Gros plan sur Capitaine Syrup, pirate rousse au regard dur, dans un décor rouge

Captain Syrup: the pirate who outsmarts Wario

1181 words | Reading time : 5 minute(s)

CharacterWario LandAntagonists

The only one who ever managed to fleece Wario — and she did it twice. At the helm of the Black Sugar Gang, Captain Syrup kicked off the Wario Land saga back in 1994 on Game Boy by sitting on the treasure of Kitchen Island. This article follows her rivalry as Wario's equal, her raid on his castle in the second installment, and her all-time greatest exit: making off with the Bottomless Coin Sack in 2008.

It took an exceptional thief to rob the greediest anti-hero of them all: Captain Syrup, a flamboyant pirate and the mastermind behind her own gang of brigands, is the sworn rival of Wario — and one of the very few to have cleaned him out for good.

Queen of the seas in the Wario Land saga, she opened and closed the series' story with the very same move: stealing the loot right from under the glutton's nose. Portrait of a lady who wins in the end.

Contents

The pirate who launched the Wario Land saga

Captain Syrup shows up as early as Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (Game Boy, 1994) — the very first game to put Wario in the leading role. There she rules over Kitchen Island at the head of her pirate crew, the Black Sugar Gang, whose raids strike fear across the seas.

That founding plot is the series distilled: Syrup is sitting on a colossal treasure — including a golden statue of Princess Peach stolen from the Mushroom Kingdom — and Wario sets out to take it from her, driven far less by heroism than by sheer greed. Thief against thief: the tone of the saga is set.

Captain Syrup, the bandana-wearing pirate, in a period illustration
She and her treasure are what set off Wario's very first solo adventure in 1994.

A rivalry between equals

What sets Syrup apart from the usual antagonists is that she is the exact mirror image of Wario: just as greedy, just as devious, just as sore a loser. Between those two there's no princess to rescue and no world to save — only a pile of loot to fight over, again and again.

  • In Wario Land (1994), Wario plunders her island and her castle, but the pirate slips away in one last explosive flourish.
  • In Wario Land II (1998), she strikes first: her gang burgles Wario's castle, touching off a revenge chase that runs through the whole game.

A rivalry with no hero and no villain: two birds of prey circling the same chest.

The eclipse, then the grand return of 2008

After Wario Land II, the captain vanishes from our screens for a decade: the series turns to other threats, and its founding pirate seems filed away in the archives. A false retirement.

She resurfaces in style in Wario Land: The Shake Dimension (Wii, 2008), the saga's final 2D installment. True to her reputation, she plays neither ally nor open enemy: she's the one pulling Wario's strings from the start, palming off on him the magic globe that leads to the Shake Dimension — and to its bottomless treasure.

Meeting Captain Syrup in Wario Land: The Shake Dimension
Fifteen years on, she returns in Wario Land: The Shake Dimension — and takes Wario for a ride one more time.

The final heist: the biter bitten

The ending of The Shake Dimension is one of the comic high points of the series. Wario floors the local tyrant, finally pockets the Bottomless Coin Sack… and then watches Captain Syrup pop up at the last second to swipe the magic sack right off him and vanish with the infinite fortune.

That parting thumb of the nose has become the character's signature: in a universe where the heroes always come out on top, Syrup is the one who wins in the end — and against Nintendo's greediest scrooge, no less. The greedy pupil got fleeced by the master.

One of the great ladies of Nintendo gaming

With three appearances across fifteen years, Captain Syrup has carved out a place all her own: she remains one of the rare recurring female antagonists in the entire Mario universe, and surely the most successful. No minion of Bowser, no damsel in distress: an independent crime boss who works for no one but herself.

Fans of the Wario Land saga invariably name her among the characters Nintendo should bring back right now — because one thing is certain: somewhere out on the seas, the captain is still sailing, sitting on a coin sack that never runs dry.

Captain Syrup at a glance

Name Captain Syrup
Role Pirate, Wario's rival
First appearance Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (1994)
Crew The Black Sugar Gang
Home turf Kitchen Island
Other appearances Wario Land II (1998), The Shake Dimension (2008)
Claim to fame Steals the Bottomless Coin Sack from Wario
Distinctive trait A rare recurring female antagonist

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FAQ

  • Who is Captain Syrup?
    She's a pirate who leads the Black Sugar Gang and Wario's great rival in the Wario Land saga, introduced in the very first installment in 1994 on Game Boy.
  • Which games does Captain Syrup appear in?
    In Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (1994), Wario Land II (1998) and Wario Land: The Shake Dimension (2008) on Wii.
  • What does she steal at the end of The Shake Dimension?
    The Bottomless Coin Sack: she lifts it from Wario right after his victory over the Shake King and escapes with that inexhaustible fortune.
  • Is Captain Syrup a classic villain?
    Not really: she's Wario's mirror image, every bit as greedy and cunning as he is. Their clashes are duels between thieves rather than a battle of good against evil.
  • Why has the character stayed a cult favorite?
    Because she's one of the rare recurring female antagonists in the Mario universe, and because she pulls off the feat of outsmarting Wario himself.

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