? Block
The ? Block (known as the Mystery Block in Super Mario Land) is one of the many blocks found in the Mario universe. ? Blocks are commonly seen floating in midair, often containing Gold Coins, Super Mushrooms, or Fire Flowers. In some games (for example Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga) there are some invisible ? Blocks.
Interestingly, the ? Blocks of Super Mario World had eyes and seemed to be reanimations of that game's Turning Blocks. They also gave Turning Block-like angry eyes when hit; interestingly, these expressions-when-hit are often seen even in non-eyed ? Blocks today, making the ? Block a possible relative of the Turning Block.
In the Paper Mario series, Red ? Blocks contain badges and yellow ones contain coins or items. ? blocks are sometimes invisible at first. They are turned visible by jumping into them (or using Watt in Paper Mario). Once they're visible, they can also be used as stepping stones. In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door during Bowser's event, Meat will come out. If the player obtains Four of these Meats, Bowser will grow huge, allowing him to smash through objects.
In Super Mario 64 DS, red ? blocks replace the red, blue, and green ! Blocks. They had to be activated by hitting the ? Switch. They contain either Power Flowers or Bob-ombs, depending on character and hat status.
In the Mario Kart series (starting with Mario Kart 64), similar item blocks, called "Item Boxes" are found on every track. However they are not flying up in the air however and they are on the ground.
In New Super Mario Bros., red flying ? Blocks fly around the world map, moving to different levels every time Mario or Luigi die or complete a level. Five items can be inside: a Fire Flower, 1-Up Mushroom, Mini Mushroom, Mega Mushroom, or a Blue Koopa Shell. The original yellow ? Blocks also appear.
In Super Smash Bros. Melee, ? Blocks appeared on the Mushroom Kingdom stage and could contain items if smashed from below. ? Blocks were replaced by ? Panels in the game Mario Hoops 3-on-3 and Super Mario Kart. They are not to be confused with ! Blocks, which are similarly floating blocks.
