 Mario started as Jumpman, as stated before, who hat a pet monkey which he mistreated. The"et" got angry and captured Jumpman's girlfriend, Lady, which was later named Pauline. 1989-1992 A mysterious alien named Tatanaga appears and hypnotizes inhabitants of Sarasaland. He kidnaps Princess Daisy to marry her. Mario finds him eventually in his alien warship, and saves Princess Daisy.
1995-2002 Super Mario Sunshine, where Shadow Mario graffitis the whole island, and Mario is blamed for it. He gets help to clean it up from Professer E. Gadd who gives him F.L.U.D.D., a device that shoots water.
2006-present In New Super Mario Bros. Mario and Peach are going on a walk, and when Peach's castle is being attacked, Bowser Jr. sneaks up and steals Peach. After realizing what happened, Mario gives chase.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 2 will be coming out soon.
Well to help your post i will give some back story on Sonic: The Hedgehog. Sonic was started June 1991 as a mascot for Sega to rival Nintendo's Mario. Since then Sonic has boomed in sale having sold over 50 million copies. In 2005 Sonic was among the first to be inducted into the Walk of Game (Mario and Link were alongside).Sonic is a blue 15-year-old anthropomorphic hedgehog, who has the ability to run faster than the speed of sound and the ability to curl up into a ball, primarily to attack enemies. This is a major part of the gameplay of the series. 1990:Sonic was choosen as the mascot for Sega beating out an All-American Wolf and a short, fat guy wearing his pajamas among others. 1991:Sonic was released in United States, Europe, Japan, and Brazil. 1993: Sonic the Hedgehog Chaos (known as "Sonic and Tails" in Japan), launches in Latin America and Japan.Later that year Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball and Sonic the Hedgehog Chaos launch in North America. 1994:Sonic the Hedgehog 3 launches in North America. Sonic Boom, the soundtrack music CD to Sonic the Hedgehog CD is distributed with the game. Knuckles the Echidna makes his debut with Sonic the Hedgehog 3.Much more has happened since then like the release of Sonic and the Black Knight is released for the Wii and also Sonic the Hedgehod for Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360.I hope this helps your post.
Iv always liked sonic... hes way cooler and is spikey and fast. Mario is a workman, so he can always unblock my drains and stomp on the bugs in my house etc...