Il Piantissimo

Il Piantissimo
Species	Human
Hair color	Red
Eye color	Black
Debut	Super Mario Sunshine

Il Piantissimo is a character from Super Mario Sunshine who acts as a recurring rival to Mario.

Background

Il Piantissimo is a mysterious man with unknown origins with a passion for racing. He dresses like a Pianta by wearing a mask, hands, and feet. Real Piantas tend to be indifferent to him, and the inhabitants of Pianta Village downright dislike him for posing as them. Other locals, such as the Noki, seem to have no idea who he is. Piantissimo tends to speak with an air of superiority, speaks insultingly of Mario, and he does not waste words beyond a short introduction.

Mario met Il Piantisimmo several times during his stay at Isle Delfino, and each time they raced for a Shine Sprite. They first met at Gelato Beach, where Il Piantissimo challenged Mario to a race to the meeting place at the far side of the beach. Their later races would be to a high point on the mountain at Noki Bay and through Pianta Village. Il Piantissimo also appeared in the game's ending if all 120 Shine Sprites had been collected. In that brief scene, he was scene looking at Bowser Jr.'s abandoned Gaddbrush.

Trivia

• His Japanese name is "Monteman", which is simply a combination of "Monte" (which is the Japanese name for Pianta) with "man".
• His English name of Il Piantissimo is partly a play on "Pianta" and also uses "-issimo", which is an Italian suffix that means "extremely".
• Il Piantisimmo fulfills the same role as Koopa the Quick from Super Mario 64.
• He is never seen unmasked within the game, but his render (which could be seen by looking through the eyeholes of his mask or through hacking) revealed that his face under the mask is identical to that of the Running Man from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This seems to be a reference to how both characters fulfill similar functions of racing the player on foot.
• His name could also be seen on scoreboards in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and Mario Golf: Advance Tour.