The father of Mario and Luigi has escaped the gaze of fans for years, until now.

Who is Mario’s dad? It’s a question that may have just been answered by Reddit user l33tredrocket who claims to have spotted the plumping pair’s parent.

The image of the old man appears on a tin tray which was officially licenced by Nintendo. This shows Mario and Luigi in their apparent home with the old man on a wall mounted painting.

The apparent padre of Mario looks similar with plumbing overalls but in blue. He also features a full grey beard and is smoking a pipe - making him look more like a fisherman than a plumber.

The image was drawn in full by Reddit user Inkwild to be seen more clearly, which you can check out below. They've also added a 'P' to his hat, meaning 'Papa Mario'. What do you think? Is this Mario and Luigi’s old man?

Have you got any more evidence to back it up? Who knows, we may even see the old fella appear in future Mario games if the interwebs make enough fuss about him.

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'- By Luke Edwards @eelukee'