A pair of cool retro cufflinks
A ? Block (alternatively Question Block, known as aMystery Block in the Super Mario Land manual, a Prize Block in Super Mario World[1], and simply ?)[2] is one of the many blocks found in the Mario universe, and one of the most common. Question Blocks are usually seen floating in midair, often containing Coins, Super Mushrooms, or Fire Flowers.
In Super Mario Bros., the manual states that Bowser, using the Koopa Clan's famous dark magic, had cursed the Mushroom Kingdom, turning its citizens (presumably theToads) into a variety of objects, including bricks (which the ? Blocks could alternately be thought of as). Princess Peach could apparently reverse this spell, so she was kidnapped by the "Koopa Clan". The game's manual later talked about how Mario could "come across Mushroom People who had been turned into bricks" and receive items from them. Although this is the only official origin story of the ? Blocks, it would appear to have been long since retconned out of Mario games, with ? Blocks now seemingly being a natural feature of the Mushroom Kingdom. ? Blocks are not to be confused with Exclamation Mark Blocks, which are similarly floating blocks.